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DARKSUN ANY all suggested happily attempted. Nb. the vocals REALLY can't come up more than the tiniest bit without revealing problems. This song has been around since about 2011. Several people have attempted to do vocals but te texture of the sound and the very unpleasant lyrics have caused all but one to pass. Recently original Pygmy Beat member, Terry Berman, was cajoled into having a crack. The hoodoo almost happened again as every track Terry sent me had horrendous noise on it. I almost gave up, again, but decided layers of subtle noise reduction via ReaFir and EQ might be a better option. It seems to have worked, though robbed the vocal of some top end which had to be returned via an exciter. Oddly Terry uses the US pronunciation of "can't" & sometimes "the". Odd, as he was a primary school teacher in a past career - he was the sort who would ensure those things weren't used in Australian language - then again many people sing American. Not 100% satisfactory but given the history of it I'm happy enough. The only BIAB element in this is the harmony vocal backing. I think the BIAB part is fabulous. As the original was recorded to a wandering drum machine it's astounding that Greg Loyacano was able to do the drum track and Gerry could sit the lead parts. Bass & guitars as well as Mellotron samples are me. Terry: vocals BIAB: harmony. Drums and lead are from 2011 the rest has been chopped & changed over the decade. Dark Sun Rising With Justice blinded, Greed is reminded, That might is right, And will have its way, The weak, the passive Can’t hope to outlive, Lawlessness their plight, Yet they obey. A dark sun rising, For an accounting, Of meek molested And put away, Of good forsaken, Their faith hard shaken, Too late the cure for Blood flows this day. For those unable, Take heart in fable, Those who can and Of Those who will Do right through wrong means, Life intervenes, Someone must and Dark blood they’ll spill. A dark sun rising Unappetising So few take up its Burden of woe No recognition Just life’s contrition For those who can and For those who know Not restitution, Nor retribution, Simple balance, Resets the scale. Sometimes two wrongs can, Redress the wronged and. Not turn time back, Some Fates dovetail. A dark sun rising, For an accounting, Of meek molested And put away, Of good forsaken, Their faith hard shaken, Too late the cure for Blood flows this day. Out from the shadows, As waxing moon grows, Silent foot falls Upon the path Some forms of justice Are the antithesis Absorbing life in The aftermath A dark sun rising Feint heart reviving The pain of life Akin to death It casts a shadow Straight as an arrow Marks the target and Steals, from it, breath A dark sun rising, Unappetising Too late the cure for it Steals, from them, breath.
Last edited by rayc; 10/24/23 01:32 AM.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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ray
The lyrics are somewhat difficult to get - Until... you read the lyric through once - and then they are perfectly clear. I think that works.
You have likely thought of this...if the vocals came dry, you might include the dry vocal (with a drastic low cut EQ to leave just highs) at a very low level. It might add some clarity. Might not.
The vocal is appropriately Moody.
The mix is Very well balanced. Holds together. Nice Bass. Good Drums. The guitars all blend nicely.
A Really Nice lead guitar.
Love the cool feedback ending.
It's cool how PBX has such a signature sound.
fj
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Geez, I don't think the lyrics are "unpleasant" at all. Sure they're dark and subject to even darker interpretation. But I think they're quite nice.
The overall feel of the song reminds me of The Velvet Underground, which is meant to be a high compliment. Very artsy without be cutesy at all.
Guitars and bass sound great. The vocals sit nicely in the mix and don't need to come up at all.
Is that the Mellotron at the end? If not, I missed it.
Great job getting a BiaB vocal harmony to sound musical. That's not easy (for me)!
So, I don't know if the long incubation period was worth it to you, but I really enjoyed the listen.
DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Ray,
I think this is a very cool piece. It fits in perfectly with anything else you have presented here. It has "your" sound.
Loved it!
Bob
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Thanks folks, Floyd, I did have a "Motown Exciter" track in parallel with the main vocal, (dry, high passed & compressed to the max), and blended. I've upped it a tiny bit for clarity's sake but am relying on exposure and a 2nd listen for understanding.. I've pulled the guitars down a tiny bit and altered the bass tone a little. Ron, Yes, they're digital files of Mellotron tapes cut n pasted into the track. It's a song about homicide - possibly "justified" but I found it unpleasant enough to not work with the lyrics in a song for a couple of years after writing them. Bob, the cochrane stain eh? So long as it's not as unpleasant as Jeff Lynn's sound. I can't update/edit the O.P. so here's the update. Darksun 3010A couple of days later DCuny/David schooled me a little on the benefits of vocal clarity for this song. A bit of synth vocal made the case soundly. David also offered to use Waves - Clarity to clean the vocal. His efforts revealed the vocal very much better treated than I had managed with ReaFir. THAN YOU David. Here 'tis... NOV. 2nd David assisted mix
Last edited by rayc; 11/01/23 07:40 PM.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Lyrically and arrangement-wise, it's a pretty cool song that carries your signature sound.
It was fun to listen to, and the outro is pretty cool, it sounds like someone playing wine glasses.
The vocals sound muffled, but you've already explained the reasons for that.
But it would be interesting to see how it would sound if the top end AND the noise were included.
In the context of a song, noise is not necessarily that bad.
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Ray, after reading you intro message I thought the vocal would really suck. But I was wrong, I think they fit the song's mood perfectly. Plus I could understand them.
A very dark song with the backing band perfectly supporting the vocal - great job on that.
Fantastic ending!
Not really my genre however I really liked this song.
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You know when someone whispers we naturally listen "harder?" These vocals have that. I really enjoyed it. Terry got into it and I hear the emotion in his voice. Love that bass, Ray. Cool lines that define the dynamics. Hey, I got into this so much I was surprised it was over so soon. The realized I just had over 6 minutes of fun. Thanks.
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Ray.
I think the vocal tone suits the dark lyric.
The lead intro is maybe too pretty for the song. I would like to hear a lower tone with a bit of dirt on it.
Nearly there.
Vic
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The vocal level is fine, not too low. The BIAB BGVs sound perfect in this.
The mix sounds good, but I can't make out the mellotron, but that could just be my hearing.
I particularly like the descending part of the melody in the chorus.
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It’s a song well worth the wait and the time and effort to “get things right.”
Terry was a perfect fit for the vocal as his little nuances bring focus to the strong lyric.
The below verse, especially, is powerful.
“A dark sun rising
Feint heart reviving
The pain of life
Akin to death
It casts a shadow
Straight as an arrow
Marks the target and
Steals, from it, breath”
Greg and Gerry sound great. We agree with you about the BiaB harmonies.
Ray, all your instrumental tracks and the mix are standout.
We enjoyed the backstory on how all of the big production came about.
The ending was a perfect punctuation mark for that last breath stolen.
Wow!
J&B
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Lyrically and arrangement-wise, it's a pretty cool song that carries your signature sound.
It was fun to listen to, and the outro is pretty cool, it sounds like someone playing wine glasses.
The vocals sound muffled, but you've already explained the reasons for that.
But it would be interesting to see how it would sound if the top end AND the noise were included.
In the context of a song, noise is not necessarily that bad. I gave it a run without noise reduction and, seriously, the noise was as loud as the vocal in some parts. Thanks for your kind words though.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Ray, after reading you intro message I thought the vocal would really suck. But I was wrong, I think they fit the song's mood perfectly. Plus I could understand them.
A very dark song with the backing band perfectly supporting the vocal - great job on that.
Fantastic ending!
Not really my genre however I really liked this song. Thanks Mario. The new mix with vocals treated by Dcuny, in my 1st response above, has a vocal that sounds much better .
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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You know when someone whispers we naturally listen "harder?" These vocals have that. I really enjoyed it. Terry got into it and I hear the emotion in his voice. Love that bass, Ray. Cool lines that define the dynamics. Hey, I got into this so much I was surprised it was over so soon. The realized I just had over 6 minutes of fun. Thanks. Marty, You "get" why so many prog/psych bands used slightly buried vocals...drawing in, joining the adventure. THANKS!
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Ray.
I think the vocal tone suits the dark lyric.
The lead intro is maybe too pretty for the song. I would like to hear a lower tone with a bit of dirt on it.
Nearly there.
Vic Thanks Vic, I added some texture to the lead just for you.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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The vocal level is fine, not too low. The BIAB BGVs sound perfect in this.
The mix sounds good, but I can't make out the mellotron, but that could just be my hearing.
I particularly like the descending part of the melody in the chorus. Thank you sir, the Mellotron is subtle in most parts but the Flute version is stronger in the chromatic end of passages in the chorus - which is probably the bit you like.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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It’s a song well worth the wait and the time and effort to “get things right.”
Terry was a perfect fit for the vocal as his little nuances bring focus to the strong lyric.
The below verse, especially, is powerful.
“A dark sun rising
Feint heart reviving
The pain of life
Akin to death
It casts a shadow
Straight as an arrow
Marks the target and
Steals, from it, breath”
Greg and Gerry sound great. We agree with you about the BiaB harmonies.
Ray, all your instrumental tracks and the mix are standout.
We enjoyed the backstory on how all of the big production came about.
The ending was a perfect punctuation mark for that last breath stolen.
Wow!
J&B Thank you Janice & Bud, Terry is a good fit, perhaps not a perfect one but his laid back style and soft presentation certainly tells the story well. He's rather clearer in the new remix in my 1st reply post.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Ray, I was engaged throughout the entire 6+ minutes. The ending was very cool with the feedback morphing into the synth. The dark lyric is delivered very well. The mix sounds good. Although it is not the genre that I would normally listen to, I found myself enjoying it, Tom
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Hi, Ray.
Cool sound.
I'd bring the vocal up quite a bit more.
But as it is, it's dark and moody, which fits quite well.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Ray,
Interesting in that the music itself seems something like an 80’s new wave sound—Cure-like—which doesn’t quite match the dark poetic lyric. I get your point on the vocal and where it sits in the mix . . . an artistic choice I understand despite my temptation to still want to bring it forward a tad notwithstanding—i.e., a tad less muffled. That said, the more I listen, the more I’m thinking it might be good where it is . . . or that it works well as is. Like that solo an awful lot—fits the tune really well. It’s a strong piece, Ray. Great work on this!
All my best to you,
Deej
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