(another) Tell me what you think

[Killyp]

Well you may remember that I did a recording or two with someone quite a while ago, and I posted the link here.

This isn't the same! This is me & my band (which consists of a singer and a drummer, but the drummer isn't on this recording).

www.myspace.com/fallingoftheapostle (http://www.myspace.com/fallingoftheapostle)

As you can probably tell, it's a newly set up MySpace page, so if you want to add us as friends, please do...

I'd like some advanced critique (but not too much :P ), about the song.

[840quadra]

Great song (listening to it now).

The only thing I can say or add, would be to possibly tone down the instrument that comes in at the same time as the keyboard (?) a bit. It is a bit sharp or shrill, but perhaps it has to do with my headphones or encoding too..

Otherwise sounds like your group did good work!

[Killyp]

Sure! You mean the single note synth, which drops out when the vocals start? I'll give it a try. Problem is it might disappear in the mix then...

[onelivewire]

I enjoy it. It quite reminds me of "Goodbye Blue Sky" by Pink Floyd, in respect to the guitar.

Get the drums in there! :)

[OwlsAndApples]

Wow I really like it! I liked the Deadening Silence stuff as well...I can really hear the effects of your listed influences as well, nice. Hope to hear some more stuff!

[PreacherKane]

Hello Killyp. Just listening to your songs. Very nice. Identity is not an issue is very good. I like the vocal harmonys. It feels like it needs something big, in the background to finish it off. Maybe some strings but it is good never the less. Very Ultravox.
The second song, Sulk, short but cool. A mellow, chillout track. Subtle yet engaging. Would have liked it more if it was a little longer but still good.

Support Your Local Musician on MacRumors.com:apple: :cool:

[builder]

First, the all the vocals intertwinded with the synths sounds killer.
I personly like the electronic drums, though maybe a timed delay when all those lines come in to make it stand apart from the rest of the drums

I like the quality of your vocals as well.

The guitar line is cool. I notice that the timbre changes in places because you would hit the string harder than the previous notes, which is the sound I actually prefer. I would play all the fretted notes hard and then compress to smooth level.... Maybe I am not makeing sense....

Anyway great stuff..

[mannix87]

good work! are those your compositions? For Sulk, I noticed that the bass drifted off somewhere in the middle (unless of course that was intentional). but overall, I think it brought out the desired effect for the listener - a sort of cool & funky vibe.

the 1st song reminded me of Pinback/ Magnetic Fields guitar work w/ a radiohead drum arrangement. very nice & clean arrangement.

cool album cover as well.

[Fiveos22]

advanced critique? did my critique of your last set of tracks count as advanced?

[rockthecasbah]

pretty cool. Sorta reminded me of Depeche Mode musically, just a little less boomy :)

[MacRumorUser]

some post processing filters on the vocals could work really well.

They feel a bit dubbed ontop of the mix rather than integrated into it.

Other than that I liked them.

[Fiveos22]

some post processing filters on the vocals could work really well.

They feel a bit dubbed ontop of the mix rather than integrated into it.

Other than that I liked them.


Good call, the vocals did seem a little bare. Also the vocals seemed out of place. I've been diving into amature electronic music quite a bit recently and I notice I've been shooting down vocals often. I can think of a few reasons for this, reasons that may help to shape your music:

1) I got my first exposure and love of electronic music through Aphex Twin's stuff, which is devoid of clear lyrics. The voice work that is used in his music is employed in such a way that it strips the words and lyrics down to sounds and textures (though you can still make out the words). I feel this is a very powerful way to convey ideas musically, though it is probably much more difficult. (Good reference track: Halcyon Live from Orbital: Insides (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE57D1CD94EA57320C7943545C7BB64F302FE4BF59A1321435992B63E45910B7AE84CE58C8FB3B677AB71B0FD 2EA45D43D2C8E452F4D6623D2DFC93&sql=10:eyom961ofep6) [AMG])

2) Of the good blends of electronic and vocals I have heard, Goldfrapp is the most stylistically aware. Her vocals blend very well with the electronica, especially on her first album Felt Mountain (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE57D1CD94EA57320C7943545C7BB64F302FE4BF59A1321435992B63E45910B7AE84CE58C8FB3B677AB71B0FD 2EA45D43D2C0EE57F6DD622D4CF0&sql=10:6fkvu3qkandk) [AMG]. Of course Chemical Brothers did some interesing electronic and vocal work, but that was more the party end of electronica (Dance, Techno, House, etc.). You seem to be shooting for the introspective vein, I would look under the skirts of the ambient techno genre.

3) Check out some of the music of your contemporaries, like Lasse (http://www11.nrk.no/urort/user/?id=36781) [nrk.no] (of Amature (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqumbhfxRo) [YouTube] and Hyperactive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9698TqtY4A) [YouTube] fame). Build a solid musical foundation first, then mold the vocals into it. I don't know that building a song around vocals is very easy to do, or produces the best results. This was particularly evident when Apocalyptica (http://www.apocalyptica.com/home/) [official site] released their singles "Path" and "Hope" (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE57D1CD94EA57320C7943545C7BB64F302FE4BF59A1321435992B63E45910B7AE84CE58C8FB3B677AB71B0FD 2EA45D43D2C0EF57F6DD612D4CF0&sql=10:17jveai54xh7) [AMG], the vocals that they tacked on in "Volume 2" of those songs worked particularly well because the music was already solid underneath.

Fool around with the vocals, see what you can do.

[Scarlet Fever]

sounds cool! a bit weird, but without the weird, the scene would be all the same.

Keep it coming! :)

[Killyp]

Thanks for all the comments, I'll have a look at it when I next get some free time. I'll add some processing to the vocals in some way, I know what you mean with out sounding out of place...

[Killyp]

I've uploaded a new one (called 'Song Name Missing', just to confuse people :p). Tell me what you think, it's quite loungy. Certain elements are randomly generated by the computer (hihat rhythm for example, reverb delay etc...)

[OwlsAndApples]

I've uploaded a new one (called 'Song Name Missing', just to confuse people :p). Tell me what you think, it's quite loungy. Certain elements are randomly generated by the computer (hihat rhythm for example, reverb delay etc...)

Confused me for a second there :p

Reminds me of Kid A, some of it's like Idioteque...although my knowledge of electronica and lap-pop (sorry, had to use that word) isn't expansive. What software do you use for the 'randomly generated' bits?

[Killyp]

Reason, with some head-scratching wiring! :p

I'm glad you're mentioning Kid A though, that's one of mine & everyone else in the band's favourite albums and it really inspired us...