Well this sounds nice. That vocal fits well, the music is good and it sounds like you've spent a long time mixing this down.
Nice blend of natural and synthetic sounds.
Nice breakdown, good bit of saxophone (I always love that instrument)
Very well constructed if i may say so myself.
FR
I was just reading your profile description and laughing a lot.
Right now I hate this song, probably because I spent too many hours mixing it...
It's not there yet and I'm not sure about the drums at all, they don't sound alive.
It's a nice song.
I find it to be very creative.
I like the reverb on the sax.
The voice is very strong, powerful and in tone with your musical company.
Hey!
What a fine song you've got there. Well balanced and produced. Piano and saw is complementing each other in a great way and the sweet sax just ends this song in a perfect way.
Tack, tack!
It didn't work out the way I intended from the start but I guess not many songs do, they tend to change shapes during the process.
Thanks for listening!
Wondered where you had been hiding. Like this - as usual your melodies are solid. You always have interesting and creative riffs. I think the vocals are a little hot and you could probably cut out the vocal from 1:37 to 1:50. I like the vocals on this one and I think they fit pretty well with the mood/genre. Not sure I would call it house but that is a quibble. I kind of agree with VaVedriVer that if you are going for a house vibe it should build - if you are going for a more fusion/jazz vibe I think it works.
-clindsay
Hi Clindsay!
I've been on a small break from making music, too little time and no inspiration. But I tried to finish this one just now, here is the new version: http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/155548
No idea what it became of it in the end...
Thanks for listening anyway!
Take care/
SJ =)
Aha - some good detail from you. Now I know a bit more about how you work.
Regarding drums - typical house drums can be quite boring though they can also be very cool and create an essential type of dance music. My last upload (Dance Motherfucker Dance) prominently featured a pair of house loops though I added a lot of other drums, as I tend to do. The new epic track I'm working on is a continuation of that last one, also prominently featuring that same pair of house loops. Plus lots of other programmed drums to give all sorts of variety.
I tend to use drum loops these days as more of a flavour that I add to and augment with the intricate programmed acoustic stuff. I think lots of people use monotonous drum loops because they don't really have anything else. You could get into the drum programming thing if you wanted as software such as EZ Drummer isn't really very expensive. And it's well worth it and great fun. I've recommended it many times on this site and some people have even gone out and bought it.
Yes, now you say it, I do recognise some of your synth work here as it's similar to some in the Nina Simone remix. Piano is a decent bass line but might be a bit too busy as a proper bassline when you get the drums in there so might need something lower that anchors things together better.
You ned to get yourself even just a cheap MIDI controller keyboard. I have done whole electronic tracks without playing any keys (eg Tiny Little Pieces) but it is often very time consuming and you don't get a chance to actually groove with the track.
I'm sure there's a lot more to come from your music over the years so you deserve a bit more gear. Especially the basic stuff such as a half decent keyboard.
Hi again StaticNomad!
Interesting tip about the drum programming thing!
But I think it's a little too advanced for me to start thinking about getting that kind of gear yet, I'm really just learning about the whole musicproducing process as it is.
And you would probably laugh or cry or both if you saw my working space and the lap top I'm currently using. My eldest doughter stumbled upon the cord once and the whole thing crasched on the floor, so the screen is..well you can't see anything on it.
A MIDI controller keybord would be a dream to have! But it's one of those things I'll have to wait to get, there are always ten other things that goes first in a family with children. =D
But enough of the moaning!
I'm on a little break from this song to get some distance and ”new” ears to it. You are right about that bass line, there have to be a proper and heavier bass line if I want this to be a dance track (which is the idea).
Thanks again for the feedback! I'll be checkin out that song of yours also, I think I've heard it onces and liked it but I'll check out he drums more specificly later on when I'll continue on this.
Hi. Lots of good components here. The vocals are awesome and I went and checked out the original capella too. Sounds like an all-time classic vocal.
Yes, phrasing and timbre of 'fine' is awesome.
The sax is cool so no problem there. But you've really got to get some drums or percussion into this. Maybe make it a bit more interesting than typical house.
I'd probably go for something like intricate swing jazz drums but I'm into programming up that sort of thing.
It's fine in places with no beat but it's too much of a tease never building to a fat beat. Good low piano notes. Is that your only playing so far on this? You're good at assembling loops but not sure how much other stuff you play (I understand your piano parts are played by you).
Hi StaticNomad!
About the drums - yes agreed, it's probably not going to be "typical" house drums, I tend to find them boring. But we'll have to see if I can pull of creating something in FL or if I have to go with loops. I'll check out some jazz drums for inspiration!
The low piano You are referring too might be a piano loop(not longer available for dl here) from ShortBusMusic, it's the one underneath the synts in the intro untill 0:35 and then again from 1:01.
I Think he's playing a real piano and I've tried to recreate that loop in FL but it's not the same at all.
I'm using that piano as a bass line here but I guess I need a proper bass also, especially in the other parts without it.
The simple piano chorus(0:40) and all the synts are mine, but I don't have a piano or midi so I used FL's piano roll.
And this bugs me a lot not to have access to "real" instruments; that piano roll is killing my inspiration, it's too time consuming.
But maybe some day...
I'll continue with this - Thank you so much for all the feedback!!!
This was cool to listen to. I was listening to something completely different as far as tone and atmosphere and then this hit me. Pretty cool stuff. I was waiting for the drums to kick in at some point but it never happened. That's ok, I enjoyed it all the same.
Hi Wayne!
I'm working on the drums, so there will be some drums too when it's all finished.
Thanks for the feedback! Cool to hear it's already working for you in this state.
Have you tried opening with just the pads, and what sounds like it might be piano, but not the sequenced synth? Maybe try waiting until the :40 mark to bring those in.
I like the sax in there. It definitely works. I don't think you're off in the wrong direction at all.
I took a step outside my genre comfort zone here and I have no clue how to go about house tracks but I believe you're onto a good start. Did like the track when started, dig the vocal message right away. Crazy piano getting down ha, that was nice. That bass drop was heavy unexpected but thought it was a clever addition. For opinion to improve not really sure, maybe after hearing the drums in there everything will be just fine for the next step. Cool start thanks for sharing, Keep going after rest.
A million thanks for the feedback! Really appreciate you listening when it's not even your favourite genre.
Let's see what happens when the drums are there. Cool that you like this so far!
I would think that ultimately it depends on what the intro is leading into. The beginning synths are busy, but if you're going into a busier, upbeat tune, this works fine. If you do end up working a "build" into it, then that will offset the two melody synths even more. At least, that's just my opinion, anyhow.
I'm ALWAYS trying to do this house tune and it ALWAYS ends up in something else, but this is really supposed to stay as it so an upbeat house-kind-of-a tune; a build up and some serious beats after that.
That's my plan - Thank you again! I'm going to listen to your Music when my ears are functioning again. =)
Based on what I've heard from you in the past, I assume that it's not going to go into a massive dubstep-DnB drop. So, for an intro, this is alright. The beginning half is good, but from 0:39 on you need to start working a "build" into it. Some sweeps, some snare progression, a gradual, rising pitch on some "string" pads, reverse cymbals, etc.
I like where it's going. I'm anticipating your progress.
Hi, OK great!
I'm mainly worried about the two synth melodies in the beginning, if they sound too corny/boring - and have noone to ask.
Thanks for the feedack and also thanks for clarifying about Worl Drums earlier by the way!
Hi SJ,
You never disappoint me! This is another beautiful track.
You got a lot of comments/hints on the mix, this is because I think this track *is difficult* to mix, since you have a lot of things going on (as you said, it's so "dense" that it wouldn't almost need a vocal part).
But it's so good that you cannot remove anything!
What could you do to make it more "airy"?
I second Dan and Ed: you could try panning the background synths a bit more to the side, this should already free some space. And I also agree to Ed for the drums: this is a chilly song, so no need to go for explosive drums. Nevertheless adding some cymbals (as somebody else already noted) should make the mix more "extended" on the high frequencies, giving it a more airy touch.
But please let me state it once more: I like this song! In fact I like it a lot!
Ciao, Domenico
Really liking this, such a beautiful flow throughout, Had a listen on both speakers and headphone and both sounded quite wide, but that's fine as it gives the track that airy sound!
I really like your song because he is a bit special for my taste and I like it very much.
You've Painted like a picture, the entire image is created by many individual ingredients.
well done
World drums would be any hand drum. Like a Djembe, Darbuka, Conga, Bongo, Taiko, etc.
Like Maffin suggested, a soft conga line, or even a Djembe to enhance the higher frequencies. I know FL has quite a few presets in the world drum section. I don't remember exactly where to find them, but I've used them before. You'll have to assign them to a mixer track and EQ the hell out of them to bring them up to par, but once you do, they sound pretty good.
You`ve got a good one going here SJ...notice you have had a few suggestions...bass sounds exactly as it should on my system..eq is pretty close, sut I would play around with widening the mix a bit...panning some of the backing quite a bit more...you might try inserting a mid-side processor on some of the tracks too...vocal is really fitting well..drums are a little understated but it is a chillout mix so may not call for anything very drastic..a couple of dBs of gain ..try a compressor set to show 3-5 dBs of reduction and a real fast release time ...Its so close as it is, but you have a really nice listening piece of music going so likely worth doing a bit of tweaking on...good job...keep on...Ed
Hello Ed and thank you, THANK YOU for the detailed feedback and advice! I'm going to follow your description (if I can!) when remixing this and see what happens.
Take care - I'm off to give your latest track a listen, I have been saving it for a couple of days now because I know it is going to be quite an musical experience!
/SJ =)
I know you like the bass and it's really good, but I think it's overwhelming the track a touch, and I agree that you should look at the EQ. Less bass actually makes you hear it more clearly sometimes, and the comment about the World Drums is interesting because I can also imagine some soft conga's or more percussion to bring out the top frequencies, especially if you use that percussion pretty wide left and right on the stereo to give some open space and breadth.
On headphones it's ok, but on my monitors the bass is a bit heavy, but it's a lovely song, a great idea and nearly there...!
Hi Maff!
You brought a bunch of good advice - I'm getting the picture now. Next step is to remix this with monitors, had no idea that the bass came through that heavily!
Noted about the percussion - a lot of inspiration, thanks!
Redoing...
All the ingredients are assembled here, for that this concept is pleasant to listen to: Your idea, the instrumentation, the voices ....
But it lacks the spices to make it perfect .... I mean here, that your mix needs to be a bit more "airy"... and that the components, a little more distinctive in mix ....
Despite my small "culinary" criticism, you realized a concept ambitious and pleasant to listen to ....
Hi Dan!
Yes, a lot to fix in the mix - I worked with headphones on and haven't had the chance to listen to this on monitors so that's the next step. I'm going for that airy feeling that you are asking for, maybe I'll manage to get there eventually. Thanks for the advice and for the listen!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Nice blend of natural and synthetic sounds.
Nice breakdown, good bit of saxophone (I always love that instrument)
Very well constructed if i may say so myself.
FR
I was just reading your profile description and laughing a lot.
Right now I hate this song, probably because I spent too many hours mixing it...
It's not there yet and I'm not sure about the drums at all, they don't sound alive.
Thanks for listening and leaving a comment!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
I find it to be very creative.
I like the reverb on the sax.
The voice is very strong, powerful and in tone with your musical company.
I think I overdid it slightly, too much going on. Maybe I'll do a remake some day...
Yes, the voice is amazing!
Cheers/ SJ =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
What a fine song you've got there. Well balanced and produced. Piano and saw is complementing each other in a great way and the sweet sax just ends this song in a perfect way.
Cheers!
/Anders
It didn't work out the way I intended from the start but I guess not many songs do, they tend to change shapes during the process.
Thanks for listening!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
-clindsay
I've been on a small break from making music, too little time and no inspiration. But I tried to finish this one just now, here is the new version: http://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/155548
No idea what it became of it in the end...
Thanks for listening anyway!
Take care/
SJ =)
on People by SeriouslyJoking
Keep doing greats songs.
on Detroit Demeanor ft Buddahmann and Silverback by SeriouslyJoking
The mixing was awesome and I like a lot how you remade it, also loved the vocals.
thanks for using my loop and keep up the good work! :D
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Waiting for the drums and the finished song
very well
Bathers
I'm thinking about the drums so to be continued...
Take care!
/SJ =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Regarding drums - typical house drums can be quite boring though they can also be very cool and create an essential type of dance music. My last upload (Dance Motherfucker Dance) prominently featured a pair of house loops though I added a lot of other drums, as I tend to do. The new epic track I'm working on is a continuation of that last one, also prominently featuring that same pair of house loops. Plus lots of other programmed drums to give all sorts of variety.
I tend to use drum loops these days as more of a flavour that I add to and augment with the intricate programmed acoustic stuff. I think lots of people use monotonous drum loops because they don't really have anything else. You could get into the drum programming thing if you wanted as software such as EZ Drummer isn't really very expensive. And it's well worth it and great fun. I've recommended it many times on this site and some people have even gone out and bought it.
Yes, now you say it, I do recognise some of your synth work here as it's similar to some in the Nina Simone remix. Piano is a decent bass line but might be a bit too busy as a proper bassline when you get the drums in there so might need something lower that anchors things together better.
You ned to get yourself even just a cheap MIDI controller keyboard. I have done whole electronic tracks without playing any keys (eg Tiny Little Pieces) but it is often very time consuming and you don't get a chance to actually groove with the track.
I'm sure there's a lot more to come from your music over the years so you deserve a bit more gear. Especially the basic stuff such as a half decent keyboard.
Interesting tip about the drum programming thing!
But I think it's a little too advanced for me to start thinking about getting that kind of gear yet, I'm really just learning about the whole musicproducing process as it is.
And you would probably laugh or cry or both if you saw my working space and the lap top I'm currently using. My eldest doughter stumbled upon the cord once and the whole thing crasched on the floor, so the screen is..well you can't see anything on it.
A MIDI controller keybord would be a dream to have! But it's one of those things I'll have to wait to get, there are always ten other things that goes first in a family with children. =D
But enough of the moaning!
I'm on a little break from this song to get some distance and ”new” ears to it. You are right about that bass line, there have to be a proper and heavier bass line if I want this to be a dance track (which is the idea).
Thanks again for the feedback! I'll be checkin out that song of yours also, I think I've heard it onces and liked it but I'll check out he drums more specificly later on when I'll continue on this.
Take care!
/SJ =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Yes, phrasing and timbre of 'fine' is awesome.
The sax is cool so no problem there. But you've really got to get some drums or percussion into this. Maybe make it a bit more interesting than typical house.
I'd probably go for something like intricate swing jazz drums but I'm into programming up that sort of thing.
It's fine in places with no beat but it's too much of a tease never building to a fat beat. Good low piano notes. Is that your only playing so far on this? You're good at assembling loops but not sure how much other stuff you play (I understand your piano parts are played by you).
Good luck with it. It's going to be good.
About the drums - yes agreed, it's probably not going to be "typical" house drums, I tend to find them boring. But we'll have to see if I can pull of creating something in FL or if I have to go with loops. I'll check out some jazz drums for inspiration!
The low piano You are referring too might be a piano loop(not longer available for dl here) from ShortBusMusic, it's the one underneath the synts in the intro untill 0:35 and then again from 1:01.
I Think he's playing a real piano and I've tried to recreate that loop in FL but it's not the same at all.
I'm using that piano as a bass line here but I guess I need a proper bass also, especially in the other parts without it.
Then there is a snippet from this FL piano loop: http://www.looperman.com/loops/detail/57173 first appearing 0:09-0:02 and then again at 0:55 and forward.
The simple piano chorus(0:40) and all the synts are mine, but I don't have a piano or midi so I used FL's piano roll.
And this bugs me a lot not to have access to "real" instruments; that piano roll is killing my inspiration, it's too time consuming.
But maybe some day...
I'll continue with this - Thank you so much for all the feedback!!!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Thanks,
Wayne
I'm working on the drums, so there will be some drums too when it's all finished.
Thanks for the feedback! Cool to hear it's already working for you in this state.
Take care and thanks for listening!
/SJ =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
I like the sax in there. It definitely works. I don't think you're off in the wrong direction at all.
Just a suggestion.
Take care.
V.
Thank you again for the feedback!!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Let's see what happens when the drums are there. Cool that you like this so far!
Take care!
/SJ =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
=)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
We'll see how this turns out, it could go down the drain also, U never know I guess.
=D
Take care!
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
Take care.
V.
That's my plan - Thank you again! I'm going to listen to your Music when my ears are functioning again. =)
on Troubled Minds Ft TheG1t by SeriouslyJoking
I like where it's going. I'm anticipating your progress.
Take care.
V.
I'm mainly worried about the two synth melodies in the beginning, if they sound too corny/boring - and have noone to ask.
Thanks for the feedack and also thanks for clarifying about Worl Drums earlier by the way!
Continuing on this...
Take care! /SJ =)
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
You never disappoint me! This is another beautiful track.
You got a lot of comments/hints on the mix, this is because I think this track *is difficult* to mix, since you have a lot of things going on (as you said, it's so "dense" that it wouldn't almost need a vocal part).
But it's so good that you cannot remove anything!
What could you do to make it more "airy"?
I second Dan and Ed: you could try panning the background synths a bit more to the side, this should already free some space. And I also agree to Ed for the drums: this is a chilly song, so no need to go for explosive drums. Nevertheless adding some cymbals (as somebody else already noted) should make the mix more "extended" on the high frequencies, giving it a more airy touch.
But please let me state it once more: I like this song! In fact I like it a lot!
Ciao, Domenico
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
I really like your song because he is a bit special for my taste and I like it very much.
You've Painted like a picture, the entire image is created by many individual ingredients.
well done
Greetings Bathers
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
Like Maffin suggested, a soft conga line, or even a Djembe to enhance the higher frequencies. I know FL has quite a few presets in the world drum section. I don't remember exactly where to find them, but I've used them before. You'll have to assign them to a mixer track and EQ the hell out of them to bring them up to par, but once you do, they sound pretty good.
Good luck with your progress!
Take care.
V.
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
Take care - I'm off to give your latest track a listen, I have been saving it for a couple of days now because I know it is going to be quite an musical experience!
/SJ =)
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
I know you like the bass and it's really good, but I think it's overwhelming the track a touch, and I agree that you should look at the EQ. Less bass actually makes you hear it more clearly sometimes, and the comment about the World Drums is interesting because I can also imagine some soft conga's or more percussion to bring out the top frequencies, especially if you use that percussion pretty wide left and right on the stereo to give some open space and breadth.
On headphones it's ok, but on my monitors the bass is a bit heavy, but it's a lovely song, a great idea and nearly there...!
Very nice listen!
Maff
You brought a bunch of good advice - I'm getting the picture now. Next step is to remix this with monitors, had no idea that the bass came through that heavily!
Noted about the percussion - a lot of inspiration, thanks!
Redoing...
Thanks for taking your time!
/ SJ =)
on Foggy Farm Ft Addis Branwell and Holly by SeriouslyJoking
All the ingredients are assembled here, for that this concept is pleasant to listen to: Your idea, the instrumentation, the voices ....
But it lacks the spices to make it perfect .... I mean here, that your mix needs to be a bit more "airy"... and that the components, a little more distinctive in mix ....
Despite my small "culinary" criticism, you realized a concept ambitious and pleasant to listen to ....
Dan
Yes, a lot to fix in the mix - I worked with headphones on and haven't had the chance to listen to this on monitors so that's the next step. I'm going for that airy feeling that you are asking for, maybe I'll manage to get there eventually. Thanks for the advice and for the listen!
Take care!
/ SJ =)