Well, this track has an interesting story.
Over a year ago, I started this track in my quest to imitate the "Chillstep" sound. It started great, it started as the closest I had ever gotten to that goal. The problem was that it soon devolved (or perhaps "evolved" would be the better term here, but I believed it to have devolved back then) to something that sounded a lot like my older stuff. I did not like this; I tried to "fix" it multiple times but every attempt failed. Finally, I just gave up and moved onto my next track (which I believe was probably "Envisage"). There was a melody in here though that I believed that I could not have created, however. I think that was another reason I abandoned it; the first part I created was a spectacular melody that followed that "Chillstep" sound that I was going for. I could never shake the feeling that I had heard the melody somewhere else. However, every attempt to track down the source failed (and a few friends told me that they were pretty much sure that it was my own work and that I was just imagining the fact that it came from somewhere else).
That melody stayed with me for awhile though. I played a short improvised Jazz-style solo with an orchestra (on the viola) in a concert where I decided to adapt that same melody and add some improvised variation on it. After that though, I ended up forgetting the melody. At the same time though, my quest for that "Chillstep" sound continued through the En/In series of songs ("Envisage", "Inspire", and "Enhance" for example) where I partially conceded the attempt to reach that "Chillstep" sound temporarily and instead decided to "freeze" my style to work on technical aspects of production. The En/In series ended a bit earlier than expected though when I produced "A Place Where Love" (this track also has a funny story that I should tell some time) as an accident. After that, I experienced a new surge in popularity (probably because the track had a familiar "Chillstep" sound to it). Around 3/4ths of a year after this track was started, I had finally reached that "Chillstep" sound for the first time. After that though, I realized that my music could still be good without being "Chillstep". It didn't need a genre. I spent almost a year pursuing that goal of a "Chillstep" sound; when I finally reached it, I discovered that it wasn't the magical thing that I once expected. My normal "style" was just as fine. To this date, I have only produced two tracks that I consider to be "Chillstep", these are my two most popular tracks, "Everseeking" and "A Place Where Love". Fun fact: "Everseeking" was made almost solely for the purpose of outdoing "A Place Where Love" - in production quality, in melodic content, in "Chillstep"-ishness, and in popularity.
But achieving my Holy Grail, "Chillstep", I stopped caring about that genre purity that I once cared about and my music might have taken a step backwards in the direction that I came from (as I believe that pursuing "Chillstep" was moving in the wrong direction now). A few weeks ago, I was digging through my old project files. I came upon an old file with a name that was familiar; it was that one failed attempt at "Chillstep" that had that one awesome, unforgettable melody. When I opened it though, I was shocked; I could not hear where that melody had gone. That ideal melody of mine no longer sounded so perfect in my head anymore; I was sure that I'd be able to spot the melody instantly when I heard it again. Sadly, that was not the case. On the other hand though, I rediscovered the rest of the project, a great sound that I liked. Ironically, the part of the track that convinced me to salvage this old file is the same part that made me abandon it over a year earlier.
So, I now present to you . . . "Exile"!
Morale of the story: Stop caring about what a genre is and start caring about what YOU are.
