• clouds of static (self titled ambient/drone album)
    2 replies, posted
[URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/album/clouds-of-static-2"][IMG]http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a3218101119_2.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL]http://fullempty.bandcamp.com/album/clouds-of-static-2[/URL] [media]http://soundcloud.com/arboria/doppelganger[/media] "clouds of static" is my debut dark ambient/drone album under that name. I have made several EP's over the last year but this is the first proper album. It's inspired by my favorite movies and favorite ambient producers. A lot of the sounds were created by me using various instruments and effects pedals. [B]Track list. 1. [URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/track/doppelg-nger"]Doppelgänger[/URL] (07:30) 2. [URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/track/not-stars-doorways"]Not Stars, Doorways[/URL] (09:59) 3. [URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/track/threads"]Threads[/URL] (03:13) 4. [URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/track/solaristics-3"]Solaristics[/URL] (08:39) 5. [URL="https://fullempty.bandcamp.com/track/jupiter-and-beyond-the-infinite-3"]Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite[/URL] (14:56) [/B] Enjoy.
awesome, i'll listen to it later and post some thoughts
took me a bit longer than expected to get around to listening to it, have had a lot to do recently, but here goes: Doppelgänger left no impression on me. it just kind of came and went, didn't really have much going on nor did it really stick out to me. i suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it might be a good idea to use a less eventful song as an intro to ease the listener into the atmosphere. Not Stars, Doorways had some stuff going on but a lot of stuff disrupting that. the atmosphere started out strong, especially when the darker, bassier tones start fading in. sadly, the higher tones that come out on top afterwards completely drown it out and are almost earpiercing to me when i tried to turn the volume up earlier to really drown into the bassier drones. other than that, it's a lot like the first track, tones fading in and fading out. then there's a nice transition to Threads, very seamless and the atmosphere is carried over satisfyingly. i wish there was more transitions like this on this album. Threads is the first (and sadly, only) track that really shines in my opinion. this is what i'd hope your dark ambient stuff was more like. rather than simply being a collage of fading soundscapes, it has clear sounds, clear sections, clear variety and a dense atmosphere that the samples really help drive home. the deep, ominous horn-like drone is monolithic, i love the way it sounds and it transitions from the documentaryish commentary well, really juxtaposing it and making itself stand out. the breathing and subtle noises towards the end are great as well, gives a very empty, post-apocalyptic feel. the ending is pretty anti-climactic and sadly doesn't transition into the next track like the last did, instead just kind of stopping mid-drone. Solaristics is more like what the first 2 tracks are again. rather than having the clear dark tones of Threads, it opts out for fading low-mid soft soundscapes coming in and out. the metallic drone that comes in after the halfway point is great, it sounds almost heavenly, leaves the earlier dull tone and stands out more and leaves more of an impression. this would work better as a medium to short length interlude than a long song. then the finale, Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite. good start, a breath-like drone with subtle, light, almost hopeful high tones coming in and out in the background, playing an almost haunting melody. sadly it starts to lose its mysteriousness and atmosphere after some time of not really going anywhere and repeating itself too much. the song starts to change more at around 7 minutes, but i wished it would've done that far earlier. then the song just stops without really giving proper closure to the song or the album. except for the interesting start that drags on too long, it suffers from the same problem as almost all other songs on this album, there's not really anything going on with it, other than low tones fading in and out. this track should've only been about half as long as it is now in my opinion. production is good, but could use some work still. some of the higher tones sound oddly low-quality, like they were put through some filters or something that make them a bit unpleasant to the ears. most of the lower tones also felt like they wanted to be heavier, denser and bassier, but were limited for some reason and couldn't get there. some of the lower tones like at the start of Not Stars, Doorways and the monolithic horns in Threads sound fine, but other than that the drones seem to be lacking bass, at least in my opinion. maybe the weird lack of quality could be something wrong with recording equipment or with whatever you use to make these drones and tones, but i hope you can figure that out and fix it in the future. all in all, it suffered from the same problems as your earlier ep that i listened to, Into the Breach. there's not much that really catches on or leaves an impression, mostly just being soundscapes that fade in and out into eachother before slowly going out. atmosphere is decent, even fantastic at some points, but most of it really drags on and REALLY lacks variety, even for a dark ambient album. good production, acceptable mixing, mostly unsatisfying content, lacking direction. i really hope you can pull through and make some more interesting stuff, i really believe you have a lot of potential, and tracks like Threads really prove that, but most of the fading soundscapes are just uninteresting and unmemorable. still, i'll look forward to hearing more of your work and hoping that you'll improve over time.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.