Second Nature - Ascension EP

SecondNature

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Oct 27, 2020
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Hey Everyone,

I'm excited to finally present some music I've worked on since last summer! The four track EP will be released slowly, one track at the end of every week until January 29th, so I'll post them here as they come out.

 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
107 Thanked
USA
Website
soundcloud.com
Thanks for the kind words! Does FSOE have music that sounds like this? Always felt their sound was way more modern than old-school.

I was going for the classic trance vibe since very few artists produce that sound anymore.
 

Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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Nice arrangement! I love the style, but I think the bassline could use some more energy. Will be listening to the rest of the EP.
 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
107 Thanked
USA
Website
soundcloud.com
Next track up is called "Here If You Need Me." This track changes gear a bit from the other two, as this is more uplifting and not as aggressive. Inspired by old school elements here, mainly from Solar Stone, Chicane, and more recently, Thrillseekers' Hydra project.

 

Hensmon

Admin
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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Just listened to all three of these, great work mate. Here If You Need Me is very nice, reminds me exactly of the artists you described and you captured that essence well. Nice that you start the track with the synths and the pads before introducing the beat. Flashbacks may be my favourite I enjoyed the melody and how it is arranged. I agree with Gagi that the bass could have but more energy or fill the mix more. All of them capture that Trance feeling really well. You sent to any labels? Some touches to the mastering/arrangements could really elevate these to pro levels.
 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
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USA
Website
soundcloud.com
Just listened to all three of these, great work mate. Here If You Need Me is very nice, reminds me exactly of the artists you described and you captured that essence well. Nice that you start the track with the synths and the pads before introducing the beat. Flashbacks may be my favourite I enjoyed the melody and how it is arranged. I agree with Gagi that the bass could have but more energy or fill the mix more. All of them capture that Trance feeling really well. You sent to any labels? Some touches to the mastering/arrangements could really elevate these to pro levels.

Thanks for the kind words and feedback!

I don't plan on sending this EP to labels, just releasing them myself via Bandcamp. I've released music through labels before with a different alias and didn't want them to own my masters. At this point, I'm just doing everything from scratch and self-promoting them through Distrokid. While I won't get the audience that all the bigger acts have, everything stays true to my vision. From reading a bunch of posts on Trancefix and on YouTube, I know there is still a small following of people that still love that sound.

I figure it's a cool angle to be one of the few underground producers who still make nostalgic trance.
 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
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soundcloud.com
"Ascension" is the last track on the EP. Diving more within the realms of Hard Trance/Cybertrance, this shifts focus from the uplifting style to the more aggressive and energetic end of the trance spectrum. It's mainly inspired from German Trance/Frankfurt Beat type trance.

Check it out here:



Thank you all for the feedback and constructive criticisms. I'm really happy to be part of such an awesome community and I have more projects in the works. Stay tuned and have a wonderful weekend!!
 
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Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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Here If You Need Me has a lot of potential, but I'm not feeling the beats there. Love the start of it! There's just something extra it needs to be as good as possible. Same as with Ascension, needs just a bit more energy to it, a bit richer sound design as well.
 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
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USA
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Here If You Need Me has a lot of potential, but I'm not feeling the beats there. Love the start of it! There's just something extra it needs to be as good as possible. Same as with Ascension, needs just a bit more energy to it, a bit richer sound design as well.
That's a fair opinion. If people are interested, I'm down to release the stems sometime in the future and we can have a set of remixes released by the producers from the forum. I think that would be fun and interesting so we can see the tracks produced in different perspectives.
 
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Archon

Gagi
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We've had some remix competitions on the old forum, so maybe, if people are down to it, we can organize another one here as well.
 

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
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The track that reveals you are a noob is "here if you need me". ;) What you hear in alot of bedroom producers stuff is that they cant tweak or eq or even choose the "right" synths to fit in with the rest of the mix imo. Its either a weak synth, too low in volume, or one that doesnt work or fit in well with the rest of the sounds.

The others are good for what they are productionswise just not that interesting in terms of structure or arrangement. Flashback is the one i would say sounds most "right" or solid of the bunch in terms of how everything sounds together, but maybe that one is also the most straight forward.

Have you listened to Guardians of the Earth? They are my fav "bedroom/web/oldschool" producer from the mp3.com era. Some of the melodies/overall mood remind a little of them. Thats a compliment ;)

What I like in most of my trance is a "multidimensional" approach, with lots of different rhythms/meters interacting with eachother. Not only in the drums but in the melodies aswell. This is to get away from or mask the obvious thumpthump 4x4 sound that goes through most trance tracks. Maybe you have heard this one but I think this guy mastered this so well. He also elevates it to another level in terms of developement, which i think your tracks kinda lack.

Check these two tracks. I think both does the style so well. Choosing the right bpm, drum fills and interesting rhythms/meters are crucial for trance to be interesting as music and not only nail the production,sound of a certain style.


 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
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USA
Website
soundcloud.com
The track that reveals you are a noob is "here if you need me". ;) What you hear in alot of bedroom producers stuff is that they cant tweak or eq or even choose the "right" synths to fit in with the rest of the mix imo. Its either a weak synth, too low in volume, or one that doesnt work or fit in well with the rest of the sounds.

The others are good for what they are productionswise just not that interesting in terms of structure or arrangement. Flashback is the one i would say sounds most "right" or solid of the bunch in terms of how everything sounds together, but maybe that one is also the most straight forward.

Have you listened to Guardians of the Earth? They are my fav "bedroom/web/oldschool" producer from the mp3.com era. Some of the melodies/overall mood remind a little of them. Thats a compliment ;)

What I like in most of my trance is a "multidimensional" approach, with lots of different rhythms/meters interacting with eachother. Not only in the drums but in the melodies aswell. This is to get away from or mask the obvious thumpthump 4x4 sound that goes through most trance tracks. Maybe you have heard this one but I think this guy mastered this so well. He also elevates it to another level in terms of developement, which i think your tracks kinda lack.

Check these two tracks. I think both does the style so well. Choosing the right bpm, drum fills and interesting rhythms/meters are crucial for trance to be interesting as music and not only nail the production,sound of a certain style.


How dare you call me a noob after my first release?! Where are the PLUR police when you need them? My feelings almost got hurt. Hahaha 😉

I remember Guardians of The Earth from PVD's Politics of Dancing, he played an edit of their song "Starchildren," of which I thought the original version was way better (the quasi-dub version, anyways). But he is damn good and definitely sticks out in terms of keeping it interesting and multi-dimensional, as you said, and I haven't heard both tracks until now. They're awesome. To say I sound even remotely like that is great to hear and a good place to start. Literally listening through their entire discography right now and THAT is the trance I'm aiming to revive.

I'm continuing to make music for myself and what I'm finding is that the details get a little finer every time, so it's a continuous work in progress.

I appreciate the honest feedback and insight!
 

Daysleeper

Lost in Trancelation
Jul 13, 2020
2,495 Posts
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Sweden
I listened to Legacy,Ascension and Flashback at work yesterday. They are not badly produced tracks. :) I noticed some details/sounds i hadnt before.

I think where they lack is compositionally and technically. Europa is a great reference track from GOTE imo. It has really cool layering and contrasting rhyhtms alongside a good flow.

Keep it up ! 👍
 
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SecondNature

Member
Oct 27, 2020
148 Posts
107 Thanked
USA
Website
soundcloud.com
Listening to Legacy now. It def has some GOTE vibes.

Working on anything new?

I got some music due to be released in April. I produced 8 tracks total and the original intention was to release an entire album but upon mixing the tracks together, I had a lot of trouble since they were all made separately and not as one cohesive journey, so I decided to split them up to two EP's.

Currently working on some new material taking in the lessons learned from this release, but that stuff is still very much in the production/creativity phase. Work has also started picking up for me, so my time for music has also dwindled a bit. Nonetheless, I'll still be making music and will def share tracks in the future!