"Shaman Song"

"Shaman Song"

https://soundcloud.com/ba...w-bats-brew-album-stay
interesting thing about this one,
i wrote it on the piano, complete as a 'piano-only' piece.
it was an instrumental demo for a long time...
almost all my stuff i write on guitar or bass, but this one was different.
wanna try more writing on piano....

Wookiee
I enjoyed, the piano does go missing a little but it comes and goes, your normal polish and shine, nice guitar work.
 
Thanks for sharing.

hey wookiee!
 
you know, i mixed the piano down in places, completely out in others, and let it carry yet in others...
i treated it like i treat my guitar tracks, i just bring them up where the need to be..
 
i had a mix, a while back, that was nothing but piano....
i just didn't capture the vibe i wanted with my playing, i did that on a midi piano, and it just never felt right.
maybe one day i'll get to use a nice upright somewhere, and i'll re-do the mix on it.
 

CreatingNoise
BB,
  Another great tune!  This tune is very deep.  You have a great songwriting style.  The mix sounded great on this end with nice performances.  Nice work!

thanks, tony
 
it is a deep tune,
it had a lot to say,
it's more of a narrative, than a song
 
and i'm trying to write unique style,
versus fit a standard 'song writing' style
 
i guess i'm a misfit!
heheh

Wow, great production here! Love the bass sound and play. The odd meter gives a nice hypnotic feeling. Soloing in 7/8 is hard, you do it really well. When it sounds natural like this and not like a cut-off beat you know you got it right!
This song sticks out more than others I heard heard from you before.
 
Lol I like Wookiees comment "your normal polish and shine"! If it only was that easy for the rest of us...

michaelhanson
Excellent Bat!  I am really liking this....slower Bat material, you have been putting out the last couple of songs.  Love the lyrics, man.  The Production is as I would expect from you, top notch.
 
Interesting that you wrote it on Piano.  I am not much of a keys player and wish that I could do more with keys.   
 
No crits, from me.  

yes, i guess i wrote this on piano about 25 years ago...
i played it kinda mindlessly for a long time....
 
i put a click track down one day,
and hooked up my midi piano, and just laid it down beginning to end without stopping...
this became a demo, and i eventually built it up to what is now.
it's the same piano track, just tweaked the voices.
i probably should have re-recorded the piano, like i said somewhere before, i wished i could put a real upright on it, and then blend in the 'synth' voice (my plugin is set up for a grand piano to the right, a multi voice synth to the left, triggered off the same track at the same time)
 
i've got some really cool older slow spacy instrumental stuff,
i just never post it, cuz i think most people would think that is it boring...

markno999
Nice one Bat, reminds me a bit of early Styx.   The piano is a very good tool for writing and you have developed a really good song with it.  The piano does open up some possibilities that may not be as evident or obvious on guitar, in my opinion.   Also like your odd meter, which ain't easy to do with MIDI drums and sound realistic (non-mechanical).      Great work.

Regards   

heheh, i saw styx, back in '76...... open for kiss..
i don't think they played anything in 7/8 tho.
LOL
 
i like piano, that's the instrument i started on, i just rarely sit down at one and try to 'go to it', tho,
i should.
 
thanks for listening mark!
 

Epic song Bats, really like this. Cool track to listen to through headphones, I like how those Gilmour-esque guitar fills move around the stereo picture. Vocals are beautifully done, just the right amount of BGV harmony.
 
I'd be happy to hear some more of the slow spacy stuff, bring it on!

jerrydf
Nice work here, good textures. Well produced. The piano - just right and where it needs to be.
 
jdf

thanks jdf,
the piano mix decisions, yea, that's just a subjective thing,
but i brought it up where it needed to be and faded it out where it didn't really add anything..
 

dcumpian
Bat, as you know, I bought the album. I think that can be my comments on your track.
 
Dan

heheh, yes, dan, you put your money where your mouth is!
 
 
and i really appreciate it.
 
you, and about two other guys.......

Sorry it's taken me a while to listen Bats, I wanted to listen on good speakers. Very nice song, mix and excellent production. Guitar is superb.
I would have liked to hear the vocal up a tad.

bjornpdx
This is very well done, pretty much a professional production to my ears. Loved the guitar! I think the vocal could have stood out a tad more, tho.

Really liked the whole kind of mystical theme of it.
 
Bjorn

hey bjorn, 
thanks for checking it out....
 
a lot of folks seem to want the vocals louder..... or at least a touch...
yet, i hear them so clearly.
 
i suppose singer songwriter fans, particularly want to hear the vocal as the main event,
so to speak,
and the background music is simply a 'vehicle' for the vocal and the story...
i'm coming from a completely different perspective with the way i'm trying to present this song,
it is supposed to feel more like a 'band' achievement,
that is really the way i approach the actual tracking.....
 
so, i'm riding the fence between having the vocals sit where a typical 'classic rock' type mix would be (imagine PF's "time" mixed where roger's voice was as hot in the mix as, say, Adele's mixes....) and a more modern mix.
 
still finding my way tho
 

 
 
 

daryl1968
Sorry it's taken me a while to listen Bats, I wanted to listen on good speakers. Very nice song, mix and excellent production. Guitar is superb.
I would have liked to hear the vocal up a tad.

hey daryl
that's cool on 'timing of listening', honestly, i'm just glad if anyone listens at all!!
LOL
so, interesting thing about this song/mix,
it's probably my most dense mix,
i broke out every piece of drum kit, multiple stereo room mics, so i think i had about 18 drum tracks.....
2 acoustics, 4 rhythm elec guitars, 2 solo lead guitars, 1 'heavy' rhythm guitar,
2 keyboard tracks, 6 vocal tracks, 2 bass guitar tracks,
2 misc percussion/EFx tracks, somthing like 50 tracks in all,
plus 12 sub-buss tracks...
yikes!!
and managed a decent mix with all that palava going on.......
and i still managed to not get the vox hot enough!!
LOL again.....
 
 
 
 
 
 

Beagle
really cool song, bat! love the harmonies, love that 7/8 feel - really cool!

I think the piano could have a better sound, but other than that, this is really great!

you are right about that piano....
i researched some sound early on,
but ultimately decided to leave it 'lo fi'.
that was how it sounded from the very beginning....
i figured if i couldn't pull off a real piano recording ( i wanted an upright )... then i'd leave it as cheesy as it was originally.
so, i was complete in my denial of quality piano vsts.
LOL
 
 
 
 

bjornpdx
........
Whoa. I just re-read all this. Maybe I've had one too many tonight. Oh well.
Bjorn

HEHEH, party on bjorn