{"id":56777,"date":"2025-01-30T20:03:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T20:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/preset-recipe\/james-blake-retrograde-lead\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:43:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:43:28","slug":"james-blake-retrograde-lead","status":"publish","type":"preset-recipe","link":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/preset-recipe\/james-blake-retrograde-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"James Blake &#8211; Retrograde | Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}"},"genre":[347],"preset-type":[365,372,464],"synthesizer":[376],"class_list":["post-56777","preset-recipe","type-preset-recipe","status-publish","hentry","genre-electronic","preset-type-lead","preset-type-fx","preset-type-riser","synthesizer-vital"],"acf":{"synth_recipe_type":"Song Remake","syntorial_lesson":false,"tutorial_video":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nC9JQ1BjHeg","artist_name":"James Blake","song_name":"Retrograde","original_performing_instrument":"","original_song_link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I&start=101","sound_description":"James Blake's \"Retrograde\" features a haunting and ethereal synth lead that is particularly prominent during the song's climactic moments. The synth lead can be heard most distinctly as the song approaches its peak, particularly around the line \"Suddenly I'm hit.\" Although it sounds polyphonic, the pad is actually monophonic, with three detuned oscillators slowly converging to the same note.\n\nBefore diving into the creation process, it\u2019s essential to understand what makes the \u201cRetrograde\u201d synth lead unique. It involves an extreme and slow bending of multiple pitches at once to create an intentionally out-of-tune sound that eventually resolves into one still-kind-of-out-of-tune sound. This intentional dissonance creates an intense tension that adds to the song\u2019s emotional depth.","audio_clip":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/audiblegenius\/james-blake-retrograde-lead","audio_clip_native":"https:\/\/syntorial.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/PatchFactory\/BySong\/James%20Blake\/Retrograde\/Lead\/James%20Blake%20-%20Retrograde%20-%20Lead.mp3","recipe":"<h3>Voices<\/h3><ul><li>Voice Mode: <span>Mono<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3>Oscillator Setup<\/h3><h4>Oscillator 1<\/h4><ul><li>Mix: <span>32%<\/span><\/li><li>Wavetable: <span>Default Saw<\/span><\/li><li>Routing: <span>Filter 1<\/span><\/li><li>Tune: <span>0.11<\/span><\/li><li>Modulations:<\/li><ul><li><span>Env 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Transpose<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/ul><h4>Oscillator 2<\/h4><ul><li>Mix: <span>33%<\/span><\/li><li>Wavetable: <span>Default Saw<\/span><\/li><li>Routing: <span>Filter 1<\/span><\/li><li>Morph:<\/li><ul><li>Spectral Morph Amount: <span>51%<\/span><\/li><\/ul><li>Modulations:<\/li><ul><li><span>Env 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Transpose<\/span><\/li><li><span>Aftertouch<\/span> \u2192 <span>Transpose<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/ul><h4>Oscillator 3<\/h4><ul><li>Mix: <span>33%<\/span><\/li><li>Wavetable: <span>Default Saw<\/span><\/li><li>Routing: <span>Filter 1<\/span><\/li><li>Tune: <span>0<\/span><\/li><li>Unison Detune: <span>21%<\/span><\/li><li>Morph:<\/li><ul><li>Spectral Morph Amount: <span>51%<\/span><\/li><\/ul><li>Modulations:<\/li><ul><li><span>Env 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Transpose<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/ul><h3>Filter Settings<\/h3><h4>Filter 1<\/h4><ul><li>Model: <span>Analog<\/span><\/li><li>Style: <span>24dB Slope<\/span><\/li><li>Blend: <span>Low Pass (0)<\/span><\/li><li>Cutoff: <span>82% (3586.172 Hz)<\/span><\/li><li>Resonance: <span>24%<\/span><\/li><li>Modulations:<\/li><ul><li><span>Env 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Cutoff<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/ul><h3>Envelope Settings<\/h3><h4>Envelope 1 (Amp)<\/h4><ul><li>Attack: <span>1.06 s<\/span><\/li><li>Decay: <span>1.18 s<\/span><\/li><li>Sustain: <span>83%<\/span><\/li><li>Release: <span>433 ms<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h4>Envelope 2<\/h4><ul><li>Attack: <span>0 ms<\/span><\/li><li>Decay: <span>3.81 s<\/span><\/li><li>Sustain: <span>0%<\/span><\/li><li>Release: <span>90 ms<\/span><\/li><li>Decay Curve: <span>Exponential<\/span><\/li><li>Routed to:<\/li><ul><li><span>Osc 1 Transpose<\/span> (<span>12%<\/span>)<\/li><li><span>Osc 2 Transpose<\/span> (<span>-7%<\/span>)<\/li><li><span>Osc 3 Transpose<\/span> (<span>-16%<\/span>)<\/li><li><span>Filter 1 Cutoff<\/span> (<span>-49%<\/span>)<\/li><\/ul><\/ul><h3>Modulation Matrix<\/h3><ul><li><span>Envelope 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Osc 1 Transpose<\/span> <span>12%<\/span><\/li><li><span>Envelope 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Osc 2 Transpose<\/span> <span>-7%<\/span><\/li><li><span>Envelope 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Osc 3 Transpose<\/span> <span>-16%<\/span><\/li><li><span>Envelope 2<\/span> \u2192 <span>Filter 1 Cutoff<\/span> <span>-49%<\/span><\/li><li><span>Aftertouch<\/span> \u2192 <span>Osc 2 Transpose<\/span> <span>-4%<\/span><\/li><\/ul>","observations":"","sources":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=P49dUDPR9a4\">James Blake Retrograde Synth \/\/ ASM Hydrasynth (YouTube)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/tutorials\/synth-tutorial-james-blake-retrograde\/\">Synth Tutorial: James Blake \"Retrograde\" (Syntorial)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reverbmachine.com\/blog\/james-blake-synth-sounds\/\">James Blake Synth Sounds (Reverbmachine)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","community_thread_url":"","patch_id":"james blake|retrograde|lead","decade":"2010s","release_year":2013,"syntorial_essentials_lesson":"","syntorial_essentials_level":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/preset-recipes\/56777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/preset-recipes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/preset-recipe"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=56777"},{"taxonomy":"preset-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/preset-type?post=56777"},{"taxonomy":"synthesizer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syntorial.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/synthesizer?post=56777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}