blair’s blógado gigante

Oh, hi!  It’s been a terribly long time since I shared any music.  This is a new piece I’m working on that takes on the usual ominous/industrial/haunting vocals sound.  I didn’t want’t to post the preview until I had a chance to properly master it on good studio monitors.  (I had previously been working with headphones, and honestly I did pretty well considering how hard it normally is to work on music with headphones for long periods of time.)

The track, bus, and pre-dub counts are starting to add up, but using Audition 3.0.1 on a quad core with 24 GB of RAM doesn’t slow it down, even with heavy use of effects and VST/DirectX plug-ins.

The next pass will be strings…that is to say, I will be adding some incidental strings along with a solo.  I will probably go with the baritone violin, since I need something edgy and harsh to punch through.  The fog of war (“density”) of this track is already starting to get into the 90th percentile.

Let me know what you think.

Once this track is finished, I will post it in its entirety, along with a podcast of me walking you through how it came to be, and “breaking down” what individual elements have gone into making the final product.

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - Mere Exposure (Preview) [ 2:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A new track that’s just come off the mastering rack.  Careful, it’s hot like fries from Whataburger at 3 in the morning!

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - The Oracle Speaks [ 3:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m keeping up my end of the bargain to continue to share music I’ve created, and this time you’re getting two for the price of one:  a “cue” along with its alternate version (more violin and guitar articulations).

Very thunderous and energetic…also pretty funky (if people still say that).

Standard Podcast [ 1:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Standard Podcast [ 1:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I haven’t posted any music for a while, and I’m feeling whimsical.  So, I’m going to dig up tracks from 2007 that nobody has heard!  (Well, except my friend Kyle and my agent.)

We’ll start off with this one!  Enjoy.

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - Security Breach [ 2:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’ve never read about Hajj, you will no doubt find it interesting and worth your respect, regardless on your feelings of religion in general.  Here’s a cue to go with the trek that people make at least once in their lives — often at the expense of their own life.

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - The Hajj [ 3:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rolling out lots of masters in the next week.  First up is a piece from 2007 that never got the proper master treatment.  Now, it’s finished.  Enjoy!

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - The AscentR [ 1:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fresh off the…assembly line (?).

This one is hard to describe.  It incorporates a lot of sound design done in Absynth 4 and Guitar Rig.  I have also dipped into my arsenal of crazy, raging, angry guitars.

The production phase was a procedural experiment for me, cutting music specifically to picture.  I can’t post the images, but I can definitely post the music.  It starts off slow with some of the sound design, but quickly evolves into an angry, thunderous beat-down.

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - Taking Souls [ 2:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I'm not even 5% this cool or badass.

A few years ago, I had the distinct privilege of making friends with some Marine bloggers and public relations personnel from Regimental Combat Team 6 at Camp Ramadi in Iraq.  However, in the blog world, we call them the Fightin’ 6th Marines.

In interacting with the bloggers, in particular Staff Sergeant DeBoard, I was able to get a very interesting perspective into our presence in Iraq.  I’ve seen some incredible photos from their blog (second link above), read some stories that make feel like I don’t necessarily deserve to be alive in a sense, and all-in-all come closer to the Middle East than I ever imagined.

This overlapped with the biggest “leap” so far in my musical journey.  With the picture, videos, stories, and suggestions from RCT-6 and Staff Sergeant DeBoard’s input and advice, I was able to craft many original tunes.  At first, they had a somewhat ethereal, Eastern feel to them.  However, the more I got to know the Fightin’ 6th Marines and became more familiar with their day-to-day lives, the more the music turned into fierce, raging guitar-driven anthems.

The high point for me was having RCT-6 use some of my original music [that they inspired] in one of their fascinating videos.  So now…I’m giving one back.

This one’s for you, guys.  Whether you’re back state-side or still in the sand, let’s kick some ass.

Blair Trosper (ASCAP) - Let's Kick Some Ass [ 1:25 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Despite the howling winds outside (and their inherent distraction), I was able to get a track done in one sitting this morning.  As with most of my shorter pieces, it’s created with advertisements for TV/film in mind.

Feel free to have a listen and let me know what you think!  May do a breakdown or “talk through” on this one shortly, not sure.

Antigen [ 3:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download