I think we have to be careful about trying too hard to be different for the sake of it. In particular…
100% agree. I think the two tracks from Discord were excellent but they didn’t fit what I view as the Microbe Stage aesthetic. A lot of that is because the percussion - and even percussive-like instruments with fast attacks - would break my personal immersion of being a simple organism swimming in a tiny, amoprhous, watery world.
I have changed my mind and now agree the stage’s soundtrack could do with some revisions, but that hasn’t changed the sonic atmosphere I think it should strive towards. People clearly disagree, but I’m putting this out there to state my position (since according to Discord I haven’t been consistent…sorry).
Here are some properties my idealised version of the Microbe Stage tracks would have:
- Ambient. Synth-heavy. Lots of reverb and delay.
- Low instrument clarity. It should be relatively difficult to pick out individual notes or layers, as if the whole thing has been stirred together in a microbial soup. Instead the ear should follow the shape of all the layers together and whatever emotion that creates.
- Limited timbral complexity for individual instruments. Stick to thin-sounding synths wherever possible, perhaps with the occasional more complex instrument. Sine waves are your friend. But in general no real instruments (strings, guitars, drums).
- No percussion, at least in the traditional sense. Instead, build tension with harmonic, textural and pan/width changes. Some less traditional percussion is ok, such as bells or glass.
- Sub-aesthetics for each biome, e.g. low and menacing for hydrothermal vents, bright and wide for the surface.
I do recognise that’s hard to mesh with also wanting each track to have a unique character and definite progression, but it’s far from impossible.
The gold standard for the type of thing I’m thinking of would be this album.
Vast ambient soundscapes. Emotions centred around loneliness and melancholy, with variations into menace or comfort. A cohesive whole with nonetheless distinct tracks. It can be done.
So that’s my position here. The existing soundtrack can be improved but I think the same vision stands. How does everyone else feel about that?