Sunset Lagoon (Note Jam №30)

Listen to Sunset Lagoon (Note Jam №30) by INT∅NALITY on #SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/0cFLjSlirKV6RkkWJd

About this project:

My entry for the Weekly Note Composing Jam #30 (“Tropical Getaway”)

I went for a fun retro video game aesthetic with a whimsical, easygoing tropical vibe and syncopated 4/4 groove. It was intended to be a loop but I couldn’t help adding a quick organ solo, just for fun 😎 It still loops, it’s just a bit much maybe for in-game haha, but I liked it. I guess I was picturing a family-friendly 3D platformer game, like Crash Bandicoot, Mario, etc.

Technical:

• 175 BPM in 4/4.
• E Mixolydian/Major. The melody also passes the minor third for some chromatic colour and added whimsy. The Mixolydian flat 7 is established early, but the major 7 is added later for a brighter feeling.
• Made in Cubasis 3 on iPad (plugins listed below).

Plugins used (in Cubasis):

Plugin	Description	Type
AudioKit SagaSynth	Sega Megadrive synth, sampled and synthesised.	AUv3
AudioKit SNESynth	SNES inspired synth (synthesised)	AUv3
AudioKit King of FM	FM synth	AUv3
HALion Sonic Collection	Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, muted guitar (the bass guitar played high with MagicSwitch chorus effect), drums/perc, trumpet.	Built-in (IAP)
Waves Q10	10 band gEQ. Decent EQ.	Built-in (IAP)
DecentSampler	Hunter’s Percussion - World (djembe, conga,  udu)	AUv3
Baby Audio Magic Switch	Chorus effect, very simple but it sounds great.	AUv3
Spatializer	Stereo imaging. Very transparent, preserves the mid channel really nicely, great for spatial imaging and acoustic space simulation. Great plugin.	AUv3
NeonSilicon Spirangle	Multi-stage delay used very subtly, I didn’t need it tbh. Can have crazy feedback and resonance if desired, very cool.	AUv3
ElephantDSP RoomReverb	Great algorithmic reverb, my new go to.	AUv3
Smoov	Gentle compression (algorithm based). Used this specifically to sidechain the main synth lead to the kick; subtle effect but it made the difference to let the kick punch through the mix.	AUv3
Audio Damage RoughRider 3	Versatile compressor, options for a warm colour or more transparent sound.	AUv3
Caelum Audio TapeCassette 2	Vintage tape cassette emulator, added a nice warmth and saturation on the master.	AUv3
Toneboosters GonioMeter & Spectrogram	For monitoring stereo imaging and frequency spectrum.	AUv3