KVR Audio

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:56 am

I have just finished these two songs. The vocal tracks are what I struggled with the most. Please tell me what you think. Production, arrangement, whatever. All is appreciated.

The Door at link in my sig. http://www.wusik.com/song.php?id=1363

Gear = FLStudio, Tracktion2, Manyguitar, Toxic2, EVE2, Toxic3, VoxengoGlissEQ, WaveArts Trackplug and Masterverb, CSR Hall, Voxengo Lampthruster, Izotope Ozone3, VoxengoElephant, Rode NTK,

Zen at the link in my sig. http://www.wusik.com/song.php?id=1212

Gear = FLStudio, Tracktion2, Wusikstation3, EVE2, Toxic2, daHornet, WaveArts Trackplug and Masterverb, VoxengoMarquis, Izotope Ozone3, VoxengoElephant, Rode NTK

ATS · Post by **ATS** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:09 am

Oh my gosh, The door is awesome! I would love to use those vocals if you don't mind sending them to me, they are amazing. Also the song is very tech-poppish which I love. That is so awesome you were able to keep it uncluttered and still have power. I really love that song. I gotta check out your other one now.

fateamenabletochange · Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:27 am

I agree with ATS,uncluttered, with beats that sound so crisp and in the same room like.Should have a wide appeal.
Zen has a bass line that just keeps things going.There is a higher ocassional lollipop synth hook that I could do without,not as hard as the bass line,it seems to trivialize the song.

choice.

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:39 am

Thanks very much for listening and I really appreciate the feedback. I know exactly what you are talking about in Zen. I actually use the word bubblegum to describe it so I guess we are of similar opinion. Although I was trying to get that exact sort of feel about it and I programmed it to taste in Wusikstation. Almost sickly sweet.

fateamenabletochange · Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:14 am

see what other peeps think about the bubblegum morelia.

polyslax · Post by **polyslax** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 10:54 am

Nice choons morelia! Got a real Phil Oakey sound on the vocal for The Door, and I really like the pop-y sounds in Zen.

Thought the performance and the mix on the vox was a little restrained in both trax, as if maybe you're not overly confident about your voice... which would be silly!

simesf · Post by **simesf** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:25 am

Your voice is good enough & suits the style well enough to be a lot more forward in the mix & should be so. But this is great stuff! If I'd heard them first on the radio I'd assume someone had released them as singles.

carlos · Post by **carlos** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:32 am

fantastic, love the door, Zen is very like Postal service to my ears, which is a big compliment!!

multree · Post by **multree** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:35 am

another FPC using song spotted

that Gretsch Kick is so obvious but the song is really nice... your vocals are pretty damn good

the only thing really distracting is that I can tell which instrument you used on the drums.... and I don't even use FPC

but I have spotted the slingerland kick from BFD before somewhere else... so I guess that's a musicians fate

but yeah good song

Dunbar · Post by **Dunbar** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:14 pm

This is not the kind of music i listen too; but i was impressed by The Door - excellent vocal and good song.

It's got it's roots in 80s synth-pop but it also sounds very contempory. The drums brought a smile to my face; i don't know if it's intentional, but they are very cheeky - my drum programming is very similar. They are just verging on taking the piss which i really like - great stuff.

The Belonging Kind · Post by **The Belonging Kind** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:53 pm

Although I do like these songs I am going to be quite critical, but I find that useful sometimes. Anyway. The mix was pretty good, but the vocals are too low for this genre in my opinion. The arrangements are pretty good, but the 80s synthpop influence is very apparent and I think you could maybe pull them towards the present (or future?) in some way. I also think The Door could be improved with some vocal harmonies in places. Thats just what I think and, at any rate, you can sing and write pop music better than I.

mellotronaut · Post by **mellotronaut** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:29 pm

The Door: The Cure meets Depeche Mode meets Morelia....great song and quite a good voice!

Zen: Here 'The Belonging Kid' is right, the vocals need more volume. Anyway, a nice interlude. Good one, too!

Mellolisten

VicDiesel · Post by **VicDiesel** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:42 pm

The Door: I like the overall sound. Good synths. Your vocal: that first section where the synth plays along with the vocal sounds extremely clumsy to me. That synth is really a backing line, and to sing exactly that opens you up to accusations of "no inspiration". Fortunately you redeem your self in the rest of the song, but you really need to redo those couple of lines.

Victor.

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 11:52 pm

Thanks everyone for listening and for the wonderful comments. Especially the Phil Oakey mention

. That guy is in a different League to me

. The Cure and Depeche, wow some of my big favourites right there. I have a bit of research to do checking out what Tech Pop is exactly. I'll add Postal Service to the list. I noticed a few comments about the level of my vocal and as someone suspected, I really hate listening to my voice. I think these songs are some of the most up front in a mix vocal tracks I have. To sum up what everyone seems to be pointing at, I'll mess around with some harmonies and levels.

VicDiesel wrote:that first section where the synth plays along with the vocal sounds extremely clumsy to me. That synth is really a backing line, and to sing exactly that opens you up to accusations of "no inspiration"

I know what you mean. I try to avoid that myself but sometimes it seems the right thing to do and I felt that was the case here. I was very aware of it though and that was why I did not sing on the last note the synth plays in the chorus. At first I was following it exactly but then I changed a few things so that some vocal melody parts fell after the synth notes or stopped altogether as I did at the chorus end. I accasionally find a guitar solo having elements of the vocal melody and I hate doing it, but again there are times when it seems right to me. I sang the opening section the same in the first chorus. Did you feel the same about it or is the first vocal section different somehow, not sung as well or something?

The Belonging Kind wrote:but the vocals are too low for this genre in my opinion. The arrangements are pretty good, but the 80s synthpop influence is very apparent and I think you could maybe pull them towards the present (or future?) in some way. I also think The Door could be improved with some vocal harmonies in places. Thats just what I think and, at any rate, you can sing and write pop music better than I.

Thanks, i am going to try some harmonies althouoght I didn't think they were necessary, so thatnks for the advice. I am not a synth afficionardo so I don't really know what it means to pull them towards the present. Are the sounds I used not modern sounding? It is probably because I grew up in the 80's and that music was a big part of my life. I guess I am lucky there is a plugin revolution, otherwise I would be playing this on an M1, a DW8000 and JX3P.

Dunbar wrote:It's got it's roots in 80s synth-pop but it also sounds very contempory. The drums brought a smile to my face; i don't know if it's intentional, but they are very cheeky - my drum programming is very similar.

Now I am confused, but I thought it had a reasonably modern sound as well. I guess I am too old to really know the different genres out there. I'm glad you like the drums. It is the FPC Gretch Full kit from FLStudio. Not intentionally cheeky, it just seemed what the song needed.

multree wrote:the only thing really distracting is that I can tell which instrument you used on the drums.... and I don't even use FPC Wink but I have spotted the slingerland kick from BFD before somewhere else... so I guess that's a musicians fate

You got it alright. It is another place I struggle. I tend to just flick through drums until I get something that sounds like it suits and this was the one. Often I go outside FLStudio to BFD or RMIV but this got the vote. Nicely spotted. It is certainly a musicians fate though.

Thanks again for listening and giving some feedback, really appreciate it.

gambaytheunspoken · Post by **gambaytheunspoken** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:03 am

The Door is as good as anything I hear on the radio. Well arranged, performed. Everything just pops along. You ought to do well with that style of music. On the other hand, Zen is more like filler to my ears. And that synth hook is definitely not cool. Very annoying.
Ciao!

Just finished 2 songs, please listen