Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek (2019, Christiane Spruit)

Explain the ways of life to me,
I don't know how it all works out.
Will you come to get me?
Tell me where are you hiding right now?

Like two foxes hunting
Between the poles, in the pale of white
We trail down winter
Hide and seek in the need of life

Back on the track of life

Born in a cold, dark country
Life is slowly melting down
Under the snow white blanket
Roots are seeking for the ground

Back on the track of life

From Chris: Lyrics are inspired by a poem by Vernon Scannell

The Band:

~572:Bass, Electric, Blues BB Ev 085
~365:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
~542:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 085
~542:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 085
1763:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Pop16thsGritty Ev16 085
575:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues BB Ev 085

I used EZDrummer2 for the drum track.

I'm playing the lead guitars, Chris is playing the synth Pad.

Mixed with Reaper, mastered with Ozone.

Also up on SoundCloud, here: Hide and Seek

All comments gratefully received!

Very cool intro Dave. Love the drums. Guitar just sound great. nice lead in to the vocal... Chris just nails the vocal. Love your music... So well done..

Dave / Christiane,

I love this - it's a bit of pop and a bit of blues...

Some really outstanding guitar lines and another stellar vocal by Christiane.

Crystal clear mix - excellent!

Bob

Dave / Chris

Big sound - the drums at the intro and outro sound great. Excellent vocal, and a nicely paced song, with good dynamics.
Very tasteful guitar playing throughout, very complimentary stuff.

Another excellent write.

Peter

This makes my ears happy.

I'll be honest, this is the type of song that I literally don't care what the lyrics are - it just sounds good. Heck, I've read through the lyrics, and I'm still not entirely sure what it's about. Perhaps it's an a allusion to hiding under the blanket of snow, and coming back to life with the thaw of Spring?

Doesn't matter, it sounds awesome.

hi dave great intro drums and guitar great vocal as well enjoyed my listen eric

Dave & Chris...

AWESOME opening. The drums are outrageous! - Dave you get more out of EZDrummer than anyone I've ever heard. Absolutely LOVE your guitar tone on this. And the playing is exquisite! Perfect "singing guitar". (which guitar? direct? s-gear?)

Chris' vocal is as good as always. Clean and confident.

The mix is excellent throughout.

Going back for a 3rd listen.

fj

Thanks, Scott, I appreciate that!



Hey Bob,

I decided to do that blues thing in the middle at the last minute just for the fun of it, original plan was to solo over the same changes as the verse. Worked ok I think to change the mood a little.

Thanks for the listen and positive comments!

Like it a lot, very cinematic to me, I could hear it for a show like Vikings as well.

Dave & Chris,
Beautifully paced. Quite a lesson in song dynamics really.The intro is so restrained and moody-had me hooked right away and your guitar tone is spine tingling good.
I`d be interested in hearing how much back and forth there is between you on the arrangement of a song like this?

Robert

BlueAttitude,

Had to break out the headphones to listen to this one . . . knew right off this was a special mix, and the headphones make it all that much more. What a wonderful mood, and a spot on vocal. Totally chill song—digged this one!

All the best,

Deej

Drums are fantastic. They really set the dark, slow mood great. I love this dark yet hopeful (to my ears) lyric and Chris' delivery of it. The progression has some great movements that I think accentuate the theme of the song really well. Your play is wonderful here, and all mixed well to my ears in these phones. Hats off.

A cracker!

Thanks, Peter!



"This makes my ears happy", I like that!

Thanks, David

You get Ginger to kick this thing off?

As Janice says, “she always sings with such attitude!”

A pretty voice, yes, but sung like she means business.

Velvety and edgy…just like the guitar soloing on this.

The best rock ballad we’ve heard in a LONG time.

Production, the “connect your own dots” lyric, vocal/guitar performances, mix, RT’s, Drums — everything is hittin’ the note.

Over the top good!

J&B

Hi Dave & Chris.

Outstanding.

Loved the whole thing, but have to mention-

(1) The Drums. A great big sound with a fabulous expensive-sounding reverb.

(2) The guitar. A wonderful sound and a touch of Peter Green in the playing.

(3) Chris's voice. Brought me out in goosebumps.

Great stuff.

ROG.

Great intro and outro with strong and appealing drums, gorgeous solo guitar playing and the dreamy guitars support it nicely. Chord progression works well. For some reason reminds me of Eric Clapton. Great vocals, flowing smoothly.

Janne

Hi Chris and Dave,

This song started very intriguing with those drums everyone mentioned in their posts. But it stayed intriguing all the time. The way Chris sings makes your song very strong. And it is also such a beautiful voice.
It's another good piece of work from the both of you. Like it very much. Pity I couldn't add a 'like' on your site.

Hans

Very smooth as is the production and vocal.
Congrats. Rob4580

Tone,

Tone! Tone tone tone tone tone. Tone tone tone. Tone tone tone tone tone tone tone tone. Tone tone, tone tone tone tone.

Tone, tone tone tone tone. Tone tone. Tone tone tone.

Tone tone!

-Caaron

(Everything else is great too; but you are the king of tone my friend. Every part of it drips in it. And as someone who gets great tone, you already know it takes every aspect of every note to do that. From placement, to timing, to how it's played/sung, to the correct lyrics, to the effects chosen. You've got it Dave and Chris!ALL of it! Great song that needs to be used somewhere.)

Thanks, Eric!



Thanks for the listen!



Hi floyd,

For the drums I have found I can really improve the kit sound by tweaking the settings in the EZDrummer mixer, there are lots of options to explore. I'm just using the default drum kit it came with, although I plan on getting one of the expansion kits one of these days. And I always run them through CLA Drums.

The guitar is a strat I built a couple of years ago, mostly from parts I got from Warmoth. It has a hardtail bridge (strings through the body just like a tele) and I have Lace Sensor pickups on it. Supposed to be a vintage strat sound but hotter.

I always record direct, I like the option of being able to change my mind on the amp tone once I start mixing.

For this song I used an S-Gear amp setting I would normally use for rhythm guitar, but before the "amp" I'm using a free Tube Screamer VST I got from Mercuriall. Just gives it a nice singing tone without too much distortion. Then I'm feeding the output from S-Gear into CLA Unplugged, which I like much better than CLA Guitars.

Thanks as always for your support, means a lot!

Hi Robert,

There is always back and forth between us on any song we do, she has great ears and lots of good ideas.

For this particular song I originally had the same drums that are playing in the intro playing throughout the entire song. It was her idea to go to the straight drum pattern for the vocal verses and that was much more effective. Also the wurli pad used in the intro and the section after the solo came from her. Subtle, but you really notice it if it is not there.

Thanks for the support as always!



I'm happy you liked it, thanks so much!



Yeah, as soon as I heard those drums I knew I had to build a song around them.

Thanks, Tangmo!

Wow - what a tune! I love the textures and vibe on this one. It has a really enticing presence - almost reminds me of Pat Benatar a little bit. A really powerful rock ballad for sure and I found it really captivating.

Thanks for sharing

Hi Christine and Dave,

wow, where to begin...? Everything is just outstanding about this song and production. Christine, you are am amazing vocalist with a very clear and crispy voice and a lot of dedication.

Dave, the track just sounds gorgeous on all levels - I think I'll have to check out EZDrumer2, what a terrific sound.

Said it before: I like your playing a lot, and in this song the tone of your guitar is especially outstanding.

A really great thing, wow.

Cheers,

Stefan

Floyd nailed it......AGAIN!! This is so sweet!! My EZdrummer is not as talented as yours! Love the way your playing melds with the "dreamy guitar"...They're both dreamy. This is really, really good you guys!! Take care. Greg

Cheers, Ray!



Thanks for the support as always, Janice and Bud, it means a lot to both Chris and myself



Thanks, ROG!

The reverb on the drums is just the one that comes with EZDrummer2. I used to route them to an external reverb, but found I liked the built in one better.

Yeah, Peter Green! One of my favorite players for sure.

Good to see you back here BTW!

Wow, what an ethereal sound. Love the intro: the guitar is the focal point for the other worldly sound. Music meshes well with the lyrics. I enjoyed this! Thanks.

Thanks, Janne! Clapton was my favorite player for many years.



Your listen and comment is "like" enough for me, thanks!



Thanks, Rob!

I spend a lot of time searching for the perfect tone, always, so your comments pretty much made my day

Thanks, Caaron!



Cheers, Deryk!



Stefan, the demo version of EZDrummer is fully functional, you should definitely give it a try. If you like it wait until it goes on sale before buying, it goes on sale a few times a year.

Thanks for the positive comments!

Hey Greg,

Well, unfortunately the only way to make EZDrummer more talented is to buy the midi expansion packs for it, the more you have the more options you have. I have quite a few at this point, whenever they go on sale I try and pick up one or two.

Thanks for the comment on the guitar!



Thanks, Mike!

Very well done. I think you have just the right amount of reverb on the lead guitar.

Hi Dave,

sorry for the belated reaction...

Thanks a lot for your hint - EZD2 is just being downloaded onto my PC and I am looking forward to checking it out.

All the best,

Stefan