I recently found a project done in Cubase Artist 8.5 in about 2016 or so that I’d thought had been lost in a computer crash. I rediscovered workable files from it as I migrated to a brand new computer after updating a little while ago to Pro 13.5.
I had really liked this song when it was written, and was reasonably happy with how it came out, but the drum track had simply been a loop played via a Boss DR-880, and I’d never been happy with some aspects of the mix (particularly the sound of my “vibes solo”, and where the instruments and “voices” sat relative to each other).
Now a “proper” drum track was added to this via 13.5 and Groove Agent, and it works along with that old drum machine part. Nothing new was recorded beyond that, but various things from the current Cubase world have seasoned everything that was played 8 years ago as it was newly re-mixed, and it hopefully sounds a bit more “professionally” done.
I’m just sharing this now as an example of how we can have happy surprises from rediscovering our old projects, and then use new tools to present them in (hopefully) improved ways. More details behind the song itself can be read on the bandcamp page. Thanks for any listens and/or impressions you might feel like sharing.
John
Nice track, with a strange feel. Did you find the original project and worked from there or just found the audio files?
This is a pretty cool piece John. It reminds me a bit of the type of jazz that ECM produced in the 70s.
I first found a version of the project that only included the drum machine track and about 1/2 of the melodic or harmonic material. I did finally locate a complete version of the original, and that allowed me to open things in my current Cubase version and then apply tweaks to there to some sonic aspects and create the new mix.
Thanks, Rene, and I do appreciate that ECM reference. I still listen to a lot of that today. Not sure if you’d read the blurb on the bandcamp page, but the composition came about from playing around with some chords from Steve Swallow’s Falling Grace. The song predated ECM, but Swallow and Gary Burton each had long associations with the label, so that might translate somehow into the vibe here.
Hi John,
I didn’t read the blurb. I listened to the piece directly from Steinberg’s website. That’s the reference that came to mind when I listened to the piece. I listened to ECM productions a lot. At the time I found that it was the music label that offered the most original content. I was a big fan of them.
Once again, good job!
My regards.
That’s a great Fretless bass sound you have there, it’s powerful without overwhelming the rest of the mix.
I like the jazz feel to this song, especially when you start playing guitar from 2:04. Nice vibe