Dreamy Psych-Folk original

jm67

jm67

Member
Hi all,

I dusted off a guitar piece recorded a couple of years ago and finished it off with some vocals & various bits of weirdness. The intent is a dreamy, hazy feeling, so there are some chorusy effects on the lead vocal. I like the sound, but I'm sure opinions will vary. Right now the whole thing is quite short... I'm wondering if I should extend it out a bit.

Any critique of the mix or song is appreciated. Thanks for listening.

https://soundcloud.com/jm67dc/happysong3-mix2

Revised Mix:
https://soundcloud.com/jm67dc/happysong3-mix3
 
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It's worth developing, definitely. During the slower verse part, I found it difficult to make sense of what was happening harmonically. I'm not sure that chromatic descending riff in the bass line quite worked against the chord progression on the acoustic guitar. I thought I heard some clash going on between the two instruments. It's difficult to tell because there is a lot of mud in the low frequencies. Maybe work on sorting that out first. Just a thought.

Nice job recording that acoustic, by the way.
 
Robus said:
It's worth developing, definitely. During the slower verse part, I found it difficult to make sense of what was happening harmonically. I'm not sure that chromatic descending riff in the bass line quite worked against the chord progression on the acoustic guitar. I thought I heard some clash going on between the two instruments. It's difficult to tell because there is a lot of mud in the low frequencies. Maybe work on sorting that out first. Just a thought.

Nice job recording that acoustic, by the way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the listen and the suggestions. I'll listen to the bass again - maybe I got so used to hearing the line that I didn't notice it wasn't supporting the guitar.
 
Is one of the bassy acoustic guitar lines tremoloed?
If yes I'd drop it and use it on something clearer.
If N then something seems to wobble a bit in the bottom end.
The vocal reverb doesn't really work with the rest of the track - sounds like it's coming a different room and singing along to a relatively clear backing.
HEAPS of potential!
 
Thanks for the encouragement & critique Ray.

I posted a revised mix on: https://soundcloud.com/jm67dc/happysong3-mix3

It's not radically different from the original, but I tried to "demud" further by cutting lows on the acoustic guitars and synth. I then got rid of the warbly (Leslie) effects on the guitar and chorus. Also fixed a couple of bass notes that may have been causing trouble (F# against G in the chord).
 
THAT sounds much better - and tougher in the more aggressive parts which allows the dreamy stuff to float better.
Now it's a really cool track. Pop up a link to a flac or 320 when you're done so I can keep a copy!
Have you listened to the Greek band Will o the Wisp? They do dream psych really well.
 
Dramatic improvement! No mud, the guitars, bass, keys, and voice come through clearly. You have a good singing voice. Really promising song. It feels unfinished, like it needs another verse or something. Good work.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys - glad that the de-mudding was effective! Yeah, I agree that the song should develop a bit more. Part of the trouble is that the two verses were recorded a couple of years ago, and now I'd have to go back and re-learn the various amp settings, mic placement, etc, in order to record the next bit (whatever it might be).

Ray - enjoyed Will o the Wisp - I'll need to check out more of them. They sound modern, but also have a Krautrock influence (a la Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, etc).
 
I listened to the second mix.

I really thought the acoustic guitars sounded nice.

I thought the vocal was pretty nice. Just a bit harsh. Maybe an EQ notch somewhere between 2400hz and 2700hz.

The cymbals are killing the mix. Really strident and hissy. Loud too. The snare is also a bit thin and "upper-midrangey". Not enough meat to it.

The synths are a bit loud too. They're about as loud as the vocal, but I think they should be a bit softer.

Bass sounds OK. Maybe just a bit too much click on the attack.
 
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