Planetside Software Forums

General => Open Discussion => Topic started by: narvik on November 15, 2007, 09:21:43 PM

Title: Matt's music
Post by: narvik on November 15, 2007, 09:21:43 PM
Does anyone know if Matt is still making music, and if so, if there are downloadable MP3s?

Cheers,
narvik (long time "The Fix" fan...)
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Matt on November 29, 2007, 08:35:40 PM
Some of these are pretty old, you may have heard them already. Not as trancey as The Fix.

I never know what order to list these in. Depends what you like (the most trancey is probably "Destination" but there are others I prefer).

http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/Long_Crossing_v17.mp3
http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/Venetian_Blind_v32.mp3
http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/Destination_v28.mp3
http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/Space_Cargo_v31.mp3 (used as title music for the Siggraph 2004 Electronic Theater)

The spoken vocal near the end of Venetian Blind was left on my voicemail completely randomly in 2001. I'd love to know who it was and what ever happened to his project! The other vocal sample in this track is by Pamela Newlands ( http://www.pamelanewlands.com )

And something a bit different...

http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/PowerUp_v25b.mp3
http://www.planetside.co.uk/matt/mp3/New_Cheese_v08.mp3

I haven't uploaded anything new for a few years, because I'm trying to break out of my usual style and finish something different first. Maybe when this Terragen thing is done ;)

Matt
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: old_blaggard on November 30, 2007, 12:26:48 AM
Thanks for sharing those, Matt :).
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: dhavalmistry on November 30, 2007, 11:07:39 AM
thank you Matt...

these are good :)
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: RealUser on November 30, 2007, 12:50:24 PM
Hey Matt, great music.
I am currently combining my KORG DW-8000, YAMAHA DX7Mk1,  EMU 1212m plus EmulatorX sampler and CubaseLE for homerecording. Only drawback is, that I did learn playing piano loooong time ago and have to learn all the playing technique from the beginning. There are some chords "in my fingers", but I fear cubase have to be my best friend on composing ... well ... maybe I post some sounds here too when I have composed something nobody gets ear cancer from. ;-)

--
Markus
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: rcallicotte on November 30, 2007, 03:06:52 PM
Very interesting to see what a person's taste in music is.  I like "Space Cargo" as my favorite so far, having only listened to three.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Seth on November 30, 2007, 03:15:17 PM
thank you very much !!!
very cool music Matt :)
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: narvik on December 02, 2007, 10:53:19 AM
Quote from: Matt on November 29, 2007, 08:35:40 PM
Some of these are pretty old, you may have heard them already.

Ahh...thanks Matt.
Indeed I already knew those. Also seem to have one here called "Opener".

Would be great if you could upload the new "style" once you get a chance.....so I guess when TG2 is done... ;-)

Thanks much...

Narvik (a Matt-music fan...)



Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Seth on December 02, 2007, 11:38:58 AM
good music for TG2 landscape creation :P
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Bleurelatif on December 02, 2007, 01:55:31 PM
Quote from: seth93 on December 02, 2007, 11:38:58 AM
good music for TG2 landscape creation :P


...and TG0.9 too ;)


Makes me also think of some Paul Okenfold. I like it!
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Seth on December 02, 2007, 02:00:43 PM
hey ! Posts : 2 !!! salut Bleurelatif ;)
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Matt on December 04, 2007, 09:33:07 PM
Thanks for all the comments :)

I have newer pieces which may be better but I haven't uploaded them because they don't really broaden the repertoire.

Narvik (MAL?): let me know which of these pieces you prefer and I will dig out some more MP3s for you.

Markus: the only music hardware I still own is an M-Audio USB keyboard, and I haven't even used it yet! It's all in software (mostly Reason - you can probably hear it...)  I also used to play the piano and have forgotten much of it, but I can still improvise enough to annoy my parents when I visit them :)  My electronic music rarely starts out from the keyboard though. Piano and music production always seem to happen separately for me. Some day I will try some cross-pollination...

Matt
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: efflux on December 05, 2007, 11:28:48 AM
The best one in my opinion is New Cheese v08. That moves much better than the others.

I've gone in the other direction with my music. Initially all hardware, then I went computerized but that stuff never matched up. Digital is too clean. Now I have a load of hardware again but mostly pure analog. I have a Roland Juno 106 keyboard. This simply destroys softsynths that attempt to emulate analog. I'm really a guitarist though. I'm not good on keyboards. I have a load of valve gear now but my favourite piece of kit is the Vulture. A valve distortion unit. I've got an early prototype model with an extra valve but the valves in mine are top notch NOS (new old stock). Different from the final production models. This is a distortion monster.

Anyone who has all computer gear and wants to check out synth hardware I recommended a Super Bass Station rack synth (it has to be the "super" version), if you can find one. It's small size and sounds fantastic. Blows away software equivalents. I have two of these. The trouble is, this stuff is now getting harder to get hold of. I collected a lot of stuff when people were erroneously ditching it for software. Flogging masterpieces of hardware for peanuts in favour of digital number crunching. Now my stuff is actually worth more than I paid for it.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Matt on December 05, 2007, 09:32:35 PM
If hardware sounds better then it just means we haven't discovered the right algorithms yet ;)  But I hear ya, there will always be something lacking. To some the advantages are worth the tradeoff. But I haven't had much experience with really good hardware synths.

Matt
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: efflux on December 07, 2007, 07:14:28 AM
One of the things I think that makes the analog hardware better is its imperfection. You play two notes exactly the same but they never sound exactly the same. Also, I find the filters on hardware synths are far better. They are very smooth. No digital steps. You can very obviously hear this. As for valves, they are very organic sounding. It would be very very difficult to emulate that with algorithms. People have tried but the algorithm has to be incredibly complex. The plugins always sound harsh and nasty. I can distort the Vulture to hell and back but it never sounds harsh.

The reason I mention the Super Bass Station is that it's the first thing to get hold of if you want to try a hardware synth. These are a total bargain. It is apparently analog although it may not seen so. I had a problem with one of mine and I needed to replace a pot (hard to find the right one but luckily I did) but when you look inside, it has hundreds of resisters which suggests that yes it is in actual fact an analog synth. It's very small and lightweight and can be got really cheap. It was fairly regularly available on eBay but I see none on there now. The Juno 106 is another no brainer but that's bulky. It was the first analog synth to have full MIDI - very useful, in fact crucial really. You can get this Java app to totally control that synth from a computer either Mac or PC. It has digitally controlled oscillators. The digital control stops the analog oscillations from going out of tune. It also has digital presets. Again, very useful. It's the best of all worlds. It's also quite cheap because so many were made. These two synths are regularly used by William Orbit. Listen to any of his recordings and you hear that sound. Ray Of Light by Madonna is covered in Super Bass Station and Juno 106 sounds. The Super Bass Station is like the Roland TB303 but far far better. For those classic arpeggiated filter type sounds, it is awesome. It can do a few other things like filter another sound, not just it's internal sound.

I'm not anti digital. Digital synths do different things that analog can't possibly do like virtual modeling synths for example and no real need for separate hardware. The plugins are fine, like the ones in Logic Audio or Absynth so no real need for digital dedicated hardware. The digital synths are great for pad type sounds but not good for that raw sound. You don't get that incredibly fat and smooth filtered sound. Listen to Kraftwerk We Are The Robots and try to get that bass sound in software. You can't get close.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: efflux on December 07, 2007, 08:11:43 AM
Some eye candy of my last purchase. An all valve Revox G36 reel to reel. I should post this at Gearslutz. It's the kind of thing they drool over. When you look at this it makes you realize why algorithms can't compete. How could you emulate all that in code? This machine is 40 years old yet when I send this through my valve hifi amp I love to see the look on peoples faces. It is mindblowing. In fact this gear has kind of ruined my computer music making because I lose sound quality when it goes digital. Some of the best valve mic preamps ever made are inside this. Just over £200 I think this was on eBay and hardly ever used. Mint condition. Absolutely Mad! A totally irreplaceable piece of kit.



I think the mistake people have made with audio is believing that computers can replace the gear rather than compliment it. For graphics, it's another ball game. You wouldn't want to do analog photography for example and CG can do stuff that is impossible any other way.

Maybe one day you'll hear all this gear in action but probably not until I get into animation which will be while away. Audio will be a vital component though. I don't want anyone hearing my old pre computer stuff anymore, mostly done on a sampler. It's old hat. My new stuff will be radically different.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: dhavalmistry on December 07, 2007, 11:07:42 AM
for a second I thought the 2nd image was some kinda CPU cooling system....
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: rcallicotte on December 07, 2007, 08:45:21 PM
dh-->GEEKS<--efflux
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: efflux on December 08, 2007, 07:43:48 AM
he he. If you think I'm a geek you should see some of the people on the GearSlutz forum. Unfortunately music making can be a very expensive hobby. The gear is so specialized so has to cost a fortune. Graphics is dirt cheap in comparison. However the trend to all computers is a godsend for the likes of me. That tape machine would have cost the equivalent of several thousand pounds back in 1968. The music of the future will come from bedroom studios. Professional studios often go the route of software for speed of recording one band after another. They don't want to mess around with tape for example - a sound that has made nearly all the classic recordings we know of from the last 50 years. The life is sucked out of pro recordings now. The soul digitally tweaked out of it. I think music is generally in a terrible state now. Rarely anything interesting or new.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: narvik on December 08, 2007, 11:19:56 AM
Quote from: Matt on December 04, 2007, 09:33:07 PM
I have newer pieces which may be better but I haven't uploaded them because they don't really broaden the repertoire.

Narvik (MAL?): let me know which of these pieces you prefer and I will dig out some more MP3s for you.

Yes, it is I, MAL! ;-)

Hey Matt, ANY new stuff will be much appreciated; but to give you an idea, The Fix, and Long Crossing would be my favourite, I guess.

Much appreciated in any event......
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: rcallicotte on December 08, 2007, 11:45:54 AM
@efflux - I completely understand the dedication and expense.  In the 70s, I had a reel-to-reel Sony with a Marantz amp.  Fun.  Fun.  Fun.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: RealUser on December 08, 2007, 03:36:23 PM
Quote from: Matt on December 04, 2007, 09:33:07 PM
Thanks for all the comments :)
(...)

Markus: the only music hardware I still own is an M-Audio USB keyboard, and I haven't even used it yet! It's all in software (mostly Reason - you can probably hear it...)  I also used to play the piano and have forgotten much of it, but I can still improvise enough to annoy my parents when I visit them :)  My electronic music rarely starts out from the keyboard though. Piano and music production always seem to happen separately for me. Some day I will try some cross-pollination...
Matt

I received my EMU 1212m with emulatorX and other s/w today and a behringer mixer and midi controller ... much to learn here ... yupiiiieee. What you said about hardware: I am certain some time the software engineers invent the perfect algorithm for creating every sound one wants to achieve, but that can't compensate for the experience of a hardware synth or other sound creation machine. At this point, the emulations sound often very good, but come not close to the original machine in the details. Which doesn't necessarily mean you can't make good music and sounds with software and emulated instruments.

Markus
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: moodflow on December 17, 2007, 05:38:33 PM
Well Matt's got some great stuff.  I've been listening to some of his tracks in my creation mixes.  Space cargo keeps getting stuck in my head - but thats a good thing.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Will on December 17, 2007, 05:49:37 PM
I listen to NPR while I work, beat that for geeky.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Sethren on December 17, 2007, 06:19:36 PM
Hey, efflux. The bottom image, are those vaccume tubes?

NPR used to play a radio broadcast called Echoes every night from 10-11pm if i remember and i used to record all of the electronic music on old fuji cassettes. Apparently they ran out of funding and stopped playing the broadcast in the So-Cal area which as much funding as NPR gets it is a load of crap.

Software has a long way to go to come close to real hardware synths. Some decent programs though for sound design for software i want to look into is some stuff by Steinberg, Spectrasonics, IK Multimedia, reFX and Auturia.

A killer synth i am looking into is the Alesis Andromeda 6. It's a wooping 3K$ but it is supposed to be one of the best analog hardware synths currently available. Some day i will buy it even if i have to make monthly payments. Two of my main musical interests are film scores/my own made up scores of course and acousti-electronic genres.

http://www.retrothing.com/2005/12/alesis_a6_andro.html




Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: rcallicotte on December 18, 2007, 03:49:11 PM
I'm at a loss for words.  I feel like I've broken into a secret meeting.   ;D
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Will on December 18, 2007, 05:08:12 PM
I wonder if they hand a handshake...
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Sethren on December 18, 2007, 05:37:57 PM
Rob Papen's Albino 3!

This demo is very additive. One could spend months just playing with sound design.      :o

http://www.linplug.com/Instruments/Albino_3/albino_3.htm
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Will on December 18, 2007, 05:48:06 PM
Any of you ever listen to the stuff the EVE online makes available from its soundtrack, some good stuff there (at least in my opinion)
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: moodflow on December 18, 2007, 07:44:17 PM
Quote from: Will on December 18, 2007, 05:48:06 PM
Any of you ever listen to the stuff the EVE online makes available from its soundtrack, some good stuff there (at least in my opinion)

I remember Jon Hallur was Eve's music guy a couple of years ago.  I downloaded all of this "available" stuff and still have it as part of my "render mix".  Great stuff!

Of course there is the moodflow stuff, but its getting older now.  (shameless plug)   ;D  :o
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: Sethren on December 18, 2007, 07:57:01 PM
I thought i had all that EVE music on one of my old CDRs now that i think about it. I do not remember what it sounds like so i will have to dig into my stacks.

Also Home World 1 The Special Edition PC game box had a music soundtrack that came with it. That was some nice PC Game music back in the day. Zork Nemesis was another great PC Game score.
Title: Re: Matt's music
Post by: rcallicotte on December 19, 2007, 08:24:02 AM
I forgot about the music in Homeworld and Zork.  Ni-i-i-i-ice.

Those games were pretty cool, too.