Seasons

[Otto Halmén]

The beans:

• VSCO 2 CE
  
• ReaEQ
  
• Luminous Reverb
  

As always, there's no need for filters, all kinds of feedback is welcome. (See what I did there?)

Sam, you are generous for letting us poor CE users take a stab at the compo.

[Samulis]

Nice entry Otto! I really enjoyed the phrasing work. That's also one of the nicest uses of VS Upright Nr. 1 I've heard in a long time. That breath sound came at the exact right time, haha!

Where's the photo from? I am trying to figure out what the person is doing...

[Otto Halmén]

Thanks, both of you!

That piano has a really nice timbre. Wasn't bothered by the noises at all. At times, the imperfections seemed to actually enhance the music.

The photo is a self-portrait.

[peastman]

Wow, that's beautiful! I keep wanting to say, "It sounds like X." but then a moment later it doesn't anymore. Given the title, perhaps that's the point? The opening sounds sort of New Age-ish. But only briefly, and then it starts to sound Romantic. But I've barely reached that conclusion before it starts to sound like medieval folk music. Only then it goes into a piano part that sounds thoroughly 20th century. But through everything, it continues to sound exactly like itself, so you hardly realize the style keeps changing. Really wonderfully done.

[Nayrb]

The theme gets stuck in your head; really fitting and memorable. And Otto has a good relationship with that CE upright; sounds wonderful. The expression is one thing that really gets me in this piece. It's very dynamic and an all around great example of what you can do with limited velocity layers and volume control as well as the importance of having a good ear for / paying attention to expressiveness in one's music.

[Paul Battersby]

Very nice. A delicate balance of composition. Everything blends together well. I like the tempo change at the end. Nice touch.

[Mattias Westlund]

Some really brilliant use of VSCO 2 CE right there. But what I think I like most about this tune is what peastman touched upon: it moves effortlessly between genres and moods. It starts off with a catchy (and slightly poppy) piano thing that then moves into both traditional and classical territories without at any point sounding contrived. It's kind of a musical pocket universe, covering A LOT of musical and emotional ground in 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

Hats off.

[Otto Halmén]

Thanks, everyone!

Indeed, I had one of those elusive moments of inspiration where you just get a clear idea right at the beginning. Having looked at the Seasons footage, I got the feeling that it wasn't just seasons passing, but rather someone reminiscing his life. The title sequence with the work desk imagery and the quote helped suggest this interpretation. Also, I think it may have helped me with the slight adventurousness of the stylistic juggling. It's not just "What's autumn like?" but rather "What was that one autumn like?"

That was a theme I thought I could write about, and so I took a shot.

[Mattias Westlund]

(03-26-2017, 09:57 PM)Otto Halmén Wrote: Thanks, everyone!

Indeed, I had one of those elusive moments of inspiration where you just get a clear idea right at the beginning. Having looked at the Seasons footage, I got the feeling that it wasn't just seasons passing, but rather someone reminiscing his life. The title sequence with the work desk imagery and the quote helped suggest this interpretation. Also, I think it may have helped me with the slight adventurousness of the stylistic juggling. It's not just "What's autumn like?" but rather "What was that one autumn like?"

That was a theme I thought I could write about, and so I took a shot.

And a great interpretation it is. Kind of reminds me of how I listened to Sting's The Hounds of Winter back when the album came out thinking it was a song about, well, seasons changing. Years later it just suddenly dawned on me that it's not about that at all, it's a song about growing old. Listening to it now I can't really hear it any other way but your perspective changes over the years, along with your interpretation of things.