Frozen Retsina / Ethnorock-ish

[Detritus]

this is a hard one for me, and i'm not quite happy with it yet. Now I hope to get some good suggestions from you (:help:) regarding mix and arrangement, because, atm, i'm beyond the ability to listen to it with a certain objectivity...

-det-frozenretsina 6,3meg@192kbps

Gearwise it's done with:

Drums: Battery
Acoustic guit
some Electric guitars, all direct and guitarrigged
Electric bass, GR
percussion, livesliced
Vocals

I recorded the vocal performance at a gig i worked at some time ago. It was the last encore and performed solo. I had to treat it with gsnap (:love:) because she dropped a little tuningwise towards the end of the song. This was about the most subtle result i could get out of it, but gsnapping is audible at some points.

As i said, comments would be highly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance
Det

***UPDATED***

[annode]

Really nicely done.
Especially liked the guitar solo and the vocal alot !
Nothing wrong with the mix I can hear except I would have thinned out the power chord guitar,(it`s way to full in the lower range),and also would have thinned out the lower range of the drum reverb reflections.

The bass is not cutting through the mix too well at times(louder sections)...i`d maybe lift that up in the mix after the other two instruments are thinned out some,as above,and also EQ up the upper mids so it can be heard more clearly.

I`d also EQ the drums and bass during the louder sections,when they are both heard so that their lower ranges are not overlapping.(adds muddiness)
Increase the overall master volume just a tad durring full instrumentation.(this will highten excitement)

If you really wanted to get fancy,change pan positions of some or all instruments during the guitar solo,then return them to original position after the solo ends.

Fading the vocal out at the end doesn`t seem right to me...i`d mute it before the fade starts.

All and all,I really dig the mood,vibe of this!

[zeoy]

When I saw the title I knew I had to listen to this (look @location) ...
sorry don't have time for a propper listen and comment right now but surely I'll be back

[Detritus]

Well, after a few busy days i finally took it back to the wharf and carried out a complete overhaul!

-det-frozenretsina 6,3meg@192kbps

@annode : tyvm for the awesome tips, i tried to clean the low end as you suggested, my monitoring situation is quite suboptimal in respect of LF though, so maybe it wasnt enough. Also, the bass is brand new and the first one i own, and for me its quite hard to tame it atm.
Fumbled around with panning on the solo part, and it does make a difference!
I didnt touch the vocal fade, because i didnt fade it! She moved away from the mic while singing at the end, so thats how it was recorded. I wanted to touch the vocal performance as little as possible, because thats probably the best component of the track...
Thx again for the great suggestions, i think i learned quite alot by doing this...
-Det-

[zeoy]

Though I detest retsina I really enjoied this. Great job on a great song Detritus. You captured the feeling very nicely. I even liked the 2nd version better than the 1st one. If I had to criticize something there is just one note in the guitar solo (~3:08 ) wich is out of the scale (gives a Dorian sound in a scale wich is not Dorian definitely) but who cares.
Congrats to you and the performer (Being greek myself I wouldn't mind a few details about her and the gig )

[bluedad]

wow, this is very nice! enjoyed it a lot, and going into my keeper folder.

[annode]

Excellent mix Detritus !
You did a fine job of controlling the lower frequency ranges so now each instrument keeps it`s own identity and stays audible in it`s in it`s space throughout the whole mix.

The guitar solo really takes off...and demands attention.You have captured much excitement there.
Many home mixes will sound bad when turning the listening volume up high...but your mix retains it`s balance at loud volumes...very good!

Thank you for trying some of my suggestions Detritus !
Many ppl would not want to try changes others may suggest.This shows you are not afraid.

I also,like bluedad,have saved your piece.I`ll be looking for your next piece.

Barry.

[Detritus]

@ zeoy: hehe, yes, unfortunately retsina really can't keep up with other greek inventions like marble columns or democracy!

@ annode:

Thank you for trying some of my suggestions Detritus !
Many ppl would not want to try changes others may suggest.This shows you are not afraid.

Well, thank You for listening and making those suggestions! I asked for them because i thought i could use some help with the song. And the ones you had for me improved the mix quite a bit, so why should anyone be afraid of trying out stuff?

@zeoy, bluedad, annode:

Det

[runagate]

I really like this but you can tell your singer was in choir in junior high!
I realize that oftentimes it is considered aesthetically acceptible to have that huge wavering vibrato but please consider trying it tamed down a lot. Considering how spot-on her ornamentations are & all those dificult pitch glides are I'm sure she can do it. A lot of people have an ear for pitch, or an ear for a mix, but I'm always surprised at how many are just totally unconscious of that out of control warbling.
It is just totally inappropriate to the style of singing she is imitating.
Sorry for the criticism but I listen to a lot of Persian, Karnatic, Moroccan & Dravidian music because I love the singing so I'm a bit oversentitive to it.

Ok so now that I got that out of my system: your song rocks, you fixed it up really well & I'm really glad you're making this kind of music. I'd be pretty jazzed to see that played live.

I'll have to remember to bump this again tomorrow.

[Detritus]

Sorry to bump this again, but...

... @runagate: thx for listening!
The vocals were recorded at the very end of a concert of a "folk band" (Perc/doublebass/vio/kanun/accordeon/Oud/Nay/Vox) i worked at as a sound tech. This was like the 4th encore or so and performed solo by the singer, because the rest of the band was already on their way to the dressing rooms!
While hearing it live, i thought it could be interesting to do some music around those vocals, and i did... So, consider it as a remix!
I do see your point tho, warbling can be very annoying! But afaik she comes from a classical background, so that might be a explanation for that kind of excessive tremoloing! But, on the other hand, maybe there's an tradition of tremoloing in ancient greek lullaby-singing?

Det

[annode]

runagate sez;

I'm always surprised at how many are just totally unconscious of that out of control warbling.
It is just totally inappropriate to the style of singing she is imitating.
Sorry for the criticism but I listen to a lot of Persian, Karnatic, Moroccan & Dravidian music because I love the singing so I'm a bit oversentitive to it.

I have to disagree.
I don`t see how you think it`s "out of control",or "inappropriate".
I`ve heard this style quite a bit...especially in middle eastern singing and by Lisa Gerrard.

I don`t hear anything but good technique.

[Hovmod]

Gorgeous!
This is absolutely stunning!

Very inspiring!


And I agree with annode. No problem with excess vibrato here.

[4m]

Very nice indeed! I'm not qualified to say anything about the appropriateness or otherwise of the vocal style - I just liked it. Also really liked the guitar playing, especially the guitar sound on the solo.

[System ERA]

Far out brova. Absoluetly stunning, I would have to agree to disagree on the out of control vocals.. I think they are particularly well done, and very well timed and matched with the music.. I would love to get my hands on some content like this to play around with...

Don't know what to say, the mix sounds excellent, I would have liked to have heard the earlier mix for comparision reason. Very cool.... I'm starting my keep folder right now...