PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase A rocky song about a River

Hi everyone,

Here is my new song. It is called https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/a-river

It is about me dealing with the here and now as a way of living.
I called it a rocksong, because it started like that, but later I raised the tempo, changed instruments and suddenly also SKA influences entered, a tiny bit. I don't know if you are familiair with that music. I thought I wasn't, but it seemed it was already there in my youth and I even liked some of it's songs. I only didn't know they called it like that.

It has a high tempo of 110 bpm and is played in the key of C major.
I used the following instruments:

Style: BADMAN.STY (Bad Man Country Blues Attitude)Tempo 110, key C
RealTracks:   579, Bas, el.
RealTracks: 2158, Guitar, el., Funky Groove
RealTracks: 3351, Guitar, Bariton  El, Swampy Blues
RealTracks:   799: Guitar, el., Southern Snappy Clean
RealTracks: 2023, Piano, ac., Country Rock
RealTracks: 2205, Guitar, Solo, Pop Promise
RealDrums:PopAmericanEv^1-a:SdStkHB, b:SNHB

I used VocAlign for the first time to handle the background vocals. I think that is getting better in the future.
I use Logic Pro X as my Daw and Ozone9 advanced for mastering it all.

I think it was the name of the style that drew me to it.
I really hope you like it. If you do, tell me and if you don't, tell me.

Hans
==================================================================================
Following are the lyrics:
A River
(c) HWBerkhout, june 2021

There is a river of feelings
knocking on my door
It looks like an overkill,
So I simply ignore

Don't want a river of emotions
rushing through my veins
I need to feel happy
Much better for my brains

There is a river of troubles
peeping through a crack
It looks like an overkill
But I turned my back

I embrace today and tomorrow
Not yesterday
I live in the present, you see
The past doesn't bother me

I have friends around me, somewhere (2x)
Don't want a river of emotions
rushing through my veins
And I feel happy
Much better for my brains

Bridge
Something happened
And aches my heart
Maybe the past is more important,
And I didn't act smart...

Now there is a river of emotions
rushing through my head
Nothing stays in place
I fear it turns me mad

Now there is that river of emotions
rushing through my veins
And I feel happy
I finally used my brains

There is a river
rushing through me

Hans,

This is some wonderful music! SO much to like about it.

Excellent write. Terrific melody.

The instrumentation AND the arrangement are your best yet (in my opinion). Nice use of the piano. And good job on getting the guitar solos sounding great. Great rhythm to the tracks, too. Drums are snappy! Nice use of drops and stops.

Vocals are really good. Great energy!! On my speaker system they could use some of the highs AND some of the lows rolled off (the low end and the bass seem to run into each other at times). But, still, an excellent vocal track.
I was really interested to hear how VocAlign worked for you - but the harmonies were a bit too low in volume to get a sense of how well the plugin worked...

I REALLY like this one! One of your best. You notch up your own bar with each release...

fj

Hans,

This is a great, great song. Love the passion in your vocal and the mix is perfect.

A new favorite... so excellent!

Bob

Hi Hans,

This song is a winner in all respects.

I particularly liked the song structure and the cool rhythm.

I thought the vocals also suited the song very well.

Best Regards
Nigel

"I embrace today and tomorrow
Not yesterday
I live in the present, you see
The past doesn't bother me"

Great sentiment!

So many good things here:

- vocals are excellent
- great band - the solo is very nice
- the arrangement makes you want to go right back for another listen
- the mix glues it all together for a great soundstage

Janice said it reminded her of Mad Dogs and Englishmen!

Enjoyed it,

J&B

I think that this is a song that everyone can definitely relate to, as I think we can all empathize with feelings things we don't want to. I think this song had the right amount of energy for this style too! Great job. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Hans,

that's a goodie for sure.

It rolls from the first to the last bar, great backing tracks, well-sung, lots of energy in your voice. Some unexpected chord progressions in the transitions).

Good lyrics, I really can relate to them.

Very well-done, Hans, very well-done!

Take care,

Stefan

I like the overall sound and feel of this song. It moves with a lot of energy.

Vocal sounds great! Mix is spot on.

Really like the groove, Hans. Great dynamics, excellent mix. One of your best vocals. Nice work.
Regards,
Leon

Man, your music just keeps getting better and better! I wouldn't change a thing, really well done, Hans

Hans,

This has a really great mix. Loved it. Super job on this man. Excellent guitar tones.

Hi Floyd, Bob, Nigel, Janice and Bud,

Thanks for your very nice comments! I asked f.i. Floyd and Janice and Bud what they do not to become (too) vain.
I think they ignored this, but with your nice comments I can ask myself the same question (a bit). Luckily I can put things in perspective if it is concerning me ;-)



Floyd, I'm very happy with your comment. From the time you told me to do some eq-ing on my vocals till now I got more and more compliments. And that from an expert... About VocAlign I'm not really sure I keep using it. The program is easy to use, but still I have the feeling something's not right with the tracks after aligning. Listen to my first chorus and you hear as if there is an echo in the BG vocals.



Bob, I'm glad you like it. I am especially glad you said the mix is perfect. I think I still have to learn a lot about proper mixing. But I did a course on it and that is paying off already. Thanks for your confirmation to that!




Nigel, I surely hope it will be a winner. I still have some doubts about that...
But what I liked a lot in making the song was that chord progression at the beginning of each chorus. While that was so simple to create.
At first the song had a much lower tempo, but because I had a slow song recently I thougt to give gas on the tempo. Of course that needed another kind of singing, but it turne out very well, as you said!



Janice and Bud, you picked out the key topic of the song. For a lot of years I heard ( an increasing number of) people saying they live in the now (or today) and don't care about the or our past. For me you can't do that. It comes back to you and it's not how we must live our lives. But I discovered it is better to keep your mouth shut on this. So I did... not. But I realise in 4 minutes you can't discuss in a song why not. So I did... just that.
But thank you so much for your comment on the technical side of making this song.

And Janice, I loved Joe Cocker and his version of Beatle songs. But tell me, first you compared me with John Lennon, then George Harrison, and now with a mad dog. Why??? What went wrong between us? (Notice: I'm kidding)

I heard the Delta version of Corona is growing, so stay safe everyone,
Hans

This song has plenty of drive and energy without being frenetic. Although this is a genre I rarely listen to, it kept me engaged from start to finish. A sagacious choice is instruments used to great effect and, as FJ said, probably one of your best and certainly worth the effort you put into it.

DANG! First off, wonderfully put together. If you did all those rhythmic changes in BiaB, you need to teach. This grooved just great when it grooved, but it went several notches up with all those groove changes.

Speaking of Rhythm, the voice was really in the pocket as well. Your hi-eq'ed growl is probably my favorite around these parts. There were a few moments when the bass (or low toms?) stomped on it more than I might have expected, but all-in-all the power of this thing pumped out that theme of defiant optimism. A real fist pumper that I can feel clean through me. Outstanding.

Very very cool Hans. Love the groove in this song. Kick drum really drives the song. Super vocal and lyric. Piano was excellent. Well done. Guitar solo was excellent as well.

That baritone, (I think) sounds almost like a clavinet which is cool and matches the funky almost reggae feel.
Strong vocals again...could be time to reduce some of the FX that surround it.
COOL one.

Yes, you are the perfect match for the Badman Style. What a great band, and, yes, I'm familiar a bit with ska. This is a very catchy song, and so well delivered, Hans. The is so much emotion in that river, and you flood it to the banks. A really good write.

Hans, this is your best to date IMHO. Fantastic vocal! Great instrumentation and mix.

I loved this one.

Hi Ember, Stefan, Ezekiel and Leon,

Thanks a lot for your nice comments on this song. I appreciated them!
I am experimenting on different kind of songs and singing ánd mixing processes. In that, I still have a lot to learn.
But that is why we have this forum, isn't it? You keep me sharp amd I hope I will do it to your songs as well, if necessary.
I reply to all of you individually down here after your quote:



Ember, what you say is right. I only hope people can pour some more holistic 'sauce' over their views or opinions. But I know this discussion is 'thin ice' ;-)
On the other hand I'm glad you liked the song too!



Stefan, thanks for your comments about the song and progressions. They really worked out better than I expected.
And about the lyrics, I had (a bit) our email conversation in mind about in- or excluding the past in our way of live.
So, in a way you helped me make this song. Thanks for that!



Ezekiel, I'm happy you liked the energy and the song. I thought the song doesn't do anything for you, considering your own style of music. But it seems I was wrong!



Leon, that groove wasn't in in the first version. It was a slow song in where I was musing on the topic I sang about.
But I wasn't satisfied at all, merely because I had made a slow song before this one. So I took a part of the classic chord progression, put in some minors and pulled up the tempo and sang the song again. I felt the energy while singing was like a river. so the final version of the song was born. And you liked it!! That I like.


Thanks everyone and have a nice weekend,
Hans

Hans,
Two spins later. Composition is one of your best for sure. I would put it in upper 5 tunes I have heard by you. Excellent groove / brakes and phrasing on this. Very mature tune. However, while I like vocals on it (the way you sing) I think they are a bit "under". I have a very neutral AKG headphones, they do not enhance bass and usually your vocals are on higher EQ spectrum, except for the previous tune I have heard that you recorded, which had very a balanced mix. I think fuzz guitar and kick drum is fighting with your vocals. Maybe somebody with better ears can explain better. I any case, VERY enjoyable listen. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.