johnb820
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Posts
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Days Won
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Posts posted by johnb820
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@johnb: don't think it has anything to with liking his music though...
Hmmmm. That was the impression I got anyway, I could be wrong.
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The one and only.
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There are a good number of well known artists that wander into these forums which is amazing when you think about. You listen to an album dozens of times from an artist located half way across the world and you really admire and respect their talent. Then they post something here and it's like your own little personal celebrity moment except they are as human as you are and they are motivated to post here for likely the same reasons you do. It's kind of bizarre but super cool.
The exception being of course a certain former artist with a long holding grudge against all the people who didn't like his music. Most of you probably know who I am talking about.
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Ra - Unearthly.
High five! I am listening to it now.
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This is now released by the way. A handful of online stores have digital downloads available. I'll be waiting for my CD though.
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I have no way of knowing because goa trance is an unknown genre in the US. I've mentioned before that I've met 3-4 people who have even heard of the genre. We should change this!
People at my work place ask me what music I listen to all the time and then the hesitation rushes over me. You can't tell them goa trance because you know they will look at you with this confused face like deer in head lights. It's not so much the fact that I care what they think of me based on what music I listen to, but rather how do you describe to them what exactly goa trance is without sounding like an idiot?
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Astral Projection - Flying Into a Star
"I am 1 million kilometers from the star's corona. I am actually flying into a star! This is incredible..."
Every time I listen to that song, I have to say that sample out loud because it makes me laugh so hard and knowing which episode of Star Trek: TNG it comes from makes it even funnier.
Filteria - In the Heaven's Eye
"The scene from up here, everything seems different. It squashes a man's ego. Time bends, space is... boundless."
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Thanks for the criticism.
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Hi everyone. I've been really hesitant to share some of the stuff I work on in my spare time, but I think this is the first track I've made that I am satisfied with enough to post here. So here it goes... Any suggestions would be welcome. Turn up your volume a bit since it's obviously not mastered properly. I hope someone might enjoy it.
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ZuVuYa - Tales of Interdimensional Travel
This is another free release on ektoplazm from April of this year. Yes, it is darkpsy/psycore/wtfcore/psylmfao, but there was something really creative about this release that kept me from shutting it off. A lot of darkspy seems satisfied to just throw a bunch of blips and beeps over top a dull baseline and then hit play, but ZuVuYa throws all that out the proverbial window. Anything goes on this release. Tales of Interdimensional Travel is a trip and a half, a brain squishing listening experience if you are so inclined to lose yourself in its intricacies. It's psycore done right imo.
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One week away! Sorry, I'm really excited for this album.
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I'd say Mindsphere too, but it's going to have to pass the 2-3+ years of non stop listening to rank up there with the others.
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This one is easy for me.
Ra - 9th
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What are you talking about? They should totally have their drum machine, hardware synths, and a keyboard all set up and they play all the melodies all, modulate all the leads on the fly, and also do a live performance dance routine for us.
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I could also suggest Jaja - Oum. Not sure if that is what you are looking for though.
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Well, I play a free online game called teeworlds, a 2D platform type of game which is completely open source. I've even coded some new game types for it which was a lot of fun, but it's all very casual for me. I would never play to try to be the best. I've known other people who do consciously decide to stock up on energy drinks and play certain games for upwards of a week or more, doing absolutely nothing with themselves. I'm not really sure what the appeal is. Like anything else there is indulging in something fun even if it isn't good for you, and then there is obsession without moderation.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MXvWl8kDXQ
Here is today's pop music. Try not to barf all over yourself.
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Once Upon a Time in China II
You can thank me later.
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I would guess that if you are having trouble hearing your mix, a spectrogram might help.
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It depends on what is meant by "quality". Gear is high quality these days, but not everyone is great at mixing, even if they can write good music. A lot of people these days also don't have much sense of arrangement and how it affects the end product.
It's called "masking".
Thank you. That's what I was looking for.
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When something has poor production quality, it becomes instantly noticeable. Usually it's because the artist chooses to place too many layers of sound around the same frequency which tends to drown out the sound. I believe the term is bleeding. To the listener, they may have a hard time separating the sounds in their head. The next most common problem is an overemphasis on particular parts of a song, such as too much low frequencies, or too harsh higher frequencies. Finding a delicate balance is the work of a genius. Of course then when you send it out for mastering they could choose to destroy all that hard work in an effort to make it louder. Overall I think most commercial releases in goa trance sound great. Commercial fullon and trance, not so much because they are really pushing the limits of loudness. Compare the new Electric Universe EP to any of the older releases. It's like night and day.
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So I am sitting here on a dark, stormy October night listening to Patience For Heaven for what seems to be the millionth time. It can't leave my ears like a parasite sucking on my brain and I get to wondering why something like this doesn't have more popularity. This isn't to say goa trance or Mindsphere are unpopular amongst people like us, but for those whose ears have never been graced by these sounds, what do they think about this album? So I place myself in the mind set of someone who has never really listened to goa trance before. I listen to the latest Muse album (garbage by the way) as a reference point to what people are more accustomed to.
In To Reality starts playing. I hear little electronic pieces of wrapping paper dancing around my ears, the melodies feel soft, warm, and inviting. It's all a little complex and somehow I find myself staring at my computer monitor paying close attention to a certain melody but then I quickly lose focus on it and my mind wanders. Then the soft, distant strings come in and there is a calmness to it all. It's hard to believe this is dance music when it doesn’t have any obvious hooks or grooves. The kick sounds synthy but not over the top, distorted or plastic like other electronic music, the fills are interesting. Overall Patience For Heaven sounds pretty nice.
It's not too extreme and certainly by comparison to a lot of other artists, there isn't an emphasis on purely psychedelic sounds. Instead Mindsphere has chosen to caress my ears, tickle my brain trying to follow its complex melodies, and provide me a nice, smooth, somewhat puzzling experience. Huge thanks to Ali for all the time and dedication to making this album really special. Thanks to Suntrip, Tim Schuldt, and all the usual suspects. Keep on suntripping.
RA - Unearthly
in 2012
Posted
So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard of RA, the goa trance project by Christer Borge-Lunde and at various times Lars Lind. 4 years since the release of 9th, RA is back to impart some light, wisdom, and laughter once again only this time it’s not goa trance, but rather a collection of ambient, downtempo, and chilled out goa grooves. Of course this isn’t particularly something new as RA has released a hand full of songs like this, one of my personal favorites being Light Receiver off of 9th. However, I can honestly say I have never heard anything like Unearthly before in my life. So where to begin?
"Faith is to believe what we do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."
Floating Shrine of Inanna - This track serves as an intro of sorts with wonderful vocals provided by Christer’s sister (I love saying that) Marthe who will make another appearance in the next track. Some nice little percussion work and strings set the mood for this album and it may come as a little surprise. Unearthly is very light, uplifting, and positive unlike some of RA’s darker heavier goa trance. I get the sense that the storm of the previous albums have passed and we are left with a heavenly blue sky with the shining sun warming your heart, even as winter approaches for us in the northern hemisphere.
Rain No Water - Once again, Christer’s sister helps out on this jaw droppingly gorgeous ambient piece. Guitar sounds, filtered pads, and strings make this one a standout track for me. It dips in and out of melancholic, yet euphoric moments.
Ascend - Is it December 21, 2012 yet? If this is what we get to listen to when we ascend, then bring on the end of the world because this song is full of bliss. This song is also one of a number on this album with a four to the floor beat, but there is absolutely nothing heavy about it. The rhythm is as light as a feather.
Shift - “To jump across space and travel in time..." Arguably we are back in familiar territory here with eastern melodies and trippy soundscapes. This is more like the RA we know and love. The best part of the song comes around the 6 minute mark when the bass line starts shifting around and the originally developed melodies start changing ever so slightly.
Lifethread (Serene mix) - So yea, this is a downtempo version of Lifethread from Shaltu released earlier this year. It’s amazing how when you break up the beat and slow the tempo down all the intricacies of the various melodies become this dense subtle explosion of little sounds. Highly creative stuff, nicely done.
Lightspark - Can the vibe get any more positive? This song has a little more pace to it once again shifting back to a dance beat. For some reason I feel like it would be really easy to call something like Lightspark cheesy but as the whole theme of this album seems to be about faith and believing in the unbelievable, I find it difficult to not just give in to the positivity this song creates. Even a cynic like me has a soft spot that likes to be tickled once in a while.
Unearthly - This one more of less continues the vibe of the previous song but mixes in some tension filled arpeggios underneath soft piano like melodies here and there. The chord progressions later on in the song are just so blissful. I’ve never heard an artist capture quite the mood this album does. I have a hard time describing it. At times it sounds like video game music but it holds such hope or maybe empathy.
Celestial Slice - The final song on here is more downtempo with acoustic guitar thrown in and a simple yet effective clap/snare on every other beat. I could listen to this song all day long, what a way to finish off a brilliant album.
Unearthly is one of the most genuinely exciting albums I’ve heard in a while and it lies in part due to Christer’s insistence on creating layers upon layers with loads of harmonies. It doesn’t always work perfectly, it’s a somewhat flawed very human album, but I think that was really the point of Unearthly. If To Sirius and 9th are the spirit channelings of the 6th density being known as RA, then Unearthly is RA himself.
Love and light, thanks Christer. (and Christer’s sister too
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