I’m so into these contests lately… this one is totally open-ended though. It’s on Metapop again, and is to create a track under 3 minutes long using Native Instruments Komplete Start. I’m sure the idea is more to create like, a “beat,” but I was like screw it I’ll just do a song. It was a real challenge to keep it under 3 minutes! It’s actually exactly 3 minutes. I had to nix the intro and have a tiny bridge and basically no outro, lol.
It’s kind of a pop song I guess? That’s what I was going for. I tried to write catchy melodies and have a more modern production style. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore lol. But it was fun to work on for the most part! And only took me like a week and a half.
Let me know what you think!
EDIT: Just released the video! I actually think it’s really cool so I wanted to share.
I think it’s great! I have nothing critical to say about it, honestly. So I asked my wife. She couldn’t find anything wrong with it either, and said she really liked it.
That was my immediate impression. The vocal grabbed me right away, then the groove hits. Lots of nice little changes and ear candy to keep interest. The vocal is astounding IMO - it comes across as very genuine/authentic/personal/emotional, and really interesting lyrics.
The “flanger” (?) vocal was cool when it was first used as an effect, but then it kind of creeps in barely noticeable for a few bars after that. It’s not really an issue, just wanted to mention it and ask what you’re process was for that - both creating the effect and the desired impression you were after.
Wow, this is great. Love that little high pitch bent thing at the start.
Arrangement is awesome. It shows where are now with music when I half expected a full on pumping crushed digital in your face section @0:46. So glad it didn’t!
I have no suggestions here. Your subtle changes (and some not so subtle) on the vocal effects and space is great!
Wonderful job
It’s more of a vocoder effect actually. I used iZotope VocalSynth 2 for it, then used volume automation on the raw track and the vocoder track to kind of fade one into the other, and to jumble them together the second time. I thought it would be something interesting to add to the second verse, and that it made sense with the lyrics. “I’m changing all the facts completely, so I don’t recognize myself.” So yeah, the intent was to sound cool and to work thematically.
Well congrats, this is well crafted. I think all the elements for a successful song are in there, and with the 3 minutes constraint that’s an even better job.
I had to think hard before I could find something to say. I think the drums arrangement is great, but when the actual drums come in the beat lacks body and presence, it should be louder and punchier.
Thanks! Yeah I’m planning to release it as a single. I’ll let it sit for a few days and give my ears a break from it, do some tweaks, submit it to the contest and then do a YouTube video for it and release it via Distrokid. That’s the nice thing about this contest; since it’s not a remix I can actually release it haha.
sounds good to me. All the instruments, effects and arrangement all feel really well thought out. You managed to do a lot of effects without any of it sounding gimmicky or taking too much attention.
I’ve been watching the Voice, and no doubt you have one, girl! There’s a new show called Songland Adam Levine and John Legend are starting the end of May, and I will be surprised if the songwriters write songs as good as yours. The thing is you are both an excellent performer/musician on top of being a excellent songwriter. And I do think this site and others have been making you a more formidable producer as well. Put all that together and you have some strong material, plus you seem to be in a zone nowadays.
Thanks Steve! Yeah I feel like I’m getting better in different ways with each new song. No doubt in large part due to the feedback and support I get on this forum!
I’ve been focusing more on the “fun” aspect of making music for the past little while, and I’m loving it. So that even if I never have much success, at least I’ll have had a great time.
Dang, Cristina. This is impressive. As usual, your vocals are so powerful. Sit perfectly in the mix.
You did so many creative things in this. So many little textural things. Absolutely beautiful arrangement. Those little synth touches. And I LOVE the bass.
What’s so cool about this is it’s a foray into a different genre for you, and you NAILED it. Love this. Very solid, interesting and professional sound. Wow.
I love this. I’ve got absolutely no idea about producing this kind of pop, but it’s a really great track and I couldn’t fault any of it. Like @danmanisa I love the pitch bending high notes through the song. They perfectly frame the top end of the arrangement. If someone had told me this was a hit, I’d have believed them.
Another wow factor from you again. That edgey voice of yours does not ever get old:) Too lazy to read other reviews. No guitars anywhere?? ha ha Great stuff Cristina…congrats
The only obvious problem for me is the lead vocal. It’s out of context with the rest of the track. It is at ahigh evel in the mix, nothing wong with that, but it has a lot of mud - round about 300Hz - making it sound as though it’s been dumped onto the instrumentation without any attempt to blend it in. (I’m sure there has, of course, I’m just describing what it sounds like). You could EQ heavily at 300Hz but I think it would even take a HPF up to 300Hz.
In addition, the delay/reverb in the lead vocal doesn’t suit the track. You’ve got all this laid back dreamy stuff going on in the background and the lead vocal doesn’t match it. I would add a long delay followed by a long reverb.
