Día de los muertos
Mar 23, 01:42 PM
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"The field recording of the "Día de los muertos" consist mainly of murmur and low crowd sounds, some laughter and children shouting. To combine this with the celebrations that go along with the Day of the Dead I was listening to various traditional music that is typically played. That included rancheras, cumbias, Son Jarocho etc. I then found the quite well known traditional song "La Sandunga", which has its roots in the state of Oaxaca. Dating back to the 19th century I included that melody into my track, with the original field recording weaving in and out to that tune.
"I wanted at least parts of the field recording to be recognizable to keep that live feeling of the special place and event. These are processed into more eery sounds until the rhythm starts and that also appear in the middle and the end. So the whole thing tries to combine that silent respect, remembering of the dear ones who passed, and a bit of superstition and gloomy feelings that surrounds death - and the celebration of life at the same time.
"Between verse and chorus there's a more modern and "funky" interlude. It should reflect that tradition and modern world can meet and find a way together.
"On a personal level, death is something that is not that far away and abstract any longer, as it used to be in younger years (being almost 60 years old). Dear family members and friends have passed away, and it seems that time is becoming more valuable day by day. Death is something that is dealt with on a very personal level here in Germany, and it is not really part of our culture. So with this track I also bow to the Mexican culture that reveales this part of our existence, gives death a respectful place in society, and yet at the same time creates a celebration of life on the "Día de los muertos".
"Many sounds were created from the original sample - the ambient and percussive sounds, and some of the melodic sounds. To connect this to the sounds that may be heard in Mexico, when the traditional live bands are playing, I added a (slightly distorted) guitar, a viola and brass as virtual instruments to the track. Melodies were recorded with very little editing. It is supposed not to be 100 % perfect and to have that somewhat lo-fi sound. That way the song may keep the live atmosphere of the field recording.
"The track was created in Cubase 14 Pro. Sounds were processed and sampled using Audacity, Battery 4, Native Instruments Form/Guitar Rig 7, Dawesome Myth, Dawesome Love. The "real" instruments were Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic and Session Horns, and Expressive E Arche Viola."
Aztec danzantes in front of Basilica for Romeria reimagined by zenbytes.
———————
This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.
Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
"I wanted at least parts of the field recording to be recognizable to keep that live feeling of the special place and event. These are processed into more eery sounds until the rhythm starts and that also appear in the middle and the end. So the whole thing tries to combine that silent respect, remembering of the dear ones who passed, and a bit of superstition and gloomy feelings that surrounds death - and the celebration of life at the same time.
"Between verse and chorus there's a more modern and "funky" interlude. It should reflect that tradition and modern world can meet and find a way together.
"On a personal level, death is something that is not that far away and abstract any longer, as it used to be in younger years (being almost 60 years old). Dear family members and friends have passed away, and it seems that time is becoming more valuable day by day. Death is something that is dealt with on a very personal level here in Germany, and it is not really part of our culture. So with this track I also bow to the Mexican culture that reveales this part of our existence, gives death a respectful place in society, and yet at the same time creates a celebration of life on the "Día de los muertos".
"Many sounds were created from the original sample - the ambient and percussive sounds, and some of the melodic sounds. To connect this to the sounds that may be heard in Mexico, when the traditional live bands are playing, I added a (slightly distorted) guitar, a viola and brass as virtual instruments to the track. Melodies were recorded with very little editing. It is supposed not to be 100 % perfect and to have that somewhat lo-fi sound. That way the song may keep the live atmosphere of the field recording.
"The track was created in Cubase 14 Pro. Sounds were processed and sampled using Audacity, Battery 4, Native Instruments Form/Guitar Rig 7, Dawesome Myth, Dawesome Love. The "real" instruments were Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic and Session Horns, and Expressive E Arche Viola."
Aztec danzantes in front of Basilica for Romeria reimagined by zenbytes.
———————
This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.
Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage