When the Beauty is All that Remains

by Martin Ball

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

22

releases

Get all 22 Martin Ball releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of When the Beauty is All that Remains, The Fate of Miraanni - The Soundtrack, The Pure Energy of Unconditional Love, 12 Strings, When Nature Calls, In Twilight Times, Temples of Light, Orobai's Vision - The Soundtrack, and 14 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$153.58 USD or more (20% OFF)

1.	Beyond 04:14	info	buy track
2.	Bloom 05:32	info	buy track
3.	Into the Reflective Expanse 04:57	info	buy track
4.	Saturated Sky 04:02	info	buy track
5.	The Peak Experience 04:48	info	buy track
6.	Labyrinthian Sensorium 04:40	info	buy track
7.	Oropendola's Flight 05:17	info	buy track
8.	The Archaeology of an Idea 04:16	info	buy track
9.	An Everlasting Fire Burns Within 04:51	info	buy track
10.	Fractured 04:57	info	buy track
11.	Sugar Coat 04:36	info	buy track
12.	When the Beauty is All that Remains 04:52	info	buy track

about

As with my last couple of albums (The Pure Energy of Unconditional Love and The Fate of Miraanni - The Soundtrack), I'm continuing to explore the "Alchemy" sound library embedded within Logic. I didn't know what kinds of songs I was going to create before getting started, but quickly decided that this album would fall more on the alternative rock/synth side of things as the first few songs developed. There are no ambient tracks here! Lots of texture, some gritty beats and sounds, and full embrace of synths. Also, with the addition of the Raum reverb plug-in, which I'm really enjoying and sounds really amazing with cellos, violins, and strings in general, I liked the idea of letting the strings take on many of the lead voices in these tracks.

Most of the songs feature my 12-string guitar. A few of the songs have a more straight-up alternative rock sound with guitar, bass, drums, and some synths/strings, such as Beyond, Saturated Sky, An Everlasting Fire Burns Within, were the 12-string forms the basis for the songs. In others, I've worked in the 12-string after the more synth portions of the songs were settled.

Way back in the day, I always gravitated toward the bass style of The Cure and New Order, and have used synth bass liberally in their styles in these tracks. For me, it's almost the epitome of the 80's alternative rock sound. Crank up the tone, add in some phaser and some delay, and there ya go!

While the ostensible reason for creating this album was to create new music to accompany my upcoming audiobook, "5-MeO-DMT Integration," I'm not really approaching these songs as such and just letting my creativity take me wherever it wants to go. I'd imagined making something with a bit more ambient sounds before I started, but the "alternative" vibe was too strong to resist embracing fully and just going for it.

I hope you enjoy these songs and their many-layered textures and how the strings bring in a beautiful and uplifting element to many of the tracks. These songs swing big and soar (at least, in my opinion). In the streaming era, many artists have opted for short songs that get right to it, with some releasing songs that are under 1.5 minutes! Not me! Something I learned from The Cure, Dead Can Dance, and Peter Gabriel was that you let your songs build and simmer. Musically, I generally think in epic terms, and these songs show it.

credits

released April 16, 2024

All songs composed and performed by Martin Ball. Instruments on this album include 12 string guitar (tuned to DADGAD), 6 string guitar (tuned to EBF#BAE), mandolin, flute, and lots of synth sounds.

license

about

Martin Ball Ashland, Oregon

Independent multi-instrumentalist genre-blending musician from Ashland, Oregon.

To become a supporter, join me at Patreon at www.patreon.com/martinwball