I'm working on a drum & bass track with the legendary Kirsty Hawkshaw (BT, Hybrid, Opus 3, Way Out West, Tiesto etc). I'm also working on an atmospheric breaks track with her :)
Mike
P.S. It's drum & bass, not trance...Kirsty is tired of trance now!
hey, I like the vibe you got there. I also like those drums beats! specially the kick. At the moments it sounds a bit raw, and crispy, I bet there is still a lot of eq to work with. I know is drum bass track but I find the snare a bit much in the front, fighting with the vocals. Summing up, I like the elements you are using, but there is still lot to work with the mix to find the space for them to sit properly. Musically speaking sounds very very good!
Avatar One
quote:
Originally posted by Kenny Rogers
sounds really promising!! unfortunatly im on laptop speakers atm, will listen again later.
Thanks :)
quote:
Originally posted by Mise
hey, I like the vibe you got there. I also like those drums beats! specially the kick. At the moments it sounds a bit raw, and crispy, I bet there is still a lot of eq to work with. I know is drum bass track but I find the snare a bit much in the front, fighting with the vocals. Summing up, I like the elements you are using, but there is still lot to work with the mix to find the space for them to sit properly. Musically speaking sounds very very good!
Hey,
Thanks for giving it a listen. I don't want to make excuses but the SoundCloud version is sounding quite different from the MP3 from which it was uploaded. I've been sitting here for about 10 minutes A/B'ing the 2 to try and work out what the problem is. The SoundCloud version is sounding alot more compressed, the snares and hi percs are harsher, and the bass feels 'pulled up'. That aside, there is still some work to do on the mix for sure, and thanks again for giving it a listen!
Mike :)
Mise
My pleasure.
edit:
sure IŽll like to check next version!
Nemesis44
Extremely well executed and you have totally solid skills as a producer, think I may have mentioned that before, but if not I have been thinking it.
However, if I am honest, whilst it must be great working with Kirsty, I think you are being far too respectful of her vocal presence. This is one of this cases where you have something that sounds like drum and bass but doesn't feel like it. The bass line is safe and predictable and doesn't put me in the mood for dance. That said, there was a flash of the intensity that I like in dnb between 1 min and 1:02, now I am not trying take the piss, but if you give that a listen you will probably get what I mean, that made my ears pick up and engage for a moment but then went into a lull again.
There is no real interesting vocal hook either, as an example, I walked past a car full of chavs the other day and they had some dnb blasting out, the tune they had on was rolling and their was a catchy vocal hook that I can still remember as I write this, however I can't remember a single word or line sung by Kirsty.
Don't get me wrong, not trying to put you down as I think a lot of your work is superb. This simply is just not hitting the spot for me, I also know a lot of the dnb DJs in Brighton and don't see them getting excited over this either.
You have an amazing opportunity working with this vocalist, you need to bring your A game.
Cheers
Nem
Avatar One
quote:
Originally posted by Nemesis44
Extremely well executed and you have totally solid skills as a producer, think I may have mentioned that before, but if not I have been thinking it.
However, if I am honest, whilst it must be great working with Kirsty, I think you are being far too respectful of her vocal presence. This is one of this cases where you have something that sounds like drum and bass but doesn't feel like it. The bass line is safe and predictable and doesn't put me in the mood for dance. That said, there was a flash of the intensity that I like in dnb between 1 min and 1:02, now I am not trying take the piss, but if you give that a listen you will probably get what I mean, that made my ears pick up and engage for a moment but then went into a lull again.
There is no real interesting vocal hook either, as an example, I walked past a car full of chavs the other day and they had some dnb blasting out, the tune they had on was rolling and their was a catchy vocal hook that I can still remember as I write this, however I can't remember a single word or line sung by Kirsty.
Don't get me wrong, not trying to put you down as I think a lot of your work is superb. This simply is just not hitting the spot for me, I also know a lot of the dnb DJs in Brighton and don't see them getting excited over this either.
You have an amazing opportunity working with this vocalist, you need to bring your A game.
Cheers
Nem
Hey,
Thanks for your thoughts, lots to chew on there :) My main D&B influences are people like Alaska, Whisper Audio and Logistics. I lean towards liquid d&B, as opposed to the heavier stuff, so that is the atmosphere I was trying to create, I wasn't really imagining a dance-floor heaving to it! That being said , I take your point :)
I totally get what you mean about the section 1m to 1m2s, and I will try and recreate that more through-out the entire track. Perhaps I will look at giving the bassline some more 'groove' too :)
Thanks again!
Mike
P.S. I can't do much about the vocal hook....lol
Nemesis44
Hey no worries,
I went for a walk and had a think, whilst I get what you mean about the liquid stuff, I think that this needs some more sub bass in it, just to make it groove better.
You are right though, I lean towards the darker stuff i.e. Ed Rush & Optical - Titanium
This track is particularly good if you check out the sub bass to show you what I mean, and I think the sub idea would be good even for a liquid track not just the darker stuff.
Spent a lot of time DJing drum and bass to break into the Brighton club circuit before I got to know the people in the more commercial dance scene, pre 2000, but still moonlight on the odd DnB night.
Cheers
Nem
tehlord
I don't listen to a lot of D'n'B so i'm possibly not the best person to judge this!
As it stands at the moment I'm hearing a rough outline of what could be. The vocal is very well recorded and performed so that's half the battle out the way!
I'd like to see this going down the London Elektricity route personally, in particular the Apex Remix of Just One Second.
I think the extra melodic and chord changes would compliment the vocals very nicely.
EddieZilker
This works for me. Mix is perfectly in the pocket. Personally, I'm on the fence regarding Nem's comments about the vocal presence. I can hear his case but I also like them where they are; both being weighed equally. Regardless, this is another one which must be finished. Looking forward to the end result.
Avatar One
Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far, I'm going to check out all your suggestions (including that track you suggested tehlord).
Nem, I took on board what you said, specifically about the bassline, and this morning I overhauled it totally. I've tried to add more movement to it, using Reason's Thor and some other stuff. I still don't intend it to be a peak-time floor filler, but I think it's sounding better now anyway.
It's now 1pm and I'm still not dressed and I've not eaten anything today....I got totally absorbed in the track, I'm like a music production junkie at the moment...ugh. I'm going to give it a rest now, and the mix may well be a mess at this point!
Now this is what I am talking about.
This reaches out to me in a totally different way and I can 'feel' the drum and bass to this. At this point the vocal becomes a nice distraction to the much more dance worthy content so you can find the groove much better.
You now have a track that could work in many more ways than the previous one.
Really good job so far and now I really want to hear the finished article.
Cheers
Nem
Avatar One
quote:
Originally posted by Nemesis44
Now this is what I am talking about.
This reaches out to me in a totally different way and I can 'feel' the drum and bass to this. At this point the vocal becomes a nice distraction to the much more dance worthy content so you can find the groove much better.
You now have a track that could work in many more ways than the previous one.
Really good job so far and now I really want to hear the finished article.
Cheers
Nem
Thanks mate! That means a lot. I took on board what you'd said, I'm pretty inexperienced at producing this genre, so it's good to hear that you like where it's going now.
