Today, announcing the release of a new single. The premier track on this one is “Speaking in Tongues”, a hard, fast slice of hard dance which draws a lot of influence from psytrance. I suppose this follows a thread I started with The Gateless Gate but with a little more gas.
The B-side “Shrieker” has a little different energy, but doesen’t underwhelm; this bouncy hard house track has an equally dark vibe with a bit of modern “donk” which will give your subwoofer a workout.
Together this release follows up on another recent hard dance release, and I hope you enjoy! You can pick this up anywhere you listen to music, but you can get it cheaper than anywhere using the Bandcamp link below.
The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing. To know is to have a concept; to not know is to be ignorant.
-Mumon, The Gateless Gate, Case 19
…there’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.
-Morpheus, The Matrix
The namesake of this mix is an interesting, challenging read. Although brief, you could spend a long time trying to understand. What I suppose I get out of it, in short, is non-judgement. This is a hard endeavor for a human and an even harder one for an artist, in particular because an endeavor itself is a form of judgement.
Choosing one thing means rejecting another. I do what I can, however, to “experience” rather than “decide”.
Some listening notes: Psytrance was the main inspiration for this mix, although it goes into euro-trance territory in places. It’s also worth noting that “Third Time” is the third version of an older favorite, and “Start to Finish” is an adaptation, rather than a remix or cover of, Bear McCreary’s excellent score from the Walking Dead episode of the same name (S6E8).
You need no permission from the gatekeeper – the only barrier is yourself. This is The Gateless Gate.
(0:00) Karl D – Melt
(05:22) 2_12(remix)(Original from random beats, vol 2.)
(07:20) Karl D – Third Time (Just Like the First Time, 2017 remix)
(11:29) Karl D – Neural Net
(17:06) Karl D – Start to Finish
(21:30) Karl D – Mind Wipe
Thanks for checking this mix out! You can now get the exclusive tracks from this mix anywhere you buy music, in “The Gateless Gate EP”. Bandcamp buyers can get two bonus tracks not available elsewhere.
Compared to the original and remix. Both are from, by my estimation, nearly 15 years ago, practically to the day.
The new version is decidedly trance, although presented at a mild 117 BPM. This gains some sophistication compared to the original, and loses the feverish pace of the 1st remix. However, there’s elements of both present in this new version. I didn’t plan for this to be a part of Rock the Bells but found an opportunity.
The inspiration of publishing another remix of this came quickly in the last several weeks. Presidential politics makes for a dim example of “leadership” in our society, and we really shouldn’t aspire to be quite so savage to one another. That’s not even addressing the character flaws of any individual politician.
The message I’m trying to reiterate with this release is one of positivity, that civilized society breaks down when we forget how to be civil. In short, “Be excellent to each other“.
Edit 04/06/17: Visit Bandcamp with the link below to download the “No Greater Love” 2016 remix and the entire Rock the Bells EP.
The title is Latin, and might as well be called “The one that has a name I can’t remember”.
This production is raw, dirty, and admittedly busy. At first I wanted this to sound cleaner as a whole, but I think it sounds good with a little dirt on it. The contrast between the general grit of the track with the clean, ethereal synth providing the chords was very interesting to me. That kind of contrast has been fundamental to several key productions of mine over the years, so this track in a way felt like a “return to my roots”.
This tech-trance random beat started simply enough, with the rhythm section and the grumbling bass. It took an interesting turn as I continued to work on it. Frankly, I didn’t mean for it to be quite as melodically uplifting(yet melancholy) as it came to be in the end. Once I got the lead synth created, it all seemed to quickly come together.
Bear with me as you listen to this track. Yes, they’ve been getting longer, but more rewarding in their dramatic progression.
This latest beat brings Vol. 5 to 29 minutes, 42 seconds, just short of the guideline of 30 minutes per volume. This will therefore bring Vol. 5 to a close. That being said, the whole volume is now available for download in the Free Downloads section.
This is one EPIC-sized random beat! Sometimes a track needs the extra time to evolve properly. Lots of big sound in here, but I feel like I’m not sure everyone will appreciate the complexity. Admittedly, there’s a lot going on.
I kept thinking about how very Hybrid-esque it sounded to me while I was making it. Of course, I’m a huge fan, so it’s certain they’ve become a significant influence.
Today’s is the last of the posts for Volume 4 of the random beats series. This volume ends like it began, with some melodic piano trance.
This tune began with the deep bass and the bassdrum. I thought the combination of these two sounds was pretty effective on their own, so I allowed them to work on their own for a while. When the piano comes in, there’s an exceptional sense of drama that continues for the duration of the track.
Now that Volume 4 is complete, you can download the full set of posts in MP3 format(along with the previous completed volumes) in the Downloads section. Volume 5 will be on its way soon enough!
Originally, I intended to have a period of inactivity after completing volume 3 of the random beats series. I might have had some “recap” posts which would review all the best in certain genres. Unfortunately, that will just have to wait, since there’s plenty of new material in my “secret stash” waiting to be released!
We start volume 4 with a bit of light-as-a-feather trance. Listening to it now, I guess that dosen’t take into account the tough bass hits and the rumbling bass that goes through the whole track.
