Hey Paisley, excellent stuff from you this week!

I like this tune, the vocals have this fragile quality to them, that fits the vibe. I love the sense of progression and development throughout the tune. The little metronome synth sounds sprinkled throughout are cute. Though I don't like that it comes back towards the end. That feels distracting to me there. It draws attention, like it's setting up something new. But then it fades out. And generally I think fade-outs are weak sauce. I like songs to have a proper ending.

Two things I want to mention. The kick, is there even a kick? Maybe it's part of the bass? But I can hear it, I can't feel it.

Secondly, the voice intensity stays more or less the same throughout the tune. Not specific to the voice, but in general it's a good idea to add a new layer to the chorus each time that it repeats. So it feels bigger than the previous one.

One of those layers can be adding another vocal line doubling what you've got, for example. Or in the final chorus having a whole vocal counter melody. Things that ramp up the intensity and fullness of the section.

You can also start adding subtle delays to the vocals. Thicken them up in that way. And maybe by the third chorus you take a copy of the vocal and squash beyond all recognition. And blend that in very quietly. It doesn't have to be much. In fact, subtlety is often best.

Anyway, that's what I've got for you this week. Neat track though!

Hey Paisley, excellent stuff from you this week! I like this tune, the vocals have this fragile quality to them, that fits the vibe. I love the sense of progression and development throughout the tune. The little metronome synth sounds sprinkled throughout are cute. Though I don't like that it comes back towards the end. That feels distracting to me there. It draws attention, like it's setting up something new. But then it fades out. And generally I think fade-outs are weak sauce. I like songs to have a proper ending. Two things I want to mention. The kick, is there even a kick? Maybe it's part of the bass? But I can hear it, I can't feel it. Secondly, the voice intensity stays more or less the same throughout the tune. Not specific to the voice, but in general it's a good idea to add a new layer to the chorus each time that it repeats. So it feels bigger than the previous one. One of those layers can be adding another vocal line doubling what you've got, for example. Or in the final chorus having a whole vocal counter melody. Things that ramp up the intensity and fullness of the section. You can also start adding subtle delays to the vocals. Thicken them up in that way. And maybe by the third chorus you take a copy of the vocal and squash beyond all recognition. And blend that in very quietly. It doesn't have to be much. In fact, subtlety is often best. Anyway, that's what I've got for you this week. Neat track though!

Oh, I forgot to mention that besides the kick-issue, if that's even issue, your mix sounds nice and balanced to me this week.

Oh, I forgot to mention that besides the kick-issue, if that's even issue, your mix sounds nice and balanced to me this week.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed! All things considered, I like how this one ended up. I mentioned to Dr Frog that it was a decent batter and would have loved some more time to bake it into a cake, and she gave me a look. "What? It's a good song!"

I'll address a few of your thoughts:

The kick. Yep, it's pretty non-existent, but at least I know it The Logic Session Musicians on the whole are pretty mix ready, but the Drummers need help in comparison. I had NO time to do some proper treatment and mix for the drums - everything went into writing, recording and arranging. I did a couple quick things, but ultimately that aspect is pretty flat.

Vocals: see above There's a TON I wanted to do on this (and was also why I was a little frustrated I got this idea during a week when I had no time or vocal strength). Would've loved to do some doubling, additional BG vocals, bigger build at the end, different texture between sections... Ultimately I ran out of time and vocal energy, what with still getting over my cold. Threw a quick delay and verb on and called it a day. I'm happy I got a harmony down LOL It's partially why I described it as a decent batter to Dr Frog - I know where I wanted to take it.

[quote=electronic_tiger]Hey Paisley, excellent stuff from you this week! I like this tune, the vocals have this fragile quality to them, that fits the vibe. I love the sense of progression and development throughout the tune. The little metronome synth sounds sprinkled throughout are cute. Though I don't like that it comes back towards the end. That feels distracting to me there. It draws attention, like it's setting up something new. But then it fades out. And generally I think fade-outs are weak sauce. I like songs to have a proper ending. Two things I want to mention. The kick, is there even a kick? Maybe it's part of the bass? But I can hear it, I can't feel it. Secondly, the voice intensity stays more or less the same throughout the tune. Not specific to the voice, but in general it's a good idea to add a new layer to the chorus each time that it repeats. So it feels bigger than the previous one. One of those layers can be adding another vocal line doubling what you've got, for example. Or in the final chorus having a whole vocal counter melody. Things that ramp up the intensity and fullness of the section. You can also start adding subtle delays to the vocals. Thicken them up in that way. And maybe by the third chorus you take a copy of the vocal and squash beyond all recognition. And blend that in very quietly. It doesn't have to be much. In fact, subtlety is often best. Anyway, that's what I've got for you this week. Neat track though! [/quote] Thanks, glad you enjoyed! All things considered, I like how this one ended up. I mentioned to Dr Frog that it was a decent batter and would have loved some more time to bake it into a cake, and she gave me a look. "What? It's a good song!" I'll address a few of your thoughts: The kick. Yep, it's pretty non-existent, but at least I know it :) The Logic Session Musicians on the whole are pretty mix ready, but the Drummers need help in comparison. I had NO time to do some proper treatment and mix for the drums - everything went into writing, recording and arranging. I did a couple quick things, but ultimately that aspect is pretty flat. Vocals: see above :) There's a TON I wanted to do on this (and was also why I was a little frustrated I got this idea during a week when I had no time or vocal strength). Would've loved to do some doubling, additional BG vocals, bigger build at the end, different texture between sections... Ultimately I ran out of time and vocal energy, what with still getting over my cold. Threw a quick delay and verb on and called it a day. I'm happy I got a harmony down LOL It's partially why I described it as a decent batter to Dr Frog - I know where I wanted to take it. [quote]And generally I think fade-outs are weak sauce. I like songs to have a proper ending.[/quote] [spoiler=Oh, now you've done it. Let's go. :)] I may have feels on the subject LOL I've heard that that before about fades being weak and I understand the sentiment, but I strenuously disagree. A proper ending has it's place, but not here. A song like this is all about the chorus hook - sticking with the listener. A fade leans on something called pulse continuity. Essentially, it makes the song stay longer with a listener after it's over (and has been [url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735613511505]shown in studies[/url]). A proper ending is absolutely legitimate, and it's something I use! ...but it's also a musical punctuation mark. With a singalong chorus, you want it to feel like it goes on...to have the listener stick with it PAST the ending. "But Paisleyfrog, it's just there so DJs have something to talk over!" Both and. It works in that capacity, but also serves an emotional function. There's also artistry in making a well-done fade. Can you just loop and pull the master? Sure, but there's more to it than that (sort of like how there's way more to making ambient. People joke about ambient being ice soup speedtrash fodder, but it's not necessarily simple). There needs to be subtle variation going on during that fade that continues the slight variation and engages interest, even while fading. I liken it to leaving a party: you're walking away, but you can still hear different things going on, and you're craning your ears to catch what's still happening. It encourages listening even harder all the way - and past - the end. It's why I'll use it on non-hook songs - trying to peel away and add details as the song goes away. A lot of favorite songs have all sorts of little things going at the end fade. And some aren't so little! Which leads me to one of the best fades of all time: Rosanna, by Toto. It could 100% end on that last "oh yeah", and would be a proper way to tie the song up. I believe a radio edit does that. But right after, the album version launches into a loose jam feel that moves effortlessly. Builds the rhythm. And then Steve Lukather's solo starts...and the song just keeps building. And building. And then the song starts to FADE as the solo is STILL CLIMBING in intensity. It gives me chills every time, because it feels like a rocket launching into space - energy and passion moving into the distance and fading out of sight. And it absolutely uses pulse continuity, because even after the song is over and the tonearm has lifted, you get that feeling that the band is rocking on that solo to this day. :) [/spoiler]

Love the synths in this with your vocals.  It transported me to a John Hughes universe. A unreleased movie if you will Excellent keyboard solo \m/ Love a good fade out too!

Love the synths in this with your vocals. It transported me to a John Hughes universe. A unreleased movie if you will :) Excellent keyboard solo \m/ Love a good fade out too!

Love this 80s synthpop vibe! Very Peter Gabriel and simple minds, or at least that's where I go when I hear this. Great balance on the mix.

Love this 80s synthpop vibe! Very Peter Gabriel and simple minds, or at least that's where I go when I hear this. Great balance on the mix.

Holy shit did I have that keyboard ... or something Casio ... when I was too young to remember anything but that sound. Creepy and amazing.

Actively listening and that little bridge breakdown synth solo around 2:30 and onwards ... holy shit dude. Epic. Genre Warlock in full power.

And on that note I'm going to choose my greater evil, and say there's absolutely nothing wrong with that kick. It's genre and era appropriate, and half the kicks in the 80s were little more than a transient kick - a metronome one might say, which makes it doubly appropriate with our little Casio friend. Even contemporary 'odes' to this kind of music exploit this kind of transient kick so like ... trust your magic warlock you know what you're doing.

I understand wanting to do more with the vocals, but I also think there's something to be appreciated for the "I recorded this in my garage with my buddies and the guitarist stole my delay pedal" feel. Which a lot of music from this genre seemed to encapsulate whether they wanted to or not - and whether they were in a garage or not. It wasn't just alternative and punk coming out of car parks lol. Are we calling this new wave? I admit my music/hearing knowledge of the period is pretty decent but my taxonomy I sometimes lacking.

Anyway, this was awesome, and even more so considering context and circumstances. Amazing magic as always

Holy shit did I have that keyboard ... or something Casio ... when I was too young to remember anything but that sound. Creepy and amazing. Actively listening and that little bridge breakdown synth solo around 2:30 and onwards ... holy shit dude. Epic. Genre Warlock in full power. And on that note I'm going to choose my greater evil, and say there's absolutely nothing wrong with that kick. It's genre and era appropriate, and half the kicks in the 80s were little more than a transient kick - a metronome one might say, which makes it doubly appropriate with our little Casio friend. Even contemporary 'odes' to this kind of music exploit this kind of transient kick so like ... trust your magic warlock you know what you're doing. I understand wanting to do more with the vocals, but I also think there's something to be appreciated for the "I recorded this in my garage with my buddies and the guitarist stole my delay pedal" feel. Which a lot of music from this genre seemed to encapsulate whether they wanted to or not - and whether they were in a garage or not. It wasn't just alternative and punk coming out of car parks lol. Are we calling this new wave? I admit my music/hearing knowledge of the period is pretty decent but my taxonomy I sometimes lacking. Anyway, this was awesome, and even more so considering context and circumstances. Amazing magic as always <3

SHIT I FORGOT THE FADE OUT. Fuck yes it's perfect. This song would be entirely wrong without it.

Okay I am done filling your page with text. ROCK ON FROG.

SHIT I FORGOT THE FADE OUT. Fuck yes it's perfect. This song would be entirely wrong without it. Okay I am done filling your page with text. ROCK ON FROG.

A keyboard compliment from you is VERY high praise. Thank you!

Simple Minds! Yep, that is exactly the era I was going for in my mind with this. Thank you!

Thank you I will absolutely be returning to the Casios and Yamahas in my collection. I've thinned the herd quite a bit, but I still have quite a few cheapkey friends. Need to pull out the Casio MT-100, it was my first when I was like 11.

In my mind, this isn't New Wave. I was targeting 1984/1985 with the sound - by that point, New Wave had pretty much been consumed and homogenized by the major labels into the general pop/top 40 sound. To me, 1985 was the pinnacle of what I think of as 80s music - that was when Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair (to say nothing of all the other gems - that was also A-Ha's Take On Me). It was all downhill from there LOL.

And filling pages with text? I'm glad I'm not the only one doing it I absolutely LOVE that people are posting on my songs about what the music should be and could be. I'm learning so much this year

[quote=Tone Matrix]Love the synths in this with your vocals. It transported me to a John Hughes universe. A unreleased movie if you will :) Excellent keyboard solo \m/ Love a good fade out too! [/quote] A keyboard compliment from you is VERY high praise. Thank you! <3 [quote=Jackmsimpson]Love this 80s synthpop vibe! Very Peter Gabriel and simple minds, or at least that's where I go when I hear this. Great balance on the mix. [/quote] Simple Minds! <3 Yep, that is exactly the era I was going for in my mind with this. Thank you! [quote=neon liminal]Holy shit did I have that keyboard ... or something Casio ... when I was too young to remember anything but that sound. Creepy and amazing. Actively listening and that little bridge breakdown synth solo around 2:30 and onwards ... holy shit dude. Epic. Genre Warlock in full power. And on that note I'm going to choose my greater evil, and say there's absolutely nothing wrong with that kick. It's genre and era appropriate, and half the kicks in the 80s were little more than a transient kick - a metronome one might say, which makes it doubly appropriate with our little Casio friend. Even contemporary 'odes' to this kind of music exploit this kind of transient kick so like ... trust your magic warlock you know what you're doing. I understand wanting to do more with the vocals, but I also think there's something to be appreciated for the "I recorded this in my garage with my buddies and the guitarist stole my delay pedal" feel. Which a lot of music from this genre seemed to encapsulate whether they wanted to or not - and whether they were in a garage or not. It wasn't just alternative and punk coming out of car parks lol. Are we calling this new wave? I admit my music/hearing knowledge of the period is pretty decent but my taxonomy I sometimes lacking. Anyway, this was awesome, and even more so considering context and circumstances. Amazing magic as always <3[/quote] Thank you <3 I will absolutely be returning to the Casios and Yamahas in my collection. I've thinned the herd quite a bit, but I still have quite a few cheapkey friends. Need to pull out the Casio MT-100, it was my first when I was like 11. In my mind, this isn't New Wave. I was targeting 1984/1985 with the sound - by that point, New Wave had pretty much been consumed and homogenized by the major labels into the general pop/top 40 sound. To me, 1985 was the pinnacle of what I think of as 80s music - that was when Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair (to say nothing of all the other gems - that was also A-Ha's Take On Me). It was all downhill from there LOL. And filling pages with text? I'm glad I'm not the only one doing it :D I absolutely LOVE that people are posting on my songs about what the music should be and could be. I'm learning so much this year <3 <3

heck yeah, House on the Rock! that room....

great song! and impressive recording and mix, especially considering all you were dealing with last week. glad you're feeling better and hope this has been a better week so far!

heck yeah, House on the Rock! that room.... great song! and impressive recording and mix, especially considering all you were dealing with last week. glad you're feeling better and hope this has been a better week so far!

agreed ^

[quote=neon liminal]SHIT I FORGOT THE FADE OUT. Fuck yes it's perfect.[/quote] agreed ^

I forgot to mention this too

Thanks! To me, that sort of slippery saw lead is inextricably linked with Steve Winwood and Valerie (1982)

One thing I'll say in defense of the anti-fade: it saw a peak of usage in the 80s/90s or so (hell, Ministry did a fade on Just One Fix LOL)...so, its usage is maybe a little dated and old.

But then, so am I.

Thank you. Time may have been at a premium, but I'm pretty happy with the result...and I'm actually sorta happy that outside events have conspired to make sure I don't overthink. I'm learning a lot of efficiency, and letting my first ideas be good on their own merits

And thanks....it's been a good week so far...feeling better, sun is out, able to take the scooter to work. Good days

I need to get back to HotR. It's my kind of weird.

[quote=neon liminal]Actively listening and that little bridge breakdown synth solo around 2:30 and onwards ... holy shit dude. Epic. Genre Warlock in full power.[/quote] I forgot to mention this too :) Thanks! To me, that sort of slippery saw lead is inextricably linked with Steve Winwood and Valerie (1982) :) One thing I'll say in defense of the anti-fade: it saw a peak of usage in the 80s/90s or so (hell, Ministry did a fade on Just One Fix LOL)...so, its usage is maybe a little dated and old. But then, so am I. :) [quote=jwh]heck yeah, House on the Rock! that room.... great song! and impressive recording and mix, especially considering all you were dealing with last week. glad you're feeling better and hope this has been a better week so far![/quote] Thank you. Time may have been at a premium, but I'm pretty happy with the result...and I'm actually sorta happy that outside events have conspired to make sure I don't overthink. I'm learning a lot of efficiency, and letting my first ideas be good on their own merits :) And thanks....it's been a good week so far...feeling better, sun is out, able to take the scooter to work. Good days :) I need to get back to HotR. It's my kind of weird. :D

Solid track, like the ambiance a lot. Nice choice of synths, cool sound palette.

I like the melodies and chord progressions - little transpositions.

Rock on!

Solid track, like the ambiance a lot. Nice choice of synths, cool sound palette. I like the melodies and chord progressions - little transpositions. Rock on!

Excellent synth pop track!! Your vocals sound crisp and clean in this!! Very fun and catchy melody! Well done on persisting and getting it done this week!

Excellent synth pop track!! Your vocals sound crisp and clean in this!! Very fun and catchy melody! Well done on persisting and getting it done this week!

Thanks! I like the Session players, I feel like they let me focus a bit more on songwriting and not thinking too hard about the instrumentation. Which was good in a week like this

Thanks! One of my favorite things is to get a bed made and finding the melody that goes over the top. I certainly did not feel crisp this week, I'm glad they sounded good

Thinking about how your song this week and my song are sort of bookends....I was looking back to my own painful decisions that were for the best. Facing down the answer, making a choice...choosing our lesser evils. Hope you're doing OK.

[quote=djippy]Solid track, like the ambiance a lot. Nice choice of synths, cool sound palette. I like the melodies and chord progressions - little transpositions. Rock on![/quote] Thanks! I like the Session players, I feel like they let me focus a bit more on songwriting and not thinking too hard about the instrumentation. Which was good in a week like this :) [quote=Tom Foolery]Excellent synth pop track!! Your vocals sound crisp and clean in this!! Very fun and catchy melody! Well done on persisting and getting it done this week![/quote] Thanks! One of my favorite things is to get a bed made and finding the melody that goes over the top. I certainly did not feel crisp this week, I'm glad they sounded good :) Thinking about how your song this week and my song are sort of bookends....I was looking back to my own painful decisions that were for the best. Facing down the answer, making a choice...choosing our lesser evils. Hope you're doing OK. <3

[quote=Paisleyfrog] Thinking about how your song this week and my song are sort of bookends....I was looking back to my own painful decisions that were for the best. Facing down the answer, making a choice...choosing our lesser evils. Hope you're doing OK. <3[/quote] <3