Living With a Nerd

Yeah...I need more space...

While I will require more room for my next project, this meager setup is sufficient for my needs on “The Transient Unknown”.  Before you is a 20.1″ Dell LCD, an Axiom 25 MIDI controller, and a Cooler Master Scout mid-tower stuffed with my PC.  I use an MDR-V600 set of headphones (barely visible in the picture, between the MIDI controller and the LCD monitor) for recording and mastering, and I use a set of Logitech Z4 speakers to test bass response and to get an idea of how the tracks will sound on an average, “real world” set of speakers.  Music production is completed using Reason 4.0.1, ReBirth RB-338 2.0.1, and a wide variety of free software synths.  Everything is assembled together using Audacity.   

The current track I am working on is called “Light Horizon”.  This is the only track on the album to not be based around note C2, and is instead based around C4 (aka “Middle C”).  The higher octave gives a sense of being awash in light, similar to the movie “Sunshine” but without making you go insane.  I almost have the main track laid down, after which effects, position tweaking, and mastering are all that is left.  I estimate that I am right around 35% finished with it.

So far, my meager workstation and equipment has been sufficient for this album.  When It comes time to start work on ”Lost on the Way to the Laundry” (LotWotL), I have a feeling that I may need to expand.  I am considering picking up a used MC-505 off eBay, as its size and capabilities would integrate well into what I am trying to accomplish.  While my current production tools would suffice, the MC-505 can create the sounds I am looking for rather easily.  Plus, it would be cool to own.  IN addition, I hope to eventually upgrade the headphones to an AKG K 271 MK II.

So far, each song for The Transient Unknown has taken me between 5-10 hours to create (most of them closer to 10 hours).  As I have no previous experience in serious ambient music production, I’m not sure how this stacks up.  I feel like I should be spending more time on each song, but once I lay down exactly what I want and it matches perfectly with what I wanted to accomplish, it’s time to move on; it just seems like it should be taking longer to produce tracks, though.  This has perplexed me, as at one time I would have expected ambient tunes from people like Mishka, Aphex Twin, Redshift, etc. to take a very long time.  Considering the (comparatively) rudimentary equipment at my disposal, combined with my lack of experience…well, I’m starting to believe it might not have taken as long for those folks to produce their magic as I once thought it did.

Is the time invested indicative of creativity and quality?  Or merely an arbitrary number representing the distance between point A and point B? 

Just a reminder: The Transient Unknown should be available on iTunes, Rhapsody, CDBaby, Napster, etc. at some point before the end of this year.  Below, you can check out the three tracks I am releasing for free off the album.  They provide an excellent representation of what to expect once ”The Transient Unknown” is completed.  Download them, tell your friends about them, do whatever you want with them; they are sans DRM and I encourage you to distribute each one freely amongst your social circle and amongst peer to peer networks.  Go nuts.

Cold Signals

Omicron Ceti

Fomalhaut’s Zenith