Fragile Gods - "The Future Never Came"

[Frantz]

The off-kilter all-minor chord progression reminds me of Kraftwerk (no surprises there). All the sounds used in this are super solid and weighty except, imo, the snare, which sounds like a closed hi hat. Unless that happens to be a hi hat, in which case I'd prefer a snare on the backbeat. I love the bell sound and your signature crispy-but-not-harsh vocal. Good work!

Thanks for the detailed comments 9K!

Interesting observation on the chords. I am influenced by a lot of older electronic bands that would program a part in a hardware step sequencer and do a pseudo chord progression by transposing the sequence up and down. As you observed, you can end up with a dark sounding, all-minor progression this way. I happen to like this effect.

That's supposed to be a synthetic snare. Perhaps it's not a very good one.

I think the bell sound you are referring to starts at 3:18. That's Audjoo Helix which has wonderful oscillators. I wish it were still being developed.

I'm glad you liked the vocal. The extra effort paid off.

[Daniel Pompougnac]

Incredible and perfect sound.

Bowie is a great comparison

Yes, +1000

[Frantz]

The music is a 10, aside from any nit-picking...but I can`t buy into the vocal mix. Your performance is good...it`s not that...I don`t know, it doesn`t seem to fit in there right. Maybe i`m hearing that it`s too wide (stereo width). Or maybe I hear too much room(reverberation)on the vocal in an otherwise synth ITB production. I don`t have much experience with vocal recording/mixing. Sorry I can`t be more specific.

Thanks annode. Glad you liked the music.

I was not confident about the vocals so I pushed them a bit back in the mix. I would have increased the levels if I were a better singer. Something to think about next time.

[Frantz]

This is really a fun tune!

It got me dancing on my desktop, (oh, there is a song in that too).

I would like to hear you add a vocal that is less controlled and abandoned. (in the background)
It would add a bit more "looseness" to the track.

Great stuff, enjoyed it.

Thanks for the great comments Patch. Glad you enjoyed it. Careful you don't break that desk.

I probably don't have the skill to do a looser vocal. Maybe one day I'll be able to pull something like that off.

[layzer]

This is really a fun tune!

It got me dancing on my desktop, (oh, there is a song in that too).

I would like to hear you add a vocal that is less controlled and abandoned. (in the background)
It would add a bit more "looseness" to the track.

Great stuff, enjoyed it.

Thanks for the great comments Patch. Glad you enjoyed it. Careful you don't break that desk.

I probably don't have the skill to do a looser vocal. Maybe one day I'll be able to pull something like that off.

one day.... i think the current vocal style has become part of Frantz's trademark sound. if he were to change it now, it would be kind of like kraftwerk taking on a garth brooks or randy travis singing style.

[Frantz]

Cool track, once again, from Fragile Gods

Good theme...

"This is not the future my mother warned me about. That future definitely had lasers, I'm sure of it. That future would have been totally sweet."
- http://www.cracked.com/article_17454_te ... lshit.html

"The American dream is dead. This is not the li(f)e I was promised."
-Me

Terminal Sound Machine has a track called "tomorrow will not come" on "last night I dreamt of Armageddon".

I'm particularly fond of this theme...

Thanks for the thoughtful comments. Yes, there are a lot of ways this theme can be developed. Usually you see the "no future" punky angle or the "future shock" dystopian sci-fi angle. My approach was more mundane, dealing with the diminishing opportunities available to us as we grow older. Not very glamorous but real life rarely is.

I'm glad you enjoyed the track and thanks again for the very interesting feedback.

[any1particular]

Verrrrrrrrry nice track Frantz! Loving the groove with that chugging along tech feel

...and your voice is so c0o!...

it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future... it's the future...and everyday is the same....

[Jace-BeOS]

Diminishing opportunities as we grow older... Yes, I am currently experiencing great angst about that myself.

As for vocal styles, I saw someone sort of suggest that it's set in stone by this point. That's never the case unless desired. Vocal styles change over time if desired (and sometimes even if not desired). If you're uncomfortable with your vocals, consider it like any other instrument that can improve with practice. Range can be trained, as can control. Style can change per whim and the ability to execute on the whim. My favorite musicians vary their singing styles within albums and sometimes songs (not just between spoken and sung; various subtle and non-subtle ways exist to sing).

My personal taste? I like the spoken word stuff in your songs quite a lot, but would enjoy more dynamics in the sung pieces. As is, the singing parts seem to be still somewhat half spoken (maybe that's how you've learned to sing, which is valid). I actually considered for a moment how I might sing those parts myself. But then I also considered that there simply is a taste preference thing in music and not everything/everyone has to fit into our personal ideal sweet spots of what we think is "the way".

If there's a singer who's style you like, try to emulate it as part of training yourself. Your own version of it is bound to sound different by the very fact that you are not the person you're emulating. I learned to sing by trying to emulate three or four specific singers since the very late 80s. I don't think I sound entirely like any of them.

Regardless, I enjoy your stuff.

[folderol]

Get the idea?

[Frantz]

NO! you can't retire! not till i see you live, on tour with Kraftwerk opening for you in sold out stadiums!

If I tried to tour with Kraftwerk, I would have to stand outside the venue playing a Casio and kazoo with Kraftwerk fans throwing rotten eggs at me. But I really do appreciate the encouragement.

Don't worry more tunes are being worked on. Retirement is a long way off.

[Frantz]

crispy-but-not-harsh vocal

To me it sounded less crispy than usual (less distortion?), which I liked. I never minded the more distorted vocals, but I think this song has your best vocal work yet. Everything else works nicely too. Well done. Enjoyed it. Thanks.

Yes, there is much less distortion on these vocals. The approach seemed appropriate since the music came out fairly smooth. I'm glad you liked the vox and the track overall.

Thanks for your comments D.H.

[davidstiles]

Great track, Frantz! Very Depeche Mode meets Bowie. And the vocal work was great, although I can see what others have said about the mix of that element being a little bit off somehow. But that didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the track. Thanks for sharing!

[Frantz]

Incredible and perfect sound.

Bowie is a great comparison

Yes, +1000

Thanks for the comments Daniel. I am glad you enjoyed it overall.

Perhaps the vocals are too Bowie-ish. I'll keep that in mind for the next one.

[Frantz]

i think the current vocal style has become part of Frantz's trademark sound. if he were to change it now, it would be kind of like kraftwerk taking on a garth brooks or randy travis singing style.

On songs like this I'm trying to improve the vocal delivery a bit but don't worry, I promise never to go Country and record a song called "My Achy Breaky Hard Drive."

[joc]

Awesome work on mixing, overall sound and feel, one of coolest vocals ever, and love the bassline and the synth sounds good job