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Rise of the small creatures - album release
My 17th album is out on bandcamp in 96-24: https://josephbalson.bandcamp.com/album/rise-of-the-small-creatures
I'm catching up on you @LinearLineman... slowly.
It will be on the other streaming platforms later.
For once I'm a little satisfied with what I did, and quite unlikely to go back and "fix" things.
Summary of the story behind the music:
Rise of the Small Creatures
I. Ouverture
In the shadow of giants, small creatures thrived in the underworld, their delicate hybrid forms pulsating with bioluminescence. Unseen and unnoticed, they built intricate cities in harmony with nature, adapting to the giants’ thoughtless destruction.
II. The Storm
The most violent storm swept through for ages, forcing the small creatures from their flooded tunnels into the open, where they faced the giants. Despite the chaos, they displayed resilience—forming living bridges and seeking refuge where they could. Many perished, but the survivors grew stronger.
III. Dusk
As the giants quarreled and started to falter, the creatures saw their oppressors’ weakness. In the twilight of the giants’ dominance, the small creatures united, sending emissaries of light to forge alliances, preparing for a new chapter.
IV. Nocturne
Under cover of night, they scavenged the ruins of the giants’ world, repurposing remnants for their own use. Their nocturnal symphonies celebrated survival and quietly heralded their triumph.
V. Dreams
In bioluminescent sanctuaries, the creatures dreamed of harmony and renewal. Their dreams spread through roots and spores, carrying promises of a better life as they awaited their time while the giants were slowly going extinct.
VI. Awakening
With the giants moslty gone, victims of their own hubris, the creatures cautiously emerged. They reclaimed the land, fighting the last giants and healing the desolate earth, realizing their role as stewards of a fragile new world.
VII. Dawn
Under the first sunlight, the creatures rebuilt forests, rivers, and ecosystems, weaving their light into the rebirth of the world. Their age began not with conquest but with harmony, nurturing a renewed and balanced earth.
on youtube music:
Comments
Thanks @Fruitbat1919
Cool stuff. It’s such a nice feeling to finish things like this.
I’ll take a proper listen when I have time. and headphones handy :-)
@klownshed for me the most enjoyable part of the creative process is writing the music. It's in my head, it has to go out. There’s a little excitement in crafting something new, and in that moment, everything feels alive and full of potential. But then the feelings start to decline. Recording, for instance, can be a tedious process especially when I write something I can't play. Still, it has its moments—like hearing a piece come to life for the first time, which can be rewarding.
But then the critical phase begins. I start noticing all the flaws. That’s when the infernal loop starts: small edits, listening, feeling dissatisfied, making more tweaks, and so on. It’s an exhausting cycle that seems endless.
The worst part however is the release. Just five minutes after sharing the final master, I inevitably hear all the things I missed: mistakes, imperfections, little details that need more fixing. By then, it’s too late. The music is out there, exposed to the world, and yet... nothing happens. It feels like shouting into the void.
The entire process feels like an exercise in futility. pouring so much energy and emotion into something only to be left with a sense of dissatisfaction and an unshakable feeling of insignificance.
You’re much too hard on yourself, Joseph. I say revel in our insignificance. Those who are significant can do just as much harm as good.Also, significance is a burden. What is the goal of significance? To be first amongst idiots? Anyway, don't fall for what we all were taught… we8re supposed to make a difference. You are of significance to yourself. Bottom line, we face the universe alone. How we manage that is of value.
As to dissatisfaction… that’s a mind game. 100% of the people here would be well satisfied if they could make an album like this (though, maybe, different genres. It's high quality. Nothing to be dissatisfied about. Unless you didn’t enjoy making it.
I am not too hard on myself, I’m not hard enough on myself. I am also not significant to myself. Significance inherently requires a relational context: it’s about mattering to something or someone beyond myself.
I enjoy the writing. Dissatisfaction comes from the disconnection between the music I had in my head and the end result.
Actually I should maybe just write the music and when it’s done just burn the score
I’m not going to tell you what you should do; we are all different and have our own reasons and justifications for what we do.
But I can say this, your music is fantastic. Whether or not it sounds like what you intended doesn’t alter that. If you write a score, what you create on the computer is amazing. The tools we have compared to just a few years ago makes things possible that not too long ago would have required an actual orchestra.
I rarely get close to what I envisaged but I personally don’t care about that — I let the music take any direction it wants to go in.
With orchestral and soundtrack music, which I’ve been very much enjoying making, I (we) tend to write as we go along — we have a rough idea and then let the music take any direction it likes.
And I’m still learning how to use the instruments together — and I expect I’ll still be learning before I’m no longer able to make music. Once I upload a piece of music I mentally draw a line under it and stop worrying about whether it could be better — but I do know I can over polish things and ruin them by trying to perfect them. Sometimes it’s the slightly cronky timing and imperfect playing that makes it better.
I hope you get to enjoy your music in the future. I certainly enjoy listening to your orchestral pieces. And I don’t hear imperfections or mistakes or tiny details I’m sure you fret over. I hear a finished piece that you should be proud of having made.
Thanks @klownshed. Wish I could think like that.
Before you burn the scores, could you scan them to a PDF and send me a copy? I really enjoy looking at sheet music as a piece plays. Your music would make for a most instructive and enjoyable viewing. I am working up the stones to start with StaffPad, and intend to go the Apple Pencil route in spite of the quirks. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it. I started reading music at about the same time I started reading English. When I hear something, I tend to visualize it that way. Your composition features a lot of complex interplay between the voices, and it would be very cool to see what it looks like on paper. I know you were probably just joking around, but I’m quite serious. I am getting a bit tired of the fluff I’ve been putting out and would like to see if I actually have some talent. I’m pushing 70 and probably don’t have much time left.
Thanks @Paulieworld . check your messages.
Absolutely great. I love your classical/orchestral composition and this one also did not disappoint.
Congratulations on the album release! 🤩
I listened to the overture, it’s a fantastic introduction, and I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the album.
Thank you @unlink
@Luxthor hope you'll like it.
My only criticism concerns the technology which just can’t compete with a full orchestra in terms of dynamics.
I say this because I would love to hear this played by a full orchestra.
It richly deserves to be heard by more people.
I’m off to find my thesaurus now to get some new superlatives 🙏
I’m curious, Joseph. If technology would allow (and I imagine one day it will) your score to be printed out and recorded just as you hear it…. You wouldn’t have to lift a finger…. How would that be for you? Would the dissatisfaction disappear? Would you feel as though you had “done” something?
Sometimes I dream I’m playing music. It often sounds pretty good. If I could print that out would that be something I’d be proud of? Would it just be a disgorgement of stuff I had heard before or stuff I had already played?
I guess I am asking if we are responsible for the source of our creation or is it coming from somewhere else? If it’s from somewhere else would we just be copyists if we wrote it down exactly?
So, then we would be satisfied that we were good copyists? Frankly, in my mind, the same goes for Mozart, who, apparently, did just that without technology. Maybe that’s what you would like to be able to do.
You have a wonderful audience here who loves and appreciates your music. That’s relational and significant. As Jesus said, where two are gathered I am there.
Btw, I, personally, have never heard a note in my mind for music I’d like to create. I guess I could say I’m not a composer… and I do say that.
We all have different gifts
@GeoTony dynamic is indeed an issue. there are cheats to mitigate it a little, but it reeally isn't there yet. Having my shit played by an orchestra would be super cool.
I wish more people would listen to it. Doesn’t seem this is gonna happen.
Overall, on all platforms, for all my music, 7 ou of 10 leaves after a few seconds, 2 of listen half of it, and barely one goes to the end. I have no idea if it’s the same for everyone else, but it is pretty depressing.
@LinearLineman
If I could perfectly transcribe the music in my head (which I can't (I have to write it down quickly before it fades, like trying to capture a dream before the details vanish and the induces errors and approximations), and have it performed by an orchestra or studio musicians, I think I’d feel far less dissatisfied. It would feel like I’ve truly created something: the music itself.
I’m not a performer, and as I get older, I find even less joy in playing music. It’s frustrating. I’m not skilled enough to play what I imagine. I have to cheat with the piano, guitar, or bass, relying on overdubs, edits, slowing down the tempo, or transposing keys just to achieve anything. It’s not enjoyable, it is super tedious. Playing music was never what I loved most anyways, likely because of the lousy piano teachers I had as a kid. The last one, thankfully, seemed to realize this and steered me toward music theory rather than forcing me to interpret pieces just for the sake of playing them.
Unlike you, I never dreamt of performing music, not that I remembery. But I dream music often, and most of it is lost because I can’t capture it in time.
Would you take pride in writing down the music you hear in your dreams? For me, the word disgorgement doesn’t feel right. Whether it’s improvisation, technical composition based on rules, or transcribing dreamt music, it all draws from your previous experiences and knowledge of what’s been played before. The first law of thermodynamics applies to music as well: nothing is created from nothing. You’re responsible for your creations because they stem from you—your influences, your mind. I don’t think there’s any supernatural force at work.
And no, creating music isn’t just copying. It’s much more than that.
Thank you buddy.
All good, Joseph. I agree that there is source material in experience. I do disagree about the use of that material as the total motivator of what can be known or played. If that were the case there would be no originality, I think. I couldn’t make something more than the compilation of musical memories… stringing phrases, harmonies and rhythms together.
I wouldn’t call it supernatural, either. I would just call it natural. It’s natural that, if I can get my self out of the wa, something from a different level comes through. Maybe it is just inspiration, which, as we know, is just the taking in of breath. I do know it is something other than musical recollection.
@LinearLineman
I didn’t say that what we create is merely the mathematical sum of what we know. What I mean is that our creations draw from everything we’ve been exposed to and internalized. For instance, someone with a rich vocabulary from extensive reading is more likely to write varied and original works than someone who rarely reads and has a limited vocabulary or stylistic range. The broader and deeper your knowledge base, the more tools you have to draw from creatively.
The same principle applies to music. Your ability to improvise in jazz likely stems from a huge familiarity with the standards and nuances of the genre along with the exposure to less conventional pieces. In contrast, someone who has only ever listened to a single track (let’s say Take Five) is unlikely to improvise anything meaningful or original. Music composition works the same way: it requires a foundation built on experience, practice, and understanding.
I just men in the end that what we create isn’t just a mechanical or mathematical sum of everything we know. There’s an element of randomness, serendipity, and the unique ability of the brain to reorganize patterns and rearrange those patterns, many many times, I select the variations that are good to create something that seems new. There is a limited number of these patterns, it is a really HUGE number, but not infinite. A lot of those are garbage, but sometimes, the brain gets one of the good patterns that no one thought of before, and we call it creativity.
It involves transformation, turning the known into the unexpected. But even with this, nothing comes from nothing.
I could be wrong, but I trust the first law of thermodynamics: energy, whether in physics, art, or thought, can’t be created from nothing. It’s always transformed from something that already exists.
I don't think we disagree in the end, we just use different words. Remember English isn't my native language.
You don’t seem to have any difficulties with English, Joseph. Have a good night, my friend.