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Hello Folks, I've not posted a song in a while...I've been busy making music but have had so many irons in the fire I seemed to have spent my energy finding the necessary fuel rather than fully forming them. This one started out as a blend of Drums On Demand, BIAB & me. Eventually I dumped the DOD tracks and used the BIAB drums as the DOD snare was a bit off. This has BIAB drums and...wait ....for...it...ORGAN. Bass and guitars are me. There's a draft vocal...muddy, overly processed and HEAVILY tuned. It's there as a template for me to TRY to sing bit by bit or, unlikely as it may be, to attract a singer. Lyrically it's starts out talking about someone appearing alien but develops to describe a part of society as becoming alien through it's un/anti/exclusive/social behaviour. It goes on to refer to the incarceration of refugees accused by the "aliens" of being aliens. Classic RWNJ projection? You tell me. Suggestions, comments, orders to scorch the earth all gratefully received. https://soundcloud.com/user-963416123/miamama130222?si=cb61e59bab34487fb5c1d490ea3dcf70&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharingState of the moment lyric... v1 I can't tell Where you've come from Or where you're going You seem alien to me You speak in tongues forked and twisted You tell me lies You swear are truth But we both know Just where it's going c1 Your eyes look one way Your mouth's making shapes Sounds come out as you go There's little to hear As you huff and puff and blow All are words Word and words Nothing, nothing happens v2 I can't tell Where they've come from Or where you're going They're not alien to me Don't speak in tongues forked and twisted Don't tell me lies They swear their truth But we both know Just where it's going c2 Your lies go one way Your mind's making shapes Thoughts come out as you go There's little to hear As you huff and puff and blow Lots of words Word more words Nothing, nothing happens solo v3 We can tell Where you've come from And where you're going Labelled alien to be Incarcerated Forked and twisted Political lies They swear are truth But we all know Just where it's going c3 Our eyes stare away Our mouth's making shapes Sounds ebb and sounds flow There's little to hold As we huff and puff and blow All are words Word just words Nothing, nothing happens c4 All eyes look away All mouths without shape No sound come out that we know There's nothing to hear There's no huff and puff and blow Lost are words Words, all words Nothing, nothing happens outro
Last edited by rayc; 02/13/22 08:24 PM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Good song, Ray, I like your style, quirky and different. Cool stuff happening on the guitar, and bass is solid as always. Mix wise that vocal really needs to come up in the mix quite a bit, I couldn't make out one thing that you sang Looking forward to hearing a remix!
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ray,
My first thought as the song began was how identifiable your sound is! The opening riffs said "PBEx!" Then the vocal/melody said "PBEx!". Original. Cool. The overall sound says "PBEx!"...
Guitar, Bass and Drums all sound good.
Love the lyric (though, yes, the vocal is hard to make out - but understandable from your description). It did make me think that you should be trying out the synth voices that David and Mark (and Bob) are using. (maybe ask if one of them would give it a go if you do not want to dive in yourself). I think this would actually Really Work with that not-quite-human sound. Meant to be.
Looking forward to this journey...
fj
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Hi Ray,
I knew I would hear something heavy if I press the play-button. But I was surprised by two things: Your song wasn't that heavy, but has a nice melody in it with good sounding drums! The other thing is about your vocals. I read that Dave and Floyd mentioned it too, so it's enough to say I agree with them on that (except for the suggestion of humanoid vocals). Bring them upfront! 4 db! Don't be shy. That doesn't fit you ;-)
Good song. strangely enough it's still in my head now (without words...)
Cheers, Hans
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Hey man, the bed seems really cool, but I cannot make out the vocals at all and it seems like you have some cool lyrics going on there.
I have learned to be careful with vocals in a bed that is this techno. It can swallow a vocal in a heart beat.
So I always start with the vocal and get it as high as I can while still outputting to spec (nothing BUT vocal) and then I gradually bring in the other tracks making sure the dynamic range of each does not begin to swallow the vocal.
I almost always find that if I had not done it this way, and brought in the instruments first, they would be at least 2 dBs too high in the mix *, thus making it impossible to mix the vocal.
Just a thought.
Vocals are tricky Ray.
* You can always boost the overall gain once the mix is done, of course.
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Hi Ray, Nice to say something about your music now! The music sounds fine, very cool guitars! As a piece of music it's very good. But what did you have in your mouth when you were singing, a handkerchief? Or is that the "alien" sound? The lyrics are very original, so it would be nice if we could understand the words. But that has been said already. It's going to be a very cool song if you manage to sing in a way we can understand the words, your voice sounds all right! Rob and Anne-Marie (well... more Anne-Marie)
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Ray, VERY good musical bed! Bass is great. Love how guitar takes over the control by the end. While instrumental part is mixed well, vocals are sunken deep in the mix. Way too deep. I would raise it by good 20%-25% to the top. "You tell me".. lyrically, it seems to reflect political & societal hypocrisy. Overall great effort. Push the vocals UP! Thank you for sharing. Misha.
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The strongest moments for me are the little melodic figures you use here and there, like the opening and that 2-chord shape that repeats a couple of times in different forms. Those notes sound off very commandingly, and give energy to sometimes wandery chord progressions. I assume they’re human, perhaps that’s why.
I tried running the song through a stem separation utility to isolate the vocal, it told me to contact technical support. (Ha ha not really but I *did* consider it!)
You know, at this point, reading the comments about your vocals being inaudible have become part of the listening experience for me, and I’m wondering if that isn’t the idea, if it isn’t a kind of performance art. The composition is a multimedia choral work distributed across time on the Internet, with the published lyrics at the center; on one side is the performance in which they cannot be understood, on the other side is everyone pointing that out. Having said that, I can see this as an installation at an art museum.
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As I understand it, this is a work in progress, so, yes, you are on the right track, I'd say. It sounds good so far. I can't wait for the final cut.
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Hi Ray So if the native speakers already do not understand the text I have no chance as a German anyway ;-)))) But the song is kind of cool. That one does not understand the text is I think also the secret why he is so cool. From the song you would have to make a lyric video and then it would be perfect. Good work Ray Many greetings Andi ;-)
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Whoa, I'm with ya on the "so many irons in the fire," Ray. This one sounds very cool and distinctly PBE as Floyd mentioned, which to my ears is always a fun run. I, too, wish the vocals were louder. Your vocals are better than you think. As always the mix is flawless (except for the vox) and your playing is the real ticket to the good stuff.
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I was somewhat fatigued after the first listen... there's a lot going on here, and obviously you're an accomplished player, and wordsmith, but I just don't get it... OMH... "Lyrically it's starts out talking about someone appearing alien but develops to describe a part of society as becoming alien through it's un/anti/exclusive/social behaviour. It goes on to refer to the incarceration of refugees accused by the "aliens" of being aliens. Classic RWNJ projection? You tell me." That made me laugh.
Bandcamp Soundcloud Win-11; BiaB-2024-latest Beta; Cakewalk; Melodyne-5; Scaler 2; NI Komplete: Focusrite Scarlett 18i20
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Ray,
It sounds like you've got the start of something pretty good there! I know the vocal can't be understood yet but that will come later. It still gives a great indicator where the melody is going anyway! Love those little unexpected chord changes! That little major to minor changes at the end were nice! Thanks, Torrey
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Hi Rayc,
Nice composition. I like the sound of treble guitars. It's pleasant. The timbre of your voice is well suited to your lyrics
Kindly regard Derochette alias JaniJackFlash
Kindly regards Derochette alias JaniJackFlash
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Very different chord progression on the Intro. Very cool. Well done
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rayc,
I’m really digging the chord structure and melody to this. The total feel to this song is very compelling. From a production standpoint, the vocal needs to come up in a big way. Even reading along with the lyrics I get a bit lost—though on reading them they all seem to work well this the music base. This has an R.E.M. feel that I’m loving—as a big fan of their early stuff. Keep working it!
Deej
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I like what I hear - interesting harmonies and instrumentation. Maybe the lyrics being buried by the instruments is just a meta-reference to: Word more words Nothing, nothing happensI'd imagine the lyrics would invite applying some interesting effects to the vocals, if you're into that sort of thing. If you're curious about using SynthV, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to help. But I'm sure your vocals are fine as is. I look forward to the remix!
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I think you've created a great platform to build upon.
I have to agree with the comments that the vocal is lost in the mix
moto
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So I'm halfway through and Janice steps in and tells me there is a remix in your latest post. Headin' over to listen to it with her.
Bud
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I was also going to comment on your vocal but in your initial post you did mention that it was "There's a draft vocal...muddy, overly processed and HEAVILY tuned. It's there as a template for me to TRY to sing bit by bit or, unlikely as it may be, to attract a singer" so I will pass.
However your backing tracks sound great!
Looking forward to the final version
Two thumbs up
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
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