#4 in the “resolution” series, this track was created in November 2010, and was the first of several which made use of the wonderful Omnisphere synthesiser module. The preset sound I make use of primarily in the track (for both the lead and bass lines) is called “Icicle Vibrato”, a sound comprised of two layers: a sine wave, and a sample of a clothes drying rack being struck! It’s amazing to me that this strange combination results in such an evocative and effective “instrument”, with both a melodic and a percussive aspect to it. Alongside that I used another very rich orchestral strings preset from Omnisphere, called “Symphony of Pulsing Harmonia”. Instant atmosphere, instant inspiration.
The key technical learning point in this track (other than my first use of Omnisphere!) was in the creative use of “automation” in Logic Pro; not just to automatically turn volume faders up and down as the track progressed, but to change the parameters of a delay plug-in, and of the panning (Left/Right) control of the track. This automation was used on the vocal to take individual words from the preceding line of lyrics, and to turn them into disembodied percussive sounds by repeating and bouncing them between left and right speakers. Additionally, I made use of a 3rd party drum plug-in for the first time (the “Nepheton”) to emulate that classic electronic music vibe from the 80’s that the Roland 808 drum machine created.
The lyric (spoken) refers to an experience I had when visiting Vietnam, which struck me (literally) and stayed with me:
“In Saigon, at the Jade Emperor Pagoda, I watched a lady let cages of finches fly free, as an act of worship. One of the birds didn’t want to leave its cage”
<repeated>: “worship”
<repeated>: “cage”“Eventually, the bird was encouraged out of its cage. It flew weakly about 10 feet, straight into me, and fell to the floor. And I tried to protect it in the corner, from passing feet, as it pecked on the ground”
<repeated>: “protect it”
<repeated>: “passing”
