Garvalf's lair

[garvalf]

After the other thread about my chiptune and synth's work, I'll present here my dungeon synth music.

First of all, my latest release:

battleofthebits.org/arena/Entry/The+Sorceress%27+touch/25485/

It's a single song, but an album is planned, with the same sound settings (it will be made exclusively with the open source Dexed virtual synth which emulates the Yamaha DX7, a famous FM synth).

A few other musics which are related to the whole DS stuff, though not exclusively (maybe with more reverbs and deeper drums it would sound more like DS):

soundcloud.com/memento-somniare/droga-do-polnocy
soundcloud.com/garvalf/atemporal-fire

a friend made a good cover / remix of the latest song, which sounds a bit more like DS: soundcloud.com/mkayseven/atemporal-fire-garvalf-cover

I've recorded an album some years ago, around 1999. It's not purely DS, but there are some elements in it. I was influenced by Burzum, Mortiis, folk and ancient music:

www.jamendo.com/album/34060?language=en

[andrewwerdna]

Just listened to The Sorceress' Touch, awesome stuff, looking forward to the album.

Dexed seems like a cool VST, I need to try that out. FM synthesis interests me but I haven't really dived into it yet.

[garvalf]

thank you andrewwerdna

Yes, Dexed is wonderful. FM synthesis is not easy, and to be honest, I think programming the DX7 is really complicated and probably needs much work and knowledge to master this and create instruments from scratch (there are 6 operators and 32 different algorithms to associate them). I certainly can't do that myself.

But the great thing about Dexed is that you have access to HUGE collections of DX7 patches, for example there: musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/199 which has thousands of instruments, so it gives a great basis for experimenting.

When I discovered this collection I've started to play with it, then I added some reverb and I thought "hey it sounds like Mortiis, I must do something with this!". And here it is. (in fact Mortiis used a Roland JV-30, which is based on wavetables instead, on his first albums)

[Morannon]

Really great stuff man, love the analog sound 

[andrewwerdna]

May 6, 2017 6:45:52 GMT -5 garvalf said:

thank you andrewwerdna

Yes, Dexed is wonderful. FM synthesis is not easy, and to be honest, I think programming the DX7 is really complicated and probably needs much work and knowledge to master this and create instruments from scratch (there are 6 operators and 32 different algorithms to associate them). I certainly can't do that myself.

But the great thing about Dexed is that you have access to HUGE collections of DX7 patches, for example there: musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/199 which has thousands of instruments, so it gives a great basis for experimenting.

When I discovered this collection I've started to play with it, then I added some reverb and I thought "hey it sounds like Mortiis, I must do something with this!". And here it is. (in fact Mortiis used a Roland JV-30, which is based on wavetables instead, on his first albums)

Just downloaded Dexed, that "artifacts" collection, and this one, and holy shit! So many great sounds, utterly overwhelming. I'll definitely be using this. Thanks for the recommendation.

[thekeeper]

Dexed has too many knobs as it is, but I guess I'll add some more instruments and mess around. I've used that plugin quite a bit as well in some Caoranach tracks.

Sorceress' Touch is great. Really liking your stuff on Soundcloud as well, chiptune and otherwise.

[garvalf]

thanks.

I've made a quick preview of the forthcoming album:

[andrewwerdna]

Wow man, that sounds excellent. I'm looking forward to the release.

[garvalf]

I've worked more on this album and I've made a kind of pre-release (11 tracks, 48 minutes long).

I wish to get some feedback and constructive critism about the sound, the composition and the general feelings about this album. So if some of you are interested (3-4 people max), you can show your interest here, and I'll send you a private message with the URL for downloading the archive with this pre-release.

[thekeeper]

Jul 15, 2017 17:30:00 GMT -5 garvalf said:

I've worked more on this album and I've made a kind of pre-release (11 tracks, 48 minutes long).

I wish to get some feedback and constructive critism about the sound, the composition and the general feelings about this album. So if some of you are interested (3-4 people max), you can show your interest here, and I'll send you a private message with the URL for downloading the archive with this pre-release.

I'm up for it.

[garvalf]

Jul 17, 2017 9:42:50 GMT -5 thekeeper said:

I'm up for it.

PM sent!

[erisianseer]

This is really great. I love the sound of the crunchy synths you're using. They really make it sound like it could be from an old video game. The composition style is unique in that it sounds so non-metronomic, even though I'm pretty sure you're in fixed 4/4 the whole time. This makes it sound more like classical compositions than a lot of DS that I've heard.

[crystallogic13]

Jul 15, 2017 17:30:00 GMT -5 garvalf said:

I've worked more on this album and I've made a kind of pre-release (11 tracks, 48 minutes long).

I wish to get some feedback and constructive critism about the sound, the composition and the general feelings about this album. So if some of you are interested (3-4 people max), you can show your interest here, and I'll send you a private message with the URL for downloading the archive with this pre-release.

If you still need criticism or praise (hopefully) I'll be here too.. Note I'm not a musician/producer so this will be a music-maniac fan's opinion if you need such.. Cheers

[garvalf]

erisianseer : thanks for the comment, several people told me my music sounds rather like some video games. It's true it's a strong influence!

crystallogic13 : PM sent!

[Pilgrim's Shadow]

Wow, the short preview was a great experience bt itself. Your passion is quite clear.
looking forward to the album.