|
File
 This sample was created by holding a metal nail file over the edge of a wooden chest of drawers and pinging the end of it. The sound was recorded using a Shure SM57 microphone. The sound was found to have a tone very close to G# and so was fine-tuned in Renoise to that pitch. This fact is exploited in the song by having the File sample become both a bassdrum and a bass sound, so a rhythm could be kept yet also change pitch to alter the key of the music.
|
|
Dark Island
 Two bottles of Dark Island were taken in hand, one full, one empty, and were struck together. The sound was recorded using a Shure SM57 microphone. In Renoise the sound is played two octaves lower than normal and given some distortion to add extra bite. The sample is used as a tuned snare drum within the music, the usual rhythm complimented by a building accompaniment on a separate track.
|
|
Harp, Glocken 3Deep, Glocken Single
 All three samples were created using the Edirol Orchestral VST, then the sounds rendered down within Renoise (the rules of the competition call for no external VST dependencies). The Harp is used as a simple two-part arpeggio to create an anchor point for the music, creating tension when the key changes and the Harp remains static. The 3deep sample is a glockenspiel playing three octaves of the note C and is used with the Single version (also C) to introduce the song with a simple, foreboding melody that vocals can play on top of.
|
|
Wok Strike, Wok Warble
 For both of these samples, a wok partially filled with water was struck off a wooden bedpost and moved around while still ringing to create strange variations in pitch. This was recorded several times using the SM57 mic and the best two were chosen. The Strike sound is used within the music as a second snare sound, one that stays in place while the Dark Island sound moves around. The Warble is used at various points throughout the song to add colour and help sections flow together.
|
|
Water
 Recorded using a pair of Soundman OKM II binaural ear microphones, the head was placed firmly within the toilet bowl and then flushed. The sound of flushing was not used, but the sound of water refilling the cistern is what is present in the sample. The binaural microphones accurately captured the tight surroundings and so creates a tense, claustrophobic feeling. The sound is used at various pitches throughout the song to create atmosphere.
|
|
Vocals
 All vocals were recorded using the Shure SM57 microphone and an attached pop-shield. I've never sung properly before or had lessons, so they're pretty rough. I also wasn't able to practice in advance, since the vocals were performed as the song was being written, literally sitting at the computer desk.
The female vocals were made by using the Male>Female effect built into the Audigy II soundcard. The effect can help make vocals more feminine to a certain degree by softening their tone and inflection. It also pitchshifts up by four semitones, so the original vocal melody must be transposed down before recording. |
|
Lyrics
You're Breathing In Drowned Prophecies
Within Morass At The Floor Of This Abyss
Revive, Reach Down, Push Off With Everything
Taste The Air, Repeat, Push Off For Everything
Until You Flow Free
We See You Surfacing
Now Swim Or Be Encased
For Null Eternity
Then Times Converge
After The Melt
As It Has Always Meant To Be
But Ware The Thin Line
And Inhale Your Past
To Inform Our Time To Be - Cause
It's Time To Share |
|
|
