A lurker shares

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GreyMatter

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Hey guys.

I've lurked here for a few months and am now ready to share my music with the rest of you. Some of it's a bit abstract but I know it's a pretty diverse crowd around here. :) While I'm not trying to go for a "pop-like" sound, any critiques on my mixes will be valuable for future tunes. There are a ton of things I'd love to go back and change in pretty much every mix, but there comes a time where you just have to let it go. That's been the hardest thing... Here 4 of the 12 tracks:

All I Know:


Analogue Sunrise:


Say Something, Anything:


Moonlight Whispers:


A little background: I've just completed my solo CD which I recorded at home. It's the first real recording I've ever done. I've been working on the CD for around 2 years (on and off) while upgrading my gear throughout this time. Most everything was recorded with a sm58 running direct into a Seasound Solo (shame they went out of business - the solo is a great IO). It's been an amazing learning experience and not having any background or prior knowledge about recording techniques I believe has provided a unique experience for me where I can find exactly which styles of recording suit my music.

Thanks for the great forum everyone - I've learned a ton and look forward to contributing in the future.

Matt
 
listening to "all I know" very nice atmospheric tune-a ton of interesting stuff going on all through the song-very good listen! Everything seems balanced well to me, are those real drums? They sound pretty good either way! If I had to make any critiques it would be the backwards piano-gets a little gimmicky sounding and you have alot of repeats on your lead vocal echo-but thats just minor stuff-it sounded great.

listening to "analogue sunrise" again nice atmosphere you create. This reminds me of Sigur Ros from iceland a bit. Very dreamy. No critiques. You seem to have a good idea what you want and how to get it. Others here can give you better advice-thanks for sharing your stuff!
 
I liked all four songs. very well produced. very nice moods. Possibly a little too much reverb in some spots, But it does fit the music.

Twist
 
all I know:

nice intro..I can dig it......maybe you hang on the sound a bit long, but it fades into some nice bkwards stuff...but maybe the whole track sounds backwards...with the exception of the gtr on the left.

You have good singing voice....you're lucky.

The song progresses slowly, musically, but that's ok, I suppose. It certainly takes it out of the "pop song" catagory:D

Now that I'm 3 minutes into the song, I'm ready for a little more "action"...either vocal wise...or nice solo. The drums are sounding good.....ah...at 3:25...things do pick up...so that is good.

Nice gtr wanking at 4min mark...

Things are fairly decent with this song, and new things are continueally introduced...but without a little more vocal excitement...like something an octave up...whatever.....it keeps this song as what I would call excellent filler, but nothing to lead a CD with. Very good mind you, but it sounds like you have the capability to put a better foot forward. I'll need to listen to the others.
 
therefore.....
analog sunrise:

ah...another spacey intro. I do 'em too...and they're fun to do. keep them creative....

you're intros borderline on a min mark...as a guess..so they need to keep your attention.

This song appears to be more a sound effects track....but at 1:34, I see we get into the song.

This is very much in the style of your other song, and would fit well together....I'm guessing your other stuff would sound fairly familiar.

Nice stuff....but it IS very laid back, and you need phones, a recliner, a good beverage, to enjoy it best.
 
Overall, a very well polished sound in my headphones. I like your vocal harmonies and your voice fits the music very well.

I would lose the static intro on All I Know. Overall the introduction of new textures throughout the song is very cool, I like each one, but it seems like they seem to take too much of the focus for me and definitely play out for too long. That's just me though, I like the vocals and would like to hear that play more of a prominent role in this song. Nice guitar playing around 4:00 and I really like the backwards piano playing.
 
This is excellent stuff! Very nice stereo spread. I gotta little section of my hard drive with your name on it. Nice job!
 
I also just listned to "say something anything." Man, that's just plain beautiful. Thanks for the tunes. I downloaded them and I'm not giving them back.
 
Thanks

Thanks everyone for the replys. You're some of the first people who have heard this stuff so these are the first reactions I've gotten. It's good to hear I'm not waaay off base. :) I've got the other 8 songs available for download but I'm somewhat bandwidth limited so if anyone is into the stuff and wants to hear the rest of it, they can email me privately. Thanks again for the feedback - I take it all to heart.

Matt
 
I forgot about listening to your recording.

Matt,

First and Foremost, you really enjoyed your music. It moved me and was emotionally captivating. (That's what it is all about is it not?) If I may, I would like to guess at some of your influences. The artist that came to mind whilst I was listening were David Sylvian, Bjork, Jeff Buckley, This Mortal Coil and Thomas Dolby. The electronic, dreamy sound, mix with organic instruments. Most importantly you gained a fan.

Okay now I am listening to the recording:

Production: I really like your productio values. It does not sound like a home recording at all. Very nice and very polished. Also very creative musical ideas are going on here. I am hearing new things with each listen. You keep it very interesting.

Performance: Only nit-picky thing are a few notes that seem 'slid into' or 'scoop' like at 1:13 in All I Know. Very nit-picky I just notice these things. I am lousy singer, but while recording the singer in my band I am constantly on him to, stop doing that, so my ear is 'focused' on this you might say. Everything else is just top-notch.

Mix: I really would like to feel a little more low end. That's it for me. My KRK's which usually emphasize the low end of recorded material seemed thirsty for some bass.

Overall: I am completely blown away by your creativity, imagination and talent. I would like know some more about your recording process. Things like Mics, Drums (live or Machine), Recording format, etc. I sure others would like to know as well. I would really like to know how to get your CD.

Best Wishes,
Daniel
www.meetgoodwin.com
 
I listened to All I Know:

The intro is trippy / chaotic, and after that the song turns into something beautiful. I love the Floyd-like stuff here. This is so spacey and lovely sounding. I guess I'm in a good mood today, since I've liked what I've heard so far. The mixing sounds good, and I'm not in a mood to comment too much about the mix anyway, since the song itself is so good. I think you've achieved a poppy sounding production with a good composition and some psychedelic-like mood here. Great job.

(BTW, I noticed the solo guitar had some noise in the end at about 6:02 after playing. :D No big deal, I have that problem also when the guitar starts to get quiet. The guitar's mics pick up some noise from my computer's monitor. )
 
I listened to All I Know,
although I like the overall feel you captured, I couldn't understand the lyrics without straining to hear them. I can't help you out on how to do it, but you should try to get more clarity.

the overall mix is great, nice bass tone. The levels and panning on the music side were right on... except... That reverse sound (volume knob on guitar I think), you could bury that in the mix some or at least fade it in gradually, and that intro, it sounds like you were trying to get an ocean or wind effect, but it didn't work out. If I'm wrong, then it's just to long in my opinion.

ah, it's fine, don't listen to me. sounds better the second time through.
Torp
 
Thanks again

It's really good to hear so many positive comments. I've been debating the option of getting 1000 cds replicated but I think I'll go through with it now.

Goodwin: Thanks so much for your comments. It seems that you got out of my music exactly what I wanted people to which is a great feeling. As soon as the CD is done, I'll post how to get it on my webpage http://www.greymatterfx.com
Meanwhile, I'll email you privately early next week with the links to the other mp3s.

As far as recording process. I recorded the electric guitar direct through my Yamaha DX212 amp into my Seasound Solo. Obviously, I used a lot of effects pedals too. For the acoustic stuff, its a mix of plugging my acoustic into my amp and micing with my sm58. I now have more and better mics, but unfortunately, they were all bought after recording was finished. I don't have a bass amp so I played the bass guitar throug my guitar amp and adjusted the EQ's accordingly. I just recently bought a SansAmp that sounds amazingly better than this. I used Cakewalk 9 for sequencing and Fruity Loops with a whole ton of samples for the drums and some other stuff, although I did record live drums for 2 of the songs that needed a more human feel I couldn't get through FL. Everyting else is either my voice, guitar, or synth effects treated with effects until they're unrecognizable. The backwards piano in "All I Know" was arranged in Fruity loops and chopped up and rearranged in Cakewalk. Experimenting is fun!

Thanks again,
Matt
 
I'm impressed! The tunes are all very well polished. Great mood overall. I like these a lot.
 
Man I'm listening to this stuff again. And I just wanted to say this is great stuff. Keep going. "Say Something Anything" is flawless.
 
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