New Tune - Closer

Nola

Well-known member
Hey guys, this is a 9 minute sludge guitar shoegaze/trance type thing. I know I'll lose 90% of listeners when they hear the amp on 10 and distortion pedal on 11 (total sludge tone that people seem to hate). I don't expect many to make it through, but I hope you can, because there's a build up of tension throughout (tempo changes, chaos, wall of sound ending, etc). Lyrics come in at the 2:30 mark.

https://soundcloud.com/suicidevan/closer-ride-the-arc

Let me know your thoughts on the mix and anything you wish. I'm looking mostly for big picture stuff like if something is too loud, etc, but really anything is fair game. Thanks, guys.
 
Think the drums can come up. The energy changes weren't really impacting the song very much. For next time, I'd look at making the strums quieter so the loud can be loud. Right now, it's all close to the same energy throughout. I feel like you wanted the bigger sections to be explosive and the tamer sections tame. You just gotta play it that way from that start, it's the only way. That's all I got right now.

Oh, and the drums have that "big room" sound to them. Is that what you wanted? I mean, it's more like a Albini mix, so that might be where you wanted to take this.

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

Keep going! Only 2hrs to go!

I watched Saving Private Ryan during the verse. Still caught the beginning of the solo.
 
Think the drums can come up. The energy changes weren't really impacting the song very much. For next time, I'd look at making the strums quieter so the loud can be loud. Right now, it's all close to the same energy throughout. I feel like you wanted the bigger sections to be explosive and the tamer sections tame. You just gotta play it that way from that start, it's the only way. That's all I got right now.

Oh, and the drums have that "big room" sound to them. Is that what you wanted? I mean, it's more like a Albini mix, so that might be where you wanted to take this.

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



I watched Saving Private Ryan during the verse. Still caught the beginning of the solo.

Did you ride to Mars with Elon Musk and make it back on the listen? hahah

Yeah, I was going for a big Jesus and Mary Chain type drum with MBV/Dino guitar tones. Big/echo drums, maxed out guitars. To me, I feel the energy changes; that's a bummer it didn't work for you. Thanks for making it through, buddy.
 
When I saw the subtitle "ride the arc," I did not realize it would literally last forty days and forty nights. That's okay though, I managed to do my spring cleaning, finish my taxes, and change the oil in the motorcycle.

I do hear an ebb and flow in the energy, but the drums aren't following those changes. You might think able adding or subtracting drum kit elements as the energy builds or declines. Subtle changes like going from a closed to a partially open hat, or from a hat to a ride, can help mark those transitions.
 
When I saw the subtitle "ride the arc," I did not realize it would literally last forty days and forty nights. That's okay though, I managed to do my spring cleaning, finish my taxes, and change the oil in the motorcycle.

Lol. I read War and Peace while going back through it this morning.

I do hear an ebb and flow in the energy, but the drums aren't following those changes. You might think able adding or subtracting drum kit elements as the energy builds or declines. Subtle changes like going from a closed to a partially open hat, or from a hat to a ride, can help mark those transitions.

I did add all those kinds of drum programming. e.g. 45 minute mark (j/k), not but the 3:45 mark, 5:05 mark, 6:37, 6:54, etc. But they all tend to be the building variety. Good call in experimenting using subtractive drums into the calmer parts. Like maybe just a kick and ride during the mellow part. I like that idea.
 
Love the drum sound, the ringy snare is great. Is it a kit or did you use samples? I'd like to hear quite a bit more bass. Cool song, even though there weren't a lot of changes it stayed interesting.
 
Love the drum sound, the ringy snare is great. Is it a kit or did you use samples? I'd like to hear quite a bit more bass. Cool song, even though there weren't a lot of changes it stayed interesting.

Thanks, Easlern, honestly shocked you dug it. Anyway, the drums are just samples. I ran them through reverb with a smidge of parallel compression and EQ to try to get that J&M Chain sound. I'll double check the bass and see if it can be nudged at all. Think I placed it to sit right between the drums and guitars (figuring not everything can be loudest so you have to make sacrifices, and that's what I chose to bring to the alter on this one).
 
Fuzz guitars sounded cool.

The song needs a stronger low end. Guitars are a bit loud. Bass and kick (and the rest of the drums) are pretty soft.

Vocal is buried a bit and a little pitchy. But that worked pretty well in a mix like this.

Just bring up the bass and drums and I think it's pretty good.
 
I like the fuzz guitars. They fit nicely. You've got a lot of other kinda mellow timbres going and so the fuzz guitar is not fighting for space. It works.

I am 6 minutes in. I feel like there could be a section without the fuzz just for contrast. That would be a great contrast.

Interesting that I am 8 minutes in, there have not been any particular changes, and yet it is still interesting. Kinda cool how it evolves. Like Ravel's Bolero. :)
 
I like the fuzz guitars. They fit nicely. You've got a lot of other kinda mellow timbres going and so the fuzz guitar is not fighting for space. It works.

I am 6 minutes in. I feel like there could be a section without the fuzz just for contrast. That would be a great contrast.

Interesting that I am 8 minutes in, there have not been any particular changes, and yet it is still interesting. Kinda cool how it evolves. Like Ravel's Bolero. :)

Thanks, IBB. You made it all the way through, huh? Awesome! I thought about removing the fuzz part when the vocal comes in. Maybe I will do that for the final mix if I can make an edit like that without it sounding too weird or abrupt.
 
See... I heard "sludge" and was expecting more Melvins and less... actually I don't really know my shoegaze... Meat Puppets or something?

My big critique with this mix would be how clean it is, I suppose. The vocals are very clear. The bass is clean (when you can hear it). I feel like everything should be noisier?
 
Cool jam, Nola. Sorry I took a little while to give it a listen, wanted to be done for the day (er, night actually) with all I'm working on so I could focus on it, because of it's length.

Guitars sound nice, big yet smooth, not fighting for space like someone already mentioned. Cool wahs too. What kind of electric you using?

Drums sound good, particularly the snare. Some have said bring the drums up, I kind of like them where they are. Bass could maybe come up a touch though.

Kind of ended abruptly, but that's just a nit.
 
I think it's a cool jam style recording. I enjoyed the listen

Thanks, Jimi. A 'jam' recording is a good way to put it. It was a one take improv done thinking i wanted a chaotic finale for the album I'm working on.

Guitars sound nice, big yet smooth, not fighting for space like someone already mentioned. Cool wahs too. What kind of electric you using?

Thanks Johnny. That's a Gretsch down the center, and the clean l/r is a strat. Those were added after to add contrast and a safety net i case i went overboard on the overdrive. I wound up liking them; they almost act as a pad.
I remixed it last night with a db more bass and liked it. When I tried to raise the drums they dominated the mix too much and fought the guitars, so I left them where they are. Glad to hear you agree. You have a good ear for balance.
 
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I second turning up the bass. Not mix related but I think the vocals take way too long to start. Back to mix related, the mix sounds narrow to me, on my system it almost sounds mono? I like the fuzzy guitar sounds the wah sounds nice. Drums sound fine. Seems like a lot of room for experimentation here which is not being taken advantage of if you expect to hold listeners interest, but that could just be my corporate bourgeois tainted point of view.
 
I second turning up the bass. Not mix related but I think the vocals take way too long to start. Back to mix related, the mix sounds narrow to me, on my system it almost sounds mono? I like the fuzzy guitar sounds the wah sounds nice. Drums sound fine. Seems like a lot of room for experimentation here which is not being taken advantage of if you expect to hold listeners interest, but that could just be my corporate bourgeois tainted point of view.

No, man, that is a totally valid opinion regarding holding listening. 9 minutes is a long time, and I expected 0 people to make it through. It's a page out of Yo La Tengo's "Sun Squashed" (26 minutes!), which I used to find repetitive and long, then one day it came on while driving and it hit me like a ton of bricks and put me in a trance. Wound up driving 20 minutes past my exit because I was so into it. This song of mine is best put on with the lights out, eyes closed, and headphones on. It will trance you out. If it's viewed in terms of radio friendly, then yeah, epic fail. But that isn't a goal at all.
 
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