#i'd rather blow out my ear drums

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

I think Makoto's Brand New Days should have Aigis dancing it.

Soul Phrase should've been a dual dance between Makoto and Kotone

Darkness (Erebus fight theme) should've been a Ryoji/Metis DLC

Yup yup! I agree totally with all of that. Darkness def would be a Metis DLC with Ryoji as one of the partners. I’d love to see them react to each other DX Same with Sho vs Minato/Hamu

Tbh, while I think P3 has more danceable songs in general than P5, and the dancers and dances are a bit better.....I think Atlus still could've been better with the song selection (really they should've had A LOT more songs). Here’s a list of at least 3 songs (tho I think 4 or 5 would work, esp since we could get more remixes). Hamu should’ve def been a main dancer (screw it let’s pretend Metis/Ryo were also main dancers too!)

Some songs will change, some will stay the same (Yukari, Junpei, and Fuuka I think mostly stay the same with some additions). 

Makoto: Mass Destruction, Moon Reaches Stars (I always shorten this name sorry), More than one heart

Hamuko (I'll accept Kotone when we get her in an actual Atlus game, it doesn't feel right to cherry pick her stage play name just cause Atlus was too lazy to do a separate adaptation, esp since it means ignoring the male's name): Wiping All Out, Way of Life (OG or Remix), Place of my Heart

Makoto/Hamuko special duo dances: Soul Phase, Burn my dread last battle, Never ending night (the Pachinko song), Place of My Heart Duo ver/Remix, Our Moment

Aigis: Brand New Days (reg or remix), Heartfelt cry ATLUS Konishi Remix, some techno remix (she’s a robot for christ sakes, I don’t care steal from Junpei’s list if we have to, Maybe a Techno remix of Fate In our Hands).

Yukari: When the Moon Reaches for the Stars P3D Remix, Want to be close P3D remix, Changing Seasons Reincarnation (except an updated ver?)

Junpei: His two songs are ok (even if I think Aigis should have the more techno songs), 3rd song should be Want to Be Close reincarnation, Dorm Song remix

Mitsuru: Snow Queen (OG or Remix, not necessarily the DLC one Atlus gave us but just a remix), Living With Determination Reincarnation, Enduring bonds/Tranquility mashup-remix (just a lighter and more elegant song)

Fuuka: Deep Breath Deep Breath Reincarnation, Time ATLUS Kitajoh Remix, Tender Moment Jazzy Remix

Ken: Wiping All Out Ryota Koduka Remix (or a diff Remix), Light the Fire Up in the Night P3D Remix, 

Akihiko: Unavoidable Battle Reincarnation ver, Danger Zone Remix, Light that fire P3D remix (I dunno have him more leaning towards battle songs)

Shinjiro:  Wiping All out/Mass destruction mashup, Danger Zone/Master of Tartarus mashup, “One Hand, One heartbeat” remix (I think having him deal with mash ups of the two MC’s battle songs symbolizes his POSSIBLY different fates, with a more mellow song from the movie he’s featured in)

Metis: Battle Hymn of the Soul Remix/Heartfelt Cry Remix/Brand New Days Remix, Darkness, P3 FES extended (I need an extended ver in my life DX)

Ryoji: Battle Hymn of the Soul, Snow Queen Remix (OG or diff remix), Burn My Dread Last Battle, Falling Down

Why give the girls Tender Moment even tho it only appears on FeMC side? Just cause I think those two would fit well with a pop and jazzy remix of it. I can see them dancing to it over the boys (tho.....my memory wants to tell me Tender moment may appear with the girls too but my brain fuzzy and tired)

That’s not even me going into Arena/Ultimax or PQ2 music (or looking more into PQ1 music too), and probably barely scraping the surface for the movies tbh. They should’ve had 80-90% of the Reincarnation OST in P3D, those songs are def danceable u_u P3 has a lot of entries and a big library (as big as P4′s) and they could def remix to their hearts content. 

Edit: not me forgetting to give Ken a 3rd song I’ll do it tomorrow DX

#silly asks #silly answers #i'd do one for P5D #but that would mean I'd have to listen to P5 songs #i'd rather blow out my ear drums #jk #half jk #P5D's ending song and P5S' dungeon songs are good #PQ2's lobby theme is good too #i've run out of good songs to praise P5 with #oh I guess Royal only songs were good too #I've now run outta things to praise p5 with skldjfla;dfj #actually I wonder how well these would fit..... 030 #excuse me I'mma actually mess with my video play for a bit #did I just call P3MC both minato and makoto in the same post? yes yes I did #i don't care anymore

[faint-waves-music]

Discussing Far East Winter.

My new EP, Far East Winter has been a very interesting EP to make and because of that, I wanted to write something of an article in regards to it. So, here we are! I'm going to discuss the background of this EP, my influences, inspirations, some of the ideas I had with this record, a short run through of each track, and a few things I learned along the way. Hopefully this is an informative and interesting read and hopefully you enjoy the record, too.

I had contemplated doing an EP of this nature for some time, in fact, you can hear my earliest inclinations toward this idea on my "Cherry Blossom" single from 2017. I've always been a lover and admirer of sounds from all over the world, but music and sounds from the East and the far East have always really caught my ear. I think so many of the instruments and the scales/notation they tend to use are absolutely beautiful. The only reason I hadn't done this sooner, is because I didn't want to do this just to do it and because I'm not sure I was totally ready to. If I was going to do it, I wanted to do it some semblance of justice. If "Cherry Blossom" was me seeing if I could pull it off at all, "Far East Winter" is the more refined, realized vision of incorporating these elements into my music.

As far as who/what inspired and influenced this record, I'd say it was a good mixture of eastern and non-eastern artists. Many of my ideas were informed by Roxy Music, Prefab Sprout, Tears For Fears, Vangelis, Hiroshima, Kitaro, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, and Himekami, just to name a few. I was in a creative space where I also wanted to kind of continue the easy listening/downtempo/adult contemporary-inspired direction I've been taking Faint Waves since 2017, but I had to do something interesting to really change the pace a bit and since I wanted to do a winter release, I knew the sound couldn't just be sunshine and ocean waves. The result is a more winter-into-spring sounding EP, not necessarily dark or discordant sounding, but a bit more bittersweet and melancholy in places. That's not to say there aren't hopeful moments, as the first and final tracks on the EP are a bit more optimistic than the rest, indicating glimmers of hope amongst the moodier parts of the record.

Much of the record I think has a very soft rock and sophistipop vibe, but there are few moments that are a bit more downtempo, new age, or experimental. I also made some stylistic choices on this EP that kind of set it apart from other things I've done, namely with the drums and bass. I've often relied on a fretless bass emulation for many (the vast majority, actually) of my songs, it's been a tried and true element and staple in the music I've made. However, I felt this record warranted something different, so I've switched things up and used a finger style bass emulation. It has a much deeper sound and I think has given the record a bit more of a soft rock or vintage R&B vibe. As for the drums, I made a similar stylistic decision to go after more of an organic feel. So, rather than using solely Roland and Linn samples as I have in the past, I opted to use more live sounds. That doesn't mean I haven't used those Roland and Linn samples at all, as they're still in the mix. Many of the songs feature a live kick drum layered with a Linn kick and on "Lovers In The Cold", you can very clearly hear the use of a CR-78 hat sample alongside the rest of the drums. Small changes in the grand scheme of things but I think they've made a big difference in the overall feel of the EP.

The first song I had completed and the one that really solidified the fact that I was doing this, was "Lovers In The Cold", which ironically became the last track on the EP. "Lovers In The Cold" is a bit of a sophistipop track with both western and eastern instrumentation, including a Xylophone, Sax, an Erhu (a violin-like instrument of Chinese origin), and a brilliant emulation of the Ruan (a plucked instrument of Chinese origin). I'd say the sound and structure were most influenced by acts like Hiroshima and Roxy Music, while the blocky pad chords remind me more of Prefab Sprout. It's definitely a pretty layered track for me, lots of moving parts. The way I've always seen the song, structurally, is as an argument between two lovers. Xylophone is one party, while the Erhu is another. The Xylophone is very quick moving and aggressive but the Erhu is more relaxed and to the point. They have this back and forth, but every other time the Erhu comes in, there's one extra note that wasn't played the previous time. So, it's almost like someone is getting the last word in there. Then, you have this kind of breakdown in the song where everything slows down a bit and rather than them playing separately, you have the Xylophone and the Erhu playing simultaneously. Going along with the two lovers metaphor, that part of the song could be them reconciling, working together to make things work before everything falls apart again.

There were a lot of demos with this EP, more than maybe any other EP I've ever made. A lot of stuff didn't make the cut or just plain didn't get finished. The next track that saw completion after "Lovers In The Cold" was probably the fourth song I had made overall and it's a tracked called "Only Tonight", which was loosely inspired by "Advice For The Young At Heart" by Tears For Fears. This track was one that definitely went through a lot of changes before it became what it was. It started out very synthpop, with these big electronic strings, before I transitioned to a more organ-centric sound. It took quite a few demos for it to start to take shape as it is now, a piano ballad. I think after the organ became integral to the song, the drums were what really started to make it take shape. Those drums, at least where they start initially, have a very Burt Bacharach feel. That shaker-sidestick combo he's so fond of. It starts in that kind of Bacharach-like place but as the track goes on, the drums get a little more aggressive and eventually the sidestick is replaced with a snare. For the piano, I didn't want a big sound because the organ/bass combo was already doing that for me, so it's pretty much this continuous riff of single notes. Then the piano is accompanied by a Shamisen (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) and later on, a sax. The track also features a Vibraphone and a Gong sample. The Vibraphone is this kind of arpeggiated-sounding series of a few notes, it really gives the track an underlying sense of movement and urgency. "Only Tonight" is an interesting one because I feel like it became what it is very naturally, but it did take some time to get there. Glad I didn't give up on it though, as it's a favorite of mine.

After that, I think came "Snow Summit", which also went through a lot of changes as it went on. It's kind of a weird one. It doesn't sound like it at all, but it was pretty Vangelis inspired. Vangelis, Yello, and Kitaro are the big inspirations for that one. It went through a lot of changes and I don't think I was ever really sure the track "worked", so to speak. Once I laid down the bass for it, I feel like it all clicked a bit better, but it's still by far one of the most oddball tracks I've ever produced. It was inspired by a Yello song called "Homer Hossa", which if you aren't familiar with, is basically just a lot of sound effects, percussion, and little actual melody. "Snow Summit" is kind of that way, except it basically has this big brass backing track accompanying all these weird sounds. I think my intention with it, is that I wanted it to be as foreboding and endless feeling as the summit of a mountain would be. You're cold, the wind is blowing, there's snow everywhere, and you can see for literally miles. That kind of thing is intimidating and I think I wanted to convey that with this noisy, aimless kind of a track. It's probably the most "experimental" thing I've done. Huge brass, eastern percussion, simulated wind, white noise stabs, and huge bass drops. That's "Snow Summit" in a nutshell.

After that, came "Hatsukoi". Hatsukoi translates to first love, if you're curious. I knew I wanted a beautiful opening song for the EP and after drawing a blank for a long time, this is what materialized. Inspired by Kitaro and to a lesser extent Himekami, "Hatsukoi" is a bit of a new age jaunt. It's basically comprised of strings, a few different kinds of percussion (both eastern and western), a Celeste, a Pipa (a four stringed instrument of Chinese origin), a Xylophone, wave sfx, and bird sfx. This track doesn't really develop beyond the first couple minutes, but I found it very lovely and relaxing and didn't feel the need to add to it. I had a few demos where a flute came in the second half but it was just overkill in my opinion. It's a bit more hopeful and warm than everything else on the EP. It's very much in line with some of the more atmospheric, new age inspired things I've done. It's very much Kitaro by way of Faint Waves, in my opinion. I'd love to explore that kind of sound more in the future, to the degree of acts like Kitaro or Himekami. That kind of Electronica-meets-New Age-and-Classical sound is always brilliant. Exploring that sort of thing could be an EP or album in it's own right, but for this release, I wanted a balance of downtempo/chilled vignettes with more deliberate/aggressive songs.

The next song that came to be was actually an older, unfinished demo that I had lying around. "Tao Of Knowing" originally started as "Charm", a new wave/sophistipop song inspired by Johnny Hates Jazz and Tango In The Night-era Fleetwood Mac. "Charm" was originally much more electronic and instead of a Koto (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) carrying the song, it was a piano. I revisited this song during my time producing Far East Winter and I found, with a few changes, that it would fit the record. I changed quite a few things; the key changed, the chiffer lead at the beginning of the song became a Shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument of Japanese origin, derived from the Chinese bamboo flute), the main piano riff became a Koto, the poppy drum samples were replaced with the ones I was using for this EP, and I wound up writing a new pad for it as well. Once I had made those changes, the song still went through a few more permutations before it became the song you hear on Far East Winter. The song has a very mystical feel and I think that sets it apart on the EP, in a good way. The original demo had a very new wave feel to it and I think a little bit of that is still intact, particularly in the drums. This one may also be one of the more aggressive sounding songs in the Faint Waves canon, too. Very in your face at times.

The last song to be completed was "City Street". I knew from the beginning that "City Street" was going to be a short interlude kind of a song. My general vision for it from the get go was very similar to how it came to be, I knew I wanted to be very ambient and atmospheric, and to feature a Rhodes. That's exactly how it turned out but I just couldn't seem to get it to materialize. At first, I tried to make the song quicker and more urban sounding, to coincide with the name. It just wasn't working, so I scrapped almost everything except the percussion I had. The percussion I did have, I wound up changing quite a bit, leaving pretty much the bare minimum. Once I was happy with the percussion, I layered a few different sound effects. One was of nighttime ambience (crickets/frogs/etc.), another was just general city noise, and the final was of a little bit of traffic. After that came the Rhodes, which I pretty much treated almost as a pad as I wrote and produced it. I applied a lot of effects to it, reverb and delay mostly, so it would kind of linger well beyond the length of the notes would allow. On top of that, I used a Pipa again, I actually recycled a melody from another song of mine ("Congo") for that and adjusted the notes accordingly. The end result is a very soundscapey interlude that's heavy on ambiance, maybe slightly reminiscent of Kenji Kawai. Good for falling asleep to maybe, as much of my catalogue is.

In conclusion, I learned a lot going into this EP and coming out of it. I did a lot of reading and listening, trying to understand what they were doing as far as Eastern instrumentation and notation were concerned. Reading and learning about scales like the Japanese In Sen scale, as well as putting them to use, was incredibly challenging and fun. I made more songs for this one EP, than I have any release before, and it's because of what I was working with. There's a real beauty and true uniqueness to the music and culture on that side of the world that we don't often see. They do things in music that the West never has and likely, never will. I think my research and desire to understand, is what made this EP so special to me, as well as what has made the EP sound so unique in comparison to the rest of my material. I might have done some familiar things but I don't think I've ever made anything similar to what I've made here. In many ways, I feel like I needed to do a project like this, just to stretch my legs a bit and get out of my comfort zone. This record is a sign of things to come, not in the sense that I'll necessarily be making another record like this, but in the sense that my next record will be just as different. So, stay on your toes and enjoy.

- Faint Waves.

#Article #Behind The Music #Discussion #Making Of #exotica #uncategorized #world #music #adult contemporary #instrumental #balearic #downtempo #easy listening #soul #sophistipop #inspirations #review #faint waves