Read that update this morning. I basically curled back into fetal position after reading it.
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Check out Tony Levin and Trey Gunn for some good chapman stick/touch guitar stuffI was always curious about the Chapman stick largely because of him and the cool stuff he did with it on the Gordian Knot albums (way beyond what John Myung and the Dave Matthews guy dabbled in). And Aghora's Formless was in my car for a while the last couple years.
I was really amazed recently when I noticed most of the Levin and Gunn stick tabs on the internet were done by the guy from Behold the Arctopus.Check out Tony Levin and Trey Gunn for some good chapman stick/touch guitar stuff
I forgot he was dead until this got bumped.Wait, WHAT? Emergent is one of my go-to albums for "production heavily undermining the music." I love the songwriting on it, but UGH, that distorted guitar tone sounds like cardboard and always put me off the music (ex Muttersprache). The first album sounds far better IMO.
Sean Malone was great, definitely have tried and failed to play many Cynic bass songs over the years. I was always curious about the Chapman stick largely because of him and the cool stuff he did with it on the Gordian Knot albums (way beyond what John Myung and the Dave Matthews guy dabbled in). And Aghora's Formless was in my car for a while the last couple years.
I forgot he was dead until this got bumped.
And I have similar thoughts as you but for different reasons - there's some really pronounced audible clipping which could have been the master but probably occured during tracking - I suspect these guys were working on this, remote, at their hime studios, but I don't know if that's based on something I read, or was just a hunch.
But, overall, idunno.. It's sort of a dark, sludgy mix, but it's also really thick and warm. I found their first album kind of sterile and thin. I dont think I'd hold it up as an example of a great mix, or a great guitar tone, but there's a lot of depth to it that I think really works with the songwriting and source material. It's not a high budget sounding album at ALL... but it, to me, works. Especially something like the closer, Deep Singing Mountain... I think the fairly dark, low-end-heavy, warm mix feels very appropriate.
No idea, but you have some great stuff to listen to for the first time.
They've also announced a remaster of Traced In Air and... it's pretty bittersweet. Not only because half of the band isn't with us anymore, but while they put Sean's bass higher in the mix, they completely removed the harsh vocals.
No problem...it's still worth sharing with the new Cynic fans.Oh hell, I goofed hard.
Guess I was just tired.
Yeah, honestly... it's got this, idunno, "world music" vibe to it but one that doesnt seen to be tied to any real culture, like it's world music from some other world and all we've got is just this music. Some artifacts in the recording process almost, and I can't believe I'm saying this, add to the feeling of thayt album being an artifact from somewhere else. I'm a ninja about that shit in my own work, for the most part... but I think sometimes you just have to work with what you have, and as I'm writing this I'm thinking back to a proect I did with my dad and uncle and how on a soft acoustic guitar part for one of the songs there's some barely audible birds singing in the background towards the start of the song, and listening today I wouldn't change that if I could.I just read the update and I'm really having a hard time with this. I'm so lost for words.
As for the recording process for Emergent, I remember following it closely and it indeed was all done remotely and the majority if not all of Sean's work was recorded via his rackmount Pod Pro that he always used.
The digital clipping that is audible was always something that I hear as character because the music speaks far greater to me, so I can look past that stuff.
Singing Deep Mountain and Some Brighter Thing are pure genius to me, as is every song on both records.
Rest in peace Sean...
Yeah, honestly... it's got this, idunno, "world music" vibe to it but one that doesnt seen to be tied to any real culture, like it's world music from some other world and all we've got is just this music. Some artifacts in the recording process almost, and I can't believe I'm saying this, add to the feeling of thayt album being an artifact from somewhere else. I'm a ninja about that shit in my own work, for the most part... but I think sometimes you just have to work with what you have, and as I'm writing this I'm thinking back to a proect I did with my dad and uncle and how on a soft acoustic guitar part for one of the songs there's some barely audible birds singing in the background towards the start of the song, and listening today I wouldn't change that if I could.
Here's an interview with Jason Gobel (the fourth member of the "original" Cynic) about working on the GK albums, among a lot of other stuff:
https://toughriffs.weebly.com/interviews/interview-with-jason-gobel-cynic
+1... but it, to me, works...
I forgot he was dead until this got bumped.
And I have similar thoughts as you but for different reasons - there's some really pronounced audible clipping which could have been the master but probably occured during tracking - I suspect these guys were working on this, remote, at their hime studios, but I don't know if that's based on something I read, or was just a hunch.
But, overall, idunno.. It's sort of a dark, sludgy mix, but it's also really thick and warm. I found their first album kind of sterile and thin. I dont think I'd hold it up as an example of a great mix, or a great guitar tone, but there's a lot of depth to it that I think really works with the songwriting and source material. It's not a high budget sounding album at ALL... but it, to me, works. Especially something like the closer, Deep Singing Mountain... I think the fairly dark, low-end-heavy, warm mix feels very appropriate.
Cynic has basically been Paul's metal output for 15 years now anyway. Just the difference is that now they'll have a worse drummer and bass player to help with the writing. Seems like Malone was meant to be part of this album.So am I the only one that feels Paul releasing new Cynic material now outside of a tribute is just not right? I saw the update today plugging something new tomorrow and cringed.