Aerium Pres. Avalon 62 - Paracosm [Album] [TF Recordings]

Artist(s)
Aerium pres. Avalon 62
Release title
Paracosm
Label name
TF.R
Release date
Nov 1, 2022
Release type
Artist album
Link to external store
https://tf-r.bandcamp.com/album/paracosm

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,495 Posts
1,713 Thanked
Sweden
Not sure if I should write this or if it's discouriging more than constructive.but anyways eveyone already know I'm harsh including the producer. After another listen my conclusion somewhat changed towards more negative. I really think the musical ideas are like a 3 or 4 out of ten while the technical bits including structural changes and transition in the tracks are like 8-9 put of 10. It's smooth as hell but the music itself isnt really developing the way id like it to. It's almost a little robotic all in all how it progressing, the small musical ideas presented.Even if the sound across the whole album is really swoshy bright ambient ish i don't really feel much emotion tbh.So for me my final conclusion is brilliant album technically as in mastering,audio, structure,transitions,detail etc but I'm sorry to say a bit poor musically. So a very good album technically buy thats all unfortunaly.
 

Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
i don't really feel much emotion tbh
Thanks for the feedback as always m8 but that ^ is (unfortunately) on you.

I simply cannot a tune to you “emotion”. Since I don’t know what you feel and why. 😉

I’m glad at least one person dislikes the album so far as it leaves room for improvement next time, even though it is horrendously subjective/ person specific
 
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Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,495 Posts
1,713 Thanked
Sweden
I dont know jetflag. I think Gagi touched on something in his critique. Its more of a producers album, than say a musical artists album to me. Technically proficient but not as musically engaging. Wouldnt say I dislike any track in particular, but i just dont find any of them hugely interesting nor emotive. Almost every track has one short musical theme/phrase Id say thats not really expanded upon,with the rest of track lengts are just beats/fx/pads (these are technically flawless btw) and every track just kinda fades out before the already exisiting ideas has (really) taken shape imo. Some seem to like himelfjoer quite a bit but that saw melody is not for me. Im just tired of that type of saw melody overall in trance. I wouldve loved this track 10 years ago though. The sound-design, kick and bassline and the lively shaker/hat really remind me of whirloop. Oahu sounds like old pvd , really has that energy and rhythmic vibe to it.

Actually, I think this is a fair comparasion. Its like Pvds album "out there" in a sense. I dont think anyone woud call that album a hugely impressive complex musical written album but its got its other qualities such as its "sofistication" and its seamless storytelling. That album has some tracks with more evocative iconic well know melodies, which i do miss here. The melodies in Eudaimonia and 47 tucanea feels like your old "melodic" style, which is fine but not hugely memorable or strong to me. The other melodic tracks such as russkoye leto and himelfjoer has quite generic chord progressions and choices of synths and are not very memorable at all. I think thats why the more techy and ambient tracks seems to be preferred over the more melodic ones, im guessing.

Im interested to see what others think : Is this more of a technically proficent album or a musically engaging one?

Right now I´d give the album a score of 6.8 out of 10. I could be overly harsh (as most times haha) right now. I might be less harsh with this as time goes by.
 
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Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
3,913 Posts
2,809 Thanked
My critique was oriented more towards the technical, rather than the creative side. Sure, there's always potential to make any album a 10/10, and we can always dig deeper and give more feedback. But when it comes to ideas, I really like it, and the entire album has grown on me since the first listen. Not only that, but it might be one of the few trance releases in the past few years which evoked any emotion in me at all. That's subjective, and that's why it's probably my #1 trance album of 2022.

I just enjoy it without too much analysis.
 
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Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
could be overly harsh (as most times haha) right now.
oh no you're not. and by all means keep it up (y)

but just to feedback the feedback-back a little. The problem for me as a musician when i'm reading this is: Most of what you describe as things you don't like/critique is too overtly opaque or just plain subjective, that I'm having trouble expanding on it for future works. for instance:

musically engaging.
or:
dont find any of them hugely interesting nor emotive
^
I don't know what that means. or better yet, how to precisely fix that in a way that you would like.

I have no idea on what it is precisely that makes this musically uninterresting or "unemotive" for you specifically.

like. say: I could interpret musically uninterresting as giving a future production a go with say: Jazz progressions or, 7th tone bassline chords or more cowbell, what have you.. But I 1 still don't know if that would quote on quote "please" your specific taste. and 2 it by all intents and purposes wouldn't colloquially be trance anymore but entirely something else (believe me, I have hundreds of these experimental tracks on my PC and they're simply too complex/chaotic to be given that label, might drop a few in the future here for feedback though)

Now don't get me wrong. Out of all the reviews i find yours by far the most interesting constructive and thorough to read and please, pretty please keep it up as it might very well be me who's just to thick to understand what it is you're saying/suggesting.. But this is the problem with "but it just doesn't feel the way i would like" .

it might also for instance very well be the case that you're just... bored of trance in general, And so aside from the emotional echo you still have with reminicent tracks from the good old days..(at least thats how my mind sometimes works) anything new just doesn't vibe all that well and so that no matter what I write that could still within reason be considered a trance track is just well...uninterresting to you.

So this is why its hard for me to expand on what is presumably your most fundamental critique. But I will take it with me anyhow and who knows, maybe down the line it will click in my head so to speak.

that said:

Its like Pvds album "out there" in a sense. I dont think anyone woud call that album a hugely impressive complex musical written album but its got its other qualities such as its "sofistication" and its seamless storytelling.
this is by far the best thing i've read in terms of (semi) compliments for the album. The album, like Alphanumeric, was intended to narrate the world(s) or Paracosm, I had in my mind when writing this.

I actually turned down an idea by @Hensmon who (smartly) suggested dropping a few or one track as a teaser before the whole album release. I turned him down on that precisely because Paracosm is designed/written and so meant as a whole.
 
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dmgtz96

Elite Member
Jul 13, 2020
2,640 Posts
1,499 Thanked
I think for future work it would be interesting to see at least one of:

1) your take on a "catchy poppy melody," all while keeping the same general aesthetic of the tracks you showed us
2) a vocal track, though very few voices would work with trance. You might end up needing to collab with the legend Jan Johnston or someone of that same caliber

You don't have to do either, I'm just saying they would be interesting to hear from someone who obviously knows how to produce this style of trance
 
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IXM

Senior Member
Oct 18, 2021
397 Posts
218 Thanked
POLAND
I think for future work it would be interesting to see at least one of:

1) your take on a "catchy poppy melody," all while keeping the same general aesthetic of the tracks you showed us
2) a vocal track, though very few voices would work with trance. You might end up needing to collab with the legend Jan Johnston or someone of that same caliber

You don't have to do either, I'm just saying they would be interesting to hear from someone who obviously knows how to produce this style of trance
as if no one was there, I am, write ;)
keep listening, time pls
 

Bobby Summa

Senior Member
Sep 7, 2022
907 Posts
682 Thanked
Age
47
Brighton UK
Website
soundcloud.app.goo.gl
I think emotion is and always will be, while one feels attachment to a particular kind of emotion, the thing someone would ‘most’ be affected by in a piece of music where emotion is a critical factor. electronic music of a good genre Particularly brings this into focus.

Peoples emotional needs and setups are all different with often various bits that are similar to other peoples, but we have our own energy as a whole with many ingredients playing together at the same time. One of the reasons humans are the most intelligent being/ animal known. With all this going on, one person can be profoundly affected by one sound/melody, along with some other people. But equally many wont get a thing from it because it doesn’t entertain a part of them they seek to be stimulated or triggered.

I would write more, but im collaborating with my best pal for the first time and i think we are ready to resume.
 
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Jetflag

Elite Member
Jul 17, 2020
2,701 Posts
2,168 Thanked
I think for future work it would be interesting to see at least one of:

1) your take on a "catchy poppy melody," all while keeping the same general aesthetic of the tracks you showed us
2) a vocal track, though very few voices would work with trance. You might end up needing to collab with the legend Jan Johnston or someone of that same caliber

You don't have to do either, I'm just saying they would be interesting to hear from someone who obviously knows how to produce this style of trance
I have a bit of a bootleg in the pipeline actually. Problem is finding time to finish it
 

Trance4Ever

Member
Dec 18, 2021
245 Posts
130 Thanked
Super excited for the 1st and the 4th track particularly.

Also just re-visited Terrai and Moonflower wow they're absolutely timeless. Would love to hear a Moonflower 2022 update :D
 
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IXM

Senior Member
Oct 18, 2021
397 Posts
218 Thanked
POLAND
waterjocht:
psychedelic experience. imagine a campfire in the woods of South America, lots of tubules worshiping the moon around, all dancing immersed in the psychedelic properties of the local plants. the mood grows, you won't find a beautiful melody here, it's raw, very primal, natural. acid heralds its full power, here everyone is far from home, communing with the moon, unfortunately every fairy tale ends sometime.

I say there is no melody to be myself. you have chosen the hard way, without a melody it is very difficult. however, I think it turned out pretty cool. I would like such an opening to something bigger that has some melodies somewhere. the climate is brilliant very primal. you do a lot in the atmosphere, but I love you. You are very characteristic in this matter, you take care of the smallest detail. to be honest, the first time was more captivating to me, with subsequent listenings it becomes normal. very original production
BTWI was expecting a higher price for your work, I thought it would be 20 and it's ok
 
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Recharge

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2020
1,004 Posts
544 Thanked
Age
38
Listening atm. Really lovely stuff, it got me hooked from song one. I am surprised that you guys manage to snatch such a great album. This could of easily ended on a bigger label focused on old school trance. Expect some friendly competition in the future since I was thinking at the start of the year of starting my own label for trance and progressive with focus on old school music. I am still not ready to start the project, but when I do, I already have a list of 20/30 producers that will be a great fit including a few people from here.
 

Aquarium

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2021
309 Posts
190 Thanked
Toronto
4th listen now. Clear favorites for me are OAHU and Wetterljocht. Really strong album overall. The concept album idea does come through when listening to it as a whole and it’s not an easy thing to accomplish.
 

Spacetime

Member
Nov 6, 2021
196 Posts
128 Thanked
Congrats on the release, you can tell a lot of care went into it and you tried to make something beyond your average 2022 trancer. I like the blend of track styles but need more listening time to decide what I like and dislike. First round through, I think it’s good. Been listening to a lot of early to mid 90s music recently and I still find that sound superior when compared to the cleaner modern sounds you have gone for. Sometimes parts could be considered cheaper sounding in comparison to older sounds. Cold or robotic, but it’s not a deal breaker and personal preference.
 
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Motion

Member
May 18, 2021
210 Posts
110 Thanked
Will be picking this up today. All the samples sounded good from your promo and I really like the track or the week from a few days ago.

Super Frogs album still my pick from this year so will look forward to see if it can be beaten.
 
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