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#538278 05/26/19 10:56 AM
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Two new songs, no less ... very much in the "demo stage" - work to be done in production, I guess, but I couldn't wait to share :-) Here's the first:

The Servant

EDIT: just done some "post-production work" on it ... added a high-pass filter for the first two thirds of the song, a low-pass filter and an adjustment of the bass and treble for the last part - and a normalise effect for it all. It may sound better than at first, now? :-)


Style is _AUSTERE.STY (Austere Alternative Hip Hop 8ths)

RealTracks in style: 2743:Bass, Synth, AltHipHop8ths Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 2748:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm AltHipHop Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 2746:Synth, Rhythm AltHipHopPad8ths Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 2747:Synth, Rhythm AltHipHopHorn Ev16 085
RealDrums [in style:AltHipHop^07-a:rolling snare, hihat, b:heavy snare, hihat


Lyrics (adapted from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53):

Who has believed one word we've said?
To whom has this story been revealed?
For he grew up before us as a tender plant,
and as a root sticking out of dry ground
He had no good looks or majesty,
No beauty to desire when him we see.
Despised he was, we hid our face before him
Respect? Please. We found him boring.

Yet surely, he bore OUR sickness
And carried with him all our suffering
And yet we thought HIS was the illness
When he carried inside all OUR wrongdoing.

He was oppressed - of that, please have no doubt
And yet, when afflicted, he did not make a sound.
As a lamb to the slaughter, he stayed ever silent
When took away, he was, by hate and judgement.
They made his grave with the wicked
And with the abandoned in his death
Although he had done nothing icky
Nor were ever lies said from his breath.

Yet surely, he bore OUR sickness
And carried with him all OUR suffering
And yet we thought that HIS was the illness
When he carried inside all OUR wrongdoing.

Oh yes, it pleased the world so much to bruise him
And cause him much cause for suffering
But after the dark night of his own soul
He will soon see his own offspring.
His hope is for the light and to be happy
For love's own pleasure to prosper in his heart
And, having taken on the pain of so many,
For him and his loved one never to be apart.

His hope is for the light and to be happy
For love's own pleasure to prosper in his heart
And, having taken on the pain of so many,
For him and his loved one never to be apart.

Last edited by musician17; 05/26/19 10:50 PM.
musician17 #538315 05/26/19 02:38 PM
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Really nice, passionate song and performance!! You should use a pop filter and run the levels a bit lower. Nice work James! Take care. Greg

musician17 #538339 05/26/19 10:52 PM
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Yes - I've just noticed that the levels were way too high when recording!!! Ouch. Tried to remedy by applying other effects, so that it's (hopefully!) less noticeable now when the sound goes over too much because it's so loud. Maybe it sounds better now? Thanks again for such nice and kind words!!!

musician17 #538385 05/27/19 05:08 AM
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Nice production & delivery...
I enjoyed the listen.


Jim
†=☮&♥
musician17 #538393 05/27/19 05:43 AM
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Great work on this musician17, The overall mixdown is excellent and the instruments are layered nicely. Very passionate vocals. Keep it up!


Cheers,
Joe
musician17 #538485 05/27/19 08:58 PM
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Thanks Jim, thank you Joe!!! Appreciated!

musician17 #538525 05/28/19 04:35 AM
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Nicely done - enjoyed the modern feel in the backing tracks, it really pairs with your spoken word delivery well given the context of the lyrics. Easy to bob your head to, and there's a great flow to it.

Thanks for sharing smile


Cheers,
Deryk
musician17 #538556 05/28/19 08:02 AM
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Thanks Deryk!!!

musician17 #538742 05/29/19 04:32 PM
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Very cool tune. Backtrack was powerful. Loved the spoken word format and lyric. Well done


Scott Collingwood
https://soundcloud.com/scottt709
https://soundcloud.com/spiritlevel-ca
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritLevel-ge3hm/
musician17 #538809 05/30/19 05:09 AM
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Thank you Scott :-)

musician17 #539069 06/01/19 11:17 AM
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Greg said all that is need: "Really nice, passionate song and performance!!"

Enjoyed it!

J&B


Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
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musician17 #539152 06/02/19 04:16 AM
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Wow, thank you Janice & Bud :-)

musician17 #539162 06/02/19 06:32 AM
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Interesting and different

good mix, strong lyrical imagery

enjoyed the listen,

Kenny

musician17 #539321 06/03/19 09:20 AM
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Thanks Kenny!!!

musician17 #539367 06/03/19 02:56 PM
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Really great job on this one. Thanks for sharing!


Cheers,
Ember
musician17 #539391 06/03/19 04:26 PM
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James,

Having glimpsed the lyrics before hitting play, I wasn’t quite expecting that . . . a rap like song with a really cool instrumental behind it. Production wise, the vocal is perhaps a bit too forward, so maybe a bit more balance between the vocal and music on the mix. But I like what you have going on with this one. Very original approach that works well here.

My kind regards,

Deej

musician17 #539407 06/03/19 08:41 PM
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Ember: thank you for your kind words!

Deej: wow, thank you. If someone like you likes what I do, I'm getting somewhere! :-) (in reality, you're far too kind, but I'll take it!). Production-wise, you're spot on ... I really struggled with the balance here. Trouble is my DAW (Audacity) seems to me to sound different than when I upload the track to the Net and listen to it from there? I know, excuses, excuses ... but also, the balance seemed different with each different pair of headphones I listened to it on. Nightmare! haha. BUT ... I 100% trust your ears ... if you say that the voice is too strong, it definitely warrants (at the very least) a careful re-listen from me. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to listen to it and write about it!!! Genuinely appreciated.

musician17 #539544 06/04/19 01:11 PM
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This really good James!

An excellent techno sound!

musician17 #539578 06/04/19 07:35 PM
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Thanks David!!!

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