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Vermillion cliffs


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Description
The next movement in my Arizona Suite. The first movement (probably to be renamed "rain in the canyon") can be found here.
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Song Stats
Hits: 1736
Comments: 58
Fans: 24
Plays: 135
Downloads: 120
Votes: 9
Uploaded: Dec 22, 2007 - 05:28:05 PM
Last Updated: Jan 05, 2009 - 05:10:49 PM Last Played: Nov 24, 2009 - 04:29:25 PM
Song License
Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Creative Commons

Song Actions
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Hardware:
My new Butch Hall padouk flute in F# minor
Software:
Logic, using 9 instances of U-he Zebra and a bucketful of effects.
Comments
bonnieprincejohnny said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
YOOOOOOOOOOOOO
goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood. Expansive.
Check out my latest song called twenty seven
Feter said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
Vermillion cliffs
this is so dreamy and ye ...these lil native flutes
give the impression of a flyin eagle ..impressive !
Ibstrat said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
I've never been
to Arizona but this paints a picture of the desert in my head.Beautiful atmospheric music
Check out my latest song called Blues in Bm
VicDiesel said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
Thanks
Actually, I'm sort of supplying the picture with the art work. The vermillion cliffs are a gorgeous cliff face that you encounter on your way to the north rim of the grand canyon. With the flat landscape it feels like you're driving towards and along them forever. It's quite a sight.


Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
drakonis said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
repitition is cool
I like the electronified twangy shamisen-sound that is the twangy backdrop for this, and the Tangerine Dream washes across the landscape... as usual, your flute work is great. I liked the surprising/unexpected dissonant chord you temporarily hit at about the 3/4 mark... but this needs some final synth crescendo and a few sustained twangs at the end, not a fade-out! :-)

I was at the North Rim when I was 9, camping... I gotta go back soon!

ttfn,
Drakonis
Check out my latest song called Lullaby for the Inner Child
VicDiesel said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
Let's disagree
You've chided me before about my fade-outs and you were exactly right. That was just laziness. But in this case I wanted the tune to end as gently as it began. It's not a fade out, it's a winding down. Everyone converges on the tonic, and there is nothing more to say.

Dissonant chord: yeah, I was getting bored with playing pentatonic, so I threw in some chromatic fingerings :-)
Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
drakonis said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
soft endings are good...
and given what you wished to do here, it worked (so I'm not chiding too hard)... but it did feel like perhaps it was ready to glide into the next segment. Maybe you'll pick up there and build mementum into the next part of your suite?
Check out my latest song called Lullaby for the Inner Child
Tiny_Man_Inside said 699 days ago (December 28th, 2007)
fadeout
I gotta agree with you Vic, the fadeout is perfect here. I can just see in my mind's eye the sun setting and a chill "glow" coming off the cliffs. Works wonders in my opinion.
Check out my latest song called Left to Swing (w/ The Composer)
dajama said 705 days ago (December 22nd, 2007)
This is great
I love the patience of it - a build-up and almost a tension. Rich washing chords...the flute sounds terrific - lovely tone and nice playing. Very cool. I was taken away. Made me think very much of a bird in flight (with me being the bird...). Nice work. Peace.
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ElPeruano said 705 days ago (December 23rd, 2007)
dreamy
is the right word for this. great job.
Check out my latest song called Requiem (w/ TNTrio)
said 704 days ago (December 23rd, 2007)
It is
remarkable the space you built in here, and "Expansive" certainly puts it perspective. I love the work you've done with the flute and built -out- from. Chilling. comes to mind, and a sense of original American heritage

Really nice.

. - Harold
rtcooper said 704 days ago (December 23rd, 2007)
Cinematic
Nice Cover image.
Native to where? Some Asian percussion insistence at the open.
Swirling colors and counterpoint.
The Sun god will, no doubt, be pleased.

Big change for you, no?
very best regards to You,
Cooper

Merry Christmas, too.
Check out my latest song called Intimate Anyway
said 704 days ago (December 23rd, 2007)
Siliconised Sand Art
I'll second the comment about patience. That's a pretty rich-sounding backdrop there; and that chromatic shift that Drakonis likes is definitely the heads-up that the next movement's on it's way...
This is beautiful!

ktb said 704 days ago (December 23rd, 2007)
cliffs of beauty
nice composite of natural instruments and some very cool fx. It sounded like it'd be right at home in the planatarium for the priemeire of cliff gliding from the Vermillion Heights. Delicate and mesmerizing.
Check out my latest song called Texas stump
DWL said 704 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
Impressive
picture painting.

Great arrangement and use of sounds.

Cheers

Dick
guitapick said 703 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
I lived in Tucson...
...for about 6 years, way back when...

Great, great picture of sound, Vic...and love the artwork. It's an incredibly beautiful, mysterious, and powerful area of the world.

I love this...
Check out my latest song called Outside the Corral
apb said 703 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
Great mood ..

.. and vibe. The almost chanting rhythmic synths give this mesmerising feel. Glorious soundscape .. full but
with so much space .. which is very fitting for the
subject at hand. Kudos.
Check out my latest song called Misplaced
DOS said 703 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
Native american?
Never knew they had a genre of music.

Sounds good. Would go great in a documentry on natives.
Check out my latest song called My Revenge To The World
Bubowski said 703 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
Mesmerizing
This is a beautiful sound painting. Love the flute, it blends in so beautifully with the sound textures. That Zebra synth is pretty cool, great textures. Nice job on this.

--Grhaam
Check out my latest song called Galaxy Band 8
Vic Holman said 703 days ago (December 24th, 2007)
most intriguing
i listened to this late last night and was pretty well blown away.
listened again this morning, still blown away. i liked how it would build then unwind, so to speak.

what really has me scratching my head though was how did you get that gated synth?
Check out my latest song called November
VicDiesel said 702 days ago (December 25th, 2007)
not gated, arpeggiated
Ok, all of the synths in that piece are Zebra from u-he.com. That particular sound is a preset that's using the built-in arpeggiator. I guess that sound can be reproduced with almost any virtual analog synth, but the arpeggiator pattern is more pleasing than normal.

Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
jiguma said 703 days ago (December 25th, 2007)
Fantastic post Vic!
Soundtrack quality piece of work - very impressed with the relentless nature of this and the great sounds you've used.
Just got an iPod, so this will be among my first songs to go on (once I get a new OS that is!).
Classy music!
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
said 702 days ago (December 25th, 2007)
Wow
An experience! Love this so pro! Awesome!!!!!!!!
announcer said 702 days ago (December 25th, 2007)
flawless soundstage and production
No big ending needed. This is a perfect ending for this. the cliffs will always be there. The song will always be there. We turn away from the sight but we still know it is there. A big ending would be totally wrong.
Check out my latest song called It Was a Dark and Stormy Night
moorlandt said 700 days ago (December 27th, 2007)
native american...
...I really didn't know what to expect from this genre... Great bed of rich sounds, absolutely enchanting. So nice to dream away in those cold winter months...

-Walt
Check out my latest song called boundaries
VicDiesel said 700 days ago (December 27th, 2007)
Well......
this is not normally what you expect from "native american" music.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Victor.
Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
Heightened said 700 days ago (December 28th, 2007)
Vermillion cliffs
Amazing composition! Wonderful sound-scape!
Check out my latest song called A Journey Through Starburst Galaxy M82
Tiny_Man_Inside said 699 days ago (December 28th, 2007)
oh man!
I love the interesting percussion, not sure what it is, but the sonic quality is amazing and I really dig the rhythms...

Really cool soundscape that you've created here. You can actually visualize the cliffs as you listen to the song... the sun rising, seeing them basking in the mid-day heat, and the eventual cooling as the sun sets. Kinda circle of life stuff.

I love these kind of musical metaphors.

Mason

(on a side note, I would love to throw some crazy, crushingly heavy guitar over some similar type of percussion).
Check out my latest song called Left to Swing (w/ The Composer)
Mcboy said 699 days ago (December 28th, 2007)
awesome sonic
tapestry u have going on here.......the mesmerizing rhythmic current and the spiritual indian melody just creates some magic.....bravo!!!1
Check out my latest song called Heros( aclarke/mcboy)
thetiler said 698 days ago (December 29th, 2007)
I can feel the heat and the tranquility
of the desert here with this tune. At least in my mind. A great way to capture the feeling, and the pic helps too.
Way go, lots of interesting sounds. Like how you morph the flute a bit to make a more distant fee. LIke the almost bend-saw sound to give a parched-drench seeking sound. When I read the description, like the what could be rain drops sound in a kind of avant garde way.

Having a picture is great isn't it? It really provides a great landscape for your terrific tune. Like that subtle bass as the end, that da,da, dadada. Cool.

Way to go!
Check out my latest song called Little Drummer Boy Variations
said 698 days ago (December 29th, 2007)
makes me proud to have some native blood in my veins....
i liked the way it just starts out and sets you on the path, looking for the flute. i can only imagine how much of a task it is to get the recording just right on a woodwind... this is a great performance, and a stellar recording. so glad i stopped by
Allen
Scott Carmichael said 698 days ago (December 29th, 2007)
you nailed this...
it is mysterious and atmospheric... You've taken me to the painted desert at sunrise... a drive I will never forget... a wonderful seamless mix of the organic and the synthetic...
Check out my latest song called Good Morning
kristyjo said 697 days ago (December 30th, 2007)
Very cool-
The effects are great. I just got a set of 2 Butch Hall flutes for Christmas from my husband. (In G and A) I'm hoping to improve some of my pieces I posted before (played on PVC pipe flute.) I like how you have a modern, new-agey, ambient vibe, yet the flute has its really characteristic sound. This spins out really nicely.
Check out my latest song called What a Friend We Have in Jesus
lavalamp said 686 days ago (January 10th, 2008)
Moody
Sets a nice mood, A lot going on on here. Clean. Good mixing and production.
Sounds like an intro to a song. I could hear big drums come into it as it transform into a rock song.

LL

Check out my latest song called Googolplex Times Zero
VicDiesel said 686 days ago (January 10th, 2008)
6 minute intro?
I don't see this as an intro. It has a full narrative arc to it. Nothing is needed after this track.

And I think I'll pass on the drums.

Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
lavalamp said 685 days ago (January 11th, 2008)
Sorry Vic
I didn't mean your song sucked at all. I really enjoyed it, actually. I didn't want a 6 min intro. Just thought it would blend nicely with another.
Next time I'll write "nice" song. I thought this was about exchanging ideas and thoughts. Just spit-balling, did actually want you to DO it.
No offense.
Dave
Check out my latest song called Googolplex Times Zero
lavalamp said 685 days ago (January 11th, 2008)
I hope you understand
I hope you understand the last comment. No hard feelings.
Check out my latest song called Googolplex Times Zero
Cameron said 682 days ago (January 14th, 2008)
different
Artful combination of synth sounds and flute.

There's a fine line between hypnotic and relentless. Most of the time this piece was the former, but occasionally shifted to the latter. Perhaps more variation in the texture would help avoid this.

The nicest moments occurred when you backed down the synth volume while bringing up the flute's. This created an effective shift of sound, a welcomed break for the ears.

In general I would have liked to hear the flute more prominently featured in this piece, but the overall effect you created here works well.

I'm sorry not to have gotten to this page sooner, but the holidaze and then an extended power outage prevented me from doing so.

HAPPY 2008!
Check out my latest song called EPONYM
VicDiesel said 682 days ago (January 14th, 2008)
Happy new year
Interesting way of phrasing it, hypnotic vs relentless. I admit that ocassionally I stretch the material a bit far.

Nine different synth parts and you want more variety? Hm. Maybe sometimes less is more.

Thanks for listening and thanks for your insightful comments as always.


Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
Cameron said 681 days ago (January 15th, 2008)
you got it
when I wrote "more variation in texture" meaning THINNER texture.

I apologize for not being more specific, but you understood it any case, a definite "plus" for all. Thanks
Check out my latest song called EPONYM
John Stebbe said 674 days ago (January 22nd, 2008)
Stargate
Sounds like an episode of Stargate SG-1, where the team transports to an Arizona-like world, and later finds out they were in Arizona the whole time!

Seriously, it does sound like a Sci-Fi soundtrack for a Native-American-themed movie. Your flute is very soulful, and is a great centerpiece for this track.

So many layers here, hard to know what to comment on. I love the synth parts, and the swirling filters and pan effects. The percussive synth is weird in a very good way.

Emotional and robotic at the same time. Cool.
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aclarke said 670 days ago (January 26th, 2008)
A rarity...
The first I can recall hearing on MJ of this nature. Very charismatic piece of music. Hypnotic and soothing. I would have liked to see the flute featured more- I was really blown away by it! Liked much- thanks!
Check out my latest song called Ballad of The Little Tiki
Enrique Gil said 666 days ago (January 30th, 2008)
Impressive!
quite professional IMHO. Hypnotic, trance inducing, fascinating....I consider Arizona my 3rd home and pictures like yours evoke good memories.
Check out my latest song called Simple Feelings
tjayswift said 660 days ago (February 5th, 2008)
very artistic
.. and clever. I'm really enjoying the vast movement that happens. My brain and ears were pretty taxed from being in the studio all day, and this totally hit the spot. I'm certainly no authority on this type of music at all, but I can sincerely say that it took me on a journey and left me in a much improved mood. Wonderful composition!
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said 658 days ago (February 7th, 2008)
gorgeous
the sustained notes of the flute against the excellent backing rain of varied sounds set a holy mood - spiritual, spacious, special.
bravo!
anne



CharlyDeeCynthius said 656 days ago (February 9th, 2008)
I like it so much!!!CDC
Very nice sounds adapt for soundtrack_movie situations...
CDC

Check out my latest song called Waiting for Moonia (Spot) Copyright 2008
magnatone said 656 days ago (February 9th, 2008)
Vermillion Cliffs
I'm really taken by the trance-like nature of this piece. You really know what you're doing with the flute. For what it's worth, (not knowing any history about fade-out feedback), I thought the ending allowed the piece to "let go" just perfectly.
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Doug Somers said 656 days ago (February 10th, 2008)
Lovely narrative
in a scintillating soundscape. So many images are generated from this piece. A wonderful composition and performance.

Be well,
Doug
Check out my latest song called Desiree (MJ Space Race 2009)
dynoMYSTIC said 655 days ago (February 10th, 2008)
!
Loved it from the first note... so different and interesting... nice complimenting textures from the many instruments over an intriguing bed.
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Heightened said 644 days ago (February 21st, 2008)
Brilliant!!!
Loved it. Perfect in every way!
Check out my latest song called A Journey Through Starburst Galaxy M82
said 580 days ago (April 25th, 2008)
Great!
Simply magnificent. I enjoyed it a lot. This has a great Native spirit! KUDOS!

Take Care
- Yeman A. Al-Rawi
Flyinghorse said 565 days ago (May 10th, 2008)
Just as the picture
I agree with the first comment

Expansive

I love the way it builds


:-)
HenriROGERsoloandbands said 491 days ago (July 23rd, 2008)
For the eyes also

Very well done , music for looking inside or somewhere .
Contemporary dancers would be interesting over this .
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Char said 447 days ago (September 5th, 2008)
I enjoy listening to
music that was created by masterful hands and which is so unique to just one person. Without you, we wouldn't have this. I can sit back, close my eyes and envision a landscape, a climate and a people. Thank you.
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Rocha Malhada said 396 days ago (October 26th, 2008)
I was here again
Just letting ya know....

. - Harold
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DeathArrow said 331 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
lalala
this sounds awesome, i really don't know what the instruments are in this song (maybe a Jew's harp could that be, no?!)^^
so what this song is great keep it on!!
cheers, luke
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VicDiesel said 331 days ago (December 31st, 2008)
Instruments
Apart from the flute everything is synthesized.

Thanks for the compliments.
Check out my latest song called Desert Stars
mfwmiles said 306 days ago (January 24th, 2009)
great big sounds
wonderful sound selection, great professional mix...i liked this a lot
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Artist Info
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Name: Victor
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In past lives, VicDiesel was a country fiddler, a shawm player at the Burgundy court, bellows pumper for JS Bach, Geoff Emerick's factotum, and a beggar playing drums in the streets of Calcutta for alms. Unusually, the memories of all that come... [see more]

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