Song Of The Month Club - November 2021

Overdosed_Ape

I realized I already gave a critic to David English

LinearLineman

@klownshed, your comment got me out from pure lurking, which I do here. But I never post and I never comment. SOTMC is a wonderful concept, it Just doesn’t work for me personally. I respect the music makers here but the obligation to critique each track and even to have my tracks critiqued is not my particular approach.

I do comment once in a while about the production of @Edward_Alexander’s tracks or @McD’s in Creations, but otherwise if I don’t have something good to say I don’t say it. I always appreciate good production for the clarity it brings, but really, for me, my critiques seem pretty subjective. I have learned a ton just by listening and reading what others have to say on ABF.

This is a club, with responsibilities. I do strongly agree that those who participate should follow the rules.
It would be great if more people participated, but there may be an array of reasons why many do not.
Happy holidays to everyone here and thanks for some great tracks!

Overdosed_Ape

@LinearLineman said:
@klownshed, your comment got me out from pure lurking, which I do here. But I never post and I never comment. SOTMC is a wonderful concept, it Just doesn’t work for me personally. I respect the music makers here but the obligation to critique each track and even to have my tracks critiqued is not my particular approach.

I do comment once in a while about the production of @Edward_Alexander’s tracks or @McD’s in Creations, but otherwise if I don’t have something good to say I don’t say it. I always appreciate good production for the clarity it brings, but really, for me, my critiques seem pretty subjective. I have learned a ton just by listening and reading what others have to say on ABF.

This is a club, with responsibilities. I do strongly agree that those who participate should follow the rules.
It would be great if more people participated, but there may be an array of reasons why many do not.
Happy holidays to everyone here and thanks for some great tracks!

😺👍

richardyot

@LinearLineman said:
@klownshed, your comment got me out from pure lurking, which I do here. But I never post and I never comment. SOTMC is a wonderful concept, it Just doesn’t work for me personally. I respect the music makers here but the obligation to critique each track and even to have my tracks critiqued is not my particular approach.

I do comment once in a while about the production of @Edward_Alexander’s tracks or @McD’s in Creations, but otherwise if I don’t have something good to say I don’t say it. I always appreciate good production for the clarity it brings, but really, for me, my critiques seem pretty subjective. I have learned a ton just by listening and reading what others have to say on ABF.

This is a club, with responsibilities. I do strongly agree that those who participate should follow the rules.
It would be great if more people participated, but there may be an array of reasons why many do not.
Happy holidays to everyone here and thanks for some great tracks!

Thanks for popping in and joining the chat 😀

With regard to critique I would say that @klownshed is one of the best at offering it: it’s always well-considered and useful. His comments can always be applied to improve a track.

The responsibility that comes with SOTMC can be a little heavy: to listen to other people’s work and give feedback, but obviously that’s the only way it can work, otherwise everyone would just post their work and not bother listening to anyone else’s.

Maybe next month we can get more discussion going.

klownshed

@Overdosed_Ape said:

and when I have something good to mention I will give feedback.

@Overdosed_Ape said:
I realized I already gave a critic to David English

So nothing good to say about anybody else's tunes? 🤣

But seriously, please don't limit comments to compliments. Constructive criticism is usually far more beneficial in the context of the SOTMC, certainly from my perspective. I'd much rather know where my arrangement drags, or where my mix might have some issues rather than a "Nice synth in the middle 8" comment. I'm confident enough in what I present not to let criticism worry me. Quite the opposite, I like talking about making music and like nothing more than getting ultra nerdy about music production. It's why I'm active on this forum. :-)

@LinearLineman said:
@klownshed, your comment got me out from pure lurking, which I do here. But I never post and I never comment. SOTMC is a wonderful concept, it Just doesn’t work for me personally. I respect the music makers here but the obligation to critique each track and even to have my tracks critiqued is not my particular approach.

There's already a 'Creations' sub forum in which anybody and everybody can post, as you frequently do (and I frequently have a listen too!), with no 'rules' per se and no obligations to listen or critique anybody else's 'creations'. And clearly the only people that anybody expects to be critiquing the songs in the SOTMC thread are those that are actually participating. I'm pretty sure that the creations sub forum gets far more listens too...

So there's already a ready made, much higher profile way to share your music with no obligations for anybody to join in or critique*. And conversely, don't post in the SOTMC if you don't enjoy the critiquing process as that's clearly what it's all about. I'd like nothing more than get ultra nerdy discussing making music.

Thanks @richardyot, appreciated and reciprocated :-)

It's all good though. Ultimately I just like talking about making music :-)

*In fact I might try it just out of curiosity. I've had 14 plays of this mix of the song in the last 10 days. I'll post it in creations with no explanation and see how many listens I get in a week, so please don't mention anything about the SOTMC in that thread, it’s just a silly pointless experiment to see how many views result in listens — I’m guessing single digits 🤣

LinearLineman

@klownshed, I guess I average 25-300 hits on a post. 50 is kind of the average. The listens are about 25% of the hits (and SoundCloud, unlike BandCamp, doesn’t give stats for partial or full listens.
It’s a pretty daunting prospect, but I never forget this is a tech forum… and I post mostly for the sense of completion and public archival (you know, for the post apocalypse archaeologists 😉).

Overdosed_Ape

@klownshed

Mostly it’s only not my type of music taste and I won’t judge about something I don’t really have a opinion.

klownshed

@Overdosed_Ape said:
@klownshed

Mostly it’s only not my type of music taste and I won’t judge about something I don’t really have a opinion.

---

@richardyot said:

What is the Song of the Month Club?

It's a place where musicians come to give and receive feedback on their work. Anyone is welcome, whatever their level of ability.

The spirit of the club is to contribute: if you submit a song for others to comment on, you should also have the courtesy to listen to everyone else's contributions and give as much feedback as possible. Posting a track and not listening and commenting on others is not cool.

The purpose of feedback is to be honest. Essentially you should give your truthful impressions of the song, whether good or bad. Negative feedback, if done in the right spirit and with courtesy, can be the most useful and can help the artist to grow and improve and correct their mistakes.

All submissions are welcome, don't hesitate if you want to contribute. We like all kinds of music and we are particularly fond of vocals (but of course we still love a great instrumental). If you are thinking of experimenting with vocals this is a good place to get started.

We ask that you only post one song per month in this thread - if you're lucky enough to be able to produce more, then please just submit your strongest material

And finally, iOS is not a requirement for posting here. If you've recorded your song using nothing but a ukulele and a Fostex 4 track, that's fine

klownshed

@LinearLineman said:
@klownshed, I guess I average 25-300 hits on a post. 50 is kind of the average. The listens are about 25% of the hits (and SoundCloud, unlike BandCamp, doesn’t give stats for partial or full listens.
It’s a pretty daunting prospect, but I never forget this is a tech forum… and I post mostly for the sense of completion and public archival (you know, for the post apocalypse archaeologists 😉).

37 views and about 7 listens. Off to page 3 now so that’s probably it.

I definitely suck at marketing.

My song is totally awesome though. I don’t need anybody else to tell me that 🤣😉

Overdosed_Ape

@klownshed I comment when I feel I have something to say! I already gave 5 critics or something since/when I post in this thread

seonnthaproducer

@spyrogaia Loved the journey of a piano ballad. And on Korg Gadget? That gets a +1

@richardyot Great job on the regular posts. Haven't caught up to a lot of them but it was great going back to your Soundcloud. You've got a lot of great songs and melodic ideas, and your voice works well in the indie based genre. That said, I personally feel you might want to introduce some variation. By which I mean...

1. Some build-up
2. A heavier chorus before it settles in to the verse
3. Use of sound elements to add some variation into the song.

I'll give an example. This is one of my favorite songs within the past 3 years that combines modern with retro (90s rock by my definition). What I really like is how the sound evolves from quiet moments, to brief periods of rests before it goes into a heavy heartfelt chorus.

TL:DR - Your songs are great. I'd personally love to see you getting creative with the use of sound effects, and transition to add a ton of variation.

richardyot

@seonnthaproducer said:
@spyrogaia Loved the journey of a piano ballad. And on Korg Gadget? That gets a +1

@richardyot Great job on the regular posts. Haven't caught up to a lot of them but it was great going back to your Soundcloud. You've got a lot of great songs and melodic ideas, and your voice works well in the indie based genre. That said, I personally feel you might want to introduce some variation. By which I mean...

1. Some build-up
2. A heavier chorus before it settles in to the verse
3. Use of sound elements to add some variation into the song.

I'll give an example. This is one of my favorite songs within the past 3 years that combines modern with retro (90s rock by my definition). What I really like is how the sound evolves from quiet moments, to brief periods of rests before it goes into a heavy heartfelt chorus.

TL:DR - Your songs are great. I'd personally love to see you getting creative with the use of sound effects, and transition to add a ton of variation.

Thanks for taking the time to listen through my stuff, I appreciate that and I appreciate your feedback. There's certainly some food for thought there, in terms of dynamics and sound design/choices.

I like the Illenium video you posted, although the vibe is not quite what I'm going for - I'm aiming for something a little darker, and probably less poppy/commercial sounding, but I totally get the point you're making in terms of dynamics, energy and sound.

AlexY

Took some time before starting work to listen to all the links. There is so much good music here. Thanks all for posting. It makes my playlist more interesting.

I don’t have a lot of useful comments to give, but I did want to share my impressions for what they are worth.

@richardyot said:
My entry for the month. Not my best, but it's one more month completed - that's 83 consecutive months since January 2015.

>

Re: November

Very nice. Love the vocals as well.

@klownshed said:

Re: Raindance

This is right in my wheelhouse for this type of music (e.g. Deep Forrest) except with an actual voice. Feels "cyberpunky" to me. I shared this one in my discord. I like the instrumental as well, maybe even a little bit more. It’s nice to have both for whatever mood one is in. 

@DavidEnglish said:

Re: Curved

Very relaxing and immersive.

@Kitusai said:

>
Re: CAAt Claw-Kitusai Shouuut

Love the guitars and drums in here! Nice instrumentals.

@Overdosed_Ape said:

Re: Easy As Cuba

Nice ambient track. I like the way the keys sound sort of in the background, but still present.

@Overdosed_Ape said:
Just a preview

This sounds good. Can’t wait to hear more!

@pexfra said:

Re: Shivers cover

I’m not an Ed Sheeran fan, but I like this! The guitar here sings very well.

@spyrogaia said:

Re: nightfall

Oooh, very nice. Idk what the instrument is playing that ostinato you had going in the first half, but I love it.

richardyot

@AlexY Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment 👍

klownshed

@AlexY thanks :-)

seonnthaproducer

Glad to hear @richardyot Looking forward to the next project.

enmaniamusic

I love listening to music at soundcloud because the app downloads with high quality. And so many great genres of music

klownshed

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:
For context, here’s an instrumental version of the original song-- it's a bit different...

I have to say I prefer it without the vocals (and believe me, it's rare that I ever say that!).

It's got all the elements I like: the sound design, the vibe, the groove. It's a great track as it stands. Could it be improved with vocals? Maybe, but I think they would have to be created specifically for this track, as opposed to sourced from elsewhere.

In terms of production and composition this is great, I love those menacing guitars and the tribal drums.

I have (finally) made a mix of this song with vocals. It has only taken 15 years. I'm still not over the fact Sarge, our singer, will never hear it :-(

I'm not 100% happy with it (probably never will be) but I thought I'd share it. I'll live with it as it is for a while and try another mix to get the vocal automation volume to sit a bit better in the future. Maybe. But it'll 'do' for now.

richardyot

@klownshed said:

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:
For context, here’s an instrumental version of the original song-- it's a bit different...

I have to say I prefer it without the vocals (and believe me, it's rare that I ever say that!).

It's got all the elements I like: the sound design, the vibe, the groove. It's a great track as it stands. Could it be improved with vocals? Maybe, but I think they would have to be created specifically for this track, as opposed to sourced from elsewhere.

In terms of production and composition this is great, I love those menacing guitars and the tribal drums.

I have (finally) made a mix of this song with vocals. It has only taken 15 years. I'm still not over the fact Sarge, our singer, will never hear it :-(

I'm not 100% happy with it (probably never will be) but I thought I'd share it. I'll live with it as it is for a while and try another mix to get the vocal automation volume to sit a bit better in the future. Maybe. But it'll 'do' for now.

I love the fucked-up spaghetti western vibe at the start, the lo-fi whistling sound is great!

The industrial-sounding vibe is also really cool, love the guitars. I would mix the vocal a bit lower so that it sits better with the music, but otherwise the vocal is great.

The tempo change at the end is a great touch, it really racks up the intensity of an already quite intense track. The sound design throughout is excellent - lots of great textures that match the edgy vibe perfectly.

klownshed

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:
For context, here’s an instrumental version of the original song-- it's a bit different...

I have to say I prefer it without the vocals (and believe me, it's rare that I ever say that!).

It's got all the elements I like: the sound design, the vibe, the groove. It's a great track as it stands. Could it be improved with vocals? Maybe, but I think they would have to be created specifically for this track, as opposed to sourced from elsewhere.

In terms of production and composition this is great, I love those menacing guitars and the tribal drums.

I have (finally) made a mix of this song with vocals. It has only taken 15 years. I'm still not over the fact Sarge, our singer, will never hear it :-(

I'm not 100% happy with it (probably never will be) but I thought I'd share it. I'll live with it as it is for a while and try another mix to get the vocal automation volume to sit a bit better in the future. Maybe. But it'll 'do' for now.

I love the fucked-up spaghetti western vibe at the start, the lo-fi whistling sound is great!

The industrial-sounding vibe is also really cool, love the guitars. I would mix the vocal a bit lower so that it sits better with the music, but otherwise the vocal is great.

The tempo change at the end is a great touch, it really racks up the intensity of an already quite intense track. The sound design throughout is excellent - lots of great textures that match the edgy vibe perfectly.

Thanks Richard.

I agree about the vocal being too loud. It was partly the result of mixing on headphones and not checking on other systems. But mainly the result of not waiting a week before uploading

It’s amazing how different a mix sounds when you give your ears a rest from it. I must have listened back hundreds of times and it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees.

After waiting 15 years to finish the mix you’d think l’d manage to be a bit more patient

richardyot

@klownshed said:
I agree about the vocal being too loud. It was partly the result of mixing on headphones and not checking on other systems. But mainly the result of not waiting a week before uploading

My trick for this is to check the mix in mono (in Logic I just put a gain plugin on the master at the end of the chain and set it to mono). In mono I lower the vocal until it's just sitting above the rest of the music and then when I switch to stereo the vocal is usually placed perfectly.

JanKun

@klownshed said:

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:
For context, here’s an instrumental version of the original song-- it's a bit different...

I have to say I prefer it without the vocals (and believe me, it's rare that I ever say that!).

It's got all the elements I like: the sound design, the vibe, the groove. It's a great track as it stands. Could it be improved with vocals? Maybe, but I think they would have to be created specifically for this track, as opposed to sourced from elsewhere.

In terms of production and composition this is great, I love those menacing guitars and the tribal drums.

I have (finally) made a mix of this song with vocals. It has only taken 15 years. I'm still not over the fact Sarge, our singer, will never hear it :-(

I'm not 100% happy with it (probably never will be) but I thought I'd share it. I'll live with it as it is for a while and try another mix to get the vocal automation volume to sit a bit better in the future. Maybe. But it'll 'do' for now.

I agree with all @richardyot 's comments. What edgy vocals your for here! that's really great, your "body burning" gave goosebumps !

klownshed

@richardyot said:

@klownshed said:
I agree about the vocal being too loud. It was partly the result of mixing on headphones and not checking on other systems. But mainly the result of not waiting a week before uploading

My trick for this is to check the mix in mono (in Logic I just put a gain plugin on the master at the end of the chain and set it to mono). In mono I lower the vocal until it's just sitting above the rest of the music and then when I switch to stereo the vocal is usually placed perfectly.

Cool. Must try that next time :-)

@JanKun said:

I agree with all @richardyot 's comments. What edgy vocals your for here! that's really great, your "body burning" gave goosebumps !

Thanks! I'm made up that it actually gave you goosebumps! :-D

klownshed

@richardyot said:
I would mix the vocal a bit lower so that it sits better with the music.

I’ve had another go at mixing it.

The previous version is still above (on SoundCloud) which I’ll probably delete soon.

This is the new mix with (hopefully) vocals that sit better:

https://burntearth.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rain-Dance-Be-More-Sarge-Mix.mp3