I might give some valuable feedback if I could only figure out what this song is about. But not to worry, it has its lyrical side anyway.

Despite being all mysterious and electronic, I can't help but being attracted to this. The sounds and music vary constantly but have a whole and organic feel. It is very musical for all that also.

I am sure Louise has her own special understanding of her lyrics ... I can only listen and make this song mine with my own meaning. Something hard to explain but certainly about communication through words and the imperfection of this type of communication. The failure also because of internal differences between two who do try to communicate ... sometimes they are not just wired the same or they don't want to hear or they don't believe. Whatever, this is what it means for me. Being able to give a song some personal meaning is maybe all you hope for from you listener in the case of a song like this.
_________________
Larry Ludwick

Curiously strange layers of bizarre effects and a distracting mesh of tempos and melodies take this piece beyond any normal definition of alternative. There is really something to this, wonderfully avant-garde, itas a fascinating trip through a musical wonderworld.

Iave heard a lot of artists and pieces that were strange, unique, different, but itas not often that the effect is pleasing. Itas easy to make weird music, itas hard to do it well. This one keeps a driving drum beat almost all along with all the frills and shimmering sounds. Very interesting stuff.

This is not material for casual listening, not particularly for a party or for a day at the beach. Not much for cruising down the road and definitely not background music. It would be extremely odd to hear in an elevator or a shopping mall. Most of the world would find it confusing. So what is it for?

Itas for the art in it. It stimulates the creative part of the brain. It gives us another perspective on what music can be and how meaning in sound waves can come in many, many different forms.

Nice track, surpassingly good, different and worth the ride.

hmm.. i guess i liked it how the drums had sequences of ticking like a clock.. or perhaps sounding a bit like drudgery as a device.. definitely the different soundscapes in the track lend themselves to images of elevators and clocks, walls... mindless thought although it all is quite abstract... revolution 9 kindv'e.. well, i'm not much into the vast plethora of music that is electronica although i tend to like various ideas within that context.. like the way its layered thickly though as an effective device..

as for reworking it, i dunno.. maybe if you spruced up the drum sound a bit.. if you could.. they sound a little bit toward the back which is kind of unusual for the general genre i suppose.. actually now that i really focus on them they are unusual but not inaccessible.. some would argue about the drums i believe

Lost Ark, I don't know what your other stuff sounds like, but I am thoroughly impressed. At first I thought, "well, just like all electronica, it sounds alright now, but that typical quick dance beat is gonna come in and then I'm gonna be let down" but instead you used something really different, it flowed nicely. That one little break down with the delayed umm, I don't know what it was, it's where everything drops out and a synth with delay repeats, I didn't think it fit. It was a little distracting.
Also, you need to really think harder about your structure, this song is VERY trippy, very cool, and for a rave or for someone on x, this would probably just plain blow their mind, if you want to take it a step forward, make it build, and make it define itself. Give it something we can pick out as the hook so that I go "wow!". But the elements are there, also try not to be so cluttered in certain parts, it's not all the time, just some times. Make sure your delays fit the tempo or we get thrown off.
All in all, very impressive, with some reworking you could have something I could see being as big as aphex twin. Good job.

First impression on this song, mix sounds really clean.. I like your percs.. bongos sound good! That plucked instrument melody is real nice. The fast picking transitioning into single plucks. Nice pickup at 1:24, shakers add a nice new feel to it, and that stabbing plucked chord melody changes the vibe of the song. The pad being played in the background is nice. Listening to the lyrics.. The tone of your voice is very unique for a track like this. Lyrics are very creative! You've got a lot of sounds in here, keeps me from getting bored. Nice break at 3:10.. Wow, you've got a lot of switch ups here. This was a good listen! Not exactly my type of music so I wouldn't really be able to give you any suggestions on how to improve, to me it sounds like you got what you were aiming for.

Out Of Time, Lord
by
Lost Ark

This song took me the longest to review, which in a way is an accomplishment. I simply feel undecided on some aspects, I don't know what to say. It's got a very spacey feel to it, and honestly does remind me of Doctor Who quite a bit.

The synth work in this is very well done, if not dragged out a bit. There is much variation througout the song, with the exception of one synth that carries on throughout the song, which to be honest, gets a bit annoying. While I enjoy things on the experimental side, I think perhaps some of it could be cut out- shorten the beginning a bit by cutting unncecissary blips and beeps here and there.

Again, I do love the variation of this song- it has no instantly recognizable structure, and brings in more noises, arps, and vocals as it goes. Though the lyrics are few, it does manage to stay fresh. At first, towards the end, the "Out Of Time Lord, now can we turn the page," caught me off guard, and I didn't like it. It has grown on me, though, it helps the Doctor Who feel to the whole thing.

All in all, the only conclusion I can come to is that it's quite strange, which I enjoy- could stand to maybe lose a little from the beginning that feels unnceciary. It's a great progressive tune that requires a strange taste to enjoy to its fullest, but is definatly worth a listen and shows quite a bit of work was put into it- great production and originality.

4/5

Woa, there is surely no lack of variation in your song, it's like an army of a million sounds in elite ninja squad fashion harassing your ears one after the other. This is not a bad thing, as I found the track interesting enough. Don't know, it could just be me, but a more crisp and ferm drum kick could improve the song by miles. Sound work is solid, it really shows you put some effort in this, but try not to reverb everything again in the future, it confuses the hell out of me. What I would do mid track is leave an 8-bar section with the synth that comes in at 7:13. In addition, you have absolutely no bassline that I could discern, it's too in the background I guess. Overall a good listen, but doesn't have too much replay value! 6.5/10

Nice laid back mellow groove. I like it. the vocal fits nicely. Reminds me of a lot of good 80's songs. Kinda has that new wave sound, but also has a modern sound at the same time. I think if you cut 2 minutes out of it, it could be a pop hit also. I would cut the part where the music basically stops, the groove is nice so it shouldn't just stop in my opinion. I like it overall

There are two things about this track that stand out to me. The first reference is very personal. About 35 years ago I took a trip to the Ontario Science Center. At that time electronic music was in its infancy. There were a number of booths in The Center that had various sound generating equipment. One most of this song entirely transported me back to a moment when I was standing in one of these booths, mini-tape machine beside me, playing with the electro-fun. Actually, the sounds occur more than once. 5:31 marks an example of the sounds. Wow! Cool.

The second reference is much more accessible and is simply that this track has a strong Eastern flavour, which - when added to the electro soundscape - makes a fascinating combination.

Short story: more bells and whistles than a tour tram in rush hour! Liking it. Mysterious; ominous; interesting.

****1/2

**** Good sound, structure, production - an all round solid track

Vocal starts of a bit shakey but recovers nicely, reminds me a bit of Depeche Mode and a bit of Kraftwerk.

Good feel and ambiance to the track, it flows nicely and has decent structure and production.

Good work

level2nine

Hi might - you just missed out on a top 3 spot.

Here is your review to use as you want!

The opening bars of Mind Over Matter let you know that you are about to have your head forced into the cartridge socket of a SNES as forced to bash “A+B” repeatedly in sequence for the duration of the track. Moody and dischortant this isn’t for the faint hearted. The blips and beeps take you to an electronic hell will the pulsey beat makes your head nod in time for eternity. If anything Im not sure that the vox really work that well. Im all for things being out of tune but sometimes it is overdone in this track which is a crying shame because there really is so much on offer here.
The “chorus” at around 2:20 offers an almost Bond film twist to the whole sordid affair. After this its back to business as usual until around 4:40 where it desends into a duet crafted by bealzibub himself. From here everything just gets fucking weird!

Shit – I need to take myself out the loop for 5 minuites and think about what just happened!

3.5/5

A special mention to...

#4 (it was a close call between this and Nuff's track)

Lost Ark – Suicide Note

This is a track of contrasts. It is dark,brooding,awkward and glitchy yet insanely happy (in a “1950’s-suburban-all-American-kid-who-spends-all-his-time-in-a-diner-and-listens-to-rock-and-roll sort of way) and strangely danceable.

Any one who combines chip tune type synths , a drone/wobble synth and excerpts from pan pipe moods is either an innovator or clinically insane!!!

It’s difficult to draw a conclusion from this the first time around – and as such I had to listen to this a few times to get my head around everything that was going on.

The best way I can describe this is that south American folk music meets a NES with a heroin habit in a sleezy bar – they make out – 9 months later they have a child who dedicates his life to the art of synthesis, grows his hair and a beard and piles his repressed emotions into creating “suicide noteâ€쳌.

This is another track for the non conformists among you who strive for something a little bit quirky

I think this track is what I would deem as a grower

Marks – 4/5

First off, I really like the beat... It's pretty catch (actually bobbed my head a little bit). I read the lyrics and felt they were pretty interesting, however very fitting (especially, since the song is called Suicide Note), but I couldn't really hear/understand them in the song till the middle. Overall, it's an enjoyable song with a killer melody and lyrics to die for, literally!

Summary Opinion

Lost Ark is a group (now) consisting of Dean Boni and Louise Adams. Some references to Cooke Q and Battle M have got me confused, but I guess a response to this review could clear all this up.

They are currently working on an album to be entitled "World Beneath the Decks." The main part of the music on their page seems to consist mostly of pieces not considered for inclusion in the album, sort of rejects (bummer). Their artist page gives a history of the struggle that will lead up to this album’s release. I find this very interesting because I enjoy insights into the process that we all go through arriving somewhere musically (and otherwise).

I thought the name sounded familiar and I found that I have included their piece ‘Build’ a while back on my radio station. I will admit ‘So Long, Suckers!’ is not my favorite piece, but that does not mean I dislike it at all … it’s maybe because I like something like this better:

Sympathy for the Devil
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6794677

Rightly, Lost Ark claims they don’t find themselves always fitting into a particular genre. We should all form an anti-genre committee here; I think I’ve said enough about this elsewhere. However, Lost Ark does exhibit some identifying musical characteristics.

The music is mostly always some form of Electronic and Beat sound. Strangely enough there seems to be quite a bit of snare and militaristic drumming going on. Well, If anyone asked me, I would say this could not produce much good music, but it does … go figure. Everything is well mixed with other percussive sounds in counterpoint and with great variety that keeps it all interesting.

You can usually find added lyrics delivered as patches of sloganistic sing-song; this is the unique style (I am not being critical). I like the voice (so who Louise? Battle M?). The combination of vocals and the panorama of beats / musical sounds all work for me.

I would really like to see them post a ‘teaser’ piece from their album to stir up interest. As it is, I am interested and impressed with the ‘different’ quality of their music.

Production

Characteristically, ‘So Long, Suckers!’ is cleanly produced with great quality sounds, especially percussion. Mind you there are some cheesy sounding instruments here, but they are deliberately included and sound just right in the context of the piece. Keeping the sounds distinct is aided by excellent stereo placement.

I mentioned I really like the vocals, but I have a slight problem with the mix here because sometimes the phrases don’t pop out clearly enough to understand without successive listens. There is heavy reverb on the vocal, but this is actually a time when leaning on the verb works.

It is stated that ‘So Long, Suckers!’ is an updated version of "Goodbye Mr. Blur", from 2004 which has been vocalized. I do like it with the additions.

Music

Musically this piece is an assemblage of musical bits carried by string, clarinet and cheesy keyboard sounds. It works with the instrumentals playing some counterpoint to the percussion that pervades all.

I might be inclined to say this would be difficult to follow as a sensible whole, but this is not true. There is an apparent theme masked in the frantic goings on and interest is always maintained by the constant variations. This is very effective and characteristic of other pieces by Lost Ark.

(CONTINUED IN NEXT POST)
_________________
Larry Ludwick

...CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MY MUSIC

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Larry Ludwick
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Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 359
Location: USA
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Posted: 21 Aug 2008 01:05 pm    Post subject: Lost Ark - So Long, Sucker! (part 2)   

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Content

Here is the statement about the meaning of this song from the creator:

‘The lyrics are about the view from the base of the tower. They are hopefully a measure of the vast distance between the seats of power and general populace.’

Interesting because without this information, I would have interpreted the song slightly differently.

I don’t think I would have thought the protagonist here was someone in a seat of power, I would be more inclined to be thinking of a grifter or a hustler.

But this is all fine. As a songwriter you may want to know there are more than two meanings to your song.

There is the absolute meaning that you assign to it that is only known to you. No matter how explicit you are in the lyric, nobody will actually know the true meaning but you the creator.

The second form is the public meaning which may be a more common interpretation that a majority of listeners will arrive at if the lyric is clear enough.

Other meanings are peculiar to the reality of a particular listener which will have nothing to do with any of your intent. It might just be the listener wants the song to mean this even if he/she has to twist the words torturously in their own minds.

It all works on these different levels and if enough interest is forthcoming, then you have been successful as a writer.

From the songs I have seen from Lost Ark, I see this pastiche style of lyric construction. I do like it. Songs don’t always have to lay things out for you in logical sentences to work. Although as a general rule, you might want to make your lyric flow naturally as someone might speak to you, conscious and sub-conscious streams can work if done skillfully, as in this case.

BoB Part 2 - A nice ambient dark techno track. The synth bass was catchy and in your face. I thought I heard some bagpipes in there which was great. The lyrics were haunting and add nicely to the overall feel. I thought the mix sounded very good - there was a good atmosphere to the whole song. Cool stuff - I enjoyed this a lot. Thumbs up.

I have to say I never listened to electronica before I came to Soundclick. I remember this electronica radio show that came on Saturday nights and my buddies and I used to laugh about “space music”. How could we have been so dense? You mean, we did all those illicit substances and we didn’t know what electronica was? We really missed out on that one! Not a wasted youth (well yeah I was a wasted youth) but a lot of wasted drugs!

This duo from the UK has a history since 1999 and they have racked up over 91,000 plays. I wanted to point you to their page generally and my pick is Picnic in the Trees. A smooth slow groove with a production quality as clean as a whistle. The song is a mesmerizing and graceful trip. Very psychedelic, it has a trance quality; like wide awake but fully relaxed.

Good blends of vocals, sounds, the background vocals, great stereo mix and coooool drum sound. I like how the break (about 4:50) changes the chord progression momentarily and the vocals suggest a short round playing off a countermelody. Backwards tracks, YES! Rainsticks, cool.

Their tunes have tons of subtle little sound texture details and great stereo effects.

Now my mind has been expanded, that is, without hallucinogens. Expand yours with Lost Ark. Just keep it legal OK?

Track away!

[/b]

'Build'

Intricate soundscapes of musical ambience and fantasy woven around a variety of funky electronica style beats.
The 'Dolores O'Riordan' style vocals are soothing and angelic and somewhat out of touch with the music and beats about half the time and fitting like a glove the other half.
Interesting lyrical concept
Overall a very good original with a unique musical style. Something different.

Hello CQ,

Listening to “Twister.”

I’m having a hard time writing about this track, everything I want to say seems to be true and then not true.

One thing is for sure, there was a lot of work that went into this track, there are so many little change ups, tiny background sounds and little effects. I’m sure this was an effort, but it sounds like it was a lot of fun too.

Anyways, here goes. The track has a very industrial sound to it. It’s as if a factory full of pneumatic power tools spent their lunch hour break jamming and you happened to be close by with a recording device. There’s a whole lot of swooshing, banging and buzzing accompanying this twisting. I suppose that since a twister consists of wind that it is not inappropriate for windy sounds to dominate.

There are a few sweetly musical elements – Louise’s voice and the organ synth primarily – that it doesn’t tip into utter chaos, but it’s close. Also, the wind chimes – there’s that wind element (pardon the pun) again – have a sweetening influence on the mix.

I must say that I’m NOT a huge fan of electro drums. I do use them sometimes, but usually light ones as I don’t like the ‘GRUNNNNK’ sound they make, harsh grating and distorted. I realize that some like that, and as drums are a matter of taste, I’m not trying to influence you on this, but my own taste would lean towards a cleaner sounding percussion than this.

This song made me smile, cock my head and eventually tap my feet.

Nice.

Short story: an original sounding track that keeps the ear interested and sets the feet in motion.

Blessings,

Cam

Lost Ark - The Snow

I'm sorry but I cant comment too much on this song because its the weirdest thing ive ever heard and i think its the best thing since metamucil for creative diarrhea. I want your brain and if you can send it thru the mail by tuesday id appreciate that thanks.
3.14 space looms out of 3.15267 circular crop fields.

MAKE SURE TO CHECK THIS SHIZEN OUTZEN!

It takes talent to create a 9 minute track and keep it interesting.......Kudos to the both of you!

Extremely original and overflowing with creativity. Congratulations Dean and Louise on such a unique piece of art. You guys truly are embracing your 'flow.' You both have immense talent and unlimited potential for continued growth. The sky is the limit!

P E A C E

Production = 10
Beatwork = 7
Synthwork/pads = 9
Creativity/Uniqueness Factor = 10
Originality = 10
Overall = 9

Hey folks, sorry I took so long to get to number five...life intervened, ya know? But here we are, and to round off the first set we have some Electronica. Ah, Electronica, how you vex me. In the hands of many you come to my ears as a repetitive, overlong single-minded beat with many wierd noises layered atop like anchovies; in the hands of but a few, you paint a picture of vivid moody landscapes that shift and flow.

Which flavour will Glassman by Lost Ark be, we all wonder with bated breath? A story or a pizza?

Do you like scary kids? Are you a fan of Children of the Corn? Do you enjoy tales that take you by the hand to the edge of the Boogeyman's hole and force you to look down for a bit...maybe even lean over? And do you really enjoy those things when they're served to you first hot, then icy, then with a whisper and then with a slap? Do you?

Glaaaassssmmaaaaaaaannnnn!

You've reminded me why I enjoy reviewing on this board. It's the opportunity to stumble across something really cool that I would never have listened to unprompted. Thanks.

Layers of shifting beats, lots and lots and lots of glass, breaks when they're needed, change-ups late in the game to keep interest, grumbling monsters to keep us wondering, Pink Floydian private schoolers, and what song is complete without crickets, I ask you?

Glaaaaaaaassssssmmmmaaaaaaaaannnnnnn!

Too cool for school. Thanks for sharing.

I notice there's two voices on some of your tracks, whoever did the fe-male vocals sounded really amazing, you got a a great voice there, put well, the tracks are really random though, but have great style's, alot of different combinations and diifferent hooks in melody, base, percusion, theres alot of huge effort there for sure, but it seems a bit too quick for me, good sounds come in as fast as they get shot back out, your definatly in a genra of your own, seems more like performing arts without the play, i think though, with the creativness you guys have, you could make some killer euphoric trance, especialy with the fe-males voice, altogether, i'l keep lookin back back at your page from time to time, curiouse with your works.

I think this track is interesting. I like how you fuse the various elements together. (It almost flirts with discordance here and there, only to be brought back into something resembling harmony before it goes too far in that direction.)

Obviously, this sort of thing is an acquired taste that only a select crowd is going to be able to get into - some may find it a little inaccessible. Then again, if everybody did by-the-book electronica, things would get pretty boring fast.

My only criticism is it may run slightly long - my mind was starting to wander a little after the four minute mark. (Although the ending is worth waiting for..)

A - Structure - Win -Great job creating a very unique moving piece of electronica art.
B - Musicality - 10 - I couldn't come close to the masterfully employed creativity. I feel you fully utilized interesting melody, and etherial dissonance. Take a bow, there is truly no one else that sounds like you.
C - Likability - 3 - Again very original. While I don't think mass market would stand it's brilliance, I found it quite enjoyable. And with some series mix tweaks the Audiophile market would probably eat it up.
D - Emotion - 5 - I love the rawness of the female vocal, very authentic in nature, the man was a bit soft but, I caught the very creative emotional texturing.
E - Mix - 5 - Really cool track, but the kick was distorting the whole track. It's a real shame because it skews the whole piece, and makes it hard to turn the volume up.
Try putting a high pass filtor on the whole thing at around 80 hz, with a slow roll-off. If that doesn't work you may have to go back to the mix and put that same High-pass on just the kick, and sub content tracks. Once you get that under control, you can count on at least a 9.
F - Wow, I am once again at a loss for production words. I feel for me to add to your style would do nothing but pollute it's creativity with uncalled for nonsense. A job VERY well done.

In short - An Electronica Masterpiece!!!!

As soon as I clicked the song I thought to myself: Well now...this is different.

I'll just dispense with the negativitiy now: There are parts where the audio clips a bit, so you'll want to fix that. And the part where the beat abruptly changes to a much more contemporary beat felt a little out of place in my personal opinion.

But other than that, this is a unique piece of electronic music among other things. Percussion twitches in and out of existence and glitchy beeps seem to pop out of nowhere, but in all the chaos it still felt very calm and chilled out.

Plus the vocalist's singing seemed to mesh very well with the piece...at least until the beat changes.

Sounds Like: Aphex Twin fights Fiona Apple for no discernible reason.
Rating: 4 out of 5.

"I just listened to Lost ark, very good!! It made me think a bit like this…………………….
…feeling drunk at a circus……creepy in places…..for some reason I imagined snogging a puppet…then I felt a ‘dancing at a festival’ type vibe. I listened to two tracks and also loved the titles."

   

"this is an interesting song... very chaotic. layers and layers of sounds and samples with often little apparent connection between them. yet, I do kind of enjoy it. I do like the singing, for one thing. mainly I have trouble wrapping my head around the massive amount of stuff going on simultaneously. I think that people who wrote this either have some intricate plan that I cannot fathom.. or perhaps they are merely insane. either way, they are to be commended for making me very confused for six minutes. this is definitely weird... so much so that I can't even say for sure if I like it or not."

D.E.