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#819916 08/16/24 05:13 PM
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Darker Than Midnight


A sad, somewhat ethereal soundtrack piece featuring acoustic nylon guitar. I intentionally kept the percussion fairly deep in the mix.

I kept the original bass, drums and piano from the style and added the synth, strings and guitar.

Thanks for your listen!



The Recipe:

Key=Em , Tempo 70, Length (m:s)=2:58

Style is _DREAMT.STY (Dreamt Country Folk Ballad)

RealTracks in style: 3121:Bass, Acoustic, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 2825:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryPopMike12-key Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 3115:Guitar, Nylon, Background Folk16thsMelodicBrent Ev16 060
RealTracks in style: 2667:Pedal Steel, Background DreamySingleNote Ev 075
RealTracks in song: 2747:Synth, Rhythm AltHipHopHorn Ev16 085
RealTracks in song: 2952:Strings, Rhythm JazzBalladPads Sw 060
RealDrums in style:NashvilleBrushesBalladPushEv16: a: Sidestick, Brushes b: Brushes


I'll be over Saturday evening to listen to as many of your posts as possible. Looking forward to those moments of joy!

Last edited by Al-David; 08/17/24 12:17 AM.

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This is so beautiful! It has a Spanish flavour to it, I would say. Reminiscent, somehow (and in some places), of the second movement of Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranguez". Different writing, same memory brought to mind. Yes, a sad track ... but I love those smile Well done, Alan ... you create incredible music.

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Hi, Alan.

Your arrangements are always impressive - especially so considering how you pull a cohesive song out of BiaB solo tracks.

Lovely sound, well mixed. Pleasant to listen to. smile


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Originally Posted by musician17
This is so beautiful! It has a Spanish flavour to it, I would say. Reminiscent, somehow (and in some places), of the second movement of Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranguez". Different writing, same memory brought to mind. Yes, a sad track ... but I love those smile Well done, Alan ... you create incredible music.

Hello, James ...

So good to hear from you. And thank you so much for those wonderful comments. I truly appreciate them. I'm fortunate that chord patterns come to me fairly easily. I generally work the melody around the chords. The most difficult task in creating this one was find the best ethereal background tracks. i think it worked out pretty good.

I see you have a new one posted. I'll be over tomorrow to listen and comment. Looking forward to it.

Alan


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Originally Posted by dcuny
Hi, Alan.

Your arrangements are always impressive - especially so considering how you pull a cohesive song out of BiaB solo tracks.

Lovely sound, well mixed. Pleasant to listen to. smile

HI David,

I'm a little behind on replies. Di fell out of bed and hit her head on the night table and has a concussion. I've been attending to that.

Thank you very much for your time to listen and comments so very nicely. Your comments always put a smile on my face.

Best to you,

Alan


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Alan, such a cool sounding track. Love the ambient strings pulsing under the guitar. And another great job making the soloist play a real song. That's a treat. Superb mix, too, as always. Sad song for sure, but love the happy interlude at about 2:20. That left me with an optimistic overall perspective, which is very nice indeed.

So sorry about Di's fall, hope she recovers soonest. Take care! Ron


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Alan,

Beautiful and mysterious... Love the way this song flows and never loses that brooding feel. Awesome mix and a great selection of tracks.

Bob

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Allen, I pray that Di is on the mend from her fall.
A lovely piece of music
That nylon guitar sounds fantastic
Great work on the backing tracks, they fit the song perfectly
Super job on using and blending those RTs.


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Yes, sad and melancholic, that's why I enjoyed it so much smile The chord progression is simply beautiful. The acoustic guitar plays lovely gentle melody, fits perfectly for the mood. The use of strings and piano feels magical and the pedal steel is so wistful... The cat image completes the darkness promised in the title. Everything feels very natural, I really appreciate that achievement, great work!

Janne


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Wow Alan. Nobody pulls these things together like you do. It has such a great feeling to it. It's sad, but full of emotion brought by you - all through the use of instruments and production. You sure know how to tell a story with your music. Excellent piece.

Brad

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Originally Posted by DC Ron
Alan, such a cool sounding track. Love the ambient strings pulsing under the guitar. And another great job making the soloist play a real song. That's a treat. Superb mix, too, as always. Sad song for sure, but love the happy interlude at about 2:20. That left me with an optimistic overall perspective, which is very nice indeed.

So sorry about Di's fall, hope she recovers soonest. Take care! Ron

Hi Ron,

Di is holding steady - a little more confused than usual and her speech is somewhat slurred. But her Dr. says she just needs a week or so to rid herself of the symptoms. Still, I keep a close eye on her.

And thank you so much for those very kind comments. Considering the Neanderthal-like process I use for recording, I think this came out halfway decent. Thank you for your words of support and encouragement. Tis always a pleasure to hear from you.

Alan


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Originally Posted by rsdean
Alan,

Beautiful and mysterious... Love the way this song flows and never loses that brooding feel. Awesome mix and a great selection of tracks.

Bob

Hi Bob!

"Beautiful and mysterious" - I like that. Thank you so much. The tracks selection came pretty quickly except for the Synth track. I auditioned at least twenty tracks before settling on that one. Thanks for the listen and kind words.

Alan


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There's a lovely romantic vibe to this instrumental. Very nicely arranged and produced. Very much a movie soundtrack piece. Really enjoyed the relaxing warmth easy flow.


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I really loved the melodic intonation of the nylon string guitar over this moody progression.
A really fine arrangement and mix
Great work Alan!

regards

Brian


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Originally Posted by WaoBand
There's a lovely romantic vibe to this instrumental. Very nicely arranged and produced. Very much a movie soundtrack piece. Really enjoyed the relaxing warmth easy flow.

Thanks so much, Chay. I'm a fan of the mysterious and ambient. Delighted you enjoyed it!

Take care,

Alan


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Originally Posted by MarioD
Allen, I pray that Di is on the mend from her fall.
A lovely piece of music
That nylon guitar sounds fantastic
Great work on the backing tracks, they fit the song perfectly
Super job on using and blending those RTs.

Mario,

As always, you always make me smile with your comments. I, too, love the sound of a nylon string acoustic guitar.
Di is having some confusion from her fall. She'll be seeing her Dr. again on Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers.

Alan

Last edited by Al-David; 08/18/24 08:13 PM.

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Originally Posted by jannesan
Yes, sad and melancholic, that's why I enjoyed it so much smile The chord progression is simply beautiful. The acoustic guitar plays lovely gentle melody, fits perfectly for the mood. The use of strings and piano feels magical and the pedal steel is so wistful... The cat image completes the darkness promised in the title. Everything feels very natural, I really appreciate that achievement, great work!

Janne

Hi Janne,

Your comments are always very insightful - and helpful. I appreciate your constant support. Thank you so much.

Alan


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Originally Posted by Brad Williams
Wow Alan. Nobody pulls these things together like you do. It has such a great feeling to it. It's sad, but full of emotion brought by you - all through the use of instruments and production. You sure know how to tell a story with your music. Excellent piece.

Brad


Brad,

It is so nice of you to leave me such kind words. I truly appreciate it. I'm delighted that my music "talks' to you. That truly means a lot to me. Again, many thanks.

Best to you.

Alan


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Originally Posted by Jackdogdude
I really loved the melodic intonation of the nylon string guitar over this moody progression.
A really fine arrangement and mix
Great work Alan!

regards

Brian

Hello Brian,

Thank you for your time to listen and comment so nicely. I particularly enjoy your comment about the intonation as I give it a lot of attention. As with the spoken word, intonation can influence the emotion and character of the message.

It's good to have you with us on this forum.

Alan


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Nice chord progression and arrangement, Alan, and a great sounding mix.

Always enjoy listening to your work!

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