3rd Place: Bill Davies - Up and Running

"What I liked about using the Cherry bass on this tune (and several other works in progress) is that it sits well in the mix with little treatment, has great natural sustain, and has plenty of upper mids that can be brought out with EQ for some edge and spark if the tune calls for it. Great articulations too." - Bill Davies

Download "Up and Running" MP3

"Up and Running" features a an intense ethnic groove amid a wash of Tambura droning and thoughtful Sitar phrases. The percussion is supported by a deep bassline, created with CoreBass Cherry. On top of all this, an ethnic flute solos.

The production is excellent! There's a really nice stereo balance between the centered instruments and the stereo wash of Tamburas. A filtered delay also contributes to the width of the mix and adds a great depth to the tone in lieu of big reverb. The volumes of the instruments are adjusted just at the right times to bring to your attention small details: a bass fill, a tambourine hit, a bending sitar note, etc. There's a lot going on at any moment in time, but the listener isn't overwhelmed by this, due to the excellent mix.

The composition follows a lot of classical Indian music, an exploration of a musical mode--in this case a C Mixolydian scale. Once or twice the song hints at a resolution to an F Ionian, but the song actually feels quite relaxed in the constant state of near resolve, by using the root of the key to simulate resolution. What I like about it is that although certain elements may sound repetitive, there is nothing repetitive about the song. Each instrument is constantly making subtle changes and adjustments as the piece evolves.

Emotive pieces like this are difficult to describe using purely musical terms. "Up and Running" isn't about the ending, or resolution (as music of the Western tradition tends to be) but is about the journey. Because of this shift of priorities, there doesn't need to be a big ending--it's an exploration for the sake of appreciating musical subtlety.

Greg Schlaepfer,
Orange Tree Samples

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Bill Davies has been a musician since his teens. Over the decades he has developed a lot of experience performing live, from playing in garage bands early on to performing with church praise and worship teams. Over the past few years, Bill Davies has been developing his home recording studio. Although he began by recording only live instruments, he has recently discovered the world of MIDI, samplers, Kontakt, and sample libraries.


Websites: http://www.soundclick.com/billdavies
http://www2.mixposure.com/Bill_Davies/music.php

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