Fragile Gods - "Switch Off The Light"

[enroe]

"Switch off the light": Fantastic! It is great fun and indulgence to listen to this
song. I immeditaly listenend a second time!

The soundbalance of drums, bass and instruments is good - I can't find
anything to improve here.

My main listening is focused on the overall emotional expression - and that
is quite exquisite! It is easy and interesting - "who sees things in the dark? ..."
I'll put this catchy song to my favourites!

[Frantz]

Well done for the genre.

Thanks for checking this out.

[Frantz]

I like the way it starts (what synths are on that intro?). Except for occasional slight pitchiness on the male vocals, I like all the vocals. The female vocals are a plus. Sounds rather 80's, which is fine by me. Instrumentally: I like it all. Nice song & recording!

I'm glad you liked the song. When I try to sing, pitch is not my friend.

Before the vocals start, there are two synths: Icarus is the main sound and then I added a subtle Monark sub-bass.

Thanks for your comments.

[markkuja]

Nice synthpop. I liked the melodic tune and sounds.

[aaron aardvark]

Frantz,
I have Icarus, I like it. Have you tried Icarus 2? In my opinion, Tone 2 did not make it easy to tell the difference between Icarus 1 and 2; at least by trying what might be new patches for Icarus 2. So I did not buy Icarus 2. Then I couldn't get Icarus 1 working again when the Icarus 2 demo ran out until someone answered my plea for help on Tone 2's forum. Actually Icarus 1 would not work for me while I used the Icarus 2 demo, making it more difficult to compare the two. Otherwise I like Tone 2 as a company.

[Frantz]

Have you tried Icarus 2? In my opinion, Tone 2 did not make it easy to tell the difference between Icarus 1 and 2; at least by trying what might be new patches for Icarus 2. So I did not buy Icarus 2.

I actually used Icarus 2 on this. The core sound engine is the same so it does not sound radically different. I really like the new UI with fewer tabs. The glitch sequencer and new envelope types are pretty cool too. I only use a handful of synths so upgrading to Icarus 2 was worthwhile for me.

[aaron aardvark]

Frantz,
Glad you like Icarus 2. Had I purchased Icarus 2, much of that process would have gone smoother for me. Though I think Tone 2 could have done a better job for people wanting to compare Icarus 1 and 2.

[Frantz]

Glad you like Icarus 2. Had I purchased Icarus 2, much of that process would have gone smoother for me. Though I think Tone 2 could have done a better job for people wanting to compare Icarus 1 and 2.

I can understand your frustration. They optimized their installation process for an in-place upgrade but it wasn't clear how to accomplish what you were trying to do.

My frustration with Tone2 synths is they tend to lose mouse focus in Win 7/StudioOne so if you are using a mousewheel, periodically it stops working and you have to click on a knob to get the mousewheel working again.

Most of these products have various quirks that you have to deal with.

[aaron aardvark]

I use a 10+ year old iMac and Cubase AI8: I don't think I've ever had mouse focus issues unless my mouse battery is weak; that I recall.

[Frantz]

I use a 10+ year old iMac and Cubase AI8: I don't think I've ever had mouse focus issues unless my mouse battery is weak; that I recall.

I think mouse-focus issue only affects their Windows plugins. Markus has released fixes for this that sort of help but don't completely solve the problem.

[Frantz]

Great job, love it. Like a song with good lyrics.
Mixing v.good. @1:10 like the dark melody. Another good job from Aika, a good compliment to your voice.
I personally like more reverb, but I know you like to use less reverb generally, so won't comment on that.

I'm very glad that you enjoyed the song.

I always look forward to seeing what Aika comes up with. Her additions here were especially cool I thought.

More reverb? That sir is not allowed in my world.

Thanks for your comments.

[Frantz]

I'm glad the voice is back.

I feel like the synth answering the voice could sometimes either do with slightly shorter notes or less release or something. At times it sounds just a little long and drawn out, but not by much. I know you've got the rhythm covered with other parts, so I'm not talking about making this more percussive per se, just maybe a little shortening the notes here and there by the odd tick to wrap the synth around the groove more. It's obviously not a big deal, but I thought it the first time I listened, and on coming back for more, I still feel the same way about it, albeit not very strongly.

The scratchy synth that makes its entrance in the pre-chorus is great. Wouldn't mind it in the second chorus too.

Yes, I'm back on lead vox. It was an interesting experiment preparing demo vocals for someone else to sing leads last time but it was a lot of work. I'll probably sing leads on most songs from now on just to keep things simple.

Regarding the synth with the long sustain, I understand what you mean but at this point the mix is finalized for better or worse.

I did try to vary the arrangement slightly throughout so certain sounds, like the scratchy synth, do not appear in every chorus.

Thanks for your detailed comments.

[Frantz]

"Switch off the light": Fantastic! It is great fun and indulgence to listen to this
song. I immeditaly listenend a second time!

The soundbalance of drums, bass and instruments is good - I can't find
anything to improve here.

My main listening is focused on the overall emotional expression - and that
is quite exquisite! It is easy and interesting - "who sees things in the dark? ..."
I'll put this catchy song to my favourites!

Thanks very much enroe for your kind words and enthusiastic feedback. It helps motivate me to keep plugging away on my next song.

[MRT]

Tune is great but for me the standout is the vocal. You really do have a great voice as wagtunes said it it does remind me of Bowie.

[Vectorman]

Nice track! Dig the clean, minimalist vibe. And having seen others mention it, I do get the Bowie vocal comparison. Good stuff!