Never was your enemy

 Been working on this for a bit and heard it too many times now, so thought I'd take a break and hand it over to the good people here for guidance. All comments good or bad much appreciated as always....


Never was your enemy

Paulo, this is the kind of song that I wish that I heard more often.  Your vocal and lyrics are terrific.  You have a knack for writing songs that I like to listen to, and your production skills are first rate.  Yet, I don't hear much in the bass range of the spectrum either.  Everything else is well represented and just about perfect, imo.  This could be a  hit with just a little attention to the low end.  

Loved it from a composition/mix standpoint, then I got to the chorus: while not bad at all, it doesn't work for me with the mood you set with the verses. Like part of a different song. So to make it fit I would go halftime with the beats, maybe do some weird distorted industrial type of drums, and a slightly more menacing delivery of the vocals.

Very interesting arrangement mix of electronica and rock. First rate and smooth production. I agree with James on the chorus. I have heard songs that had a different beat on the verse than the chorus. But before they change the beat, they do some a breakdown or something to give you something that it is going to change.

Guitarpima - thanks for listening and comments - 80's throwback ? Many that know me would say that you just described me, so I guess it's probably exactly that ;) I'll take a look at that basss drum

Lynn - Thank you so much for the kind words - I think we may be kindred spirits in some ways as I often find your songs very appealling too - in fact I was listening to some the other night . I'll check out the low end over the weekend - this was a headphone mix only, so I'm not completely surprised by that.

ABeautifulVirus - I never thought Thompson Twins at all until you mentioned it, but I can see exactly what you mean now. I did like a lot of their early stuff and I used to lust after those Prophet 5 synths they used a lot, so I guess some of that rubbed off somewhere down the line. The Tom drum is a BFD Eco preset, so can't take any credit for that. Thanks for listening.

Jamesyoyo - I hear what you're sayng an in truth there was a stage in it's development where I thought..... what I have here is two songs... but the more I heard it, it really grew on me and it's probably the thing I like best about it. The lightness of the chorus is deliberate as it's saying....hey look, I'm still smiling because you don't bother me in the slightest......which I thought wouldn't really work if done in a more menacing way as it would imply that it does get under your skin a little. Make sense ?

Bapu - Thanks. I think.

Vicente -  Thanks for listening and kind words. I'm glad that people are liking the production as that is something I have been trying to improve. As with Jamesyoyo I will have to agree to disagree on the chorus thing - the more you listen it really grows IMHO.

Frank - Thanks for the ears and comments - the kick has been mentioned and I will be looking at that. I did have some trouble with getting the guitar in there - I presume you mean in the chorus ? - I eq'd the heck out of the synth pad to try and find more room for it, which worked to some extent, but it still wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. I'll revisit that at the same time.

btw, you need to plug this in the Coffee House

All that needs to be said has been said.

From a straight listen and bearing in mind what has been said already it sounds good here, will keep an ear out for the developments.

Thanks for sharing

nice song and arrangement, sounds good

Hey, this is cool!  Such a cool beginning...and I actually like the chorus too. :)  Nice!! 

Hi Paulo,

I actually listened to this and some of your other songs by clicking on your sig without knowing you posted this in the song forum. I thought to myself, he should post this song, it's damn good!!

I like the whole song as well as the mix, (listening through H-phones)so my opinion may not be accurate......the low end didn't seem very present, but eveything else was well done. 

Listening a 3rd round and the song just grows on you.....well done!! 

Mesh - thanks for taking the time to listen and comment. I put the SC link in my sig so long ago that I'd actually forgotten about it ! Glad to know that it finally got used. You may well be right about the lows - it has been mentioned already. I was hoping to get to it today and check it out, but it never happened, so hopefully some time over the next few days. Glad you liked it enough to have another listen or two - a compliment in itself I always think.

Geeare - Another multiple listener - thank you so much ! Glad you liked !

Thanks for the listen and kind words Bob. I've been trying to get more clarity in my mixes lately and by comparing to my earlier mixes I seem to be finally making some progress, - but it's good to hear that people here are noticing that. I find a lot of inspiration to do better from the many talented people here - beats the radio any day IMHO. There are a few tweaks I'd still like to make on this when real life allows, but it seems to have been well recieved generally. :)

Besides Thompson Twins and Pet Shop Boys, I also hear som REM...particularly in the chorus.

Regards,
Dan

Excellent stuff mate
 
I love those offbeat guitar stabs in the verses, they really push the song along.
 
Nice idea to up the tempo too.

Cool intro guitar riff and synth choices.  I like the tempo change its fits and still has a nice flow. Nice verb/delay you have used on the vocals really adds space to the mix.  GREAT piece of music!

Kev