MacJams.com - Song: Ember (Haunting Alannah Remix) by drakonis

Ember (Haunting Alannah Remix)
by drakonis

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Guest profile visits: 2605
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Song comments: 50
Tokens: 0
Plays: 571
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Downloads: 139
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Submitted on: Nov 15, 2005 - 09:57:57 AM
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Keywords ember (28), dark (315), ambient (485), poetry (114), haunting (24), alannah (12), drakonis (56)

Description Drakonis: This started a few years ago as a sketch for a slow dark ambient piece and was almost forgotten. Recently, I found the sketch, fleshed it out it, and posted here as Ember-Rekindled. It has been a piece yearning for collaboration, and so far it has received help from some very talented Macjammers, who have taken it to heights I'd only hoped for. Here then, is another delightfully moving interpretation, by Alannah. Artwork by Eduard Schwan, inspired by Alannah's interpretation. Drawn freehand into Photoshop with my cool little Wacom tablet.

Alannah: Drakonis invited me to participate in the creation of another version of Ember Rekindled. I struggled with this project for some weeks... how can one sing all over such a beautiful piece of music allowing the original piece to retain its integrity? No matter what I sang... it detracted from the song, and I didn't want to do that. I was going to give up on the project completely when I came to the conclusion that perhaps the spoken word was softer and might add a little something to the music rather than take away from it. So - that being said - my "Alannah Haunting" version of Ember Rekindled was born.

Lyrics HAUNTING

My name whispers through
The breeze of your soul
I feel it and it scares me
I know I'm on your mind
In your dreams
It’s my image that you see

Memories of lost passions
Furtive glances - secret moments
The warmth of my hand on your chest
The feel of my lips
Close to yours - haunting you
The ache of secrets not confessed

Of how you felt down deep inside
I watched you breathe while you slept
This you didn't know
You should have told me how you felt
Before you let me go

I know it now - I feel your thoughts
Hidden in your tears
I cry myself - for what was lost
Because of all our fears
Of love and trust and partnership
We should have had it all
But it collapsed - it fell apart
We didn't stop its fall

So dream your sweet dreams
Imagine me there
The taste of my perfume
The scent of my hair
Call out to me
And I will come back
Into your imagination
I will be there

My name whispers through
The breeze of your soul

Words © 2005, Alannah

Hardware Drakonis: Dual 1GHz G4, Wacom tablet
Alannah: Wintel PC, Nova M-Audio condenser Mic, M-Audio Mobile Pre USB

Software: I wrote and scored this note-by-note on "Harmony Assistant" composition software, then MIDI-ported it to GarageBand 2 & chose new instruments & EQed. Alannah used Adobe Audition to record her vocals, and I used Amadeus to remove extraneous trucks and planes, then GarageBand 2 to add reverb and spatial separation to her vox & mix her into Ember.

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	thetiler said 1114 days ago
	terrific I think Alannah adding the spoken word really adds great texture to this. I think this piece really sounds quite developed. Mesmerizing Quite a nice production I think.

	Einarus said 1114 days ago
	The title is spot on! Haunting, indeed. Really beautiful - the spoken word really adds to the mood. It gets really mystic and mysterious, even more than before. Hypnotic, even...

	drakonis said 1112 days ago
	The title is spot on! She wrote a nice piece of poetry, and read it well... I would have it on loop in a spot to get the echo levels right, and would keep getting mesmerized myself. Even the title was a collaboration between us :-) --- deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

	av01der said 1113 days ago
	Yet again. Beautiful words for a beautiful song. Great work you two!

	said 1113 days ago
	woman in the mansion Wow, this is powerful. Well done. Serious poetry delivered with spooky intensity. The ambience in Alannah's voice de-corporealizes her. The stuff of haunting dreams! Drak -- good job on the soundbed.

selters said 1113 days ago

Nice and fellow, for sure!
This is very nice! The arrangement reminds a little of Sigurd Ros. And i think the lyrics are very good, i can relate to the. I find the backgroundmusic very appealing. Some very nice elements there. The spoken word is spoken with the perfect emotional feel for the music and the lyrics., not crossing the line of "too much. Hmm, gotta go on listen to this again a few times! Good work! thanks for sharing!

	notsosweet said 1113 days ago
	How fun! Great collaberation! Alannah's dark voice adds real depth to the music.

MissChaos said 1113 days ago

goosebumps
Okay, I'm impressed. I LOVE the voice. Oh, this is so dark -- I love it.
Fantastic poety. A perfect match to your music, Drak. THIS is the voice;
THESE are the words I would have imagined on my own when hearing your
song for the first time. It's just natural. Beautiful. Small production thing: I
think the echo effect is used a bit too much. I love the way you
highlighted certain words with it, but it detracts just slightly from the
other words. Just a small observation. An instant favorite. Well done, Drak
& Alannah. Well done.

drakonis said 1112 days ago

goosebumps
I am delighted to have such compliments from you MissC! This was fun to
work on, and it is so nice to finish something and think, wow, this gives ME
goosebumps (but that's pretty much all Alannah's doing.)

As far as echo goes, I was trying to give it as much ethereal fx and echo/
reverb in the background as possible, without muddying it up. My
slavedriving boss Alannah kept listening to it and saying "It needs MORE
echo, remember, there's no such thing as too much echo, I loooove echo!" I
kept thinking she was saying "cowbell" for some reason. Anyway, I finally
came up with the idea that I could keep the echo/reverb tracks fairly low
during each sentence, and boost it on the last couple of words, to let them
trail off the end, and this worked really well (production secret.)

Glad I'm not the only one that gets goosebumps from this, in a good way!
Kudos Alannah!

---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

	jgurner said 1113 days ago
	It reminds me... ...of a half-remembered dream in the first few minutes of being awake. Very nice words, Alannah. They go so well with the sound and the spirit of the music. Yet another amazing version of this tune.

cjorgensen said 1113 days ago

Kick Ass!
I had a hard time paying attention to the words. I just listened as a
whole. I had to go back through and read along. This feels like Poe. I
like the sub-vocal singing stuff.

My only criticism is that Alannah needs a mac. Ha!

I have a few spoken words CDs and this would go great on the best of
them. I like this quite a bit. Creepy, romantic, obsessive. I want to
listen to it on headphones.

I think I will throw something out there this week to let people take
cracks at. This is pretty fun. Nice to see people picking it up.

	caroline said 1113 days ago
	this scared the stuffing out the bear... so it must be good!!! oooh... moody, dark, chilling... we appreciated your work and will be back when something pinker and fluffier appears on the horizon! xxx

Macaudion said 1113 days ago

Not the best lullaby
I've never been emoted to such lows.. Wow! I prolly shouldn't have
listened to this just before bed... Eerie is what comes to mind. This is
very impressive work by both of you. I take it that neither of you works
for the tabacco industry... Chilling is another word that comes to mind.

I think that it's just wonderful, this combination of some very solid
talents. I listened twice; once to just the music w/ the Alannah's voice
being an instrumental texture, and then listening to Alannah speak
these words, while having the music become the instrumental texture
that it is and man... - I'm telling you that it is just amazing how well
the two became one while creating that third synergistic sense of pure
darkness.

Very wll done you guys. I'm almost envious, I say

Thanks for your efforts and for sharing this.

Dion

	drakonis said 1112 days ago
	Not the best lullaby Thank you Dion for your careful listening, and your enjoyment of the emotive power of this... I'm glad it carried the message, even if it was a message of loss and sadness. Thank you also for describing your thoughts so eloquently, I always look forward to your critiques and feelings. --- deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

drakonis said 1112 days ago

Not RJR-related
Ugh, I escaped from a couple of chain smoking parents... I actually abhor
smoking (unusual for a dragon.) I wanted to draw something that evoked the
idea of a guy thinking of his lost lover, who appears to him in a veil of
smoke... and the only thing I could think of was her appearing while he's
calming his nerves with a smoke. So I grabbed a felt-tip pen and little dish,
and used that as a model for me to draw from. The model of the lady, uh, is
a secret. Sorry about the distasteful choice of smoke.

---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

ziti said 1113 days ago

POW!
I lived with this tune in my head for weeks....now to here it with the
recitation...and words that fit the mood not only of the music you
played drak...but with the missing guitar i played....i bet with
adjustments to my mix, we could make another version!!! What a
knockout!!!

I love this...hats off to alannah's contribution...very cool

d/l....how long til i have an ember playlist on the iPod???

drakonis said 1112 days ago

POW!
Oh Ziti, if you only knew how happy that would make Alannah (and myself!)
When she first tried a pass at Ember, she actually grabbed your guitar remix
and was using that. 'Twas I that told her I didn't expect her to use THAT one,
so she went back to the original, reluctantly I think. If you could weave some
of your magic guitar in with her reading, I agree that this would go way past
11... you game?

Yup, she really chose words and a reading style (and sexy/classy accent) that
made this synergistically delicious.

The wildly divergent and beautifully interpreted variations on Ember just
amaze and delight me beyond words! Here's to a fat iPod!

---
deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

	savage4hire said 1113 days ago
	Very Haunting :D Great stuff, alannah's voice fits in perfectly

screaming.org said 1112 days ago

the flexible ember
It's amazing how the same bed can lead to such different
outcomes.

Alannah's voice is perfect for this. Both the speaking part
and the little background vocals that happen ("I know it now").
I was completely convinced that there were two lovers
tragically kept apart by some social convention.

The lyrics are really well written. It's such a sad story, but
I think it has to be in order to be haunting. Otherwise you'd
have Casper the friendly love ghost or something silly.

I went back and listened to the zitified version to try to imagine
what the two would sound like melded together. If there could
be room for a solo during a pause in the lyrics it could probably
be pretty dramatic.

Very cool work you two.

	screamalexz said 1112 days ago
	beautiful minds combine coming from the mind of a writer the poetry is absolutely beautiful, and the voice behind the reading is beautiful. a poem words perfectly for this type of piece. the sound is a bit low, perhaps it can be amplified so the speakers dont need to be turned up so loud.

	said 1112 days ago
	50s sci-fi This sounded nice and very well mixed to me. Really comes across with some good headphones. Alannah did a great jobs with reading her words and Ed did an excellent job of mixing this. Nice job of putting this all together so nicely, next time though, try a southern accent :) You really need a French version of this, that would be fantastic. Chee�s

	said 1111 days ago
	So... ...are you really Enya?

	said 1111 days ago
	Lovely I am impressed with how the Ember remixes are turning out. Her vocals are fantastic, and i could see her vocals going over my version as well, to compliment the darkness. Very moody and delightful yo. Brandon:p

	Alannah said 1110 days ago
	I never would have imagined ..... that so many people would "enjoy" my spoken word ... more often I am told to "shut up and stop talking" ... HA HA

	alanfraser said 1109 days ago
	Extremely cool Great power in Alannah's voice and the production behind it. Fascinating words. Definitely got to add this one to favorites as a one of a kind.

	alley-oop said 1107 days ago
	Textures Haunting is the perfect word for this piece. Brilliant. Great music. Very emotional The poem is simply marvelous! Alannah I love this line: The ache of secrets not confessed The words leave me thinking "What happens? What happens? I think that s a tribute to excellent writing!

	Rebsie said 1105 days ago
	Haunting is the right word ... Beautiful dark and mellow ambient soundtrack ... very atmospheric. Warm and glowing! The poem is a delightful addition and nicely delivered. I'm intrigued by your accent, Alannah ... I notice you're from Canada but you sound very British to my ears!

Alannah said 1103 days ago

Haunting is the right word ...
"Intrigued" Rebsie ? Probably because you are British and I am "not" ... and are spotting the "fake" heh heh ... Yes my little secret is out .... the accent in the song is perhaps somewhat "fabricated" on my part (oooops) My speaking voice is as Canadian as they come ... however, I did live in England for over three years ... and at THAT time did come home with an accent ... but alas ... I have lost it in recent years (that is ... until I am speaking with someone with a British accent .. and there it is again ... hmmmm wonder how that happens) ???? When I was doing the song .... I was originally NOT intentionally putting the accent on ... it just sort of came out of my mouth that way ...... and I guess it sounded OK so I left it as it was ......

	Rebsie said 1089 days ago
	Haunting is the right word ... It sounds more than OK ... and it had me completely fooled! I'm very impressed. You even had me wondering whether, through some cultural quirk, people in British Colombia speak with British accents! It's very authentic indeed and you should be proud of yourself!

	domdino said 1086 days ago
	Haunting is the right word ... hehehe, you can't fool me alannah! not english, not canadian, still beautiful though... --- DOM!

	said 1102 days ago
	hauntingly beautiful

	said 1100 days ago
	Wow It sounds new with the words. Great job, both of you.

	Joanna said 1094 days ago
	Spooky I think this woman has issues. Nicely done, Drak! Great ambient bed with a soft, echoey VO (though I'm not a fan of too many effects on voices, I do understand the choices for this one). Well done both of you.

	Joshosh said 1077 days ago
	I may not sleep tonight This is very, very haunting. Great voice, perfect accent for this! Nice echo on the vox, fades nicely into the repeating instrumentation of the bg. Your stuff is always so well balanced! I am effectively haunted. PS- GREAT artwork on this!

Leon said 1069 days ago

Hmmm...
Haunting, seductive, sexy... This is like a goddess hovering over me and
mumbling magic upon me as i stare at the emptiness of the ceiling... You
see a haze of dizzying lights and feel the warmth build inside you, and...
OK, I'll stop there.

High marks for innovation and uniqueness. The voice-over is intoxicating
like whisky and the background music is other-worldly.

Is that Celtic accent, Allanah?

	VicDiesel said 783 days ago
	Haunting I'm listening to various version of your Ember, and this one has just a bit extra. The spoken word really goes well with the music. It blends. -- Victor.

drakonis said 783 days ago

1/2 thanks
Well, most of the credit for the blending goes to ALannah, whom I think did a
marvellous job writing the prose and speaking it to fit so nicely into the curves
of the music. I just took her vox and did some reverb/echo work to make it
more ethereal, but still understandable. Alannah always jokes that she wants
MORE MORE MORE reverb, but in this case I seem to have sated her for now :)
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/23351">Sometimes - Magic Flute mix</a>

	e46 said 754 days ago
	errie and wonderful! Can't say that this is my particular cup of tea music wise, but I really enjoyed it! I love the eerie nature of the way that things are put together. And the reverb on the spoken word vocals definitely adds to the overall feel of the song. I'll definitely be looking to expand my musical horizons with more of your stuff drakonis!!!! --- -- insert something witty here --

drakonis said 754 days ago

thanks for stretching!
One of the things I like about this place is finding new genres that aren't quite my style, but I find I like anyway... so I appreciate you stopping in, listening, and commenting! Alannah is addicted to reverb on her vox, so I tried to accomodate her and give an ethereal feeling, without completely echoing the words into unrecognizeable oblivion. Thanks for checking out this version of Ember!
ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/23351">Sometimes - Magic Flute mix</a>

	Alannah said 752 days ago
	? I-I-I-I-I a-a-a-a-a-m-m-m-m n-n-n-o-t-t-t-t a r-e-e-e-v-e-r-r-r-r-r-b j-u-n-n-n-n-n-k-i-e-e-e-e-e-e --- "Music is the way our memories sing to us across time"

	said 544 days ago
	about Haunting and your trailer, and your work in general you are a digital showman, working in the newest most tactile mediums around. Daring you are. Like the poem, know the feeling

drakonis said 542 days ago

Daring you say...
I just like to learn new things, and enhance my meager skills with this cool tool called a computer. It does help to have an overactive imagination :-)

Thank you for sampling some of my musical and video artwork... I have done the same at your photo gallery and am just as impressed! Some stunning artwork there too. I'm still saving up to get back into photography, left my high school Olympus OM-1 behind a decade ago, and have been itching to get into the digital SLR world ever since. Soon soon... just what I need, ANOTHER expensive hobby :-)

Anyway, glad you enjoyed this haunting rendition of Ember. Alannah did a super job with the poem and reading.

ttfn,
Drakonis

---
Deja vu - It's the next best thing to being there<br>
### Today's song:<a href="http://www.macjams.com/song/24994">DidgeEmber</a>

	LunaTrick said 210 days ago
	Very cool ambiance! Spoken word is fun to work with aye Drak? I'm hoping to do a project with some poets in the contemporary scene - will keep you informed!

	Diviner said 30 days ago
	Whoa Thats powerful. This worked so well and is very moving.

	MarkHolbrook said 22 days ago
	Allanuh really did haunt this up! Man oh man... It is gorgeous though at the same time! The spoken voice has so much power when backed with killer music! This is just one great example.

	drakonis said 1112 days ago
	woman in the mansion Thank you sir, great compliments coming from you! Though de- coroporealizing somebody sounds messy and illegal and very Star Trekkish. But her reading style, choice of words, and background singing really create the mood, don't they? --- deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

	drakonis said 1112 days ago
	Kick Ass! I knew you would like it, thank you for swinging by to give it a listen... crawls under your skin, doesn't it? I think Alannah would love to have a Mac, anyone want to donate a nice dual-G5 to her so she can record more stuff like this? Bwahaha... First Caroline, next Alannah... changing the world, one computer at a time. --- deja vu, it's the next best thing to being there

	Alannah said 1103 days ago
	Textures I believe that more relationships are lost because people just do not say how they feel or what they are thinking .... sad really. And in this case, those lyrics were inspired by that very thing ..... someone afraid to express their feelings.

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