please review
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Sep 02, 2002 02:30 pm perfect. ok. i listened to the first song.. i hear where youre comming from. but this is my opinion.
your dj... needs to calm down. alot. the vocal melody was good, but it wasnt to convincing. dont get me wrong, we all feel like giving in at some point.. but the vocal presence wasnt telling me this is how you feel. the song doesnt stand out to me, but i wouldnt be suprised if you made a few bucks with that. if im bored ill do the other 2 songs later.
Sep 02, 2002 02:41 pm alrite.. just for schlits and jiggles i decided to do the next song. it really bored me and it was hard to listen to the whole song. thats what we call a back burner track dude. sorry. im going to do the next one now. just to see if it can redeem itself.
Sep 02, 2002 02:44 pm the third song tells me that this should be your plan. send that first song to your local radio stations and maybe theyll spotlight you on one of their "loud and local" type programs.. know what i mean? you would probably get a good draw to a show with that song...
but i personally dont think i would favor to listen to your music. the music itself has a very repeating type feel. the vocals are very high in the mix.. but they dont stand out. there is no feeling, no soul. but its alrite man, there is hope for you yet. give it some more time.. the demons work themselves out eventually. good luck with everything. hope i didnt hurt anyones feelings in this process.
el musicoFreeleance Producer/Engineer/GtrMember
Since: Aug 11, 2002
Sep 02, 2002 03:23 pm hurt feelings? not an issue. i understand the criticism and thank you for your time.
Insight: these demos have been created and recorded by only 2 people and their main purpose is to draw other musicians to our project to complete a band. they convey what direction we'd like to go but things will change with the incorporation with additional members.
what would you suggest for making the vocals more "soulfull"? this is an issue we have been working on. as far as the DJ, we don't have one in the group. It was a DJ friend that was over one evening that wanted to lay down a track. we liked it so we kept it in the demo... but as far as the DJ "calming down"... i don't agree. do you not like turntable use in rock bands? many people are just anti-rap when it comes to using turntables as an instrument in rock music, so i'll chalk that one up to personal preference.
thanks again
Sep 02, 2002 05:57 pm My personal take is this, I like them, like Anias said, not my preferred style, but the melody was good, I did find a rather up-beat, almost pop-sounding melody for a song called "giving in" kinda odd, but it is a decent song.
The y all rang similar to me, like they were made by the same band, but they weren't "the same"...that's good. I think the guitar needs some balls, the sound itself sounds like it's good, but it needs to be brought forth in the mix. Your mix is very bass heavy, which if that is what you are going for, great, but from the type of songs they are, bass-heavy didn't seem to fit. The bass is good, solid and strong, but to out front...bring the guitar out a little, maybe even double-track it for some power.
That's my two cents.
Sep 03, 2002 09:15 am hey. i agree and disagree with Db a little here (imagine that). i think everyband today tries to go for a guitar wall sound. in my band there are 2 guitarist.. so in the studio, its usually just that, 2 guitars (maybe kep the scratch tracks if they are good enough.. but usually thats it.
as for the vocals... you really cant make a vocalist. they just are. you know what i mean? like rodger daltry has soul in his voice. can you hear it? maybe find your singer a hot female that will surely take all his money and then break his heart. that might condure up some soul. but in the tracks its def NOT THERE.
and the dj thing. ive worked in a few bands with djs. hell.. i even spent a whole summer making money as a jungle/trance DJ. but these djs...they were pro before entering the group and they soon realize how not pro they were when they had a drummer holding the beat. all i heard in the first song was that anoyying CONSTANT RYTHM of that scratch. no samples. no double pushes. no delays, or weird effects. it just sound like a guy moving his hand back and forth to the beat. no creativity. hence my term settle down. its just to repeatative.
depending on where you are located your style might become a problem for you. if you are anywhere near the west coast you might as well start from scratch dude. i was on the strip in la for a few days... and in every bar there was a band that sounded like what your doing... just a heads up
maybe i will post some of the new stuff im working on here. that might be interesting
Sep 03, 2002 09:31 am <soapbox>
Anais, we really are not that far apart in opinion, just rubbed the wrong way once by being on different sides of one issue that got pretty personal from my memory...I still feel bad that whole thing had to go down the way it did...everyone got carried away, myself included, it got too personal for everyone involved.
</soapbox>
That aside, I do agree with what you are saying, except for the LA bands remark, as I have not visited the LA Strip, so I really can't place an opinion on that one.
I am not a big fan of the "guitar wall" so-to-speak, but if there is a guitar I like them thick, full and audible, the guitar parts I hear in el musico's stuff could play a more important role in the music if it was fatter and stronger, but not over-powering the mix. I personally don't like scratch tracks at all, very rarely does one fit in, and if it does it is sparse, not a constant part of the beat...but that is just me just me, some folks dig it.
MitchMember
Since: Apr 14, 2002
Sep 03, 2002 12:34 pm El Musico,
Just listened to your tracks and I must say that I enjoyed all but the RNB one.
As far as the vox on the first one I`d say they are just fine how they are, but they could be a little more soulful. The melody is really great.
I`m one who doesnt like the dj thing so if it were my song I wouldn`t have it, but its yours so if ya like it use it.
As far as the second one goes, I liked it too. Not as much as the first one, but its still pretty good.
I don`t know what kind of music Anais likes, but I disagree with alot of his review. I thought the first two songs stood out, and with some help, they could be really good. I critique alot of bands and your the first unigned band Ive heard in a long time that actually sounds like they have potential.
Rock on!
el musicoFreeleance Producer/Engineer/GtrMember
Since: Aug 11, 2002
Sep 03, 2002 03:04 pm thanks, mitch. it's nice to hear that someone enjoyed it. but i'd be an idiot to disregard anais's opinion and i too would like to know what kind of music anais listens to, as well as hear his/her music (so i can discredit him and continue on in an ignorant bliss... j/k). seriously, anais, let us know. and as DB pointed out, we are actually aiming for pop sounding vocal melodies with a heavier sound, but of course we'd like to cover a wide market.
you know, i'm not very experienced with mixing/eq's so i am pressed to find room for bigger guitars. there are already 4 rhythm tracks in cypress (2 per guitarist). i do agree that they are a little behind in the mix, but i don't want to drown out some of the keys or leads. i have followed alot of the mixing tips on this site and others and have tried to get everything in the pocket but it needs more work. Db, what do you mean bass heavy? low end eq or bass guitar? i like the bass guitar to be fat and prominent like in most of orgy's material and hate the fret noise in korn's bass. thanks for everyone's time and advice.
Sep 03, 2002 03:39 pm I meant bass instrumentally, not frequency-wise.
If it is what you like, that is cool, I am just sharing my observation. As a whole I did enjoy the music, whether my style or not, I listen to and can enjoy many different types of music, I have been known to go se Leo Kottke one night and Black Sabbath the next...so I like it all.
I am not a big fan of fat bass though as I find it to overpowering, but if that is what you were aiming for, then congrats! You got it!
When talking about guitar, I wasn't implying more guitar parts, just bigger versions of the parts you have, that's all.
Sep 03, 2002 04:17 pm i like the guitar tone on cypress a lot more than in giving in.
the vocals sounded a little better too. i agree that it seems like theyre missing something, but cypress sounds a little stronger at the moment.
for bass sounds, i love the tone that orgy and filter use. its kind of a thick, loud bass.. no fret noise or slap playing. so i have an idea of the sound youre going for there.
with the mixing.. giving in needs a little more work, the mix sounds a little off.. the music sounds muffled compared to the vocals..
on cypress, the mix was a lot better. a little bit of tweaking in general though should help it.
overall, i dig the first two tracks over the last one. the feel of the track just didnt grab me. but as you said, its being reworked. =)
ill take another listen to them all later tonight and see if they catch me any differently. sometimes the additional listens give a new perspective on it.
