New Sounds of Silence (DSO Berlin's Remix Contest 2015-16)

I have finally finished my work for DSO Berlin’s Remix Contest 2015-16 based on the fourth and last movement of Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major by Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). It was an interesting experience which appeared to be more difficult than expected. Bruckner is a strong composer whose influence over the track has become quite distinct in the end of the track. I’ve heard a track made for this contest by Takao, and Romantic Revolution topic intrigued me. I kept asking myself what it means and tried to listen to Bruckner’s music. When there was a month till the end of the contest, I decided that I would love to work on classic music. I hope you like it.

http://soundcloud.com/redpanda13/new-sounds-of-silence-dso-berlins-remix-contest-2015-16

I’ve listened to the source, the fourth movement of the Bruckner symphony, and it’s not something I would sample or remix. It’s too dense, and musically it doesn’t sound like it would work in the context of electronic music. You’ve done very well dealing with this very complex piece of music and extracting from it some usable elements. Your remix is well-produced and loaded with sounds and detail. Some of the sound design is really nice. I like the percussion with delays on it and some of the synths that come in towards the end. I especially like the reversed plucked strings at the beginning – they grab the listener’s attention. The drums sound a bit weak, but I guess that’s a creative choice as well as a mix choice; they cannot be to the forefront when there is so much else going on. And, despite there being many layers and much detail, the mix sounds quite clear to me.

You describe this as a finished work, so I guess there isn’t much point in adding constructive criticism, but I think that perhaps it is a little bit too dense and detailed at times. It would have been nice if it had had some breathing space about two thirds in, maybe with a return to the lightness of those plucked sounds in the beginning, perhaps in combination with some of the plucked synths that were introduced in the meantime.

Criticism aside, this is a nice piece of sound design and a professional-sounding track.

Thank you for your support, Sam. Yes, the work was energy-consuming, I couldn’t think of anything else while working on the project. What can I say, Bruckner has a strong personality that kinda thrills you. However, it was an interesting work which made me think over many things.

I didn’t know how to start, I was practically trembling when I started. I used the things I had never thought of before. In the middle of the track there was a sort of block which immobilized me for some time, and only in the end everything seemed like a finished work. It was difficult to avoid the original arrangement, from fade-in to climax where the trumps burst the space around them. He knew how to deal with it. I wanted to make raw sound, as if you touch raw material. An end thing consists of several parts, which used to be pieces of wood or metal. I’d like to return to the state which had been before the final edition so to say, though trying to avoid sound terrorism. Yes, there are a lot of fragments; I also wanted to defocus attention. Have you even noticed that when there are a lot of layers playing, at some moment everything is at discord which gives birth to a completely new sound? As if something new is born from all this noise.

Thank you for the critics, sometimes a lot of layers seem like overkill. I try to add them for the general picture to be seen. I think I eventually will be able to separate the concentrated essence. I still have a lot to learn. Thank you for listening and constructive criticism. I am glad you enjoyed :slight_smile:

Great track, excellent mixing on this one!

Thank you for feedback, Bad Mind. Glad you enjoy!

Ahhh, really enjoyed this one. I had less problems with the amount of sounds than Sam, actually felt like the track did a pretty great job of remaining non-cluttered, even with a lot of things going on at once (something I personally struggle with a lot). I haven’t heard the original source material but it certainly makes me curious how far off this is from the the original. Certainly the intro is great - a lot of care in the sounds themselves and I think starting off more spare is always a great way to invite the listener to really pay attention to the following sounds.

I also liked the use of vocals in this one - subtle, like most of the track - nothing slams you in the face - you get sort of lulled into the track and, before you know it, there are a lot of different things going on. Sort of Boards of Canada-esque in that way (though, I wouldn’t say this sounds like BOC - rather that there is a similar effect).

Nice work, would love to hear more of stuff like this from you ^_^!

I agree a little bit with Sam, there a few elemts that makes some parts sound less harmonic and groovy, but you’ve done a very good job on the remix. :slight_smile:

This shit is dope! I love that synth that comes in around the 2 minute mark.

Thank you for feedback, TheCytha. I am glad you like it. Yes, I also have my attention distracting while listening to the track. It’s really hard to catch. I actually kind of wanted to achieve this state where the sound is perceived as raw material. While listening to it again there are quote a lot of ideas of putting these sounds to use. I don’t mean the track is not finished, what I’m telling is the track is similar to a piece of mineral or granite which when worked can take any shape you like. I was interested in the very idea of rawness and I wanted to see what I could get. I’d like to notice that the original work is very strong both in its idea and performance. The works by this author became a great discovery for me. The music sounds like the renewal of nature. If interested, you could have a look at the symphony [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_E7MASPsc]or just its final part by DSO [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0EXYvwY03g]. Thank you once again for the constructive critics.

Thank you TheBellows for the comment. I am glad you enjoyed.

Thank you SynthisterNation! I am happy that this work managed to deliver some neurotransmitters to your reward center :slight_smile:

Cheers panda! Listening to the DSO final part now - very nice to be able to listen to the source materials/make comparisons. It’s interesting b/c the youtube calls it “romantic” and actually think it totally fits with that era of classical music (though I"m not expert for sure). Renewal - what a nice theme as (at least where I am), Spring is coming around. Thanks again for the links, looking forward to listening you track again once I’ve digested the symphony a bit :slight_smile:

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