diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'album')
| -rw-r--r-- | album/homestuck-vol-11.yaml | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | album/medium.yaml | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | album/one-year-older.yaml | 116 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | album/prospit-and-derse.yaml | 263 |
4 files changed, 290 insertions, 93 deletions
diff --git a/album/homestuck-vol-11.yaml b/album/homestuck-vol-11.yaml index a876d2ae..3e9a8e4a 100644 --- a/album/homestuck-vol-11.yaml +++ b/album/homestuck-vol-11.yaml @@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Mutiny - Guardian V2 - Desperado -- track:contention-lofam3 +- Contention - Unbound (loop) - Kinetic Verdancy --- diff --git a/album/medium.yaml b/album/medium.yaml index c9ff47ca..87efb2c4 100644 --- a/album/medium.yaml +++ b/album/medium.yaml @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Additional Files: - bg.jpg Commentary: |- <i>Andrew Hussie:</i> - This one's very cool. Clark has a great ambient sound, and his idea for the album was to musically express the Medium's planets, through both their elements and themes. I think he nailed it. Cover art was tag-teamed by me and Cindy (the lady who touches all your WP shirts). + This one's very cool. Clark has a great ambient sound, and her idea for the album was to musically express the Medium's planets, through both their elements and themes. I think she nailed it. Cover art was tag-teamed by me and Cindy (the lady who touches all your WP shirts). --- Track: Light Directory: light-medium diff --git a/album/one-year-older.yaml b/album/one-year-older.yaml index e0c0e772..bdc8ab9a 100644 --- a/album/one-year-older.yaml +++ b/album/one-year-older.yaml @@ -17,20 +17,38 @@ Art Tags: - John's dad Commentary: |- <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) - <center><small>okay first things first</small><br>I<br>MADE THIS<br><big>FOR YOU</big></center> + + <center><small>okay first things first</small><br> + I<br> + MADE THIS<br> + <big>FOR YOU</big></center> + Yes you. The one sitting at their computer or phone or other gadget, you the one who's doing their hair or putting on flair like you just don't care, you the one sitting at a desk or laying in a bed or even hiding from the cops, I don't really care, this was made for you. It's been worked on over a long period of time (technically almost two years!), it's been delayed and pushed back, it was actually not even going to come out for a while, but here it is. And I'm incredibly thankful that you, whoever you are and whatever your interest, are spending the time to listen to this music. + So what is this, then? Well, back when the Homestuck music team was all jumping on the concept of "solo albums", I said to myself, hum, why not do one? The original concept was incredibly vague, because I'm not a very imaginative person most of the time, an album for John Egbert that used piano in most every track to some degree. And after a few tracks were made, a more specific idea began to emerge, that of an album sequentially examined moments in his journey through SBURB, music for key points or just for scenes. I even graphed the entire (known) timeline out on a giant piece of paper and plotted it all out. It's turned out to be far more ambitious and broad of a goal than I'd originally planned for, especially with how "key events known" slowly eclipsed "key events to unfold" over time, but I feel confident enough about how this album has turned out that I'm not too worried. And if anything, that means more music has come to you. + Now, before I start rambling at length about the music in here, I've got to toss out a few "thank you"s to people. - First, to all the artists that helped out with the track art. The stuff that they've all given me is just incredible, and if you ever ask me what my favorite part of this album is I would defiitely say "the art". I may be biased. There's full versions of all the album art with the album itself, and I'd highly encourage you to give it a look-over and see what else these talented people have put out. + + First, to all the artists that helped out with the track art. The stuff that they've all given me is just incredible, and if you ever ask me what my favorite part of this album is I would definitely say "the art". I may be biased. There's full versions of all the album art with the album itself, and I'd highly encourage you to give it a look-over and see what else these talented people have put out. + Second, to the other people in the music team, who've helped me go from "some guy who uses famitracker and an awful microphone" to "somewhat of an okay digital musician". I'm thankful for every bit of critiquing I've gotten, too, even if I can be really stubborn about it. And all the bros I know in there, if I could meet everyone in person there would be endless fistbumps. You guys rock. + Third, to all the friends and people I've met over the years, through Homestuck and otherwise, that've been great to hang out with and chill with and just talk about stupid random things with. + Fourth, to my family for always being around, and for....well, being family. Keeping me alive and healthy and stuff and keeping me from completely failing in this "life" thing. + And lastly to Andrew Hussie for creating Homestuck, making the really crazy decision to bring me onto the team in the first place, and for giving me the opportunity to both make an album and just make music for him in the first place. I don't know how little I would've composed if I didn't have Homestuck pushing along, both giving me a reason to write and things to write about. + Alright! Now that all that before-album talk is done with, it's time to get into the album proper. I hope you, out there, enjoy this album, and I'll see you on the flipside. + <i>Signed, Erik "Jit" Scheele</i> - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (2019 re-release commentary) + + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (2019 rerelease commentary) + An album I made for Homestuck, released originally on 8/16/2012. After it was spontaneously "retired" from their catalogue without warning, now it is here, for free, for people to enjoy. Album is as it was originally, with commentary PDF, track art, everything. + If you want to toss some money down for it, then that's fine with me. If I'm out of free download credits, then perhaps get it from a friend on the internet. + If you'd like to get in contact with me, the best way is by email, so use the "contact" button up on the right sidebar or email me at <a href="mailto:erikscheelemusic@gmail.com">erikscheelemusic@gmail.com</a>. You can also find me on tumblr (<a href="https://jitmakesstuff.tumblr.com">jitmakesstuff</a>) or twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/jitters20">@jitters20</a>) but I very hardly use those sites at the moment. Banner Artists: - Homestuck @@ -67,8 +85,10 @@ Cover Art File Extension: jpg Referenced Tracks: - track:light-vol5 Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> - So, where else to start this off but the beginning? And by beginning, I mean "the morning of 4/13/09, John's birthday and the beginning of it all". So I wanted to take time with this piece, and create a sort of smooth, shifting landscape, illustrating the sun rising over John's neighborhood before he wakes up. This was mainly achieved by intersparsing little melodic hits on instruments with each other, building up and fading out in turn. The opening from a rather old tune of mine, "Light" from Volume 5, also makes an appearance in here to further the overall effect. + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + + So, where else to start this off but the beginning? And by beginning, I mean "the morning of 4/13/09, John's birthday and the beginning of it all". So I wanted to take time with this piece, and create a sort of smooth, shifting landscape, illustrating the sun rising over John's neighborhood before he wakes up. This was mainly achieved by intersparsing little melodic hits on instruments with each other, building up and fading out in turn. The opening from a rather old tune of mine, [[track:light-vol5|"Light"]] from Volume 5, also makes an appearance in here to further the overall effect. + I imagine, if this piece were performed live, it would do best with all the instrumentalists scattered to some degree. And I usually hate that gimmick, but it could work well in this context. --- Track: October @@ -95,8 +115,10 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'October - Unknown.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + Now to completely break away from the previous track, we move into a peppy, small ensemble piece. This one just started out because I wanted a tight ensemble to play something together, something sort of bouncy and light. Before that, I'd been making a lot of pieces that felt unnecessarily large, sticking in instruments for just one little section and not using them the rest of the time, so something lighter with more emphasis on individual parts seemed like a great idea. I had no idea what to call it, though, and it didn't really seem to have much context in terms of the album either, until I was looking through the 2010 calendar that the art team made, and came across the October artwork. Immediately it was like, that was it, the piece both fit the "kids and fun" aesthetic that lasted a while in the beginning, and the artwork fit too, so it achieved purpose and title both at the same time. + Instrumentally it fit too, it had piano and bass and bitcrushed drums that sounded somewhat like beatboxing, which were three out of the four instruments the original kids used. There's definitely a discrepancy with using synth vs. violin, though. Before anyone asks, I definitely spent time trying to fandangle string patches into it, but it just didn't work. So you can imagine Rose playing an electric violin, that's what I do. (I don't know if electric violins can function like that string players please don't strangle me thank you) --- Track: Firefly Cloud @@ -114,9 +136,12 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Doctor Commentary: |- <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + So after a quick burst of events and some luck, John finds himself in LOWAS, the Land of Wind and Shade. Everything's dark, except for the stars above, but as we found out, they were really fireflies trapped in the clouds. This was one of the concepts I latched onto rather hard with this piece, the mass of sparkling and blinking above John as he traipsed about. I've been lucky enough to live in a more rural area for most of my life, and being able to watch the stars was always great, so I could only ever imagine what LOWAS's clouds looked like. + Anyway. I kept the sparkling mainly to the piano, higher register work with some delay making a nice twinkling effect. I'd also just gotten some wonderful "piano in an attic for 80 years" samples, which came with a large variety of inner-piano works, like tapping or heavy strokes of the strings, and I sprinkled those rather liberally in places to try and get the effect of thunder. (After all, what sort of lightning storms could a firefly cloud have, anyway?) - And of course, there's one or two Doctor quotes in there just because. + + And of course, there's one or two [[Doctor]] quotes in there just because. --- Track: FantasyP Duration: '3:52' @@ -132,8 +157,11 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Penumbra Phantasm Commentary: |- <i>Erik Scheele:</i> - This is definitely one of the older tracks on the record, a cover of Penumbra Phantasm by Toby Fox aka Radiation. At the time of writing this, that track still hasn't been released, but that didn't stop me from making a cover of it. And then re-making that cover, since the first one was kind of crap. + + This is definitely one of the older tracks on the record, a cover of [[Penumbra Phantasm]] by Toby Fox aka Radiation. At the time of writing this, that track still hasn't been released, but that didn't stop me from making a cover of it. And then re-making that cover, since the first one was kind of crap. + Not really a whole lot of deep thought or anything with this, I just thought the melody sounded cool and it could work for a sort of high-energy swooping-around sort of thing. And then later, I associated it with John's jetpack flight after he gets warned off from dying to his planet's Denizen, so that's what it became. + On a completely random note this piece always makes me want to go out running, and I have done so to this piece a few times. If I could do flips and parkour and stuff I'd totally be doing that too cause it works really well. Maybe gunfights too. Alright let's move on to the next piece. --- Track: Underfoot @@ -157,8 +185,10 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Underfoot - Unknown (partial).mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + The first of two completely-solo-piano pieces on here, this piece was a small idea that I had one night, that I sat on and worked into a rough piece right then and there even though I was supposed to be recording parts of the [[album:sburb|Sburb]] album at the time. And a little later, I was fortunate enough to get a good recording of it before heading home for the summer. + The piece itself is meant to go along with John discovering Jade's dead dreamself, after waking up on Skaia for the first time. I know a lot of people associate [[Sarabande]], from Volume 5, with that event, or at least with John reading Jade's letter, but I couldn't help but want to at least touch on it while going through his timeline. Originally I'd stuck this before John even entered the Medium, but that didn't really have any moment tacked on with it, and it made much more sense here. --- Track: Flying Car @@ -171,9 +201,12 @@ Cover Artists: Art Tags: - Battlefield Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + A little later, and John's achieved God Tier (near-invincibility) and is blasting around Skaia (central planet hub) with one of the game pieces (who was later called the Wayward Vagabond but is equivalent to a pawn in chess), using his powers to make a car (he took from his dad's wallet) fly around. + That's kind of a confusing explanation, I'm sure! Basically all you need to know is that there's a car that can fly and it's flying. Like pchooo flying. It's awesome. + For the piece, I went with this old idea I had a few years back in college, a 13/8 double-piano piece. Seeing as I'm not two piano players, though, I wanted to orchestrate it out a bit, so I put some brighter instruments to double the melody, over top of the original riff, and beefed it up with some light strings and drums. A few other instruments come in later as the piece developed, but like [[October]], I tried to keep it all to a small group and not let the orchestration explode. --- Track: Cancerous Core @@ -187,8 +220,10 @@ Art Tags: - John - Battlefield Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + The descent into Skaia and the exploration of its interior, I feel, went by too quick. It might just be because the Tomb Raider series was a favorite while growing up, but I've always loved old, unexplored ruins, arcane or mystical elements hinted at with wall carvings or murals, that sort of thing. And Skaia, being the center of a sort of central planet to everything in Sburb, could be chock-full of old buildings and mystical secrets to explore. + So, to try and accompany the general air of mystery and exploration that would have gone with a long journey into the center of Skaia, I took an old idea in Locrian mode. If you're a music person, Locrian is when you take a major scale, but start it on the last note. It's a rather off-kilter scale, and it can't ever really resolve to the tonic chord like most other scales can, which made it rather suited to a piece about the sort of strange secrets and landscapes that could be hidden in the center of Skaia. --- Track: Game Over @@ -209,8 +244,10 @@ Sheet Music Files: Files: - 'Game Over - Sir Real (piano score).pdf' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + This is most likely the first piece that was ever made and put into this album. It might even be from before I started on the album, I'm not sure. At any rate, when John was stabbed and "died" (god tier characters can only truly die from a Just or Heroic death), he stayed dead for a few minutes. And for those few minutes, I imagined that he came to a sort of Game Over screen, or, if you were playing a video game of Homestuck, you would come to a Game Over screen. From there, you could either continue or give up, which is a pretty staple part of game over screens, I think. + At any rate, the music I went for was to just go along with that, a peaceful song for his demise before he came back. It feels kind of morbid, but since the concept of death has kind of gone out the window and back again in Homestuck, it's hardly as morbid as it could be. --- Track: Unlabeled @@ -245,8 +282,10 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Unlabeled - i300.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> - This is the second of the solo piano pieces on this album, at least in the main tracks, and a really late release as well, given that it first appeared in the comic some time around a year ago. I've held it back from getting released just so it could go on this record, so I'm glad it could finally go out. + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + + This is the second of the solo piano pieces on this album, at least in the main tracks, and a really late release as well, given that it [[flash:3725|first appeared]] in the comic some time around a year ago. I've held it back from getting released just so it could go on this record, so I'm glad it could finally go out. + This is also the only piece on the album that doesn't have a specific event to go along with it. Instead, I went for where it appeared in the comic when placing it, and see it as more of a small interlude. The intermission between Act 1 and Act 2 of a musical, if you will. The art is meant to go along with this as well, a sort of non-canon get-together of the first set of trolls and kids we know, and I can imagine them playing this record while they chill. --- Track: Skaian Shrapnel @@ -267,9 +306,12 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E) - Crystalanthemums Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + The lights go down, everyone finds their way back into their seats, and we're off. - This piece marks the beginning of my writing into "events that have not yet occurred". At the time, the scratched copy of Sburb was just starting to show some real-world effects by making the "game" (aka our viewing experience as an audience) glitch up. So, I set about making some heavier action music for it, incorporating heavy use of weird, messed-up glitching sounds and a few heavy-handed uses of numerical motifs. I also brought in Ruins, one of the first piano pieces I ever recorded, the latter section of Wakl-Stab-Walk, and Crystalanthemums. + + This piece marks the beginning of my writing into "events that have not yet occurred". At the time, the scratched copy of Sburb was just starting to show some real-world effects by making the "game" (aka our viewing experience as an audience) glitch up. So, I set about making some heavier action music for it, incorporating heavy use of weird, messed-up glitching sounds and a few heavy-handed uses of numerical motifs. I also brought in [[Ruins (With Strings)|Ruins]], one of the first piano pieces I ever recorded, the latter section of [[Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E)|Walk-Stab-Walk]], and [[Crystalanthemums]]. + Overall, in my opinion at least, the piece turned out a little strange, a little awkward, and not really nice, but really that works just fine for me. Everything was really going for the characters at the time, after all. People were getting hunted down, friends were turning on each other, nobody in the fandom really knew who was going to be next. Was this person? Or this person? Were you next? It all led to a heavy air of unease that sort of manifested itself in the odd piano riff and distorted drums that were used, and all the heavy glitching that led us up to... --- Track: The Scratch @@ -289,9 +331,12 @@ Sheet Music Files: Files: - 'The Scratch - Erik Scheele.pdf' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + Aka "the big reset button for the universe". It was hinted at for ages in the comic, and finally happened at some point after this piece was made. It also served as the inspiration for a project that my third-year piano studio did. + In the comic, this event was basically a way to reset the universe, everything inside it, and recreate it in a different way, one that would make the game winnable. So, in my head, a mass de-compilation of everything, like a massive maelstrom building as bits of data are pulled apart. A black hole, in other words, but arcing out in waves of energy ilke lightning. Mother Nature ain't got crap on this beast. + The piece started out as extreme laziness on my aprt, just idle playing around with various distortion on synths and samples, until the school project came up and wanted results fast. So I threw some things together until they formed the opening, and took a very lax approach to the piano part, a sort of "here's a riff, now play around with it, there's your part" with a drum loop over top. Thankfully my laziness didn't extend to the whole thing, and it all got more polished up and developed over time. It still keeps the "improvised piano part based off one riff" idea, though. --- Track: Respit @@ -310,8 +355,10 @@ Art Tags: - Karkat - Dream Bubbles Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + To separate the big glitched-up waves from the final battle and rest up ahead, I wanted to stick something right in the middle just to give the listener a break. And, in some games I've played, there's a sort of resting area before the final boss, or a small break to prepare yourself before the last battle. This is what spawned Respit, the idea of a light and airy, calming piece. I was also pretty reminded of Kingdom Heart's usage of the "resting area" trope, which was a small chamber with several large crystals around. So, I went with the idea of a large, reflective area, someplace in the dream bubbles perhaps, where the heroes could rest and reflect. + This is another one of those tracks, too, that tried to predict a future event but was overtaken as time went on. The concept of the dream bubbles and the long voyage John took fit my original idea well enough, though, so that's what the piece molded itself into being. --- Track: Negastrife @@ -332,10 +379,14 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Cascade (Beta) - Rex Duodecim Angelus Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + And now that everyone is prepared....it's time for the final fight. - This track, like the album, was perhaps a bit ambitious to try, a final boss fight with the biggest baddest dudes around, but I made it anyway. It pulls from Showtime, the original strife music, and also (ironically enough) from an idea I had when I was around 11 and wanted to make something spooky for Halloween. Let me tell you, it worked way better in this context than my original plan. + + This track, like the album, was perhaps a bit ambitious to try, a final boss fight with the biggest baddest dudes around, but I made it anyway. It pulls from [[Showtime (Original Mix)|Showtime]], the original strife music, and also (ironically enough) from an idea I had when I was around 11 and wanted to make something spooky for Halloween. Let me tell you, it worked way better in this context than my original plan. + So seeing as this is the final boss fight, there wasn't really any reason to hold back while adding in instruments and layers. To this day, it's definitely the largest piece I've made in instrumentation, and also the first to make me render everything out into separate files because my computer just couldn't handle it. Suffice to say, it's a pretty large piece, for a pretty large fight. There's a rather intentional and large nod to the aesthetic in [[Rex Duodecim Angelus]] by Malcolm Brown as well, since his piece was about the trolls' final fight with the Black King at the end of their session. + And at the end, there's a little victory music to pass through and segue into the last piece... --- Track: Mother @@ -371,9 +422,12 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Mother (Piano) - i300.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + Way back, before I was even on the team and before I thought I even belonged on the team, I recorded a simple piano refrain. First thing I'd ever recorded, too, and I want to say it was done a few months after Homestuck had started. In my head, it fit in as a possible refrain for one of the characters, and the idea always stuck in my head that it could also work as a piece for the very ending for Homestuck, a sort of "all is well" refrain. After two years, I was finally able to make something like what I was thinking and put it in the right context. + Like the [[Homestuck Anthem]], I went with using the four kids' instruments: piano, strings, drums/percussion, and bass, and stuck mainly with those. I also got some help by Mr. Lake of Awesome Beats Inc. who was way better at beats than I am, and he made it way better too. Big props to him. + With the new universe and many new characters being explored, this piece might not work for "the end of Homestuck" anymore, but if anything, I see it as a sort of moving forward. John's journey on that one day, when he turned 13, matured both him and his friends. Like many others, he took the hero's journey, and grew as a result of it, and so this piece could very well fit him leaving his universe and going on to the next, bringing his experiences and knowledge with him, just as well as it could fit him moving past Sburb to whatever adventures lie ahead. --- Section: Bonus tracks @@ -400,16 +454,21 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Another Chance - Unknown (piano).mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (album artist) + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (album artist, commentary booklet) + BONUS TRACK TIME! But since I didn't make this one, I'm not going to talk over it, I'm going to turn this over to Eston for his commentary. So here's Eston: + <i>Eston Schweickart:</i> + - Like most of this album, it was made over a year before release - - Sound sources include the "stab" sound from Walk-Stab-Walk and a burnt-out lightbulb + - Sound sources include the "stab" sound from [[Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E)|Walk-Stab-Walk]] and a burnt-out lightbulb - Jit is an amazingly talented musician and a spectacular pianist, but he will never admit it nor accept it - I spent longer writing and producing this piece than any other finished song I've worked on (~5 months) - I took cues from Jit's style of orchestral instruments accompanying synths reminiscent of chiptunes, and though it is largely a re-imagining of Walk-Stab-Walk, I included subtle tips of the hat to his other early works - Yes good that sounded sufficiently pretentious + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (album artist) + Eston is the coolest of bros and makes sick music. But in a good way, not like sick with the flu or whatever. If you want to check out more of his stuff, and you should, you can visit his blog at <a href="https://siasinsilence.tumblr.com/">siasinsilence.tumblr.com</a>. --- Track: Under The Hat @@ -428,10 +487,14 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Under the Hat - i300.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + Also known as [[Trollcops]], this is a rather old idea that I once had for a Dad strife theme. I mean, all the kids had fight music, why not him? Anyway, between a chiptune variant I started and Trollcops, it's had a bit of a journey, but when it turned out alright on piano too, I didn't see any reason not to record a few takes. + Let me just put this out here, I'm not a jazz pianist at all, nor is this really jazz. Not very complicated jazz, at any rate. I know there's way better jazz playing out there, and probably quite a few pianists that'll be wondering why some pianist douchebag thinks he can play jazz, well rest assured, I'm not claiming I'm amazing at all. + Of course, not being able to play something magnificently and to the best form of the genre didn't really stop me from playing around with this piece. So I did. + I also think it would fit in during the first Intermission, with all the under-the-hat chicanery and stabbings that went on. --- Track: Mother (Piano) @@ -451,9 +514,12 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Mother (Piano) - i300.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Erik Scheele:</i> + <i>Erik Scheele:</i> (booklet commentary) + This is the original recording that [[Mother]] came from, made years back when I thought the only way to avoid clipping while recording was to play the softest I possibly could. I stressed out for ages to get it sounding just right, too, and after two years or however long it's been, it's still not perfect but it's pretty close. + If you've been reading this along with the tracks, then this means you've reached the end. You can either put the entire album on repeat and let it loop back to the beginning, or you can stop it here if you'd like. But in any case this means you're done reading this pdf for now, so I'll say goodbye now. + And of course, thanks for listening to this album, and supporting both me and the comic in whatever way you have. --- Section: 2019 release diff --git a/album/prospit-and-derse.yaml b/album/prospit-and-derse.yaml index 26ddb380..7add754a 100644 --- a/album/prospit-and-derse.yaml +++ b/album/prospit-and-derse.yaml @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Artists: Date: August 22, 2011 Date Added: November 15, 2019 URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/album/prospit-derse +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/album/prospit-derse - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9E0E46E420487203 Cover Artists: - Lexxy @@ -21,26 +21,52 @@ Art Tags: - Prospit - Derse Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (original Bandcamp blurb) + <i>The twins of Skaia, locked in combat's hold<br> - One a shadow of fate, one a heart of gold. + One a shadow of fate, one a heart of gold.</i> - Watch as we see the children who dream,<br> - Of worlds so unlike anything we've seen. + <i>Watch as we see the children who dream,<br> + Of worlds so unlike anything we've seen.</i> - Now, listen to the sound that has been rehearsed.<br> + <i>Now, listen to the sound that has been rehearsed.<br> The sound of dreams... of Prospit and Derse.</i> - <hr> + + Special thanks to:<br> + Nick Smalley<br> + Marcy Nabors + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + <b>Propsit & Derse 1 Year Anniversary Commentary</b> + It's really insane that it's been one year since this album came out. And what's even more remarkable is how much I've improved as a musician since then. But let's turn the clock back and I'll tell you the story of how it all started. + This whole thing is going to be done in the order of how I created the album, which was Derse and then Prospit, but not precisely in that order. + <b>Where It All Began</b> - It wasn't too long after Volume 6 was released that I started debating a solo album. I knew that I enjoyed contrasts, but I really loved ethereal sounds. I had actually considered doing a Medium album, but Clark beat me to it. However, Prospit & Derse had already been started before Medium was out. + + It wasn't too long after [[album:homestuck-vol-6|Volume 6]] was released that I started debating a solo album. I knew that I enjoyed contrasts, but I really loved ethereal sounds. I had actually considered doing a Medium album, but Clark [[album:medium|beat me to it]]. However, Prospit & Derse had already been started before Medium was out. + So where did the album's concept come from? Well, a conversation I had with Lexxy, actually! We were brainstorming ideas and we got into talking about the moons, and then the idea sunk in for me to do a solo album, which was actually called Derse/Prospit (yes, slash included). + Pretty cool, huh? And Lexxy helped with the album cover, which is really great. + But anyway, I eventually started working on some of the music. I knew Prospit was going to be a struggle for me, because I had never written any proper orchestral music at the time. And the first song I created was <a href="https://soundcloud.com/solatrus/apathy-empathy-wip-2">this</a>, albeit it was in drum and bass and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/solatrus/apathy-empathy-wip">not nearly</a> as polished sounding. + But I really didn't like the direction, so I ended up scrapping it and trying to figure out how to start over. And then Medium was released and I was incredibly inspired and remembered how great atmospheric music is. Clark Powell single-handedly saved this album from being killed before it even got anywhere. - And that's when I created Darkened Streets. + + And that's when I created [[Darkened Streets]]. + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (2020 rerelease blurb) + + My solo album from Homestuck! + + Homestuck © Homestuck + Music © Solatrus + References to other works © their respective artists + + Copyrighted material used with permission --- Color: '#ffcc00' Section: Prospit @@ -48,7 +74,7 @@ Section: Prospit Track: Hallowed Halls Duration: '3:35' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/hallowed-halls +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/hallowed-halls - https://youtu.be/ImNmotu8-pU Cover Artists: - Bea @@ -56,29 +82,46 @@ Cover Art File Extension: jpg Art Tags: - Prospit Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> - <i>(original commentary)</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (original commentary) + Hm, I haven't thought much about Prospit & Derse since its release, actually, but, here goes. - As you can probably tell, the two halves of the album have some parallels, especially in the first two songs: e.g., Hallowed Halls is to Darkened Streets as Golden Towers is to Obsidian Towers. I originally wrote Darkened Streets, but I really wanted to take the melody and progression used in it and apply it to a brassy fanfare. That's ultimately what Hallowed Halls came to be. Honestly, if it wasn't for Mark helping me name the song, I probably wouldn't've had the right image in my head for the new arrangement. + + As you can probably tell, the two halves of the album have some parallels, especially in the first two songs: e.g., Hallowed Halls is to [[Darkened Streets]] as [[The Golden Towers|Golden Towers]] is to [[The Obsidian Towers|Obsidian Towers]]. I originally wrote Darkened Streets, but I really wanted to take the melody and progression used in it and apply it to a brassy fanfare. That's ultimately what Hallowed Halls came to be. Honestly, if it wasn't for Marcy helping me name the song, I probably wouldn't've had the right image in my head for the new arrangement. + And Nick Smalley helped me out with those french horns, making them sound halfway decent. + Not really much else other than this song and Core of Darkness are without a doubt the best two on the album. - <i>(commentary redux)</i> + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + The opener for Prospit & Derse, at least, in the album's final lineup. This was actually track #5 for the longest period of time, but I realized just before release that Prospit had a stronger opening track and Derse had a stronger closing track. + This was a really fun song to create, and definitely helped set the example of how I wanted to approach Prospit for awhile. Hilariously, if you listen to how the album's set up, there's actually 4 sets of songs. Hallowed Halls and The Golden Towers have a lot of similar instruments, and are both designed as parallels to Darkened Streets and The Obsidian Towers, which also have a similar set of instruments. I ended up veering off into totally unique territory for each half's Dreamers, and ended up continuing in those new directions for the 4th tracks. - A big thanks to Nick and Mark for helping me get this particular track started. Mark gave me some good ideas (as well as naming this song) for how to put together some of the melodic lines. Nick came along and pointed out how I should use the French Horns. So this track is almost completely why the two of them have special thanks credits on this album. + + A big thanks to Nick and Marcy for helping me get this particular track started. Marcy gave me some good ideas (as well as naming this song) for how to put together some of the melodic lines. Nick came along and pointed out how I should use the French Horns. So this track is almost completely why the two of them have special thanks credits on this album. + In retrospect, the song feels like it's a bit empty. For being what's supposed to be the Royal Palace of Prospit, the impact just isn't there, neither melodically nor atmospherically. It's not a bad song, but it just barely misses the mark that it deserved to hit. + However, I absolutely adored the art Bea did for this piece, and, well, .. hey wait the art up there is different than it used to be! Yup. Bea decided to update the art for Hallowed Halls, and she did and even better job than before. Oh, and here's the fun part on this: I had no idea she actually was doing this until a few days ago, and she forgot that the anniversary was yesterday! Anyway, here's what she had to say: - (<i>Bea:</i>) - "contributing to homestuck, a webcomic thats given me so many opportunities, friends and good memories is a great honor, especially to be involved in an album as conceptually compelling and well executed as the prospit and derse album. i thank solatrus for the opportunity to be a part of his creation and everyone who helped me give back to something that has influenced my life immensely." + + <i>Bea:</i> + + contributing to homestuck, a webcomic thats given me so many opportunities, friends and good memories is a great honor, especially to be involved in an album as conceptually compelling and well executed as the prospit and derse album. i thank solatrus for the opportunity to be a part of his creation and everyone who helped me give back to something that has influenced my life immensely. + + <i>Solatrus:</i> + Thanks for helping me out, Bea. And keep up the good work. + I have to say I'm pleased overall with this song, but, like any artist, it's difficult to look back at my works. They never seem completed. Especially the Prospit half for me. - (<i>original track art</i>) + + <i>Bea:</i> (original track art) + <img src="media/misc/hallowed-halls-original.png" width="350"> --- Track: The Golden Towers Duration: '3:22' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/the-golden-towers +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/the-golden-towers - https://youtu.be/wVFRxJpa2og Cover Artists: - Pride @@ -89,20 +132,28 @@ Art Tags: Referenced Tracks: - The Obsidian Towers Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + Oh boy. ...What to say on this one... - That probably frightens you a little, doesn't it? Yeah. Well, putting it simply this song tried too hard to be The Obsidian Towers. I really wanted to do that parallel idea with this song and its Derse counterpart more than any of the others, but I ended up trying too hard to pull off that effect. And this song suffered greatly for it. + + That probably frightens you a little, doesn't it? Yeah. Well, putting it simply this song tried too hard to be [[The Obsidian Towers]]. I really wanted to do that parallel idea with this song and its Derse counterpart more than any of the others, but I ended up trying too hard to pull off that effect. And this song suffered greatly for it. + To be fair, it's got a pretty cool twist on everything compared to Obsidian Towers, but the biggest problem with this song is that I didn't try to let it be itself. You have no idea how badly I want to redo this song. There's so much potential behind this song that, at the time, I really just didn't understand. Of course, I've learned a remarkable amount since then, and one day, hopefully soon, I will rewrite this song. - Haha, I sound like I'm really tearing into my work here, don't I? Well, it used to be Prospit Dreamers that I didn't like, but more on that a little later. + + Haha, I sound like I'm really tearing into my work here, don't I? Well, it used to be [[Prospit Dreamers]] that I didn't like, but more on that a little later. + As I mentioned with The Obsidian Towers, both songs suffer from being really boring compositions. While Obsidian managed to get away with it because of my production skill, this song couldn't hide behind ill beats and a deliciously dark atmosphere. So, the very inexperienced composer in me tried his best to piece together a song based on The Obsidian Towers. + Is it horrible? Eh, I'll leave that judgment up to you. I know there are fans out there who really dig this song. My opinion is that it's my weakest song related to Homestuck, but really, it's not the worst thing I've ever done. + I'm quite pleased with what Pride did for the art, though. It worked out really well for the song. - As an additional note, it's been pointed out to me by <a href="http://kicking-christ-in-a-dirty-diaper.tumblr.com/">this fan</a> that this song sounds like it has Mark Hadley's [[track:problem-sleuth-theme|Problem Sleuth theme]] in it, at least in part. It's a coincidence in the exact same reason that Frost gets the same comment: slow melodies, probably the same key. Really nothing else to it. I've listened to Hadley's PS theme probably twice ever. Oops. Said fan also wondered if I jokingly thought that gentlemen of Team Sleuth are Prospit's agents much like our chums in the Midnight Crew are Derse's. I didn't, but that's an awesome comparison and now I'm all for it. + + As an additional note, it's been pointed out to me by <a href="http://kicking-christ-in-a-dirty-diaper.tumblr.com/">this fan</a> that this song sounds like it has Mark Hadley's [[track:problem-sleuth-theme|Problem Sleuth theme]] in it, at least in part. It's a coincidence in the exact same reason that [[track:frost-vol6|Frost]] gets the same comment: slow melodies, probably the same key. Really nothing else to it. I've listened to Hadley's PS theme probably twice ever. Oops. Said fan also wondered if I jokingly thought that gentlemen of Team Sleuth are Prospit's agents much like our chums in the Midnight Crew are Derse's. I didn't, but that's an awesome comparison and now I'm all for it. --- Track: Prospit Dreamers Duration: '3:19' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/prospit-dreamers +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/prospit-dreamers - https://youtu.be/S70lGd8zpRM Cover Artists: - Zilleniose @@ -116,32 +167,52 @@ Referenced Tracks: - track:frost-vol6 - Doctor Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> - <i>(original commentary)</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (original commentary) + Oh boy. + Yeah. + I really don't know what I was thinking on this one. It was rushed, and it's, sadly, my least favorite work I've ever done. I had some interesting ideas, going with a bit of a swing flavor to it, but frankly the song sounds like I was going through ADD. + It probably doesn't help that I basically [wrote] a small, but significant, part of the song and set it aside for a few months before adding in the piano and bass parts and finishing it. + And by rushed I mean I was actually adding to this song days before the album came out. I wouldn't recommend anyone doing that ever. + Still, people seem to like the song, and to be fair, there's a few really neat parts in it. It's just, well, weak overall. I've done a lot better, and this song's 'failure,' so to speak, taught me a lot of valuable lessons. + Sorry if you were expecting something more positive! - <i>(commentary redux)</i> + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + This song is freaking weird. + Now why do I say that? Well, it doesn't really know what it wants to be. A 6/8 piece somewhat reminiscent of something from the Legend of Zelda? A 4/4 piece? A swung piece? It's... well it's all of those. + Prospit Dreamers is without a doubt the most ambitious song I wrote for Prospit & Derse. I did a lot of really awkward things that worked out really well, but I had absolutely no idea why any of it worked. And so I ended up really hating the song because I thought it was too random! + Come a year later and I now I understand my composing style better, so when I listen to this I find it to be a pretty dang fascinating piece. A lot of individual parts making a very interesting greater whole. + If you think about the early part, it sounds like the Prospitians had created this really mellow 6/8 piece, but then John and Jade show up and mix it up with their (my headcanon) love of swing music. - I'm especially pleased with how I managed to fit Frost and Doctor together into this song, along with a little bit of Penumbra Phantasm, and still make the song stand on its own. It's a lot cooler sounding than what I did in Derse Dreamers, honestly! + + I'm especially pleased with how I managed to fit [[track:frost-vol6|Frost]] and [[Doctor]] together into this song, along with a little bit of [[Penumbra Phantasm]], and still make the song stand on its own. It's a lot cooler sounding than what I did in [[Derse Dreamers]], honestly! + My personal favorite part is the time signature switch when the clarinets come in and play an arrangement of that familiar motif from Penumbra Phantasm, and then the strong french horns playing the same line they played in Frost behind the trumpets playing Doctor's melody. + It's really hilarious how I used to not appreciate this song, but now I do. I actually enjoy it more than most of the album, and I'm really glad that my opinion changed, and I am also really glad I asked Zoey to do the art for this song, because her art is amazing, and her interpretation of John and Jade is the best. THE BEST. Speaking of, she informed me to tell you all the following: - (<i>Zilleniose:</i>) - "Butts" + + <i>Zilleniose:</i> + + Butts + + <i>Solatrus:</i> + Butts indeed. --- Track: Center of Brilliance Duration: '3:37' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/center-of-brilliance +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/center-of-brilliance - https://youtu.be/514f8SzU62M Cover Artists: - Shelby Cragg @@ -160,13 +231,20 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Center of Brilliance - infinityMechanism.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + Expecting a different song, were you? B) - While this song was started pretty late into production, it was actually one of the first in the entire album to be completed. Both Hallowed Halls and Center of Brilliance were started around the same time, and I really don't remember which came first. It's been awhile, okay? + + While this song was started pretty late into production, it was actually one of the first in the entire album to be completed. Both [[Hallowed Halls]] and [[Center of Brilliance]] were started around the same time, and I really don't remember which came first. It's been awhile, okay? + Anyway, if it wasn't one of the first to be completed, it was definitely the first. I'm actually pretty pleased with this song, because it helped me figure out the other direction I wanted to go in for Prospit. + The best part about this song is, without a doubt, the trumpet lines in the middle and near the end. While it's totally synthetic and sampled, I'm very pleased with how it sounds! I really love the section very close to the end where it's just a single trumpet and the clarinet section. It's one of the better motifs I've written, in my opinion, and I'm quite pleased with it. + That's not to say this song is perfect. The piano timing is a little too off and a little too noticeably cut-and-paste repeated. It's a really tiny nitpick, but I didn't even really notice it until earlier this week. - Oh, and in case you didn't know, this song was originally Prospit Dreamers. Why did I change my mind on it? Well, I couldn't figure out how to fit in Doctor (and by extension Penumbra Phantasm) and Frost into such a happy sounding song. It just wasn't really working for me, nor was the time signature. + + Oh, and in case you didn't know, this song was originally [[Prospit Dreamers]]. Why did I change my mind on it? Well, I couldn't figure out how to fit in [[Doctor]] (and by extension [[Penumbra Phantasm]]) and [[track:frost-vol6|Frost]] into such a happy sounding song. It just wasn't really working for me, nor was the time signature. + But I definitely felt like the song was a great closer to this half of the album, and Shelby's art for the piece fit perfectly. --- Section: Derse @@ -174,7 +252,7 @@ Section: Derse Track: Darkened Streets Duration: '4:02' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/darkened-streets +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/darkened-streets - https://youtu.be/kb_v4KCml-s Cover Artists: - A. Smith @@ -184,20 +262,28 @@ Art Tags: - Carapacians - Derse Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + This was definitely the song that started everything off. It's dark, dreary, but still majestic like the very moon it describes. The music takes on you a flight. You're one of the Derse Dreamers, the wind rushing across your face as you approach the moon's surface. Carapaces scurrying about, too afraid to be caught after curfew, wary of Jack Noir and his gang. + My original goal was to make this song set the example of how I perceive Derse. Dark, but not evil. Fitting for the Dreamers we know and love there. + I definitely tried to go into some new territory with this song. While I've always loved the Metroid Prime Trilogy soundtrack, this was my first real attempt at trying to imitate many quality's of that trilogy's music. + The violin that comes in pretty early on was actually added in near the end of the album's production, and the idea to really strongly associate every song with the kids didn't occur to me until part of the way into doing Prospit's half, but I'll get to that later. - I really have to say I like the the bass I chose for this song. It has a sort of heart beat quality to it. Very simple, very deep. But it really cuts through. Of course, I did get to do my favorite high pass/bitcrushed beats again, but this time I did a spin on it: Gross Beat. I mentioned it with Crystalanthology, but I used Gross Beat far more extensively in Derse. - When I was initially creating this song, Prospit & Derse was a concept album. You, the listener, would have been guided along a journey, first to Derse, going through the Darkened Streets, up the Obsidian Towers to where the Derse Dreamers were jamming out, before heading deep into the Core of Darkness, until you were suddenly transported to Prospit, appearing in the Hallowed Halls before repeating the journey with Prospit's counterparts. Honestly, if you listen to the album as Derse & Prospit instead, you still can kind of get that vibe! - You can definitely hear the idea of that in how it goes into The Obsidian Towers, but I ended up removing the more seemless transitions in favor of just having two somewhat parallel albums, and stuck with the parallel idea for awhile. This is the most obvious in the first two songs of each half. Hallowed Halls is based on Darkened Streets, and The Golden Towers is based on The Obsidian Towers. + + I really have to say I like the the bass I chose for this song. It has a sort of heart beat quality to it. Very simple, very deep. But it really cuts through. Of course, I did get to do my favorite high pass/bitcrushed beats again, but this time I did a spin on it: Gross Beat. I mentioned it with [[Crystalanthology]], but I used Gross Beat far more extensively in Derse. + + When I was initially creating this song, Prospit & Derse was a concept album. You, the listener, would have been guided along a journey, first to Derse, going through the Darkened Streets, up [[The Obsidian Towers|the Obsidian Towers]] to where the [[Derse Dreamers]] were jamming out, before heading deep into the [[Core of Darkness]], until you were suddenly transported to Prospit, appearing in the [[Hallowed Halls]] before repeating the journey with Prospit's counterparts. Honestly, if you listen to the album as Derse & Prospit instead, you still can kind of get that vibe! + + You can definitely hear the idea of that in how it goes into The Obsidian Towers, but I ended up removing the more seemless transitions in favor of just having two somewhat parallel albums, and stuck with the parallel idea for awhile. This is the most obvious in the first two songs of each half. Hallowed Halls is based on Darkened Streets, and [[The Golden Towers]] is based on The Obsidian Towers. + In a side note, I'd love to link you to the artist who did the song cover art for Darkened Streets, but I've lost contact with them! If anyone knows where I can get in contact again, please let me know! --- Track: The Obsidian Towers Duration: '3:19' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/the-obsidian-towers +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/the-obsidian-towers - https://youtu.be/IdaYlKyxfx4 Cover Artists: - Kato @@ -206,18 +292,24 @@ Art Tags: - Dave - Derse Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + I started to shift styles for this one a bit. I wanted something that was more majestic sounding, but still as dark as Darkened Streets. Ultimately, I decided to feature the choir section more in the intro. It actually was probably the first synth I put in this song. Everything basically followed. + I had a bit more fun with the bassline in this song, though it's not particularly complex. The focus definitely on the time shifting beats, a la Dave. Hell, Dave is the main reason I decided to use Gross Beat heavily. I wonder if Dave feels like a Time Lord as the Knight of Time? + The Obsidian Towers was actually one of the last songs I finished composing for the album, because I got totally stuck on it without having the string section in there. - Anyway, I think this song definitely describes the Towers well enough, though, I feel like I could have gone for something a bit more powerful in sound. Something more looming, more... ominous. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20, yeah? To be fair, The Golden Towers suffers from this issue as well, so it was probably also a composition problem. Woosp! + + Anyway, I think this song definitely describes the Towers well enough, though, I feel like I could have gone for something a bit more powerful in sound. Something more looming, more... ominous. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20, yeah? To be fair, [[The Golden Towers]] suffers from this issue as well, so it was probably also a composition problem. Woosp! + Nonetheless, the string section in this song, especially right at the end, is one of the cooler sounding harmonies I've thrown together. + I really have always loved the architecture Andrew picked for the moons, though personally I feel it fits Derse far better than Prospit. --- Track: Derse Dreamers Duration: '3:35' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/derse-dreamers +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/derse-dreamers - https://youtu.be/HpmCCuSHmng Cover Artists: - Mixt @@ -244,29 +336,46 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Derse Dreamers - adamus (piano).mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> - <i>(original commentary)</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (original commentary) + Well, this is the most popular song from Prospit & Derse. Not surprised it eventually would show up. :> - This song, along with Core of Darkness, captures the very core idea I had in mind for the Prospit & Derse album: writing music about the settings, but showing that the mere existence of the kids on those moons influences the music as well. + + This song, along with [[Core of Darkness]], captures the very core idea I had in mind for the Prospit & Derse album: writing music about the settings, but showing that the mere existence of the kids on those moons influences the music as well. + Derse Dreamers was the first to actually reach that goal, and was actually the first song to be fully completed on the entire album. - Of course, this song being retroactively tossed into the Shut Up and Jam page helped with its popularity quite a bit. + + Of course, this song being retroactively tossed into the [[flash:1720|Shut Up and Jam]] page helped with its popularity quite a bit. + Retroactively gaining an additional featured song... from a page that existed before my first real feature. How's that for weird time shit? - <i>(commentary redux)</i> - The fan favorite. Without a freaking doubt. This one compares to Frost in popularity, and I'm willing to bet is probably even more popular thanks to horizon's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SQjvPLAWs">vocal cover</a>. + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + + The fan favorite. Without a freaking doubt. This one compares to [[track:frost-vol6]] in popularity, and I'm willing to bet is probably even more popular thanks to horizon's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SQjvPLAWs">vocal cover</a>. + What's that? You hear Iron Man in it? Yeah, so do I. Oops. That string section is kind of hilariously similar. It's a huge coincidence, though, because I really don't listen to Black Sabbath whatsoever. - When I started this song, I knew I wanted two things: Rose playing violin, and Dave being a bad-ass with time-shifted beats. I ended up making the opening motif and let it repeat for most of the song. People seemed to really like the strong focus on Rose and Dave, but I think even more so people enjoyed the callbacks to their respective Medium world themes (Endless Climb and Atomyk Ebonpyre, respectively). + + When I started this song, I knew I wanted two things: Rose playing violin, and Dave being a bad-ass with time-shifted beats. I ended up making the opening motif and let it repeat for most of the song. People seemed to really like the strong focus on Rose and Dave, but I think even more so people enjoyed the callbacks to their respective Medium world themes ([[Endless Climb]] and [[Atomyk Ebonpyre]], respectively). + Though, maybe it was the name? Maybe it was the amazing art Mixt did? Speaking of, here's what she had to say: - (<i>Mixt:</i>) - "I recall the idea was to draw Rose and Dave jamming on Derse, but the piece itself made me think of space, so they ended up jamming in the space between Derse and its moon instead. Rose's bowhand unfortunately reflects my own terrible grip when playing violin. - Also, I laughed when it was discovered that Derse Dreamers made it into [S] Rose and Dave: Shut up and jam just prior to the album's release. Fandom, you never cease to amaze me." + + <i>Mixt:</i> + + I recall the idea was to draw Rose and Dave jamming on Derse, but the piece itself made me think of space, so they ended up jamming in the space between Derse and its moon instead. Rose's bowhand unfortunately reflects my own terrible grip when playing violin. + + Also, I laughed when it was discovered that Derse Dreamers made it into [[flash:1720|[S] Rose and Dave: Shut up and jam]] just prior to the album's release. Fandom, you never cease to amaze me. + + <i>Solatrus:</i> + I agree with her there. I was very amused when people noticed the change to that page even before I had the chance to mention it to anyone. Crazy fandom ninjas! + Yeah, that's pretty much all there is to this song. It was remarkably straightforward. I didn't do anything particularly surprising for myself on this one. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and I did it. + More importantly, however, I'm thrilled this song is enjoyed by so many people, and I've been blown away how people have have been using this song in their own derivative works. It's just really heartwarming as an artist to see my work out there having a life of its own. --- Track: Core of Darkness Duration: '3:14' URLs: -- https://music.solatrus.com/track/core-of-darkness +- https://solatrus.bandcamp.com/track/core-of-darkness - https://youtu.be/VEJ3hfCnW_w Cover Artists: - Shad Andrews @@ -283,26 +392,48 @@ MIDI Project Files: Files: - 'Core of Darkness - zerliriousKvetch.mid' Commentary: |- - <i>Solatrus:</i> - <i>(original commentary)</i> + <i>Solatrus:</i> (original commentary) + Best song on Prospit & Derse. Period. + This was the song that made me realize my production had legitimately hit a professional level and wasn't ever going to go back. - This was the only Derse song that was written in response to a Prospit song. I wrote Center of Brilliance before Core of Darkness, and I really wanted to try to counter the very.. bright and circular (I guess?) feel I had with CoB. + + This was the only Derse song that was written in response to a Prospit song. I wrote [[Center of Brilliance]] before Core of Darkness, and I really wanted to try to counter the very.. bright and circular (I guess?) feel I had with CoB. + Out of all of my production work, Core of Darkness has the most movie soundtrack sound to it, and that's pretty awesome. Fantastic way to close out the album. + It's also a nice precursor to my current interest in trip hop music. - <i>(commentary redux)</i> - My favorite. While you all have a soft spot for Derse Dreamers, I have one for Core of Darkness. This is the song that made me actually say out loud, "Whoa, when did my music start sounding professional?" + + <i>Solatrus:</i> (one year anniversary) + + My favorite. While you all have a soft spot for [[Derse Dreamers]], I have one for Core of Darkness. This is the song that made me actually say out loud, "Whoa, when did my music start sounding professional?" + Yeah. This one. I had more fun working on this song than any other song on this album. And it still stands out to me as being one of, if not, my best electronic/downbeat songs. I wasn't really sure what I was going with when I picked the name Core of Darkness. This song doesn't particularly have a "round" feel to it, amusingly. But I wanted to just grasp the raw essence, the core, if you will, of what Derse is, and continue with the idea that the kids influence the way the music sounds on the moons just as they affect many of the characters in the game through prototyping. + I'm very pleased with the string sections I did, though it's not really a complex melody. Lots of repetition, just like the rest of this half of the album. But the atmosphere is pretty damn awesome, and without a doubt set the tone for some of my future works. I wasn't aware that I actually really liked trip-hop at the time, but Nick introduced me to the genre, and it completely clarified why I enjoyed doing this half of the album so much. + I'm also very impressed with the art that Shad did, though it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. However, I preferred to let the artists have some free reign, so this actually turned out better than what I was thinking! Here's what she had to say on her piece and the rest of the album: - (<i>Shad:</i>) - "When I was first asked about doing album art, it was really, really exciting!! Those who know me, know that I'm all about the carapace and everything in general, and having an album based on the kingdoms was really exciting and it was an honor to be confronted about it at all! - I've always dreamed to do things for Homestuck, just because of how it has affected me. I'm always up to doing things, and it's always greatwhen I'm allowed, and when it's something that I feel passionate about. + + <i>Shad Andrews:</i> + + When I was first asked about doing album art, it was really, really exciting!! Those who know me, know that I'm all about the carapace and everything in general, and having an album based on the kingdoms was really exciting and it was an honor to be confronted about it at all! + + I've always dreamed to do things for Homestuck, just because of how it has affected me. I'm always up to doing things, and it's always great when I'm allowed, and when it's something that I feel passionate about. + I did the album art to Core of Darkness, which honestly is one of my favorite songs and I can't tell if I'm being biased or not because it's my art. + I took the chance to do something new, and I wanted to go above and beyond what quality work that I normally do. I wanted this to be something I could be proud of, and something that would showcase just how good I thought it was! - Solatrus sent me a sample of the unfinished song, which I listened to on repeat the whole time I was working. I ended up doing the wholething in one sitting, and I just worked on it all night long because I was just.reallyinto it. I wanted to do somethingreally extreme and fun to look at. The angel being. like.. you were in the core, a la the title of the music. - I can't tell you how many times I wanted to just give up andscrap it, because it was hard and something I hadn't done - the perspective, along with the lineless-like style. + + Solatrus sent me a sample of the unfinished song, which I listened to on repeat the whole time I was working. I ended up doing the whole thing in one sitting, and I just worked on it all night long because I was just. really into it. I wanted to do something really extreme and fun to look at. The angle being. like.. you were in the core, a la the title of the music. + + I can't tell you how many times I wanted to just give up and scrap it, because it was hard and something I hadn't done - the perspective, along with the lineless-like style. + But I'm really happy with it even a year later. - The music itself was just.really really great. I loved itnot just because I worked on it, which was a great plus, but all the art, allof it, was really great. The music was awesome, and I loved the whole thingbehind it. Using the kids' instruments and styles to create the music for each kingdom. And just??? It seemed really fitting, what with how much I like thecarapace and all. - It was really an honor to work on it, and I still listen to the album every now and again, even a year later. I'm really proud of everyone who worked on it and thankful for the album and the art." + + The music itself was just. really really great. I loved it not just because I worked on it, which was a great plus, but all the art, all of it, was really great. The music was awesome, and I loved the whole thing behind it. Using the kids' instruments and styles to create the music for each kingdom. And just??? It seemed really fitting, what with how much I like the carapace and all. + + It was really an honor to work on it, and I still listen to the album every now and again, even a year later. I'm really proud of everyone who worked on it and thankful for the album and the art. + + <i>Solatrus:</i> + Aw, thanks Shad! I really appreciate that you enjoy the album so much. |