Indian Ambient Synthpop Mix Review

B

Birdie07

New member
Hey guys! I'm an Indian music producer and I've recently released my new single, Chasing Fancies. Would love some feedback on the structure,lyrics arrangement of the song and also the mix! What did you like? What did you not like? Do share your thoughts! It would be immensely appreciated and would go really help me improve my production! Also, Do share and subscribe if you liked the song! I would be so grateful! Thank you! :)
 
Great song.

There's only two things I thought of while listening. The first is not a big thing. It seems like possibly English is the lyricist's second language. Not that it matters in poetry or lyric writing (I think I understood what you were trying to say. I never felt lost or WTF) But, there was some foreign phrasing going on. The second could just be my personal preference. But, it's a biggie. The singer while perfect in delivery, did not add to the beautiful music. I really loved the music. It's just too polished a voice. That's not particularly a bad thing. But, it would stop me from multiple listens. But, that doesn't mean others won't love the voice.

Beautiful music, and song. EXCELLENT.
 
Snowman999 said:
Great song.

There's only two things I thought of while listening. The first is not a big thing. It seems like possibly English is the lyricist's second language. Not that it matters in poetry or lyric writing (I think I understood what you were trying to say. I never felt lost or WTF) But, there was some foreign phrasing going on. The second could just be my personal preference. But, it's a biggie. The singer while perfect in delivery, did not add to the beautiful music. I really loved the music. It's just too polished a voice. That's not particularly a bad thing. But, it would stop me from multiple listens. But, that doesn't mean others won't love the voice.

Beautiful music, and song. EXCELLENT.
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Hey! Thanks man! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Haha yes, English is in fact our second language, you got that right. May I know what was it, in particular, that threw you off? Was is kind of like the word structure? Any awkward pronunciation? or was it something else? Do let me know. As for the second thing, That was sort of what we were going for. The song was written as a 'conversation with the self' kind of thing. But I kind of understand what you're going at. Thank you so much, man! It'll surely help me improve my production the next time around! :D
 
I really liked the song . . . the structure, the arrangement and the production. I had no problems with the voices, either in quality or phrasing.

I only had two issues. The first was the tom tom rolls, which sounded a bit too midi-ish. The second was (and this was down to my expectations arising from your description as 'Indian ambient synthpop') that I was hoping for more Indian-ness. The overall sound was quite Western. That's not a problem with the song itself, just my expectations.
 
I think the synth that lays underneath it all is too overpowering. I kept wondering why I couldn't hear much of the lyrics, then I realized it's probably the synth's low midrange clogging up and washing out the entire mix. The vocals, in addition, could probably use a healthy dose of 2.5-4khz. They are falling back into the washiness of it all rather than standing on top of the music.

I remember your last post here, Birdie. It was a great song and very good mix.
 
I like how the song builds up in the intro.

The synths sound a little pointy during the intro - but when the rest of the song kicks in they sound nice.

The bass is rumbly and has too much low end.

The voices sound like they're behind the synths. I'd move them more out in front, or move the synths back. Later on, I noticed the vocals more out in front.

The mix sounds crowded in many places. Lots of parts fighting with each other.

The singers make a nice sounding duo. The voices blend well.

The drums sounded canned, but it worked OK for me on this one.
 
I enjoyed listening and I thought the video was very creative.. If this was one of my songs I would lose the first part of the intro .. Great Job ..
 
Really nice song. Sounds like something we would already hear on the radio. I agree with TM that at the beginning that lead has a lot of attack or something that causes it to stick way out. Once everything kicks in, it seems to tame some. Great job.
 
Birdie07 said:
Haha yes, English is in fact our second language, you got that right. May I know what was it, in particular, that threw you off? Was is kind of like the word structure? Any awkward pronunciation? or was it something else?
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Lyrics are lyrics. There really is no right or wrong. But, this is extremely free verse (I believe that's the term). There doesn't seem to be any structure to the lines. Which is not a bad thing. It's just not the norm. It might be for this reason, I would have liked to hear a rawer voice sing these lyrics.

As far as the actual lines, they're all very good. I wouldn't change them. They make their point in an original way.

Birdie07 said:
It'll surely help me improve my production the next time around! :D
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Your production was excellent.

Remember you will never please everyone. I know many people who hate Springsteen and the Beatles. Find and grab the audience you're looking for. You have a lot of talent.
 
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The lyrics seem fine to me. They're stream-of-conscious enough that anything that doesn't make sense sort of blends in.

I like that bridge. Good switch in the vocal deliveries.

The big things that stuck out mix wise were a fair number of harsh sibilants on the vocals and that high-hat way over on the left. It's an unusual place to put one of your primary rhythmic voices, and it doesn't mimic a real kit.
 
gecko zzed said:
I really liked the song . . . the structure, the arrangement and the production. I had no problems with the voices, either in quality or phrasing.

I only had two issues. The first was the tom tom rolls, which sounded a bit too midi-ish. The second was (and this was down to my expectations arising from your description as 'Indian ambient synthpop') that I was hoping for more Indian-ness. The overall sound was quite Western. That's not a problem with the song itself, just my expectations.
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Hey! Thanks man! Really appreciate it! :D Yeah, I'm still a bit rough when it come's to dialing in the drums. But I'm learning as I go along! :D Thank you for that! I'll try to rein in the tom mids in the future! Haha sorry about that. By Indian, I meant we're making music from India. But I can see how it would have misled you. Sorry! And thanks once again! :D
 
andrushkiwt said:
I think the synth that lays underneath it all is too overpowering. I kept wondering why I couldn't hear much of the lyrics, then I realized it's probably the synth's low midrange clogging up and washing out the entire mix. The vocals, in addition, could probably use a healthy dose of 2.5-4khz. They are falling back into the washiness of it all rather than standing on top of the music.

I remember your last post here, Birdie. It was a great song and very good mix.
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Hey man! What's up! :D Yeah, I may have made a few sketchy sound design, arrangement and mix choices here and there. I'll be more careful next time around! Thanks man! I'm glad you remember me! :D
 
TripleM said:
I like how the song builds up in the intro.

The synths sound a little pointy during the intro - but when the rest of the song kicks in they sound nice.

The bass is rumbly and has too much low end.

The voices sound like they're behind the synths. I'd move them more out in front, or move the synths back. Later on, I noticed the vocals more out in front.

The mix sounds crowded in many places. Lots of parts fighting with each other.

The singers make a nice sounding duo. The voices blend well.

The drums sounded canned, but it worked OK for me on this one.
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Hey thank you so much for your insights man! :D Yeah, I'm still a learning when it come's to nailing the drums and the low-end. Anything in particular I should do or concentrate on to improve? Yeah, I may have crowded the mix here at certain part. Less is more! I'll keep that in mind next time. Thank you so much for pointing out what you liked and what you didn't! Really improves my mentality while tackling my next mix! :D

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

mark skinner said:
I enjoyed listening and I thought the video was very creative.. If this was one of my songs I would lose the first part of the intro .. Great Job ..
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Hey! Thank you so much man! :D
 
Bruthish said:
Really nice song. Sounds like something we would already hear on the radio. I agree with TM that at the beginning that lead has a lot of attack or something that causes it to stick way out. Once everything kicks in, it seems to tame some. Great job.
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Hey thanks man! :D Really appreciate it! Yeah, I noticed that. I was mixing the synth's with reference to the main part where everything kicks in. Totally overlooked the beginning. :/ Do I like automate between sections? Because If I tame them in the beginning, They wouldnt cut through in the main part. :/
 
Snowman999 said:
Lyrics are lyrics. There really is no right or wrong. But, this is extremely free verse (I believe that's the term). There doesn't seem to be any structure to the lines. Which is not a bad thing. It's just not the norm. It might be for this reason, I would have liked to hear a rawer voice sing these lyrics.

As far as the actual lines, they're all very good. I wouldn't change them. They make their point in an original way.



Your production was excellent.

Remember you will never please everyone. I know many people who hate Springsteen and the Beatles. Find and grab the audience you're looking for. You have a lot of talent.
Click to expand...

Hey! Thank you so much for your kind words! :D Yeah, I guess describing it as 'free verse' would be apt. Could you give me a few examples of a 'rawer voice'? I'm really intrested in exploring this concept.

Thank you once again man! You're word's motivate me. I'll keep going at it! :D
 
VomitHatSteve said:
The lyrics seem fine to me. They're stream-of-conscious enough that anything that doesn't make sense sort of blends in.

I like that bridge. Good switch in the vocal deliveries.

The big things that stuck out mix wise were a fair number of harsh sibilants on the vocals and that high-hat way over on the left. It's an unusual place to put one of your primary rhythmic voices, and it doesn't mimic a real kit.
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Yeah, I too had problem's taming the sibilants. The desser was not doing enough and I wasnt sure how to proceed without ruining the tracks. As for the, Hi-Hat, Where would you usually place it? Should it be a bit more centered? I still have a hard time nailing the drums. But I'll keep at it and keep looking to imporve. That usually leads to good things. :D

Thank you for sharing your insights man. :) I greatly appreciate it. :D
 
Birdie07 said:
As for the, Hi-Hat, Where would you usually place it? Should it be a bit more centered?
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Yeah probably. I think most people try to think of how an actual kit would sound from some specific place. So even if you think of the listener as being right on top of the drum kit, there will still be some of the high hat (plus reflections) coming to both ears.
 
Birdie07 said:
Could you give me a few examples of a 'rawer voice'? I'm really intrested in exploring this concept.

Thank you once again man! You're word's motivate me. I'll keep going at it! :D
Click to expand...

For your style the clearest example would be Shirley Manson of Garbage. Without her voice, the band would be Garbage.

The "right" vocalist doesn't just sing the songs and hit notes (every pop singer on today's market, boy bands, etc do that) they bring the words to life, making the music a thousand times better than it might be.

Other raw/clear talent:
Chrissie Hynde - Pretenders
Jenny Lewis -Rilo Kiley
Nina Hagen
Sia
The Killers singer.
These are just a few who have great distinct voices with a truth (rawness) to them. They don't even have to be singing good lyrics, their voices force you to listen and usually enjoy what you're listening to.

Your singer hits the notes perfectly. But, there's very little truth to his delivery. He sounds like he should be singing Broadway songs. He has a very pure non-tonal voice. He doesn't stand out. That's the reason why IMO it hurts the beautiful music/lyrics. The right voice over this music would make it magnificent.

Let me just finish with, it's HARD finding that distinct excellent voice. I've searched years, and only found one. But, she couldn't sing on key.
 
I listened without checking the other replies to this thread, so I may be treading similar ground. The build up in the intro is nice, but the intro is quite long before it gets to the vocals. Everything is very clear in the mix, which is nice, but the drums could definitely have more impact for an electronic song and perhaps even more room reverb or atmosphere to them. I like that the bass is dominating the bottom end, but the kick could have more thump to it. I did have some trouble understanding the lyrics, but I generally don't listen to the lyrics first anyway. I kind of wanted the last vocal part (the loudest part of the song) to be repeated because I don't really hear a chorus and I think this song could benefit from that. I think it would definitely get stuck in my head more with some repetition. Overall it's great though and this is all nitpicking and very subjective at this point.
 
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