"Night in the City"... mellow jazz/r&b tune

[Arglebargle]

http://www.audioshots.com/auditorium/vi ... php?t=2614

Off to the Auditorium you go, to listen to the song and let me know what you think.

[Stairsteps]

That site requires registration sorry no can do.

[Arglebargle]

Ah, sorry man, I forgot that the Auditorium recently changed... before you could download stuff without having to register.

Here, try my Soundclick page... you have to register to download the mp3, but you can always stream.

www.soundclick.com/bands/5/alchemystic_music.htm



Yeah, I'll prolly upload it somewhere else... I forgot about the new Auditorium login thing. :/

[Arglebargle]

Sooooo, what exactly does no feedback mean?

It sucks?

It's not worth commenting on?

Nobody wants to stream it or get a Soundclick account?

Nobody cares?

[Guitarjeff]

There's some nice stuff here, The Rhodes and the guitar that comes in later.

What makes this track rather boring for me however, is the Percussion, which never seems to change from start to finish. Also the progression could have more movement and variations.

This is a very hard style to do really well!

It needs to GROOVE while still staying smooth. The melodies need to be really memorable. The progression needs to have some tension and release. Listen to something like The Doobie Bros. "Takin It To The Streets" for inspiration or anything by Dave Koz, or most of the stuff on any smooth Jazz station for that matter.

Nice first attempt though.

Jeff

[Hernan]

Sounds good to me... good songwriting and arranging, you obviously know what you're doing.

Some nit-picking:

I don't know if I 100% buy the synthetic sax and fretless bass, personally I would prefer some "proudly synthetic" sound that doesn't hide its artificiality.

The drums are generally well programmed, I like them overall, except that maybe they are a little too loud in the mix? Also, personally I would replace the shaker sound for something less generic-sounding (and lower its volume too).

I personally would lose the tom fills too, nobody does them any more -- maybe replace them with roto-toms or timbales... something with more 'crack'. Or just an 'anti-fill', leave some silence there.

As I said before, I think the arrangement and composition work (at least for me). However, I think the track would benefit from a little more laid-back treatment. I can't say what I would change, can't put my finger on it. Maybe send the drums back a bit, use another patch for the e-piano chords, or EQ it differently, play the chords a little less 'epic', I don't know. As it stands now, the track sounds a little like a keyboard demo, a little bit too up-front for mellow jazz... maybe it's the levels of the instruments, the EQ, I don't know.

Just my opinion of course. I think you have some goods ideas there, keep up the good work!

[Arglebargle]

Hey, some good ideas you guys have, both of you.

The drums are generally well programmed, I like them overall, except that maybe they are a little too loud in the mix? Also, personally I would replace the shaker sound for something less generic-sounding (and lower its volume too).

Ah, well, I had some doubts about the shaker too... it's from a hip-hop kit, so it sounds kinda, I dunno, fake? (probably on purpose)

I personally would lose the tom fills too, nobody does them any more -- maybe replace them with roto-toms or timbales... something with more 'crack'. Or just an 'anti-fill', leave some silence there.

I like them! They sound suitably cheesy.

As it stands now, the track sounds a little like a keyboard demo, a little bit too up-front for mellow jazz... maybe it's the levels of the instruments, the EQ, I don't know.

Am I the only one who actually likes keyboard demo songs?

But yeah, I can easily see where you're coming from.