In House, Music on
September 6, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Statio Tranquilitatis
Date: September 06, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 7:11 @ 127 bpm
Statio Tranquilitatis is a track I originally started piecing together on July 20, 2011, the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. I’ve done a few other tracks since then, but this one itched at the back of my mind until I decided to revisit it this week. Neil Armstrong passed away about two weeks ago. This is my feeble tribute to an undisputed legend.
There are no synthesizers in this track at all, surprisingly enough. All of the sounds you hear, including the chordy stabs, are samples, mostly from the drum samples the come with Ableton Suite. The bassline, for example, that bounces around down in the basement, started out as a tom. Chorded stab instruments go through several layers of processing. The voice sample is, of course, Neil Armstrong changing his call sign and phoning home as dust settled back into the lunar regolith a few feet under him.
This track feels rife with possibility and I’m really excited to debut it the day after tomorrow for the Digeum Mix Sessions finale.
In House, Music on
May 31, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Circuits Over Rubber
Date: May 31, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8, FAW Circle, TAL U-No-60
Genre: House
Timing: 7:06 @ 124 bpm
Circuits Over Rubber feels like a good steady distance run on a rubber track with perfect white stripes on a warm summer evening, pushing a pace that makes you feel strong, light, and fast. I didn’t want to rush this one or complicate it with too many counter melodies. The noise build is short, the track minimal, the instrumentation sparse. We’re just focused on keeping a good pace here around the curve and on toward the finish.
I wanted to do something different this time out, so I started with the full drum mix with an added low-cut filter that is simply switched on in various places. A dirty Juno 160 bassline comes in to drive some rhythmic interest. Up top and down in the middle, I played around with a couple patches I really like in Circle, which I bought a couple of weeks ago. Circle is really fun to play with. Thank goodness I also upgraded the RAM in my computer recently, because I didn’t freeze the channels I used Circle in. That’s something to remember for the future.
In order to let the groove sit in nice and solid, I mostly let this one simmer on sixteen-bar loops. There are only four parts moving around: the percussion, the bassline, the high echoing lead, and the arpeggio that trails off into a chord. I’m really glad I gave this track a little more room to breathe. Now, it feels like it wants a vocal sample. There’s an idea for another version.
In House, Music on
April 30, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Bouncy Peanuts
Date: April 30, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:44 @ 126 bpm
Bouncy Peanuts jumps around A minor chords with a few playfully splashy instruments over a rumbling bass line. Marimbaa arpeggios and shimmering echoing stabs ricochet around while big meaty, subby kick punches the floor. Variations on the only chord in the tune lend variety, especially when instruments cycle through ninths and sevenths. An abundance of parts that bounce around nudge us forward through the builds toward the conclusion.
In House, Music on
March 30, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Unexpected Scenario
Date: March 30, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:44 @ 126 bpm
Unexpected Scenario let me play around with a few effects units I usually leave alone, like Beat Repeat and multiband dynamics. The glitchy stuttery way the Beat Repeat ricochets off the stabs, melody, and arpeggios adds a little urgency to the track. The multiband dynamics on the bass instruments beef up the sound a little more than I’d anticipated.
We’re in D minor this time. A few chords wander off the beaten path, especially on the high stabs, but not startlingly so. A fast arpeggiated chord wobbles up top after the first break down, counterbalancing a high melody with a bit of frantic twitch.
Now to see how this sounds in the mix.
In House, Music on
February 29, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Pellucid Concinnity
Date: February 29, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:47 @ 125 bpm
Pellucid Concinnity concludes a stop-and-start month with a groove that ended up feeling a little darker and more spaced out. I started a few other tracks this month, none of which gelled like this one did.
We’re starting out with a DJ-friendly four-on-the-floor beat, stripped back to the bare essentials: a kick, a snare, and a closed hi-hat. The languid chord on Gm–Bbm gives the track a tonal foundation, although it’s a chord change in an unusual place. Another chorded synthesizer and arpeggiated bell give a bit of depth to the tune. A synth baritone line pulses a syncopation in two variations over a deep bass that throbs under the floor.
In House, Music on
January 30, 2012 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Purple Lunatic
Date: January 30, 2012
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:38 @ 128 bpm
Purple Lunatic opens 2012 with a simple tech house track in which a few stabs, a couple of bass lines, and a trimmed down drum kit build a groove without too much clutter.
Two different stabs accompany a bouncing electric piano chord over a punchy staccato bass. After the first breakdown, a big deep subby bass rumbles underneath to lend a sense of depth.
This track is a little less busy than many of my recent tracks. Hopefully, it got your head bobbing.
In House, Music on
December 29, 2011 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Electric Reverie
Date: December 29, 2011
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:36 @ 128 bpm
Electric Reverie closes a challenging year by taking us into a daydream about the future. Multiple chorded rhythms pulse along over a heartbeat bass line. A bouncing lead comes out of the sky in the middle of the tune, shimmering in descent toward the foot of the track.
This piece completes a dozen tracks in 2011. When I initially restarted completing tracks in July with Do It Anyway, I envisioned myself writing a track a week like I did in 2008. But, given the volume of Digeum mixes, I didn’t want to overwhelm anybody (including myself) with a deluge of music.
I hope 2012 finds you all happy, successful, and healthy. Happy New Year!
In House, Music on
November 11, 2011 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Rings of Endeavor
Date: November 11, 2011
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 7:08 @ 121 bpm
Rings of Endeavor celebrates binary day with a nice mellow groove. We start with a dance around the minor seventh stabs, joined by the drum line and an off-beat bass line. This track was originally written at 128 bpm, but it felt so nice at 121. A quirky rhythmic synthesizer comes in and spices up the top end. A slow arpeggio sneaks in underneath.
In the middle, we meet a new pad, ringing through once per measure. At first, it hangs out by itself until a few friends from earlier say hello and join in. Near the end, everyone mingles, the original chords come back and we’re just nodding our heads to the groove as the overtones spin around up in the sky.
In House, Music on
October 31, 2011 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Specters at the Door
Date: October 31, 2011
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:50 @ 125 bpm
Specters at the Door, the first track I’ve finished in my studio since Analog Dragons five weeks ago, speaks of two types of specters — tykes in costumes, stalking my neighborhood for candy, and the specter of excuses, stalking my psyche to sap my productivity and time.
We’re at a nice mellow 125 beats per minute on this crisp Halloween night, scratching a track for October out while there’s still time to avoid leaving a hole in the calendar. We begin with some four-on-the-floor percussion, anchored by a bass instrument that started out as a dulcimer. A bouncing lead line sneaks in and soon plays hide-and-seek with a warm analog pad in C minor.
After the first build, we slide into another lead, which tumbles down the chord and splashes into a C minor 9 at the bottom. A big spooky gong rings out in the dark. Just after the second build, we let the leads swap chord partners and dance until they all join together at the end.
I only just noticed that this is the tenth new song of the year. On Thursday, I’m going to see how this mixes into a Digeum mix. I hope you liked it.
In House, Music on
September 22, 2011 with no comments
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Title: Apollo Lee – Analog Dragons
Date: September 22, 2011
Software: Ableton Suite 8
Genre: House
Timing: 6:50 @ 124 bpm
Analog Dragons breathes fire into the end of summer, celebrating the warmest days of the year after a cool season that almost seemed like spring had been extended to fall. This jaunty little tune started out at a much higher tempo, but felt very rushed.
A syncopated bouncing high snare line, filtered to smithereens, jumps right in after a slightly awry hi-hat and lower snare. A plucky chord drips from somewhere. The metallic melody rings through the opening, joined by a longer pulsing organ-like chord. A bouncing rhythm highlights the root and ninth, all over a double-headed bassline, breathing fire from below.
Most of the sounds I’m using here were sampled from analog synthesizers from the 1980s and early 1990s. We’re in G minor here. It feels really nice at 124 beats per minute. I hope you like it.