My mother passed away almost two years ago. Due to circumstances in my youth I didn't have much contact with her anymore. Arising issues about what she left in her house led to conflicts with my younger brother with whom I even had less contact. This inspired me to write this song. I combined this theme with the well known Banshee legend. The real star of this song is the Embertone Arcane Kontakt plugin. You'll hear her throughout the song. For the intro I time stretched her down for about 90% to get that real witchy effect.
Anne-Marie (who also did a co-write on the lyrics) created a very atmospheric video for this.
Hope you like it, any comments are welcome.
Rob
Song specifics:
Style is C_JETHRO.STY (Jethro Bluegrass) GuitarCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded StringsCustom Synth is Synth/Plugin Loaded Style MIDI Instruments are : Clean Electric Guit (28), Brass Section (62), 1153:Bass, Electric, Reggae Ev16 100 380:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Syncopated Sugar Ev 102 1697:Pedal Steel, Rhythm CountryDrivin8ths Ev 150 1412:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CelticHornpipe Sw16 070 Female Voices: Kontakt Embertone Arcane free instrument
We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.
Wow, what a really great song. Love that bass line!
The music supports the lyric perfectly. That Cajun-sounding fiddle was great. All the effects were perfect ... not too much but just enough. Great lyric and production. As always, your voice is magnificent. Anne-Marie's video was great! Everything about this is top shel.
I (Alan) also do not have a close relationship with most of my family. Makes me sad sometimes. Wishing you both the very best,
Rob, Atmosphere with a jaunty celtic beat - very creative! The background voice is great and even without your backstory the feeling of menace and mystery comes through in your voice. Excellent video images are a bonus.
A truly excellent write Rob & Anne-Marie, and the video production is outstanding.
You have really captured the intended feel, and both the Embertone Arcane plugin and the inclusion of the fiddle gave the song sensational dimension.
Thoroughly enjoyed this.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
All of the elements you added are so effective in supporting the storyline. This is such a well crafted piece. The video completes the total package of a great presentation. Very professional. Enjoyed my listen.
Wow, what a really great song. Love that bass line!
The music supports the lyric perfectly. That Cajun-sounding fiddle was great. All the effects were perfect ... not too much but just enough. Great lyric and production. As always, your voice is magnificent. Anne-Marie's video was great! Everything about this is top shel.
I (Alan) also do not have a close relationship with most of my family. Makes me sad sometimes. Wishing you both the very best,
Alan & Di
I agree!! Very, very well done!! I love Embertone-I have the cello which is amazing. I wish I were a better programmer. Great job on this!! Take care. Greg
Rob/Anne-Marie, everything about this is professional! The song, performance and production demands appreciation and respect! You always do very good work and this is another example! I wish that I had half the skill with video production that you do. Thanks, Torrey.
Wow! That is a fascinating production. The way those RT's work together would never be assumed from just reading the list. Amazing. Your vocal and the vocal effects are right in the pocket working so well with the lyric and melody. And, as anticipated the video is another of your examples as to how an audio production can be enhanced via video.
You two have such a wide breadth of talent and it all shines with this.
Enjoyed it!
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Very cool song! Super production. The Embertone Arcane Kontakt plugin is very nice. It makes a really great contribution to bring out the atmosphere to the song. Your vocal is very great as usual. The melody has an old C&W feel a little bit, The guitar chords at the Intro. (Abm6 - Eb7b9) are very effective. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
Al, Sorry to hear that you don't have much relations left with your family either. In some families that's just how it goes. Apparently it doesn't matter whether you were close when you were very young (we were us kids) or not. My brothers and sisters still have contact with one another. However all of this is not a problem for me in any way. I've always been the exception/black sheep/not really understood etc. kind of person in our family. Oh I know, this must sound like a terrible cliché but in fact it is true.
Also, you don't get to pick your family in a way you choose your friends. I found out years ago that a good partner and good friends (there don't have to be many) are the only things that really count for me.
Rob
We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
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