Oky, I've no prob with being corrected when I'm wrong, but the E chord with the G# just sounds completely wrong, particularly when you sing the "hmmm-mmm" part of the chorus?

I have it as Eminor to Cmajor, although as Grape Ape says, it's in a dropped tuning.

 

@juan/ : yo not bad man. i definitely had a tough time sitting through 8 minutes of ambience, slightly too slow moving for me personally - but i like how you mixed it and the tones are great quality. also takes courage to put your art out into the world

welcome though, hope you had fun - one thing i dig about this contest (other than making music), is seeing how others interpret the piece of art with their music; which can connect us and create community. so hope youre able to stick around and check out the other artists works. thanks for sharing with us

 

Thanks all,

The comments, encouragement, and welcomes go a long way. It's a beautiful responsibility to have someone's attention. Looking forward to upcoming submissions.

Some of my thoughts after making this:

sine waves lack harmonic color, so I they seemed a good candidate to capture the monotone/black and white.

Playing some waves a semitone apart allowed for some beating to occur, which gave an unsettling texture, but also allowed for movement to capture the walking/rhythm element of the original art.

I wound up not quantizing the pitch of the linnstrument to allow for some dissonance, even though must of the song is diatonic and pretty tonal. They also gave a "squirmy" element of some of the figures.

The faces of the figures is what I thought most about while writing. As well as how "obsession" and "haunting" might be related. I tried to evoke this haunting or the feeling that something is obscured or behind you by burying the strings in the mix with reverb and hard pans.

I've been lurking on these contests for a while. This one got me out of a creative slump.

 

@Grape Ape
Thanks for the feedback, I feel the same about the length.

 

Let me just start by saying that art can be very subjective because different people can have different interpretations of a piece of art based on their unique experiences, tastes, and preferences. For example, one person might consider a painting beautiful, while another might find it terrifyingly ugly. This is because art is often based on personal opinions, beliefs, and feelings rather than established facts.
And with that said, here is my short piece of music inspired by Odilon Redon's painting "Hantise (Obsession)".

Enjoy!

 

@OOM : oooooooooooommmmmm! lol, so glad you entered something homie, what a dope surprise. usually we like to have others interpretation of the piece, like a thesis kind of like they do at like art exhibits. i personally would like to read how this inspired your work if your down for sharing that

i thought it would be on some more dance-y vibe, but i also know your taste is all over the place stylistically like me; sound collage is interesting though. definitely has a strange and unsettling feeling, thats a little creepy and weird. reminds me of like some Throbbing Gristle type shit, but imo fits this piece really well; also reminds of the creatures in the painting - especially how the synths morph and twist; and has strong feeling, style and intention. great job yo

 

Last edited: Aug 10, 2024

@OOM superlative interpretation .....but needs more cow ! (...only joking )

Great atmosphere, sound design and instrument use. Ended quickly - would have liked it to go on longer.

Story telling...just my cuppa tea! Thank you

 

@OOM .. Needs more owl, but top work!

 

Ok well…
Odilon Redon's artwork vividly creates a hauntingly enigmatic visual experience and his distinctive approach to color, form, and symbolism also provides surreal imagery with a dreamlike depth.

I wanted to try to mirror this haunting, dreamlike imagery through use of eerie, unsettling soundscapes and unconventional rhythms, creating an auditory experience that evokes the same sense of unsettling mystery as the visual art does.
Appreciate you listening and I’m looking forward to hearing what the artwork inspires you to create!

 

Fuuuuuck!! lol! I knew it needed something else, shit!! Haha next time… I guess everything is owl ok for now

 

Electrically charged particles of spirits floating in the ether. I read that Redon was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe so i thought of The Raven flying around in the fearful static filled gloom ......Mr Vincent Price kindly reprised his rendition of the poem

 

@Aidene ... Quality Street. Especially the underwater coyote near the end.

 

@Aidene : aww shit, time for the matinee lol xp

as i expected, its a movie. i really love the tension surrounding this, really reminds me of the gloom as someone who understands it well this far into my life, how it feels to be in the space; that scratching, you translated that beautifully and was a great idea to add. i also really like those strings, the tone of them sounds great and natural. the sample also kind of makes it seem retro like how the lady is in the painting, it was hard for me to follow what he was saying because i didnt find it interesting; so the talking eventualyl became background noise, but stylistically it works well as i said

your submissions and aim seem to get better and better each round and show your versatility as an artist with each entry so far. keep slaying that shit

 

@Aidene

I'm still in Uni, so forgive my essay, it hard to write any other way.

During my listen, I thought about how human and other-than-human, or uncanny forms interact in Redon's piece, the presence of human faces emerging from darkness and perhaps with wormy bodies brings to attention what is and isn't human, specifically the lady, whose perhaps trying not to notice these creatures or is oblivious entirely. Your decision to put the vocals in the front really captured me and was the star of this ekphrasis.

Then the melodic/vocal lead begins to blend into violins sliding as if in inflection of speech. Almost as if trapped and trying to speak but not having language?

This then leads into the last leading texture, some type of frequency modulation(?) which takes these vocal and violin inflections/slides into an increasingly othered, surreal, and inorganic territory, almost animal or "coyote" like, playful and haunting, like the wormy faces. It blends the psychological and the primal/animal well, just like Poe. It brings to mind these long lasting myths stories like Cupid and Psyche, Beauty and the Beast, etc.

Moving from the organic voice to the inorganic, or maybe from the material to the psychological really evokes Redon's art. Making a distinction between human and not-human forms immediately makes us want to question it and wonder how that divide can be crossed.

Putting the spoken word over all this further enriches these questions, and might even take us into thinking about gender in Redon's work--which is very much a gothic theme--how we see the full face of the other figures but only the profile of the woman walking--does it imply there is a part of her we can't see thats represented by the darkness in the background?

On top of just being a great listen, your music and decisions brought a lot of these questions and more to me!

 

Would I be cheating if I went with something I've already done that I feel fits?

 

If you do you won't be eligible for an Oscar just like Johnny Greenwood's score of There Will Be Blood!.

 

at first the hairs on the back of my neck stood up then i was kinda freaked out by the demonic like voice then i felt like I was drowning is a sea of out stretched limbs all scrambling for safety as i looked down on myself from above as if i was in an uncomfortable dream where I couldnt escape and felt powerless. Great horror movie soundtrack music.....top work ! It being Sunday and all that how do you find the time for music making being the Pope and don't the Curia keep trying to hide your midi keyboard?


@juan/ of course there's nothing to forgive. I loved reading your 'essay' and about what you heard and interpreted in my music. That's what its all about really! ...thank you for listening and an excellent thoughtful review! If i was your teacher in Uni i would give you an 'A+'

 

Last edited: Aug 11, 2024

@Smeghead : "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

ideas are also whats most important in the arts, after hearing your entry last round; i believe you have the ability to execute; and you have the ability to form ideas by the humor you show. this is just an exercise for that homie, theres no advantage and it only benefits you creatively by the effort you put in it. i hope youre able too again

 

@Aidene Amazing interpretation!!...
The music masterfully conjures a sense of unease and tension, enveloping the listener in a hauntingly immersive atmosphere while the composition’s gradual build-up and clever use of dynamics and Vincent Price's voice effectively enhance the sense of foreboding, drawing the listener deeper into its unsettling narrative. I super enjoyed listening to this and I am sure it will leave a lingering impression that resonates with any listener long after the final note fades away.

 

Last edited: Aug 11, 2024