Hey guys, I uploaded a new demo for Flutter. I'm not sure how many of you guys have heard this one with the guitar solo. My friend Butterfly came by a while back to lay that down, and he should be coming by soon to add some incidental notes to the intro and a little adlib at the end.

I re-did the vocals in the verses and I think they just need some more effects. Please advise. (I still have to re-record the vocals in the mid-section and ending ad-lib, so those are just scratch vocals for now.)

Those are the obvious things to me, any other recording/producing/mixing tips would be greatly appreciated.


http://www.soundclick.com...emusic.htm

Looking more at the colors
than what's actually happening
I see your eyes all a flutter
and I forget my dreams

You say the dogs are finally mad
and coming through
You fantasize of lullabies
and never see the truth

Sparks of light all a flutter
in the corners of my eyes
I’m looking more at the water
than your modus operandi

You say the dogs are finally mad
and coming through
You fantasize of lullabies
and never see the truth

I can do most anything
relive my dreams
I can lie and turn around
most anything
doesn't matter what you say
I'm yours today
You turn around and turn away
My pretty daze
[This message was edited Sun Mar 21 8:51:36 2004 by VinaBlue]

Like it alot Vina.

Being the main artist, I find that I want to hear the guitar louder than the rest of the mix and my friend will say "turn that shit down, I can't hear the bass" (because that's what he's playing).

I mention this because I think your vocals should be balanced a little more with the other music. They seem to "in front" but I know it's work-in-progress so theres my

Slave2daGroove said:

Cool. Yeah, I was thinking they were too loud. I used to always have my vocals too soft, lol. I guess I'm working the other extreme now and I'll get the balance right on the next mix.

Thanks for the input!

I like this. It's really hypnotic. I hope for your finished version your vocal is stronger, it would make a nice contrast for the music IMO.

Thanks Psyko!

Are the verses ok? Or do you think I should re-record those as well?

I did them in my old apartment in the living room. Still, I put more into it this time around. Now that I have my own room and REALLY good, sound-sealing windows I will feel more comfortable belting this kind of thing out. That is what I plan to do for the rest of the track. Do you think I should do the verses over as well?

I probably will anyway. I gotta buy a better mic, etc.

Thanks for the input/advice.

I really really like this Vina.
This is a very cool song.Dark & beautiful!!!
I sure dig that guitar & I love all those effects on this 1.
/peace Manki

Hey u! bout time.

I will post tomorrow!

I'm going to tell you this because I am the QUEEN of badly mixed scratch vocals...it's nothing that you don't already know though,the middle and the end adlib I'm straining to hear everything...and I think when you rerecord everything and get a better mike(like moi)everything will sound more emotionally driven.Other than that little stuff though..I Like it! It sounds like dark Tori Amos kinda..which is always cool with me.

Thanks manki!

NikkiH said:

Thanks! U know I LOVE Tori! I lowered the volume on those scratch vocals on purpose. Kinda like turning the lights down when you got no makeup on, lol. I just put those down quickly so the guitar guy would know where to play. I'm gonna put more emotion into those, that's for sure!

Thanks for listening!

Ur voice is coming out alot more! U scream a lil bit! Been waiting for that!

now the beat.... very cool. Sounds like something industrial and troubled. Deep dark experimental, very very nice. I was surprised .

Ur vocals went down on the second verse though. But tell u the truth I thought u was scared 2 come out with beats like that! Awesome!

paisleypark4 said:

Cool! I hoping it wasn't my imagination that I did better this time.



Thanks! U da beat-man, so I'm glad you dig it. I turned the vocals down on purpose to de-emphasize the lame-assed singing on those parts. I will go back and re-do those.

VinaBlue said:

girl please.

mind-tripping music...definitely a journey for the brain. good stuff V. It could be on the Star Trek soundtrack from the Delta-quadrant on a distant nebula.

"Flutter": This is what would happen Vanity and Aphex Twin hooked up together..

The guitar compliments the vocals really well and the overall production compliments the words and vocals very well. Reminds me of Bjorks earlier material.

Howards guitar work seamlessly compliments the direction U have taken!

A thoughtful and musically articulate piece.

'dre

DreZone said:

Wow Dre, thank you.

Howard? The guitar on this track is by Butterfly. I guess I should have mentioned that. I've known him since high school. Thanks again for the props.

Back at ya.

talmuzic said:

Thanks!

hey,

I like it - really downbeat nad hypnotic.

It reminds me of Tricky in his 'Maxinquaye' phase.

phunkymunky said:

Hey thanks! I've only heard a little bit of Tricky, but I do like him.

Hey Vina!

Can't wait to hear it!




Jshua

Vina - ok, I listened again and I think it would fit in great on one of those goth-like movie soundtracks - the Crow III or something. I liked how the lead guitar weaved it's way in, but why so brief? I like the empty minimalist vibe, but mo' guitar!! Vox sound great - you always sound sexy. Maybe some backing vox doing a round type of deal? I dig.

Heck yeah!

I'm loving this big time!!!!!


great work!





Jshua

artist08 said:

Thanks Tim! I LOVE the Crow, but I only saw the first one. The guitar will do more weaving, its just that my friend is really busy and hasn't had time to come back and finish it up. Just a little more in the intro and some adlib after the solo. Thanks for the compliments on my voice, and yes I'm gonna add a few more adlib things on at the end with some background stuff. Thanks again for the feedback.

Vina:

This is the first time I've checked out your shit, and I have to say... I'm ALL diggin "Flutter", baby!

You want some critiquing, so here it goes my piece on Mixing 101, coming from hard lessons I've learned when recording and mixing my own tracks:

I think you need to EQ your vocals a little hotter... punch them up in the 4-5kHz range just a couple dB, then run a decent vocal compressor on your vocal track to bring it more to the front. Subtle is fine, but you HAVE to be able to hear the words, because it's truly the power of song when your MESSAGE is getting across!!

The overall mix of the music is bangin', but I would separate the percussion tracks out so the reverb isn't so heavy on ALL of the pieces. And maybe widen the pan out a bit to make room for your vocals.

Go back and fine-tweak the Compression, EQ, and reverb to make the 'perfect' vocal space, and I think you've got a winner.

Or you could just say, "Julian... kiss my ass," and be happy with your mix.


--J--
www.soundclick.com/julianchristian

Julian:

That's awesome! Thanks SO much, man! I'm gonna take all your advice. I really dig the details. I've just started working with compression. I'm very new at this recording stuff. I've heard some of your stuff too, I'm gonna take another listen soon. Retrodude told me about you a while back.

Hey Vina!

for me, your overall mix reminds me of Kate Bush or Laurie Anderson (both of whom I dig)
and that's awesome. I really think you're on to something here with the Flutter demo. First off: Everything comes at you from seemingly different directions (nice touch) nevermind the lyrics, which I think are pretty deep.....

Your voice in on point!

Your keys are on point!

and you're subject matter is on point!

Question....why do I see something like this tune being very visual (is it me?)






jshua

Great work, Vina! I hear Tori as well as I hear Bjork, but most of all I hear YOU! I also like the guitar that is added. Keep goin'!

Jshua, awe shucks man! Don't know what to say, but Thank You! I'll post the lyrics.

As far as visuals go, it might be the , haha, just kidding. Well actually, the when I first got the lyrics and melody to this I was stoned at the guitar player's house. He and his friends were playing some computer or video game and I was watching. But I was looking at the screen like you look at those 3-D pictures that don't look like anything until you stare for about a minute? Anyway that's how I got the first line, it just came to me with the melody. So I called my house and left myself a message singing "I'm looking more at the colors than what's actually happening. I see your eyes all a flutter and I forget my dreams."

My friend wondered where I was and he found me in his room singing on the phone. And he was like "Awwww YEAH!", and he turned all his equipment on in his studio in the next room. So then I did the beat and a few other sounds. He saved it, but I ended up re-creating what I had done at his house when I got home to my computer. And I've been working on it ever since. So here are the full lyrics.

Looking more at the colors
than what's actually happening
I see your eyes all a flutter
and I forget my dreams

You say the dogs are finally mad
and coming through
You fantasize of lullabies
and never see the truth

Sparks of light all a flutter
in the corners of my eyes
I’m looking more at the water
than your modus operandi

You say the dogs are finally mad
and coming through
You fantasize of lullabies
and never see the truth

I can do most anything
relive my dreams
I can lie and turn around
most anything
doesn't matter what you say
I'm yours today
You turn around and turn away
My pretty daze

funkaholic1972 said:

Thank you man!

On the charts:
Flutter (Demo):
· #124 in the Alternative charts
· #20 in the Indie sub charts


Push it up!

cannot stream them i'll ty again later



regards


feB

what i liked the most among your tracks (haven't heard "belong" cuz the sun was already risen) is your voice,specially in "flutter" (which is my favourite) where i find it both wrappy and cutty at the same time.
i think the main problem with your programming is the sources of the sounds...i've checked what u use and unfortunately those machines sound a bit cheesy
and if u want my suggestions hereby they follow


1- try to add external efx to your keyboard/synth that u would use 4 other purposes (a guitar pedal?) and make it even more minimalist 2 achieve your brand nu sound (by the way your rhytmic & basslines r quite complex)

2- i guess u work a lot with midi...so try 2 get some virtual synth (prophet 5,absynth just 2 name a few) and use'em with your pc midi platform (cakewalk)
the range of sounds would b much much better.
or even beter get reason (name of a software),is a complete platform of work in your pc and u can do a lot with midi too,it gets a while to understand how 2 work with but u could discover unexpected possibilities with a strike


it seems 2 me that u r a lot in2 what u do... that's a good thing 2 me.

ciao ciao


feB