Neurofilter | Public figure
Neurofilter
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25.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Maybe Yesterday - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome - -... Out of all the tracks on this album, I find 'Maybe Yesterday' to be one of the most interesting. It was written with the intent of exploring Native Instruments Massive synth program, and restricting myself to using only that (which I did for about 80% of the track, and then sprinkled in some non-Massive elements). This was because I wanted to try and truly understand how it works and how capable it was of producing different kinds of sounds (plus I wanted to strengthen my musical synthesis knowledge). The result is a noise-filled, low-bit track that, while consisting of multiple "harsh" elements, is peaceful in its ebb and flow. Heavily inspired by the work of Rich Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace) too. I wanted the pads to really hold down the song instead of giving that role to the bass frequencies. The secondary element that was crucial to this track was reducing the overall bitrate of most sounds (aka Bitcrushing). I tried to do the traditional 8-bit bandwidth reduction along with a reduction in overall sample rate, but the result (while awesome in its noisey-ness) was too harsh for the end goal, so I adjusted it to a less intensive setting. I wanted the entire thing to move like waves on a beach, which is why you hear white noise flow in and out of the track at various times. The track was actually written while I was staying at my parents house a few months ago. They live right next to the ocean which is why it's so heavily influenced by those natural movements. Lastly, the absence of absolute clear rhythm is for me what really holds this thing together. The only real rhythmical element is the rise and fall of the noise at the beginning of each section, with crashing waves added in to introduce each new part. Tune in next Friday where I'll break down track number six - "Metro Light". :)
20.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Metro Light - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome - -... Metro Light began as an experimentation into the world of Trip-Hop, but largely emerged as a song that contained multiple genres. Prior to making this, I'd been thinking about two things: Massive Attack's 'Mezzanine' album, and Kelly Bailey's soundtrack work for the Half Life game series. The combination of drawing from not only trip-hop music but also industrial tracks sprinkled with things like ghostly verby backing vocals, a fat bass synth, and percussive elements provided by a Tombak (Persian percussion instrument) produced a result that satisfied the feeling I was trying to capture; something a little bit dark and mysterious, but airy and light in other places. The sound design in the intro was just something I made at the very end of the process as I felt that it fit the feeling of the song and helped give it some kind of fictional context. The reverby-pad-like sounds in the background of the verses (and intro/outro) were old guitar tracks from a Shoegaze song I wrote a few years ago but never ended up using. I just chopped up a couple of the guitar tracks and used them as a basis to get the mood flowing. I've always felt like the final chorus wasn't big enough and that it needed more impact - but I think that just comes from my alt-rock roots. I was also aware that none of the tracks on Polychrome were really about that kind of energy, so I decided against making it super huge. Tune in next Friday for the seventh and final track breakdown - 'Impermanence'. Also today is Bandcamp Friday, so head over to my Bandcamp page and purchase some music or stickers! :)
15.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Night Machine - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome - -... 'Night Machine' began with the idea of wanting to explore the genre of Jungle/Drum'n'Bass, and specifically the work of American electronic artist Hive. He put out two albums in the late 90's that were full of hypnotic, eerie, and trippy D'n'B with a big focus on groove and movement which was fused with interesting sample choices and techniques. His second album 'Devious Methods' is one of my all time favourite releases. It's influenced me in many ways and I continue to find new layers to it with each listen. Wanting to do this the "traditional" way, I sourced some free drum loops of differing BPMs, chopping them up and layering them on top of one another. It would have been easy to create my own drum loops from scratch, but I felt that a lot of the heart of old school Jungle tunes, alongside other things like early Hip Hop, came from digging through crates of vinyl records (so I did the cheaper digital version of that - also I can't afford to pay royalties to clear samples!). All of Hive's work is permeated by a strange sense of (for lack of a better word) "darkness" - something that I've found unique to his releases when it comes to Jungle music. Because of this, I aimed to capture a similar feeling in this track. I don't think I quite achieved it but it's not bad for a first try. The overall BPM of the track was set to 63 which allowed me to effectively double that speed (or make it feel like that's what was happening); I also super enjoy running elements in half-time, which you hear a lot in this track. Finally, I wanted a pulsing bass synth to hold down the middle of the track. It changes from a sort of 6/8 rhythm to straight 4/4 in the middle section which I felt helped keep things interesting. This synth, along with a few others, were wavetable synths - something I haven't really explored before so it was fun to get into that. The chorus SFX were simply taken from my love of strong sound design (both in the musical and film sense). This is something I picked up from listening to a lot of industrial music, alongside Hive and other artists. I think when used properly it can really enhance a tracks sense of movement and interest. Tune in next Friday for the fifth track breakdown - "Maybe Yesterday". :)
14.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Impermanence - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome - -... 'Impermanence' is the last track on Polychrome, but it was written during those sessions back in late January. I'd been mucking around with the Kalimba a bit and came up with the main melody for this track, which I then expanded by adding more further kalimba overdubs. In fact, there are really only three elements used in this song: kalimba, percussion, and drums. The bass notes are just pitched down kalimba, the glitchy sounds are kalimba but processed through a modulated resonant filter and other junk. The rest is all various mixing tricks combined with chopping up pitch stretched kalimba notes and things like that (can't remember the exact tricks). But the end result is something really magical, I think. It evokes a kind of nostalgia for me that moves back and forth between memories like the way Yoko Kanno's work made me feel, or walking home at night when nobody else was around. It conjures a strong image of time passing while things grow and decay, but not in a negative way - just in a natural cycle. The track is resolved right at the very end with the two octave A notes that bring the song to a neat close, leaving nothing unsaid. Fun fact: the intro sample was a clip I ripped from the fourth track of the Somewhere In The Silence EP and then heavily processed before mixing it with the drum groove. This is my favourite song on Polychrome, and I deliberately chose it to end the collection due to what it means to me and the way it sums up the themes of the album before saying goodbye. Thanks for joining me over these past few weeks! I hope you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at these tracks and gained some insight into the process. :)
08.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Don't Try So Hard - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome... 'Don't Try So Hard' was initially written with three main goals in mind: - to try develop my understanding of musical keys - to generally not overthink the song writing - to analyze some of my favourite songs by the legendary Austrian duo Tosca. The track in its initial state was created using the Maschine Mk3 - setting up the guitar loops and structure along with a simple rhythm section which I then later revised in order for the drums to have more groove and feel. The next step (and leader of this song) was the bass guitar. This part, along with the track's overall groove, was influenced by the feel of Tosca's music - the core downtempo nature of albums like 'Suzuki'. I wrote a few different versions of the bass line, but what you hear now was ultimately created on the first take via means of improvising against the guitar chords and drums, and an idea that I didn't need to "try so hard"; that letting go and allowing my subconscious mind to guide was the key. Finally, creating a sense of space through pushing and pulling certain elements at different times was the last part of this track. I wanted to write it as if it were real people responding to each other. Even if it was just small simple gaps, like the fact that the drums are keeping the foundation (especially with the hi-hats) so the other main rhythmic device (bass) shouldn't play all the time. Or the call and response section around 2:32. So to sum it up, I didn't want to overthink the thing, and I wanted to just have fun and get groovy! (There's even some whispers in the intro that tell you this exact sentiment, but I mixed that element with the intention of it being mostly textural) See you next Friday for track number three - 'Memories (Underground)'.
08.01.2022 Hi everyone! Today it's once again Bandcamp Friday, which means 100% of sales goes directly to the artist without BC taking their usual cut. So it's a great time to grab some music/artwork or a sticker pack (with 100% of those sticker proceeds going to Change The Record charity).... www.neurofilter.bandcamp.com
01.01.2022 - Breaking down 'Polychrome': Memories (Underground) - Listen to the track here: https://neurofilter.bandcamp.com/album/polychrome - - 'Memories' was the second track created for the small collection of lo-fi tests earlier this year. Initially much lower in fidelity, which was really the core intention in the beginning, the song resulted in a mix that retained the old sounding elements but with slightly more presence and polish, as I felt it needed more clarity.... This was also the first track to feature my Hugh Tracey Kalimba (D treble key), which I received as a birthday gift in January. Kalimba is a sound I have always loved, and I really enjoyed using it here and in 'Impermanence'. The treatment of the artwork (especially the character) is one of my favourites of the seven total pieces; you begin to see that the individual is deteriorating, leaving large glitches and holes in their body. This was also shot in a spot that I've wanted to photograph for years; I've always enjoyed the space and the colour combinations that it delivers at night are beautiful. Finally, the imagery that this track generated reminded me of my adolescent years where I loved exploring the city, and the early morning sunrise on the way to school in contrast with the sparkle of the city lights at night. These events also usually coincided with some kind of Japanese rock/pop/electronic music pumping through my headphones. I spent a lot of my mid-teens exploring Japanese culture, and those influences continue to stay with me. You can hear it in Memories specifically through elements such as the synth bass line - something that to me echoes dark video game corridors and a retro future landscape. Join me next Friday where I'll break down track number four - 'Night Machine'. :)
