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MikroMakro

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Posts posted by MikroMakro

  1. Another couple of cool ones...

     

     

     

    And something I distinctively recall driving around London in the 90's hearing played on KISS FM

    I was not so much into Goa music back then just the occasional warehouse party but I remember this being special when i heard it

    glad I found it a few years back:

    This stuff gives me goosebumps

     

     

     

  2. Just for a little fun, I have been to Goa many times fortunately but I still have trouble identifying some of the party places, many images were probably late 80's early 90's.. one example is the image on this video, we can clearly see it is unmistakeably Goa.. that rocky outcrop going into the sea (I had a quick look on google earth to try and identify them but could not be certain) I do wonder where exactly that nice palm tree clearing might be. I am sure some respected old timer will know these places and shed some light on where these places are. I imagine the landscape changes season on season and many such places may even have been built on with hotels etc. My best guess would be somewhere south of what I know to be that big super popular restaurant on the beach of Anjuna but I could be wrong.

     

    A couple of images attached from 2001 and 2022 - may have been that spot ?

     

    2003.jpg

    Anjuna rocks recent.jpg

    • Like 1
  3. I was having a little PM discussion elsewhere after reading this and I noticed a few times people mentioning their age. My year has been quite odd, late stages grieving for a close relative which is never good, but something lightened in spring so I think this is why I made a couple of tracks after a 10 month or so break. We have had Covid and a war that is ongoing so this without doubt affects what is probably the pinnacle of celebration music. Lot of people reflecting on various aspects of life, that takes up some time and maybe time where we need peace and quiet. It will have an impact.

    I still bought a few tracks but have been looking back in time to the early 2000's. I think there is a lot of looking back going on.. I think we can all understand that.

    I hope to continue having inspiration for new tracks in 2023. It is a good place to escape and enjoy time in a way that seems worthwhile so I cannot see any reason not to at this time.

    It will be what it will be. All the best in 2023 everyone.

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  4. Thanks again. I always consider such offers and for the time being... I always come back to just wanting to plod along really for a variety of reasons that have nothing at all personally against related to the people offering. It is always an honour. I am odd in the sense that when I make music my biggest aim at least for now is just pleasing myself and anyone who cares to listen. I am not at a stage where a label release tips a balance of benefits. yes of course labels expose more widely  than SC and YT can reach you which is nice in many regards. I like the freedoms around doing it the way I do it at the moment.

    If someone feels something form my tunes, for now it is mission accomplished. If anyone wants a .wav master of a track just drop me a line on here and I will make it so ! (Doubly so if you plan to play it out which a few people have done, the best so far was a Desert rave in the USA, for one of my tracks....feedback was it was a "special moment" which is a nice thing to hear.)

     

  5. Many thanks, I like melody as I think it can help tell some kind of story. I cannot provoke my own emotions with SFX alone... so don't expect to be able to for others. One issue is that with the dominant scales in psy trance it becomes increasingly difficult to create new melodies, 30 years of Phrygian notes has only so many permutations, this is more Minor with Phrygian embellishments which works well.. So for modern stuff I note we get more "implied" melodies that set up a feel/mood rather than a string of notes.

    Each to their own mind you, it's a broad church ! And that is a good thing.

  6. What is interesting is how different kick, bass, snare and open hat levels are (which is a surprisingly important one - Op. Hat) through psy trance tracks. Be it 2007 or 2022. What I have noticed is the levels of these elements  have no influence on whether I fundamentally like the track or not. I would go as far as to say, the right level will be different for each track depending on the kick and bass present. It all influences how the snare lands, also very important. We learn new things with every track hopefully.👍 (First time I have used a percussive top loop or break beat)

  7. Thanks for the kind words. Good tracks come from any period in psy trance and I very much enjoy synthesis and trying to recreate sounds I like. They also lend themselves better to melody than SFX synthesis. I would never use SC mastering or any AI mastering in fact, it's terrible.

    Appreciate your opinion.. kick sounds perfect to me (As I am sure you are aware as a counter view...it is quite easy to say change level of kick...  but how does that effect the groove ? Which is exactly how I want it to be. Engineered as such both from synths. It is a bit more "zappy" than on a modern track, that was also planned.

  8. Yes I agree it is a very enjoyable genre to produce but very difficult at first. Right now I am 96pct on my kick and bass - low note D Sharp which I do not normally do 39.89Hz fundamental so it should be a night time/foresty vibe by psy trance norms, but no I want some melody in it (at least I think that is what I want for now, you know how it goes.. these tracks often move in their own way at times.. I think I want melody and before you know it you are just making SFX over kbbb all of a sudden !! ?? We do need some of that of course for this genre unless we go full old school AP/MWNN style).... but I personally need kbbb to be 98pct before I can confidently add a snare and open hat. At 96pct it is easy to tweak it to 94 pct in error. It is so close to the edge of human timing perception and easy to make worse and not better. I usually spend 5-6 days in 40mins sessions.. after 40mins you can no longer judge anything. I stepped into the realm of "is my kick too harsh" as I am experimenting with a slightly "zappier" kick which can be really quite great... but you must get the top freqs of the kick right. Too zappy and it becames 1997, a little zap and it's 2009, so just a tiny bit of zap perception is my goal but more modern overall.

    Kick and bass... pffft it gets no easier 15 tunes down the line. I did try samples a while back, but they never made it into a tune...they tend replaces your kick and bass synthesizer problems with new problems that generally relate to inflexibility and frankly....... easy identification that you used samples, not that it is some shameful thing to do lol.... as some have such a strong character they stick out like a sore thumb.

    Twists and turns and takes long time but in the end something happens and you get a direction, have to go with the flow of what happens a bit, especially in the very early blank canvas stages as you mentioned. 

    One thing I considered a lot the last 4 years is how open hat driven psy trance often is after the kbbb is nailed down, that hat snare groove is vital... I have to get the kbbb satisfactory despite the initial pain before I can even commit to a snare positioning.

    One thing I did learn every new sound you add.. snare, then hat, then cl hats, or a top loop (programed or a loop sample) must augment and work with what went before groove wise...and is why the very starting point of kbbb needs to be a very solid foundation, otherwise it is downhill from there.

    And let's not even mention the second guessing and insecurity that the kbbb may need more tweaks once you have a track built on the top of it ! Leave those problems for if/when they arise down the line.

    Funny old music really.

  9. No worries and thanks..I will follow back when I log in. Just keep going, you know the main thing is enjoying this.. it is hard work.. it took about 5-6 years to feel I get something close production wise. The trouble is often when you get "better" then you lose something cause psy trance have to start sounding more the same this is a problem.. so early ideas are often fresh and exciting, different and in some cases unique... and later they become more like everyone else.

    There is a balance between originality and wanting to emulate because it is enjoyable to do that also.. it is a challenge and brings skills forward, many say ah... psy = copy paste.. yes because it moves everyone forwards in some ways to emulate. There will always be conformity otherwise we don't recognize the genre.. we have to try and somehow make it our own version, do enough work and with luck it comes natural without thinking, make the sounds you like and want to hear yourself.

    Very difficult music, do it for yourself, feel it, enjoy it, smile !

    I made kbbb and every time it is frustrating I used Kick 2 and a synth not a sample as I like a little more flexibility.. and there is a chance of surprise or making something better, with a sample you are stuck. However with freedom comes many many options and stress and difficulty. I go with the later every time so far.

    Yesterday it clicked.. then I knew I get somewhere withe the kick and bass, then the smile comes.

    You have to enjoy it otherwise we cannot do it.

    And yes if kbbb is sounding good on speakers and headphones you are likely getting close.

     

  10. I am in the mood and just started some kick and bass myself, trying to groove it up for the last 2-3 days....so why not I listen only in headphones so you know...I quite like this track. The mids have a slightly crunchy vibe to them.. a little scratchy..so it is not like modern "big artist" psy that is smooth smooth smooth all the way up to the top. Nothing wrong with that we all have to develop styles. I miss the the snare in the middle of the stereo image, I like a punchy snap/snare in the middle, it seems panned off, or maybe slightly wide leaving a little hole in middle... against the hi hat. I only listen in headphones here so this is not super accurate situation.

    When kbbb comes in after 5 seconds of good groove it become slighlty too machine gunny.. like the bass notes come a little early, maybe this psychoacoustic trickery stuff is hard to explain in words, at other times it works well like the end of the track. It is like the kick and bass notes, mainly bass notes I think are going off on their own rigid intention when exposed for that section of the track (after the sfx over the top die down and the kbbb is solo'd.. this is a really tricky are to nail though and I am very fussy with this (and still do not always get it quite right, but as we know practice makes perfect) I can only say I try and make the kick and bass stand on it's own two feet in my own tracks when almost solo'd as other fx and synths decay down.

    I really like the initial progression after the kick and bass comes in 02:12 nice sequence. Maybe the intro is a little long nearly 2 mins.

    Tricky for you... as do you listen to random people on the internet or not, ha ha, your choice.. keep going, good luck with refinements.

    It always feel odd giving opinions as it is so personal. Try and get more views on it, it will help with understanding what others think. However in the end also trust your gut feeling as long as it works as "headphone psy" as I coin some of my own tracks or on the dancefloor you will be on the right path.

  11. Hi there I thought I would reply, psy trance is very difficult music to produce well, as I believe you are finding out. My suggestion is to buy some psy trance tracks you like and put them in your DAW (try and get the wav files) and reduce their volume so they are at the same volume by ear to your music. This will give an instant comparison for you to work towards. It can help if they are in the same key/bass root note.. but it is not strictly necessary.

    Think about what is making the track... what synths, what balances, what effects (reverb, delay, phasers etc) and also consider how the track progresses.. also consider how much is going on at any one time. How does the open hi hat sound compared to snare level and those levels vs kick and bass.. consider the sonic relationships.... levels and tone of the sounds.

    There are so many elements to sound engineering, good mixing and sound quality. I could write an essay and yet it may not be super helpful because I am not sitting next to you and able to make EQ adjustments, fader adjustments, apply effects processes etc. and demonstrate in real time what is happening and how and why things are getting better or worse)

    Firstly well done for trying, it is a long road to be good at making psy trance, sadly many give up as it really is difficult. I think you may have some sounds that are clashing in your music when I listened just in headphones.. try not to have multiple sounds with strong lower mid ranges - i.e. between the 200-700Hz areas as they tend to interact with each other. (including with the kick and bass)

    I cannot really say more as it is beyond the scope of a short internet posting.

    Good luck and if you are feeling the vibe keep going and you should get there.. but realistically it might be 5 years to get something good going. Sorry but I have to be realistic. However it will be a fun, rewarding (and frustrating) journey. You need to love have the patience and drive to continue.

    Also try Youtube/internet searches for advice on kick and bassline, synthesis, mixing arrangements. I suggest that E-Clip has some very good resources on YouTube.

    If you are enjoying it continue !

  12. I think it might be because people who originate from the Caribbean or are the next generations of black people in western countries and have ancestry ultimately to Africa...do not generally need a spiritual transplant in their lives that is largely linked with the Indian sub continent.

    Those black people inclined have a wonderful, rich and deep, mystical culture of their own already. Ultimately originating from the cradle of humanity itself (Africa) means they probably just don't need it.

  13. Goa to me is melodic, psy trance seems....rather more... harmonically manipulated synth sound effects... rather than melody, maybe a few Phrygian note phrases. Psy trance for me is characterized by the ever used and relied on kick and bass, I still really like it. The bass is saw wave repetitive acid, very highly refined with emphasis on bass and mid range. I realized this is essentially an acid sound one morning when I heard a track with the normal KbBB bass was performed by something that sounded very much like a TB-303, the tent I passed I had to go in and dance it was great ! The tonality was superb although less controlled timing than a simple bass sample or a modern soft synth with phase reset/retrig. (has a more wild, running away feel to it)

    The 303 style bass has a more "wet" liquiddy sound to its filter sweep.

    This track gets close to the sound.. in fact it may possibly have been this track, it was 6 years ago so I cannot recall exactly.

     

  14. I think this is very difficult as I see psy trance artists as producers of individual tracks that either resonate or not. So most artists I covet maybe 1-3 tracks of their entire discography.So hate to say it but it is a list... I am actually having a bit of a psy trance break from listening and producing. (playing guitar every day now and I am loving it)

    This is the kind of thing that I love, it sounds like actual music which is a good start for me. It is beautiful, melancholic

    and there is a story and nice progression. I miss beauty... we need more beauty/feelings, caring, that's my view I hope it can evolve that way. : ) I want to be touched and cry, and hold each other.

     

    I generally tired of the KBBB + SFX sounds over the top personally, though there are exceptions like Aardvark, he is the master of that and it is great. I also like longer bass notes which you feel the pitch. Not the 4 kicks in a row styles of kbbb that is prevalent last few years, short notes, it creates a very dry almost ambiguous pitch sensation in the kbbb (moving even further from drone never mind pitched notes/music - yes one note can be music of course). I need the pitched pulse to feel groove myself. Anyway enough of my boring psy trance production preferences. Here are my faves....sometimes it is the hypnotic reason (kick and bass is the hypnosis for me - the trance) and sometimes the melody reason and sometimes the psychedelic "feel" / of the mind is the melodic moods/fantasy and also sensation of feeling otherworldly/ looking into depths/cloud forms/ expanse feeling.

    Lunarave - Healing process,  Avalon - Teleport,  Mad tribe - Tuned in perfectly,  Egorhythmia - Black Hole,  Electric Universe - Mystical experiences,  Dickster - Caffeinator,  Orion  - Welcome to reality,  E-Mov - Melodiziac,  Sinerider - New Horizon, Sonic Wave Control - Crystal Rainbow,  Aardvark  - Cosmic Radiation,  Spirit Architect and DJAntrix- Full Moon (top levels kbbb for me actually in top 2 fave kbbbs, bass notes almost comes too early/overlap and falls over itself but stays in time... Juicy fat crunch in the kbbb, phase is a tad weird but it works.. it has the "thing" ambiguous on edge of human timing effect - kick exploding from speaker from compression - you get kick extended effect, durr durr durr, dugga dugga and taka taka kick and bass mids rhythm - that is spot on for me - listen when kick and bass comes in with your best headphones and feel the kick and bass sucking you down the slightly scary hole ! the kbbb is multidimensional I think that is a fair  thing to say - so... no... not all kick and basses are the same),  Tristan - Summer Solstice, Aardvark Hooked remix (that kick and bass is tight and evil the perfect solid low bubbling sound I like). Moksha Curri - Shiva Original mix, Human Blue - Sandalwood, Galactic Fire, Orion - Surreal expansions. I love some Astral the odd Etnica track, Cosma, Silicon Sound the old school heavy weights, some proto. Goa for me Polyphonca - Subface (that sounds Archetypal to me and is relatively unknown)

    I like psy trance that turns a moment into eternity for a little while. looking at the sunset, the clouds, the mystery and wonder, highlighting depth and something bigger. We are not here so long, so these feeling maybe help join some universal dots together. That's love I think, it is what we are all seeking in the end, warmth and love and empathy... to look out for and be looked after.

    Space Tribe into the 4th Dimension is it just me or does that kbbb have the strongest drive in any psy trance track ever made ? Sounds "sample tight" to me. I love helicopter style kick and bass. Has the 3 kick and syncopated bass patterns all in one that I like. (that distinguish good and not so good kbbb for me)

    Proto, old or new, it's either got it or not. So the best artists/tracks/talent are those you personally covet. Savour that don't let anyone take it away or tell you different. No right or wrongs let's just try and understand why these different tracks from far and wide artists make us feel good and respect that journey each individual can personally enjoy.

    It's the "lock in" isn't it ? That click that draws you into a track, not every track has it. Far from it in fact. When it resonates with you, it's on loop for 1 hour and you are not tired of it, you get energy instead and want more and more...that's trance !

    So no one artist is the best that is a fools errand IMO. There are just best tracks from many artists and that is quite personal.

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