13. D# Major (69 BPM)

Episode Description:

Fate has a slow, ambient loop in store on Episode 13 of ‘10 Minutes to Make a Loop’ as The Balls of Fate choose 69 beats per minute. There’s a slight race against time and catching the sunset so Oliver jumps right in following The Wheel of Destiny’s request of D# Major. He starts with a piano sound using the Akai MPK249 and eventually figures out roughly where the notes in the key all are. After cycling through a few different keyboard sounds, from synthesizers and pads to atmospheric sounds, Oliver lands on a warm, ambient synth. A nice bit of ambiance, one might say! When laying down the loop, a happy little accident happens where the wrong - but oh so right - chord is played, and we’re just going to roll with it! It’s then over to the bass synth where there’s some resistance. With nothing solid emerging, an ‘abort layer’ is called - will Oliver regret not working on the bass a little more towards the end of time? We’ll have to find out… foreshadowing Success returns in the stacking of a few separate drum loops and addition of a soft, calming, ambient guitar loop with reverb, tape delay and shimmer before the bass rears its head again as the time runs out. To close the looping performance out, Oliver plays a series of guitar parts at times seemingly channeling a version of early Modest Mouse energy. The loop resonates a meditative, soothing, sound bath atmosphere; music to get lost in, music to sleep to, music to meditate to.