StaticNomad

Hi. Yeah, it's a good track. Sort of hip hop but not exactly. Something slightly different about it. But in a good way.

I can hear something in common with your other tracks from the bass and drums.

The simple stabbed chord melody works nicely and complements his voice well. Has a good groove to it.

Simple, sparse drums until 1:10 when you add some other hats to give a bit of lift.

All the grooves fit well together and support the vocals nicely so you've found stuff that complements them well. Not always easy when you just start with an acapella (not that I try doing it often).

Not sure what else to suggest for this one as you've got a good length and the production is just fine and it's all about supporting those busy vocals anyway.

Well done.

Hi. It's a gentle and melodic intro. Sounds like real slow, fading ambient chill there.

Very lazy groove.

0:44 I like that new busy pad with some vocal qualities to it then then the actual vocal that comes in. And then the beat gets heavier.

A good mix of elements there and some rather cool chillout music.

1:39good new drum hits.

1:47 new big, evolving pad and those drum hits continue to provide more variety.

This is classy stuff that is also quite interesting for chillout music. Lots happening.

3:39 new beat and those big, fizzing pads that are very powerful.

4:12 violin is strange but kind of interesting. I respect you for putting something that strange and atonal in the track. I prefer tonal and melodic to atonal but I think it works quite well here. Gives it an extra bit of vibe and character. And it's not for very long!

Well done. Best thing I've heard from you.

Yo. Thought I'd seen your name before. You reviewed my heavy track The Bigger The Fatter The Better.

This is good stuff.

Weirdly effected intro is cool. Makes me think of industrial or dubstep. Then lead burst that comes in is a surprise, as are the vocals. I like the (your?) voice.

1:03 nice swooping delayed guitar screech.

Tell me how you're doing the drums. Software programming? Loops? They're more on the electro side but this is clearly rock music.

1:28 bass sounds particularly good. As do drums, which are much like an acoustic kit there, much less electronic.

2:32 I think there may be a timing problem with the drumming. Not sure the drums are in time for a few bars. Things sound a bit messy.

Fadeout ending is disappointing and doesn't last long enough. Make it last longer or do a proper ending (not a fadeout).

Overall - good work. Something different and quite distinctive. It's annoying me because I can't think who the vocals remind me of. I'll let you know if I remember.

Hi. This is a really good cover of a truly great song.

Your voice is excellent but doesn't have the weird and powerful edge of Beth Gibbons. She's got some disturbing menace and pain in her voice. That makes it kind of special though it can also get a bit grating at times (especially on a track that's not so good).

But I can't fault most of the singing except for 1:44 where the volume you're singing at overloads the mic and introduces clipping.

Lots of your phrasing I like a lot.

2:52 good job in mimicking the vocal effect of the original. Good attention to detail there.

Overall - an excellent cover that's very close to the original without trying to sound quite like Beth Gibbons.

Yo again. I'm mildly surprised you're not already a Morcheeba fan but glad you liked the link. How could you not?

They've been around since the mid 90s, coming after groups like Portishead and Massive Attack - who you might call the original trip hop. Morcheeba aren't as good as those two but their first two albums have some cool stuff on them. Bullet Proof is from the second and best one called Big Calm, which is a very varied album.

Here's a killer live jam a bit like Bullet Proof

Morcheeba - Post Humous (Live at the Mackie)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hv3Zzweo6Y

And here's one of their early hits. Very cool song!

Morcheeba - Trigger Hippie (Official Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S71bzLtf98

I seem to remember their next album called Fragments Of Freedom (in 2000) was pretty crap but they had a bit of a return to form with last year's album when their original vocalist, Skye Edwards, rejoined them.

It kicks off with this pretty cool track
Morcheeba - Gimme Your Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKFMK2eDWeQ

Anyway, that should be enough to get you going with them. Some of your stuff sounds like you could do a good remix of their stuff and/or work with them. It's not as smooth and polished but has a lot in common with them.

I enjoyed listening back to this track. You never told me what the theremin-like lead instrument was...

Hi. This is good. I can see why you liked my track The Bigger The Fatter The Better as they have some rocking in common.

0:19 guitar sounds a bit odd when it comes in. Bit naked or something - could probably do with some reverb.

Entry of the banging beat and things are really kicking!

Very insistent stuff. Maybe it's a little too straight and could do with a bit of loose quantise, maybe a bit of shuffle or a bit of swing.

Piano is a nice touch and a bit surprising. I like the combination of high plinky notes and those lower chords. Good reverb on it.

Then the big pad takes us somewhere else.

I guess this sort of is industrial but it's also very melodic. Definite soundtrack music.

Buzzy guitar breakdown and back with the banging beats and it's gone a bit heavier but still melodic.

A distinctive track with a hell of a lot going for it. Classy stuff, I say.

I shall make it a favourite.

Not sure if I've heard the other mix of this that Free Radical mentioned.

Anyway, this is cool and it truly is trip hop.

0:35 when scratching comes in it does remind me a little of Morcheeba.

See this awesome track:

Morcheeba- Bullet Proof

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayJQvZxBj5s

Love of pad and soundscape movement behind the bass, drums, vocals and record scratch (?) and also what sounds a little like a theremin.

Excellent vocals and perfect for this sort of genre.

2:24 bass makes me think a little of dub. I like hearing it there just with shakers before snare returns.

This is classy stuff and I'm struggling to fault the production or playing.

Did I hear a bit of sax/trumpet eg on 3:14?

Good to hear that scratching return towards the end.

Favourite for me so well done.

Yo. I had to comment again as Beardyman is just such a musical genius. What a coincidence that you recommended that BBC radio clip. I had just watched it the day before as I regularly check for new uploads of his incredible live performances.

He's one of the greatest improvisers out there and such a natural comedian and also one of the best going. That track Timey Wimey from your link was amazing. From the presenter suggesting he sounded a bit Australian, he very quickly had a great didg loop going and then the killer beat kicked in. And he's a great improvisational lyricist. He can write some pretty good songs in real time, which is such a difficult skill.

So many other clips of his that I could suggest though make sure you check his full show in Seattle. Some of his rapping in that is really badass. He's also a great rapper as he can accurately sound like a whole load of other great rappers. Great reggae singer too.

The big shame for me (and I'd tell him this if I ever met him) is that he hasn't actually written and recorded a quality album of original material. He's got just one album and it's not very good.

But make sure you listen to his Don't Look Back In Africa song as it's one of the cleverest and most alternative cover songs I've ever heard.

I could witter on and on about Beardyman forever!

P.S. I've been to only two Beardyman gigs. Last one was him performing with a brilliant drummer, two violinists and a cellist. All spontaneous improvisational stuff, as usual.

I guess I must have somehow missed this one. Not sure why.

Anyway, it's wonderfully gentle stuff, as everyone has already noted.

Years ago, I had a plan to make a proper ambient album but I love groove and always find myself doing groove-based stuff rather than just pieces like this that sit perfectly and need no groove.

Brian Eno has already been mentioned so I will just tell you something I heard him say in an interview a few years ago.

He spoke of having the aim of creating music that was like a painting. So, it would just sit beautifully and never really go anywhere. That's what this is like.

It could go on for a whole album (or more).

One day I'll sit down and properly do something like this.

Actually, I do have one rather nice ambient/cinematic track on here with no drums that may well interest you. But it doesn't sit quite like this and it has some more obvious changes.

Here it is:

Visible Aura

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/104733

This is something different from you. None of your big, ancient tribal sounds. Much more electronic this time.

Lots of powerful noise on this - a little bit like rain.

And big, long bass notes.

0:21 good lead arpeggio.

No proper drum beat but it does have a steady groove I can feel.

I guess this is more of your computer game soundtrack music. Would be good for a scene with lots of rain or perhaps a planet with a strange atmosphere or landscape.

Thanks for saying I'm a great composer. I'm good at jamming on instruments and then spending a long time editing the parts together. I'm not sure if that's really proper music composition - more like music collage.

Word up, Sikstyle. Can't remember your Angel Dust track. Maybe I've heard it, just can't remember the title.

This is a pretty cool track. Great emotional tinkly high piano. And heart-tugging strings.

The variety between your sort of verse rap and then chorus singing is good and propels the track and keeps the interest going.

Some of the drops when the strings cut out are really effective eg at 1:47 when it drops back into more of a verse.

Can't really fault the production. Did you put together all the music?

It's quite a long track for this sort of style but that's fine.

Winding down of the beat at the end is good and it's quite a skilful, tasteful fadeout.

Congratulations.

More of your classic guitar work here.

Drum beats are good though perhaps they get a bit repetitive after a while. I like the change to the open hat.

1:52 trill is cool and groovy lead work.

You're right that this probably should be shorter.

I think you could maybe mix your lead playing a bit better at times as it seems a bit pushed back in the mix. Try EQing it a bit. I also use a lot of stereo widening effect (the same Cubase plugin) on my guitar parts, which can make a huge difference.

I don't put it on every single guitar part but I generally try it out to see it will help.

Not much to fault with the playing here. I think you should try to cut the track down by something like a minute or two.

However, if this were a live gig, the length would probably be fine. People would be grooving to this.

No, I don't remember that fight ( I checked out the Youtube video). I guess you're saying you've composed this track after being inspired by that sort of game music.

Well, this is totally effective.

I'd like to have and use some of the aggressive brass sounds you use in your music (and this track).

I would probably use them to make something like heavy grunge or metal. Here is a grunge track featuring lots of brass. I love it!

Soundgarden - Drawing Flies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyOC6LtvDZY

Back to your track:

I like the close room reverb on the shaker percussion. I can really hear the wood of the drums there. Sounds very natural.

The bass for this is just some sort of low rumble. So, a percussive drum sort of bassline. But it works really well.

You use a lot of sounds that I don't have but I wish I had them. Maybe I need to buy other VST instruments.

Nice choir voices in this as well.

Well done again!

Big congrats on this as it's very cool and will be greatly enjoyed by many people.

Sounded good right away.

0:12 solid cool beat and you the build it up with the introduction of that bass.

We really get moving at 0:22 so intro is nice and short and totally suitable.

The 8-bit stuff is very charming and I'm not much of an 8 bit fan.

Vocals surprised me. I guarantee Spivkurl will love them. The effects work well, especially as this is all-round fun, bouncy stuff.

1:43 powerful stop.

2:02 effected vocal works really well as a fill.

I don't know if there really is an 8-bit-glitch-dub genre. If not, you appear to be creating it right here.

Nice length, no real complaints or criticism so I salute thee.

Hi again.

It's a decent basis for a house track even though it doesn't change much. But I guess you'll add that later.

Maybe try quantising your synth parts in different ways. I think they may be a bit straight and on the beat. Maybe try swinging or shuffling them a bit.

The thing that really caught my attention were the little bits of bass that came in towards the end. A bit offbeat and a nice counterpoint to the main synths. It made me think that you could bring in some fat triplet breakbeat drums rather than just the more predictable straight 4/4 house type of beats.

That's what I'd try to do but then I'm more into that than house.

Here's sort of the kind of thing I'm thinking of. Check the main beat of this killer classic track.

The Prodigy - Poison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QxioaGm2ag

Or, another type of triplet beat I was thinking of can be heard starting at 0:50 here:

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/149028

I know that sort of beat would take it further away from house but it's just my little idea and you could always mix that up with some more predictable house beats.

Dan, some mega sub bass right there. Pretty damn funky beat too so you've got the engine room for some dancefloor action going on.

And the other synth on top of that bass fills things up nicely and they work really well together.

How did you make that intro synth lead build ?

0:53 what the hell is that noise? Probably another synth but it's a bit like some guy jumping out of the speakers at you.

1:15 gets more chilled with that floating pad.

This is good solid stuff though I would have liked a bit more of a change in it as well as perhaps some more melodic lead stuff. I guess it's supposed to be minimal and it works fine like that. I'm just expressing my personal preferences. But other people will be just fine with it as it is.

Actually, the most melody may well be right in the intro.

This is good and not what I expected from you (which is more cinematic stuff).

Skilful rising intro as you move into the first panning hat. Nice arpeggiated stuff there.

0:38 good riff and I like the removal of the arpeggio. Good bass part too.

Fat kick after that and the snare has to drop so it does.

It turns into being a bit trancey, I guess, as it settles.

There are a lot of skilfully shaped sounds in here that work well together.

This is a really good mix and nothing seems too loud and it's not clipping and has a good loud but not overly loud level. Balance!

To be honest, as good as it is, it's in a style I've heard many, many times before so I would have preferred something more unusual and unpredictable in there.

But that's just my strange preferences and very high standards. A lot of other people are going to love this - especially out live on dancefloors. No one's going to be analysing the details there (except for me standing there, not dancing, at the back) - they'll just be dancing along and enjoying how far out it is.

Congratulations...

Thanks for the reply. This didn't quite make sense: "we have anywhere between 15 to 25 hours into our tracks between the two of us".

I guess you're saying you have 15-20 hours of material that you've recorded together? OK but I'm not sure what that has to do with any issues that I point out as being errors (as I see them).

I can only call it as I see/hear it. I don't know if someone wanted something to be in there or is actually grateful for me pointing out something they hadn't noticed or were in denial about (I'm often like that with problems in my own tracks).

"When we post them, they are finished and we feel they rarely need editing or correcting in our opinion."

OK, well I guess you're saying there's no point in me pointing out things that could be fixed as you will automatically disagree. I upload tracks in as good a state as I think I can get them. And then I sometimes go back and hear the problems and generally then fix them. People are free to point them out to me. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't.

I posted a new track last night which I love but now think the end section should be longer and some other bits don't quite sound right. I haven't put that in my track description as it's already quite long enough.

I've actually been a bit disappointed in the past that people haven't pointed out errors or how to improve my tracks as they just gave me high praise so perhaps I thought my work was done (when it really, really wasn't). I had to work out how to make those improvements for myself so just as well I didn't settle for people thinking a track was great.

"I can listen to anyone's track and hear things I would change if I was doing it"

Yes - that's partly how I've learned to make music. By listening to things and getting ideas from how I would do things differently.

Anyway, it's your music so do as you please with it but maybe I won't give any critique on your tracks in future. So, either a praise-filled review or no review at all.

Ah, that's why the synth I so liked seems so classic. I guess it's some classic sound in sample form.

Did you go back and add the extra bass after what I said or were you going to do it anyway?

Bass is decent but nothing spectacular. Could be better with a better synth bass sound.

I agree that the additional bass has made a positive difference.

Damn, I only just noticed the clanging bell. I guess you haven't added that. Maybe I just didn't notice it before. I think it works though maybe it's overused a little.

Again: excellent work for, I guess, a bit of a beginner. Probably way better than my earliest stuff. And it's not just more dub (not that that is a bad thing) so you're branching out nicely.

Some complex, alternative stuff here that isn't easily categorisable.

Before I get onto that, you've got to fix the guitar issues early on.

0:12 and 0:16 pops/edits really have to be removed. It's a good part. Have you spliced together a couple of takes but forgotten to crossfade the parts?

Also, on 0:54, what's that high buzzing noise? It comes in later too and sounds like an error.

Anyway, errors aside, I like the timbale sort of drums fills eg on 1:49.

5:08 cool big, exploding noise that is a bit of a surprise. What was that?

There are also some problems at certain times with the kick drum being too loud. I can give details if you want.

Otherwise, it's some interesting stuff that sounds like it was fun to make.

I don't really want to get into discussing this song's subject matter so will just say I used to be "into it" but have since debunked many of the claims and misconceptions.

Anyway, the spoken word audio works OK as an ambient feature.

But it's the music I'm more interested in and this could be a good, standalone instrumental.

Strings early on work well, as does simple piano.

Left panned rhythmic synth 0:20 is very cool (bit like a guiro). Subtle and everything is sitting well here.

0:59 right panned synth is totally awesome and right out of all sorts of raves. Great delay on it, very psychedelic and the kind of thing I'd like to get into my music. How did you make that?

This also has a decent length and the beats are all absolutely fine.

You're getting better so big congratulations. I'm struggling to fault the music or production in this one.

Doesn't get boring and doesn't lack for anything. Bass is subtle but I don't miss it. I think the strings are performing a bit of that role.

P.S. There are songs by Beck and Senser called Chemtrails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tsHfyem6xo

Hi. Pretty cool track though I don't hear it as hip hop. The music definitely isn't.

It's some kind of funk that skips along with interesting little electro flourishes. That main snare fill makes me think of reggae.

You've got a little bit of wah guitar in there too.

This is like a little interlude on an album. I feel it needs to have more of a change or chorus or something to feel more like a proper song. Vocal doesn't really stop once it starts.

Are you planning to lengthen it, maybe with some other changes?

P.S. If you're at all concerned about radioilluminati's comments, I can tell you he's left loads of irrelevant agenda-based propaganda in track reviews and replies to his own track comments. There's probably no stopping him though I feel it's bad form to bang on about stuff that isn't related to music and the track in question.

Danke: allow me to translate for you:

"yall can spit on it"

- anyone can add a rap to this track if they want

"but know no one can still my beats lol"

- but you must understand that you're not allowed to steal the music I make. hahaha, I'm only joking

"shouts out to Danke he be having them loops"

- I give my respect to Danke as I used his loops in this.

Anyway, I like this short, simple piece.

It has a good, trippy, spacey sound with some deep, rumbling bass and minimal drums. So, lots of room left for some vocals. The "Hey" vocals here are also good.

Quite hypnotic stuff and I also like the final bass note.

I think it's pretty cool and catchy.

Gets quickly into that essential beat with those offbeat groovy piano stabs. Wah's a classic sound and vocals are relaxed and strong.

0:28 brassy chords are an interesting and unusual change. I think you've also got some high pizzicato stabs in here.

Quite an early 90s feel to this.

1:13 what is the vocally lead sound? Moves nicely with the beat.

1:40 with no beat it's still damn groovy.

1:48 which lead instrument is that? Slightly odd but I like it.

I liked this the more I listened to it and don't have any particular improvement suggestions.

Lots of other people will also like it.

Yeah, kind liquid d'n'b, with that bass. Liquid d'n'b is a term I like.

I'd like to make some liquid metal, actually. Must remember to try that!

This is fairly heavy and uptempo but also pretty damn chilled. Uplifting stuff.

0:51 like it when piano enters.

Classic d'n'b breaks sit well not doing a lot but I guess they don't need to when they're good.

Fading of drums on 1:50 works well. They just become a pulse that you feel but almost don't quite hear. Still keeps the groove working, though.

I'm hard to please but would have liked a different drum break to come back in on 2:32 when the beat returns. Just would have been more of an interesting shock rather than a straight return to what we've already had.

The track's really all built around one idea, with that bassline. And then there are the higher end flourishes and slight weirdness that work well.

So, some sort of other change would have been cool but I'm hardly complaining and neither will many other people.

Check my track Into The Out There as it's kind of related to this (not d'n'b but it is fast) with its liquid bass and uptempo drums. I think it'll interest you and you'll see the link between this one and that.

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/146600