Appreciate your ears

YellowDwarf

YellowDwarf

Dismember
Hopefully I've done enough review to deserve your time.

I've been listening way too much to Bowie's Blackstar and it's changed my music, not production and I think it is amazing. I've been listening to Bowie since 73, so that's a long time. His newer stuff (last 2 albums) sounded very different, but I'm off topic here.

This is a song where you can interpret the lyrics, so please do. This song also needs a good singer, but I sang instead. Maybe the guy who did the dead cat song a few months back could do this justice, but I tried.

Please tell me what you think about Leaders of Fools. Recorded and "mastered" at home. This is my new studio in the basement.

I'm no Rami, but you know.

Timbo

they're out there you know - they're lying in wait
watchful of friends hand in hand - or worse, lovers too late
there once was a time - when mountains were moved
there is always a chance - but they're the leaders of fools

they study our eyes you know - they prey on our fear
we've done nothing wrong, my friend - we mustn't stand clear
cold sun is still high - we're not yet overcome
no reason to heed - they're but the rulers of fools


we see the past manifest - but aye there's the rub
we're delicate dancers in time - and we've nothing to lose
there once was a time - when we clawed our way to the sky
there will be no more tears - they're the leaders of fools


https://soundcloud.com/yellowdwarfband/leaders-of-fools
 
There's a ton of reverb on the drums (too much for me) and once the other instruments come in, they sound too hi-passed. During the instrumental part around 3:00, the drum (snare) hit is really low except for the reverb on it. Are you going for the lo-fi high-pass vocal effect on purpose? You've got a Bowiesque feel going on it, but the EQ bothers me.
 
Thanks Mike, for the listen, exactly what I was hoping for: I didn't think that I should take the verb off the drums that was on at the intro and outro - I'll have a listen to it, but it's going to take a full remix I think of the rest of the song. I wasn't going for much lo-fi on the song, honest.

The vocals - well, I'm a baritone and I have trouble eq'ing myself. I tend to leave a bit of 150-200 then have a pretty big cut and leave the mid and up on it. It's served me well in the past!

I appreciate your time,

Timbo
 
I like this, it's stripped down and electronic and not too much like anything that's well known (by me at least). The vocalist is not a singer in the conventional sense but the vocal part works well for this song and there's no hesitation or pretense so it's fine by me. My only quibble is the intro and ending, the intro I can live with but hearing it again at the ending was kind of a let down, I'd rather is just stopped I think but that's a minor issue. There's lots of other ways this whole thing could be done I guess but I like it is.
 
I might try bringing down the vocal and synth ("ooooh") levels a bit. Really cool breakdown/bridge, I really like the experimentation on this tune.

Maybe beef up the bass synth if possible, an added patch or a different patch maybe?
 
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The super-saturated drums seems to sit ok with the rest of the arrangement. The vocals might be a little dry and on-top of the rest of the mix tho.

The mix feels like it leans a little right to me? The vox, theramin, and bass all seem a little louder on that side.

*edit* It's also possible my headphones are going out...
 
VomitHatSteve said:
*edit* It's also possible my headphones are going out...
Click to expand...

what hp's do you use, Steve?

This sounded good, in an electro-rock kind of way, to me. I think the ambient noises might be adding a little too much mud. The rimshot is oddly quieter than the snare hits, a little too much quieter. I think the thing that's bugging me most is that "windy sound" that comes and goes - it's got a lot of low buildup and clutters everything else.
 
There's a lot of reverb on the drums (and everything else) but it mixes pretty well. It sounds odd in the beginning when the drums are solo. There is something odd about the ambiance generally, like I'm hearing sounds in reverb that aren't there on the dry tracks. I like that bass synth. Overall I'm missing a hook.
 
i really like the song , lyrics and ambience of the song. I like the reverb in the intro and outro. during verses and chorus, sometimes it feels a bit too much particularly on the kick and some toms parts as they are a bit too bouncy,and not adding to the ambience. it could do with a drop in reverb in most of them. Eventually using it in some part like 1:13 the solo tom with reverb is very cool, but the drum part before is drowned into bouncy reverb. just listening on monitors headphones so this is just my impression, but overall you have a cool tune
 
andrushkiwt said:
what hp's do you use, Steve?
Click to expand...

They're Tascam TH-200Xs on my general-use PC right now (Basically whatever was pretty cheap and not terrible). (MoreMes on my recording box)

Re-listening with headphones that haven't broken yet. It's a completely different mix! :D
The vocals might be a little hot and sibilant, actually.
 
first off, haven't listened yet ,it just grabbed my attention when you wrote David bowie and Blackstar. i,m a big fan. think i'll go listen to your song now after having said that
 
Thanks again to everyone who chimed in. I've spent a couple of hours remixing: I took the suggestion to take the verb off the drums during the song, which of course, required rebalancing of every single instrument ... Hopefully a little more of a likeable mix this time

https://soundcloud.com/yellowdwarfband/leaders-of-fools-1

I really appreciate your help on this.

Timbo

For Robus, who was missing the hook - I guess it's a lame one. I wrote this song after our school board cancelled 2 of my kids' band trip to the terrorist hotspots of Austria and the Czech Republic. We're still steaming over this: cancelled over the fear of terrorism on the pretense that they were protecting our children. What have they taught our kids but to fear the ISIL leaders and their idiot children who carry the bombs (hence leaders of fools) ...
 
YD, I know just what you're talking about and have seen examples first hand. It pisses me off too. Great lesson for our kids: Cower in fear.

Listening to the new mix, I find the ambiance too much. I get that you are trying to achieve a spacey vibe, which is fine. It's more that the reverb and other FX are doing things that detract from the individual sounds. They are emphasizing frequencies which, listened closely to, are not nice. Take that sax solo. There is a tone there that I would almost call metallic. I'm sure that's your reverb. Personally, I would take all the ambience out and just listen, let my ears adjust to the dry sounds. My guess is that every part of this would sound better. Then you might decide to add back some of the ambiance, to better result.

What I meant by the "hook" comment was this. Your verses sound like they are building toward something--some kind of hook, chorus, or whatever. But it doesn't come. We get two verses, then an instrumental section, then back to the verse. It feels like a piece is missing.
 
Ah, I finally get it. Thanks Robus, sometimes you forget the lessons of years ago and don't rip the mix apart and start from scratch, which is the next step! I think there's a phaser on the sax, which may be the metallic sound ...

Thanks for that!

Timbo
 
Pretty interesting soundscape. I like the electronic sounds you're using, particularly the main synth. The tune builds and develops nicely with some cool change ups and lots of ear candy. Vocals are good too. Listened twice and it's getting better each time which is a good sign. Well done, good job
 
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