In efforts of trying to better understand song story telling and song arrangement I've broken down one of my favorite Odesza tracks.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qrnw2qj0jork44/Odesza%20Bloom%20Arrangement%20Project.zip?dl=0 I love doing this because I feel like everytime I do this I walk away with that much more of an intuitive understanding of arrangement. On the flipside, I also hate it because I've not only listened to the track so many times but followed each element through the track, the result is a little less magic when I hear the song.
All in all - I've noticed Odesza does a great job arranging, I think that's one of the reasons they are so mainstream, their arrangements "make sense" and feel right. They do a good job clarifying when you as a listener can expect something to happen.
They also do a great job of raising raising the energy during the chorus, in this track a body synth comes in (If anyone can guess what that is btw please do tell me how you think they made it). They have a vocal that runs only during the chorus, that vocal is higher in pitch than the other vocals.
The chord progression is really, really simple, that's one reason I love this track, they do a great job of keeping you interested in simple chords. Less is more, yet it's still complex with detail.
It sounds like they sampled some sort of strings as it's heard in some of the transitional sections and emphasized in the 4th chorus.
One note, they introduce a new lead (Marimba/Twinkle) sounds towards the end of the song. I can hear SoundToys crystallizer being used with that twinkle sound (echo reverse setting) I guess it keeps the mood interesting while retaining original sounds/progressions.
Enjoy! If anyone has done something similar please share your maps.
