Psychosis - JJ

J

joejohnstun

New member
High! My third HomeRecording song (the other 2 are here and here).

Some DJ friends asked me to write a song for them that they could give the EDM treatment to. It had to be 130 bpm (way out of my comfort zone), have a falsetto climax (soo 90s), and have a space left, obviously, for the drop.

I knew it had to be about drugs, because, honestly, what else can you write an EDM song about. I was intrigued by the concept of how someone can be both your illness and the cure. This is what we are coming up with.

I would love any ideas or critiques that you would like to share.

Thank you!


https://soundcloud.com/joejohnstun/psychosis-sammy-lesen-vs-joe



Psychosis

Slip off my gown, you slip under the covers
I take your clothes, and you take my disorder
Replace it with euphoria

Your lips are my Vicodin and only
Your love is my psychosis; love is my psychosis
I take you in but I can only only
Take you in overdoses; you in overdoses
Sky high

We're counting clouds in our haunted paranoia
On our way down, my fallen angelita
Narcotic Mona Lisa
 
The lyrics applied to different music and delivery would be really good. having a guy sing about taking off his gown is also, well, not a sensual image. Being forced onto this particular song in the manner in which they're delivered the lyrics come off as contrived. Words like Vicodin need to be slipped in there not showcased.

Music reminds me too much of other techno that's been done a few thousand times already.

Purely from a mixing standpoint it's probably not hot enough by today's standards (for techno). Then when you ramp up the overall compression you'll likely need to learn and apply bass ducking methods to get that low end up front while retaining audible levels for the rest of the instrumentation.

Mix Tips For Kick & Bass

"Ducking The Bass

The sense of separation between kick and bass can often be further improved by rigging a 'ducker' on the bass channel — that is, a compressor whose side‑chain is triggered from the kick‑drum track. Whenever the kick hits, the bass dips in level to make more space for it. A level drop of around 3dB still sounds pretty natural, but in harder rock styles and in many urban genres, the level of ducking is deliberately increased to give more obvious pumping effects, which create a sense of energy. In such cases, you'll need to adjust the ducker's release time, so that the pumping creates a rhythm that reinforces the song rhythm rather than pushing against it. The simplest way to do this is to set the ducking to maximum so that you hear far more pumping than you need, then use your ears as you adjust the release time. Once you feel you have it right, back off the amount of ducking to what you actually need."


I don't personally employ this method (nothing I work on requires it) but it's a handy technique to have if you live in the metal and/or techno music world.
 
I think the kick is really loud and the bass (where it's playing) is really soft.

The instruments are much wetter than the vocal. I think a doubled vocal in the chorus would be a nice addition.

Little pop at :24.
 
Thanks guys!

Pinky: He's in a mental institution, hence the gown. I think desperate would be more applicable than sensual for this one.
Thank you so much for those ducking tips, that's awesome! I passed the link to my producers.

TripleM: Good idea!


JJ.
 
I think overall its quite good. Techo isn't my forte so I can't offer a lot on the overall mix other than it sounds on par with what I hear with commercial techno. The chorus is catchy. To my ear, the high vocal parts at 1:15 and 3:30 I think sound over processed. I'm not sure what it is but it sounds a little like pitch processing is so heavy the timbre of the voice is really unnatural.
 
Thank you!

Yes, it's a whistle register, so it is quite an unnatural timbre. I wish we could cut it out, but they won't let me.


JJ.
 
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