New Ambience: Lady of the Wood

A mysterious presence inhabits these woods. Halloween 2025. (Patreon patrons receive 4 additional versions of this track)

Greetings Patrons,

Happy almost Halloween 2025!

I wanted to do a classic spirit-in-a-barren-wood that was kind of 'beyond good and evil'. You're not being hunted (per se), but you're also not sticking around to see if this slow-moving, luminescent being is going to hand out elven gifts to your fellowship.

One of the key sound design elements here is the subtle swishing of this ladies robes. I didn't want to build the track around it, but it's there, subtly in the background.

One of my all-time favorite films (as long term patrons are no doubt tired of me banging on about!) is Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film "Throne of Blood". It's basically a re-telling of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (sorry, "The Scottish Play" for you theater people), set in Feudal Japan. The Lady Macbeth character here is Lady Asaji, an equally sinister, ambitious person - but in Kurosawa's hand, inscrutable, and devastatingly creepy.

Kurosawa uses Lady Asaji's swishing robes masterfully in a scene where she fetches sake to give to the soldiers to make them pass out. You can watch that here at the 42:18 mark.

That being said, there is absolutely nothing about Lady of the Wood that is feudal Japanese in nature. (I explored that a bit with the track 'Yokai Forest'.) The music for this one makes it much more current. It's a more tension than atmosphere, and has a decent amount of propulsive rhythm and ostinato to almost make it a chase track. Drone synths, vocals, piano, live percussion, live guitar, and live violin added to some processed orchestral brass make this a modern hybrid score that could work across a number of genres - as long as there's some uneasiness!

Aside from the swishing kimono (which I made by stretching nylon tent-material over the back of a frame drum and scratching it with a wooden ruler). Real and synthesized wind, guttural raven squawks, dead leaves, branches and various ethereal 'spirit' sounds make up the ambience.

As this track is in Patreon sneak-peek mode, I've included the mixed version of this track (live on the site next week), as well as music-only, and ambience-only versions here. Additionally, I added 2 tracks without the footsteps/swishing. I hope you find these useful additions.

Thank you all, as always, for your continuing support.

Best,

Tim

https://tabletopaudio.com