ORBITAL - Halcyon and On and On - How Was It Made? Ep 6

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In this video I try to uncover the secrets of the stellar 'Halcyon and On and On' by the mighty Orbital and featuring the vocals of Kirsty Hawkshaw from Opus III.

[Hands]

I listened to this song when I was 16 years old every night when I went to sleep for a long time! Even now, the mix is just impeccable.

[AnthonyPatterson-qpbx]

Love my dance music and these explanations are exquisite! Keep them coming.

[johnoudin]

The live version where the guy yells "Play some fucking Bon Jovi" is everything.

[AaronAlso]

It really is that last bit of vocal that ties the whole track together.

[davidd]

I was already blown away by how this track was made but I hadn't even realised those harmonies in the background where from Yes' 'Leave It', They mesh so perfectly with the female vocals

[nedmsuperleggera]

Grew up hearing Yes - Leave it in the car when my dad was driving. It absolutely blew my mind that appeared as a sample after all these years of listening to Halcyon. Awesome finds and effort! Thanks!

[IrrationalRecreation]

Another absolutely sterling effort with a little assist from the venerable Paul H. no less. Very well timed for the Orbital *"30 Something"* release today (Friday 29th).

[jakobkofod]

You are so observative and unbothoered by the imperfections in your own mix. It's really great to see how you deal with these problems. Hats off!

[JonMichaelDeShazer]

The drums in this track are sampled breaks and layered on each other. One sample is from Hot Pants by Bobby Byrd and the other is We Dub to Scratch (Be Bop Scratch Mix) by the Imperial Brothers.

I spent a day or so doing this very song about a month ago. One of my all time favorites from my all-time favorite band. Great work!

[JP-dvrf]

I couldn't produce a track if my life depended on it but I absolutely love these videos! I can't wait to see your future uploads, I appreciate all of the work you put into these videos.

[jimsebastiansharman]

@GyuBeats these videos of yours are blowing my into tracks I grew up with and love is one of them. And I'm forwarding your channel link to all my music-loving friends. Including a group you might know, a couple of wonderful guys from Göteborg called Carbon Based Lifeforms. So, here's a challenge – perhaps their best-know track is "Photosynthesis", which contains a brilliant sample from Silent Running, arguably followed by "Hydroponic Garden" with some lovely vocal sampling. I'd love to see you deconstruct/reconstruct those!! Go 'ed, gizzit! 😁

[Fergality]

So I'm not sure if someone commented this yet, but after doing a little more digging, the intro sound you're looking for on the Korg Wavestation is DebussyOnWheels (RAM1 49), then under Patch (RAM1 DreamSq). Then play F# and B.

[SCAPEGOAT]

I love these videos. You get every track absolutely bang on. This is my 3rd and you absolutely nail it every time. I was expecting it to be so good. I knew it would be after your 1st video I watched. Hats off to you mate. You're an absolute legend.

[coldice]

Absolute masterpiece of music. Always knew it was great but never realized how complex it is.

[IanMcCausland]

Love that MR Sir Paul is so forth coming! So cool that you connected with him

[RichardStevens]

Halcyon and On and On is my favourite tune of all time - thank you so much for diving into this awesome track. Keep up the good work your videos are excellent.

[matt_one]

Recently subscribed and "How Was It Made" has become my favorite series on YT!

[fantasticplastic]

As soon as any one plays this all I think about is the Film Hackers!

[GyuBeats]

Consider supporting me by joining my Patreon where you can get access to the samples I create for this series, an exclusive discord channel and more exclusive content - patreon.com/gyubeats

[dalek]

Listening through there is one thing you appear to have missed, there seems to be some bassy toms on the drums.

It's not so noticeable when bass is going but when the bass drops out your mix sounds thinner.