working on a project where I'm using mostly sounds from a a collection of rare/vintage synths (Martyn Ware NIC)

BiggChev

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 10
#1:

That dusty vinyl piano intro is a great way to open a song. I was curious what direction you were going to go in. Disco? House? Hip-Hop? Turns out I was wrong lol. That little ring mod release on the synth is wild. Simple, but adds a ton of extra texture to the beat. I love the industrial vibe and use of echo/verb/delays to create these swelling, morphing atmospheres. Unique, creative and interesting enough for me to not be turned off by the trap drums lol. Going back to a piano for the interlude over the swelling buzzy synth was a cool arrangement decision, makes the drop hit even harder.

#2:

This one has the best blend of acoustic/vinyl sounds and analog/synths IMO. That dusty drum break with the distorted analog toms(?) is something I wouldn't have thought of in a million years. There's also a very subtle disco-esque groove to it. As someone who makes house music, I can appreciate that. I can't quite here if the synths are doubling the piano line at 1:46 or if it's a counter melody. Maybe an opportunity to revisit the mix? The synths are a bit too loud for my taste. This a a cool track! Maybe a bit to busy at points, but I think you were going more for a proof of concept rather than any type of traditional song?

#3:

Some more cool atonal/ambient/atmospheres here. This has a bit of that video game/action movie trailer to it. Oddly, my least favourite piano line, but will give credit on the cool chromatic descending motion of it. Especially when you stack in with the strings. I also like that the strings carry the descending theme elsewhere in the track without the piano. There is a very academic sound to this piece - in the sense of harmonies, movements and carry over motifs from one track element to the other.

Overall, this is a very unique collection of musical ideas encompassed by an over-arching theme. Not sure if you have any future plans for these or more just musical studies as you familiarize yourself with the vintage synths but I think, even with just these 3 tracks, you can really flesh out a soundtrack or conceptual EP.
 
#1 Not a fan of the drums and some of the sounds jump out a bit too far in the mix, but that said I can appreciate the work that has gone into this, the use of distortion and the experimentation that Im hearing is good to hear.

#2 Not really feeling this one, the sounds seem a bit dissonant, especially the distorted toms, there doesnt seem to be much cohesion between the sounds, and for want of a better expression seems like the sounds have been thrown together. A bit too experimental for me here lol.

#3 From the first 3 seconds this is already my favourite of the 3. I like the atmosphere of this one, it has a vibe that just gets you from the beginning. Nice dark vibe, nothing is jumping out too far mix wise and everything works a lot better together and is much more cohesive than #2.
 
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