Polyatomic

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Web Name: Polyatomic

WebSite: http://polyatomic.mathan.ca

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Polyatomic

TuneCore and iTMS is STUPID Posted on June 23, 2016 by polyatomic Reply

I am NOT changing my art.  What ever happened to Apples Think Different campaign?  Seriously!

Terminal ターミナル July 1, 2016 Posted on June 19, 2016 by polyatomic Reply

Terminal ターミナル
The new album from Polyatomic
Available 07/01/2016
Pre-order today at BandCamp.
Other digital music stores coming soon!

ターミナル – Terminal The inside scoop Posted on May 9, 2016 by polyatomic Reply

As announced yesterday, Terminal is going Still havent set a date for release, but figure it will be in the next three months.

Terminal is a collection of songs written that go back as far as 2004 and up until April 2016.  It reflects the theme of travel, some current, some from years passed.

Lets talk about the tracks.

Terminal Nexus (2:30) (2014) This is the introductory piece to the album.  It was originally written for Drake Jensen as a remix of his cover of Beautiful Colours, originally written by Duran Duran.  This is really the intro to the 12in Expedition of Joy mix.  It is still one of the most epic things I have written, and I am very proud of the experience behind Beautiful Colours.  This was too good to pass up not releasing.  A video does exist for Beautiful Colours, by the way.

Concorde (4:00) (2015) This is my way of paying homage to one of the most beautiful planes ever developed and features samples from the last time it took off from New Yorks John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport.  I would have written this while travelling to and from Portland and at home.

The Altar (3:38) (2006)  Kind of a Depeche Mode inspired piece.  Despite the throbbing bass and beats, its one of those pieces that kind of chills me out while Im sitting in a lounge.

Intercontinental Shift (4:22) (2015) I invested in Ableton Live and a Push in 2014, figuring it was time to learn how to use it.  This was my first Ableton project. It is inspired by the following quote from Pet Shop Boys:

A flat, B flat, G minor 7th, C minor. That’s The Chord Change. You can’t go wrong with that. A guaranteed worldwide hit.

Okay, not quite in my world, but it is a great set of chords and quite uplifting.  It is the chord structure used in Being Boring and Its Alright.

This was probably the most challenging track on the album for a few reasons.

The first challenge: I used Native Instruments Molekular extensively on the track to get those micro edits and stutters.  One of the Molekular FX I used is randomized, meaning that every time I bounce the track the sound changes every time.  I have re-bounced this track at least 5 times to get the sound I was looking for.The second challenge: The mix presented is in a binaural format.  There is also a proper surround sound version created.  Mixing for binaural is one challenge, for surround is a completely different kettle of fish, and you get different aspects of the sound coming out.It is the albums most complex track with 33 elements playing at the same time, and probably the most demanding of CPU.Definitely listen to this song with a good pair of headphones.  Youll hear some really neat detail.

Why the name Intercontinental Shift?  Imagine flying through the air constantly between the east and west coast, dealing with security, customs and boarder patrol, time zone changes, retinal scans, fingerprint scans, and vast amounts of data being transferred about me as I travel, all while maintaining a chipper attitude.  Thats the theme of the song.

787 (3:42) (2015) Another song about a beautiful and fuel efficient airplane with graceful swooped up wings, as it slices through the sky flying between Vancouver and Toronto, Toronto and Tokyo, and the multiple times Ive taken the -8 and -9 variants.  Probably my most favourite plane to fly on these days.

This was the third of the four tracks written on a plane.  It was started as Scott and I were flying to Tokyo.

8:00pm (4:08) (2004) The oldest of all the tracks on the album.  Inspired by Pink Floyds High Hopes from The Division Bell, which is a fantastic album in my top 100 albums of all time. Trance.

Reginald Letting Go (4:12) (2007) I wrote this going to Mexico for the first time, for a big party put on by the company I work for.  It was inspired by visions of Elton John playing piano in one of his fabulous outfits, just around the time he came out of the closet, hence the letting go part.  Anyone who knows Elton, knows what his original first name was.

Okay disclosure time This song was written fully using Apple Loops which are royalty free.  Its probably the laziest I was, and it was around the time I put Polyatomic on hiatus for 7 years.  Other than this song, all of the songs I wrote on this album are genuine programming jobs by me.  I played and programmed the notes, but not on this track.  It was like playing musical Lego. Pre-formed blocks ready for you to use, leave it up to your imagination to see what you come up with.

That said, I learned a valuable lesson about being authentic and true to your art form, and not being complacent.  This album did push my limits, and I had people behind me pushing me.  Going from Reginald Letting Go to a difficult track like Intercontinental Shift or Terminal Nexus/Beautiful Colours shows how far Ive come as an artist, and where I want to go as an artist.

Still, I really like the sounds and how I arranged Reginald Letting Go.  Its a fantastic track and one I really like, hence the placement on Terminal.

Altitude (7:09) (2015) The second longest track on the album and the second track on the album written on a plane.  I actually wrote this on a red eye from Vancouver to Toronto when I couldnt sleep, in an Air Canada studio pod.  I was fortunate enough to get the single seat so I could spread everything out.  It is totally about being a business traveller, sitting on a plane, enjoying the service, looking out the window, looking forward to being home.  This track takes me back to early 90s trance.  It is mixed a little louder with deeper bass.  This may have also been the first track that I used Native Instruments Replika which is an amazing delay/diffusion effect.  I adore this track.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (5:30) (2016) The last track to be written and last to be written on a plane, specifically an A330 from Vancouver to Toronto.  This sums up the album and the past year of travel.  It features Stutter Edit and BreakTweaker.  Not my first track to feature Izotope/bts StutterEdit, but definitely the first to feature BreakTweaker which is AMAZING.  I cant wait to mix it with NI Molekular for some amazing beats.  I also adore this track.  Like Altitude, it takes me back to early 90s trance but updated.  You can hear the influence bt has had on me.

Terminal Nexus (Polyatomics Expedition of Joy Mix) (7:34) (2014) Longest track on the album. Oh how I wish you could hear the lyrics that were for this track.  For the record, it sounds nothing like the original Beautiful Colours but it works amazingly.  This was one of the most epic things I have written, and even to this day Im amazed it came out of my fingers.

Terminal Nexus (Dislexias Chill Mix) (4:24) (2014) Thanks to Dyslexia for the remix!  I really like what he did with Terminal Nexus, truly adding to the chilled vibe of some of the tracks on this album.  This mix reminds me of something that Art of Noise would do.  Not a bad comparison, and I love the stutter effects.

So there you have it, the history, inspiration and stories behind the making of Terminal.

ターミナル Terminal Arriving soon Posted on May 7, 2016 by polyatomic Reply

All tracks written, produced, engineered and programmed by Iain Bennett, except for:
1, 10 written by Bennett/Hutchings/Jensen, engineered by Bennett/Hutchings, executive producer Myke Hutchings
11 written Bennett/Hutchings/Jensen/Carroll, mixed and engineered by Dislexia.

Tracks 3, 6, 7 recorded at Thorncliffe
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 recorded at Solarium and various Boeing 787s, 777s; Airbus A319s, A320s, A321s and A330s flying between Toronto, Vancouver, Portland, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila and Dallas.

Polyatomic is Iain Bennett
Design by TBD

polyatomic.mathan.ca
facebook.com/polyatomicproject
soundcloud.com/polyatomic

Thanks and much respect to Scott, Grace, Jeff, Colin.
Huge thanks to Myke Hutchings, Drake Jensen and Michael Morin.
Special thanks to Duran Duran, Air Canada and all of the flight attendants, pilots and ground staff who have kept us safe over the years.
Even bigger thanks to my mother and father without whom the music lessons and encouragement in technology would have never happened.

Equipment and software used in the making of this album Korg TritonLE, KronosX, Roland Aira TR-8, TB-3, System 1, Ableton Push, Push 2, Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol, Maschine, Sternberg UR44, Yamaha HS-5, Apple MacBook Pro Macbook Air, Logic Pro X, Propellerheads Reason, Native Instruments Komplete 10 Ultimate, Ableton Live, Isotope StutterEdit and BreakTweaker.

Almost a year later Posted on April 26, 2016 by polyatomic Reply

Almost a year later and, well, the new album is pretty much complete.  Fix a few glitches, final mastering and mix down.

In the past year, I

Wrote three songs on airplanes, specifically a 777, 787 and most recently an A319 and A320 in one day between Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver.Visited Asia for the first time, three trips.  This has definitely been the year of Asia.Invested in the Electronic Opus Kickstarter which got me copies of both BreakTweaker and StutterEdit.  Both of these are amazing tools that can certainly be overused.I also have the two bt sample discs Breaks from the NuSkool and Twisted Textures.  Ive used NuSkool on the new album hidden behind some fun StutterEdits so you have absolutely no idea what beat I used.The new album will be named ターミナル (Terminal).Tracks on the album to date, and not in orderTerminal NexusConcordeThe AltarIntercontinental Shift8:00pm787Reginald Letting GoAltitudePlanes, Trains and AutomobilesTerminal Nexus (Polyatomics 12 Expedition of Joy)

Polyatomic can be found in a few places online

FacebookSoundcloudApple Music

Album #2 Update Posted on May 9, 2015 by polyatomic Reply

Surprisingly, Ive come to the realization that I have 7 tracks completed for the next album. Its going to be similar to Solarium in that 3 of the tracks are remastered versions of tracks already released, and so far 4 new tracks (although 1 of those is a remix).

The album has more of a Future House and Trance feel to it. I was thinking its sounding darker, but theres really only one track that is dark. The rest are pretty uplifting and rave danceable. Travel seems to be the theme given Ive been doing and will be doing a lot more.

The joy of being an independent artist is that, I have no timeline or deadline for the album.  While it would be fun to hit September 1st like Solarium (two albums one year after the other!), Im going to be too busy in Japan and Hong Kong at the end of August into September, and travelling heaps in between. So Id rather be creative when I have my peaks and chill when Im not feeling as creative.

I commented to Dislexia the other day that while I love the sounds I have on my laptop, sometimes I really want to dive into using my Kronos, use my TR-8, etcI wish I could carry my studio with me on my travels so I can just doink and play with them.

Terminal Nexus (Polyatomics 12inch Expedition Of Joy Mix) Posted on May 3, 2015 by polyatomic Reply

And here is the Terminal Nexus, Polyatomics 12inch Expedition Of Joy Mix.

This track has an interesting history.  Early 2014, I was asked if I would be interested in doing a remix of a track for the upcoming album by Drake Jensen, Retro.  The song was a going to be a Duran Duran of a song that was not quite released by the band but was on a fan made b-side compilation.

Absolutely!  It daunted me, but the person who approached me thought I would do a bang up job.  What did I have to lose?

Around Mid 2014 I received the vocal stems and a demo.  I listened to that track for days, obsessing over details within the track.  My vision turn it into a 90s dance anthem that would work during, say, a Pride event.

It took a while for everything to click for the  remix.  I found chords that worked using my Korg Kronos X.  I wanted to use the new Roland SH-101 plug-out that was made available for the Roland System 1.  I had a vision.

Interesting, the first version that I started writing sounded way too dark.  I had these Blade Runner-like sounds all over the track that did not fit in with the track.  More on this later.

I had a sketch, and then I was stuck for sounds. What do I use, how do I build this up to be an epic dance track from being country and rock?

Scott and our friend Nico listened asI sat in the living room, laptop hooked up to our sound system throwing sounds at the track.  It started to sound amazing!  I had an epiphany around how sounds can be combined together and I had the basis for the track.

I then had to figure out, how do I take the vocals from 105-106 bpm to 125 bpm?  Not as hard as it sounds with Logic Pro X, definitely meticulous.

About a month or two later, I went up to Ottawa to present the remix.  Drake and his partner Michael had an idea that I was doing a remix, but they werent 100% sure.  I said, Hey, I have a track for you to listen to that I want your opinion on.

They were gobsmacked as I was shaking, hoping for their approval.  That first remix, in full, comprises the bulk of the Polyatomics 12inch Expedition Of Joy Mix.  It was certainly a  more accessible mix.

But what about this 7 minute plus piece of music?  Remember those Blade Runner-like sounds I mentioned?  I saw down and thought, Hey, I really want to kick this up, make it a stomper.

Enter what would have been a 2 to 3-minute intro to the 12in mix that really takes you on a journey.  An epic journey, expedition of joy as I call it.

The track was not released on Retro, mainly because we were asked not to release any version of the track.  Its possible that Duran Duran could release the track in the future.  Fair enough and I can appreciate that.

Still, this is a piece of music that needed to be released in some way as its too good to be kept locked down.  Terminal Nexus is the result.

I travel a lot between Toronto, Portland and Dallas for work over the past 4 years.  My next album is definitely themed around travel and specifically air travel.  You can hear a story in Terminal Nexus if you listen carefully.

I know Drake and the team would have loved to release the track in question.  I would have loved to released the remix I did.  It would have been epic for all of us.  Who knows, maybe in the future we can release it.  Maybe Ill get a chance to remix the track for Duran Duran that would be a dream.

It was an honour to work on this project the experience has been worth it.

Beautiful Colours > Terminal Nexus Posted on May 1, 2015 by polyatomic Reply

Sadly, Beautiful Colours, the remix I did for a well known Canadian country artist, is sadly not going to be released due to request from the original band Duran Duran.  Given I know Roger Taylor would love to see this track released, its not surprising.

So if anyone from Duran Duran or their management is seeing this, I would love to remix Beautiful Colours if you do release it in the future!

In the meantime, Terminal Nexus, a demo snippet I released, is the beginning of the 8 minute plus remix of Beautiful Colours.  Look for the full Expedition of Joy Remix of Terminal Nexus coming soon!

Solarium Megamix! Posted on May 1, 2015 by polyatomic Reply

DJ Warped Bubba just sent me his live megamix interpretation of Solarium.

Check it out!

http://mixlr.com/rikk-harris/showreel/polyatomic11/

Three months later Posted on December 8, 2014 by polyatomic Reply

Has it been three months since the release of Solarium?  Actually, longer at this point.  And we have not been idle here in Solarium-land.

Something Beautiful, Colourful

The first bit of news is something I have been alluding to for a long time on Facebook and its been one of the worst-kept secrets.  Several DJ friends of mine have known this for a while, its something that I am very proud of.

During the summer and shortly after Solarium was released, I was asked to do my first remix and its coming out shortly.  Lets just say its not every day that you get writing credits along with Taylor/Taylor/Taylor/Rhodes/Lebon Yes, the original members of Duran Duran.

Lets just say, when I said to the artist I did the remix for, Ive got a track that I need your opinion on and they dont recognize that its their track just remixed, you know you did a great job.  Thats all I can say for now.

I did one mix of the track in question, and planned on using a variant for the intro to the new album.  Of course when you do that and make that intro piece a kick ass piece of music, you have to incorporate that into a much bigger mix.  So Im doing both an album mix and a classic 12 inch mix.

Travels

Work has me on a bit of a non-stop travel schedule for the next few weeks having been to Dallas last week, Portland  after this week and then Christmas holidays between Vancouver, Victoria and Port Alberni BC.

In Dallas I had the mobile studio with me which includes my laptop, Logic Pro X, Ableton Live 9, Native Instruments Komplete 9 Ultimate and my MicroKorg 25.  Theres nothing like getting into bed with everything and starting writing.  Sadly or fortunately in the area Im staying in, there isnt much to do.  Ive done this a few times in Dallas, in fact Sunset was mostly completed in Dallas at the Marriott DFW.  This time, the first track of the new album was completed at the Westin DFW and Terminal E of DFW.

For the Portland/Vancouver/Victoria/Portland jaunt I will actually be taking my Ableton Push to finally learn the beast.  Ive always looked at it as something for playing live, but I really do need to learn how to use it as it has a bunch of great sounds and will kick up my writing to the next level.

Album #2

The as yet untitled album number 2 already has 5 tracks completed.  Im looking to complete 6 or 7 more tracks in my own time frame.  I have no idea when Im going to complete them as I have no specific time frame.

The concept for the album is simple.  Involving friends.  I already have the artwork completed and I am looking to collaborate with people on the album.  So if youre interested in making a contribution, let me know.

That said, I have a new track uploaded to Soundcloud called Terminal Nexus a 128 bpm track which represents the direction in which I want to go with the next album.  This will be the first track on the album.  Special thanks to Myke Hutchings, Michael Morin and Drake Jensen for the inspiration behind Terminal Nexus.  You can hear it here:

vBlogs

I am long overdue for a vBlog.  Unfortunately the vBlogs I created during the remix project didnt turn out properly so I am going to have to re-do them.  Doh!

Thats it for now!

Recent Posts TuneCore and iTMS is STUPID Terminal ターミナル July 1, 2016 ターミナル – Terminal The inside scoop ターミナル Terminal Arriving soon Almost a year later Archives June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 May 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 Categories Uncategorized

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