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Post by latmat on Nov 13, 2021 7:20:03 GMT
Hi Mike, Stan and any others kicking around.
My wife and daughter went on a road trip so I took 3 days off work as a music vacation. Been singing my heart out while the house is empty recording tracks.
I have a bunch of newish tracks for the album that I know you guys haven't heard at all.
Wanted to share this one with you all. It's called The Inner Fire. One of my favourite bands perhaps of all time for the incredible vocalists and amazing songwriting is Survivor. This track started as a kind of nod to Survivor in terms of lyrical content and synth work. However it definitely took on a more exuberant tone I think in many ways... I have been trying to improve my singing chops by learning to access more power in my falsetto lately I have a long way to go however my practicing I think paid off and I think I am pulling this off... Perhaps.
I'd love to hear any thoughts, suggestions or feedback of any kind.
Thanks so much guys. I hope everyone is surviving this never ending pandemic with their heads intact. It has been tough out there.Both of you, Mike and Stan, have been in my thoughts. I hope all your families have been safe and sound.
Original posted version https%3A//soundcloud.com/latmat/the-inner-fire
Updated Version https%3A//soundcloud.com/latmat/ignite-the-inner-fire-2021-v3
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Post by mcarp555 on Nov 13, 2021 10:52:12 GMT
I know how... handy it can be to have the family out of the house so you can spend the day working on tracks. Good stuff.
It's interesting to hear this track, as I also have one that's a musical nod back to the 80's, but not as tight as this of course. As usual, the vocals, guitar parts, etc. are all superb. However I will offer you the following suggestions, which also as usual with your work, are super-critical and nit-picky.
1. The choruses (especially the later ones) feel like they should 'jump' out more to distinguish them from the verses. I'm not sure what it would take - strings? A kick-ass guitar in the background? A synth lick?
2. The falsetto parts sound more forced than the regular vocal parts. Maybe doubling them will help strengthen them.
3. Everything cruises along with the same dynamics, until you get to the end at 3:40. I wonder what it would sound like if you were to copy that bit back in just before the solo. It might not be an exact fit, but I think it would be more exciting to have everything suddenly lay back then come roaring in again.
As for me personally, everything's fine here. I'm off again to Abbey Road next weekend (the 20th) for another tour. I was in the States for a week at the beginning of the month to deal with family issues. Like I mentioned some while back, this has been a big year for me regarding family (both good and bad), so I've done literally nothing in terms of music. Right now I'm getting over a horrendous cold or flu that's had me whupped for the best part of two weeks. But I'm on the mend. Maybe next year I can sit down and add to the list of tunes for the next album. I'm glad to see that you're able to continue producing quality recordings. Carry on.
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Post by latmat on Nov 14, 2021 18:14:45 GMT
Hi Mike,
Very happy to hear your doing OK. The music often has to take a back seat but you'll get back to it eventually recharged I am sure. Colds and flus are just that much more stressful with COVID happening and all the testing etc now... It's like the stress of doing my best to stay healthy is making me sick lol.
I've reflected on your comments on the song and as per usual they were very helpful and instructive. I wish I wasn't so lazy and often I know something is a miss, then I get comments and it makes it clearer and kicks my butt to make it better yet. So thank you very much.
I believe I have addressed all the concerns - I ended up editing the synth part which really opened everything up and added a bigger sound with some nice highlighted moments brought out in the mix. Essentially I moved the synth part up the octave with some edits taking hints from that one dual guitar lead fill. I added in a synth solo/interlude type section. This brought everything down and helped really make the solo and ending sections sound huge.
I really laid off the limiting on the master channel. I think this has helped the dynamics bounce a touch more. It was quite pinned before. I may go and and reduce the limiting even more, but that stuff can be looked at when I do the final mastering as a whole.
I had the falsetto doubled with a lower octave double as well. I think your right in that I was very conservative with the doubling so I added more of the double in to hopefully help thicken it up. It's a hella high note going up to E5. It's tough to get any chesty tone in that lol.... It's been fun experimenting and learning how to do this and make it sound good (hopefully).
Lots of subtle tweaks and lots of not so subtle tweaks... I'll leave the original posted one up for reference.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/latmat/ignite-the-inner-fire-2021-v3
Thanks again Mike very appreciated - I look forward to hearing what you think about the new version...
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Post by mcarp555 on Nov 15, 2021 10:27:54 GMT
Much improved. The mix as a whole seems to breathe more. The dynamics are obvious, with more emphasis in the choruses to distinguish them from the verses. And laying back in the middle helps break things up just enough to add interest. It's clear the falsetto is the extreme upper end of your range, but it's generally a lot stronger than in the first pass. Overall it just sounds like more is happening and that makes the track more engaging to listen to.
I'm happy I could contribute by pointing out little details that you no doubt would have noticed on your own eventually.
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Post by latmat on Nov 15, 2021 19:49:01 GMT
Awesome thanks again for the critical ear and time listening. I am pretty happy with this track, definitely checking off a lot of boxes. Maybe I would have noticed, but I sure save a lot of time with your critical ear and comments. That is invaluable, these days especially.
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