Come Forth - spooky ass white boy shit

[fat_fleet]

Oh no! No no! I like busy mixes!
I was at work tho and didn't have nearly enough mental capacity to think about the task I was working on, parse everyone else's comments, and give the song anywhere close to a critical listen. I was just overwhelmed.

So onto mix 2...
There's a lot going on. It's hard to identify what's really right and wrong here.
The balance between the lead vox and harmonies is good, but the melody line still feels a little buried most of the time.

I dig the hard-panned clap/stomp polyrhythms.

Those flutes(?) starting around 4:20 seem pretty fake - like an early video game flute tone, but they're kind of rare, so it might be fine.

Going back and listening for it specifically, the kick feels a little clicky maybe?

Oh sheesh, hope I didn't guilt you into commenting. I often hope enough insincere self-deprecating humor will distract others from my natural narcissism, but that occasionally yields it's own undesired consequences.

Anyways, thanks for the listen. I think you're right about the melody line being a little buried. Might have something to do with dropping the hi shelf. Not sure what I'm going to do about it yet. And I did address the kick a little in the most recent mix since you and boulder both mentioned it, though I fear that may have lost a little definition as well. Thanks again!

Hey mr fleet. I listened to the early mix and didn't have time to comment (that sounds familiar?) - Mix 2 is sounding much more balanced. And I love that intro, even though I hate windchimes in real life. Nice work - I like the intensity of the drumbering in particular.

Thanks Armistice.

 

[fat_fleet]

Hey mr fleet. I listened to the early mix and didn't have time to comment (that sounds familiar?) - Mix 2 is sounding much more balanced. And I love that intro, even though I hate windchimes in real life. Nice work - I like the intensity of the drumbering in particular.

But how can you hate windchimes? Do you hate fireworks too?

 

[fat_fleet]

Getting here late and listening to mix 3.

I like the harmonies. I like the way the vocals are panned.

The song in general gives me a late 60's psychedelic feel.

Everything seems a little distant. Like the high end has been rolled off.

The snare is a little loud and the bass/kick are a little soft. Vocals are a bit loud too.

I like the lead-ish guitar on the right. Nice tone to it.

There is a percussive part that comes in every once in a while on the out edges. Handclaps? They're a little clicky and distracting.

Thanks MMM, plenty of good stuff there. I did reduced the high end on many tracks here, and I do think it sounds a little dull now.. probably will end up reintroducing some highs at some point.

Wow, vocals too loud? That's a comment I rarely get on my stuff. I will have to check that out.. I still need to give to most recent mix some listens. Gracias!

the one thing i like about this right off the bat, is that it is very definitive in it's vision,
even tho it's a bit rambling, it is reminiscent of a lot of prog rock that i grew up listening to....

and it reminds me a bit of a light version of mastodon at times..


very ambitious instrumental sections, i'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.

there are mix issues, but i'm not going to even go there.

i like the song overall, can you tighten up some sections, yes...
can you improve the mix..... yes.

but the vibe is good to go.
nice job.

---------- Update ----------

oh yea, my comments reference mix 3.

Oh wow.. thanks Gonzo. Super stoked you enjoyed it, Your stuff is always so polished.. I think it's often hard to critique without really digging.
But since your stuff IS so slick, I sure would like to hear if there are any mix/performance issues you think I should be prioritizing.

 

[fat_fleet]

Now I'm hearing a big peak on the bass guitar at 80Hz. Put a 6, 8 or even 10dB cut on that with a 0.5 octave filter. I think it will open up the mix. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of the bass guitar above 80Hz.

I'm glad you came back because I ended up taking pretty much all of your previous advice on faith, as I couldn't really hear the differences in (particularly) the low mid cuts that well. I'm thinking I overdid the click reduction in the kick and now I need to either reintroduce a little, or bump it up a hair. Does this jive with what you're hearing?

Re the bass, you're probably hearing the 80Hz peak because I scooped from about 200-500 for mix 3 (thinking I'd get a lower, more focused sound and relieve some of the congestion in that area) and above that there just isn't a whole lot of power, as you observed. Sadly, I tracked this bass about 75 times for tone and now I'm thinking I should have stuck with an earlier, more growly take. I'm thinking I might retrack the bass with a more middy tone, rather than fight what's there. At least I'm well-practiced with the part. :/

I can't remember all the other changes I made for mix 3, but among them, I also brought up the floor tom, pulled some mids from the handclaps, changed the pan configuration for the two main guitars and dropped significant gain on the arpeggiated guitar line, and dropped gain on the second of the two quick flute-organ lines that pop in around 4.20, which seemed a little loud to me.

 

[fat_fleet]

Ok, there's a new bass track on this. I don't even know anymore. I think I preferred the last one.

 

[heatmiser]

I think I prefer the new bass. I'm not 100% though either. It sounds less boomy with more mids, which actually seems to clean up the mix as a whole a little, but at the expense of some fullness. It's hard to isolate any one element for feedback because there's so much going on in this mix all the time, plus it's constantly changing. I really think all of the mixes have been pretty good myself. lol

Say, what is that lower sound that appears right at :10 and then again at 6:10? It sounds like some sort of distorted animal call?

 

[Bulls Hit]

For me the best parts of this song are where it is less busy where there is clarity and a sense of direction. In other parts it's so busy there's a kind of jethro tull bungle jungle vibe. Not that that's bad, I just prefer a more stripped back arrangement. I like the vocals, but again they're always doubled. I'd like to hear your vocal on its own occasionally to contrast with the doubled and harmonized part. Overall it's a fine composition and it's got some cool melodic elements. Enjoyed it.

 

[fat_fleet]

I think I prefer the new bass. I'm not 100% though either. It sounds less boomy with more mids, which actually seems to clean up the mix as a whole a little, but at the expense of some fullness. It's hard to isolate any one element for feedback because there's so much going on in this mix all the time, plus it's constantly changing. I really think all of the mixes have been pretty good myself. lol

Say, what is that lower sound that appears right at :10 and then again at 6:10? It sounds like some sort of distorted animal call?

Thanks so much for coming back.. at this point I have no objectivity and just wanted to make sure the new bass was in the right neighborhood. It's actually two bass tracks blended (A lower more rounded take, and a gritty middy take). I recorded the animal call in the woods near my house on a digital handheld. It's layered with a few other recordings there.. one (the birds) I ripped from youtube (lame I know), and the chimes I recorded in some stranger's front yard in Holland, Vt. when we were roaming around up there a few years back.. and the periodic GLONNNGGGGGGG sound is an aluminum wok lid being struck with a felt mallet, double tracked of course.

For me the best parts of this song are where it is less busy where there is clarity and a sense of direction. In other parts it's so busy there's a kind of jethro tull bungle jungle vibe. Not that that's bad, I just prefer a more stripped back arrangement. I like the vocals, but again they're always doubled. I'd like to hear your vocal on its own occasionally to contrast with the doubled and harmonized part. Overall it's a fine composition and it's got some cool melodic elements. Enjoyed it.

Hey BH, thanks much for taking the time. Yup, for better or worse my stuff almost always has these kind of dense arrangements. I like to think there's a simple melodic cohesiveness to it built around nursery rhyme type structures, but like any music that anyone has ever made ever, some will get it and some won't. Not sure I see much similarity between this and the Tull song you mentioned either, but I like maybe 9 or 10 of their songs (not that one ) and by all means I like to think of my stuff as sort of a modern continuation of the looser more jammy music from that era, so thanks!

 

[heatmiser]

Thanks so much for coming back.. at this point I have no objectivity and just wanted to make sure the new bass was in the right neighborhood. It's actually two bass tracks blended (A lower more rounded take, and a gritty middy take). I recorded the animal call in the woods near my house on a digital handheld. It's layered with a few other recordings there.. one (the birds) I ripped from youtube (lame I know), and the chimes I recorded in some stranger's front yard in Holland, Vt. when we were roaming around up there a few years back.. and the periodic GLONNNGGGGGGG sound is an aluminum wok lid being struck with a felt mallet, double tracked of course.

Two bass tracks? Wow, I wouldn't have guessed.

I wonder what that animal call is though? Kind of spooky...like a cross between an owl and a fisher.

Are those the same chimes we used on dark star? They sound familiar, but then when you've heard one wind chime...

Hmmm. I have a steel wok...good idea! I'm stealing it.

I don't hear JT so much in the mix or even the performance, but somewhat with the lyrics...wandering the wasteland, etc. Sort of in that same grandiose ballpark? Plus you have that medieval pic...not too far from that to prancing around with a violin! lol

 

[robgreen]

Hey fleet, I've listened a bunch of times but never had chance to comment. Last version sounds great to me - the bass was the main thing that stuck out as needing addressing on the previous versions, but it has more definition on mix 4.

Everything else is probably personal taste at the moment and I'm on headphones that may or may not be accurate currently too. It's cool to read the source of some of this stuff, particularly the felt hammer wok gong.

Sorry, not much help at this point - lots of cool layers and changes as usual

 

[robgreen]

It is fairly carved up.. I've been tweaking levels and EQs for weeks on this thing. And I never got into reference CDs.. Truthfully, my favorite records are all 50 years old and I'm kind of unaware of any existing artist who even shoots for the sound I'm shooting for. If you know of anything similar, I would certainly like to hear it. Thanks much for your time and input.

Btw, you familiar with the band Goat at all? I reckon there are a few similarities in terms of both spirit and sound with you. There's an album of theirs from a couple of years ago called World Music that's pretty good and you might like

 

[fat_fleet]

Btw, you familiar with the band Goat at all? I reckon there are a few similarities in terms of both spirit and sound with you. There's an album of theirs from a couple of years ago called World Music that's pretty good and you might like

Thanks Rob, this is AMAZING!

 

[fat_fleet]

Two bass tracks? Wow, I wouldn't have guessed.

I wonder what that animal call is though? Kind of spooky...like a cross between an owl and a fisher.

Are those the same chimes we used on dark star? They sound familiar, but then when you've heard one wind chime...

Maybe an owl?.. We have both owls and fishers here, but it doesn't quite sound like a fisher to me.. too low pitch. Good god though, that sound they make at night whilst slicing a lame buck to ribbons is one of the most unearthly howls I've ever heard. I'd love to get a clip of that, but it doesn't happen too often.

Hm... somehow I thought YOU recorded the wind chimes for ds? I remember having a set out and wrestling with it around that time for *some* project? But somehow thought that you ended up sending me wind chimes for that part before mine were done. Maybe there were 2 sets, lol? Either way, these are different. Many years back we were staying in a cabin in northern Vt. near Canada and I was out late walking the dog. It was pretty quiet out and these windchimes were just kind of lightly doing their thing. And there, at that time, it was like the only sound in the world. So eerie.. I recorded them on my flip phone. A few years later we were staying in NH about 70 miles from that place and, since I now had a handheld recorder, yes- I drove 70 miles to record the guy's fricken chimes. It was the middle of the day and a little windier than it had been when I first heard them, so it was challenging getting a clean recording.. but the guy and his wife were super sweet and accommodating. I know that's like a huge saga to answer a question you didn't really ask, but I love talking about that stuff and it's an aspect of recording that people don't talk much about (at least around here). So thanks for that.

Hey fleet, I've listened a bunch of times but never had chance to comment. Last version sounds great to me - the bass was the main thing that stuck out as needing addressing on the previous versions, but it has more definition on mix 4.

Everything else is probably personal taste at the moment and I'm on headphones that may or may not be accurate currently too. It's cool to read the source of some of this stuff, particularly the felt hammer wok gong.

Sorry, not much help at this point - lots of cool layers and changes as usual

Thanks Rob.. I'm still not completely sold on this mix and might do another with small tweaks that probably only I will notice..:/

Really appreciate you taking the time.. you working on anything at the moment?

 

[robgreen]

Thanks Rob, this is AMAZING!

Lemme guess, you were sold from the moment you saw the tribal headwear and spooky masks right?

Thanks Rob.. I'm still not completely sold on this mix and might do another with small tweaks that probably only I will notice..:/

Really appreciate you taking the time.. you working on anything at the moment?

Yeah, I'm not in the best place to listen to stuff at the moment - hence being restricted to headphones to listen. As mentioned elsewhere the windows 10 anniversary update caused some storm damage to my setup. A bunch of stuff isn't currently working and so I'm thinking of finally ditching my trusted Ableton 5 and installing/working out how to use Reaper to start afresh.

It (along with summer holiday and work) have completely set me back at the moment - I had another cover in the pipeline and an original that I'd never really been happy with before that I'd been retracking/remixing and was starting to sound a lot better. I've got a bunch of other ideas in various stages of arrangement too, so hopefully I'll get back at some point soon.

The only other thing that stuck out in your mix when I listened was something to do with those hard panned acoustic guitars. I can't listen now, but they struck me as really thin and high passed like they were all pick and no body. I'm not sure which version of the mix that was though.

And I know nobody asked for it, but the windchime story is great!

 

[kcearl]

Id have the vox up a little. Like the playing/arrangement, not as clear a mix as I remember your other tunes being but the vibe etc is all there...its like you were dropped here from another time.


Im still listening as I type and the vocals seem to fit in volume later in the track...maybe Im going deaf

 

[heatmiser]

Maybe an owl?.. We have both owls and fishers here, but it doesn't quite sound like a fisher to me.. too low pitch. Good god though, that sound they make at night whilst slicing a lame buck to ribbons is one of the most unearthly howls I've ever heard. I'd love to get a clip of that, but it doesn't happen too often.

Hm... somehow I thought YOU recorded the wind chimes for ds? I remember having a set out and wrestling with it around that time for *some* project? But somehow thought that you ended up sending me wind chimes for that part before mine were done. Maybe there were 2 sets, lol? Either way, these are different. Many years back we were staying in a cabin in northern Vt. near Canada and I was out late walking the dog. It was pretty quiet out and these windchimes were just kind of lightly doing their thing. And there, at that time, it was like the only sound in the world. So eerie.. I recorded them on my flip phone. A few years later we were staying in NH about 70 miles from that place and, since I now had a handheld recorder, yes- I drove 70 miles to record the guy's fricken chimes. It was the middle of the day and a little windier than it had been when I first heard them, so it was challenging getting a clean recording.. but the guy and his wife were super sweet and accommodating. I know that's like a huge saga to answer a question you didn't really ask, but I love talking about that stuff and it's an aspect of recording that people don't talk much about (at least around here). So thanks for that.

No, I love hearing about shit like that. The more unusual the sound, or the method used to capture that sound, the better.

Yeah, I guess fishers sound a good bit creepier, don't they? Freaks me right out sometimes. Might be an owl then.

You definitely did the wind chimes on that track, and the music box! I didn't have any of those sounds handy but I suggested something along those lines and you obliged. I thought I remembered you saying you had some on hand and actually played them for that track, which was why I thought maybe you did that here too, but what you actually did is way cooler.

 

[fat_fleet]

Lemme guess, you were sold from the moment you saw the tribal headwear and spooky masks right?

Well, the masks are cool but the music is the main selling point for me. I like the loose tribal vibe and the whole polyrhythmic percussion they have going on,.. kind of like a modern Santana. I think it's a little more raw than what I do.. I sort of fall somewhere in the huge middle ground between something like this and, say, a Steely Dan or something.. like if I were to use the Goats as a reference CD it would take me in almost the opposite direction of the advice I generally get in here.. not that I usually take it or anything..

The only other thing that stuck out in your mix when I listened was something to do with those hard panned acoustic guitars. I can't listen now, but they struck me as really thin and high passed like they were all pick and no body. I'm not sure which version of the mix that was though.

Hm, well since there are no acoustics in this mix, I'm thinking it may be a different song altogether..
but your description is definitely spot on with how I try to make acoustics sound in a full band mix.

 

[fat_fleet]

Id have the vox up a little. Like the playing/arrangement, not as clear a mix as I remember your other tunes being but the vibe etc is all there...its like you were dropped here from another time.


Im still listening as I type and the vocals seem to fit in volume later in the track...maybe Im going deaf

Yeah man, my mixing kind of peaked out a few years back. Now I think I'm either regressing or rebelling- possibly both.
Thanks for stoppin by KC, always a pleasure.

You definitely did the wind chimes on that track, and the music box! I didn't have any of those sounds handy but I suggested something along those lines and you obliged.

Ok, I believe you if you say so, but my memory of that is completely different (though not exactly vivid)..

 

[heatmiser]

Ok, I believe you if you say so, but my memory of that is completely different (though not exactly vivid)..

Yes, I say so. Your memory is inaccurate. I don't even have wind chimes...although I do have a large bell attached to a tree out front. Never rung it, but perhaps I should?

 

[MailerBailer341]

Sound nice. Mix 4 is nice. Like the echoing vocal parts. Someone said Talking Heads...i hear a splash of Radiohead. I would make a mix where the music just starts without the bird cherping intro in every take. I would listen to your music more. Are you on youtube? Thanks 4 sharing.