PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Aurora V1: Night Turns Into Gold

This is the first of two instrumental versions of a song I wrote in 1981, this version finished in June 2023, the subtitle "Night Turns Into Gold" coming from the song's lyrics. The "V2: Gentle Lovelight" (also from the lyrics) was posted first on YT on 29th September 2023 as I was waiting to create a different kind of video for this one, that idea now abandoned.

Piano: Country Pop Ballad Solo Acoustic - John Jarvis
Organ: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba - Gene Rabbai
Bass: 3 Guitar Country Rock ~ Tobin Frank
Drums: ditto ~ Brian Fullen
Strummed Acoustic Guitar: ditto ~ Tony King
Finger-picked Acoustic Guitar: ditto ~ Jason Roller
Electric Guitar: ditto ~ Mike Durham
Tenor Sax Solo: Slow County Pop w/ Tenor Solo ~ Mark Douthit
4th Guitar solo: Modern Groove Soloist, Brit Rock - Dave Cleveland

92 bars; 4/4, Am; tempo 100; Time 3:50

Nice song, I like it.
It's amazing how the organ immediately makes it sound old (I mean that in a good way), and with the saxophone solo it gets a bit of a Pink Floyd vibe.
Some vocals would fit nicely.

Thanks for the response, B.D. Someone on FB called the sound "Timeless". I hope to record a song version sometime this year as lyrically it's the best love song I've ever written - I even bought a new Fender acoustic to get myself back into playing, which I've not done for the last 7 years - but my main problem is that where I live is totally unsuitable for any kind of live recording.

We like both the music and the video.
Are those pictures you used AI?
Nice detail: the cushion on the bed changing colour. any meaning?

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thanks for the listen and response, Rob & Anne-Marie. No, the images in the video aren't AI, they're my own CGI/3D-modelling compositions, which I've used in all but 3 of my YT videos, only 2 not having my own work in them. Each image is a 3D scene (as one sees in computer games) and I can take virtual shots from any camera angle. All props are also 3D, as are my characters who I can pose, change outfits and hairstyles on as I choose, rotate, morph into fantasy beings, etc. One can purchase ready-made characters, but I morph my own as I want mine to be unique to my images. I can also do very simple animations such as dance and martial arts moves, walking, sitting, etc, but I don't have a program to render them for videos. I'd need a new laptop or PC for the extra disc space too. Glad you like both the music and the video.

Chay, liked this a lot. The piano and organ in the opening were great choices, and you kept evolving your theme in interesting ways with the sax and guitar solos. Cleanly mixed, too. This sounds right at home with the WaoBand universe of tunes. Another nice one!

Very engaging and we enjoyed reading above your info on how you create the imagery.

B.D. nailed it with comment and it's hard to add to it: "It's amazing how the organ immediately makes it sound old (I mean that in a good way), and with the saxophone solo it gets a bit of a Pink Floyd vibe"

The arrangement with the build and slight twists and turns really works to keep one focused on the tune.

Fine mix and video also.

Well done!

J&B

Chay, outstanding work on the song and the video; you are a multi-talented individual!
Super mix.
Loved that sax and the B3.
This is outstanding in many ways.
Great work.

WaoBand,

The video was very impressive.
The music is perfect for the video.
The B3 organ and saxophone are very comfortable.
Enjoyed my listen and watch a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

A good listen.
Expressive sax.
Mix is good.

Thanks for the listen an positive comment DC. Much appreciated.

Thanks Janice & Bud. I really appreciate your feedback. I'm surprised no-one asked about my video images a long time ago!

Thanks for the outstanding feedback, Mario. Re the video images, there are quite a few programs out there with varying render engines and in a way they're the visual equivalent of BiaB in that apart from very simple ones I don't design the raw environments, props, clothes, etc, I purchase them individually, but everything can be morphed/reshaped every which way, plus using shaders one can turn all surfaces into anything one wants - such as I can turn any surface, including skin, into grass, sand, a reflective mirror, various kinds of rocks, bricks, fabrics, and so much more. A good example in this video is that the opening scene of the couple in the art deco room is the same basic set as the ones with different lighting where the couple are seated together on the very long sofa - I stretched out a standard sofa and gave it a leather shader - so you can see how different the walls, props, lighting, backdrops, etc, are. Lighting is one of the hardest things to get right as there are all kinds of virtual lights which cast virtual shadows and those you can't see until the images are rendered, thus most often it has to be changed and changed again. Cameras used have all of the settings and functions a real one has. Depending on how simple or complex an image is it can take anything from a few hours to a few weeks to finish one. I'm currently limited on what I can do as I have a laptop dedicated to 3D modelling, but I've had to uninstall almost half of my assets - mostly environments, HDRIs, props and lighting sets as I'm virtually out of disc space. I've been doing 3D modelling for 11 years now, but I still only really understand about 10% of what the program can do, plus as the various assets are expensive I'm still using character models - I call them mannequins as I always morph my own characters - that were new when I started and since then there have been 4 generations of new ones with ever more morphability. I now really need 2TB of disc space and a much more potent graphics card, but the best cost more than a good PC set up. I don't think I'll ever get up to date with it all as it's just so expensive.

Thanks for listening and responding, Shigeki. Very much appreciated.

Thanks for the listen an response, Floyd! Much appreciated.

Hi, Chay.

Pleasant instrumental, sounds good.

Always enjoy you music, Chay. Very good insrtumental. That sax is killer. Your videos are so good and so unique.

Hi Chay,

Your music always sits well in my ears. The sax and guitar leads were really sweet. the mix is superb and the flow was nice and easy. Can;'t go wrong with all of that working as it should!

Nice!

Alan

Thanks David. Appreciated.

Thanks for the response, Marty. While I've been using BiaB I've tried numerous sax solos, alto and tenor, but it's always Mark Douthit's tenor that - fitting his name - hits the mark!