Towers intro

So yeah, a little different.  Funky though, I think??  Hmm...

Holocene final draft

Holocene ideas

Here is something I may use to branch off from...  It seems like a good starting point for the intro to verse transition.  Still playing with the bass line. Cut, chop, paste, repeat.  I added some original pad movement by combining my Alesis Ion hardware synth with some modulation and sidechaining.

Holocene progress

I'm making slow steps toward a main groove for this song.  So far, I'm assembling this one using existing stems, with some synths and bell sounds added in the Maschine software.  I'm really looking for the one main section to be able to carry the tune on a standalone basis, so it has to be strong.  Although YouTube is full of great remixes from this album, there's really not a lot of Holocene remix attempts that I find really great and original.


Here's the one Justin chose, which really is a creative and well produced take on the song:
Bon Iver Holocene (Kyson Remix) http://awe.sm/aDH4F

Minnesota, WI final draft

Groove composition in Maschine

So as I mentioned, in addition to Pro Tools, there is some other composition software at work here.  The role of Native Instruments' Maschine is a little harder to define than a common digital audio workstation.  It's a loop-based composition and arrangement tool which can be integrated into my workflow in a couple different ways.  Up until recently, I'd been using Maschine on a standalone basis to try out ideas, and put together grooves.  I would then click and drag the resulting audio file over to Pro Tools for deeper editing.  For the Bon Iver Project, I've started using Maschine as a vst, or plugin, in Pro Tools 9.  This means that Maschine's timeline syncs with Pro Tools, and they operate in parallel.  Tempo is also consistent.  Maschine simply becomes one track within the project.  This offers the best of both worlds, in a sense.  I'm able to use Maschine where it really shines (as a loop-based composition tool) while it sits in Pro Tools, where things are more easily edited and fine-tuned.  Ta daa....

Maschine 1.8 in Pro Tools 9.

So, in order to know where each Maschine "scene" (or part) starts and ends, I've added markers in the Pro Tools edit view.  I'm not saying this is the best way to incorporate this into your workflow, but it worked on Perth, and I'm trying it on Minnesota  So far, so good.

Back at it

So after a musical month that obviously didn't include a bunch of work on this project, I'm back in the Bon Iver groove.  I saw a lot of good music live and did my best to perform some as well, so it was time well spent, and I'm ready for a renewed remix effort.  It's amazing how the musical thing sort of feeds on itself.  Now where did we leave off?  I'll be tearing into Minnesota, and working on broad arrangements.  This should allow me a couple posts, with at least one being on the technical side of things.  This remix effort has already helped me integrate a certain piece of software that I've been using in addition to Pro Tools 9.  Up until now, I hadn't realized it's full potential.  More on that later.  I leave you with this (best viewed in hd)...

Minnesota inspiration

I think Minnesota, WI is going to be fun.  At first glance, this track appears to be pretty calm with a lot of banjo and brass.  Things don't really pick up until around two thirds of the way through.  What is kind of interesting though, is the underlying rhythm patterns in these louder parts.  A couple of these stuck out to me and most likely will become the basis of my remix.  My initial thinking is to switch things up so that the result is more of a storm with a touch of calm.  Here's an example, with no doctoring whatsoever.




With some work, I could probably chop, warp and arrange that clip alone and create a whole chorus or bridge/breakdown.  When the source material is so musical, it really helps when coming up with ideas.  I'm going to put some time in this weekend and get this second track off the ground sooner rather than later.

Setting the tone

How do I carefully wrap up the first song when it not only should be entertaining and tasteful, but also an introduction to the larger body of work? These decisions can take on a million different directions, but I think I've settled on a sound that works pretty well. It's driven but not too dancey. Going into this, I didn't know how natural it would feel to turn songs like this into a track like "that." Turns out, not very.

All the lyrics are intact, and mostly in the same order, with a few variations. The end result is something that, to my ear, sounds very linear, almost band-driven, as opposed to a loop-based track. As I reserve the right of revision, it's never final 'till its final. So, Perth final draft to come soon. Happy Halloween.

Official remix comp results

So Justin has chosen his favorite remixes over at Indaba.  Some great submissions and kind of humbling, to tell the truth.  It seems that he didn't necessarily go for the popular or obvious choice.  I'm hearing all kinds of different interpretations on Spotify, where a remix album was released with all the winners.  Justin took the time to comment personally on a lot of submissions, which I think is above and beyond.  In the past, bands with far less of a following have failed to post up anything until the end of a competition.  I'll link you to the Indaba page for those who may not have Spotify.  Just click on the individual song titles on the right hand side of the page.  As I've said before, all efforts documented on this blog are not related to the contest, other than the sourcing of stems.

Click here.