Fragile Gods - "Slipping Away"

[Frantz]

https://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/slipping-away

The lyrics are on Soundcloud. Any feedback is appreciated.

[enroe]

"Slipping away":

Finally, a song by Frantz here again. Very groovy and rhythmic. But the vocal
lines are also distinctive and stick in your head. It is a highlight - a great
song: a real gem in terms of composition as well as production!

The backing vocals are extremely fitting and beautifully interwoven with the
main vocals. Noticeable: The last syllables are particularly emphasized: "Away,
grey, fray, ... ". The trick of playing the chorus melody again in a vocoder-like
manner works: the melody stays in your ear.

The lyrics cover a wide range - from the global passage of time to a momentary
melancholic grey day - from the fragility of existence to the blurring of
perception. The lyrics have almost Kafke-esque traits at times: "But I’m not
sure of my crime - Why am I living in limbo - Doing nothing but serious time?"

Overall: A fantastic song, thematically great! Everyone has to hear it (in my
opinion).

[Hezekiel]

Original and very good sounding

[Bansaw]

A new Frantz song is a highlight of my KVR visits.
This is a unique , well-produced track of the kind of quality I've come to appreciate.
I have to be honest and say I struggled with the vocal melody shape, e.g. "close to the" , then a significant leap to "edge".
The song seems to have a lot of tension melodically, but very little satisfying resolution to that tension.
You've set the bar so high with your previous stuff, thats what I've come to expect every time.

[eassae]

Excellent harmonies, always a subtle tension with hints of relief that never quite seem to come. Which, fit's the lyrics quite well. Production is great. Nice work! 4:44:)

[Frantz]

"Slipping away":

Finally, a song by Frantz here again. Very groovy and rhythmic. But the vocal
lines are also distinctive and stick in your head. It is a highlight - a great
song: a real gem in terms of composition as well as production!

The backing vocals are extremely fitting and beautifully interwoven with the
main vocals. Noticeable: The last syllables are particularly emphasized: "Away,
grey, fray, ... ". The trick of playing the chorus melody again in a vocoder-like
manner works: the melody stays in your ear.

The lyrics cover a wide range - from the global passage of time to a momentary
melancholic grey day - from the fragility of existence to the blurring of
perception. The lyrics have almost Kafke-esque traits at times: "But I’m not
sure of my crime - Why am I living in limbo - Doing nothing but serious time?"

Overall: A fantastic song, thematically great! Everyone has to hear it (in my
opinion).

I did spend a lot of time on the arrangement and production trying to make it interesting all the way through. I'm pleased those details worked well for you.

I'm glad you appreciated the lyrics even with the fairly dark subject matter. I read Kafka's "The Trial" decades ago so that could be a subconscious influence.

Thanks, very much for your detailed, enthusiastic feedback.

[ChameleonMusic]

Hi Frantz,
This is a great bit of retro electro-pop once again! So many over the years that you've created!

There are loads of clever / subtle little variations in the backing music that help to drive it all forward. Overall groove is tight but yet flowing...lovely textures.

That hooky lead vocal is a really difficult one to sing....rises and falls in bloody tricky intervals and also has quite a wide range as well. You've done a pretty good job on it, but it does sound a little bit strained here and there...I think it would've broken my voice skills!

[tomtom1]

https://soundcloud.com/fragilegods/slipping-away

The lyrics are on Soundcloud. Any feedback is appreciated.

Hi Frantz,
very nice track. Only thing i recognized is that in the last part (vocoder-part) sometimes it feels like the signal is clipping/distorting. At least i hear something on my speakers, a short bright crackle on some peaks. But maybe i am the only one, who has this "issue".

[ecamburn]

Super clear mix. Love the choice of sounds. The arrangement is effective, bringing in new elements right where they're needed. Nice one.

[Frantz]

Original and very good sounding

Thank you, sir.

[Frantz]

A new Frantz song is a highlight of my KVR visits.
This is a unique , well-produced track of the kind of quality I've come to appreciate.
I have to be honest and say I struggled with the vocal melody shape, e.g. "close to the" , then a significant leap to "edge".
The song seems to have a lot of tension melodically, but very little satisfying resolution to that tension.
You've set the bar so high with your previous stuff, thats what I've come to expect every time.

I agree the verse vocal melody shape is idiosyncratic or even bonkers but once I started doing it, I couldn't stop singing it that way. I guess it's up to the listener to decide whether it's a bug or feature. I think I am going to be weirder from now on instead of trying to normalize my ideas.

I'm glad you enjoyed this overall. I always appreciate your comments.

[seismic1]

I agreed with Bansaw's comment about the "shape of the vocal melody", at least during my first 2 or 3 listens, but I'm becoming acclimatised to it now.

I liked the way that the beginning of the second verse is "stripped back" relative to the first. It helps to give the song a nice sense of dynamics and pacing. Another nice touch is the increase in intensity of the percussion in each chorus. The verse/chorus transitions (and vice versa) are effective and dynamic.

Lyrically, your last few songs seem be moving into darker territory. I suppose that is a reflection of the times we are living in.

Great to hear that the use of the word "bonkers" is now a transatlantic idiom. Looking forward to the weirdness.

Good work

[Bansaw]

I agreed with Bansaw's comment about the "shape of the vocal melody", at least during my first 2 or 3 listens, but I'm becoming acclimatised to it now.

This is what the brain does. It acclimatises, so things don't stand out as much, nothing becomes a surprise. I once made a track where I introduced some brass (trumpet) for a section, and someone commented that the introduction was sudden and surprising. I brushed it off, but a few weeks later after my brain semi-forgot, I listened to that same track and thought, "hmm, that was a surprise, the guy had a point".
Thats why I like to get someone else's opinion, or leave my track a few days before posting it now.

[donkey tugger]

I agree the verse vocal melody shape is idiosyncratic or even bonkers but once I started doing it, I couldn't stop singing it that way. I guess it's up to the listener to decide whether it's a bug or feature. I think I am going to be weirder from now on instead of trying to normalize my ideas.

I feel your pain...

Here I think it's not so much the melody, but the phrasing which seems a little bit stilted and hesitant at times. Always difficult with a new song (particularly one that's not easy to sing... ) to get the phrasing on the money. Sounds here as if you're not quite sure of it yet. Probably a lot of it would be fixable with editing, but sometimes (and I hate it...as I love singing but despise the actual recording part)) a bit of practice and another attempt may be necessary.

Will be worth it, honest!

[BONES]

Good song but it sounds like the lead vocals were added as an afterthought. They lack the polished sound of the music and even the backing vox. It's not your singing, it's how you've processed it. Maybe you could do a few more takes and double it, or cheat with something like Sound Particle's Density or iZotope's Vocal Doubler? Listening to Ghost in the Machine again, those vox sound heaps better.