I have been going to school for the last 8 months so every so often I give myself a little break to work on some music. Most of the time this is really early in the morning and I’m happy I was able to finish a track like this whilst also focusing mostly on school.
This track explores the eerie idea that the internet is becoming more and more inhabited by bots and robots that potentially misrepresent the general population. A couple of concerning examples include the amount of hacking and scam activity present in social media applications as well as the comment sections of places like reddit and how other social media website can be used to influence society at large through our technologies.
Its 72 Bpm, mostly in F# and has a great vibe, let me know what you think!
Techno, electro and bass come together in the form of a house beat in this TECHNO HOUSE track that is raised just slightly above the normal BPM to get things exciting. Enjoy this track that is about 6:00, it should have a lot of cool artifacts and loops that could be interesting when layered on top of each other. It should be a good workout track!
So in the beginning of the track, when I was first putting together the percussion and starting to make a track at all, I was thinking a lot about Monty Python and the skit at the beginning of The Holy Grail.
Download the track below:
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The last few months have been full of landscaping work; I haven’t had as much time for music as I’d like which is why finishing this music took so long. But it also gave me a chance to take a step back and think about what I want to make more deeply. I love french house; so I got back to a lot of that king of filtering with the steady background beat. I really had to rethink my process for this last track. Normally I like to spend an hour or two every day working on sound designs, melodies, working with new technologies, etc. I love music production because it has some pretty hardcore software engineering associated with it and these softwares allow for particle manipulations, wave shaping, modularizing, phase shifting; it all a bunch of quantum physics and learning about how sound waves and energy works for me. This track represents a lot of learning and education.
click the link above if the video below doesn’t work; I’ve had trouble embedding videos from youtube lately.
This album represents so much hard work over the last 18 months, I have really poured myself into this music in an attempt to start playing live shows; I think it could start to happen soon! But I am also completely focused on just making music, and don’t want to be distracted with something as insane as creating a tour (honestly sounds like way too much work for one person, shout out to everyone doing that right now). I spent a lot of time creating the process to develop these sounds.
Battle for Mars represents the longest I’ve ever spent on a track; over 6 months now. All of the sounds are made from scratch, with the exception of the Gangus drums. I wrote the first EROS album in less time than that I think. The quality of the production hopefully represents that. The loudness and the mix of my tracks should be improving quite a bit and the stereo mix is just plain difficult to normalize for every system, so I’ve focused on the acoustics of a car and a clean mix (really, this just means I do a car-play test with my music). This mix is very iterative; some of the tracks have like 30 layers of EQ, the bass has been heavily processed in multiple layers of trash and a myriad of other heavy distortion plugins including the Glitch Machines armada. I really enjoyed the Max for Live improvements also, there is a vertex delay that was very fun to use.
I have a few different versions of the track, its in C and moves into D# a tiny bit, but there’s not a ton of melodic movement in this track; it is mostly about creating a unified atmosphere and feelings for the movement of the sound. So I guess the music would be a little weird if you have never heard any of my sound designs before; they are all made from scratch using operator, Ableton stock plugins, Serum, Phaseplant, Trash, Rift, and honestly too many plugins to ever remember or name.
I’ll have a music video out tomorrow or this weekend, I am not super happy with how this latest iteration came out and it takes a while to process. Thanks for listening!
Here is the final track’s cover art (really just a couple of good chat GPT prompts and editing) of EROS Part 3: Battle for Mars:
Shield Wall is the first Drum and Bass Track! I am pretty excited for how it came out, but I think the end is pretty chaotic; sometimes its a challenge to keep the organization as I move through a track and I wonder if this one wasn’t a little disorganized towards the end. However, I love the beginning and think that the melody is well thought out and purposed for the track; which has been my focus with the whole EROS PART 3 album; movement towards more cohesive structures and organizations within the writing of the music is a good way to grow in the musical ability to self-reference.
Anyways, the bass is heavily modulated as usual; but this is one of my first tracks with Synplant, which has a fairly powerful AI engine for sound design. I spent a few hours at the beginning hunting for bass sounds and the result is what you hear at about bar 17 in the track, or about 00:30.
This is part 6 of the EROS compilation; it has a certain unique flavor of DNB that is mostly about the bass synthesis. I have a couple more tracks to go, but we are getting towards the end of the music I’ve finished; at most, there could be 5 more tracks; but most likely, there will be two, maybe 3.
I spent some good time crafting the music video as well. Check it out…
In the not too distant future; one of the last human survivors on Earth, Liz, arrives on Mars to find that robotic lifeforms have previously conquered and settled the desert wastelands. Though not originating from Earth; the robot knows of Liz and her journey and proceeds to test for neurological robotic hardware that may be present in Liz’s brain. Liz performs her own testing on the sentience of the robot and find something fascinatingly familar about the robots behavior…. this is their conversation.
This is the first track of the new EROS album that I am releasing over the next week. I’m still finishing the music; going as fast as I can here. It doesn’t help when I completely rewrite a track on the day of release; which I did with the track yesterday, but hey, can’t rush quality!
This track is very influenced by DAFT PUNK, Deadmau5, and MR. Oizo. I like the repetition of it and I think it has some potential for the club; it slaps I think! The drums are mixed well and the beginning could easily be looped to have a lighter and more playful beginning to the track; it’s kinda glitchy.
I made the cover art with Dall-E aka CHAT GPT; and the music video with Magic Music Visualizer, which I think I may play shows with someday! I used BeFunky to change the exposure and add text to make it a bit more cinematic. It would be very fun to have some randomized visuals going that sync with the beat.
I’ve uploaded the video to both Twitter and Youtube in an effort to decentralized the music and also to get the platforms to talk to each other more. Copyright is going to be a big issue in the future and I am doing my best to position myself to own all of my own rights to my music; my heart goes out to TSwift, Motley Crue (did I spell that right?), and any other artists that have lost rights to their creative endeavors; that’s messed up.
I wrote a track this morning and used my most recent drone footage to make a music video. I think it turned out nicely; it’s definitely some of my most ambient work so far. I’ve been doing a lot of research on the Heliosphere recently and this footage seemed to also match the tone of the music I created; I have been trying for months to make more “chill music” very unsuccessfully. I have lots of new electro because of this effort 😉
Eros Part 3
comes out in two days! And tomorrow night, I will play an EROS show at East Wind Roseville; I am really excited about it!
details about Helios’ Haven:
This media is a tribute to the awesome power of the Sun; pretty cool that we have such a thing, in my opinion.
The drone footage focuses on the American River and “No Hands Bridge”, which to my understanding is the tallest bridge in the western half of the United States. It is monumental and also a really great hike that I highly recommend.
I’ve included a link to the download and cover art. You can stream the music video on X or on Youtube as you please 🙂
Helios’ Haven Music Video
Helio's Haven – the E.T.
I made this music video this morning. This is all from drone footage in the Auburn Area.
My latest track is out now via YouTube and elliottelford.com. This is very influenced by the recent events with Elon Musk (Go Fuck Yourself Bob Iger), as well as my generation’s (the millennials and Z’s) conquest for a better world. I hope it gets you excited about the release of Grōk, AI, and the cosmic future of humanity.
I spent a little while on this one, mostly on the mix. The sound design process has been pretty consistently expansive for me lately, and I keep fine tuning the frequencies of the sounds that I truly LOVE to make. I am not super impressed with the AI music making software yet, but I also remind myself that highly technical tools, such a RIFT, or PhasePlant are undoubtedly made with AI precursor softwares (which are human oriented). I can’t recommend these two plug-ins enough. They are top of the line and I really love and appreciate the products.
Noer the Boy is at the helm of a new generation of pioneers exploring the frequency spectrum through abstract bass music. His beats crush with punishing distortion and his music seethes with melodic and harmonic intricacies that will being your dance moves to the next level. From his background in marching band, choir, and video editing; Noah grew a fascination with kinetic beats, industrial sounds, and the unrestricted freedom of computer sound creation.
Noah is 27 (August 3rd, 1993) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Noah was born and raised in Appleton, which is about an hour and a half from Milwaukee on the northern end of Lake Winnebago. Noah studied music and band in high school playing the French horn, which is pretty damn cool and also became a drum major for his high school, Appleton East.
Noah is a member of DJ Shadow’s imprint Liquid Amber, Los Angeles collective Courteous Family, and Noisia’s DIVISION, Noer the Boy has also released music on Mass Appeal, VISION, Alpha Pup, and Orange Milk Records. Noer teamed up with Shadow to co-produce ‘Horror Show’ featuring Danny Brown and tour Europe following the release of his debut album ‘Mechanism’. His sounds have grabbed the attention of bass music figureheads G Jones, EPROM, Machinedrum, Ivy Lab, and the Low End Theory club night in LA.
Noah seems to be in a solid space, even with the impact of CoronaVirus in 2020. Pretty awesome considering he now makes a living off making music, sound design tutorials and sample packs, and has an awesome Patreon where you can get exclusives of all his newly released tracks, as well as deeper packages to help music creators augment their productions. He works hard for it and his sound reflects that.
I’ve been lucky enough to take lessons from Noah for about the last year and a half and we’ve been drilling down into mix engineering, deeper sound design, and modular synthesis. Noah is really a wiz at music, so make sure you follow him because he will definitely be releasing new music. He’s recently started to make heavily synthesized house music, or electro, which I have to say I am ecstatic about. Electro-House is my favorite kind of music.
I interviewed Noah about A Forlorn Hope, in an effort to get a better understanding of his music creation process, and what this latest album means to him. I loved the album, especially Shapeshifter, Nebula, Exile, and Rule of two. The whole album certainly deserves a listen on some high quality speakers! (your car is probably not loud enough). Check out the Q and A with Noah below and leave a comment if you feel inclined:
Interview with Noer the Boy
Q1. Elliot: “I personally love all of your music. But this album seems special. I think it hits harder than most and that the sound design is pioneering. What kinds of processes and techniques do you use to make your sounds and mix stand out so much? What kind of special sauces do you use to create such a punishing sound?”
A1. Noertheboy: “Don’t underestimate the power of layering. A few simple sounds or effect chains can combine to form something that appears much more complex than it really is. Treat sound design as building with lego bricks – maybe the instructions are useful but also maybe you want to experiment instead.”
Q2. Elliot: “A Forlorn Hope has some of my favorite tunes on it. But I think that the title track is special and its kind of the motif of the album. Its fat. What inspired you to create that track, and the sounds that are in it?”
A2. Noertheboy: “Without giving too much away, Forlorn Hope is about a doomed journey to the edge of the known universe. ‘Forlorn Hope’ was originally named ‘Event Horizon’, but after watching the 90s film by the same title I didn’t want people to think I made the record about that movie.”
Q3. Elliot: “My favorite track is Nebula, I’m not sure why, but I just love the cohesion of the track and the melody that persists and finds an apex near the ending. What are your favorite parts of the album, and why?”
A3. Noertheboy: “It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite from my album. Each album track is my favorite for a different reason. If I don’t feel 100% like it’s my favorite song made so far, it doesn’t make it on the record.”
Q4: Elliot: “How did you come up with the theme and storyline behind the album? Its pretty cool. It reminds me of a combination of Lost in Space, Dune, or maybe the Abyss.”
A4. Noertheboy: “‘Forlorn Hope’ itself is a term for a group of soldiers tasked with a leading mission, usually a suicidal mission where casualties are high. That combined with my love of deep space SCI-FI films have influenced me a great deal. The Alien series, Interstellar, War of the Worlds, 2001: A Space Odyssey – movies like those have shaped a lot of my sonic identity. The world that ‘Forlorn Hope’ exists in is also the same world that my first album ‘Mechanism’ takes place in. I’m a big fan of concept records.”
Q5. Elliot: “You said on your instagram that writing this album has been particularly Cathartic for you. In what ways have you grown personally and professionally from writing A Forlorn Hope?”
A5. Noertheboy: “I only start write an album when I have something new to say and new tools to showcase. So a lot of growth has to happen to get to that place. And the album writing process itself is transformative. Writing a few songs will undoubtably inspire me to write more and that process leads to rapid growth and breakthroughs that might come much slower if not for writing a cohesive LP.”
Q6. Elliot: “How long did you album take?”
A6. Noertheboy: “The process took a little under a year and a half.”
Q7. Elliot: “How long have you been writing music? What was your first show like?”
A7. Noertheboy: “I’ve been writing music as Noer the Boy for going on 8 years, but music has been an integral part of my life ever since I can remember. My first show was a house party in college and I remember playing hella Pretty Lights, rap music, and Skrillex mashups IIRC. Shoutout my old music homies Kaelin and Alec for playing with me at that first show!”
Q8. Elliot: “You’re pretty good at writing music, Noah. But why do you make it? What’s your primary inspiration. (or 2, or 3)”
A8. Noertheboy: “Music put simply is my everything. It’s what I know. I’d make music if nobody listened.”
Q9. Elliot: “Is there anything else about the album that you want people to know? Maybe you can comment on how you feel about it being finished and out there in the wild to have a life of its own?”
A9. Noertheboy: “Shirts and vinyl copies are in the works! Big thanks to everyone listening and sharing the record, I really appreciate it.”
Q10: “Any last notes? Any coronavirus advice?”
A10. Noertheboy: “Take the stay at home orders seriously so we can get back to enjoying live music.”
That’s it for the interview, feel free to comment on anything and make sure to check out this very avant-garde production from Noer the Boy – A Forlorn Hope.
You can buy the Forlorn Hope album on Bandcamp to help support Noah in his journey. You can also follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, on Facebook.
Sorry its been so long since I’ve posted about my music here. I’m getting back into the swing of my second job (yoga instruction) and I started a new landscaping business this year, so it has been very difficult to find time for things other than work and relaxing from work, and music requires a lot of attention, effort, and time.
However, I have been working super diligently on my music and continuing my lessons with Noah, aka Noer the Boy, whose music you can check out here. He’s a really talented dude with an incredible grasp on distortion and how to manipulate sound to create ultra heavy beats, so make sure you check out his music. His melodies are also really incredible, make sure you listen to his latest album: Forlorn Hope.
Melodies
The biggest challenge thus far in learning how to write music has certainly been learning to write effective and ear catching melodies. Ideally, to create melodies that resonate and build upon themselves to create an overall harmony that is enjoyable. Thus the release of ‘Mystery’ and ‘Go Big’, which are by far the most melodically oriented tracks I’ve made. I have kinda pushed sound design to the side to explore music theory in more depth and to get a handle on mixing, which has always been really challenging for me (before Noah, I was completely self-taught via youtube). I’m thinking about getting another mentor also just to keep growing in different ways. I’m also working with my buddy who is literally the best guitar player I’ve ever met, Rich Santana, to start making more analog sounds (drums, guitar riffs, bass riffs, etc). I’ve also picked up the Arturia CMI Fairlight and Buchla Easel emulations, which are super fun and incredibly unique instruments.
Learning to mix has been quite the journey for me. I got into music because I love sound and experimental beats, similar to Mr. Oizo, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Eprom, and No Mana, but obviously all of the artists I just mentioned are fantastic mixing engineers. Experimental sound design isn’t really that cool unless you can properly mix the sounds, because of the overlap of the distortion and lack of quiet in certain parts of the frequency spectrum. I am continuing to educate myself on how exactly to mix sounds to create heavier beats and will continue this journey for a few decades, I hope.
Crystal Caves – Elliot’s newest track
This brings me to my latest piece of music, an abstract BASS track that I call Crystal Caves. This is significantly slower than the majority of my music, because I am trying to branch out from my favorite genre, house music, to play with more experimental and heavy rhythms. I’ve also worked out longer intros and some serious layering of melodies in combination with tighter mixes through precise equalizing and compression to make more cinematic music.
Get my music pretty music anywhere
The track is available on most streaming outlets and I’ve actually used a 3rd party distributor for this track instead of using DistroKid, though I am very skeptical of continuing to work with any distributor. I want complete control over my own music, which makes it tough to even send my stuff out to labels. Please share my track with your friends if you like it, I also really appreciate anyone who reaches out to me with a comment or even a buck or two to support my journey in making music. But I really appreciate anyone who is just willing to give my music a good listen.
Follow my releases here: https://linktr.ee/etelford32
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