https://soundcloud.com/kybordr/ghost

This is a song I wrote last month for Song A Week Challenge, although this version is a bit different. Better I hope.

I'm slowly exploring Band In A Box more deeply. The drums and bass here are BIAB, using rests and hits for my first time :-O

****** Song Summary *************
Key=C , Tempo 90, Length (m:s)=2:29
Style is ALANIS1.STY (Alanis 1 - Med. Arena Rock)
Style MIDI Instruments are : Finger Electric Bass (34), 6/4 EP Phase, GM2 Bank 4, Acoustic Piano (1), Strings (49),
MIDI Drums :17 Power Drums (17)
*******************

The rest is me, recording and mixing in Cubase.

I just discovered the simple drag-and-drop to move MIDI (or WAV) parts from BIAB to Cubase without writing intermediate files! Been there all along but what a great help :-) In this recording the BIAB-generated bass and drum MIDI parts were moved to Cubase, lightly edited and rendered using its HALion engine. The piano rendering is Pianoteq 6 using its modeled Kawai K2. Interestingly (?) I have a physical KG-2 -- which I love -- but micing that sucker and getting it to sound good is a chore so for most recordings I've been using Pianoteq.

Anyway ... a bitter song about broken expectations. Fortunately, based on someone else's life experiences, not mine.

~Ghost~
You took a chapter from that book about departure,
perfectly captured what goes on inside that heart you’re
so concerned about somehow.
You’re a ghost to me now.

You stole the last scene from some ancient tragic movie
where the hero hasn’t held some secret magic about
who they would and won’t allow.
You’re a ghost to me now.

If these thoughts confuse you, let me state the moral clearly.
The meaning of the words you use to tell your sorry story
I fear is lost on me.
I make this vow: you’re a ghost to me now.

You made a choice between the empty and the torment.
Something you could not see would leave you without comment
as you take the stage to bow.
You’re a ghost to me now.

You face the future in the light of past transgression.
You can leave it all in due course, you can leave the last impression of
why you left and how.
You’re a ghost to me now.

Excellent song. I really liked the instrumentation that you used as well as your strong vocal! The lyrics are great also.

If I were to nitpick I would say bring up the drums. The seem to be buried in the mix.

This is a very good song - two thumbs up.

Mario...thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I agree about the drums. Sounded more present in my studio monitors, but less so after exporting the mix to MP3. I also could have done a better job using EQ and pan to carve out space for the drums. Lessons learned :-)

Really well done! The first thing that stood out to me here is the vocal performance. It is strong, bold, and confident. It's the kind of vocals that grab your attention and make it impossible not to continue listening. That aside - the arrangement is very professional sounding, and it's got a great groove too.

Great work, and thanks so much for sharing

I like you, Deryk.

PG Music is lucky to have you on-board!

Excellent intro. Super vocal.
loved the backtrack as well. Well done

kybordr..I'll tell you something--your first two lyric lines immediately 'captured' me and hooked me into listening to the whole song...reason: you used a very interesting set up rhymes based on words having a "cha" sound:

You took a CHApter from that book about deparCHur,
perfectly capCHur'd.

Then you used something similar, an alliteration to start subsequent verses:
You STOLE the last SCENE
You FACE the FUTURE

Also "tragic/magic" is a similar kind of link.

Not sure if you did this intentionally, but I believe that it makes a kind of listening 'hook', and would be good to find other places to do it in the lyric.

Very nice! Strong vocal. I agree with Mario... the drums are pretty much buried and if I had to nitpick, they at times seem to be out of time (sync) with the piano track.

I think it's a good write!

Greg

You've further demonstrated your excellent flexibility as an all round performer.

This is another example of real quality from BiaB when put in the hands of a skilled user.

Love the lyrics, vocal and the melody. I especially like your "Phantom of the Opera" delivery.

As Tano Music said, the rhyming pattern really set the song apart.

But I agree with Mario about the drums - they're too far back in the mix, and sound like a drum machine clicking out a steady beat that doesn't match the drama of the rest of the instruments. Crank them up, and add some thundering, angry fills!

Despite the nits, I enjoyed listening to your song a lot.