My second track is finally ready. I put more work into the sound design and mix on this one than I did on my first track. Most sounds were programmed from scratch and abused with a hardware tube compressor (Drawmer TubeStation1).

I was very fortunate to have this remastered by two KVRers:

This is Seismic's version:

Fragile Gods "Vanishing Point" Remastered by Seismic (320kbps / 11.4MB)

http://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/vanishingpoint

This is Layzer's version:

Fragile Gods "Vanishing Point" - Remastered by Layzer v2 (160kbps / 5.7MB)

http://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/vanishingpoint2/s-jFwTr

Any feedback is appreciated.

Synths: Korg PolySix, Tone2 Rayblaster, Audjoo Helix, Tattoo
Last edited by Frantz on Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:48 pm; edited 11 times in total

Hey Frantz
Really enjoyed this (on my 3rd listen), really polished mix, everything in it's place!
Synths sound simple, but in a good way... less is more. Sounds come in at the right time to make the track more interesting.
Oh yes... and it's a real song
Great job man!

PS: Yesterday I thought of what your sound reminded me of.. Gary Numan. Is his work an influence for you?

Very nice track Frantz! I'm not completely down with the vocal, especially when it's dry and less effected. I like the distorted vocal better, and if you were to weird it up even more I wouldn't mind. I'd also consider using the vocal only in the last part of the song. That's my take, loved the music and arrangement. I get kind of a NIN - Ultravox hybrid vibe.

Thanks for the feedback. I think having lyrics makes things more interesting but vocals can be problematic for me because I'm not a singer. There are many bands that I like that have vocalists that are not singers: Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide, DAF, Can, etc. In fact, I actually prefer vocalists like those over normal singers but I have very weird taste in music.

I'm curious to hear if others have an opinion on this. Do the vocals on this track work? I'm open to criticism.

Thanks Mario for the listens and the feedback. Yes, I like to keep things very minimal. I like giving each sound space to breathe.



I don't think Gary Numan has had much influence on me but both Gary and I were influenced by John Foxx. John Foxx has written a lot strange, experimental lyrics that I like. You might want to check out Foxx's "Metamatic" which is sort of Numan-ish.

nice one frantz, really enjoyed the retro 80's synthpop vibe here

mixwise, on my end it came across somewhat bassy... perhaps it
lacked more percussive HF as the the hats seemed a bit low in volume.
one high hat was particularily low.

i agree with poly, vocals can use some deessing and eq, and maybe
alittle echo. hope im not sounding harsh here, just returning the
helpful feedback cheers

Yes, I like my music bass heavy. Perhaps I did turn down the hi hats too much. I tend to do that because I find hi hats uninteresting. Something to think about next time.



This is very reasonable feedback. So far it seems like the vocals don't work for most people. Don't worry, I'm not easily offended.

Yes, the sibilance is still a problem. I need to develop some mic technique to avoid it. There is only so much that can be fixed in the mix.

Thanks for the feedback.

oh ok, ymmv... at first i thought maybe it was my monitoring setup
but listenig to siesmic's latest tune, it has a uniform full audio
spectrum sound. with clean lows and crisp highs. maybe his setup is off too.

I wasn't implying that anyone's monitoring is off. I was agreeing with you that my track is bassy and there were not a lot of high frequencies. It's something for me to consider next time.

Damn, when I start enjoying a track it becomes harder to be critical
On a second (or ninth) listen, the vocal has a rammstein feel to it, sorry about the references, but it's best way to illustrate

Personally the vocal definitely works, although in the dry parts, some noise and sibilance is present, maybe a gate would help, or lowering the fader a bit? I don't know.
But the distorted parts have a more distinct vibe, very cool indeed.

In the choruses, where there are clearly 2 vocal tracks, this could be enhanced by distorting one of them more, or harder panning.

Hope it helps.

I checked out John Foxx, and yes I see the similarities.
Thanks for the heads up Frantz, I'm always interested in these electronic pioneers

Thanks very much for all the feedback. I'm glad the vocal works for you. However, I am planning on attempting another mix incorporating the feedback I received so far:

1. Vox - lots of distortion plus more echo/reverb (polyslax + layzer)
2. Increasing the volume of hi hats and snare (layzer)
3. Shortening the intro (offline feedback)

It probably won't be ready until the weekend.



Here's Gary Numan talking about John Foxx. He's mostly discussing the period when John was the singer for Ultravox before he went solo and Midge Ure took over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D13rf5hQ4KM

Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!


Sorry, if you dont get the reference, a fave skit of mine on early 90s SNL

but please understand despite the humor it is meant in a good way as i like this kind of old school-ish electronic, this had some interesting vocal effects and the spoken-type delivery gave the song a cool flow. nice mix too, i was boppin' along in my chair.

Thanks! I love the Sprockets. If the song makes you want to do the Sprockets dance, I consider it a success.



Trivia: The Sprockets danced to a sped-up loop of Kraftwerk's "Electric Cafe."

Definitely feeling the John Foxx influence. Great sounding track! Vocal-wise, I particularly liked the more distorted sections.