https://soundcloud.com/user-260742414/let-our-love-be-a-fortress-duet?si=610bd654f7be44948b7536a1604e9e2b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[SORRY! I was forced to remove the link because it is an unreleased demo, which some have recognized the performers, but left this thread up (with more details are in a response by me near the end of this thread.) I appreciate everyone's responses and ideas.]

Here’s a simple arrangement of an original love duet, mainly using just 3 instruments (piano/bass/guitar) from BAKHOME.STY Back Home Basic Ctry Swing Waltz.

The tracks were dragged, droped & mixed in Cubase 12 (Windows)
The guitar was doubled by BIAB and hard-panned L/R
The piano part was altered a bit and notes and chords add by Spectrasonics Keyscape in various places
A gentle string pad was added using EastWest Opus Composer Cloud

Lyrics:

Let our love be a fortress to keep us safe and strong
When storm winds are raging all around
We will build a foundation, and no matter what comes along
The winds of the world can never bring it down

Let our hearts be an ocean, the union of two seas
The meeting of waters deep and wide
That a wave of tenderness may surge eternally
Leaving pearls of devotion on the shore of life

Through this world, side by side
We will help one another be strong
Knowing we’ll always be guided as sure as we look for the dawn
In heart and soul united as one

Let our home be a refuge where all can find a friend
Let there be no strangers in our lives
May our love be a fortress enduring until the end
And in all the worlds our union will abide
And in all the worlds our union will abide

Thomas,

This is an excellent song. Great arrangement and mix. The vocals are so well sung.

Really enjoyed it.

Bob

Oh, so good, Tom & Rachel. What a beautiful waltz. If my wife wasn't working right now, we'd be dancing. Such wonderful lyrics. Absolutely stunning vocals. Had to give it a couple spins. You know, practice a bit before she gets home.

Good song with good lyrics, and the sparse arrangement works well.

And, you both have very good voices which work very well together. Who is she?

Hi Tom ...

So nice to hear a great song from you. And this is a terrific song in all respects.

The vocals are so good - no additional instrumental backing needed. But some light brushes on a snare would have been nice, too. But dang ... this is just so good regardless. I'd pay to see this permance!

Great job ... truly loved it!

Alan

Great job all-around Thomas.
Your use of the string pads was especially nice.
Very enjoyable.

Really beautiful, Racheal and JB both did a great job on the vocals. Rachael particularly surprised me because I was expecting a soprano to chime in. If I had her voice at my artistic disposal, I would use all my free time to write songs for her. The production was good, too, all the instruments were balanced to my ears. Great job!

Nice song. Strong vocals. Y'all have a great blend.
Tracks sound good. Well mixed.

Welcome to the Showcase.


fj

This is an awesome composition. Your vocalists really delivered your song well and did it justice.

Hi Thomas,

Good song with interesting chord structure and good chorus.

Also very well sung and mixed.

Best Regards
Nigel

I can hear Kenny & Dolly doing this one.

Good heavens!

Is that the THE Rachel Price of Lake Street Dive? It assuredly sounds like her. And, of course, your composer/conductor background is stellar.

We have long admired not only her vocals but also the remarkable way in which the group supports one another - a pleasure to watch and listen to.

What a superb addition to the forum and welcome!

J&B

PS And many apologies if we got it all wrong but her voice is so unique.

Yes Janice & Bud, she does sound a bit like Rachael Price! I'm old enough to be her father.

But I didn't know anyone here would recognize this, so now I have to take down the link, since this was just an experimental demo, and the released version will have all real players (not BIAB). But this may explain how I have used BIAB as a tool to arrange and experiment with songs before recording in the studio.

Like once, recording in Nashville in the late 90's I produced a three-album compilation of 30 tracks with top session musicians, and before going into the studio I played around with BIAB tracks using widely different styles, experimenting with arrangement, key, different chords, and other things. Then in the studio I played the BIAB "demo" for the musicians before they recorded and each got great ideas for the feel and style without me having to say or write anything else. I believe it saved a lot of money in studio time. In those days it was all midi (no real tracks) but this was enough to give an idea to musicians, and easily editable. I believe they played differently because of the ideas they got from the various styles. And, of course, they played from the chord charts printed by BIAB.

On another occasion I was orchestrating a piece for a European symphony orchestra, which required a complex ostinato line in sixteenth notes for a swirling string part. With over a hundred bars of complex chord changes, it would have required me to write out over 200 different notes, carefully calculating the notes of each bar, with accidentals, to match the moving chords. It would have taken hours to do that, and I would likely have made a few mistakes if not careful, so I made a BIAB instrument with the exact ostinato pattern I wanted, typed in the chords for the whole song, and within minutes it created the part I wanted perfectly, and I could hear it to make sure. I then imported the midi out of BIAB directly into my orchestral parts and the violins played exactly what BIAB wrote. (I could send you the live performance of this orchestra if you don't believe me)

So BIAB, apart from what most people use it for, is also a great experimental tool for producers and composers to try out chord changes and feels in an unlimited way, even if they never use the output except as a demo. In this case, I was experimenting with the vocals recorded by Rachael & JB Ekl to see what kind of arrangement might work, and I turned to BIAB to see if the vocals could be made full and fat and saturated and then be sustained by a minimal arrangement, just a few instruments. I wanted to see if people thought this worked so I thought this forum would be a safe space to get a few unbiased opinions, and I appreciate what everyone said.

Thomas,

Sorry to have missed this one--sounds like it was a great listen. Will look forward to more of your posts regardless.

Stay safe, stay well--

Deej

Tom,

I truly wish I had not mentioned the info about the performers and thus denied others from hearing both them and your lovely backing tracks. It was fascinating reading about how you use BiaB as demos. There are a couple of classical oriented composers here who post their demo version and the resulting live version by an orchestra and vocalist.

Given your ownership of the master I'm sure PG Music staff would welcome the song here and I can't imagine SC having any issues; however, we certainly live in a tangled music world nowadays when it comes to both the net and streaming!

Again it was a pleasure listening and reading your backstory.

Best to you all,

Janice & Bud