UK RnB Track V8 - EricMilligan

30th Dec 2016 03:50 - 9 years ago
Tags :
Description : At the risk of totally embarrassing myself, I am uploading this track. It was my attempt to produce a UK-style R&B track. I usually lay in the vocal melody line as a placeholder, using a Rhodes or B-3 patch. But, this track is primarily piano so Rhodes didn't work very well and the B-3 just didn't sound right. But, mostly, I couldn't get the expressiveness I wanted using the instruments. So, I decided to lay down a scratch vocal.

Now, I do understand entirely that I am a terrible singer. But, I needed to get the melody recorded somehow and I just could not find another way that worked properly. So, perhaps someday, a vocalist who can handle this track will present himself and I will gratefully remove this version.

I have no lyrics, so I'm singing nonsense syllables, which I understand is a fairly common method that even accomplished songwriters use when they are working things out.

And, if this is too offensive to Looperman members' ears, I will delete it. I'm not trying to inflict pain on anybody. Just trying to find a vocalist to work with.

Comments (16)

If you have time take a listen and give EricMilligan some feedback.

xstokes
xstokes 15th Sep 2020 16:59 - 6 years ago
this may be coming from left field, but your vox lend a bayou feel to this standout tune that sets it apart from the pack to these ears. this is distinctive and personal sounding.
sqrtofneg1
sqrtofneg1 17th Feb 2017 20:03 - 9 years ago
I think this is my favourite piece of yours.

The intro is probably the best throughout all of your pieces too.

The combination of the bass and the piano parts was amazing. They simply sound great together.

2:35 was the highlight for sure, the modulation was great.
The outro organ? sound was excellent as well.

The vocals aren't as bad as you might think. Of course, they can be better, but your voice still managed to capture what I thought was the essence of the piece.

Perhaps you should revisit this piece. It's way better than I think you give it credit.
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 27th Jun 2017 - 9 years ago
Well, after reading your comment, I just had to listen to the track again to see what I thought of it after all this time. I think it definitely has promise. Needs lyrics. And a proper singer, but on reflection I think it's worth some more effort on my part. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I think I needed that. :)
Daniall
Daniall 17th Feb 2017 04:01 - 9 years ago
good composition , welldone man .
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 27th Jun 2017 - 9 years ago
Thanks 3iad. I appreciate the positive feedback!
CitizenMofo
CitizenMofo 16th Feb 2017 15:28 - 9 years ago
This comment is hidden.
BlaqTi
BlaqTi 16th Feb 2017 05:43 - 9 years ago
This comment is hidden.
kingmadi
kingmadi 17th Jan 2017 21:39 - 9 years ago
It sounds very good. Keep up the good work!
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
thanks for the positive feedback, kingmadi. I will definitely keep at it. :)
benjizo
benjizo 17th Jan 2017 21:37 - 9 years ago
Tell you what, the intro is so dope,it raises your expectation for the rest of the track.But you already know the vocals mess it up a bit.
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
Hi, benjiko. I totally agree with you about the vocals letting things down in the track. It was nice to hear you say that the intro was good. It never occurred to me, however, that it would raise expectations that would then make the track more disappointing than it might have been otherwise, due to the crappy vocal. I think you are probably right about that. The only fix for that, of course, is to find a good vocalist to collaborate with. I do have vocoder plugins, but that vocal effect really isn't appropriate for everything I attempt. (emphasis on "attempt"!)
TrippyHippyCrew
TrippyHippyCrew 17th Jan 2017 21:21 - 9 years ago
the piano riff is so catchy! but the vocals in the back are kind of weird and way to quiet
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
Hi, TrippyHippyCrew! "Weird" is a total understatement. You are being kind! :) They are pretty awful, which is why I put them so low in the mix. I was trying to minimize the damage to Looperman members' hearing. Thanks for the comment. Sorry I took so long in responding.
crucethus
crucethus 11th Jan 2017 05:34 - 9 years ago
I can picture a strong bluesy female singer on this one. Nice falsetto BTW. yeah this is a good template. it needs some more percussive fun to enhance it´s beauty. Your voice reminds me slightly of Rik Ockasiek´s from the Cars. keep at this one ehh! fellow outaouain.
Cru
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
Hi, Steve. You definitely could be right about the bluesy female singer on this track. Frankly, anybody other than me would be better! :) I am astounded that anybody here on Looperman thinks the vocal had any redeeming qualities! Your reference to Rie Ockasiek was interesting. I keep wondering if there's some kind of "character" voice that I could find that would actually sound halfway acceptable. Other than the quality of my voice, the major problem I have is that I can't hold a note on pitch properly. My voice quavers, and it is particularly bad if I try to hold a note for any length of time. I think that's an issue of age because I have noticed that many professional singers have the same problem when they get older. So, the solution is to cut off each word/syllable and shift to a combination of singing/talking I think. Not that I want to focus on vocals. I'd much rather find a couple of good vocalists to collaborate with and leave the driving to them. :)
MGproduct
MGproduct 11th Jan 2017 05:28 - 9 years ago
Really good , just need some mix ...
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
Thanks, MGproduct. Nice to hear from you! I guess I will get back to this. Does need more work on the mix, but most importantly, it needs a good vocalist. :)
kdhsfm
kdhsfm 4th Jan 2017 06:18 - 9 years ago
Love it. I want to hear more.
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 16th Feb 2017 - 9 years ago
Thanks,kdhsfm. Sorry for not acknowledging your comment sooner. Lost track. I do appreciate the feedback.
BradoSanz
BradoSanz 31st Dec 2016 03:49 - 9 years ago
Or maybe you can upload it as a competition to see who can mix it the best or something! That would be fun!

Brado
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 4th Jan 2017 - 9 years ago
I like your first suggestion better! :)
BradoSanz
BradoSanz 31st Dec 2016 03:46 - 9 years ago
You should let me mix this!! Your voice could sound awesome with proper mixing and compression! Your voice is DEFINITELY distinct! PLEASE. All I need is the raw stems of each track in the session without ANY effects. I'd love to try my hand.

Brado
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 4th Jan 2017 - 9 years ago
Brado: that is a very kind offer! I would be very interested in having you try a remix. BUT, I think I do need to get some lyrics worked out first and I would want to re-record the vocals before I create the stems for you. For the record, the vocal track does have compression, and EQ, and reverb, and I used Auto-Tune to fix up the warbling pitch issues which permeated the entire track. Except that either I don't know how to use Auto-tune properly, or the warbling it so bad that even Auto-Tun can't fix it. :) As I mentioned in a previous response, I think I just need to find a range I can work in comfortably and I need to stop trying to hold notes. And, probably, I should use my condenser mic instead of my iPhone. Anyway, I much prefer the idea of having you do a mix instead of your suggestion of mounting a competition. That's way too much attention. What I really, really, want, is a competent singer. I don't understand why it is so hard to find people who can sing and who are willing to help out on tracks. Loads of producers and lots of rappers. There must be thousands of decent singers out there someplace.
wikkid
wikkid 30th Dec 2016 14:26 - 9 years ago
Hi Eric,

I think you should do the vocals.
Your voice has a unique quality about it. It's distinctive, and that's half the battle when singing. In addition, you've got range, and while many singers struggle to go into a falsetto, you appear to slide into yours fairly well. I can also hear emotion in this, something that always helps when singing.

Don't sell yourself short. Having a voice that's different than what's out there can be a blessing. Humility can also be a good thing, but you DO have a decent voice, you just have to keep on singing.

I like the song, and can tell what you're trying to do. When I listen to a song, I tend to isolate everything. I like your initial vocal melody, and I can hear the chorus or hook forming. I agree with the poster igorsamanski, "who cares if you're not Adelle? The beat and the melody are great."

You've got an interesting foundation started here. Now all you have to do it build on it. I hope once you get the lyrics, that you'll update this. My best to you.
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 4th Jan 2017 - 9 years ago
Hi, Wikkid. thanks for the feedback. I'm VERY surprised at the encouragement I've been getting to make the vocals better. That certainly wasn't my intent or expectation when I posted the track. I keep thinking about some of those really embarrassing moments on American Idol auditions who clearly thought they were great when they were, well, "not". Watching those episodes made me realize that people sometimes just don't hear how they actually sound when they are singing. it's a strange phenomenon. Watched the movie, Florence Foster Jenkins, last week and it was the same thing. Meryl Streep was fantastic in the role (as usual), but oh my god - the singing. Same situation. I really don't want to think that I'm afflicted by the same thing. That said, I am going to try to work out some lyrics and if I get something worthwhile, I think I will try the vocals again. The one I posted was actually just sung into my iPhone in one take. I do have a decent mic and I do know how to comp vocals, so I should be able to improve things.
theHumps
theHumps 30th Dec 2016 12:50 - 9 years ago
I'm not an accomplished singer I can tell you that I do put scratch vocal tracks down to rough out melody lines, similar to what you did here. The track you put down has some cool parts and ideas. Although it's a little low in the mix, you seem to be hitting the right notes and I think if you write some simple words and sing them within a range you are comfortable with I do believe you could sing this track.

Singing comes down to confidence, attitude and effort. My brother came in to sing his christmas song and he had never sang into a mic before. After the first take I told him to relax and to sing it like he meant every word with passion and to put on a performance in front of the mic. Basically I told him to grow a set and just go for it, he could sing the notes but I wanted to hear him belt it out with feeling. We did 3 more takes, each time was better and I could see him getting into it more and more.

From what I hear and I know it's just a scratch track, I think if you wrote some basic lyrics that you could pull the vocal part off.

Btw, cool track, wide open for those vocals. I do like the piano and the interesting bits set back in the mix, effects and sounds.

Wayne
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 4th Jan 2017 - 9 years ago
Wayne: Very good advice. Nobody has ever given me advice on vocals before, but then I've never done vocals before! :) I think your suggestion is very sound. I need to get some lyrics worked out as the next step. And, I've discovered that when I try to hold a note I warble off pitch horribly. So, the solution to that is to cut things off before I start wandering up and down and all around the actual note. In the shower I sound great! Of course, everybody does. But I also think you are correct in suggesting that I need to find a range that I'm comfortable with. But, most of all, I need to find a real singer.
igorsamanski
igorsamanski 30th Dec 2016 05:53 - 9 years ago
Wait a minute, you're from Canada, I thought you were British, I understand what you are trying to do, like you said in the description you're looking for a singer, but also just make your own version with you singing on it, it sounds kinda cool like retro or British or Mick Jaggerish or something, but put some equalizer on the vocals I can barely hear you, are you saying in the chorus "I'm gonna sleep all daaaayyy" is that what you're saying? maybe not, I'm listening without headphones with my laptop speakers, make you're own version dude, who cares if you're nor Adelle? the beat and melody are great,
EricMilligan
EricMilligan replied 4th Jan 2017 - 9 years ago
Hi, Igor. Thanks for the encouragement. I've been told that I sound a bit like Leonard Cohen. Except he sang on key. :) There are no actual words in the vocal. All nonsense sounds. I think I might try re-recording the vocals once I develop some lyrics.

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