#deb is a dark song. 

The name comes from the hashtag used on social media to find people suffering from depression (hence the cover image with a robot in trouble).

The first part of the song was composed for an Instagram reel using Renoise software(link for the video at the end). A few months later, the idea was revisited in Ableton Live and the result can be heard in this track.

I hope you enjoy it.

Link for the video:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CfMHvXHDl-F/

#deb

BLAST!
Music by Overdrive
Lyrics by Marc Freak

Check out the promo videos for Blast!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxsubR1OYtf/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxswLPVgfAj/
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17992084141919799/

In one sentence, drum'n bass goes punk.

This song is the result of a team work with the always brilliant Marc Freak, a prolific musician, author, photographer, and oddity. I am an outspoken fan of his fantastic work (two of my favorite songs are by him). His music is definitely worth a closer look:
https://soundcloud.com/marcfreak

The instrumental part of this song was originally created in Renoise, with the program's native samples. Voices and effects were added later in Ableton Live.

The cover artwork is based on the amazing illustration created by Heri Shinato (Cyberpunk: The Future is Made of Flesh and Metal), available on his Artstation profile:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/34aPJ

Hope you like it.

Blast ! (ft Marc Freak)

OPUS ARTE
Music by Overdrive
Guitars by Brian Butts
Narration by Megwaf

In the 1980s, Brazilian TV aired episodes of an anime called King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. However, some episodes mistakenly came without a soundtrack, which forced the dubbing studio to use instrumental music by artists such as Vangelis, Basil Poledouris and Rick Wakeman to fill the lack of music. That's how, around the age of 10, I had my first contact with Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The impact was unbelievable. All the kids at school were praising the anime's epic soundtrack, unaware that this was the result of a mistake that had only happened in Brazil.

Influenced by the anime's soundtrack, I started using my pocket money to buy vinyl records by these artists - and that's when I bought Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth album. The epic orchestrated intro, the wonderful choirs, the exciting narration and the rock music in the middle of the track, everything was fantastic.

Opus Arte is strongly influenced by Journey to the Center of the Earth. The orchestral sections are complemented by elements of electronic music. Brian Butts' incredible guitar solos embellish the rock sections. And Megwaf's phenomenal narration sets the perfect mood for the listener's imagination.

Hope you enjoy the song.

BRIAN BUTTS
I recommend checking out the exquisite work of guitarist Brian Butts, with his complex and exciting arrangements.
https://soundcloud.com/brian-butts-565934842

MEGWAF
Megwaf's extraordinary narrations are really worth checking out. It's impossible not to be impressed by her voice.
https://soundcloud.com/megwaf

Opus Arte (ft Brian Butts & Megwaf)

WIPEOUT
Music by Overdrive and StillVivid

Wipeout was composed in partnership with Christopher Hardisty, member of the duo StilVivid. His amazing vocals, formidable guitar skills and heavy metal influences made the track much more interesting than the initial draft I had created.

StillVivid is formed by the duo Christopher Hardisty and Matt Reeves and their great work can be checked out on their SoundCloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/stillvivid

Also check out StillVivid's new album Saga:
https://soundcloud.com/stillvivid/sets/saga

The splendid cover art is a cgi image that is part of the visual project Cyber Gen, created by Russian digital artist Visual Scientist and available on his Behance profile:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/110809899/CYBER-GEN

Wipeout (feat. StillVivid)

COLD CANDLE
Original song by Aliaksandr
Remix by Overdrive
Voice over by Megwaf

This track is a remix of the beautiful original song "Cold Candle", kindly authorized by the author Aliaksandr from Soundcloud's profile "Instrumentals For You". 

The "Instrumentals For You" profile is a repository of amazing piano music and is well worth checking out:
https://soundcloud.com/alexure/tracks

Original track "Cold Candle" (available for download):
https://soundcloud.com/alexure/cold-candle-delicate-background-piano-free-download

"Waiting" voice over written and performed by Megwaf. I recommend checking out Meg's brilliant narrations on her SoundCloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/megwaf

The orchestra and choir are Kontakt's libraries. The synthesizer is native to Ableton Live.

The splendid piano in the artwork is a real Boganyi Piano designed by Hungarian pianist Gerfely Bogányi and can be checked out at the official website:
https://www.boganyi-piano.com/

Hope you enjoy it.

Cold Candle (ft Instrumentals For You & Megwaf)

MAKE FRIENDS WITH GORILLA
Music by Overdrive and Stargoon

The song Make Friends With Gorilla is the result of a team effort and was composed in collaboration with the amazing band Stargoon. 

The initial idea was to produce the electro background for one of Stargoon's songs. It was then that the composer Shayne O'Neill introduced me to the demo of "Make Friends With Gorilla". The song was great and I spent a lot of time creating different electro versions, experimenting with beats and bass lines, but none of them sounded really interesting. I came to the inevitable conclusion that any change too abruptly would take away from the beauty of the original track, and perhaps the best solution was a remix. This way the original track could be released intact and still get a remix.

"Just do whatever you think works best," was Shayne's response. Man, you don't say that to someone who is desperate (lol). After that I completely abandoned the electronic versions and went for a mix of punk rock (!), anime music (!!) and orchestra (!!!)

This remix was by far one of the biggest challenges I've had to date, because it forced me to experiment with a crossover of styles outside the electro bubble.

I hope you enjoy the result.

Stargoon is the fantastic musical project created by the duo Shayne O'Neill and Ceridwyn "Sunny" Roberts-Floyd. The band has post-prog pop influences and was once defined as Hawkwind meets Devo. In my opinion, Stargoon's sound is completely original, a rare gem. I am an outspoken fan of the duo's work.

Their excellent debut album, The Gift, is well worth checking out:
https://soundcloud.com/shayne-oneill/sets/stargoon-the-gift

I also recommend a visit to the SC profile of Shayne O'Neill, composer, musician and UFO pilot. His musical genius is indisputable:
https://soundcloud.com/shayne-oneill

The radio intro is an excerpt from the movie King Kong Vs Godzilla (1962). This exact part is available on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/syv_kcHJyHk

The samples were obtained from the Slooply and SampleSwap websites, both excellent:
https://slooply.com/
https://sampleswap.org/

Lyrics
MAKE FRIENDS WITH GORILLA

Make friends with make friends with her, they said
Make friends with the piece they said
He doesn't intend to smash Tokyo.
He just wants to find love.
He just wants to find love.
This city takes everything we love.
This city is falling

Make peace with the gorilla man
Make peace with make peace with the gorilla man
He doesn't want to break with his hands
He just wants to go home
He just wants to go home
This city has ruined all the things that bring joy
This city must be destroyed

Make friends with make friends with make friends with the lizard king
Make peace with make peace with the lizard king
He doesn't want to crush Tokyo
He just wants happy times
He just wants happy times
This city has taken all the good times
This city is leaving

Make Friends With Gorilla (feat. Stargoon)

ROCKET
Music by Overdrive, Karim Manjra & Sumi
Lyrics by Sumi

Rocket is an electro remix of the amazing song Rocke-Et, an energetic rock piece by musician Karim Manjra. The wonderful vocals in the remix version are by the talented singer Sumi.

Check out the exciting vibe of the original song:
https://soundcloud.com/karim_manjra/cosmic-guitar

Karim Manjra's incredibly eclectic style is one of the most striking features of his work, and I highly recommend a visit to his SoundCloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/karim_manjra

Sumi (Sreyashi Mukherjee) owns a stunning voice and is also a brilliant composer. Drawing inspiration from role models across different musical genres, Sumi finds herself most at home singing blues, jazz and adult contemporary music while she continues to push boundaries with upcoming projects in ambient pop/jazz and electro-pop music. Check out Sumi's great music:
https://soundcloud.com/music-and-sumi
https://www.sumi-music.com/

Hope you enjoy the track.

Rocket (feat. Sumi & Karim Manjra)

ARMAGEDDON IS NOW
Music by Overdrive & Suzi Sonic

Check out the music video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtNtOrwxP4H/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtN2QNouO_g/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtNp9xLNTl5/

The influence of Nine Inch Nails and Ministry on this track is undeniable. The song is also inspired by Sepultura's seminal album Chaos A.D. -- which turns 3 decades old this year (2023).

Suzi Sonic's fantastic vocals are the main driving force behind Armageddon Is Now. Suzi is not only an excellent composer (the lyrics are hers), but also a great producer, responsible for the effects applied to her own voice. Her EP Machine Love is out now and its tracks reveal an uncommon brilliance. I recommend everyone to check out her fantastic songs:

https://soundcloud.com/suzisonic

Guitars from the Shreddage 3 Rogue Kontakt library and samples taken from the Slooply and Noiiz websites.  Drums, synths, and effects samples from the Noiiz site.

Hope you enjoy.

Armageddon Is Now (ft Suzi Sonic)

AIR
Music by Mirabell & Overdrive

Air is a song produced in collaboration with Norwegian singer-songwriter Mirabell and is clearly inspired by J. S. Bach's Air on the G string. This track is an experimental work that mixes modern vocals with baroque music.

Mirabell owns a magnificent voice and is a talented instrumentalist (she plays piano and harp). I recommend a visit to her SC page: https://soundcloud.com/mirabell

Strings are from Trailer Strings Kontakt library. Choir from Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra Kontakt library. Harpsichord from Fluffy Audio Rinascimento Kontakt library. Soloists are samples taken from the Noiiz website.

Cover art is the sculpture "The Angel" by Benjamin Victor, available on Pinterest at https://br.pinterest.com/pin/566961040602686459/

Hope you enjoy.

Air (feat. Mirabell)

ON/OFF
Music by Overdrive & Khan

This is an experimental work that mixes Kraftwerk, rock guitars, post-punk atmosphere and electro music, with the essential help of the incredible Japanese singer-songwriter Khan.

Check out Khan's great music on her Soundcloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/khan20233202

Hope you enjoy the track.

On/Off (ft Khan)

ROCK'N ROLL STAR
Music by Overdrive & Jessica Grotesquew
Lyrics by Jessica Grotesquew

IG reel:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwRQeMnRbia/

Art cover:
https://www.harisnukem.com/

Rock'n Roll Star (ft Jessica Grotesquew)

I'M BORED
Music & Lyrics by Iggy Pop
Remix by Overdrive
Guitar solo by Christopher Hardisty

Watch the music video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw2608bNaaK/

I'm Bored

DONT CARE
Music by Overdrive & Marc Freak
Lyrics by Marc Freak

Check out the IG promo videos for Dont Care:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxnfJuZutDn/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxnemlnN_tW/
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17938837466711819/

This was a really fun track to make. From the title spelled wrong on purpose, to Marc's hilarious grunts, to the IG promo videos that made my wife burst out laughing, everything about this work turned out to be a delightful joke. 😄

Another collab with the always brilliant Marc Freak. Check out his incredible work on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/marcfreak

The amazing illustration on the cover art is a reproduction of Ana Loro's original work, available on the Alouro website:
https://alouro.company.site/Disobey-p501922540

Hope you enjoy the track.
And if you don't like it... I don't care. 😁

Dont Care (ft Marc Freak)

CHAPA KALAMARICO
Music by Kalamarico & Overdrive

OUT NOW
Available at:
https://soundcloud.com/overdrive_music/chapa-kalamarico

This is my reinterpretation of the original track "Chapa Kalamarico" by the Spanish musician @kalamarico.  I've added synthesized vocals, a slightly heavier beat and some sound effects, but the song is essentially the same.

Check out Kamarico's excellent work on his SC profile:
https://soundcloud.com/kalamarico

Also see the promo videos on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyd3JHvRnNQ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyLK03UL5zg/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyHWBB7txi0/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyAFa3hRdAn/

Hope you enjoy the track.

Chapa Kalamarico

SOMETHING YOU CRAVE
Music by Overdrive & Kristopher Bolin
Words by Megwaf

Check out the promo videos:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CypTXcUNm3-/
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17906010470777543/

Something You Crave (ft Kristopher Bolin & Megwaf)

TOO MANY NOTES
A Neoclassical Piece for Violin and Electric Guitar
By Overdrive

Check out the promo video:
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18241683715215580/

The title "too many notes" is a reference to these 2 scenes from the fantastic movie Amadeus:
https://youtu.be/hMWy3EpEo_o

The neoclassical movement in music is a 20th-century trend that sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of “classicism”. It had a huge impact on my musical development, especially the album "Rising Force" by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen -- one of my favorite albums of all time.

Ironically, when guitarists from the neoclassical movement began to emerge, the main criticism boiled down to the phrase "too many notes" -- the same criticism against Mozart in the movie Amadeus. 😄

The cover art features a fun digital montage of Mozart's famous portrait painted by Barbara Krafft.

The IG promo video was created with clips from the great band "Son of Bach" (which I highly recommend) and scenes from the movie "Chevalier".

Hope you enjoy the song.

Too Many Notes - A Neoclassical Piece for Violin and Electric Guitar

EMU
Music by Overdrive
Lyrics by TN2

Check out the promo videos:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0XDqxFRFe3/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0etSKaulic/

EMU stands for "emulator" in Information Technology. The track is inspired by the cyberpunk culture of Japanese anime/manga, especially the classics Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

The idea was completely insane -- to produce an industrial/cyberpunk track sung in Japanese by a female vocalist with a very soft voice (to contrast with the dark atmosphere). The first time I verbalized this concept with someone, it sounded even weirder. So it's no surprise that none of the numerous Japanese female singers I invited accepted the proposal.

It's true that Japan is known for its innovative musical ideas -- like the death metal band Baby (with three little girls as singers); or the virtual singer Hatsune Miku (a hologram with synthesized vocals) and so on. But industrial music with female vocals is not a common occurrence. Björk and How To Destroy Angels are some of the few exceptions in the music world. And without a Japanese singer, the EMU project would never get off the ground.

Fortunately, Dreamtonics' artificial intelligence synthesized voices and its amazing Synthesizer V software are getting better and better, and I was able to use the sweet voice of Mai, a synthetic voice package created for J-pop (!).

This work wouldn't have been possible without the invaluable help of TN2 (Toku-no-2ri), group that wrote the lyrics in Japanese. Their extraordinary sense of musicality in the choice of phonemes during the creation of the lyrics proved to be a very pleasant surprise. Japanese kanji are famous for their ability to embed multiple meanings in their symbols and the first draft of TN2's lyrics was written in kanji (later rewritten in hiragana to feed Synthesizer V). The apparently simple verses carry several meanings that are unfortunately lost in the English translation.

TN2, or "Toku-no-2ri", is a psychedelic trance unit of "MASH" and "NORI". They had been inactive for a few years, but restarted the project in 2021. The group has formidable composers and I recommend checking out their incredible electronic music tracks available for free download on SC:
@user-160598336

Hope you enjoy the track.

LYRICS

ささやきにしげきされ
しょうどおがかけめぐる
やみにうもれたひびに
ひのひかりときはなて

だれもがゆめをみてる
さめることのないゆめ
とわにとらわれている
とわにとらわれている

[Ghost in the Shell narration]

すべてがまぼろしでも
あなたのねがいはなに
とわにとらわれること
それともめざめること

だからおしえてほしい
わたしがだれであるか
あなたがめざめるなら
わたしはうたをうたう

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Stimulated by whispers
An impulse runs through me
In the days buried in darkness
Release the sunlight

Everyone is dreaming
A dream that never wakes up
Trapped forever
Trapped forever

[Ghost in the Shell narration]

Life is like a nodal point born in an overwhelming sea of information.

And life, when organized into species relies upon genes to be its memory system.

So, man is an individual memory system only because of his intangible memory.

And a memory cannot be defined, but it defines mankind.

When the advent of computers made the externalization of memories possible, you should have taken its meaning more seriously.

My code name is Project 2501.

I am a living, thinking entity who was created in the sea of information.

[End of Narration]

Even if everything is an illusion
What is your wish?
To be trapped forever?
Or to wake up?

That's why I want you to tell me
Who I am
If you wake up
I sing a song

EMU (ft TN2)

LOUD
Music by Overdrive
Lyrics by Electra Volcana
Guitar solo by Chris Hardisty

Check out the IG promo videos for Loud:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1FlG4lrV1o/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3ei_KwuNyR/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3g9tCUxnfC/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3eiCJIM_xv/


This is a track produced by me in collab with singer Electra Volcana and guitarist Chris Hardisty. The song mixes punk and electronic music, serving as a sample of 90s underground in a more modern guise.

Jane aka Electra Volcana's unmistakable punk vocals are the highlight of the track, creating the perfect underground atmosphere with her raspy voice. Discover the incredible work of this French singer on her Soundcloud page:

@user-6008493

Guitarist Christopher Hardisty is a long-time partner in collabs, always delivering brilliant guitar solos. Chris is a member of StillVivid, along with Matt Reeves, and the duo's brilliant work can be heard on their Soundcloud page:

@stillvivid

Also check out StillVivid's new album Saga:

soundcloud.com/stillvivid/sets/saga

The strong influence of the English band The Prodigy is evident here, especially from their album The Fat of the Land. When The Prodigy released The Fat of the Land in 1997, it was a shock. Everyone was well adapted to the industrial genre by then -- NIN had released their debut album Pretty Hate Machine more than a decade earlier. However, TFOTL became a legendary electronic music album for its rawness and brutality. The single Smack My Bitch Up faced boycotts from record stores, the music video was censored on MTV, but the song reached the top of the charts in more than 20 countries, including the US and UK. In 2020, Metal Hammer magazine (a renowned heavy metal publication) included FOTL in its list of the 10 best albums of 1997. Not enough, Rolling Stone featured FOTL in its list of "Essential Recordings of the 90s" and it is also one of the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

The influence of The Fat of the Land on my musical formation at this time is indisputable. It was during this same period that I bought my first physical sampler (Akai Emu E4X Turbo) and started mixing electronic music (techno, dnb, jungle, electro) with underground genres (rock, punk, heavy metal) and more traditional styles (classical music, jazz, new age, pop).

Hope you enjoy the song.

Loud (ft Electra Volcana & Chris Hardisty)

MERRY EX-MAS
Music by Overdrive & Ian PH Clifford

Check out the Merry Ex-Mas promo videos on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0_l7Vwu3Me/
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18041521363593428/


This is my reinterpretation of the song Merry Ex-Mas, a brilliant piece by Ian PH Clifford. The original version is an absolutely beautiful track, just acoustic guitar and voice. I was so taken with the song that I immediately asked Ian if I could do a remix. He agreed and even after saying that I was interested in doing something punk or post-punk, Ian didn't shy away. So the original acoustic version went from 127 bpm to 160 bpm, and incorporated distorted guitars, pounding bass and frantic drums. It's a complete miracle that there are still people who want to do collabs with me, even though I mutilate songs like this. 😂

Merry Ex-Mas was #4 on the Repost/Exchange rock chart and I can only thank Ian for the opportunity to reinterpret a song that is already fantastic in itself.

Check out the beautiful original version:
https://soundcloud.com/ianphclifford/merry-ex-mas

I also recommend checking out Ian's incredible work on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/ianphclifford

Hope you enjoy the song.


LYRICS
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot this week
Is you’ve been in his arms longer than you were with me
As the snow falls down outside and I’m sliding past your drive
And I can see that you’re home
But I am paralyzed, I won’t even try
To say hello
This winter feels longer than lifetimes
I feel like I’ve lived and died a hundred times
But I don’t cry anymore that wells dry down to the floor
And now I’m outside of your front door
And I’m not sure what I’m doing here
Merry Christmas I guess
I miss you to death
The ribbon on my wrist is turning my hand blue
I can’t wait till Christmas
No I can’t wait till Christmas
I said I’d never live another day without you
No I can’t wait till Christmas
No I can’t wait till Christmas
Something I’ve just figured out
Is why you had to leave
Your heart is colder than ice
And mine began to freeze
As the snow falls down outside and I’m sliding past your drive
And I can see that you’re home
I am paralyzed, but I know I need to try
To say hello
This winter feels longer than lifetimes
I feel like I’ve lived and died a hundred times
But I don’t cry anymore that wells dry down to the floor
And now I’m outside of your front door
And I’m not sure what I’m doing here
Merry Christmas I guess
I miss you to death
The ribbon on my wrist is turning my hand blue
I can’t wait till Christmas
No I can’t wait till Christmas

I said I’d never live another day without you
No I can’t wait till Christmas
No I can’t wait till Christmas

Merry Ex-Mas (ft Ian PH Clifford)

UNDERGROUND
A Tribute to Metallica's Kill'Em All Phase
Music by Overdrive

Check out the IG promo video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2AFHGkOJG7/

This is an original track inspired by Metallica's Kill'Em All phase, which features James Hetfield's AI-generated vocals. It's a non-commercial/experimental track made as a tribute to the band and created under the fair use permission of copyright statute.

The use of AI-generated vocals is still a source of much controversy and heated discussion. I've been following the issue closely since the beginning of 2023, when French DJ David Guetta replicated the voice of American rapper Eminem during a concert, causing a wave of immense buzz about it.

Also in early 2023, the track "Heart on My Sleeve", which used AI-generated vocals from Canadian rappers Drake and The Weeknd, went viral before being taken down by streaming services. 

In September, John Lennon's voice was removed from a demo tape recorded in 1978. The poor quality audio was processed with AI for a new Beatles recording, giving rise to the song "Now & Then".

During this period, there was an eruption of websites focused on voice cloning, which, in October 2023, led RIAA to request the inclusion of such websites on the government's piracy watchlist -- and the main target became Vocify.ai. 

On the other hand, Aditya Bansal, a 20-year-old UK student who founded Vocify.ai, claims that several record companies have already contacted him wanting to make models of their own artists for demo tracks, "as drafts before the full recording process".

As MusicBusiness rightly pointed out, "major record companies hate AI voice-cloning platforms that don't pay".

I myself have had some very interesting personal experiences on the subject. A demo track of "Underground" was posted on a Discord server dedicated to vocaloids and synthesized vocals. The track was deleted less than 24 hours later by the moderator, who made a point of publicly censoring me on the open channel, stating that he didn't accept what he called "unethical" methods. I tried to explain that it was an experimental track, with no commercial purpose; that it was made as a tribute; that I had also sent the link directly to the band on their official Metallica Instagram, and so on. But the mere act of replying got me summarily kicked off the server.

I honestly believe that merely using tools like Voicify.ai and Kits.ai is not an unethical activity when the aim is to test the potential of a new technology. And the track "Underground" worked exactly as an experiment. It taught me that AI-cloned vocals need a lot of filters on the daw to mask defects derived from the cloning process. It served to show that the quantity of examples provided during the training of the AI is essential for improving the quality of the model. It served to show that training the model is better with vocals recorded in mono than with vocals in stereo; better with vocals recorded dry than recorded with reverb; and so on.

Moreover, I'm particularly happy with the AI-generated commercial voices I already use with Synthesizer V software, so I have no intention of replacing them with cloned voices of famous singers.

Hopefully, this small initiative will at least serve to dispel a little of the immense prejudice that has arisen around a technology that will soon become commonplace in the music industry. Nowadays, no one remembers all the controversy caused by the emergence of radio, when record company managers boasted that no one would buy albums anymore. It's the same story every time a new technology emerges.

Hope you enjoy the track.

TECH TRIVIA
* The guitar solos were assembled from multiple pieces of isolated audios of Kirk Hammett's solos available on YT.

* The rhythm guitars and the bass are Kontakt libraries. 

* The original vocals were created in Synthesizer V with NineZero voicebank. The NineZero's isolated audio was then converted into James Hetfield's vocals.

Underground - A Tribute to Metallica's Kill'Em All Phase

COAL FOX
Music by Overdrive & Orbital Heartbeat

Check out Coal Fox promo video on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C20FA9krX8t/

Coal Fox and Bunny Runner are tracks composed in collab with Orbital Heartbeat and are part of his album MIDNIGHT SHIFTER. Check out:
https://soundcloud.com/ray-christmas/sets/midnight-shifter

Also check out the amazing work of Orbital Heatbeat on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/ray-christmas

Hope you enjoy the track.

Coal Fox (ft Orbital Heartbeat)

MONOSYLLABIC MANZITTI
Music by Overdrive

Check out the IG promo video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1bBwXxxpKd/

The main influence for this experimental song is the work of Hoyt Curtin and his best-known score, the opening and closing themes of the 1960s cartoon Jonny Quest, aired by Hanna-Barbera Studios (my all-time favorite cartoon).

The promo video is an edited version of the short film "Jazz'in" (2011), an extraordinary work by Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image & Citia. Check out the original video on the Gobelins Paris YT channel:

https://youtu.be/PAzmB0C7_JA

Hope you enjoy.

Monosyllabic Manzitti

STEP UP
Music by Overdrive & A Girl From Wonder

Check out the IG promo videos:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2aPWCQrkwm/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2aQsdUMiwA/

This is my reinterpretation of the amazing song "Step Up", written by the talented Brittany Hughey aka A Girl From Wonder. 

The first time I heard "Step Up", I was struck by the power of the song.  The apparent simplicity of its structure (just voice and acoustic guitar) hid the power of a typical 70s rock song.

"Step Up" not only gave me the pleasure of working with Brittanny, but also allowed me to use for the first time the Kontakt library that emulates the legendary Hammond B-3X synthesizer. The synth solo in the middle of the song certainly helped to create the musical atmosphere of the 70s.

In addition, the song allowed me to use a new audio separation technology. Brittany's momentary impossibility to provide the track's stems led me to explore the world of websites focused on audio track separation (Moises, Fadr, Lalal.ai etc). I was then able to try out Orion, Lalal.ai's next-generation AI model. In my opinion, Orion has achieved something that was unthinkable until recently -- surpassing Moises' spectacular stem separation AI model. There are still the familiar phantom noises typical of today's models, but they're much less obvious, and I think we're fast approaching a time when the stems separated by these tools will be of absolutely impeccable quality.

Check out the original version of "Step Up":
https://soundcloud.com/user-712848711/step-up

Also check out A Girl From Wonder's fantastic material on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/user-712848711

Hope you enjoy the track.

Step Up (ft A Girl From Wonder)

BUNNY RUNNER
Music by Overdrive & Orbital Heartbeat

Check out the IG promo video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3ALdA_N5Bv/

Bunny Runner (ft Orbital Heartbeat)

A SONG FOR YOU
Original acoustic song by Patrick Edgington
Musical arrangement by Overdrive

This is a musical arrangement created especially for the acoustic track "A Song For You", an original country song by Patrick Edgington aka Pat E.

Check out the amazing original version:
https://soundcloud.com/pat-e/a-song-for-you

I couldn't recommend enough Pat's brilliant work, which can be heard on his Soundcloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/pat-e

Hope you enjoy the track.

A Song For You (ft Pat E)

GUARDIANES DEL BOSQUE ENCANTADO
Music by Noela Sabba & Overdrive

Check out the promo videos on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3edrbmgvUB/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3efkRqg2iT/

This is my reinterpretation of the original song "Guardianes Del Bosque Encantado", written and performed by the talented singer-songwriter Noela Sabba. The song incorporates several elements of mystical folklore and is a perfect example of the New Age genre.

The New Age movement had a strong influence on my musical education from the mid-1980s onwards, mainly because of its magnificent loop-structured songs, one of my favorite musical techniques. 

My first contact with New Age came from the works of Irish singer-songwriter Enya and had a profound impact on my appreciation of female vocals and Celtic music. The chord progressions of songs like Caribbean Blue and Orinoco Flow became deeply ingrained in my songwriting process and to this day I'm a big fan of songs that work like loops, in which layers of complexity are added one after the other on top of a simple structure that repeats endlessly in the background. If you've just arrived on this planet and have never heard of Enya, here's a good example of this phenomenal singer's work:
https://youtu.be/Jl8iYAo90pE

Some time later, I discovered the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt, who drew my attention to the fantastic musical structures of the Middle East and to world music in general. She further reinforced my passion for loop-structured songs and is my favorite artist of the New Age movement, for her impressive compositional genius, mixing medieval instruments with synthesizers and making violins converse with guitar solos. Her song Bonny Swans still gives me goosebumps, even 30 years after I first heard it. Check out this masterpiece:
https://youtu.be/X1WakK6Axmc

And finally, this was the time when I came across the music of Lisa Gerrard, formerly member of the band Dead Can Dance and known for her unmistakable vocals thanks to the unique technique she created called glossolalia, in which there are no lyrics, just phonemes chosen for their musicality. Once again, the looped composition technique is used masterfully in most of her songs -- as, for example, in "Cantara":
https://youtu.be/wZMloK5W1W8?t=127

The looped structure of "Guardianes Del Bosque Encantado" immediately caught my attention and I decided to revisit my New Age origins in this extremely pleasant collab.

Noela's music was also responsible for a radical change in my process of creating promo videos for Instagram. AI-generated videos never appealed to me, because the images morphed endlessly and that spoiled the experience, in my opinion. However, the lack of realistically portrayed fairies on stock footage websites forced me to try Runway Gen-2, an AI tool that generates videos with pretty decent results. AI-generated footage of realistic fairies was alternated with footage of real forests to create a unique atmosphere. Check out the promo videos on Instagram (links at the beginning of this text).

Also, check out the original version of "Guardianes Del Bosque Encantado":
https://soundcloud.com/noelia-ramirez-sebastian/noela-sabba-guardianes-del

Noela Sabba's incredible work is well worth checking out too:
https://soundcloud.com/noelia-ramirez-sebastian

The cover art is inspired by the work "Haunting Faerie", created by graphic artist William Bailey with Midjourney. The impressive design is very reminiscent of the work of Dave McKean, the famous graphic artist responsible for the amazing Sandman covers. Check out this and other works by William Bailey on his Redbubble page:
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/125854589

The banner art is an illustration from the book Faeries, by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, available on Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/FAERIES-Twenty-Fifth-Anniversary-BRIAN-FROUD/dp/B009AJAXNG/

Hope you enjoy the song.

Guardianes del Bosque Encantado (ft Noela Sabba)

PULSE
Music by Overdrive & Adrianbluh
Synth Guitar by Chris Hardisty

Check out the promo video on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4IM4AgrvmB/

This is my reinterpretation of the amazing song Pulse, Adrianbluh's original electro track.

The main theme is the symbiosis between technology and art. And it's no coincidence that the track itself is an example of this symbiosis -- the vocals are synthesized; the initial version of the lyrics was created by ChatGPT; the videos were generated by AI; and even the chorus itself, with voices repeating the word "pulse", is a tribute to Kraftwerk, the revolutionary band that changed the history of music with its electronic sound.

Check out the original version:
https://soundcloud.com/adrianbluh/pulse

It's also worth checking out Adrianbluh's incredible musical work available on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/adrianbluh

Adrian also has a great YouTube channel about synth setups:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgpTAZexVxGWPsFPl_w7y8A

Hope you enjoy the track.

Pulse (ft Adrianbluh)

TIME TO GET BUSINESS STRAIGHT
Original song by Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Rock'n roll reinterpretation by Overdrive

Syncopated vocals have become something of a rarity these days. Most singers prefer to create melodic lines that fit perfectly into the tempo of the song -- because it's much simpler, the vocals can be created in one go, on the same day, without too much effort. But every now and then a talented singer comes along who decides to break the tempo of their vocals in an absolutely original way. 

This is the case of soul singer Nicole Willis in the song "Time To Get Business Straight". 

The first time I heard this song, I was absolutely fascinated by the broken rhythm of her vocals. And the way the second part of the song repeated the first part made it clear that those vocals were far from improvised -- on the contrary, each intricate part was designed to be there, as if it were a mathematical structure.

Check out the original version:

https://youtu.be/5fYKRt6ZtJk

I extracted the vocals using Ultimate Vocal Remover and realized that the melodic line fit very well into rock songs. In fact, they were even the provisional vocals for the song "Rocket", before the amazing singer Sumi took over the microphone and did a brilliant job. But the idea of using Nicole's vocals remained and after the good response to the cyberpunk reinterpretation of "I'm Bored", I thought it would be interesting to attempt a rock'n roll reinterpretation of "Time to Get Business Straight".
 
Of course, I tried to get in touch with Nicole Willis during the process of creating the song and after the track was posted on Soundcloud. She currently lives in Finland and is still active as a singer in her sixties. Here's one of her most recent performances:

https://youtu.be/Q9AAF-QRQ5o

Her social networks, on the other hand, seem to be rarely accessed and I've had no success in contacting her. Damn, it would have been an unforgettable collab, I'm sure of it. 😄

Hope you enjoy my rock'n roll version of this soul music classic.

Time To Get Business Straight

FUCK OFF ALL THE WORLD
Music by Cyberfreq & Overdrive
Lyrics by Overdrive

Check out the IG promo videos:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C53nP-Wxyrf/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C57Qe3GNkFS/

It all started with a joke. In one of the conversations about the song, Kyle aka Cyberfreq said a swear word and offered a long string of apologies. I don't like swear words either, but out of pure mockery, I created a cover art with the provisional title of "Fuck Off All The World".

Well... It was supposed to be a provisional title, but it was bold and fun and provocative. And it would allow us to tackle controversial topics such as the old punk attitude, woke movement, pop culture addiction, consumerism and the new moralistic generation.

The main influence is certainly Fight Club, with all the anarchic philosophy that the movie and the book exude.

Cyberfreq is a highly talented musician from Liverpool with incredible ideas who taught me a lot about VRChat. I highly recommend a visit to her Soundcloud profile for her excellent material:
https://soundcloud.com/cybersponge94

Hope you enjoy the song.

Fuck Off All The World (ft Cyberfreq)

FLY ME TO THE MOON
Original song by Bart Howard
Musical arrangement by Overdrive
Vocals by Mary.JDG

A rockabilly / jazz version of Fly Me To The Moon, with the extraordinary vocals of Mary.JDG. 

Check out Mary's incredible work on her Soundcloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/mary-jlovemusic

Hope you enjoy the track.

Fly Me To The Moon (ft Mary.JDG)

CONTACT
e-mail: muzik.overdrive[at]gmail[dot]com 
Or DM in Soundcloud/Instagram

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