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https://soundcloud.com/user-47797156/fires

I'd call this two minutes of instrumental fluff, except it's not very fluffy. The basic inspiration was the wild-fires in Australia and it was crafted to express the emotions I've felt witnessing them from afar. I've been unable to write a lyric, because everything I've come up with is too on-the-nose. As a foreigner, I don't feel qualified to express in explicit language what I feel and think. I don't want to write a song that specific.

I don't know how to categorize this piece according to genre. It's a pop, jazz, piece to my ears with some classical elements as well. What to call that? Danged if I know.

Anyway, it's posted here for your perusal. I can hope that it moves you, but I don't expect it to be a forum "hit".

I miss being here as often as before, and I hope that soon I can begin to meet some of the new "faces" I've noticed, as well as try to keep up with old favorites.

Until then, "Fires".



****** Song Summary *************

Key=Fm , Tempo 120, Length (m:s)=1:56

Style is _GRIMDAY.STY (Grim Day Cinematic Folktronica)

RealTracks in style: 1929:Synth, Bass, EuroDance VerseBass Ev 120
RealTracks in song: ~2293:Horn Section, Rhythm PopPads Ev 130
RealTracks in style: 2514:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking BoomChickJoe Ev16 110
RealTracks in style: 2369:Strings, Rhythm PopCountry Ev 120
Loop in Style: House-Techno-Trance\House - crunchy_120_b drums ev16.wav
RealTracks in song: 2616:Guitar, Electric, Background FunkSingleNoteWah Ev16 100
*******************

In addition, I used a 3/4 style:


RealTracks in style: 776:Bass, Acoustic, PopWaltz Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1776:Sax, Tenor, Soloist JazzFunkMovin Ev16 130
RealTracks in style: 857:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm HardRockWaltzMutedA-B Ev 140
RealDrums [in Song:EthnicWaltz^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

*******************

I tried for a section of poly-meter, but I'm not sure how well it comes through. The sax solo was playing in BIAB over an extended Fm chord, which I thought was pretty cool the way it "followed" the chords of the song simply by playing with scales in the tonic.

I spent more time in Reaper with my producer hat on, slicing and dicing, adding and removing than I actually did in BIAB. I don't know if the mix is "good", but I used a delay on the sax solo and the opening (repeated) guita, and some compression on the synth bass. Other than a final master with Ozone, I didn't do much track sound-shaping to speak of.

Hard to put a genre label on it, other than it's a very cool piece of music, I enjoyed it.

Good to see you

Tangmo,

Excellent listen.

I especially liked those electric guitar hits.

A clever use of BIAB overall. And a good mix.

I like it!

fj

A very well-crafted composition...
Since its birth was from your emotional reactions
To the wild-fires in Australia...
Why not create a video using images of those wild-fires
Along with your composition as the background audio.

It might turn out to a unique project!

Cool! Nice build, interesting composition. Sax hit the song at the right to add melodic interest. Drum snare worked as well.

The end as a bit... lacking? Or maybe there's some subtext I don't understand.

In any event, well done.

Feel free to vent about the fires/storms/wildlife & environmental destruction as well as the inability of my government to address or acknowledge any of it.
Music....I like it - I particularly like the angry guitar + delay.
The structure worked and the choice of treatment for the sax is right for the song.
Good job.
& THANKS

Tangmo,

Excellent!
Very nice chord progression. I like it very much.
Guitar tempo and fingering feel good.
A good combination of various instruments.
Enjoyed my listen a to.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

I enjoyed the BoomChick guitars with an angry edge and the sax coming in nudging toward jazz.
Adventurous music,ready for those unfiltered lyrics!

Robert

Very interesting combination of psychdelic guitar and acoustic jazzy guitar, some Latin rhythm & horns and distorted sax on top of that, nice melancholy chording. Good imagery, I can "hear" fast spreading fires in the middle of calm summer says.

Janne

Good to have you back!

This piece moves. Definitely no fluff.

I don't have the musical vocabulary to offer analysis, so I'll just say your production held my attention from beginning to end.

Tangmo,

Very cool listen—not sure of genre, just good! Enjoyed the spin.

Regards,

Deej

Outstanding!!!

That slicing, dicing and pasting really paid off.

The amount of thought and time put into this is very obvious.

Only nit we have is that we'd like for it to be longer!

Great genre mashup and the mix is pristine.

Enjoyed it and our hearts continue to be with the
brave folks suffering from the fires and the brave
folks who have given it all to fight them...including
recently their lives.

J&B

Tangmo, to me it sounds like it would fall into a pop/folk/bluegrass area with a mostly pop leaning to it, also with slight classical elements! Whatever it is, it has been expertly crafted by you! I like the occasional distorted guitar breaking through which brings the listener back to a more serious state of mind given the backstory for the inspiration of the song! This sounds really good to me! Thanks, Torrey

Tangmo,
Listening it was like a wild fire.........stuff happening fast an furious all over the place.

Well done.

Yes, hard to place the tune in any particular genre, but nevertheless very interesting.

Regards.

Mike B.

Hi Tangmo,

Your song has a very nice 'driving' beat in it, with a very nice sounding electric guitar. As others had said, it is difficult to place it in a particular genre. I think it's because of the horns/trumpet that appear. They gave it a somewhat exotic/latin vibe, but the beat doesn't.
But I didn't felt the heat of the fires in it. more the haste of people (rescuing their houses or the Koala's?). And unlike the fires in Australia, your song ends in a nice way.

Hans

Wow - what an engaging and interesting tune. Really attention grabbing and certainly unique. Very inventive while managing to be catchy all the while. I enjoyed the groove on this one too.

Thanks for sharing

Excellent song - very well put together and arranged.

Saw some of the destruction on the weekend while visiting friends. Amazing how many houses were saved given the extreme devastation, which is hard to describe.

Peter

Very cool song. Very neat mix of instruments. Loved it

Thanks all. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that something that is based on a BIAB style called "Grim Day Cinematic Folktronica" should "listen" like it has a healthy disregard for strict genre barriers.

The chords were based off a harmonic minor scale. The reason is primarily because, with two diminished chords and one augmented chord as diatonic triads, there is a sense of uncertainty built in, when you actually use them. As soon as I heard these were rarely used in popular music, I knew I had found my calling.

Birchwood (Hans) your description is very much what I was aiming at. Aside from the news, my "in" to this story is from an Australian youngster with whom I have a side-ways internet relationship. It's not about smoke, cinders, and wholesale death and destruction. It's about an on-the-ground uncertain and fearful attitude, in the person of a positive and hopeful young man. BIAB cooperated in many ways, not least was providing a "siren" riff in the horns and strings near the beginning of the second "act" of this two-minute Three-act play.

Thanks for listening and commenting, all. It's good to be back involved. Where else can I write something as pompous as that last paragraph?