Most of you are aware that I have a few different projects on the go under different guises covering ranges of various styles. Here’s my first completed track under the moniker “What the Fun Will Be” and a song called “Words and Letters”. This project will be almost entirely in the box and be more synth pop based. This was also the first song that I used Boz’s El Clappo plug in!
I’ve never really sung in this way before as a lead (falsetto) and only ever done it in harmonies. Besides a general critique of the song/mix, I’d love to know if it (the vocal delivery) is even listenable? Is it cringeworthy? Or is it ok? I did a demo a while back and showed a few close friends who gave the vocals the thumbs up but suggested re-doing them as I was a bit pitchy on some of the double tracks. I hope I’ve cured much of that, but perhaps it is still an issue. That I can (possibly) fix with a simple overdub, but if the tone is sh*t and horrible to listen to, then it’s not worth it.
Kinda scared putting this one up but I know it’s good hands…ears.
It’s really late here and I’m extremely tired but this sounds cool and FUN.
I like the vibe you got going with the vocals and the music/ arrangements. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or very possibly the power of suggestion but I thought I heard some slightly pitchy and weak-ish spots in the vocal. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of “off-ness” for some types of songs though. This song is a bit quirky and I don’t mind a bit of looseness in the vocal delivery. Although, I think you’d probably be able to improve on the vocal performance a bit, I just wonder if the average listener would appreciate the difference from pretty good to real good?
That’s just a brief overview on your vocals and song, but I’m so tired that I could be hearing things inaccurately. I just wanted to write a quick comment to give you a short review of my first impression. I’ll be back later today/ tomorrow to gives this a few more thorough listens and I’ll let you know what strikes me then. Very good first impression, though!
Thanks @Wicked. I’m not sure how well much better I can deliver them (besides making sure the pitch is better) overall. I’m not sure I’m ever going to get “really good” vocals that would get people ears pricking up. I was actually more comfortable in the higher range of the falsetto and some of this song is more in the lower range. But at this point, I’m glad that you didn’t find it immediately terrible! That’s a win.
I’ll be playing with vocal styles and effects in this project, which is largely centered around fun, both sounding fun and being fun to make. Anything goes I’ll be playing with synths and sounds and effects and vocal styles to make some synthy pop sugar (well, at least that’s the aim!).
Thanks for the feedback!
Awesome Dan! This is very, very cool - I really love it! Very creative & quirky. Reminds me somewhat of latter-day Regurgitator (with apologies to non-Aussie forum members) without the profanity.
Wow! Well thank you so much. I honestly didn’t know how this would be received. I have deliberately not attempted any other songs for this project (except for maybe a third of the music of another song) simply because i wasn’t confident I could deliver something good enough vocally. Not all the songs will be in that register but there will be elements in each I reckon.
Really glad you liked it. Means a lot. I can see the ‘Gurg relation. Funnily enough, my drummer in my band, who is it a great fan of this style of music, said “it sounds really good. Now, I never want to hear it again!”
Yeah man I am digging it. It is groovy and catchy and on the verge of being “cringy” as you said but is not in my opinion. I would not put it in my regular playlist because I think it would get old but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good, just that it is a little repetitive for my taste. Thanks for sharing and please keep creating it is so inspiring.
Edit: by the way just after writing the above I was heading to the loo and I caught myself singing “words and letters ba didy da words and letters”
This works for me Daniel, I think it holds up fine for a pop style. I think you should add an EDM style drop or breakdown (whatever it’s called) and maybe some more synth lines. I’m not really hearing much of a bass line either.
Just having a listen on my studio speakers - loving this Dan. There is something fun & infectious about this. To me, it has the overall vibe of “disposable” pop, but ambiguity in the lyrics take it to a place I would describe as “avant-guard pop”… kind of like art-music framed as a guilty pleasure. Genius!
Thanks Eric. Are you referring to the vocals as borderline cringy due to the actual sound (my inexperience singing like this), the vocal style as w whole (not so much me but the style) or the song in general (being overtly sugary)? I’m more than happy with folks not liking the Scissor Sisters styled vocals or the sugar synth pop style (like my drummer so bluntly told me!), but if my delivery is poor, then I need to address that!
That’s why my drummer refused to listen to it more than once! Thanks.
The bass is a synth bass with that staccato stuttery effect. I am thinking I might need to make the low end of it more prominent.
Yeah, I want this to be fun and a bit silly without being a comedy as such. The lyrics are almost all going to have an abstract element (a very loose theme) in which you can read into it what you want, but there is always an idea there. For instance, it will be almost impossible to tell, but this song was based around our use of our phones and messages, believe it or not. When you look at the lyrics again you can see it, but it’s easily missed and I am more than good with that.
I posted about the artist Noam Hassenfeld a while back who does similar style music who is my go to for just feeling good and singing along (although he does heartfelt acoustic stuff as well). That’s what I’m going for here with this project.
I think I agree with everything that has been said above. My very first thought upon hearing this song is that the vocal sound is very thin and tin sounding. It seems like it is too small and should be more of the focal point yet it is back with all the other sounds. If there was a way to add some kind of bass to it. But I don’t think it is just eq and more bass, it sounds over processed or boxed in or shrunk down into some liner line. I think of Mysterious Ways by U2, Bono’s vocals are out in front and defining the chorus.
I would also think about having more of a difference between the chorus and the verse, change the drums up at the chorus.
I really like the chorus.
The synth is quite cool.
I like the piano fill/ lick panned to the right speaker during the chorus.
I like the way you coloured this song with small, somewhat subtle embellishments.
My least favourite part is the “It might mean a lot” bridge part…BUT it’s not bad at all !..I’m just being a bit picky.
The chorus falsetto is supported by other vocals (harmonies and lower register vocals) so it sounds great there. I don’t have much of an issue with your verse falsetto, …maybe no issue at all. Everything doesn’t have to be 100% perfect to be cool to create a mood.
I think you mentioned it somewhere in this thread, that those low falsetto notes tend to be weak sounding. I find that to be very true for my low falsetto, also. With the low falsetto notes, you can’t push as hard or they’ll sort of wobble and not be as smooth (I can’t find the right words!). What I do when I sing the low falsetto is, get quite close to the mic…reduce the amount of air that I’m pushing and try to sing them as smoothly as possible. With mid range or high falsetto there seems to be much more control…For me, the mid range falsetto is the easiest. Of course what any of us singers consider to be low, mid, or high is uniquely individual, but I do believe that low falsetto is the most “trying” of the bunch.
To tell you the truth, I think you did a great job. This is fun and interesting!
That’s something I struggle with at the best of times but possibly more so when I am not overly confident in how the vocal my be received, such as in this case.
It’s funny you mention that. At this point, the drums (the actual drum track) is just a loop that does not changed. I am toying with potentially inserting some fills, but there are two-three other percussive/drum tracks that come in and out which I am hoping break it up enough. I found the loop worked well in all areas of the song that I found it almost impossible to change it.
I do too. That and the claps are my two favourite things in the song.
Thanks. That’s a real focus, particularly percussive stuff rather than big things. Glad you liked that element as that’s what I was going for!
Funny, that’s the bit my friends liked the most. All good to not like it though
You summed it up EXACTLY how I would describe it! Found the words just right!
I like that. Fun and interesting is what I am going for. Cool…overall mission completion. Now I have to start working on other tracks now that I know it’s not a complete waste of time.
Thanks again!
Great tune and your vocals are totally listenable! You’ve definitely got a nice 80’s style synth pop thing going. On first listen, the only thing poking out to me was the synth around 2:00 was a bit over powering.
On second listen, I think it’s the same synth in the verses too? Just a little fader adjustment would likely take care of it. Also, you could maybe insert a couple of bars before the synth part comes in, or hold it back for a few, so there’s a more of a “breakdown” section there? Good stuff!
