Nothing to roast, certainly not for a song daring enough to be in F#.

I love the pacing of this one, feels to evolve a lot faster than your previous songs.

That lid shut sounding intro immediately opened up nicely into the vocals and big chords and tasty bass, lots of tasteful pulling out of instruments and re-inserting throughout keeps the pace of things going on highly engaging.

Love the hook "We build our walls, but they don't keep us safe". The change to Bsus2 to F# the second time around under was a 200IQ progression especially with the heavy Bsus2 with light touch of the F# under the "they" lyrics and really smacks and matches the emotion.

Love the electric guitar tone that came in for the interlude, so much stuff is hitting so fast.

The structure is fresh and interesting with so many interesting sounds too. Good mix of engaging and relaxing going back and forth.

Personally I think you could do with less vocal effects and it would be better, but I may be unfamiliar with this type of vocal effect and be biased to cleaner vocals. Regardless even with effects the enunciation is really good.

The outro piano solo is epic and plays well off everything that happened before it. Like the grittiness of it when it's at its climax. The strings behind it make it so powerful too, like 2:58 was sending shivers down my spine. It's difficult to get a piano to groove well, often it comes across stiff, but you're grooving hard here. Lots of great rhythms and touch going on.

You always have these great sounding snaps and reverbs on them that really groove too. Mainly I'm curious how such a soft sound simultaneously sounds so dominating and transparent while there's also heavy piano and strings going on. What's going on there in addition to simply putting a snap in? Sidechaining space for it? Unique reverb on just it? Something else? Tiktok/youtube tutorial lesson, xD?

I held off on reading your comments until listening to the whole thing, now will check out your take!

Nothing to roast, certainly not for a song daring enough to be in F#. I love the pacing of this one, feels to evolve a lot faster than your previous songs. That lid shut sounding intro immediately opened up nicely into the vocals and big chords and tasty bass, lots of tasteful pulling out of instruments and re-inserting throughout keeps the pace of things going on highly engaging. Love the hook "We build our walls, but they don't keep us safe". The change to Bsus2 to F# the second time around under was a 200IQ progression especially with the heavy Bsus2 with light touch of the F# under the "they" lyrics and really smacks and matches the emotion. Love the electric guitar tone that came in for the interlude, so much stuff is hitting so fast. The structure is fresh and interesting with so many interesting sounds too. Good mix of engaging and relaxing going back and forth. Personally I think you could do with less vocal effects and it would be better, but I may be unfamiliar with this type of vocal effect and be biased to cleaner vocals. Regardless even with effects the enunciation is really good. The outro piano solo is epic and plays well off everything that happened before it. Like the grittiness of it when it's at its climax. The strings behind it make it so powerful too, like 2:58 was sending shivers down my spine. It's difficult to get a piano to groove well, often it comes across stiff, but you're grooving hard here. Lots of great rhythms and touch going on. You always have these great sounding snaps and reverbs on them that really groove too. Mainly I'm curious how such a soft sound simultaneously sounds so dominating and transparent while there's also heavy piano and strings going on. What's going on there in addition to simply putting a snap in? Sidechaining space for it? Unique reverb on just it? Something else? Tiktok/youtube tutorial lesson, xD? I held off on reading your comments until listening to the whole thing, now will check out your take!

Encore of the piano solo! Rocks hard!

Encore of the piano solo! Rocks hard!

Solid track. I especially like the bass tone.

I see what you mean on my track comment with your Pianos outrow. Very well done.

Solid track. I especially like the bass tone. I see what you mean on my track comment with your Pianos outrow. Very well done.

I think producing something every week is a perfect opportunity to capture the moment and just release it into the world. Hard to do when you sit on creations. This is lovely on many levels. Love the piano at the end as well. Thanks for sharing! Adding as a favorite!

I think producing something every week is a perfect opportunity to capture the moment and just release it into the world. Hard to do when you sit on creations. This is lovely on many levels. Love the piano at the end as well. Thanks for sharing! Adding as a favorite!

Cool. The vocal chain on this is impressive. It's one take with some kind of subtle autotune, plus some delay and reverb? What else? Reminds me of Calyx and Teebee's vox - that wide subtle fullness is something I'd love to be able to recreate.

Cool. The vocal chain on this is impressive. It's one take with some kind of subtle autotune, plus some delay and reverb? What else? Reminds me of Calyx and Teebee's vox - that wide subtle fullness is something I'd love to be able to recreate.

Lyrically and melodically this is my favorite of yours so far.

Couple of notes and thoughts.

Production-wise, the drums get less intense throughout, kind of the opposite of the intensity ramp I want to feel. They never feel bigger than at the initial filter crescendo.

Around 1:25, bass is a little squirrelly, could benefit from simplicity imo.

Love the piano solo, echo everything frog said.

I think the vocal delay is a little too forward. Cool effect, but so much that it blurs the main vocal imo.

Roasted! Take these with the usual grain of salt, I think you are trending upwards! Keep it up!

Lyrically and melodically this is my favorite of yours so far. Couple of notes and thoughts. Production-wise, the drums get less intense throughout, kind of the opposite of the intensity ramp I want to feel. They never feel bigger than at the initial filter crescendo. Around 1:25, bass is a little squirrelly, could benefit from simplicity imo. Love the piano solo, echo everything frog said. I think the vocal delay is a little too forward. Cool effect, but so much that it blurs the main vocal imo. Roasted! Take these with the usual grain of salt, I think you are trending upwards! Keep it up!

I like it a lot! the singing is cool, feels honest and the melodies are nice and somewhat catchy. The drums are the first thing that I notice in the track, they feel solid and out of the way. the mix is nice, you can hear everything clearly. I like the bass and organ tones. I also like the piano solo at the end. It has passion, it fits the track, as someone else said kudos if it was a difficult key to play in. Perfect pop tune for the radio! Maybe a mastering could make it pop out even more, idk.

Can't understand the lyrics so well but the flow is good and the voice is used as an instrument, so it doesn't matter. it only adds more depth to figure out the lyrics later on. I think that's a nice thing to achieve, when it doesn't matter that you can't understand the lyrics but it still sounds good.

About the voice and effects: I still think less strong effects translate into more raw emotion in general. so as long as you use the effects consciously to say something, or to achieve a certain sound, I would say try to go as minimal as possible, because then the true emotion can come out thru the singing. Also a big lesson in singing: use more diaphragm

I like it a lot! the singing is cool, feels honest and the melodies are nice and somewhat catchy. The drums are the first thing that I notice in the track, they feel solid and out of the way. the mix is nice, you can hear everything clearly. I like the bass and organ tones. I also like the piano solo at the end. It has passion, it fits the track, as someone else said kudos if it was a difficult key to play in. Perfect pop tune for the radio! Maybe a mastering could make it pop out even more, idk. Can't understand the lyrics so well but the flow is good and the voice is used as an instrument, so it doesn't matter. it only adds more depth to figure out the lyrics later on. I think that's a nice thing to achieve, when it doesn't matter that you can't understand the lyrics but it still sounds good. About the voice and effects: I still think less strong effects translate into more raw emotion in general. so as long as you use the effects consciously to say something, or to achieve a certain sound, I would say try to go as minimal as possible, because then the true emotion can come out thru the singing. Also a big lesson in singing: use more diaphragm :)

Thanks!

F#: Sorry everyone, I actually played the chords and solo in F and transposed up because it felt a little easier to sing. I did play some of the background melodies that are going on in F# though

Vocal effects: I need to learn to sing better. Working on it... 6 months ago I would not have imagined myself trying to sing this much but WeeklyBeats helped bring lyrics out and keep them flowing 🙌

Snaps and effects: My approach to drums is pretty smol brained, would be open to feedback actually. I'd guess the snappiness that caught your attention was the drums behind the solo, which would check out because I've used a similar chain in some prior songs.

- Ableton Session Drums "MPE Kit-BigPunchy", rimshot snaps pretty nicely (sidenote MPE drums on Push are AWESOME)
- Vulf Compressor (use on everything) preset "Lots of attack" on the whole kit really squashes it, use between 50-75% wet
- Entire drum bus goes to one verb with an aggressive lowcut >1khz. Thing its UAD Hitsville default on this one.

I think the nice snappiness is mostly coming from the vulf compressor. I usually also sidechain but did not have time on this one.

Sample selection probably also matters a lot. The rim sample is really nice and on this one only it's layered with a really crisp clap. Want to say that's on a whole separate kit that's doubling the pattern and does not have the Vulf.

Thanks! I was just complaining about not being able to get a good bass tone on the last track. Find it's hit or miss with the p-bass and labella flat wounds. Probably depends on the key and how well I can mute the open strings.

Yeah near the end on my prior track "Empty Screens" I do a line similar to yours where it's monophonic. The processing is similar. Ableton OTT is the sauce.

Thanks for the encouragement! Will keep at it 😤

Everything except the first half of the verse actually has two or three layered takes that double the main part. You are correct though: Antares Harmony Engine is the thing that probably brings the most unique vibe. I use a free version that is not nearly as good but kinda works

https://mjk-media.com/portfolio/harmonizer/

🙌

Drum arrangement: interesting. They should theoretically hit just as hard for the second chorus, perhaps it would have been good to add some other layer to build the energy there. For the end, I think it was at least in part a mixing issue. Zero sidechaining and three major layers with the organ, EP, and solo competing with each other.

Bass: yeah I was disappointed in this, was a very quick take but decided bass was better than no bass. I actually liked the busier vibe but not the execution. Was going for Jamerson with the flat wound tone.

Vocal delay: another thing I need to dial, I think perhaps the dry/wet was OK but I needed to sidechain it to the vocal. One of those things I do when I have more time.

🙌 thanks

It is actually mastered to a fairly aggressive loudness level but I didn't do much with EQ

Added lyrics to the desc.

Vocal effects: yeah, mentioned above. Just need to learn how to sing. Did not think I'd be singing much less weekly and seriously not that long ago.

[quote=frogcity]Nothing to roast, certainly not for a song daring enough to be in F#. I love the pacing of this one, feels to evolve a lot faster than your previous songs. That lid shut sounding intro immediately opened up nicely into the vocals and big chords and tasty bass, lots of tasteful pulling out of instruments and re-inserting throughout keeps the pace of things going on highly engaging. Love the hook "We build our walls, but they don't keep us safe". The change to Bsus2 to F# the second time around under was a 200IQ progression especially with the heavy Bsus2 with light touch of the F# under the "they" lyrics and really smacks and matches the emotion. Love the electric guitar tone that came in for the interlude, so much stuff is hitting so fast. The structure is fresh and interesting with so many interesting sounds too. Good mix of engaging and relaxing going back and forth. Personally I think you could do with less vocal effects and it would be better, but I may be unfamiliar with this type of vocal effect and be biased to cleaner vocals. Regardless even with effects the enunciation is really good. The outro piano solo is epic and plays well off everything that happened before it. Like the grittiness of it when it's at its climax. The strings behind it make it so powerful too, like 2:58 was sending shivers down my spine. It's difficult to get a piano to groove well, often it comes across stiff, but you're grooving hard here. Lots of great rhythms and touch going on. You always have these great sounding snaps and reverbs on them that really groove too. Mainly I'm curious how such a soft sound simultaneously sounds so dominating and transparent while there's also heavy piano and strings going on. What's going on there in addition to simply putting a snap in? Sidechaining space for it? Unique reverb on just it? Something else? Tiktok/youtube tutorial lesson, xD? I held off on reading your comments until listening to the whole thing, now will check out your take! [/quote] Thanks! F#: Sorry everyone, I actually played the chords and solo in F and transposed up because it felt a little easier to sing. I did play some of the background melodies that are going on in F# though Vocal effects: I need to learn to sing better. Working on it... 6 months ago I would not have imagined myself trying to sing this much but WeeklyBeats helped bring lyrics out and keep them flowing 🙌 Snaps and effects: My approach to drums is pretty smol brained, would be open to feedback actually. I'd guess the snappiness that caught your attention was the drums behind the solo, which would check out because I've used a similar chain in some prior songs. - Ableton Session Drums "MPE Kit-BigPunchy", rimshot snaps pretty nicely (sidenote MPE drums on Push are AWESOME) - Vulf Compressor (use on everything) preset "Lots of attack" on the whole kit really squashes it, use between 50-75% wet - Entire drum bus goes to one verb with an aggressive lowcut >1khz. Thing its UAD Hitsville default on this one. I think the nice snappiness is mostly coming from the vulf compressor. I usually also sidechain but did not have time on this one. Sample selection probably also matters a lot. The rim sample is really nice and on this one only it's layered with a really crisp clap. Want to say that's on a whole separate kit that's doubling the pattern and does not have the Vulf. [quote=djippy]Solid track. I especially like the bass tone. I see what you mean on my track comment with your Pianos outrow. Very well done. [/quote] Thanks! I was just complaining about not being able to get a good bass tone on the last track. Find it's hit or miss with the p-bass and labella flat wounds. Probably depends on the key and how well I can mute the open strings. Yeah near the end on my prior track "Empty Screens" I do a line similar to yours where it's monophonic. The processing is similar. Ableton OTT is the sauce. [quote=SQF]I think producing something every week is a perfect opportunity to capture the moment and just release it into the world. Hard to do when you sit on creations. This is lovely on many levels. Love the piano at the end as well. Thanks for sharing! Adding as a favorite! [/quote] Thanks for the encouragement! Will keep at it 😤 [quote=naught101]Cool. The vocal chain on this is impressive. It's one take with some kind of subtle autotune, plus some delay and reverb? What else? Reminds me of Calyx and Teebee's vox - that wide subtle fullness is something I'd love to be able to recreate.[/quote] Everything except the first half of the verse actually has two or three layered takes that double the main part. You are correct though: Antares Harmony Engine is the thing that probably brings the most unique vibe. I use a free version that is not nearly as good but kinda works https://mjk-media.com/portfolio/harmonizer/ [quote=blighters_rock]Lyrically and melodically this is my favorite of yours so far. Couple of notes and thoughts. Production-wise, the drums get less intense throughout, kind of the opposite of the intensity ramp I want to feel. They never feel bigger than at the initial filter crescendo. Around 1:25, bass is a little squirrelly, could benefit from simplicity imo. Love the piano solo, echo everything frog said. I think the vocal delay is a little too forward. Cool effect, but so much that it blurs the main vocal imo. Roasted! Take these with the usual grain of salt, I think you are trending upwards! Keep it up![/quote] 🙌 Drum arrangement: interesting. They should theoretically hit just as hard for the second chorus, perhaps it would have been good to add some other layer to build the energy there. For the end, I think it was at least in part a mixing issue. Zero sidechaining and three major layers with the organ, EP, and solo competing with each other. Bass: yeah I was disappointed in this, was a very quick take but decided bass was better than no bass. I actually liked the busier vibe but not the execution. Was going for Jamerson with the flat wound tone. Vocal delay: another thing I need to dial, I think perhaps the dry/wet was OK but I needed to sidechain it to the vocal. One of those things I do when I have more time. [quote=horatiuromantic]I like it a lot! the singing is cool, feels honest and the melodies are nice and somewhat catchy. The drums are the first thing that I notice in the track, they feel solid and out of the way. the mix is nice, you can hear everything clearly. I like the bass and organ tones. I also like the piano solo at the end. It has passion, it fits the track, as someone else said kudos if it was a difficult key to play in. Perfect pop tune for the radio! Maybe a mastering could make it pop out even more, idk. Can't understand the lyrics so well but the flow is good and the voice is used as an instrument, so it doesn't matter. it only adds more depth to figure out the lyrics later on. I think that's a nice thing to achieve, when it doesn't matter that you can't understand the lyrics but it still sounds good. About the voice and effects: I still think less strong effects translate into more raw emotion in general. so as long as you use the effects consciously to say something, or to achieve a certain sound, I would say try to go as minimal as possible, because then the true emotion can come out thru the singing. Also a big lesson in singing: use more diaphragm :) [/quote] 🙌 thanks It is actually mastered to a fairly aggressive loudness level but I didn't do much with EQ Added lyrics to the desc. Vocal effects: yeah, mentioned above. Just need to learn how to sing. Did not think I'd be singing much less weekly and seriously not that long ago.

Confirmed the piano solo rocks in the car with the windows open

Confirmed the piano solo rocks in the car with the windows open

Holy shit sidechaining the vocal to itself so the delay only comes in the gaps!?! THAT IS BIG BRAAINZ. I was wanting to do that effect soon when I get more time to polish a track and was planning to do it manually. This is much smarter especially for weeklybeats

[quote=prophisee] Vocal delay: another thing I need to dial, I think perhaps the dry/wet was OK but I needed to sidechain it to the vocal. One of those things I do when I have more time. [/quote] Holy shit sidechaining the vocal to itself so the delay only comes in the gaps!?! THAT IS BIG BRAAINZ. I was wanting to do that effect soon when I get more time to polish a track and was planning to do it manually. This is much smarter especially for weeklybeats

super chill. that bass is so good

super chill. that bass is so good

And with these lyrics, you yourself walked out your open cage.
- V

And with these lyrics, you yourself walked out your open cage. - V