[Vocal Trance!] Digital Aura - Morning Star

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-- [Vocal Trance!] Digital Aura - Morning Star

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-08-2005 02:44:

[Vocal Trance!] Digital Aura - Morning Star

Well, I've been slaving over this one since November '04. The music took me a couple of months. Then I sat on it until the vocalist finally came to Ontario. (She's a professional singer/violinist/pianist/teacher residing in Edmonton).
The hardest part was incorporating the vocals. The mixdown was WAY tougher than I thought...whew!..I don't know if its any good at all but it's my first attempt at anything with VOX so....

I'm happy with the music though.

This song was done entirely in PROJECT5. Can't say enuff good stuff about it! Thanks Cakewalk!

Please gimme a listen and a comment! I'll do the same fo' sho!

Digital Aura feat. B'Tina - Morning Star (Vocal Mix)

Posted by IDarkISwordI on Apr-08-2005 05:45:

Awesome track but I do have a comment about the vocalist. It sounds kinda like she was singing falsetto giving a kind of cheesey feeling to the track. If I were to record her, I'd definantly have her sing an octave lower. The effects on the vocals are awesome but she sounds too much like she is singing opera instead of trance vocals . Think Whiteroom - Someday when you think of an awesome example of vocals. Either way, great job man.

Cheers,
Zac

P.S. listening to it again, I also might take the vokes down a decidel, doesnt sound liek much but the vokes stick out a bit too much.

Posted by expanded on Apr-08-2005 08:04:

Hehe, sounds relly cheesy... Not really my type of style but I bet it was cool for you to work with vocals!

Also it sounds like your quantize is a bit f*cked? Everything seems a bit out of sync.

Anyways... you should work with her and make something deeper!

Posted by Massive84 on Apr-08-2005 08:49:

I feel that the kick lacks a bit, same with the bass.

That melody that plays in the intro, needs a more uplifting synth, to set some feeling or drive.

The saw synth that kicks in with the vocals is a bit to weak

Lacks some atmosphere the intro/buildup.

Yes it gets a bit cheesy , but that is taste.

I must say i like the way how the vocals are placed in the mix.

Can't say i really liked the main part, it didn't really add anything new.

Thats all mate, it needs work

Posted by alexpea on Apr-08-2005 10:35:

Omg I hate soundclick soooo much

Anyway, here's what I think of the track:
Cool portamento-melody!!
Special feel to this tune. Really progressive..
You should have added much more reverb to the vocals.
And turned them down..

The vocals vary in volume... You should have worked more on those. The music is cool, imo.

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-08-2005 12:14:

Massive/Darksword I agree completely with you ... glad to hear you two say the same things as what I was kinda thinking...it makes it clear to me. She is a soprano, so no wonder it sounds like opera to us...I had her try and sing staccato (punchy and not holding the note) so this is how it turned out.
She's never listened to trance and it really comes out in this, I know.

Thanks for listening Alex...I'll work more on the vocals. I've been at them for 2 weeks and Im just ready to be done with them now...guess I should take a break on it for awhile and come back fresh, eh?

Posted by Subtle on Apr-08-2005 12:26:

listening:

starts up with some strange synths, dont like the build up here much really.. lacks some drive too it.. really cool vocal introduction here (were she is just aahhinG)

really like what u are trying to make here, got loads of potential, great progressive effects.. the lead sound there is really cool... i think the arrangement is a little messy, alot of unclear sounds and stuff.. the vocals are really original.. there`s a lot of lead melodies here, thats cool..

love the idea.. but quite frankly it needs to be produced better..

Posted by kopi_luwak on Apr-09-2005 05:05:

Going to review it tomorrow early .
Kopi =o.

Posted by gerrycueto on Apr-09-2005 05:28:

*clicked out of curiousity*

cool acid synths in the beginning... pm me if you want a review (if you're interested in one from me) and specify whether you'd like it public (on this thread) or private (on pm).

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-09-2005 13:30:

Gerry,
It'd be great to get your review!! You can PM me or post here. I don't care really...you can't hurt my feelings [ much].
I mean, this is only my 4th song ever...and my first attempt at vox so bash ..er...critique away!!

...And thanks for at least listening!

Posted by Rob on Apr-09-2005 13:54:

lolololol

I wouldn't class this as trance, but damn, this would make a really good theme song for a cartoon or something (mabye an adventure anime?). A few sections of the track(with emphasis on those cool vocals) would sound awesome for the theme of a cartoon series. As soon as I heard it I thought of this old cartoon series called "The mysterious cities of gold".

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-09-2005 14:43:

YOu know, you are exactly right! It would make some slick ANIME based theme! LOL

Posted by kopi_luwak on Apr-10-2005 21:50:

Hey,
Listening ...... Nice intro, cool synths/Pans, the voice, is cool, sounds a bit granulized, those reverses with the voice are very cool.
Drums are sweet, I will have to agree about the singer does sing too *Academic*, for this Trance Track, I thinkin my very personal taste she should singed less faked/academic, but that's just me .
In overall, mastering sounds good to me, but I am rook so dont take me serious :P, I liked the track is very cool keep it up mate .
Kopi =o.

Posted by gerrycueto on Apr-11-2005 01:35:

academic? lol well she is a violin teacher

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-11-2005 22:30:

NO, I think its a fair comment...she does sing very academic...that is as a trained schooled soprano.
Fair comment, and probably this doesnt suit the track although others have said that they can appreciate this fact and that most vocal performances today are flat and powerless.

Thanks for the feedback all!

Posted by kopi_luwak on Apr-11-2005 22:54:

quote:
Originally posted by gerrycueto
academic? lol well she is a violin teacher

LOL, ya, but to have academic education does not means u will go to africa and u will sing like a trained soprano ethnic music from there, lol ...
If you permit me, non spanish speakers I would like to explain gerry my point of view in our languaje because my english sux!

Wey, lo que digo es que no por tener educaci�n academica vas a cantar con el falsete y con el poder de un cantante de Bell Canto, obviamente, cantas POP, puede ser que lo hagas, y puede que digan que es tu estilo, y ay que bonita voz bla bla bla, pero para este track en especial simplemente no me suena lo mas correcto .
Kopi =o.

Posted by Digital Aura on Apr-19-2005 02:25:

Done some preliminary EQing of the vox. I dont master offline, it's all done in the AUX channels ( I chain a graphic EQ, multi-band compressor and limiter on the MASTER).
I used an extra EQ setting on the 3 vocal tracks to make her "less academic" but alas, I can't change the singer's style! hehehe

Any better?

Posted by IDarkISwordI on Apr-19-2005 02:48:

Hey man. If you're able to, you might try dropping the vokes an octave or two. Dont just you plain pitch shifting, find a plugin or something that will allow you to shift the formant as well. Another alternative is to go with a vocoder. Both might sound really cool. Just soem suggesstions. This song really has potential I think and I'd really like to hear a polished copy .

Cheers,
Zac

Posted by PDM on May-06-2005 04:49:

Man, this sounds too Eurodance for my taste, but a great effort nonetheless.

Posted by cybernetica on May-06-2005 10:42:

Interesting Beginning with a nice acid-type synth. The percussion works very well too, the FX fit very nicely. Panning is great That beeping synth in the beginning stands out too much, and I'd reduce the interval between the first two notes of that beep, the second one comes too late in my opinion. I'd replace that synth with something else, it doesnt really fit in my opinion, something seems odd about it, or at least turn it down. But I admit, it's catchy :P
I think your main problem is that your track felt quite empty in a way. Don't get me wrong, you have many elements which are very well arranged, but you still seem to be lacking some kind of fundament. What about some pads? I see in the end you use that acidline to back up the rest of your track and instantly it sounds fuller. I think you need something constant in the background, especially for the lower-mid area so that it sounds warmer.
Anyway, the break is really awesome� ! And I love the vocals, sounds great. Gives me some inspiration on a vocal trance tune I'll do maybe
Cool tune, keep it up!

Posted by DeZmA on May-07-2005 16:28:

First of all : maybe it's wise to search another host cause these sites really suck imho.

About the song :
acid synth is nice, kick could use some compression/eq
I don't really like the patch you used for the melody in the following part. It doesn't have enough power and sounds a bit cheap. It sounds out of sync to sometimes. I noticed some other quantize problems later on. Percussion sounds okay. For the first vocal try you did some really cool things. 1 remark : the reversed reverb thing is cool but don't overdo it. At 5 minutes you should find a major melody line and drop the vocals for some time.
It's okay but with some changes it could be much better !
Keep it up mate, I can hear an evolution in your productions

Posted by Digital Aura on May-07-2005 18:57:

Thanks Guys! Dez...glad to hear your comments, none of which surprise me. I like the idea of dropping the vox for a spell. Also found a better host. From now on I'll use http://audioshots.com/auditorium/

Later!