Tape Deck Dreams
by @dunwich
Liner Notes
I had no real idea what to do for this next song except that I wanted to play some more complex chords. I thought this would continue me on the dungeon synth wave I've been on, but it turns out as soon as you add more harmonic complexity it turns into a JRPG soundtrack/jazz fusion. The first section here could easily appear in some market scene in FFVII. After coming up with a groove over some m13 chords, I was stumped as to where to go next. I consulted Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's Oblique Strategies for inspiration.
My tarot read: "Are there sections? Consider transitions."
I tried coming up with a few transition ideas, but they all felt quite clunky...so I lent into the clunk. I came up with the idea of slowly bending pitch as a transition to a new key, and do this twice in the piece. That then gave me the idea of it being a tape speeding up and slowing down, so I added tape saturation to the whole mix for some warm fluttering.
Comments
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Oblique Strategies FTW. Yeah, the tape saturation & pitch bends work really well. That warm flutter is just lovely. I really enjoyed this journey as things transitioned & transformed. It's like you're taking us on a quest (maybe not in FFVII, but some other quest…) that we're all quite happy to be strung along on. I could get lost in this wonderful soundscape for a very long time 😁
See You In The Shadows…
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Loving the pitch bend, sounds cool and works wonderfully. The wobbles are a tasty touch, too. I like the contrast in sections, it keeps the track moving nicely. The fairly long winddown at the end lets us down easy, too. A great way to finish the track.
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First section: almost Alan Parsons, with that insistent bass line burbling under desynced arpeggios. Brought back good memorie of I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You. Second section: nice move to the Lydian. Overall: a pleasant mallwave journey with a fade remarkable for its austerity.
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You called it with the FF7 comparison (I also hear Phantasy Star Online in this track quite a bit), this song's Section A is PS1-era downtempo / jazz fusion as hell, and I was impressed by how smoothly the more bass rock-y Section B transitioned from its predecessor.
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Lovely, mellow number. I very much enjoyed the production and the choice of timbres is flawless (particularly that wobbly piano in the closing stretch). You have an excellent selection of some very satisfying chords there, too. Couldn't tell you what they are, I just know that they sound gorgeous together.
I reckon "Lean into the clunk" would make an excellent track title, don't you?
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I read the description at the perfect time while listening. I was trying to understand what you meant when suddenly memories of Chronotrigger hit. 🤣 Much respect! I don't know how y'all can come up with these great soundscapes that have so much tension building within them. It's an incredibly visual experience listening. Nice job!
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Yay complex chords! And the pitch bend is really cool to transition. Some of the synths you've chosen sound so tasty and soothing. This was so nice to listen to