KVR Audio

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Fri Mar 22, 2024 2:16 am

https://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/shadowboxing

The lyrics are on Soundcloud. Any feedback is appreciated.

enroe · Post by **enroe** » Fri Mar 22, 2024 7:00 am

"Shadowboxing": A fantastic song!

The combination of grooving EDM elements and complex vocals is amazing.
The rhythm is relaxed and captivates you. The singing is partly composed like
a choir, partly amplified by vocoder voices - and gives the song its very unique
character.

I also think it's good that you dare to go over 4 minutes long. Because often a
motif - and a theme - needs some time to develop and create a certain mood.
And you did it well here.

The text is tough stuff: it's about the constant battle in the subconscious with
oneself, with one's own traumas and injuries, which everyone deals with
throughout their lives. The lyrics also convey desperation and the impossibility
of really overcoming one's own influences.

Overall: A song on a topic that is actually constantly relevant - very pleasing and
impressively musically presented.

] Peter:H [ · Post by **] Peter:H [** » Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:24 pm

Frantz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 2:16 am https://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/shadowboxing

The lyrics are on Soundcloud. Any feedback is appreciated.

Hm, I'm afraid that i don't like the mix. Sorry, Frantz. Big heap fan of yours usualy, but not of this one.
The music seems disconnected from the lyrics. And there's some mid "resonances" in the lyrics that my ears don't digest well. Please don't take it personal. I struggled whether I want to be so harsh

May be the lyrics are just a bit too loud to blend well with the music, and may be one or two gentle multiband / mix compressors in sequence in the master would help to glue things.

jethrobull · Post by **jethrobull** » Sun Mar 24, 2024 6:40 am

Quality as always

thoroughly enjoyed...
We need to get a KVR compilation going

Bansaw · Post by **Bansaw** » Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:16 pm

Shades of Kraftwerk a lot in this one. Enjoyable and well produced as usual.
Hmm, the vocal melody wasn't quite creative enough to grip me on this one, lack of variation imho.
Good to hear Aika back. Some very good moments and embellishments in the song, which were enjoyable.

jwnicholson · Post by **jwnicholson** » Wed Mar 27, 2024 2:01 am

Excellent. I really enjoyed that!

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Wed Mar 27, 2024 4:44 am

enroe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 7:00 am "Shadowboxing": A fantastic song!

The combination of grooving EDM elements and complex vocals is amazing.
The rhythm is relaxed and captivates you. The singing is partly composed like
a choir, partly amplified by vocoder voices - and gives the song its very unique
character.

I also think it's good that you dare to go over 4 minutes long. Because often a
motif - and a theme - needs some time to develop and create a certain mood.
And you did it well here.

The text is tough stuff: it's about the constant battle in the subconscious with
oneself, with one's own traumas and injuries, which everyone deals with
throughout their lives. The lyrics also convey desperation and the impossibility
of really overcoming one's own influences.

Overall: A song on a topic that is actually constantly relevant - very pleasing and
impressively musically presented.

Very glad you liked it. There were no vocoders on this one. I used Synthesizer V to create the female backing vocals which turned out to be pretty involved.

I decided to let this one go a bit longer because I liked the sounds that were introduced in the final chorus and decided to let it play out for a bit longer than usual.

These days I am rewriting or improvising the lyrics as I'm singing and am often surprised what direction the lyrics go in. I am probably being overly dramatic for the sake of the song. I wouldn't take the words too seriously.

Thanks as always for your thoughtful and detailed feedback.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Sun Mar 31, 2024 4:01 am

] Peter:H [ wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:24 pm Hm, I'm afraid that i don't like the mix. Sorry, Frantz. Big heap fan of yours usualy, but not of this one.
The music seems disconnected from the lyrics. And there's some mid "resonances" in the lyrics that my ears don't digest well. Please don't take it personal. I struggled whether I want to be so harsh
May be the lyrics are just a bit too loud to blend well with the music, and may be one or two gentle multiband / mix compressors in sequence in the master would help to glue things.

I am going to have another look at the mix and probably bring down the delay on the vocals slightly. I don't think it will change your opinion much since I am not planning on making drastic changes. I appreciate the feedback and I don't take it personally, tastes do differ.

Thanks for listening and commenting.

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Sun Mar 31, 2024 12:26 pm

Some Kraftwerk DNA, but more in the electro wave direction. I like it, also the combination with the vocals! There's not a lot of low end in the track but I think it fits the style, so I notice it, but I wouldn't change anything in the mix. Good work Mr. Frantz

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Sat Apr 06, 2024 2:34 am

jethrobull wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2024 6:40 am Quality as always
thoroughly enjoyed...
We need to get a KVR compilation going

Thank you very much, J.B.

Allomerus · Post by **Allomerus** » Sat Apr 06, 2024 2:43 am

Cool track Frantz! I like the synth riffs and the vocals sound great! Great transition to the outro.
Well done.

markkuja · Post by **markkuja** » Mon Apr 08, 2024 11:54 am

Great job! Excellent song with nice rhytm and sounds.

redmaggott · Post by **redmaggott** » Mon Apr 08, 2024 9:06 pm

The tune is spot on, Frantz.
It's my cup of tea, this.
My "stuff" wants to be like this when it grows up.
The synths sounded great. I was feeling a bit of the Aggro Mix of Never Let Me Down Again right at the start and the synth at 1.10 reminded me of another DM song, Leave in Silence.
With regards to the mix, I'd give a testicle to be able to produce an airy, open soundstage,instead of my typical congested and dull results. My mixing journey hasn't got many miles on the clock, it's in its infancy and needs serious improvement.

I also felt a little Yello vibe at times.

Nice one.

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Wed Apr 10, 2024 4:42 am

Bansaw wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 10:16 pm Shades of Kraftwerk a lot in this one. Enjoyable and well produced as usual.
Hmm, the vocal melody wasn't quite creative enough to grip me on this one, lack of variation imho.
Good to hear Aika back. Some very good moments and embellishments in the song, which were enjoyable.

Glad you liked it overall even if the vocal melody didn't win you over.

This was Synthesizer V, not Aika, although I did try to emulate the kind of vocals she normally does. I guess it worked fairly well if it sounded human to you.

Thanks for your comments.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Tue Apr 16, 2024 12:51 am

I was a little concerned when I heard the lyrics, but then I read your response to enroe and was pleased to hear that the words were not necessarily meant to be taken as autobiographical.

The SynthesizerV vocals sounded very good, and quite similar to Aika in places. For the price, it sounds like quite a bargain, and better than earlier products I have heard or demoed. My favourite voice is probably Solaria which would seem to be a better fit for ambient styles. I think eassae has used it in a few tracks in the past.

Nobody else has mentioned it, but I thought I may have heard some "congestion" in the 2k-4k range, during the first two verses.

Great outro. It wrapped the song up nicely.

Good work

Fragile Gods - "Shadowboxing"