Alan Parsons Project - I Robot (8x Slowed - Ambient)

This is the introduction to the opening title track of Alan Parson's Project's "I Robot" (1977), slowed down 8x the original speed while maintaining the original pitch. Slowing and expanding ambient music engineered by Alan Parsons reveals the incredible depth and nuance in his compositions and technical abilities. This version washes in as a sinuous weave of synthesized drones, ethereal keyboard notes and choral voices, and then recedes into a slow ostinato of bass notes. The retro imagery begins with a pan over the iconic "I Robot" (1977) album cover designed by Storm Thorgerson, and then blends into other classic Thorgerson covers from that era, all with a similar pop art/sci-fi/surrealist aesthetic, from Hawkwind's "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (1977) to Mike Rutherford's "Smallcreep's Day" (1980) and Black Sabbath's "Technical Ecstasy" (1976). I've scratched and flickered the imagery a bit with a film reel effect and oversaturated the colors to give a warm, nostalgic backdrop for this futuristic music from the past that looked ahead to a time that never came to pass...
Original Music:
Written and Performed by Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson, and The English Chorale.
Produced and Engineered by Alan Parsons
Executive Producer by Eric Woolfson
Orchestra and Choir Arranged and Conducted by Andrew Powell
Grains of Sand, Ambient Lands Video:
Sound Editing and Effects by Justin Shaw
Photo/Video Editing and Effects by Justin Shaw
Album Covers/Images in Order of Appearance:
"I Robot" by Storm Thorgerson for Hipgnosis
"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" by Storm Thorgerson for Hipgnosis
"Smallcreep's Day" by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell for Hipgnosis
"Technical Ecstasy" by Storm Thorgerson and George Hardie for Hipgnosis
Image of blurred lines by Fabian Jones on Unsplash (animated into "waves" by Justin Shaw)
#alanparsonsproject #slowed #albumcovers #slower #ambient #retrowave #albumcoverart #hipgnosis #ambientmusic #synthwave

[@thislife1]

I love everything about this // music & video.

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

Glad you like it! I've got more Alan Parsons on the way at some point...

[@Aleph6174]

Outstanding! I really think you are onto something here - intriguing, mesmerizing, artistic..

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

Thanks again! The intro to the original song features a lot of ambient nuances that come out quite nicely when slowed. Slow pans over Thorgerson's cover art is also a "slowed" way of experiencing his visual style from that era. "Mesmerizing" was the combined effect I was going for.

[@Aleph6174]

@@grainsofsandambientlands4226 This has got to be one of my favourite ambient pieces. Excellent for meditation and work. Another great Alan Parsons opening is the Sirius track on Eye In The Sky - I think it would work well as an ambient piece at reduced speed.

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

@@Aleph6174 Yes, Sirius is another classic Parsons intro and it's on my list!

[@terencekent615]

It has a certain Technical Ecstasy or Quark Strangeness & Charm, if you will. 😉

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

Ha... Yes, all apt descriptors!

[@terrybrown106]

What equipment did you use to get this effect of slowing it down and not having to worry about losing any sound quality? Usually, when using a digital recording, the sound begins to disintegrate. But this is so smooth sounding. I'm curious about how you did this.

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

Thanks for your interest. I use a combination of effects and plugins from Audacity. The PaulStretch app can be useful to slow things down but often the result requires further fine tuning with audio filters to smooth out any harsh elements that are brought to the fore in the process. I smooth out extreme hiss on the high end (usually slowed cymbal work/percussion) or low end rumbles that I find distracting or that overwhelm the ambiance. Each piece is different. I use Audacity and VideoPad to edit audio and video. Thanks again for your interest -- I don't get a look of questions on what happens behind the scenes. But if this is the Terry Brown of Rush production fame, I should be the one asking you for pointers!

[@terrybrown106]

@grainsofsandambientlands4226 wow. Thank you for the reply and honestly, you're the second person on the internet who thought I was Terry Brown with Rush. But unfortunately, I'm not. However, I'm wanting to get into electronic music and ambient music. I personally own 24 synthesizers and would like to learn more about music production and editing and writing and so forth.

[@grainsofsandambientlands4226]

@@terrybrown106 Ha... With a name like that, I had to ask! I'm glad you've taken interest in my channel and hope you explore it further. Honestly, I'm an amateur in both audio engineering and videography, but a few simple tools and programs can help you go a long way. I'm also working on my own ambient material in addition to the "slowed" tracks. I think the key is to have an innovative vision and then follow through with a lot of experimentation by publishing on your channel and monitoring the reaction. That said, you never know what will gain traction. I tend to just go with what inspires me, publish, and see what happens.