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Hi Folks. Here is my new tune called Four Kings. I guess it is an open interpretation project. I am confident that I made a whole bunch of syntax and other lyric writing mistakes... Critical comments are always welcomed! Thank you for your time! Four Kings Lyrics: Heavy rain is drumming on my head. A lonely stalagmites - of factory chimneys I think I saw a glimpse of sun when I was young, a flight over butterfly - but memories are fading A king from the north starting wars and of course trying to leave a dent, Hoping that the future archaeologists find his teeth buried deep in the sand. Don't look back there's nothing to regret. Random chance started your timer and you dance like a pantomime seeing lines finer and finer. New king from the south with head in the clouds, without beating heart in his chest... A future bearded historian will write: he fought the King of the west, He was possessed. The king from the east had lowered his fists, as nothing was left to dispute... Witnesses will sell his story, don't you worry to the future Hollywood. Tech stuff: BIAB: 921: Bass acoustic 3523: Marimba Real Drums: BossaBrushes 3782: Piano 2619 Organ 3608: Guitar. Synths of Kontakt and Halion. Recorded in Cakewalk. Composition, lyrics, vocals -me.
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Misha,
VERY cool commentary as well as sonics.
Four Kings...the movie in my head put them in a circle with the innocents in the middle looking at at "four kings around".
Sorry, bad pun.
I ALWAYS enjoy when you drop the lyrics and make sounds, dah dahs etc... you express wonderfully in words but beautifully in sounds.
Syntax error? The only written English thing that sticks out is in
"A lonely stalagmites - of factory chimneys"
where A and plural don't agree so a simple excise of A would cure that IF needed.
LOVED it.
Last edited by rayc; 08/07/21 04:48 PM.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Hi,
This is a most interesting composition.
I like several aspects of the song:
1. The rhythmic opening is great - could possibly be used again during the song.
2. It then goes into an "Eastern European" flavour for the rest of the song - which again is really different and pretty cool.
The vocals suit the song however they need to match the backing in terms of both volume and reverb. They sound like they are pasted ontop of the song - as opposed to being integrated into the song. This is common with many songs on this forum and is understandable because getting vocals to be clear and upfront but also part of a song is one of the world's great mixing mysteries.
Thanks for a very interesting listen.
Best Regards
Nigel
Nigel Spiers
Christchurch, New Zealand
info@nzacoustics.com
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LOVE THIS, Misha!! I am quite pedantic (sometimes annoyingly so), but in lyrics as in poetry, there are no rules. This song has an interesting feel and rhythm that your vocal really adds to the sense of mystery. Writing about the four corners or the four elements is often a heady task with deep meaning. I'm not sure if you had specific "kings" in mind, but you did a great job of making them distinct.
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nice clean alt rock recording.
very nice interesting lyrics.
kudos.
best
om
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Man, we had fun just trying to place the tale somewhere in the time spectrum.
I was down with medieval but then those factory chimneys ... fascinating.
And the line about the tooth!
The bossa touches, the funky piano and the reggae guitar make for an
outstanding hold your attention band. Excellent.
Great vocal and we are always down with a scat.
As always we like your arrangement and mix.
Most entertaining!
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! Our Videos
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Killer intro that really draws me in.
Love the mood and flavor of the music/instrumentation.
The scat is awesome. Vocal is excellent. I don't expect anything less from you.
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Misha,
You have such a creative touch... Love the visual lyrics and track selection.
Awesome vocal and a great mix.
Another winner!
Bob
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Misha
Always entertaining and innovative.
Excellent instrumental choices and intriguing lyric.
Great.
Peter
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Ray, thank you for listening and for correction! "A and plural don't agree"... I went and listened, the vocals do not have "A". So I am only 1/2 way bad student. --- Nigel, Thank you for listening and your constructive feedback! Damn, you have good ears. "The vocals suit the song however they need to match the backing in terms of both volume and reverb." Sharp! I usually mix vocals "within" the tune, this time I tried a completely different approach of separating vocals and backing. Back to sketch board  --- Marty, Thank you for listening and your kind feedback here and on SC. The "kings" are very abstract terms, when I wrote lyrics, I was not aiming for time period or specific figures. I just liked Vlad III engraving. --- OM, Thank you for your support! --- J&B, Thank you for your awesome feedback here and on SC! The tooth line was inspired by a recent shark fossil tooth hunt in a creek --- Scott, Thank you for listening, your kind words and SC feedback! --- Bob, Thank you for giving this time and your support! --- Peter, Thank you for tuning in and your kind feedback! Misha.
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Hi Misha,
An Eastern sounding beautiful song. Very entertaining!
I like that marimba very much.
It is not easy to use this instrument in songs (ok, I know some examples), but here it fits like a glove. And at the same time, I hear a lot of interesting sounds swirling around the melody. Together with the sound of the stirring drums it gave that fascinating feeling I always like in your songs.
And the lyrics are so well done. About that king archeologists probably find his teeth deep in the sand, I immediately had a list in my head for people I wanted this to happen too, asap! But that is politics I'm afraid.
Oh, I almost forgot your vocals... They are very good, bright and upfront. As if you haven't used fx on them ;-)
So, nothing to complain about if it comes to sound, sphere and lyrics (beside that big error Ray noticed...)
Have a nice day,
Hans
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Loved the intro Misha. Harmonics were very cool. Super vocal and backtrack (vocal effects were awesome). The organ was a cool add. Well done.
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Really enjoyed this one, Misha!
Great vocal and loved the scat.
Instrumentally always inventive and interesting, just a fabulous listen through the studio 'phones.
Well done, listened a couple of times.
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Brilliant lyrics and vocals. You have a way of with words that is so effective. The band set the mood wonderfully. Fine work.
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Nice arrangement , and well produced .
To me this could be a theatre kind of a song , like Oliver etc.
Really enjoyed this !.
Thanks
win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
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Beautiful work Misha! Man that marimba really brings this one to another level! You work in Kontakt and Halion give this such an ethereal and mystical sound! Your vocal, mix and final production sound great to me! Thanks, Torrey
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Hey Misha,
I really like this too! You have a very mesmerizing and exotic style my friend.
I understand the word "exotic" has now been outlawed by the PC Police, so I thought I would use it one last time.
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Hans, Thank you for listening and your extended and kind feedback here and on SC! Politics in it - very hypothetical... history tends to repeat itself -- Scott, Thank you for your support and your comments here and on SC. -- Dave, Thank you for giving this time and your support! -- jptjptjpt, Thank you for listening and kind words! -- beatmaster, Thanks! -- Torrey, Thank you for listening and kind words! Yep, love that marimba. I wish we had more such items in arsenal --- David, LOL! Thank you for your support!
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WOW how did you manage to put all of those instruments into one fantastic groove, then manage to put the perfectly sung, most interesting lyrics on top of them? I wish I had such talent!
Loved this one. It's your best to date IMHO.
Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.
When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Beautiful jazzy arrangement with reggae rhythm, really like the use of the marimba. The story starts with nice apocalypse visions and then the four mythical kings join in, history and future are nicely interleaved. Great expressive vocals, wish I could see you performing this on stage, has so many theatrical elements.
Janne
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