time for something different and not at all chiptune!
<-- the previous day's song | the next day's song -->
today's song is: sylphids' majesty, track 1 from my ambient glitch EP Elemental Chaos
this entire EP being one of my favorite things i've ever written, i could (and will) talk at length about all of it and how it relates to Elemental Harmony. i like the videos for these songs particularly well; since the entire thing eschews tempo and barlines and all, i recolored the FL Studio grid to show none of that whatsoever. just audio and automation floating in the aether...
in fact the piano roll was never once touched in the making of this EP. the sounds were all recorded from a) my Roli Lumi keyboard, which has MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) for cool and crazy variation on the sounds while the keys are pressed down, b) my Zoom field recorder, and c) the Pianoteq VST. most of the recordings were improvisatory or close to it. i would play stuff on various instrument patches "in" a couple different keys (i.e. i deviated somewhat) with one of the four elements as inspiration, and once i'd achieved several kinds of textures that i liked, i set about splicing them all together and cutting them apart. i also added (and sliced up) my own field recordings to add to the otherworldly, surreal atmosphere.
my goal was to write something that sounded like "divine reverence" for the elements and their raw power. i was thinking both of the fantasy concept of the elemental planes and beings of pure elemental energy (found in D&D and all manner of video games, books and other media) and of the very real power that the elements exert over this planet. in particular, i was thinking about the hubris of humankind believing it could overcome the elements when in fact we are faced with a tremendous impending climate crisis that will involve great destruction at the hands of said elements. it is in this way that Elemental Chaos serves as a diametrically opposed work to Elemental Harmony, which in comparison focuses on embracing, living in harmony with, the elements.
next time i'll talk more about the methodology of actually creating the music!
