Helpful ReplyWith Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?)

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Old55
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/05 02:14:41 (permalink)
I disagree with Greg.  I hear a little Annie Haslam(Renaisance) in this song.  It sounds great.  

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#31
Guitarhacker
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/05 08:52:08 (permalink)
nice job.... 

lots of good comments to sort through and decide what.... if anything (according to James) you would want to do .....

I'm on some cheap computer speakers at the moment.... and it sounds pretty good... maybe later I'll get on the lappy and use cans and have a second listen. 

If this was dance, I'd say the beat needed to be more forceful..... but what did you call it?  Folk electronica?   So the voice that's a bit behind the music and verbed and the not quite as punchy beat...... might work fine in this. 

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#32
RobertB
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/05 23:59:10 (permalink)
julibee
 

Robert---- wow, you made me stop to think.  IS this how I want it to sound?
It's funny how we get so wrapped up in doing one thing that we can lose sight of another.   But, I think the answer is mostly a "Yeah"-- I DO want a sort of slightly buried, veiled, echo vox, boomy drums with a little punch, prominent bass line--- I want the vox in this sort of song to almost be just another instrument, rather than the always being the highlight, but I don't you to struggle too much to pick out the lyrics, either.  A fine line....  There is a certain amount of muddiness that I LIKE, in fact. One of my favorite influences is Mazzy Star and that whole Indie era, really.  I want that mixed in with Trip Hop and ambient.  So YEAH!  It mostly IS!  Thanks for showing me that. :)

Cool. I'm glad you feel that way about this.
I agree with James above, and would not be inclined to change a thing. As it stands, this picks you up and carries you with it.
And its a very enjoyable ride.
You could make some changes, but I think it would change the vibe, and take it in any number of directions.
I really like where this goes, and would have a hard time suggesting any changes.



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#33
michaelhanson
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/06 00:51:33 (permalink)
Very nice Julibee.  No crits from me, I think this is very well mixed.  I like the vocals and the vocal treatment a lot.  Pretty cool song.

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#34
drumstixkev
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/06 11:25:02 (permalink)
Hey Julianna
You really keep me guessing when it comes to your vibes.  Some days I hear "Madonna" and today I hear "U2". A EXCELLENT piece of music you have hear.  Love the percussion beat and the way it flows.  Your mix really has great space and warmth with a wide stereo field.  The way the vocals sit and the verb/delay used are just perfect IMO.  One of your best and one of my favs.  KUDOS!


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#35
Garry Stubbs
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/06 17:18:53 (permalink)
Loving this track Jules, your vocals, for me anyway, have an English folk rock air about them. I am mesmerized by this track and have already played it 3 times in succession. I'm also thinking Enya meets U2 for the chordal pattern and yet ethereal lyrical feel. Top notch...

Garry 


EDIT Just saw Old55's remark, yes thats it, Annie Haslam type sound in the vocal...
post edited by The Kiosk Project - 2012/06/06 17:20:17


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pistolpete
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/08 23:47:51 (permalink)
I found my mind drifting away into a Scandinavian coffee shop or Ikea or something. I liked the acoustical artifacts just floating around in the background. I also thought the vocals were nice. However it could use more breaks or changes thrown in here and there to break up the monotony.
#37
ToneCarver
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/09 01:09:09 (permalink)
julibee
Warren!  I was going to pm Fox about this, but you've brought it up as well. So I'll just say it here.... The vox control thing... I've learned to embrace the breathy.  For the longest time, I couldn't shake the "training", and admittedly, I was not the best opera singer out there.  But, I had power.... So that's what I knew to use.  Even when flat.  :)

In fact, I'm barely singing, in comparison.

It means that I had to get used to a whole new sound, and remember some of my favorite ambient artists.  Lately, I've been singing very lightly (not so much "control" as a severe backing off, although that's arguably the same thing).  It means not showing off unless absolutely called for.  It means being happy with the song and not the vocal acrobatics.  It's very different.
Nice job Julibee, you have a gifted voice and an ear for the mix too. Good clarity among the parts, catchy loops, nice use of effects for texture and excellent vocals. Amazing that this is 'holding back' .. wow. Nice timing for the entrance of the various voice parts. Those background ooooooo~ooooh parts are awesome, very powerful, but appropriately so. In the future, imho, you could even nudge the vocal power up a little bit more, especially when the tune has a motivated foundation with drive like this one does.  Well done. Really enjoyed listening to this.
#38
BenMMusTech
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/09 22:14:55 (permalink)
I've been meaning to listen to this for a while now, sorry I have not had any downloads.

The mix is beautiful, the only nit pick and this is personal preference is maybe bring the main voice up a tad.

The vocal is sung beautifuly, it has real comercial value.

Really nice.  It's nice to have a female presence on the song forum.

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#39
craigb
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/09 23:05:29 (permalink) ☄ Helpful
Gee, I'm going to sound so harsh compared to those guys above!  But...  This song rocks and it can be even better (IMO!).

What I hear is the old issue of wanting a certain effect on the vocals (or guitar, or...) and how that effect can sometimes make that vocal (or instrument) seem a bit lower and disconnected with the rest of the mix.  I would never profess myself accomplished in the mixing world, but I think the vocals need to be a bit more up front.  This could be done by more volume, removing other instruments taking up your space, reducing the amount of effect used or even (sometimes) something weird like adding the vocal track again without much effect but putting the volume low on that track.  It might add a little definition.

Another thing "I" hear is a bit of boominess and a lack of definition in the backing instruments (in other words, it seems a little muddy).  The boominess (if anyone else hears it) can be tamed, but the rest of the music could use some separation.

What I would suggest is playing it next to a reference track you're familiar with that's similar.  For example, take THIS (after the stupid ad) or, another from the same: THIS (at least the part in the beginning and the chorus).  Notice how much more the vocal stands out.  You have a voice that doesn't need to be hidden so I'd get it out there!  Here are a couple of more just to illustrate the point.  Check out the first track off of THIS Album Preview and THIS ONE (the part around 4:00 is similar to yours in the middle).

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that there's nothing wrong with YOU, you just need the music to be a bit better defined behind you.

Then, once you get this figured out, make a CD of these so I can buy it - I love songs like this!
post edited by craigb - 2012/06/09 23:07:23

 
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#40
craigb
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/09 23:12:14 (permalink)
Please note that the previous poster is probably on something - the song sounds fine!
 
(Hehe...  That's what I thought after I posted and read what I wrote.  Please realize that I was being VERY nit-picky 'cause you DO have the ability to be just as good as those other girls in my examples. )

 
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#41
julibee
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/10 02:54:19 (permalink)
Sorry if it seems I've forgotten this post... Been a little under the weather. Just a cold, but my brain is sleepy...

  Thank you all-- I do have some things to think about, and Craig, you spent way to much time on this. ;). Thank you.  Who was the third link?  Couldn't view it on my iPad... 
Thank you ALL.


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#42
craigb
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/10 03:18:38 (permalink)
julibee


Who was the third link?  Couldn't view it on my iPad...  

It was a Berlin song (When We Make Love), I couldn't find it by itself on YouTube.  I've uploaded the studio versions to an area of one of my sites so you can check 'em out if you want.  YouTube may be fast and convient, but sometimes you can't find the studio versions which are usually mixed differently than live versions!
 
Thanks for the mixing link by the way.  I've got several much bigger books (and a few videos) so I was curious to see how he had reduced things down.  I think he did a pretty good job.  That said, the areas I think you'll want to look into for your song are where he's talking about masking (which reduces clarity).
 
BTW - "Folktronica?"  Really?  Hehe...  In my little world all of the samples and your song kind of get generically lumped as New Wave though even that doesn't mean much any more!  Ha.
 
You can find the reference examples HERE!
 



 
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#43
julibee
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/10 14:40:22 (permalink)
Ha! Folktronica is a real genre!  Imogen Heap, Sufjan Stevens, Everything But the Girl, Beth Orton, Ochre....  Hip hop beats over acoustic samples with an electronic feel.  

And some of the "new" New Wave is termed "Chill Wave" which harkens back to Shoe Gaze (which I adore, but, didn't think this one really fit the bill).

It's funny, I listened to Berlin a LOT back in the day, doesn't surprise me at all if some of that comes out.  Ah!  Pleasure Victim was such a great album for a young, alterna-chick singer to hear. 

 And Aimee Mann has one to coolest voices in pop music, I think.  So different.

There's also loads of Siouxsie and the Banshees in my past.... During the Peepshow and Superstition years. I still catch myself singing some of that at odd times.  :)

I liked that mixing link because it was written to the electronica crowd-- it really is done a little differently, I think.

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#44
craigb
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/10 18:45:21 (permalink)
Heh...  I almost added a Siouxie song to those examples.  Since I pretty much have everything made by those bands (almost 40 albums total) I'm looking forward to hearing more work from you like Feathers.

 
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#45
CLEAN
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Re:With Feathers - Julibee (Folktronica?) 2012/06/10 22:49:55 (permalink)
I think this is very nice Julianna - you have really gotten good - this is great.

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