"The Waste Land" full version

[jgsidak]

I have posted the finished, full-length version of "The Waste Land," which runs 5:54. I previously posted only part 3, which is only 1 minute. Here is the link to the full song:

http://www.gregorysidakmusic.com/compon ... lbum_id,2/

Scroll to the bottom of the page. Everything is done on the Oasys. My earlier post discusses some of the structure and production of the song, such as how to get the cathedral organ sound.

[Charlie]

This seems quite different to your other songs.
Where's the asian woman coming from?
And cool guitar-sounds as always!

[jgsidak]

Charlie,

Thanks for your comments.

Where's the asian woman coming from?

That is a factory sound on the Oasys: E007 Mountain Voices. The effects on it are minimal: Stereo Dyna Compressor and Reverb Room. The total effects are O Reverb and Stereo Chorus.

This seems quite different to your other songs.

That is interesting to hear. Can you be more specific?

So that others don't need to look at the earlier post about the ending of the song, here is the additional information about the Oasys techniques and the song structure. The only thing I would add is that there are also sections in 7/8 earlier in the song, including a section where I force a 5/4 passage on the organ into a section that is not 5/4 (just before the concluding part that sounds like ELP). This is an interesting technique that I learned by accident while first experimenting with the Oasys sequencer.

Here is the finale to a work-in-progress that is influenced musically by Ralph Vaughn Williams. The link is at the bottom of this page:

http://www.gregorysidakmusic.com/compon ... lbum_id,2/

Listen with good ear buds. A lot is happening in the low frequencies. I intentionally recorded the song loud, without any compression or limiting, because the main instrument is intended to be a thunderous cathedral organ. To get the organ sound, I used three different standard Oasys organ programs in unison (one set off by an octave), along with stereo brass also in unison set two octaves lower (otherwise, you can't begin to simulate the rumbling from the horns and pedals of a real cathedral organ). These four programs are all detuned from one another so that they intermodulate. The master effects are stereo chorus and O reverb.

The rock arrangement is, obviously, in the style of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. An electric guitar tracks the horn descant. (Perhaps the most inspired moment in any of Keith Emerson's recording is his descants on the melody to "Jerusalem." He obviously absorbed a lot of Vaughn Williams, Holst, Finzi, and Howells as a kid.) Two bass guitars, an octave apart in unison, complement but do not perfectly follow the organ's bass line.

The piece is in 5/4 with the exception of the last two measures, which are in 4/4. There is one kit drum track and a second track of toms. The gong is on a third track. The toms are in 5/4. The kit drums are not.

All sounds made, recorded, and mixed on the Oasys, with no external signal processing, sequencing, or sound libraries. Fewer than 16 MIDI tracks were used. No audio tracks were used.

[UCanDream]

Hey Greg.

As always, your music rocks! Very progressive stuff here...a little bit Yes'ish or Kansas'y. It's very original and you definitely are not a copy-cat of the bands mentioned but this tune just takes me back to 'the day.' Man, I really like your arrangements and the fact that your music off the beaten path- very nice indeed. Keep up the superb work buddy.


Cheers.
UCanDream aka David

[jgsidak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YAcoDkj_dI

David,

Kinds words. Great to hear from you.

Greg