Thursday, May 04, 2006

Twice the Speed of Time

I deleted the songs. Sorry. Needed the server space. Don't worry: you aren't missing much. They really, really sucked.

-Aaron, 10/10/2008

Here we have my album Twice the Speed of Time. Feel free to download and trade away; this is music for the sake of music without cost or conditions. You may download the album as a whole in Zip format or each track individually.

What you'll find here is instrumental music ranging from high energy rhythm pieces to quieter mood music done with instruments used mainly in electronica music, though I've worked to avoid the dance-club feel as I desired rhythms of greater complexity and variety. Influences for this album include the lesser known Feel Good Lost by Broken Social Scene, Jars of Clay, Saviour Machine, Kevin Max, Yanni and Pink Floyd (because every musician can't help but be influenced by them).

All songs listed I wrote using Magix Music Maker 10 Deluxe. Want to start making music for free? Try using Rockstar's Beaterator. It's not nearly as powerful but is still a very effective music maker for no cost.

Not sure which version to download? For the average user with broadband the Hi Res versions will be fine (iTunesĀ® purchased songs are 128 kbps). For dial-up users, the Lo Res versions will be a faster download, though the quality will be quite diminished (akin to mild radio static with little bass).

1. First Impression (4:55)
Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 4,739 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,555 KB

2. Haunted Strings (3:31)
Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,395 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,547 KB

3. Simple Sigh (5:04)
Left click to play, right click to save the file.
Hi Res 128 kbps 4,874 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,656 KB

4. Strange Conversations (1:48)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 1,731 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 1,299 KB

5. When Wet (3:43)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 3,587 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,691 KB

6. Inside (7:41)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 7,293 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 5,470 KB

7. Gale Force (5:56)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 5,702 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 4,277 KB

8. Idle (5:04)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 4,872 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,654 KB

9. Twice the Speed of Time (7:16)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 6,979 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 5,235 KB

10. Semblance of Grace (4:36)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 4,419 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,315 KB

11. Appropriate Recompense (5:52)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 5,635 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 4,227 KB

12. Mangrove Firs (5:27)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 5,251 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,939 KB

13. From the Dust (3:00)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 2,883 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,163 KB

14. A More Subtle Kind of Cry (5:59)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 5,703 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 4,278 KB

15. Standstill (5:12)
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Hi Res 128 kbps 4,999 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,750 KB


The B-Sides

These are songs I cut from the project either because they weren't up to snuff or I just didn't have enough room for them.

1. Hammered and Recovery (3:21)
I wrote this song immediately after hearing from my brother who was hungover in an attempt to capture the drinking process in music. I failed miserably, but I still liked the song. This and the next were my last two songs to cut from the project; I'd kept them in the project for so long because they were among the first five songs I ever wrote for this album (First Impression and Haunted Strings being the first two, in that order).

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,226 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,420 KB

2. Esoteric Title (3:01)
I never know what to call these songs. I usually take whatever word, phrase or nonsensical gibberish enters my head first though in this case I felt a more ironic title would be appropriate. I was tempted to keep this track in the project by itself but it just felt lifeless without Hammered and Recovery before it. Besides: it ultimately wasn't all that good either. This is why I love B-Sides.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 2,904 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,179 KB

3. Stalah Manswa (5:41)
Though this serves as the last part of the trilogy, I cut this song from the album much earlier. It just never did anything for me, and I felt Simple Sigh accomplished the same thing in the album, both formally and musically. And it was a much better song in the end.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 5,522 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 4,156 KB

4. Pinky Ring (4:33)
I hate this song. I absolutely hate this song. I don't know why. I just can't stand it. This track is a very early track; I wrote it while I was still learning the program during my stint on Platform Gail but I could never make the melody work for me. And clocking in at over four minutes it proved to be a painfully long song. Oh well. I could do better with Malleable, right?

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 4,376 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,283 KB

5. Malleable (2:58)
Wrong. While this had the natural piano feel and light-hearted nature I was looking for in Pinky Ring I felt like the piano was just boring. The melody didn't go anywhere and the chord progression was bland.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 2,909 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,196 KB

6. Cannonball (3:49)
Did this one between Pinky Ring and Malleable, though I intended it for a different movement I ended up cutting out altogether. But it suffered from the same basic problem: the piano was boring and the song didn't go anywhere. I needed something more. I finally decided I was going about a piano piece all wrong and decided to slow things down. The end result? From the Dust. Guess it was worth the work after all.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,667 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,751 KB

7. Slip in Sandals (1:50)
Another early track from my week on Gail. I didn't think much of it when I wrote it but grew to like it over time. But I didn't like it enough to keep it, especially when I couldn't find any place to logically insert it into the flow of music.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 1,829 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 1,386 KB

8. Stranglehold (3:36)
This and the remaining tracks are songs I'm very fond of. They stand on their own quite well but, put up against several of my better pieces, they didn't shine as bright as I'd like them to. That and I didn't want to drag the album on much longer than 75 minutes.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,516 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,652 KB

9. Ripples (5:46)
This track is one of my favorites. I just couldn't find room for it.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 5,596 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 4,212 KB

10. Jackhammer (3:04)
I'd meant this one to either introduce or follow-up Inside. Unfortunately it didn't work on either end, and it didn't work well next to any other song on the album. I love this track, but it's the black sheep of the family and I just had to hide it from the family album.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,004 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,268 KB

11. A Mental Slight of Hand (3:19)
Not technically a b-side, I wrote this track one evening after working on this very site. It's the newest track among the rest of the songs though it's still in its infancy. I may use it in a future project though it'll probably sound very different. For now enjoy its endless potential.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 3,199 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 2,399 KB

12. Haunted Strings: Reprise (5:20)
The only thing I love more than reprises are reprises that go on longer than the original song. I also like to see a reprise that differs quite a bit from its original and this song embodies each criterium. But when it came down to brass taxes, I couldn't justify keeping two versions of one song when it would mean bumping another song that's even better than this one.

Left click to play, right click to save.
Hi Res 128 kbps 5,191 KB
Lo Res 96 kbps 3,908 KB



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