Creating A Dark Ambient Song (a documentary by Joseph Mlodik)

[@Noctilucant]

- Thanks for watching! It would mean a ton to me if you could give this video a LIKE/COMMENT and consider SUBSCRIBING to my channel, and SHARING it with your friends! Facebook, Tweet, Instagram post, they all work, and goddamn do I ever appreciate it! - If you’re interested in supporting this channel, consider purchasing some of my, Noctilucant, music through the bandcamp site: noctilucant.bandcamp.com - You can find t-shirts, cups, posters here: www.teepublic.com/user/noctilucant

[@vinniemestdagh2792]

LOVE IT ! 👌👌

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you sooooo much!!

[@CromCruachTheElderK]

Awesome! A very enjoyable, relatable and informative watch. Following your Spotify!

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks for checking it out! I hope you enjoy my tunes on Spotify, as well. Thank you!

[@handaliendrone]

Very good! Greetings to all dark ambient musicians!

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you

[@RodrigoPRS]

Was looking for a tutorial on how to do dakr ambient, stayed for the human element and the creative process description. Really liked it!

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you very much! Yes, I suppose many, many people have clicked on this thinking it was a workshop/tutorial kind of deal, but then find out its more just about me and my creative process. Either way though, I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed it!!

[@TheVisitor3]

Thanks for this man. I have been drawn to pads / atmo sounds since the early 90s. I just love creating mystical deep and dark soundscapes. You inspired me a lot. I recently bought Cubase Elements for 99€. Try the demo, I think it could help you create.

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks for checking it out. Yeah I'm probably going to try one of these DAWS very soon. It seems I've kinda reached the peak with just using the synthesizer. Plus I need to explore other avenues of creativity, too.

[@MM4F]

Super video mate.. kudos from Modern Music for Funerals. ❤️

[@therobbedsonofdan9774]

Hey brother glad to see how far you’ve come!! I personally love dark ambient, If ever I’m feeling down I’ll turn to your very first Inner Sanctum Vlog. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched it, it just gets me through. Thanks for being a great inspiration and continue making great content!!

[@Noctilucant]

My pleasure, bud, and its great to hear these little vids have gotten you through some tough times. Always got more coming too.

[@Sxcheschka]

Absolutely glorious, how you were describing your process or lackthereof for making a track, reminded me heavily of how I make abstract art. Been really wanting to get deeper into making dark ambient as well.

[@Noctilucant]

Happy to hear you enjoyed it, man, and if it inspires you to create dark ambient then that is even better!

[@joemlodik]

This was really awesome! I love the part with the cat, haha!

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks man!

[@argyreplanitia]

Very intersting!

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks!

[@kittavares4334]

Nice! Thanks for the video.

[@Noctilucant]

Kit Tavares My pleasure, sir!

[@totfosk]

Amazing music and video ❤

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you!

[@DarkManifestMusic]

Thanks for sharing this. We tortured souls find the the most interesting ways to express ourselves. Keep going.

[@Noctilucant]

I definitely agree. Thank you so much for watching! :)

[@arthur_goodnessache]

Thank you so much for this,Golden - i really really appreciate it, thanks man

[@Noctilucant]

arthur_ goodnessache Always a pleasure, bud. Great to hear you enjoyed it so much!

[@arthur_goodnessache]

@@Noctilucant i cant speak to Fl Studio but Ableton Live is my go to - i was lucky enough to get it as a present..One thing i never properly learnt in college (before i dropped out..) Is that the very,very large range tools for music production all with different styles/quirks pro's and con's might mean one in particular suites your workflow especially..some are a lot cheaper than others,too. Cant really get into music production whilst worrying about bills and stuff,its another example of "horses for courses" as it where..Fortunately,most daws and whatnot have trials/demos.I used to have an ancient version of Logic (5 maybe) on p.c,which i quite liked at the time - Trying to learn Cubase at my friends place was a nightmare though for me.The point i am trying to make is most production software with a legacy of fans is decent imho,but its cool just having a look at this or that now and again just in case it really works for you - Of course you could spend forever just checking trials ect,not very productive!

[@Noctilucant]

@@arthur_goodnessache Yeah sort of my problem too. I mean, yeah I could spend $400 to $500 on Ableton, and I'm sure its amazing, but it might be super hard to learn and I might not be eating dinner for a few weeks after that purchase, haha. Right now I'm probably just going to continue with my simple approach to all of this, because it works and because Audacity is free. Also, because I'm super broke pretty much always, haha.

[@arthur_goodnessache]

@@Noctilucant Its all a tools in the end,and you certainly work well with what you have..So thats cool.i just was reminded of an interview i read with Mount Shrine - Who said he probably wouldn't of pursued production if he never had found ableton - So,your on to something when you have what you need to make stuff happen basically! i have been recovering from a torn ligament in my arm so i am working on "Arm V.2.00" :) back at it slowly,i am terrible at finishing songs.Much respect

[@Noctilucant]

@@arthur_goodnessache Good luck with the arm repair. How's your tunes going? Have you released anything yet?

[@evanjames80]

This is excellent, great stuff!

[@Noctilucant]

evan james Aww, hell yeah, man! Thanks for checking it out!

[@brunotortorello8530]

Now we're talking

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks!

[@senhorlampada]

Dude... this is so awesome. We try to be dark and tortured, but dem kitties brighten up our souls 😍 A little hack I used in the past is putting the recorder in a pouch or sock or something like that to act as a pop filter Later I got some microphone foam and just snuck my phone (or my boss Micro BR) in it

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! We've got 3 kitties living with us, and yes, 100% they can make a shitty day great, haha. I'll have to try your little hack there too, sounds interesting. :)

[@senhorlampada]

​@@Noctilucant Just gotta be careful not to let the fabric (from the pouch, sock, glove, etc) not rustle in the mic and mess up your sound. In that case you could put a rubber band to hold it 😅 I never had that issue, but its good to be cautious Now i'm wondering if one could use a sponge cut thin as a mic foam replace 😵

[@Noctilucant]

@@senhorlampada Worth a shot.

[@TonyS-440]

I needed this today. Superbly done man! I was captivated to the end.

[@Noctilucant]

Oh, nice to hear that, Tony. Thanks so much for watching! Hope it helps to get the creative energy flowing.

[@brianreilly6545]

Nice sounds and a very well put together video 🙌🏻

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks a bunch for checking it out!

[@mc12358]

Came here for the synths, stayed for the kitty. My sister also has a gray tabby, and she's one of the sweetest cats in the world. She would also sell her humans into slavery in exchange for a pinch of catnip. Thanks for the video. I love behind the scenes type of stuff, it's very enlightening to watch you work. And yeah, screw the kid who made fun of you for humming Mega Man 2 at school, that kid is probably working at Waffle House now.

[@Noctilucant]

My pleasure, 100%, man. Thanks so much for watching and your kind words!

[@mellizoteta]

what an amazing project! videogames ost will always be an inspiration to create music and melodies in general. I cannot understand those who think that vg ost "are not real music".

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks for checking it out, Lucas!!

[@mellizoteta]

@@Noctilucant hope to see more of this in the future!

[@Noctilucant]

Definitely planning on it!

[@Noctilucant]

Also, forgot to reply to the video game part. I know what you mean. I used to record music directly from the TV back in the early 90's, before I was able to get my hands on VG soundtracks. People made fun of me, but I didn't care -- I loved the music and that was all that mattered to me. Fortunately, by the late 90's I was able to start buying soundtracks, although I wish I'd bought more since a lot are out of print and impossible to find these days.

[@mellizoteta]

oh, those were good days! i remember myself listening to the megaman x 5 and 6 ost in the psx over and over again. i know what you mean, and it was sad to suffer their ignorance about "music", until i prove them wrong with the guilty gear xx ost and yes, some soundtracks are true gems nowadays, like the silent hill 2 ost, and castlevania symphony of the night ost too.

[@eboranshard6220]

For those who like to stay up just a lil too late those who peek into the darkness the dark ambient music genera has been a interesting ride ! I first found this genre of music with the youtube channel Cryo Chamber they posted a mix titled "Songs for a Empty World " ! I must say since then I have been maybe a little too obsessed with this genre ! It has taken my writing to a entire new level and I find my self staying up later and later ! And that brings me to you all I can say is that what you have made is nothing short of fear inspiring ! This slow creep of absolute paranoia and decent into fear makes one actually feel really alive ! I really feel its up their with the giants of Cryo Chamber , Northumbria and Raptured World ! I recommend checking out Cryo Chamber as they have some of the most amazing Dark Ambient songs ! ^^ Amazing work ! Inspirational ! Thank you for making this documentary !

[@Noctilucant]

My pleasure man! It's really great to hear you enjoyed the documentary and that it could be inspirational to your own musical creations. Keep staying up late and letting the darkness in, too!

[@eboranshard6220]

@@Noctilucant Keep safe brother ! ^^ And thank you for the work !

[@dietervoser4425]

A well done and interesting documentary about this amazing dark ambient genre and its good to see that you enjoy and use the simple - but very effective way to create these agreable sounds ! Haste gut gemacht, Joseph !:-)

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you very much, Dieter!

[@filezmuzik8356]

"...Some People laugh at me, but I still listen to old video game soundtracks..." Finally, I found someone with the same feel.

[@Noctilucant]

Hahaha, yeah, the feels are real alright.

[@kalenbaker7901]

Great video! As a DIY musician, I sometimes struggle with lack of direction and inspiration, Always comforting to see other self-made artists go through the same creative ups and downs and having to figure out things on their own.

[@Noctilucant]

Thank you so much, man! Yeah this was a fun little documentary to make. Always intended other parts to it, but it just happened, unfortunately.

[@alainsellier7751]

Very Impressive! Thank you for sharing for composition process with us!

[@Noctilucant]

My pleasure, thanks so much for checking it out!

[@levpetrov7314]

Hi man!What your favourite movies?

[@synkrotron]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing :-)

[@Noctilucant]

synkrotron And thank you very much for checking it out. :)

[@clintvee]

Love the Juno series. I bought my Juno-G brand new for a whopping 750 quid 13 years ago. I was originally going to go for a some sort of Korg Music Station, but it arrived broken. Glad to be honest as I stumbled into the Roland stuff which I think is fantastic.

[@Noctilucant]

Yeah it's a really fun synthesizer. I've had a great deal of pleasure owning it these past several years.

[@avan912]

Ty for this

[@Noctilucant]

My Pleasure! Great to hear you enjoyed it!

[@vxvxvxv]

Holy Hell...I just realized I've been listening to you for a while. I saw NOCTILUCANT on your synth and went "Holy shit". I know him.

[@Noctilucant]

Haha, that's me! Thanks for watching/Listening!

[@Translucent73]

Excellent documentary all around. It must have taken you a goodly amount of time to put together the video aspect, but just wow on the whole thing. If I where you I would try voicing instead of texting as having to read text, I found myself having to pause the video too often so that I could fully watch the visual part which takes away from the total experience. Even so, a big thumbs up on this video. Also, I for one do like your voice additions on your dark ambient.

[@Noctilucant]

Translucent Thanks bud, that’s awesome! Yes, I must admit I wasn’t sure how the text on video would be received and quite honestly I had considered voicing it, but had a moment of weakness and self loathing near the end, and then just went for a simpler approach. In retrospect, I wish I would have voiced it since a friend of mine of is blind couldn’t enjoy it, and I didn’t consider that it might require a lot of pausing for those that might not fully understand English or read fast. Oh well, lesson learned. Either way, thanks for the kind words! Appreciate it a ton!

[@Translucent73]

@@Noctilucant Right on. With me, when I come to youtube for entertainment or whatever, I don't want to read anything because I just want to kick back and relax listening to and seeing things. It's like when I watch a movie made in a foreign language I much prefer that it gets dubbed in English as I hate having to read subtitles and missing much of the video components or stressing myself with the eyeballs going up down up down up down ad nauseam. It wasnt that big of a deal with your video because the whole thing was at a slow pace as is natural with ambient, but action movies omg. :-P

[@Noctilucant]

Definitely understand and can relate. When I was in my early 20s I watched a lot of Japanese and Korean cinema. I didn’t mind reading the subtitles but obviously you do miss a few things here n there. Anyway, I’ll definitely add my voice to future vids like this one.

[@carlostagnoli2704]

Great video! Thanks for sharing your creative process, it gives a lot of inspiration and desire to work. I just wanted to ask you one thing if possible: if I have not misunderstood you use the audacity effects also for your field recordings right? thank you very much! Un caro saluto dall'Italia! ;)

[@Noctilucant]

Correct. Yes, normal field recordings can be transformed into some very, very interesting things. See my video, "Minamalist Dark Ambient Created entirely from Field Recordings," for proof. :)

[@carlostagnoli2704]

@@Noctilucant thanx a lot! Of course I jump to watch your suggestion. I'm sure I'll learn something interesting as usual! Best, C.

[@maystra8775]

I feel you my man. Life goes the same way for me except I chose game development path. I feel like art (in any form) is a distraction from heavy thoughts and way to fulfill the desire to create, to realize fantasies in one form or another

[@Noctilucant]

Creating is definitely always a good thing, in less of course, you lose those vibes at some point, which I've more or less done at this point, haha.

[@DoomOkkultaNaglfar]

Beatiful! I envy your SH2 OST btw :P

[@MTweedC4]

nice

[@Noctilucant]

Thanks

[@nanocyde_artist]

I too am a musical alcoholic

[@Noctilucant]

It's the only way to be!

[@teddydog6229]

Wow ! I don't know how I missed this. Every dark ambient album worth a damn I own I always wonder 'How did they DO that ?'. Take an obvious example - Kammerheit. I'm almost sure he threw a sheet of corrugated metal across a parking lot and recorded it. Or Dark Matter by Lustmord. That is actually outer space sound which makes it essential. And any dark ambient composer who doesn't have and love their pussycat can quite frankly go f-ck themselves. I can't imagine them having anything to say worth hearing. I hope you had a bountiful Bandcamp Friday. I went pretty Melek Tha crazy. A triple album for seven bucks ? Yes please ! Loaded up on that Corona Barbieri fellow too. By now you know I am a modest man of precious few words but this weekend I broke 2500 albums. I don't know if that breaks some kind of record or puts me in the top 10 or top 20 of album hogs but I'm feeling pretty smug about it. I think it should earn me half a six pack of your absolute favorite lager or ale in the unlikely event we should ever meet. I don't know how that'll happen since I barely leave the house anymore - it's a cold and mean and ugly world out there yo ! I would have stocked up on more Noctilucant too but I've already got them all. And the guy isn't even a musician, can you believe it ? Loved this video. Especially the part about 'found sound'. Those details are what separate great dark ambient from blah dark ambient and now I see how you do it. I know I mentioned Daniel Menche to you before. That's kind of his whole thing but he edits and distorts it so it sounds musical in a very alien way. I've got about 70 of his albums on unruh2525@bandcamp if ye doubt ! I don't know if you gave a listen to Forest Of Bones but to come from practically a kid in Thailand and to be a debut no less is pretty remarkable. And the creature on the cover will give me nightmares. For now I just call it 'Rags'. Seems fitting. If you heard or bought it and think it deserves a shout out I hope you'll give him a shout out. If not he'll just have to claw his way to the top like Dan Fogelberg. If Bandcamp really knew what they were doing they would reward a creepy loner who bought more that 2500 ambient/avant garde albums with a Bandcamp pinwheel beanie. If an icy delicious bottle of beer or absinthe and a hookah of opium is off the table it's the least they could do. What is your adorable kitty's name ? Mine was Maggie. She was a beautiful calico who died in November at 14 years old. 😢 It's crazy but I still think I see her from time to time and then I think 'Oh..yeah..'. In fact that's a picture of her at the top of my BC page. She was a very VERY good girl ! Well this wasn't a rambling and random post was it ? Anyway this video was super informative and even inspiring. Just like the finest punk rock, I watched and thought 'Hell I can do that !'. Plus I'm still a little drunk from the tsunami of new music I bought last night. So where's my g-ddamn beanie ??!!

[@Noctilucant]

Haha, thanks for watching it bud! It was a huge project but I'm glad I saw it through and I'm pleased its continued to get views, inspire, and drive DA musicians forward, unlike most of my videos over the years, which just flatline and die after a few months, haha. I did pick up the Forest of Bones album, and I thought it was great! Maybe someday I'll do a video again where I talk about digital only Bandcamp releases I've bought. 2500 is definitely impressive, but I gotta tell you, I've seen users that have 5000 or even a 10,000 albums in their collection, so it'll probably be a minute before Bandcamp sends you a beer koozie, haha! Anyway, sorry to hear about that loss of your cat, its incredibly difficult. We had 3, but had to put one of them down a little over two years ago, but the other two are going strong at 16 (Jasper) and 17 (Jose) now! I know what you mean about hearing or seeing them.... its difficult but beautiful too. I think it just means they really touched you in a profoundly deep loving way. Anywho, thanks for the continued support, as always!!