Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is a minimalist ambient track, in the style of the early pioneers of ambient music, working with very few instruments, tracks, and effects.
In the spirit of the minimalist approach, I chose a single instrument (the SEM) and the E Pentatonic minor. Each track (bass, the pluck, and the metallic bell) started with only playing a single note in a polymetric rhythm, with the bass evolving into using the remaining notes in the scale to give the track more movement.
The interest and character in rhythm comes entirely from the use of the three different length delays (dotted 1/8, dotted 1/4, dotted 1/2) that change and evolve over time, so the music has enough repetition to be memorable but enough variation to retain interest.
Overall I am very pleased with how this track came together and would encourage others to try placing strange new restrictions on your workflow, to see what creatively comes out and what new things you might learn!
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Please like and subscribe, as it really does help my music reach more people!
I am an Australian living in Seattle, I am a coffee geek, and I enjoy making mostly Ambient and Berlin School inspired music, with the occasional Synthwave track.
You can also find me on:
Bandcamp → artifonica.bandcamp.com
Facebook → facebook.com/artifonica
Spotify → artifonica.com
open.spotify.com/artist/6GCPgSF1z1VhtEbtTkOyyb
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# Process Notes
The motivation for this was a community competition called Assemblage 07, which called for a minimalist ambient piece.
In getting myself into the mindset, I chose the Oberheim SEM as my only synth for this track. It is a versatile synth that was around and used in the era, so it felt right. Plus I'm a sucker for the Oberheim sound :)
This is also the first time I've ever really worked withe a spring reverb - but something about the metallic edge it gave to the instruments added to their 70s character.
The track is in E Pentatonic Minor, with the Bass repeating the root E, plus the 2nd and 4th as accent notes from the scale. The other two instruments each get one of the two remaining notes from the scale, the pluck gets the minor 3rd and the metallic bell gets the 5th.
The real movement comes from using Stepic to generate CC signals that controlled how much of each delay was being used for each instrument - so not only were the rhythms polymetric but the delay sends were modulated polymetrically, leading to some very complex interaction.
# Behind the Scenes
## Music
Created in Bitwig Studio 5.1, using:
Arturia:
- Comp TUBE-STA
- Dist OPAMP-21
- Dist TUBE-CULTURE
- Efx REFRACT
- Filter M12
- Filter MS-20
- Rev Spring-636
- Tape MELLO-FI
XLN's:
- RC-20
Native Instruments:
- (iZotope) Tonal Balance Control 2
devicemeister:
- Stepic
TBProAudio:
- dpMeter 5
Fabfilter:
- Pro-C 2
- Pro-L 2
- Pro-MB
- Pro-Q 3
## Video
Created in DaVinci Resolve 18.6, using:
- Affinity Photo 2 for the Artifonica device/logo and other photo touching up
- MrAlexTech's Magic Animate
- MotionVFX's mReveal
## Keywords
Ambient: Minimal, Minimalism, chill, chillout, relax, relaxing, relaxation, unwind, space, science fiction, sci-fi, retro, ambience, complex
This is a minimalist ambient track, in the style of the early pioneers of ambient music, working with very few instruments, tracks, and effects.
In the spirit of the minimalist approach, I chose a single instrument (the SEM) and the E Pentatonic minor. Each track (bass, the pluck, and the metallic bell) started with only playing a single note in a polymetric rhythm, with the bass evolving into using the remaining notes in the scale to give the track more movement.
The interest and character in rhythm comes entirely from the use of the three different length delays (dotted 1/8, dotted 1/4, dotted 1/2) that change and evolve over time, so the music has enough repetition to be memorable but enough variation to retain interest.
Overall I am very pleased with how this track came together and would encourage others to try placing strange new restrictions on your workflow, to see what creatively comes out and what new things you might learn!
--------------------------------------------------
Please like and subscribe, as it really does help my music reach more people!
I am an Australian living in Seattle, I am a coffee geek, and I enjoy making mostly Ambient and Berlin School inspired music, with the occasional Synthwave track.
You can also find me on:
Bandcamp → artifonica.bandcamp.com
Facebook → facebook.com/artifonica
Spotify → artifonica.com
open.spotify.com/artist/6GCPgSF1z1VhtEbtTkOyyb
--------------------------------------------------
# Process Notes
The motivation for this was a community competition called Assemblage 07, which called for a minimalist ambient piece.
In getting myself into the mindset, I chose the Oberheim SEM as my only synth for this track. It is a versatile synth that was around and used in the era, so it felt right. Plus I'm a sucker for the Oberheim sound :)
This is also the first time I've ever really worked withe a spring reverb - but something about the metallic edge it gave to the instruments added to their 70s character.
The track is in E Pentatonic Minor, with the Bass repeating the root E, plus the 2nd and 4th as accent notes from the scale. The other two instruments each get one of the two remaining notes from the scale, the pluck gets the minor 3rd and the metallic bell gets the 5th.
The real movement comes from using Stepic to generate CC signals that controlled how much of each delay was being used for each instrument - so not only were the rhythms polymetric but the delay sends were modulated polymetrically, leading to some very complex interaction.
# Behind the Scenes
## Music
Created in Bitwig Studio 5.1, using:
Arturia:
- Comp TUBE-STA
- Dist OPAMP-21
- Dist TUBE-CULTURE
- Efx REFRACT
- Filter M12
- Filter MS-20
- Rev Spring-636
- Tape MELLO-FI
XLN's:
- RC-20
Native Instruments:
- (iZotope) Tonal Balance Control 2
devicemeister:
- Stepic
TBProAudio:
- dpMeter 5
Fabfilter:
- Pro-C 2
- Pro-L 2
- Pro-MB
- Pro-Q 3
## Video
Created in DaVinci Resolve 18.6, using:
- Affinity Photo 2 for the Artifonica device/logo and other photo touching up
- MrAlexTech's Magic Animate
- MotionVFX's mReveal
## Keywords
Ambient: Minimal, Minimalism, chill, chillout, relax, relaxing, relaxation, unwind, space, science fiction, sci-fi, retro, ambience, complex
