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Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA
"Beautiful Anger" almost ties with "Variable 55" as my favorite Weekend Astronauts song.
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Variable 55 and Equation for Sundays is my fave! Actually, it kinda changes as new songs come out. I have emotional ties to 55 and Equation that have kinda been around for a while, but newer songs like Plastic Bells edits are getting up there. That's basically our approach. We just try to make music we like. If we like it, we have succeeded. If others do as well, then that's icing on the cake. So, thanks for the icing!
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As you probably already know from making "Beautiful Anger," the contrast and interplay between the beautiful classical piano/strings and the intricate, "angry" drum beats make the song fascinating to hear.
I've listened to the piece several times to trace the overall composition and notice all the different sounds. Each time I find something new in the song to concentrate on, but concentrating on one aspect is difficult because quickly some new sound is introduced.
I like the way the song begins and ends with the same piano passage. The passage's somber ending first transitions into the frenzy of the drums (a great moment) and then later serves satisfyingly as the actual end to the song. I also like how portions of the piano passage appear throughout the piece. I like how the notes of the percussion/bass beats relate to the piano tune.
I especially like a midway point in the song where there are well-spaced piano chords with an overlay of strings and drums, all meshed together.
The song has power as well as subtlety, which I appreciate, and it seems easier to listen to than some of the other breakcore I've heard (Igorrr) because it doesn't include *as* many odd elements. Your song leans quite heavily toward a pure classical sound, which I enjoy, but I like the funky percussion passages just as much.
The only thing I might change with the song would be to use real string instruments, if you had them, because I'm a purist when it comes to strings and like their less even sound. But I'm just quibbling, because the string sounds in the song are very realistic.
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Yea, I agree about the realistic strings thing. Unfortunately I don't have much access to them. I do have a few patches in Dimension Pro that are actual recording of strings, but I think I went with a patch that is my go-to solely for the ambiance of it. The piano is actually from the same synth, which is a sampling synth, so the sounds are generally sampled from the real thing. However, the patches themselves modify those sounds to achieve something of a hybrid approach. Basically giving you synthesizer control over real sound.
Anyway, I enjoyed working on that song. I'm always a melodic person by default, and I love classical, so I like to play with the things about music I love and put them together to see what happens. Igorrr is a bit of inspiration for that song, for sure, but like you said, he's a bit more complicated. But I think there's something to say about simplicity as well, even if it comes in moments.
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"Variable 55"
You haven't discussed this song yet in your thread, but I will anyway because it is my favorite of all the Weekend Astronauts songs you have posted so far, and I want to learn more about how you made the song, and tell you what I like about it (in the hopes of influencing you to make more like it).
"Variable 55" begins with a delicate, almost eerie melody of bell-like notes reminiscent of drops of falling water and so beautiful that it made me want to cry...especially when an undercurrent of lower sounds begins to swell underneath the bell tones.
My favorite moment is around 0:55 when the warm sound of several long, cello-like notes enters, creating a slight sense of resolution at 0:57 before continuing. A really lovely moment, it reminds me of how some classical music pieces contain a very short, unique passage lasting just several seconds that seems especially emotional, memorable, meaningful and beautiful...almost painfully beautiful. For me, that moment in your song is 0:52 through 1:06.
The song then subtly transitions to include lower notes and interesting rasps and clicks that sound very organic, like insects or woodpeckers, and finally the drumming enters, all over-lapping.
Again, each time I listen to the song, I hear something new, which is a great quality in all your songs. It encourages me to listen again and again to discover some new aspect I hadn't noticed before. The changes within the song rivet my attention.
The interesting panning of the sounds, for example, is one intellectual level I liked to consider, such as the panning of the bell-like notes around 3:15. The layering of different passages is another, such as when the cello-like sounds first appear and then reenter the song to help stitch the various parts of the song together into an integral whole.
This song also used an element I don't hear often in music: a noticeable tempo change within a song. The moment at 3:52 when the song slows down is especially intriguing to me, since it sounds like time taking a breath. I love when songs have tempo and time signature changes. This one pause was very surprising, which I like. At first I thought maybe the pause was a song glitch due to my computer, but I hear it every time, so I decided it was intentional. I'd enjoy hearing a song that plays even more with tempo changes to give the feeling that the song is sometimes holding its breath.
I'm curious which elements were sampled and which were original in both songs. I assume you and your fellow musician are doing the guitar work as well as the drumming and are modifying them with the computer to get the sound and speed you want.
I feel both of these songs are excellent because they stir my emotions and have an intricacy level on par with classical music, which makes the songs feel contemplative and meditative. The songs contain a high density of thought, and I can hear and appreciate that.
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As Piotr said, the song is all created in synths or using found samples creatively. I realize that there is a respect for performance, however, I feel as though the production of a song using either found material or creating material using a program... well, that's kinda the performance. To me, it's like being a director in a way. Except you not only shape the way the song happens, but you are creating the melodies and progressions by hand using sound that is already recorded. I guess you already understand that part, but I just wanted to say it.
I'm about to post a new song that we've had in the works with my buddy's guitaring, however, so perhaps this will be a nice change of pace? We're thinking about incorporating actual instrumental performances into our music lately. The song I'm about to post is the first of the bunch, should it become a thing.