“Watching” (Progressive Hard Rock, Vocals)

[jcub]

"Watching" is a heavy, progressive rock song featuring session vocalist Marko Duplišak and mixing, mastering and production from Dan Cubert. I am playing all the instruments.

https://soundcloud.com/jeremycubert/watching

The piece examines modern societal control, surveillance, and digital sensory overload.

Lyrics

Watch through a window pane
Static bleeding through my brain
Ground disappears into the sky
No need to wonder why.

Wind blows through the trees
Force you to your knees
World spins off its track
And we’re not turning back.

Staring at a wall of a thousand games
Flashing lights and forgotten names
We break focus into tiny pieces
The static feeds and never ceases.

Wind blows through the trees
Force you to your knees
World spins off its track
And we’re not turning back.

Distract and disengage
A way to rearrange
They feed the fire, watch it burn
And profit from every turn.

Watch above the clouds
Say the quiet part out loud
Gathering into a storm
There will be no time to mourn.

Wind blows through the trees
Force you to your knees
World spins off its track
And we’re not turning back.
credits

Jeremy Cubert
(Guitar, Organ, LinnStrument (synthesizer), Haken Continuum, NS Chapman Stick, Zendrum, Korg Wavedrum Global (tablas))

Marko Duplišak
(Vocals and Vocal Arrangements)

Lyrics and Composition: Jeremy Cubert
Mixing, Mastering, Production: Dan Cubert

[jcub]

Updated mix uploaded. Thanks.

[Mike777]

wow great! Timely topic! I don't see any turning back either. Although some cities are banning data centers. There might be some hope maybe.

All your guitar/key skills in top form as usual. Really enjoyed the organ and synth solos in the bridge. Dig the ending change.

[jcub]

wow great! Timely topic! I don't see any turning back either. Although some cities are banning data centers. There might be some hope maybe.

All your guitar/key skills in top form as usual. Really enjoyed the organ and synth solos in the bridge. Dig the ending change.

Thanks, Mike! Much appreciated. I am keeping up my streak of at least one dystopian song per year!

[zerocrossing]

I really love this. Sounds like a blend of Trak and Red era King Crimson, and Soundgarden. My only minor complaint is that resonant-sweep synth sound. It’s featured in the beginning and it just sounds out of place. It’s barely ever used again. I’d lose it altogether.

[jcub]

I really love this. Sounds like a blend of Trak and Red era King Crimson, and Soundgarden. My only minor complaint is that resonant-sweep synth sound. It’s featured in the beginning and it just sounds out of place. It’s barely ever used again. I’d lose it altogether.

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words. Someone else gave me the same feedback on the synth part. The synth is playing a melody line but I could replace it with a different sound.

[Hipster Bales]

I actually quite like this, especially the vocal.

[enroe]

"Watching": The transition to the heavy guitar stands out — that’s where things
really kick off. Great groove, great vocals! The solo around the three-minute
mark is excellent; it makes the song entertaining and even more interesting.

In Total: Brilliantly done, I like it.

[aaron aardvark]

jcub,
I don't think I've ever heard you play guitar like that before, so I am kind of astonished; what sort of guitar amp modeling (or real guitar amps) did you use? Keyboard playing reminds me of Rick Wakeman (a big compliment). Instrumentally, everything sounds very good! Vocals are excellent! Overall: really good song and recording! I will soon post a new song; perhaps you can check it out.

[Paulieworld]

Very well done! This sounds like you put in a lot of time and planning. I like how the mood changes at around 0:50. The chord change at 1:20 sounds predictable at first, then it goes off the rails. The whole track is big, crunchy and complex with jagged edges. Marko has a great voice, perfect for this.

Can you describe your workflow and hardware? Did you write the lyrics to fit the music, or vice versa? How long did this take from start to finish? I’m sure I could find little details that I would have done differently, but I’m sure you listened to this many, many times before posting it, and it’s exactly what you wanted.

If I had to change anything, I would change the ending from a fadeout to something more abrupt. It’s Sunday morning and this is the first thing I listened to. Really woke me up! Great track.

[jcub]

I actually quite like this, especially the vocal.

Thanks! The key was finding someone else to sing. I used a website called Soundbetter to locate someone with the voice I was looking for - heavy but not the growling style or high pitched.

[jcub]

"Watching": The transition to the heavy guitar stands out — that’s where things
really kick off. Great groove, great vocals! The solo around the three-minute
mark is excellent; it makes the song entertaining and even more interesting.

In Total: Brilliantly done, I like it.

Thanks very much! I wanted some contrasting parts in the song.

[jcub]

jcub,
I don't think I've ever heard you play guitar like that before, so I am kind of astonished; what sort of guitar amp modeling (or real guitar amps) did you use? Keyboard playing reminds me of Rick Wakeman (a big compliment). Instrumentally, everything sounds very good! Vocals are excellent! Overall: really good song and recording! I will soon post a new song; perhaps you can check it out.

Thank you! The guitar playing was a combination of simplifying for the chords and relying on tapping for the more complex parts (which is easier for me than picking). My brother is a professional audio engineer in addition to being an outstanding musician. He heard my mix and offered to mix it himself. I am not sure what amp sims he used. He did try to get sounds similar to what I used in my mix (ToneX and Paradise Guitar Studio from UAD). I will check out your piece!

[jcub]

Very well done! This sounds like you put in a lot of time and planning. I like how the mood changes at around 0:50. The chord change at 1:20 sounds predictable at first, then it goes off the rails. The whole track is big, crunchy and complex with jagged edges. Marko has a great voice, perfect for this.

Can you describe your workflow and hardware? Did you write the lyrics to fit the music, or vice versa? How long did this take from start to finish? I’m sure I could find little details that I would have done differently, but I’m sure you listened to this many, many times before posting it, and it’s exactly what you wanted.

If I had to change anything, I would change the ending from a fadeout to something more abrupt. It’s Sunday morning and this is the first thing I listened to. Really woke me up! Great track.

Thank you! This piece was inspired from the latest Pineapple Thief track which is outstanding. The inspiration was to make a heavier sounding track.

- I started with the riff I use in the verse which I wrote on the Chapman Stick and then transitioned to playing it on guitar which required practicing to get the strumming pattern down.
- Then I auditioned three different ideas for the other “cleaner section.” The middle part was mostly an improvised guitar part (tapping).
- After the guitar parts were recorded I recorded the drums using the Zendrum MIDI controller in real time.
- Then I wrote the lyrics which went through a lot of re-writes. I am not the best lyricist but I did try my best.
- Then I recorded the NS Chapman Stick bass parts and spent some time on the middle instrumental section to match up to the drums.
- I sang a version with my terrible voice just to show someone a basic melody and how the words fit over the music.

I found Marko on the Soundbetter website. The price was very reasonable and even though he said it would take a little longer because he was on vacation I got the tracks back very quickly. I asked him to redo the last “chorus” for a little variety. He sent me back stems for the lead vocal, octaves, and harmonies.

I will definitely use Marko or potentially others on Soundbetter for vocals in the future if it fits the piece. I rarely do vocal pieces because of my limitations both as a singer and lyricist.

[Paulieworld]

Have you ever tried Looperman? They have a lot of great singers and you can’t beat the price. Free. They don’t always provide the key and tempo, but it can be fun working with a bare acapella vocal track. This is something I did with CallMeDezz.

https://soundcloud.com/paulieworld/i-swear-to-god

A lot of the material on Looperman contains swearing. I don’t care much for that, but I guess I can live with it. We’re all adults.