Factory Yoyo presents: finally back to business, with Cian McG on "Our Black Regalia"

First off, I want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts, words, PMs, emails and other good-natured stuff since Sandy. I do appreciate it all.
 
I came up with this electronica-type tune a few weeks back. I had all the parts down, but was at a roadbloack with melody. Cian was kind enough to figure out a super melody over this bed, so I wrote lyrics and supplied pilot vocals. The Big C finished 8 tracks of stunning singing two days before he left for his world tour. I am gonna miss that guy.
 
So here it: 44 tracks of groovy electronic goodness. As usual, a complete mess to mix, especially with some well-documented technical glitches you might have read about in the X2 Forum.
 
Mind you, it is a bit different, but there are a ton of changes to keep your interest.
 
Our Black Regalia
 
 
 

 Awesome James and Cian, this is a grand one for sure

This is a fine bit of retro. You have captured so many disparate nuances and put them together in a way that is very enjoyable to listen too. As you mentioned you are still working on the mix, I wont comment on that (not that there is much to say). I hope when Cian returns he will be signed to a major. Not to denigrate you at all, but he is a remarkable talent. This was extraordinary. Two mind blowing tracks in a row (I listened to Dan's before this).

That is Fresh!


Thanks for sharing.


It's great to see you are recovering from Sandy.

best regards,
mike

Excellent as always! Electronica never seems to keep my attention but this Is a big exception to the rule. 

Love the vocals. It sounds like an Enigma tune. great bit of mixing.

Well done!

Reminds me almost of an Erasure tune ...Dude has a serious voice!!!!!

What smooth mix, crystal clear, which I always like.  Nice drifty smooth jazz feel, the vocals are very nice.  Lots of breaks and accents and trippy little sounds.  I like this a bunch guys.  Good song and the arrangement is a lot of fun! 

Daryl

Not a bad effort from a couple of up and comers

bapu


Not a bad effort from a couple of up and comers

One of these days we'll be famous. Until then, back to the salt mines...

The Band19


Very nice. And it has a modern pop feel. How did you treat those vocals? Is that VV? AT? Or M? 

But, wait, it's actually a vocoder combined with one of those FX? And some cross fades. It's pretty cool the way you did some of the effects on the instruments too. I could never attempt anything like this. Which is one of the reasons I find it "amazing."

It was two different vocal styles cut and pasted together, Melodyne'd to pitch, then v-vocal'd to get that T-Pain effect, and then thru POD Farm with their Jet Flanger and some Cavernous reverb. That's all. 

pistolpete


I think as a song reaches 24 tracks it becomes over produced and fake sounding. This one takes it way beyond that threshold. A nice thing about the song though is that there are lot of changes to make it interesting and not a long monotonous drone. However, the vocals sounded too feminine.

Nobody cares what Pete thinks. I believe that includes me.

Great job James...in spite of all you went through with this. Some really awesome production tricks in this and a solid mix and performance. You guys make a pretty awesome team. :)

-Danny

Totally superb as ever from you James, and Cian is the icing on the cake.

Great melodies, percussion and vocals.

Perfection in every sense.

Bravo.

It's artists like you on this forum that inspire me to improve and hopefully one day reach a similar standard.

Glad to hear you're recovering from sandy. Hope you're future gets better and better.

Thanks for the high praise, everyone.

Very nicely done, James.  Pulled out all the stops on this one - and hit it perfectly.

@

geeare1


Hi James,& Cian,

Outstanding tune and mix by James and a superb vocal by Cian...sounds amazing, to me!

Thanks, Gary

AT


Very nicely done, James.  Pulled out all the stops on this one - and hit it perfectly.

@

I try!

markno999


James,
 
The production on this is outstanding.   I couldn't imagine where to even start with a piece like this.   There are so many moving parts.  The effects are super pro.   I am not a big electronica fan but found myself glued to this performance.   Your stuff is always interesting because you are all over the musical map.   Superb....  Cian did a great job on the vox but then he is predicatable in that regard;)   Great work and very impressive.
 
Regards

You shoulda heard it before I cut out half of the instruments I had tracked!