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Hymn to Ka-Ching

Being the conclusion of the project started here.

Words by Ray Cochrane
Music by moi (distantly based on Gustav Holst's "Thaxted")

Constructed in Logic Pro / Vocal by Synthesizer V

Try as I might (and I did try!) I could not fit any BIAB parts into this piece


All hail oh gracious commerce
Accept the coin we bring
That we who buy our favour
May serve the great Ka-Ching
Now weather kills tomorrows
Wind blows no good, just ill
We satiate thirst great
Ignoring bitter pill
We satiate a thirst so great
Ignoring bitter pill

Each one on Earth reviewing
What we create today
We set the Earth a-blazing
As profit's hand won't stay
For we may freely plunder
For 'tis the gift might sends
We take rape and plunder
For ours is but to rend
We take rape and plunder
For ours is but to rend

The life on Earth's lost splendor
Is certain now to die
Its weakened grip surrendered
To those who sell and buy
Now taken from the future
Bathwater and baby thrown
Earth's wounds beyond suture
The passive masses grown
Earth's wounds beyond suture
The passive masses groan


Last edited by Mark Hayes; 03/29/22 12:45 PM.
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Nice one Mark, thank you.


Cheers
rayc
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Very cool colab... Love the intriguing Lyrics and Vox.
Cool how the drums come in, but I wish the drummer was playing more of a 6/8 feel.
I'm listening to "Onyx" now and it's blowing my mind......


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Originally Posted By: bloc-head
Very cool colab... Love the intriguing Lyrics and Vox.
Cool how the drums come in, but I wish the drummer was playing more of a 6/8 feel.
I'm listening to "Onyx" now and it's blowing my mind......

Thanks and thanks... I don't hear the 6/8 (2*3 vs. 3*1) but I appreciate the time taken and thought given.

As for "Onyx", I didn't know anyone would see that without being pointed to it! I do have it teed up for "release" but I hesitate to post too much too frequently, plus it also is non-BIAB. But thanks thanks thanks!!! If I were posting it, here's what I would say:

"A while ago, I watched a movie of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock – where I saw him close up, in 1969, right at the foot of the stage, with a warm beer in my hand (no I am not in the movie) – and, inspired, made a recording of myself noodling on my guitar. Later, I took that audio recording and pitch-analyzed and MIDI-replicated it to include a number of voices, all different renderings of the original performance. This is just that one session of guitar noodling, turned completely out of hand in the 21st Century."

https://soundcloud.com/mark_hayes/onyx

Last edited by Mark Hayes; 03/29/22 11:48 AM.
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Regarding "Onyx" (sorry for spilling da beans), I thought it was very interesting and creative... I know what you mean about posting "too much too frequently" a conundrum.

Back to the OP, I still think you should experiment with some different drum grooves... Still, very cool... You and Ray make quite a pair.


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Nice!

Good AI vocal with some very interesting lyrics

Very good blend

Two thumbs up


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Mark, I really liked that free form Onyx!

Very creative and some excellent chops

Two big thumbs up


I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.

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Originally Posted By: bloc-head
Back to the OP, I still think you should experiment with some different drum grooves...

Oh, listening again I can definitely hear a need for improvement there, if not in those terms. As Captain Beefheart would say, "The music was... thud-like." I now hear the drums starting to sound unpleasantly repetitive pretty quickly, so thanks again. If it were a quick fix I'd do it right now but I'm not sure how that will go, I don't really know my way around Logic's Drummer all that well.

I used to fiddle with my back feet.
Music for a black onyx.

My tar room absorbed every echo.


The music was… thud-like.
The music was… thud-like.

I usually played such things as rough-neck and thug.

Opaque melodies that would bug most people.

Last edited by Mark Hayes; 03/29/22 02:52 PM.
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Originally Posted By: MarioD
Nice!
Good AI vocal with some very interesting lyrics
Very good blend
Two thumbs up
Originally Posted By: MarioD
Mark, I really liked that free form Onyx!
Very creative and some excellent chops
Two big thumbs up

Big thanks to you both, all four[?] thumbs! =8^)

Last edited by Mark Hayes; 03/29/22 12:28 PM.
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Interesting and musical! laugh

The lyric "We satiate thirst great" seems to be needlessly hard to parse. I know you're going for a particular flavor of language, but this only serves to make the lyric harder to understand... and as a lazy listener, I hate to work. wink

As for the drums, adding some flams and drags might help a bit.

Have you played with the latest release of SynthV? I haven't had a chance to try it out, but there's now support for styles ("whispered", "belt") that could help with adding some contrast.

I like your new avatar!


-- David Cuny

My virtual singer development blog
Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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Originally Posted By: dcuny
Interesting and musical! laugh

The lyric "We satiate thirst great" seems to be needlessly hard to parse. I know you're going for a particular flavor of language, but this only serves to make the lyric harder to understand... and as a lazy listener, I hate to work. wink

As for the drums, adding some flams and drags might help a bit.

Have you played with the latest release of SynthV? I haven't had a chance to try it out, but there's now support for styles ("whispered", "belt") that could help with adding some contrast.

I like your new avatar!

Thanks, David.

For the record, Ray wrote "satiate a thirst so great" and I collapsed it a la Emily Dickinson. Point taken, though; if one didn't have the lyrics to read it would be near impossible to decode a line like this just by hearing it.

Full Discloser: I don't know what flams and drags are. I'll look it up. This is what happens when you give non-drummers drum software and they think that makes them drummers.

I have not played with any new features in Synth V, will see what I have.

PS – I cannot get the avatar function to work reliably, last night I changed it to pug but didn't see that 'til this morning. Now I tried to change it to a different pug and it's Ukraine again. I have no idea what out of the 4 possibilities I'll see when I submit this...

Last edited by Mark Hayes; 03/30/22 03:26 AM.
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Originally Posted By: Mark Hayes

Full Discloser: I don't know what flams and drags are. I'll look it up. This is what happens when you give non-drummers drum software and they think that makes them drummers.

Sorry... think of these like rapid trills, or a really short drum roll fit into a quarter note beat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY2lF31WM8M

You can do this in MIDI by putting 32nd notes in at very low velocities on the snare. Too high velocity it'll sound like a roll, but at low velocities it's subtle buzz stroke. In any event, it's a different tone color you can get from the drum.


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Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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Cool song Mark!
The vocal sounds so real.
Very special music.

Rob and Anne-Marie


We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.

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Mark / Ray,

Very nice collaboration. A good mix and haunting sound...

Bob

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This is a very cool song. The vox really suits this song. Has the feel of a 15th century tune with a modern instrumentation. Excellent lyric as well. Very well done.


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Thank you RnAM, rsdean, Scott C!

And again, thanks for Ray for this time in the collaboratorium.

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The church organ sound with the cold synthesized vocal are a perfect match for this hymn to the almighty dollar.

Excellent write and great collaboration Ray and Mark!

J&B


Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
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Hi Mark,

I liked the use of the organ fading out to make room for the piano and other musical instruments. It's very well done and the lyrics well written.

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Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash


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Originally Posted By: Janice & Bud
The church organ sound with the cold synthesized vocal are a perfect match for this hymn to the almighty dollar. Excellent write and great collaboration Ray and Mark!
Originally Posted By: Derochette
I liked the use of the organ fading out to make room for the piano and other musical instruments. It's very well done and the lyrics well written.

Many thanks, folks. I'm feeling short on inspiration at the moment, this helps. Be well.

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