uh... belly dance show this time

[kensuguro]

in progress intro for a belly dance show. I'm not really sure who's dancing or what the concept of the show is, just that I "might" get a live violinist and it's supposed to be about 3:00. Don't know if people are actually going to dance, or if this is just an instrumental intro (overture?). So anyway, lots of questions, but I got writing anyway.

Heavily using Wizoo's Darbuka plugin. No way in hell I sequenced all the percussion. The plugin comes with a bunch of stock loops that I can toggle with keys. Thank God for canned ethnic percussion.

Synful for strings and sylenth for the bit of synth in there. microtonic for the overlay drums. Independence 3 for the trailer style drums hits.

Musically, I didn't get into the whole "real" tuning for mid eastern music. There's like a billion maqams and I'm not set up to do microtuning, nor do I want to learn how to actually compose in a completely different scale system.. just to do a 3:00 piece. In my mind, I was imagining the dubka music I heard in Jordan. (though I don't think it has anything to do with belly dancing) Jordanian dubka is super powerful sounding. Though it's not a straight translation. The beat is different, and the melody is more complex in mine. But I did throw in the strange synth melody line. In Jordan I saw a bunch of one man bands on a synth (arabic maqams built in) playing all sorts of songs with just 1 synth lead that sounds like some sort of double reed instrument (like the chinese sonar). All this technology man, it's the digital era. But anyway, I wanted to capture the power and the frenzy like busy feel of dubka. Yallah yallah!

Uhm, but I did find out just today that the main dancer of the show is Iranian / Turkish. So not sure how that's going to work out. Iranian / Persian folk music is very particular.. and so is Turkish. Dunno, at this point I'm like to hell with authenticism. It's much too hard to do anything authentic for anything mid east related. I guess I did a good bit of homework, and have learned a lot of the larger middle eastern area, but still, it's way too much to take in. Even the arabic world is too big, and that's not even the entire mid east. It's fascinating, and daunting because the sheer amount of regional variation, historical variation, and just variations for anything and everything. (damn the pre Google era when 10 people would do 10 different things)

I'm quite happy with how the trills turned out on the strings though. Overall the sound is very busy right now, and too hot. I'm going to finish writing and go back and clean up. And the whole chill out first half isn't really making sense to me in the context of the arabic frenzy of the second half.

[Nestor]

Hi Ken, I think it is pretty cool so far, now, allow me to give you an advice from the point of view of a colleague coming from the same side you yourself come as a musician and composer: don’t accept to start a musical composition without having the needed knowledge. I mean, you should know more and less the details of the project before starting otherwise you are unable to really compromise fully. If the music style was something closed to you, that would be much easier, but Arabic music is a world in itself, said that, I don’t know the situation, so it is just a point of view.

I will try to put myself into your place focusing in as a “dance track” for your song, and this is what I would change:

*The strings at the beginning lack in rhythm for a dance track, I miss the call, I think it would be cool if you could start letting them feel the call (through the strings themselves not the percussion), so when the rhythm section starts, it does it with more strength, like it happens with most belly dance music.

The use of Microtonic is cool, but way too loud. I would clean the middle, and stress the melody up and the rhythm down, the concept is different, but it works.

Ups…, I now see that you have realized it by yourself when reading your last paragraph: “the whole chill out first half isn't really making sense to me in the context of the arabic frenzy of the second half”.

For some sections of the melody I would add a Santoor now and then, which would give a tremendous character when needed, but used for short and specific periods of time, just to stress a passage.

Then a very low Doumbec to be placed in contretemp with a big “Woooo” that goes down, would give you a very hot rhythmic section, something to be used very sparely.

Well, I hope it is of use to you. Good luck brother.

[garyb]

you should go to more belly dance clubs.

that sounds like a Hollywood movie version of Arabic or Persian music, but not much like the real deal. middle eastern music isn't about harmony(although it has harmony). if the event is a strictly Caucasian affair, the piece is perfect. it's not belly dance though.

[kensuguro]

ya, I'm finding out more detail as I write. It seems like the production team is being put together at this moment, and the broad stroke ideas are being put together. So I'm assuming there will be lots of rewrites. But the base mentality seems to be "they work with what they get", at least from me, and so far they're quite pleased with this. The production, quite fortunately, is not too concerned with authenticity, so I think I can keep with the "hey I did something in what the west believes is the arabic scale", and not worry about actually implementing the maqams. They're more concerned with the theatrics, how big it sounds and how dramatic the piece is (in the western context), when the lasers come in, etc. so that's something I can work with.

It's actually to my advantage, since I don't know the "real" belly dance scene (of the big stage) at all. As far as I can tell, their production is just a big stage performance involving belly dancers, that is Arab themed, but is heavy on the smoke, lasers, and LEDs. It's good that the actual show itself isn't exactly what I'd imagine to be traditional. And there seems to be a good amount of PR effort to say "we're relevant to even outside the Arab world", which allows me to be quite contemporary with the interpretation. I get the marketing need.. they want to grow out of the niche and just want to create a spectacle that sells tickets.

As far as authenticity is concerned, it's perhaps for future project. It's a fascinating aspect of music, but like much of the mid east it's not widely understood nor is there any amount of effort going towards understanding it. (as can be seen from my lack of effort) The music is as complex as the history of the region, which makes it interesting a quite challenging to follow all the connections.

[Nestor]

I am eager to follow this one Ken... waiting to see how it is going to evolve...

[kensuguro]

added some more non arabic parts. Going back to fine tune the strings articulation and also the sound. I want a more clear sound, sounds reverb drenched right now, and is taking on some bad ER that is making them less resonant. The solo violin is fairly resonant I think. The pianos' stereo image got mangled with the stereo widening effect so need to make that more focused.

Overall, eased up on the compressing, a bit more dynamic range than before. Planning on increasing dynamic range (or squashing less and less) as I get toward finish. For large theaters I tend to keep the master effects to just EQ and minimal comp and let the sound guy take care of the rest on the day of.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kensuguro.com. ... dance3.mp3

It looks like what's going to happen on stage is:
1. violin dude plays
2. break dancers (where microtonic comes in)
3. jazz dancer (where arabic sequence ends)
4. belly dancer(s) come ing

Pretty busy 3 minute intro if you ask me, but I think they want to start with a bang.

[Nestor]

Wow..., what a change, I like it a lot..., and it feels meant for what it is going to be used, this is my amble opinion.
There is a microtonic electric shot, kind of a start war effect when machines attacked that it is in every beginning of every bar from the middle and on. Well, I think this is pretty heavy sounding… don’t know, and it brakes the beauty of the song. I would even remove it entirely. The song sounds pretty coherent and firm, but this particular sample there kind of makes it cheepy. You could perhaps send now and then some rhythm sections that start as loud as this shot sounds, and then go down slowly… Mmmm, let me think…, well, the only reference I have right now in my memory, so to answer you immediately because I am working… he he…, are in some passages of Georgio Moroder, Munich Machine and Jean Michel Jarre, that would give you a very nice touch, without the heaviness. Just my point of understanding dear friend

[JoPo]

Bravo ! It's brilliant ! Must be a huge work ! Arabian violon are not easy to make but you did it.

[kensuguro]

oh right, the pitch mod zzzip sound that pitches down right. I put it in a microtonic pattern and just left it but ya, I should take it out and just manually trigger when effective. Moving on to the next 7 minutes for now tho.

[garyb]

i'm sure that will make the clients happy!

[Nestor]

i'm sure that will make the clients happy!

Exactly, it sounds like being in a theater already! Go, go go Ken, you will do something great! You already are in a great path... Waiting for more...

[kensuguro]

Thanks, guys

[kensuguro]

beefed up the later half of the violin solo. It's now a strings bonanza.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kensuguro.com. ... dance2.mp3

Lead violin and strings now has a more in your face kind of sound. The show will have a live violinist playing the lead part so I'm excited how that'll turn out.

I still need to figure out how to make the first part make sense..

[hubird]

wish I had those skills
It will fit the show Ken, congrats

[Nestor]

Dear Ken. I am finishing a song for an important project right now. The song started with a tremendous rhythm guitar section. It was really difficult to build and play this rhythm section, I had to study and rehearse a lot, and then again a whole lot more for it to be accurate. I finally did it, then build the whole song upon this great rhythm but...

Which is most interesting (and you will understand where I am heading to with this), is that when the song was already build, this guitar was totally unnecessary, and through the eyes of the “professional” and not the “musician” that there is inside myself, I decided to remove it and the song is now really great, "without the guitar". Not attaching onself to something we like, is a good thing to be more objective for final results.

With all honestly, I feel strongly that you should do the same with this introduction, it has nothing to do with the song, and it really takes the strength of it out… Do the same I did, be courageous and be professional, delete the whole introduction, don’t try to fix something which is unfixable. The problem with this introduction is that it does not bring you “the call” for dancing, it is like a romantic epic scenario, and then it changes radically to an arabic song.

I understand that you did what most composers do now and then do like it happens to me all the time, that is, starting an idea looking for something, and then getting the edge of what you were exactly searching to find.

Between seconds 18 and 19, I think you have the key of what you should use as an introduction. I would concentrate much more in the rhythmic section than thinking of it as a harmony challenge. If you construct something rhythmic with strings using this simple notes and the harmony found in seconds 18 and 19, as I said, you will enter the song with a tremendous appeal. Please, give to my suggestion an opportunity, and be creative as you always are

The rest of the song is sounding really, really cool, I really like it

[kensuguro]

lol, ya, I think the intro's going to have to get the axe. It just doesn't make any sense. The only thing I guess that makes sense about it is the overall tension level, just that it's "low" in intensity. What is going on content wise is very vanilla and doesn't say anything of importance. I still want the contrast to be there when the arabic part comes in, but I'll have to figure out a different way of creating a low intensity intro.

[kensuguro]

entering song 2. Gave it a graceful, artistic entry so the belly dancers don't come in full power and desensitize the audience. It'll be a gradual build up toward the end. Should end up being 7 min total for this one.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kensuguro.com. ... nce-m2.mp3

More contemporary rhythm based on the darbuka section, but interpreted in a funk sort of way. Outright funk on ep and bass. Syncopation works well with the darbuka drums. I'm consciously stopping myself from throwing in a clavinet, though the ep is already acting like a clavinet.

Planning on nurturing the groove into a more syncopated sequence (string hits), and then a melodious part, then introduce a second theme, change up flavors and probably go faster.

As I'm watching a lot of videos of the performer, I'm finding out that a belly dancer's repertoire for building up tension, and particularly "riding" the climactic part for an extended period of time is actually fairly limited. (compared to a break dancer, anyway) So I'm trying to have the climax come at a singular point (most likely at the end), and then boom, finish, lights off, clap clap clap.

[JoPo]

Frankly, it is excellent. I love the progression. I think you add the piano in the begining and the piano is splendid ! It is nice that the piano starts alone and then the violons : it's even more progressive.

[kensuguro]

unfortunately that version was shot down. They want a 4x4 trance sort of thing. Sort of disappointed since there are plenty of 4x4 club-ish tunes with mid east samples but that was the request from the dancer.

Turns out her costume is very extravagant, made by people who worked on some of GaGa's costumes... so this tune is probably to low intensity / too graceful for something like that. I heard something about a huge crown and lizard style armor. Not sure what the concept is, but definitely does not sound like this tune.

[JoPo]

You can do and give him what he wants... And keep and improve the actual version for you..!