amazing

amazing

Dude, that trumpet though.  That's pretty dope for coming off a 20+ year derust. Great start to the year

Dude, that trumpet though. That's pretty dope for coming off a 20+ year derust. Great start to the year

Dude, I have genuinely been thinking about you and your music and hoping you'd be joining in 2026. And I'm so pleased to see that you actually are!!!
Welcome back, man!! Such a solid entry!!! Awesome work with the vocals, I really like how you made them swirl with panning.
Also, those twin trumpets with interweaving melodies doing kind of call & response at around 1:40 are FANTASTIC!!!
Again, such a strong start to 2026, damn man.

Dude, I have genuinely been thinking about you and your music and hoping you'd be joining in 2026. And I'm so pleased to see that you actually are!!! Welcome back, man!! Such a solid entry!!! Awesome work with the vocals, I really like how you made them swirl with panning. Also, those twin trumpets with interweaving melodies doing kind of call & response at around 1:40 are FANTASTIC!!! Again, such a strong start to 2026, damn man.

+1 on the trumpet!  Solid groove from the start and I admire you jumping in head first with singing.  I'm trying to do the same a bit this year.  Chorus is super catchy and had me tapping along.  Well done!

+1 on the trumpet! Solid groove from the start and I admire you jumping in head first with singing. I'm trying to do the same a bit this year. Chorus is super catchy and had me tapping along. Well done!

Still not a huge fan of the little alien voice layered on top, but very much enjoying everything else. Awesome trumpet, cool filter on the vocals (that aren't the little alien), sweet guitar.
- Devieus

Still not a huge fan of the little alien voice layered on top, but very much enjoying everything else. Awesome trumpet, cool filter on the vocals (that aren't the little alien), sweet guitar. - Devieus

It's always nice to hear songs with vocals.  The effects sound pretty cool to me.  The trumpet is *chef's kiss* and adds such a nice flavor to the proceedings.

It's always nice to hear songs with vocals. The effects sound pretty cool to me. The trumpet is *chef's kiss* and adds such a nice flavor to the proceedings.

PeterM! nice to hear you back in action, and i'm so stoked you decided to add vocals & trumpet! they sound great! i really love how the trumpet is sitting in the mix 

mixing one's own vocals can be very tough. i've been doing it since the 90s and it is still tricky sometimes! it's like looking at an unfiltered photo of yourself or something...
i do find the more that i can do up front to make myself feel comfortable and more confident while i'm singing/ tracking, the better it goes (getting something right during the performance is always sooo much easier to mix).

as you asked for feedback...
i think there is a lot you can do with EQ and levels to get things sitting in a place that feels better to you, without having to rely on fx (not that there is anything wrong w/ vocal fx in general). having a double can be a crutch (i def do that a LOT), but i also really love the sound of a doubled vocal. and that's a great way to help get comfortable with the sound of your recorded voice. like it just instantly smooths things over a bit.

i think your main vocals could probably come down in level a little bit, which would also probably help you not to hyper-focus on them. not to bury them, but like in comparison to the other instruments they seemed a bit hot. i personally found the phaser a little distracting, not sure if it was on both of the leads? you could try removing it from one and see how that feels. or even altogether. you have a nice voice and don't need to hide it!
i will often have my main vocal be a little more clear, and then fuck with the double a bit and use it as more of a parallel processed kinda thing to add some texture if i don't want things to sound super clean or whatever.
but yeah - i like the sound of your voice and was like... ah i wish i could hear it a little more clearly!   

hope that's helpful! but yeah, i really like this one and hope to hear more with vocals this year. cheers!

PeterM! nice to hear you back in action, and i'm so stoked you decided to add vocals & trumpet! they sound great! i really love how the trumpet is sitting in the mix :D mixing one's own vocals can be very tough. i've been doing it since the 90s and it is still tricky sometimes! it's like looking at an unfiltered photo of yourself or something... i do find the more that i can do up front to make myself feel comfortable and more confident while i'm singing/ tracking, the better it goes (getting something right during the performance is always sooo much easier to mix). as you asked for feedback... i think there is a lot you can do with EQ and levels to get things sitting in a place that feels better to you, without having to rely on fx (not that there is anything wrong w/ vocal fx in general). having a double can be a crutch (i def do that a LOT), but i also really love the sound of a doubled vocal. and that's a great way to help get comfortable with the sound of your recorded voice. like it just instantly smooths things over a bit. i think your main vocals could probably come down in level a little bit, which would also probably help you not to hyper-focus on them. not to bury them, but like in comparison to the other instruments they seemed a bit hot. i personally found the phaser a little distracting, not sure if it was on both of the leads? you could try removing it from one and see how that feels. or even altogether. you have a nice voice and don't need to hide it! i will often have my main vocal be a little more clear, and then fuck with the double a bit and use it as more of a parallel processed kinda thing to add some texture if i don't want things to sound super clean or whatever. but yeah - i like the sound of your voice and was like... ah i wish i could hear it a little more clearly! :) hope that's helpful! but yeah, i really like this one and hope to hear more with vocals this year. cheers!

jwh, wow, thank you so much for all that amazingly helpful feedback! I really appreciate that. I definitely was wanting to hide a bit behind the FX stuff, so I will work on my courage, and tone them down. Maybe I just need to lower the levels. Man, this is all so helpful and encouraging. Thanks you so much.

[quote=jwh]PeterM! nice to hear you back in action, and i'm so stoked you decided to add vocals & trumpet! they sound great! i really love how the trumpet is sitting in the mix :D mixing one's own vocals can be very tough. i've been doing it since the 90s and it is still tricky sometimes! it's like looking at an unfiltered photo of yourself or something... i do find the more that i can do up front to make myself feel comfortable and more confident while i'm singing/ tracking, the better it goes (getting something right during the performance is always sooo much easier to mix). as you asked for feedback... i think there is a lot you can do with EQ and levels to get things sitting in a place that feels better to you, without having to rely on fx (not that there is anything wrong w/ vocal fx in general). having a double can be a crutch (i def do that a LOT), but i also really love the sound of a doubled vocal. and that's a great way to help get comfortable with the sound of your recorded voice. like it just instantly smooths things over a bit. i think your main vocals could probably come down in level a little bit, which would also probably help you not to hyper-focus on them. not to bury them, but like in comparison to the other instruments they seemed a bit hot. i personally found the phaser a little distracting, not sure if it was on both of the leads? you could try removing it from one and see how that feels. or even altogether. you have a nice voice and don't need to hide it! i will often have my main vocal be a little more clear, and then fuck with the double a bit and use it as more of a parallel processed kinda thing to add some texture if i don't want things to sound super clean or whatever. but yeah - i like the sound of your voice and was like... ah i wish i could hear it a little more clearly! :) hope that's helpful! but yeah, i really like this one and hope to hear more with vocals this year. cheers! [/quote] jwh, wow, thank you so much for all that amazingly helpful feedback! I really appreciate that. I definitely was wanting to hide a bit behind the FX stuff, so I will work on my courage, and tone them down. Maybe I just need to lower the levels. Man, this is all so helpful and encouraging. Thanks you so much.

So, I just tried some of your suggestions ... and it sounds waaaay better. I'll know for next time. Reducing the levels was key ... I don't know why I couldn't hear it was the level that was making it so dominant ... I was trying to filter it and eq etc with limited success. Also once the level is reduced, I like it way better with the phasing effect. Live and learn ... with a little help from the pros!

[quote=jwh]i like the sound of your voice and was like... ah i wish i could hear it a little more clearly! [/quote] So, I just tried some of your suggestions ... and it sounds waaaay better. I'll know for next time. Reducing the levels was key ... I don't know why I couldn't hear it was the level that was making it so dominant ... I was trying to filter it and eq etc with limited success. Also once the level is reduced, I like it way better with the phasing effect. Live and learn ... with a little help from the pros! ;)

oh, that's great! i'm so glad to hear that, and glad what i shared was helpful in some way.

and that happens to me a LOT - where i'm like focused on a specific element in the mix so much that i lose context of how it fits in with everything else. i took a mixing class this past november and got some clarity on some things that have been really helpful with this:

> don't solo elements when mixing. like, it doesn't matter how amazing the snare sounds by itself if it's not working in the context of the mix.

> change what you are listening on frequently when mixing - headphones, monitors if you have them (i don't currently), even checking on airpods and phone speakers will give you great context and help you hear things with fresh perspective. also checking the mix in mono from time to time can help catch weirdness.

> and a big thing is taking a break! even just like 10 minutes to step away from the mix, stretch, get a drink, etc.

it's all about keeping good perspective and not getting that mix tunnel vision that we can so easily fall into!

anyway, i'm just blabbing now. excited to hear more from you this year. GO TEAM 

[quote=PeterM][quote=jwh]i like the sound of your voice and was like... ah i wish i could hear it a little more clearly! [/quote] So, I just tried some of your suggestions ... and it sounds waaaay better. I'll know for next time. Reducing the levels was key ... I don't know why I couldn't hear it was the level that was making it so dominant ... I was trying to filter it and eq etc with limited success. Also once the level is reduced, I like it way better with the phasing effect. Live and learn ... with a little help from the pros! ;)[/quote] oh, that's great! i'm so glad to hear that, and glad what i shared was helpful in some way. and that happens to me a LOT - where i'm like focused on a specific element in the mix so much that i lose context of how it fits in with everything else. i took a mixing class this past november and got some clarity on some things that have been really helpful with this: > don't solo elements when mixing. like, it doesn't matter how amazing the snare sounds by itself if it's not working in the context of the mix. > change what you are listening on frequently when mixing - headphones, monitors if you have them (i don't currently), even checking on airpods and phone speakers will give you great context and help you hear things with fresh perspective. also checking the mix in mono from time to time can help catch weirdness. > and a big thing is taking a break! even just like 10 minutes to step away from the mix, stretch, get a drink, etc. it's all about keeping good perspective and not getting that mix tunnel vision that we can so easily fall into! anyway, i'm just blabbing now. excited to hear more from you this year. GO TEAM <3

Trumpet!! Yes! I love the phased vocals, but then I don't do vocals and as far as I'm concerned, nobody needs to hear my attempt at singing. Many kudos for putting yourself out there and ending up with a fun, catchy tune!

Trumpet!! Yes! I love the phased vocals, but then I don't do vocals and as far as I'm concerned, nobody needs to hear my attempt at singing. Many kudos for putting yourself out there and ending up with a fun, catchy tune!

Really enjoying the swealling movement in the track and vocals.
Really enjoyed your track and congrats on giving singging a go

Really enjoying the swealling movement in the track and vocals. Really enjoyed your track and congrats on giving singging a go :D

So much catchy energy here! Love the vocal melody, and that trumpet is the perfect cherry-on-top.

So much catchy energy here! Love the vocal melody, and that trumpet is the perfect cherry-on-top.

noice!

noice!