#1 Hidden Love ~~~ is all about mood, sort of quasi~romantic but missing some honesty. Trying to tell a story and hope the piece provides the ambience. Key of F minor, 120 BPM #2 Cloudy Day ~~~ was a total experiment in syncopation both on the drums and percussion, and on the instrumentation. Tried to keep 3 to 5 diverse rhythms going simultaneously. Key of B minor, 120 BPM Been composing almost one year now and not given up yet. Call me lazy, please. Happy Thanksgiving. Gooble, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:45:51 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Gold Button Heaven help me~~~ this piece uses at least two keys at 120 BPM with a new set of instruments that blend traditional acoustics and synthetic sounds. This piece comes from having created two songs I threw away because they felt old. So I took a risk and started over, wanting something fresh, deep, and unequivocally funky. A huge challenge was so much cracking sound on bass and organ beats ~ drove me nuts until I applied the Classic EQ effect. You have to give up some deeper and higher frequencies sometimes ~ all part of growing I guess. As usual, nearly everything was written using Acoustica equipment, though there are some loops, like the guy doing the hip hop vocals. (A man can only do so much.) This is not perfect (they never are). But I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did composing it. Feel the blue sky, ~CF PS~ If your hips aint movin to this, you better see a doctor. ]]> who8myshoes Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:50:06 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Peekaboo This piece is a deep, funky tune running @ 120 BPM using two keys. The thread for this piece comes from trying to simulate certain ambient guitar sounds produced by the brilliant British composer Paul Hardcastle. I am using far less classical instruments as stand-alone. The goal was to create more of a synthetic sound rather than a traditional orchestral sound. This is underpinned with double hi hat streams and a consistent kick underbelly. (Believe it or not, some of the trance-like sounds are produced from a cello.) Hope you enjoy listening~~~ Peace and cupcakes, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:15:50 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Midnight Nearly six (6) weeks ago I was about 80 percent complete on this one, and just gave up. It was different at 105 BPM and very slow moving. The mood was perfect but there was some color and thrust lacking. Also, I tried a new technique of combining instruments and allowing one to be up five semi~tones (half steps) which adds a slightly off-key sound. Well I blew the dust off and here you are ~ a little bit of midnight slow, moody chill-out with a touch of Synthia. Peace and one plain donut, Thank you. -CF PS ~ Most of the rhythm sections were actually written in MixCraft, not BeatCraft. This was on purpose just to try something different. ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:17:49 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = The List After weeks of false starts and creative wall after wall, I give you a new piece. It started out @ 105 BPM (to try something different), but leaned back on what I know @ 120 in the key of E major. Everything is written and composed using Acoustica products (expect for some slick instruments from Sonar ). Good fortune and tuna salad, -CF PS - Yes. For those that noticed, that is my sweetheart Synthia singing a few notes gently in the background. ]]> who8myshoes Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:32:24 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Space Groove Well after nearly one month of struggling with new software and hardware, another piece is born. I have invested in another DAW and an Axiom keyboard, but the new and professional DAW is proving incredibly difficult to grasp. Needless to say, this piece was composed entirely in Acoustica products. Right; 120 BPM, key of C minor and everything including FX composed in MixCraft with one big caveat. I cheated and am liberally using VSTi from the other DAW, so there are instruments you will not normally hear (sorry). All drums and percussion are written in BeatCraft. Lesson Learned For those of you considering upgrading your DAW from MixCraft to Sonar, FruityLoops, Pro Tools, etc. please be aware that all DAWs perform essentially the same tasks. Yes, MixCraft has some limitations I expect to outgrow someday; however, having used three(3) DAWs I can testify that MixCraft allows me to be productive over the others by a factor of 5 to 20 ~ and it gives me joy. BTW ~ If you are searching for a drum machine and sequencer from a solid company, BeatCraft is my sole source for my drums and percussion. Unfortunately, Acoustica may not create any new upgrades. PS ~ If you think I am an Acoustica mole you are wrong. I am a veteran software engineer and know useful software when I experience it; it is intuitive, simple, clean, and facilitates expression, and Acoustica products do these with five stars *****. -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:15:34 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Farewell This was written and composed entirely in Acoustica MixCraft and BeatCraft = 100 percent pure. This was built from the key of B minor at standard 120 BPM and uses a slightly syncopated beat structure. This is NOT my usual drivel. No, this is different from what you are accustomed to, and purposely bends my tendencies away from my comfort zone. One of my primary goals was to reflect a technique of one of my favorite artists ~ Chicane. That technique is an ambient rolling pitch, which I tried to simulate with MixCraft. With the Piano Roll Editor you can ^roll^ a pitch but not with the precision I need (at least as best I have tried). Using a combination of descending chords and effects, the effect is not where I want to be, but it is progress in the right direction. Let me know what you think. Peace and MSG, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:35:31 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Ice Tea Nothing special, really. My usual drivel at 120 BPM, in the key of A major. I liked the groove, nothing else. Otherwise, my stuff feels confined, got to break this mold (right, gettin moldy). Feeling thirsty, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:30:18 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Wiped Clean While this is a standard 120 BPM using MixCraft and BeatCraft in the key of G major, I have discovered and employed some new techniques. What started off as a somewhat routine work and nearly finished, was abandoned twice. After working on a final intro to the work, two simple chords became the inspiration to a new piece; Wiped Clean. That is correct ~ just two chords. These two chords gave rise to a different approach to laying a thick, but more melodic bass-line. As these were evolving together, a 3.6 pulse was replacing the typical 3.2 trance pulse. Further, these typically flat chord progressions were then peppered with and ebbs and flow of its own. Lastly, I wanted a lighter touch to temper the deep bass and synthetic pulsing. So the combination of harps and synthetic strings provided the dotting. All of this was accomplished with a Spartan seven tracks, as opposed to my usual 12 or so. The problem of cracks and pops continue to haunt, but some of this is due to peculiarities in the playback engine I would guess. Boost the volume if you cannot feel this vibe ~ please. Peace and a healthy prostate, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:27:04 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Dancing on the Beach >> 100% Pure MixCraft and BeatCraft >> 120 BPM in Key of A major >> Deep, rhythmic, ambient Feel the sand in your toes -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:00:45 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Whisper This is a new album with the first piece being a trance-like beat and sound at 135 BPM in the key of F major. There are only two classical instruments here: piano and strings; everything else is synthetic. The bass lines are 5-6 pulse notes using long and short durations. There were over 30 eight-measure beats built over one week in BeatCraft alone, but only about seven made the cut. The overall beat is a bit harder than my custom, and is as funky as I am able thus far. While I tried to stretch the notes out and slightly beyond a full octave, the overall melodic quality still trends too tight. The ambient tone is getting fuller and richer, but not where I am completely satisfied. Transitions continue to challenge, though I am getting more comfortable blending the ends and beginnings for melody and beat continuity. Discovered a little trick to keep beats from cracking at the end in MixCraft - by ensuring the loop ends on a strong sound. -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:37:37 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Floating On Air Composition and arrangement is 99.9% pure using Acoustic BeatCraft and MixCraft. Written in key of F major at 120 BPM with nearly all synth instruments. The only two --natural-- instruments are strings and harp. Still having difficulty keeping percussion from cracking. Used track EQ filter for adjusting specific frequencies on percussion track with some success. Unfortunately, had to reduce global frequency color to mitigate cracking across entire piece. Not sure where this trouble is coming from other than the burden or conflict of effects. Peace and white chili, -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:27:45 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Living Water All rhythm and instrumentals done in Acoustica MixCraft and BeatCraft. SFX loops used sparingly. Written in keys of G# major and E major at 120 BPM. This is a slow, chilled ambient groove with heavy instrumentals, panning and flanger EFX. Unfortunately, I have been neglecting Synthia lately. Maybe she will return on another track. Peace and clean water. -CF ]]> who8myshoes Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:46:50 +0100 http://mixcraftlive.com/members/395 NEW SONG = Rain Or Shine All beats written using BeatCraft All melodies written using MixCraft zzz -CF ]]> who8myshoes Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:54:30 +0100