[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

His daily routine often included 10 hours of playing, along with a six-mile run.

Then, [...] the morning after performing Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto, a piece he loves for its "giant sections of flashy, virtuosic excitement," everything changed. He woke up and found he couldn't smell his toothpaste. Later that day, he tested positive for Covid.

He was only 37 years old, but he felt extreme fatigue, as if "wearing a coat of weighted down metal inside my body."

Spoiler

It would be a month before he had enough energy to fly home [...] He was so weak that he got stuck on a staircase landing, crying until he managed to crawl up the rest of the steps.

Eventually, most excruciating of all, he lost the stamina to play his cello for nearly three months.

"I just let it sit literally collecting dust."

[...] "A shadow of pain"

[...] "felt like somebody was pumping mist into my head,"

[...] For over three years, long Covid has presented Joshua Roman with health challenges — and has indelibly shaped the music he makes. [...]

The album title — "Immunity" — reflected the "experience of Covid and wanting to be immune from this," [...]

Its title track, which he wrote, was originally called "Fuzz," a reference to his long Covid brain fog.

A Virtuoso Cellist’s Painstaking Path From Long Covid Back to the Stage - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 18 August 2024 - 03:00 PM

[Tsundoku]

It kinda ... works?

Sorry, no video.

https://djchrisdiabl...ohemian-thunder

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

[QuickTidal]

I know there was some drama about Linkin Park picking Emily Armstrong to be the new singer for LP (what with her having been a Scientologist [no idea if she still is] and that was diametrically opposed to Chester's struggles with mental health and advocation of therapy which Scientology abhors...and that she was at Danny Masterson's trial a few years ago in a support capacity...she's answered to the latter saying that she "put her trust in someone she should not have")....but her voice is damned good, and the new album which just dropped is REALLY good?

Feels fresh even for Linkin Park. Anyways, really good...and not just cause it's got the album version of ARCANE'S "Heavy Is The Crown" which is a dope ass song.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 19 November 2024 - 04:46 PM

[JPK]

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Bought these preset packs recently (to tweak and play on the Seaboard Rise 2):

Unfold for Myth (resynthesis, physical modeling, frequency modulation and virtual analog):



And this one for Equator2 (behold the Seaboard):

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

It's already circulating on the internet. Though I'd assume it's not legal.

Or at least according to an old friend of mine who works with Layered Reality productions ("non-profit music label that focuses on Progressive, Symphonic and Avant-garde Metal from all around the world") and considers himself an expert on world progressive metal it isn't just an (or yet another?) AI generated masterpiece/hoax...

Layered Reality Productions Youtube show:

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 20 November 2024 - 11:09 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

[JPK]

Tiste Simeon, on 20 November 2024 - 11:27 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

I've come around on the prog, but it definitely doesn't hit the same as their metal albums. BLACKWATER PARK through GHOST REVERIES is just an excellent run of albums though.

[Tiste Simeon]

JPK, on 20 November 2024 - 11:53 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 20 November 2024 - 11:27 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

I've come around on the prog, but it definitely doesn't hit the same as their metal albums. BLACKWATER PARK through GHOST REVERIES is just an excellent run of albums though.

Yes indeed Still Life was also an excellent album.

[JPK]

Tiste Simeon, on 21 November 2024 - 06:58 AM, said:

JPK, on 20 November 2024 - 11:53 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 20 November 2024 - 11:27 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

I've come around on the prog, but it definitely doesn't hit the same as their metal albums. BLACKWATER PARK through GHOST REVERIES is just an excellent run of albums though.

Yes indeed Still Life was also an excellent album.

It took me a bit longer to get into Still Life than it should have. You're right though, it's another really solid album.

I'd almost extend the "good period" through Watershed too. On one hand it's where you can really see the controversial shift into prog kick in but on the other hand The Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel exist. I think that album is really underrated and worth revisting.

This post has been edited by JPK: 21 November 2024 - 07:29 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

JPK, on 21 November 2024 - 07:29 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 21 November 2024 - 06:58 AM, said:

JPK, on 20 November 2024 - 11:53 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 20 November 2024 - 11:27 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

I've come around on the prog, but it definitely doesn't hit the same as their metal albums. BLACKWATER PARK through GHOST REVERIES is just an excellent run of albums though.

Yes indeed Still Life was also an excellent album.

It took me a bit longer to get into Still Life than it should have. You're right though, it's another really solid album.

I'd almost extend the "good period" through Watershed too. On one hand it's where you can really see the controversial shift into prog kick in but on the other hand The Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel exist. I think that album is really underrated and worth revisting.

Weirdly enough I love proggy stuff so I've got no idea why it didn't work for me with Opeth. I think it was also around the time that Akerfeldt's ego started getting much bigger and it was a bit cringe haha

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

My favorite new synth of the last two years just released a free version:



https://www.dawesome...plugins/zyklop/

Preset playthrough (there are a few harsh parts in the higher frequencies):

[JPK]

Tiste Simeon, on 22 November 2024 - 02:41 AM, said:

JPK, on 21 November 2024 - 07:29 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 21 November 2024 - 06:58 AM, said:

JPK, on 20 November 2024 - 11:53 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 20 November 2024 - 11:27 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 November 2024 - 10:11 PM, said:

Can it be Friday yet please? I need the new Opeth album. Pretty much every review I see is glowing and points to it being their best in a really long time.

That's promising as I've not liked anything they've put out since Ghost Reveries!

I've come around on the prog, but it definitely doesn't hit the same as their metal albums. BLACKWATER PARK through GHOST REVERIES is just an excellent run of albums though.

Yes indeed Still Life was also an excellent album.

It took me a bit longer to get into Still Life than it should have. You're right though, it's another really solid album.

I'd almost extend the "good period" through Watershed too. On one hand it's where you can really see the controversial shift into prog kick in but on the other hand The Lotus Eater and Hessian Peel exist. I think that album is really underrated and worth revisting.

Weirdly enough I love proggy stuff so I've got no idea why it didn't work for me with Opeth. I think it was also around the time that Akerfeldt's ego started getting much bigger and it was a bit cringe haha

I'm pretty sure I've listed to this album about 8 times since it released last Friday. I'm really into this one. I'd say it's their proggiest album by far. I don't feel like they looked backwards to their metal days, but instead strategically used the growls on this album to create something that is really the sum of their entire discography.

I'm really curious what you think if you decide to give it a play.

[Tiste Simeon]

JPK, on 26 November 2024 - 04:33 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure I've listed to this album about 8 times since it released last Friday. I'm really into this one. I'd say it's their proggiest album by far. I don't feel like they looked backwards to their metal days, but instead strategically used the growls on this album to create something that is really the sum of their entire discography.

I'm really curious what you think if you decide to give it a play.

So I've had a listen to whatever is available on YouTube as I don't currently subscribe to any streaming service and they don't have it on Bandcamp.

But I'm liking what I'm hearing. I saw a comment that basically said it's kind of blending a few different eras of Opeth into one album and I can definitely see that. It certainly warrants further listens and I'm hoping a full album stream will appear soon in a format that I can access haha

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Bought these recently (physically modeled instruments---using physics to emulate the sound of classic acoustic instruments):




I love those tones so much...



Yeah, if I didn't know better or wasn't listening carefully, I'd just assume that was an actual cello---or a cello with most of its dynamics intentionally squashed away by compressors and limiters (as is common for most popular music these days, but much less so for "classical"). Of course as usual the reverb helps a lot (I love reverb---and if it obscures the melody or rhythm a bit, it's up to your brains to reconstruct it from all the branching hazes of possibilities...).

On sale for $10 each. They sound even more "realistic" and expressive on the Seaboard. (And to a lesser extent on iPhones with 3D Touch, though that and all other pressure-level-sensitivity on iPhones was discontinued after the iPhone XS Max---which is the main reason why I still haven't "upgraded", and will probably continue carrying my XS Max along with me just to use 3D Touch until a decent substitute becomes available.)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Dropped about $800 on Black Friday music software deals... here are some highlights you might appreciate:




(I actually bought Jam 2, which is the upgraded version---sounds even better, though at x64 oversampling it takes a while to render on my relatively high-powered laptop)




(got the iOS version for $5)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Was deciding between these two microphones:




... and ended up getting...

Spoiler

the MD-441-U

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Really nice plate reverb emulation used by a lot of professionals for years, now free for a limited time as a holiday gift:




Pure Plate Reverb | UAD Audio Plugins | Universal Audio

Some other nice limited time pro audio software freebies---Eventide DeBoom and Sheen Machine (most of you will probably find Sheen Machine more interesting (or maybe I'm just projecting---who would ever want to remove boom? madness!), so you might want to skip to that part of the video):




Split Essentials Giveaway - Eventide Audio

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free for a limited time (I think)---Acustica just released a simplified version of their new Jupiter 8 synthesizer (early 1980's---used by "artists like [...] Depeche Mode, [..] Duran Duran (Hungry Like The Wolf), Marvin Gaye (Midnight Love), [... and] heavily featured in movies like Scarface, Beverly Hills Cop, Never Ending Story") emulation. It's the first software emulation to sound this close to the hardware. But they've added options not present in the hardware, like velocity sensitivity (so that how hard/fast you strike a key can be set to change aspects of the sound---like making it louder, or really anything you map it to---the original hardware is more like a harpsichord than a piano in that respect):





https://freething.acustica-audio.com/