Light Shade
Occupation
- Mike Oldfield - various instruments
Light Shade is an album by the British musician Mike Oldfield, released on two CDs. It was the first album that was released after the signing of the contract between Mike Oldfield and Mercury Records.
The album was released on 26 September 2005. The tracks on the two CDs, it was partly to new releases. The other tracks are alternative remixes from the soundtrack of his based on virtual reality computer games Tres Lunas and Maestro.
- 4.1 guitars
- 4.2 Piano
- 4.3 Keyboards
- 4.4 computer
- 4.5 Software plugins
Background
The album offers two music genres for two different moods. This division led Oldfield music on two separate independent CDs divide. The first nine titles as " Light" ( = light ) and are serene and sedate pieces. The second half is called " Shade " ( = shade) and transported a much darker feel. Many of the songs on the album are remixes and / or longer versions of the music from his computer games Tres Lunas and Maestro.
On his official website Oldfield wrote that in addition to the standard recording of the album a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album was produced. However, this was not published until 2014. Four tracks on the album were released in the U- MYX format, which allow fans to create their own mixes of this title.
On the album Oldfields preference for altered human voices appeared again, this time to produce in the form of Vocaloid, a virtual software synthesizer that enables it by speech synthesis, artificial singing, which is similar to that of a human voice. For the voice of " Miriam " was used, based on the voice of Miriam Stockley singer, had worked with Mike Oldfield in the past. The Vocaloid title " Surfing " should according to the Spanish website actually zm.nu the first single release of the album to be. In " Tears of an Angel" is heard " Miriam " with the software Cantor.
The title "First Steps" and "Ring Cape " were arranged by Robyn Smith. Christopher Deylen has a guest appearance in " Nightshade ". Oldfield retaliated with his guitar playing in " Morning Dew ", a title of the album day and night by Deylen 's ambient music project Schiller.
" Quicksilver " stands for the metal mercury, the name of the record label Mercury in the English language means the same thing. At Oldfields next album Music of the Spheres he repeats this item with the different title name " Musica Universalis ", which is translated in English for Universal Music.
The title " Blackbird" is named after a Oldfields motorcycles, a Honda CBR 1100 XX Blackbird.
The title "Romance" is a techno version of a fragment from the classical guitar piece with the same name from the 19th century.
Title list
Disc 1 ( Light)
Disc 2 ( Shade )
U- MYX CD -ROM titles
- " Quicksilver " (U - MYX version )
- " Our Father " (U - MYX version )
- " Slipstream " (U - MYX version )
- " Angelique " (U - MYX version )
Equipment
Guitars
- Fender Strat (Pink) 1963
- Paul Reed Smith Signature 1990
- Ramirez Classical 1974
- Fender Precision Bass 1964
Piano
- Steinway Grand 1928
Keyboards
- Roland
- Yamaha
Computer
- Mac G5 ( Logic 7 )
- PC (Windows XP Pro with FL Studio)
Software plugins
- Glare Soft: iDrum
- Linplug Albino 2
- Native Instruments: Absynth 3 / Altered States / FM7 / Morphology / reactor / Sounds of Polynesia / Wired
- ReFX: Vanguard
- Spectrasonics: Atmosphere / Stylus RMX
- Steinberg Groove Agent / Hypersonic / Kantos / Slayer / XPhrase
- Virtual Vocalist Software: Vocaloid / Cantor
Use in other media
Parts of Light and Shade were further used in the media. Examples include the title "Resolution " and " Slipstream ", which were used in the BBC series technology Click.