New song: 'Far and Away' (Jordan Rudess Forum Contest)

[Enc3f4L0]

The good people at jordanrudess.com put together an official song competition.

As an active member I thought it would be fun to participate, although I'm not a keyboardist.

No limitations of styles and duration were established. The only rule was to follow a concept:
"The exploration of a vast space, and the result of what is encountered within this space."

Anyway, I sent in my entry yesterday.

The song is called Far and Away, an instrumental.

concept: An audacious space exploration mission went bad.
The only survivor is unable to return, left with nothing but his memories and a family picture.
He awaits the inevitable watching planet earth slowly fading away into a blue dot.

Wish I had enough time to develop it further, both in length and the actual guitar parts. My band got the best of me this week (we're recording) so I had little spare time for this project.

If any of you wanna check it out here are the links for streaming and downloading.

stream - SoundClick artist: Bad Salad - page with MP3 music downloads
download - http://www.badsalad.net/audio/Thiago...FarAndAway.mp3

Here's the link to the competition thread at jr.com where you can listen to the other entries.

The Official Jr.com Song Competition - Jordan Rudess' Community Forums

Thiago.

 

[whitestrat]

Hey man, I really liked the choice of notes... It sounded as if you kept the melody floating, and didn't let it get grounded. Really gives that feeling of tragic surrender. I like it! I thought the composition was a bit upbeat though... But nevertheless, it's nice!

 

[the24thfret]

I totally dig it. Nice work. Your tone is great.

 

[lonewolf74]

Very well done! You can definitely hear the Dream Theater influence in your composition.

My favorite parts were everything before about 3:30 - that initial section had the best feeling of despair and sounded, in my opinion, a lot like something DT would have recorded around the time of Six Degrees.

Not to be a critic (since I can't even play or compose .01% as well as that song was done) but I would have liked to hear a return to the opening theme at the close of the song... I thought those notes at the beginning had the best sense of the vastness of space.

Still - an excellent composition and masterful playing. Bravo!

 

[Enc3f4L0]

Thanks for listening and for the feedback.

I appreciate the critique just as much as the compliment, we're all here to learn.

@whitestrat: About the 'upbeat' feeling. When I started out the song it was darker. I then showed it to my girlfriend and she said it was too dark, and that she'd love to hear some happier/agitated moments. This was a 4fun competition so why not please the lady?
After giving it some thought... You'd think someone in a situation like this (alone in space) would be sad, but also have some happy thoughts remembering the good times with his loved ones. After accepting his destiny anyway.

@lonewolf74: I totally agree! If I had the time I would've definately made a come back to that theme. Or something along those lines. IMO the song had sort of a sudden death. I could easily imagine it doubling in length if I were to develop it freely without the deadline. Maybe I will...

I put it up on youtube aswell... With a pic of earth seen from space to build up the mood.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTq33N4XJxA"]YouTube - Far and Away - Thiago Campos - (Audio) - Jordan Rudess Forum[/ame]

 

[joe web]

very nice songwriting!
a lot of DT influences, but that´s not negative, i like you song.

 

[floyd99]

man that's awesome. i absolutely love it !!!
i agree, returning back to the original theme would complete it.