my weekly dose of electro nothingness

[kcearl]

this is a quick mix...but strangely it sounds like I may have got its balance, or close to it already...Its a slower house tune that i tried to, or have used, short vocal bites to make up much of the rhythm a la Jarres "Zoolook", I think it works

two things my ears may be deaf to now as I recorded this two weeks ago and have been listening to it since then


is the lead synth completely dissonant when the piano comes in or vice versus?? i had backing singing which it matched but since removed it.. i cant tell if repetitive listens have numbed me, and

is the latin percussion too fast for the plod of the song...its only 120bpm so a lot slower than some of my stuff but the percussion isnt half time or anything


its over 6 mins so if you want to skim through it be my guest

thanks for any comments or listens

 

[rayc]

Dissonance:
Not to me - BUT that could just be me - I thought atonal was normal!
Latin speedball:
NO, it's not.
Other:
It's strange that the lead/melodic instrumentation is mainly in one ear for some time as it builds textures whilst the other ear is more rhythm. Stange but not bad - interesting strange!
This piece is quite a bit slower BUT it holds interest by the devloping texture.
The vocal rhythm "could" be resolved into a more comprehendable phrase towards the end as a clever dick trick!
"haggis 'n' chips"
I think your fears are a matter of paranoia developed by propinquity.
Is Gud!

 

[kcearl]

cheers Ray...funny you mentioned the vocal part..the "one" morphed into "one and only" after the breakdown...but I just couldnt get the sample to fit at that tempo, and I dont do female vocals, well in the shower maybe

yeah i could be too close to it to notice whether it wasnt dissonant..doesnt sound quite right to me but ill trust your ears more..hell i'll trust anybodies as mine have enough wax in them to manufacture a box of Jaffa cakes lol

 

[jghungerford]

Here are my thoughts. I dont know if your familiar with Joker (the Dubstep/Purple W0W Dj) but it slightly reminded me of his work. Very melodic using classic synth sounds. See but he always has a huge kick and snare and there to compliment these retro synths. This tune needs a bigger kick and snare; I'll settle for a bigger snare. Please note that I am also biased to the fact that I get all wacky for huge kicks. Also, I dont know if this is possible with the samples that you are using but if those bongos could be wider...it would be pretty cool. That swirly little pad could be psuhed forward in the mix too.


As for actual MIX critique I feel that the bass would occasionally blur the instruments in the rhythm section. Some times I lost the piano, other times it would be the pad. It's always been hard for me to mix grainy basses. All the harmonics that it throws off can be really hard to wrestle down.

 

[FunkDaddy]

I dig the synth that comes in at 2:10. It was just about that point that I was starting to get bored with it but that brought me back into the tune.

Love the drop at 2:43. I'd bring the drums in a little harder though, personally.

I think the percussion grooves pretty nicely with everything else.

Listening on a laptop at the moment but the mix sounds pretty solid still.

Nice work on this one my man.

 

[joeym]

It had me tapping my foot , that's for sure.
Yeah, a b****** snare and kick would really complete this track, Keith. As usual, I admire the three-dimensionality (is that a word...??) in your tracks. Nice work!

 

[Greg_L]

I give another vote for bigger kick and snare. It's good as-is, but a little tame. They say 120 bpm is the magical tempo that gets people moving. I don't know if it's true, but a bigger kick and snare sure couldn't hurt in getting butts to jiggle.

As for the song, I listened all the way through and wasn't bored, so good job there.

 

[sharonclowe]

My short attention span and I would like it better if it had just a little more variety in the melody. Other than that I thought it was a fun listen!

 

[kcearl]

Here are my thoughts. I dont know if your familiar with Joker (the Dubstep/Purple W0W Dj) but it slightly reminded me of his work. Very melodic using classic synth sounds. See but he always has a huge kick and snare and there to compliment these retro synths. This tune needs a bigger kick and snare; I'll settle for a bigger snare. Please note that I am also biased to the fact that I get all wacky for huge kicks. Also, I dont know if this is possible with the samples that you are using but if those bongos could be wider...it would be pretty cool. That swirly little pad could be psuhed forward in the mix too.


As for actual MIX critique I feel that the bass would occasionally blur the instruments in the rhythm section. Some times I lost the piano, other times it would be the pad. It's always been hard for me to mix grainy basses. All the harmonics that it throws off can be really hard to wrestle down.

nice feedback

I like the drum samples but Ive gave both kicks a bit more compression and layered a clap over the snare...it maybe lost impact as it was going through its own reverb..I dont know the artist but im not sure this is minimal enough to go for an all out kick drum assault

Ive adjusted the sidechaining relationships between the gritty bass, piano, and string pads...the piano still get a little lost but Im not too bothered in the busy part..dunno if i have the skill or patience to completely stop it

the congas and bongos are a VSTi so spreading them out a little more wasnt a problem...they do sound a better pushed out a little more


good set of ears mate and thanks

 

[kcearl]

I dig the synth that comes in at 2:10. It was just about that point that I was starting to get bored with it but that brought me back into the tune.

Love the drop at 2:43. I'd bring the drums in a little harder though, personally.

I think the percussion grooves pretty nicely with everything else.

Listening on a laptop at the moment but the mix sounds pretty solid still.

Nice work on this one my man.

ah thats the trick, just when you nod off the lead brings you back in lol...like it was meant

yeah a couple of my tracks do tend to plod along...I think I really like making the individual components rather than the finished product sometimes...i love the lead in this...which is two synths layered, got a squelch about it

Ive tweaked the drums so hopefully they have a little more impact after the drop

Thanks for the listen FD, glad nothing jumped out too much

 

[kcearl]

It had me tapping my foot , that's for sure.
Yeah, a b****** snare and kick would really complete this track, Keith. As usual, I admire the three-dimensionality (is that a word...??) in your tracks. Nice work!

cheers Joe...bit more 3D than a couple of recent ones...and easier to mix...dunno, if I get the kick samples right and lay off the sub its all a bit easier


got a good collab with Okie coming up, I think you'll enjoy in a poptastic kinda way

 

[kcearl]

I give another vote for bigger kick and snare. It's good as-is, but a little tame. They say 120 bpm is the magical tempo that gets people moving. I don't know if it's true, but a bigger kick and snare sure couldn't hurt in getting butts to jiggle.

As for the song, I listened all the way through and wasn't bored, so good job there.

Gave both drums a bit more oomph..I think they are borderline not being able to translate on smaller systems, well the kick is so Ill wont push them


I never thought you'd get through 6 mins of this, man thats a better sign than most that this ones a keeper lol

thanks Greg

 

[kcearl]

My short attention span and I would like it better if it had just a little more variety in the melody. Other than that I thought it was a fun listen!

lol, I know what you mean...saying that this is a veritable orchestra compared to some of the stuff I listen too

glad you still found the fun in it...it was a wee bit of an experiment for me

 

[heatmiser]

I think this sounds great. Have you been tweaking since you first posted? I ask as I'm not hearing too many of the issues others have mentioned, but am on a less than ideal playback system at the moment.

This one to me has a nice big, clear sound. Not as layered sounding as some of your other stuff, but that just leaves more space for what you have here to be heard. I liked the rhythmic interplay of the synths and I thought the bass was cool.

Having said that, I thought the first couple of minutes were a little sparse. I was waiting for other elements to come in and was a bit thrown by the fact that not too much seemed to be added. Then, around 2-2.5 mins it picked up considerably and got better through to the end.

Some of your stuff, this in particular, reminds me of the music heard on menus on racing games (Forza motorsports, Project Gotham Racing, etc.) which is not a knock as some of that stuff is pretty cool while some is quite bad. Your stuff would kick ass on most of what I hear there, but the style is reminiscent of that. Sorry - maybe not what you're shooting for, but...

Anyway, I think this one is really good and don't mind the length at all - just thought there should be more going on sooner.

 

[kcearl]

I think this sounds great. Have you been tweaking since you first posted? I ask as I'm not hearing too many of the issues others have mentioned, but am on a less than ideal playback system at the moment.

This one to me has a nice big, clear sound. Not as layered sounding as some of your other stuff, but that just leaves more space for what you have here to be heard. I liked the rhythmic interplay of the synths and I thought the bass was cool.

Having said that, I thought the first couple of minutes were a little sparse. I was waiting for other elements to come in and was a bit thrown by the fact that not too much seemed to be added. Then, around 2-2.5 mins it picked up considerably and got better through to the end.

Some of your stuff, this in particular, reminds me of the music heard on menus on racing games (Forza motorsports, Project Gotham Racing, etc.) which is not a knock as some of that stuff is pretty cool while some is quite bad. Your stuff would kick ass on most of what I hear there, but the style is reminiscent of that. Sorry - maybe not what you're shooting for, but...

Anyway, I think this one is really good and don't mind the length at all - just thought there should be more going on sooner.

Thanks Pete...Im not really shooting for anything and those tracks on the games are real tracks...my mate worked on GTA, they put quite a bit of work into it...and Id be well chuffed if i had the opportunity


anyway...yeah its a bit sparse, but thats deliberate...i little teaser or something probably wouldnt go a miss though...and yeah I've tweaked it all since I posted it lol, just stopped about an hour ago...I think its there now, and if you're not hearing much then thats great...


maybe I could have one of the pads enter 16 bars ahead of the lead...thats might cover the interest...mmm thanks man