A minimalist experiment

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K-dub

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If You Don't Love Me

Another one rolls off the production line. It was my birthday yesterday, so I got a chance to lay down a bunch of vocals (as you'll hear) w/o interruption of family.

I actually started this conceptually as just bass and drums, but as much as I wanted to keep it sparse, it just needed more colors.

So I added a guitar, a piano, and an organ ... and a 60 piece orchestra ... oh, and a vibraphone. I can't believe I almost forgot about the vibraphone. (Vibraphone players hate that.)

... but I still tried to keep it as simple as possible.

Any/all comment on any/all things warmly appreciated.

Best,

Kev-
 
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Nice job. Great mix and recording, some spots (backup vox) are very Steely Dan sounding. The only comment I'd make is that it still may be to sparse. You might try a little verb on the snare and lead vocal.

Really enjoyed it. Catchy too. Good work.

Pete
 
That's why I renamed the song, "The Sounds of Silence" ... I hope it hasn't been used before. :)

The original link had an apostrophe in it ... which worked fine here, but not elsewhere.

It's been fixed and will now load.

K-
 
Pretty good. Mix sounds fine to me. Maybe a little more space on the main vocals would be good. A little delay (or more delay). The na-na-na part is too soft while it's on its own. It's fine when the lead vocal comes in on top, but those first few na-nas by themselves are too quiet. It sounds like there's something missing there. The drums are a little busy during the verses. Mainly the hats. The banging 8th notes seem frantic. There's no delicate hat work happening there, so a more laid back quarter note pattern on the hats might suit the verses better. Just the verses though. Just my 2 cents based off what my mind wants to hear.
 
You're the second comment I've gotten regarding the dry vocal, G. I'll have to tend to that ... for I trust the ears of you both very much ... and though I lean towards a drier sound, I think I've got things too dry.

I'll fool with the hats too -- it's midi ... so I can. :)

The na na part being way back was a conscious mix decision ... and I don't know how I even feel about it ... so I'm going to live with it until I get struck by a sense of "wrong" about it.

Thanks for the thoughts, G.

Best,

Kev-
 
yeah Id third the vocals being a bit dry...and I wish the keys were bigger..or maybe some subtle movement panned in there

love it when the backing comes in..cant remember who it was making me think off..maybe Steven Stills???

its got almost a 70's vibe about it...nice mix and I wouldnt even call it minimalist until you mentioned it..plenty going on there to keep the interest..

very nice job all round Id say :)
 
Thanks for the input, K. I'm definitely going to work on the vocal.

Regarding the keys and movement ...

It might be very interesting as the piano notes descend to move it across the sound scape ...

Good thoughts, K.

Kev-
 
This is far from my usual genre, but i can honestly say I enjoyed it. I dont have enough proffesional experience to give you some critique that you can use im afraid, so im gonna keep it short: I enjoyed listening to it, and to me it sounded very proffesional :)
Good job
 
I agree with all of the above comments. Vox too dry (lead at least) git level could come up. Drums are a little busy with the hat, but I think they're a ton better than any drums I've ever come up with. A very Steely Dan sound, maybe that's why you lean toward dry vox. I would put some verb on them, but that's just a personal taste.

Now for a comment that I wondered whether it would be best left to myself: Are the keys about 3 or 4 cps flat? Sorry, my ears are 57 years old and I'm probably wrong.

BTW Great song!

Wig
 
Klagen said:
This is far from my usual genre, but i can honestly say I enjoyed it. I dont have enough proffesional experience to give you some critique that you can use im afraid, so im gonna keep it short: I enjoyed listening to it, and to me it sounded very proffesional :)
Good job
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Thank you kindly, K.

Kev-
 
Xeries said:
I agree with all of the above comments. Vox too dry (lead at least) git level could come up. Drums are a little busy with the hat, but I think they're a ton better than any drums I've ever come up with. A very Steely Dan sound, maybe that's why you lean toward dry vox. I would put some verb on them, but that's just a personal taste.

Now for a comment that I wondered whether it would be best left to myself: Are the keys about 3 or 4 cps flat? Sorry, my ears are 57 years old and I'm probably wrong.

BTW Great song!

Wig
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I'm not picking that up, W ... anyone else hear tuning issues? It is a synth, but I'll check to see if it wandered off 440.

Thanks also for the comment on the composition!

Best,

Kev-
 
Really nice work K-Dub. My two cents is that I rather like the dryer lead vocal you've gone for as it gives the song a slighter rougher edge and contrasts well with the smooth backing vocals.

If you're after positive criticism, my one very slight one is that after the piano swell that leads into the outro/end section, you lose a little bass which makes the sound a little thinner. I like how you've done that end section and if the sound was a wee bit fatter, you'd be bob on!
 
I hadn't noticed that Rob -- I'll give careful listen and attention to it. I do agree that the vocal shouldn't get overly wet, but I think I can keep the edge you like and find a more proper balance.

Thanks for the thoughts!

Kev-
 
K-dub said:
I hadn't noticed that Rob -- I'll give careful listen and attention to it.
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Just listened back to it again trying to put my finger on what I meant by this more specifically. Sorry if this isn't a very technical explanation, but I think it's because the lead vocals occupy the lower-mid frequencies that no other elements of the mix do.

Your voice has a nice tone to it, which gives the song a rich sound and when the lead vocal is not in the song, it loses a little what gave it that overall body maybe? It's certainly not a major criticism though - hope this helps!
 
I like the dry lead vocal. Try the reverb on the backing vocals instead.
 
robgreen said:
Just listened back to it again trying to put my finger on what I meant by this more specifically. Sorry if this isn't a very technical explanation, but I think it's because the lead vocals occupy the lower-mid frequencies that no other elements of the mix do.

Your voice has a nice tone to it, which gives the song a rich sound and when the lead vocal is not in the song, it loses a little what gave it that overall body maybe? It's certainly not a major criticism though - hope this helps!
Click to expand...

It does, Rob ... you're thinking like a mix engineer. Engineers are very specific ... the best can define exactly what they mean.

Thanks for the look back.

K-
 
diggy_dude said:
I like the dry lead vocal. Try the reverb on the backing vocals instead.
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I had a "less is more" vision in mind, DD ... and reverb would take a big sound on the backing vocals and create (I believe) such a big sound that it would be inappropriately overwhelming in that section for the piece ... and would challenge the presentation of it. Reverb

This wasn't a critical reply ... just an explanatory one.

Thank you for your thoughts,

Kev-
 
K-dub said:
I had a "less is more" vision in mind, DD ...

Kev-
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying, Kevin. I was just thinking if it were me, I'd put a tinge of reverb on them and push them back in the mix. Not a hall or cathedral, but something that would make them sound like they were behind the lead singer a little ways, rather than looking over his shoulder.

Just thinking aloud, dunno if it makes any sense.

Jim
 
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