Ambient Archives: "Aphelion" from "Language of the Ancients"

The opening track that started it all... "Aphelion" from 2013's "Language of the Ancients."

What I love about this track is how it set the mood for the entire album. Produced late in the development cycle for the album, I knew that as soon as this track was finished that it had to be the first track on the record.

Opening with a thick suite of pads from the now absorbed "Camel Audio - Alchemy" the rumble of some technical glitches begins to emerge that helped define the record.

The track was produced with a combination of intricate sequencing in Numerology and live performance in real time. After the opening crash at :48 the elements emerge. A deep bass coming from Alchemy, a lead sequence coming from Numerology going into an instance of U-he Diva, and a lead symphonic pad played live and looped.

The breakdown is one of my favorite parts of the track. Removing many of the core elements to reveal even greater detail. It's something I do often in my tracks because I love to layer and then strip away those layers to allow the listener to focus their attention.

What I love most about revisiting tracks is hearing them again, as if for the first time.

Cheers,
-S1gns