Smokey's Embers (col w Drakonis)
by SmokeyVW

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Guest views: 961 Member views: 0 Song comments: 35 Tokens: 0 Plays: 139 Last Played: Downloads: 52 Fans of this song: Submitted on: Oct 20, 2007 - 09:02:30 PM Last Updated: Sep 13 2008 - 02:13:44 PM

drakonis said 446 days ago

renewed from the ashes... Ember seems all young and strong sounding again... I see you sprinkled some Grecian Formula on this aulde relic, takes a licking and it Keats on ticking! Now this is a delight, a symphonic version! Nice touch, to have the fires of time usher this in, and usher it back out at the end, the little bell effects seem to be the glint off the urn. Very nice re-orchestration, I like the strong brass and the timpani hits/rolls, the pizzicato and tremelo strings, they really maintain the feel. And I noticed a slight tweak to the harmony in the flute at 1/2 way in, which was a really satisfying change, I liked that. Very "classy" version... I think you urn a gold star for this! I'm quite impressed by how quickly you just whipped up something this stately. I certainly like it, let's see what others think. Thank you for taking this in yet a new direction! ttfn, Drakonis

	SmokeyVW said 444 days ago
	wrong button i meant to append to your comment, but i messed up and it appears as a separate comment about ten posts down...

	SmokeyVW said 440 days ago
	. well, it's mostly Drakonis's work. i just slapped on some symphony instruments :-) my favorite part is at the very end when the last ember goes out. thanks

	SmokeyVW said 440 days ago
	. i suspect a lot of the "real concert" feel is due to the AU Matrix Reverb. Drakonis used this Reverb on his original version as well. I changed the settings to form a space large enough to contain an orchestra. thanks

SmokeyVW said 440 days ago

. the dynamics makes all the difference. just playing the synths on the keyboard without the expression control sounds pretty fake. i wish i could use the expression controller real-time, but i don't seem to have the touch. so it's all done with the pencil tool. i usually start from the dynamics provided with a similar loop in Apple's Jam Pack, and modify it from there. "Desire D" was the basis for the dynamics of a lot of the tracks on this one. thanks

	SmokeyVW said 440 days ago
	. thanks for dropping by for a listen. glad you liked it!

SmokeyVW said 439 days ago

. i wish i knew what "proper grown up music" actually is. symphonic music certainly has a long history, and it's an amazing accumulation of some of the best of many, many people's efforts. it encompasses various theories of music and composition, as well as tons of technology in the making of the instruments, and lots of invention in the techniques to play them all. it's pretty awe inspiring when you think of it that way. i humbly suggest that this song only slightly approximates the wonders of a real orchestra - it's just a pleasant illusion. but, thank you for your comment, and i'm glad you liked it. i am pleased with the outcome myself.

SmokeyVW said 439 days ago

. wow, thank you. i really must credit Drakonis: he wrote the notes. i spent some time taking apart his original version and got to more deeply appreciate his work. his composition is more structured than it seems. somewhere along the way it struck me that a "classical" approach might work out nicely. actually, there are sounds from Drak's original version mixed in during the flute solo, and they are not strictly "classical" - but i wanted to add a nod to his original work somehow. thanks again

	SmokeyVW said 439 days ago
	. glad you enjoyed listening. thanks go to Drakonis for composition...

	SmokeyVW said 439 days ago
	. ah ha! "interpretation" - that was the word i was trying to think of! i did change Drak's original development away from "rekindled" into something that just sort of dies in your arms. i guess that is what the urn picture is all about... thanks

	SmokeyVW said 439 days ago
	. thank you very much

	SmokeyVW said 439 days ago
	. i did indeed dig deeply and found gold. or a fire-breathing dragon? this was a very fun and satisfying project. it all unfolded very quickly - just a few days from getting the files from Drakonis to this posting. thanks

	SmokeyVW said 439 days ago
	. i loved working on this one, i guess it shows. i still have the disassembled, loop version of Drakonis's work. maybe i should create another entirely different version? maybe someday... thanks

	SmokeyVW said 432 days ago
	. thanks it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time

	SmokeyVW said 432 days ago
	. odd that you say it's alive - i kinda thinks it ends with a quiet death. thank you very very much

	SmokeyVW said 406 days ago
	. thanks for listening and commenting

SmokeyVW said 329 days ago

. wow! i guess this made an impression on a few levels. i have two cats presently: Samantha and Midi. Drak's composition is the perfect collab vehicle: it's fairly minimalist, well-written, and nice to listen to, so there's lots of room for expansion in many directions. i was surprised no one had tried a symphonic version - so i had to do it! that lovely vase is actually an urn - someday, after my last spark pops and fades, a similar urn may hold my ashes... thanks

	SmokeyVW said 329 days ago
	. if you have time, check out all the versions of Ember - it will be worth your time. the link is up in the song Description. let Drakonis know what you think