Cs2x thread

[Neko]

Hi,

Can you post your best music here? Then we can discuss it

[CS2x]

Oh Jesse, that's very kind of you! It would be lovely to be able to share my music with the community. At the same time, I seem to be getting more sensitive to discouragement as I get older (I swear the reverse is meant to happen!?) so posting my music is a bit scary. Please resist the urge to trash it. ;-)

I'm not sure what the "best" music to show is, but I guess I can start with a series of cues I composed for a documentary called 'Citizen K' in 2019, since that's out now and was all approved. I liked doing it because the director wanted quite a thorny, complex Russia-based soundtrack, mixing harder orchestral and electronic guitar sounds to represent gangster capitalism in contrast with more beautiful folk and gypsy inspired instrumentation to speak into the film's other themes...:

Citizen K [secret link]-

https://soundcloud.com/robert-logan/.../s-KY7zMGZtBtb

Next, perhaps this piece, You, Me, would be a good one to share the electronic side of things. It might not be for everyone, but I recently made it available again for viewing on youtube and took quite a bit of work in terms of sound design and structuring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC03pLyD_Fk


Here is a relaxing ambient improvisation. It's a live video with me on various synths, also controlling various piano-based sounds I programmed in Kontakt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akim0wVtmV4

And here's something more fun. A studio track live with a drummer and another fellow on synths / sample triggering, called 'Phrack':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXMiG1Czbg&t=12s

Finally, something very simple..a piece for piano, choir boy, cello, and a small number of strings. This was the opening piece for a documentary about the Catholic child abuse scandal, 'Mea Maxima Culpa.' People seem to really enjoy this one:
https://soundcloud.com/robert-logan/mea-maxima-culpa


There's loads more! But I'll stop there for now. (I have six or seven albums out and have done around 8 or 9 scores. A lot of the music I like the very best and had the most effort put into it doesn't seem to resonate with so many people - or gets described as "random" or "dark" - so I didn't include that crazier stuff. One day I might share it!)
Oh here is the one related to the one I posted in the other thread, and features a singer: https://soundcloud.com/robert-logan/...ark-unreleased

[Neko]

citizen k sounds really professional! What plugins do you use?
It works really well for a netflix series, which means you have - the only one here I think? - reached the professional level here on music. Anyway, I do have to say that despite the great composition, it only works for TV. But having said that, I probably never listen to music from TV series, movies: yes, but not TV for some reason.


It delivers the tension and atmosphere very well

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Neko

Hi,

Can you post your best music here? Then we can discuss it

Very nice of you to do this Jesse!

I will give them all a listen whenever possible.

[Neko]

I will listen to the others shortly

[Neko]

Originally Posted by SpaceGuitarist

Very nice of you to do this Jesse!

I will give them all a listen whenever possible.

I wanted to take a bit more time than usual, and here we can quickly go to the best tunes

[Neko]

You, me is seriously good

the voices make it sound really 2020, as it is quite the thing to do nowadays. But otherwise this is one of the cool soundscapes that is actually interesting. Did you know my grandfather did early dutch electronic music in 1965?
reminds me of what you do, but this is ancient

YouTube

[SpaceGuitarist]

Citizen K - The orchestra sounds sounds very real. Even with a violinist taking part in it, all of the rest sounds very full and realistic (more so than a so-called lba symphonic suite..). Nice mellow melodic bit at around 6 minutes. I think you have accomplished the goal set by the director, quite frankly.

You, Me - Had already commented this one in private and on the yt comments section. In short, the soundscapes formed are beautifully varied and intelligently constructed. Surely not the kind of thing to just pick & play on the go any time of the day, but for the merit of transcending sonic barriers and the lenghts at which sound design can go this certainly proves a point with its mere existence.

late night ambient improvisation - Yeah... looks like it was a lot of fun for you while doing this. I think most notable here is how you keep track of all instruments simultaneously with so many knobs and controls and remembering when to trigger each at the appropriate moment.

Phrack - This one is really a lot more exciting/entertaining.. for me, to watch a band or group perform always is. The "other fellow" on the synth reminds me of Jesse! I can't quite get who's doing what thou, and the crazy video editing doesn't help. Well, what can I say? you guys are clearly digging it and that's what it is all about, jamming, experimenting... I don't understand if there is a point in these types of music, if you are trying to express or say something, or if its just an experiment on the limits of human rationality and how far we can go into creative possibilities. As long as that is the endeavour - to explore limitlessly without much regards to having a direction - then it's alright, no further questions need to be asked.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Opening Credits - Well, my first thoughts are unrelated: this is the kind of sound that the piano in lba symphonic suite should've had! Now back to the music... it is beautiful, I can not point anything wrong with it. It is beautiful in its own right.

Longest Sun - with Alessi's Ark - Well well well, the one song that got included at the last minute in your post is actually the one that most got my attention! This was really refreshing and I was not expecting to hear this from you, because, its, um, so pop (and normal)?! But it's actually really pleasing. Are you playing the acoustic guitar here? or is it the singer? either way, its different to hear any kind of guitar included in your music.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Neko

Did you know my grandfather did early dutch electronic music in 1965? reminds me of what you do, but this is ancient

I wouldn't think of this as a piece of music, but there are certainly lots of different sounds to extract from that to use for different applications!

[Neko]

that ambient piano improv sounds so great! sounds really asian. I love that the most so far.


I wonder - but will ask after listening to all tracks - I kinda miss a strong thematic track. like a clear theme and a strong delivery, less soundscapy. But soundscape is your thing, and you are the soundscape KING

[CS2x]

Thank you for the feedback, guys! It was very interesting to read your take on these. We all benefit also from encouragement for a creative pursuits! It's a hard journey at times. The questions about what is attempting to be expressed here (or what the relationship is between concept and the abstract medium of instrumental music), and ideas around what constitutes a strong/clear "theme" - those are really fascinating areas, and I want to respond to them at slightly greater length! Not just in relation to my music, at all actually - but how different people think about ideas of music general. (But as a side note: I think you'll find the two last few tracks you haven't heard have much more conventially overt, singular themes. :-D)

Neko, I listened to and enjoyed your grandfather's piece very much! That musique concrete period has some really special work and changed music forever. How cool that he was part of this...(Pierre Schaeffe's idea that concrete sounds can also be considered music..that sound is music - when I look into composing with the inharmonics in found sounds, or try to find the "key" of different machine noises/drones or animal calls or human speech or whatever, and draw out different harmonics from the harmonic series within different sources to construct with - I remember my dept to these guys like your grandfather! Every production or sound-orientated decision we make is ultimately a musical decision too. Different reverbs, distortions, spatial effects and the more esoteric end of manipulating things all imply new melodic, harmonic and rhythmic content. It's all ultimately frequencies, and I don't understand the divisions people still insist on in this area. But that's another ramble for another day...)

Oh, and you're right about 'You, Me'. It's annoying, though. I actually made it in I think 2014 or earlier, before that approach to vocals had hit the mainframe (and thought it was a fresh approach), but only finished the track off in 2016 and then uploaded in 2020. But I suppose we can't help referencing these tropes sometimes, even if by accident. Haha!

[Neko]

Phrak is cool, but I kept on waiting for the synth to get real badass and a real big drums / climax thing going on. It stays a bit in that playfull airy atmosphere. But it must have been heaps of fun to do that together!

[Neko]

the mea maxima culpa one is really beautiful. Well done! Next Soundcloud blasts citizen K again, that one is really badass btw with those strings. Said it before, but relistening makes it stronger


my fav so far is the piano improvisation

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by CS2x

The questions about what is attempting to be expressed here (or what the relationship is between concept and the abstract medium of instrumental music), and ideas around what constitutes a strong/clear "theme" - those are really fascinating areas

I think a clear theme is anything your brain can still keep going and playing "by itself" after the song has finished or by memory at any given day. Something which you can recall and hum the melody.

I have to confess, most of your music, especially the more experimental electronic, for me is not kept in my long term memory at all, so everytime I listen to them its like a whole new journey starting again from scratch.

[CS2x]

Yes, that's interesting. I don't know if you meant it positively or not, but a band I like called Autechre state they purposefully no longer include the huge riffs and more blatant maco-themes of their early work so that it always sounds new to people every time they hear it (it's more based on micro-details or "micro themes", textures - and built in such a way that the edits themselves /detail is the core of the track.) Usually people use the lack of something staying in the brain after or lack of clear themes as a strong negative, but I really do believe there is a place for anything in music, depending on context. We should do what thrills us. :-) Having said that, what is memorable to you at one point changes at another point, and it seems I remember that detail-orientated music long after hearing it as if it were hummable theme now...haha. It was different when I was younger!
When composing for others - especially films or adverts - I usually have to come up with something very catchy, hummable and memorable. They would be nonplussed and not particularly thrilled if I gave them something micro-detail based. :-D I enjoy that too, and it comes naturally. I love the variety of music the world offers!

PS - after Jesse mentioned he liked that improvisation I posted, I figured I should post another one from the period with the keyboards set up a bit differently. Perhaps you guys will enjoy it too!

YouTube (Short URL)

[Neko]

Originally Posted by CS2x

Yes, that's interesting. I don't know if you meant it positively or not, but a band I like called Autechre state they purposefully no longer include the huge riffs and more blatant maco-themes of their early work so that it always sounds new to people every time they hear it (it's more based on micro-details or "micro themes", textures - and built in such a way that the edits themselves /detail is the core of the track.) Usually people use the lack of something staying in the brain after or lack of clear themes as a strong negative, but I really do believe there is a place for anything in music, depending on context. We should do what thrills us. :-) Having said that, what is memorable to you at one point changes at another point, and it seems I remember that detail-orientated music long after hearing it as if it were hummable theme now...haha. It was different when I was younger!
When composing for others - especially films or adverts - I usually have to come up with something very catchy, hummable and memorable. They would be nonplussed and not particularly thrilled if I gave them something micro-detail based. :-D I enjoy that too, and it comes naturally. I love the variety of music the world offers!

PS - after Jesse mentioned he liked that improvisation I posted, I figured I should post another one from the period with the keyboards set up a bit differently. Perhaps you guys will enjoy it too!

https://youtu.be/OKZaQCjKDHU

You sir, have some ill soundscape skills...or samples
I like how it sounds man...so heavenly

[CS2x]

Originally Posted by Neko

You sir, have some ill soundscape skills...or samples
I like how it sounds man...so heavenly

Thank you Neko! That's much appreciated. And I make all the sounds from scratch, on the synths and then through effects boxes I've created patches for, or am controlling sounds made in software. Only the piano sounds were based on a sampled piano for Kontakt, though tweaked (usually I like to shift the piano samples down an octave, layer in a few different piano samples, and add a chain of plugins. Or you can even run the sampled piano back outboard and through some external effects! :-) ) I think in this "genre" it is kind of lame to use presets (making sounds is part of the creation process) - but that doesn't apply to all kinds of music and there are no hard or fast rules of course.

Thanks for listening.