theguitarplayer
Well, thanks for asking for my thoughts Walt. I listened a couple of times and this is what's come into mind, and it's just my thoughts. I'm thinking that a nice muted sax might sound good at 1:04- 1:20, them maybe a nice little jazz guitar sound at 1:52- 2:07 and to give it a nice final touch maybe a flute at 2:41- 3:04.  Maybe a chimes sound in a couple of select place and a couple of metal hits around the low filter engine sounds. Just a thought. It sounds good as is, but you did mentioned mention about putting more under the hood in the past few months, and I didn't know if you were finished going under the hood or not, so these are just what came to my mind while listening.
 
Peace and Blessings, John

Thanks John.  I thought quite a bit about this and decided a couple of things:

1. I think you're right in selecting those particular sections, which are the "B" part.  They got added later in the production process, and perhaps they are a little bland in comparison with the rest of the song.
2. I think the voices you mentioned (sax, jazz guitar, flute) are not "Electric" sounding enough to match the theme of the song. ;)  Instead I added a new Reaktor synth part, running Photone (which I've been wanting to try) on the "More Wheel" patch.  It kinda sounds like a somewhat synthified percussive echoey guitar/piano, and I'm using a pitch bend making it sound a little like a ukelele crossed with some steel drums!  Okay, that sounds crazy, but I think it came out pretty good.  It first appears at about 0:58 (softly), then comes up for the "B" part from 1:04-1:20, then falls back a bit until the next "B" part at 1:52.  I'm still not sure if I like it or not in the context of this song, but I'd like to know what people think.  Is it too much?  I don't want to trample the groove.

M_Glenn_M
I'm just exploring electronica and this is a nice introduction.
Not sterile, it evolves and keeps a good natural groove. Things I look for.
A very clean production

Thanks Glenn!  I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment.  I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope that you continue to grow more inspired to explore electronic music, as I have.

jamesg1213
Hi Walt, I haven't been around much lately so this is the first tune of yours I've listened to. Right up my street, I like it a lot. Very tastefully arranged and your use of subtle sound textures is very nice indeed. That Rapture 'Moog Pedal Lead' is a favourite of mine, but I've never used it in an arpeggio like here, sounds great set against that Rhodes piano. Excellent stuff.

Thanks for checking it out James!  I actually took a listen to your Headscape page last week and really enjoyed it as well.  I love ambient/atmospheric music and you guys definitely do it quite well!  I was disappointed that I couldn't find you on soundcloud and "follow" you. :)

Nice.
Definately got my "chin moving forward", LOL.
I like how it builds. At first the section where the lead synth repeats the same note seemed kinda bland to me, but then I found myself caught up in the rhythm of it so I'm thinking it works as intended....
Good job!

Nice work Walt, digging the warmth in the tones! The snare seems a bit staccato at some points but overall well done bro!

Loverly groove going on this one.  I think it is sounding fine and I don't find too many elements going.  It is really just adding and dropping them along the timeline.  If you drop the main rhythmic line you can open up a whole lot of space w/o the groove falling apart.  And nice bit of rhodes dropping in. 
 
Good stuff.
 
@

This would fit right in to an Alan Parsons Project record. Nice work! I really like your style and look forward to hearing more.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Hi Walt,
 
I really enjoyed this track. Its got a cool ambient vibe but the mix itself makes a lot of the magic.
 
The combination of synth and non-synth tones is terrific and I know what you mean about trying to call out a melodic center for a song like this. It can be a challenge. The tune definitely works and is inspiring. Sometimes I start stuff like this but get scared off thinking, "Man I cannot make this work live". This song make me think "so what, do it anyway ;)". So thanks for that.
 
George

rscain
Nice.
Definately got my "chin moving forward", LOL.
I like how it builds. At first the section where the lead synth repeats the same note seemed kinda bland to me, but then I found myself caught up in the rhythm of it so I'm thinking it works as intended....
Good job!

Thanks rscain.  I've added a little something there in the "B" part (the strummy high pitched sound, see my recent posts above), but not sure if it's enough.  To be honest maybe I selected a yawner of an arpeggio for the lead part there.  But I've since added several layers to augment/match it, so at this point there's no going back. ;)

twisted6s
Nice work Walt, digging the warmth in the tones! The snare seems a bit staccato at some points but overall well done bro!

Thanks for checking it out Tony!  Yeah, the staccato snare is intentional, to try and get the "strut" feel.  As for the warm tones, that's where I spend a lot of time while writing - trying out hundreds of patches on each part, trying to find just the right sound.  I always gravitate to the fat, analog-sounding voices.