Hi Folks.
I do not usually post this often, but this was in the works for some time and uploading it will give me some sense of completion, otherwise it becomes an eternal mixing project. The lyrics were something of impro, but the arrangement and mix took quite a while. After a dozen+ mix trials, I think I can no longer judge it critically. I do not want to touch individual tracks, but if you have a suggestion what can be done to mixed version (more bass, mids etc...) I would appreciate your input.  Thank you for listening.
Misha.

Other Part of Town

Lyrics:

You can starve yourself on ketonic ration,
till you're toothpick thin.
You can start one thousand platonic relations
(become) a money counting machine
You can hug the cold peaks of Everest
You can conquer the Wild West...

Sun is always shining brighter on the other side of town
What initially goes up - must come down
What is lost....

Thick as a sap of the pine
Tear froze still on your face,
Crooked & abandoned signs
Point to darkness in space
Bitter sweet revelation-
destiny "needles" tattoo
Lonely sun blinded creatures
searching for relevant clues.

Sun is always shining brighter on the other side of town
What initially goes up - must come down
What is lost - will be found.


------------------
Tech stuff:
BIAB
2580:Bass, Synth, RnBModernSub Ev16 100
3765:Vibes, Rhythm PopBallad Ev 085
3251:Guitar, Baritone Electric, Rhythm ModFunk1NoteMark Ev16 110
1057:Sax, Alto, Soloist SmoothJazzCool Sw16 100 (Bluesy)
3782:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm NewOrleansFunky Ev16 095
1436:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm JazzFunkGroovinMute Ev16 110
RealDrums a: Timbale b: TimbaleFillsSka[single]

Drums programmed in Session Drummer. Synths of Halion and Kontakt.
Vocals, lyrics/ arrangement - me. Recorded in Cakewalk.

haha. Yeah, the eternal mixing syndrome. Know what you mean. Man, I love your lyrics, Misha. Great visual lyrics. The verses are the poetic pieces that make you think, and the chorus is the understanding. Good band, too. That baritone guitar always adds a good touch of magic to the mix, and the vibes was an unexpected pleasure. Really good scatting in there. Your voice is top-notch.

Misha,

I feel that you should post new material as often as you are inspired to do so! You are a super talented musician/writer/arranger and I always enjoy everything you put up!

As I listened, it dawned on me that you remind me at times of Al Stewart. This one really reinforces that reference especially with the sax parts going on! You REALLY remind me of George Harrison as I have stated on other occasions!

The only thing I would address in the mix on this one is that the vocal might need to come up a little in places where it was competing with the sax parts but that's just me. My hearing isn't as good as it used to be and others may differ! Overall though exceptionally good work again! Thanks, Torrey

Misha,
Your songs are wildly creative lyrically and musically- once again,with great rhythm as the base for all the ingredients, you`ve come up with a very cool and unique track.
Though I agree with Torrey that the vocal could come up a bit, the sax on the verses sounds good, and for my 2c works better than the resonator on the chorus.
This is good as is; if you go back into the mix again after a break I`ll be listening.

Robert

Hello Misha,
personal prejudice 1st...that smooth 70s sax is something I'm not keen on - it reminds me of Raffety's Baker Street and the mass of MOR stuff that appeared after it.
That said I dig the song & the message.
The arrangement is adventurous as expected and your vocal performance is ACE.
post mixing tweaks? Not from me. Run with it.

Inspired. Great progression and excellent arrangement with strong jazz influence.

I can also get sucked into eternal mixing. It's gets to a point where you don't know if you are actually improving things, or simply exploring every conceivable option. In this, I think you got to a good place. Sounds excellent on my little monitors and very good in the phones. It MIGHT be a little thin in the lower end, but I'm only saying so because you asked. I don't do endless listening for mixing suggestions either. This was thoroughly engaging,

Hi Misha,

I see that you touch all styles with success. The theme of your lyrics is well thought out. The whole pleases. The end may be too abrupt but it's a detail.

Kindly regard

Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Very cool song, Misha!

Great vocal, love the scat!

As far as the mix goes, I think the vocal could be louder and you could maybe back off on the sax during the vocal, although with the vocal louder maybe you wouldn't need to do that.

Enjoyed!

Misha,

You are one very creative, very talented musician/writer/producer.

Your productions are always impressive. Entertaining. Interesting. Great use of BIAB and "other stuff". The drums really caught my attention - looked to see what they were (because I like 'em so much!) - nice job there!! Inventive combination of instruments.

The vocals (at first) seem low, but after a couple of listens, that "settles in", so who's to say? I might guess that it is more an EQ thing that a volume thing - that's a hard thing to judge without "turning the dials" to determine an answer (if there needs to be one)... a bit of a bump on the high end? a notching out of the mids or low-mids? might lift the vocal a bit (all that it needs).

I ALWAYS enjoy hearing your music. So fresh!

fj

Mixing is never finished ... just abandoned.

Man, would that image rich lyric ever make a great video. It's stunningly visual.
An outstanding lyric indeed.

Your track choices are always very creative and this is no exception. It's interesting how well that sw feel sax works with the rest of the more even feel tracks.

The sax and the cool scatting gave a great jazz vibe to the funkiness of the rest.

Nice work on the beyond BiaB tracks also.

Excellent!

J&B

Misha:

I’m far from a mixing expert, but this sounds really good to me. There’s a lot going on but all the elements come together very well. Lyrics might be impro, but they work well with the piece—-love the first line of the chorus. And very nice job vocally—cool scatting. If I had one super small nit it might be the fade out on the last second or two of the song—a tad too abrupt? Not sure, but nothing to fret over regardless. Excellent work on this . . . an impressive production.


All my best,

Deej

Hello Misha,

Great and surprising arrangement... I liked your song a lot!

Well done!
Will

Misha,

This song has a great improvisational feel to it. Creative and fresh. Mix is great.

Bob

Hi Misha,

Who wouldn't want to live in the other part of town! It must be partytime in relation to your lyrics!
I enjoyed this genuine Misha song very, very much! The band sounds so bright, the percussion was fantastic.
In that part I don't hear a shortage of mixing labour, or too much of it!
I was thinking of bringing the vocals more upfront, but I don't know
in your songs you use the vocals as an instrument as well; they are that mysterious, mystical sound that gives your music that Eastern touch (more Russian, I think). And if you take that in mind, then the vocals have the just amount of volume.
But you can bring up the volume of the vocals and let us judge again?

As I said, I enjoyed it very much. I have one remark though. since I am not familiair with the word ketonic, I looked it up; It says "A ketogenic diet is the strictest form of a low-carb diet". So you just learned me what to avoid. But the remark is about the word itself. In your lyrics and singing you used 'ketonic', but it is 'ketogenic' (I admit; a lousy word to use in a song. As where it stands for ;-) )
I don't want you to hate me on this, so let's drink a glass some time, or make a song together...

Hans

You nailed the mix to my ears. Another interesting and well played piece. Your vocals sounded really fantastic, especially during the break. I wish the ending faded out a little but nothing to worry about. Great use of the band too.

Hi Folks. I want to thank everybody for wonderful and supportive feedback and your suggestions on the mix! I wanted to reply to each of you individually but I'm traveling and unfortunately I have Internet only on my phone and for some reason hotspot does not work on it. Sorry, I find it frustrating typing everything on a tiny screen. To my benefit I had time to read each and every comment carefully and now I have time to think about the issues and changes I will make, as some of you pointed out things from perspective that would never come to my mind. Again, thank you for your time, your kind words and your help.
Misha

Great intro, I really dig the sax. Interesting lyrical landscape of the experience-seeking modern society. Very interesting mix of styles, jazz, funk, Latin, scatting, you surprised once again. The mix is good, although in the chorus the instrumentation seems bit crowded, but maybe it just reflects that there's lots of interesting going on on the other part of the town

Janne

Always look forward to your songs, Misha, so pleased to have another one sooner rather than later. Love your way with words and the creativity and energy of your compositions. Great drum track, too. Another winner.
Regards,
Leon

Another cool tune Misha. The drums were awesome in this tune. Super vocal and lyric. Loved your choice of instruments. So creative. Well done

I think I might have said it before: You have created your own genre of music.

Love the rhythms. There is a lot going on in the production. It is all so interesting to listen to.

As usual, your lyrics are exceptionally well written.

Cool mishmash! No helpful thoughts on the mix, though.

Hi Misha cool tune very creative really like the lyrics always look forward to hearing your tunes!!! thanks Eric

Thank you everyone for your support and helpful suggestions!

I had several days to think about critical comments and remixed tune almost from scratch. I believe mix is in a much better place now, but as Bud mentioned: "Mixing is never finished ... just abandoned."
Love it!

P.S. I replaced original file with new mix.

Thank you for your time.
Misha.

Hi Misha,

What a spectacular mix, superb performance, and outstanding production. However I look at this, it's stunning...



I'm sitting here trying to imagine the effort that you've put into creating this and making it sparkle like diamonds. I know that if I tried to build this kind of production, it would take me a month or two. And even then, I'd have no hope of coming up with something as awesome as this.

Quite honestly... You've blown me away with this creation.

I love it.
Noel

I aint been around lately, just catching up on some good songs.

Cool as usual.
A pretty complex recipe you've got there, all coming together in an interesting creation.

Given I haven't been listening for a while, I'm sure I've missed some other good stuff you've done.
On this fresh listen, I must say, I think you've taken your vocals up a few notches.

Well done.

moto