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Where Do We Go (Simplicity Mix)

uploaded: Sun, Apr 18, 2021 @ 3:17 AM last modified: Sun, Apr 18, 2021 @ 3:17 AM (add)

by	gurdonark
Featuring	Calling Sister Midnight
length	4:22
Recommends	Recommends (12)

This time around the Secret Mixter process assigned me Calling Sister Midnight, a music creator who has been one of the Mixters since not long after I joined in 2005. I’ve admired her work for years, both her music here and her paintings and visual art work.

My method of creation usually involves taking samples of sound for patches for synthesizers and other music creation software. Here I found Calling Sister Midnight had rich tracks perfect for this task. But I decided to try something similar and a bit more restricted.

Back in March, prior to this assignment, I used a little high-fidelity digital recorder to record a set of samples. Like many of us, I keep a little sample library of self-created samples.

I found myself struck by the a capella “Where Do We Go.” I rarely try to mix sung vocals, as I think this is not my best mode. But I decided to try something for this remix. I restricted myself only to the set of samples I captured on a March day, and resolved to aim for a kind of spare mix that emphasizes the vocals while putting light accompaniment behind it. So I mixed in the harmonica, chimes, rain sticks, kalimba, bells and the like.

The term “experimental” is often-overused to describe methods of music creation that date from the 1950s, ir not the 1900s, and the practice of restricting one’s sound samples to a small set of chosen sounds is one of those experiments that is not really experimental. But it is fun.

So I mixed in my little hand-held instrument sounds, and added some reverb and some light delay to give the
vocal and its light instrumentation the feel of a performance in a small coffee shop. The result is far from the rich electronica weirdbient instrumental track that I originally thought I’d create from Calling Sister Midnight tracks like “Christmas Day” and “The Flowered Wallpaper.” Perhaps another day I’ll create that track. This mix errs—and I mean errs—on the side of simplicity.

Instead, I share this very simple mix, with gratitude for such a great a capella vocal track.

media, secret_mixter, remix, mixup, spring_2021, yin_of_yang, multiple_formats, non_commercial, audio, mp3, 44k, stereo, VBR, flac, blues, minimal, vocals, simple

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