A stereo bounce of some sounds compiled to create the impression of an earthquake.

Earthquake Sounds

I've created a Bass Pad in NI Massive to build a sense of fear in the Anticipation For Destruction phase. 3 oscillators have been used to create this sound: Sine, Sawtooth, and 'Math II'. Along with a combination of LFOs and envelopes, I've managed to create a Bass Pad with various movements too, something that can be important when a single chord is played over a long period of time. To emphasise the element of fear, I've used a tritonal chord, with an erie sub tone and a high toned part to resemble the tinnitus people can get after a phase of hearing loud sounds (The Eruption).

Building A Sense Of Fear

I've used this Scarbee parts in the aftermath section (Outro). The tone is low, and I'm trying to build a feeling of isolation, but also add a peaceful element, as the chaos from the eruption is over and all that is left is ash, dust, and debris. The gated introduction resembles the psychological transition from adrenaline to a more reflective state of mind. Towards the end, as the piece comes to an end, the soft and sparse notes are to signify the emergence of nature as it slowly begins to rebuild. I've added reverb and a slight autopan to emphasise a dreamy effect.

Scarbee Keys Aftermath

In this bass pad, I used a combination of oscillators, and two notes to create a sub and high pitched moving tone that aims to give off a fear factor. Using Eb for both notes (low and high), the low Eb triggers a very low Eb tone from a sawtooth wave, aiming to hit around 19hz, an infrasound frequency also known as the 'Fear Frequency'. The notes also trigger a higher octave with a sine oscillator, to produce a purer bass tone, and another sawtooth oscillator. Adding unison pitch cutoff, the pad begins to pulsate, creating a further interesting characteristic for the sound.

More Fear-Inducing Bass Pads

I've created a kick drum in NI Massive by enveloping the pitch on a sine wave. With this particular sound, I've used 2 instances of this, one short kick and 2 long. Having kept 1 of each long and short to it's original quality, I then used the other long kick with a grain delay (soundhack +bubbler) to produce a more explosive sound. From the start of the kick sound, resembling the initial blast from an explosion, I've begun with a small grain size. Then, I exponentially automated to a large grain size as the explosive sound progresses. This is to try and represent the effect of a denser sound to start with, then evolving to a low rumble. Also, I've tried to emphasise this by automating the lo-pass filter cutoff from high to low, with a touch of resonance. To maintain a long sustain on the rumble, I've automated the feedback of the delay unit to maximum feedback, then falling to none as the sound fades away. I've designed it so it comes in a second after the initial blast as I believe this creates a larger, evolving eruption.

Explosive Eruption

In the build up section, I'm hoping to build a sense of anticipation. Using a very simple sine wave in NI Massive, I've created a signal which aims to imitate equipment used to measure  volcanic related activities (such as a seismometer). Introducing the sound with a grain delay (from Cecilia 5) on the first note (of two), gives a smooth tone which allows the beep to rise in volume and take the feature role in the section. As I've introduced the second tone (a fifth up from the first), there is a layer with a modulating pitch delay (from Cecilia 5) playing over the top of the texture. This occurs over a period in the section when there is seismic activity and the ground is moving. I thought this would be a good element to add with it's varied delays and pitches to give an extra sense of displacement. I've used this same effect again, having reversed the audio just before the eruption begins. 

Beeps & Boops

With these sounds, I began with a simple percussive hit and a small recording of pulling Sellotape and developed them into these massive impact sounds. For the destructive section, I aiming to provide sounds that represent volcanic rocks and debris falling from the sky and causing severe damage to the surroundings.
I initially EQ’ed the percussive hit, adding bass and treble, and reducing the middle frequencies, to allow the sound to take on a bigger impact. Then I added distortion with the Rammfire amplifier in Guitar Rig 5 to add grit, twin delay and pitch delay to further morph the sound, and finished with another distortion unit. I used the same processing with the Sellotape, but adjusted the EQ settings. The Sellotape sound is layered to provide a more sustained element to the sound, enhancing the damage effect. The added reverb further increases the magnitude feeling.

Destructive Impacts

To create a bubbling lava sound, I used some studio recordings of shaking and drinking from a water bottle. I changed the tempo of the audio, making it slower, and a pitch transformer to take the tone down to try and imitate a moving lava sound. For added effects, I used the Soundhack Bubbler (very suitable for this!) and Guitar Rig 5's Rotator to bring out some extra modulation.

Lava Bubbler

Results made from a falling pitch synth made with my microKorg. I've used this sound at the end of the 'Anticipation for Destruction' section to resemble the falling debris just before the 'Destruction' section!

Aside from a phaser I added at the end (not included due to memory restriction on phone!), a running demonstration of how I achieved the sound is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8fi9DlG4FU&feature=youtu.be

Falling Pitch Synth (microKorg)

To liven up some experimental piano recordings, I've introduced 2 new bus FX delay channels. One use the Psych Delay in Guitar Rig, creating a reverse delay which is then played through an amplifier to distort the tone. Another uses the Soundhack Pitch Delay to produce a delay that modulates the pitch. Both FX channels have a Surround spread enhancer to widen the feel the effects. Throughout this piano track and various other tracks, I have automated the sends to these buses.

Piano New FX

Using the a picked wooden timbre from Scultpure and various delays, I've created a delicate sounding synth suitable for the 'Aftermath' section. The aim was to provide a natural sound that represents the emergence of nature after the eruption with a small motif.

George Parker - Volcano

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