On 11 Jan 2008, at 06:44 , Sion Morris wrote:
This is your best vocal to date Carl, great on the high notes.
I've discovered this key is absolutely at the top of my range, but I'm now living in a relatively well-insulated (with regards to sound) apartment building with few neighbours around during the day, so I felt a little freer to belt it out, which I think helped me on those high notes (as does plenty of delay! :) Virtually all of the vox were done in one pass, intended as guide voicals, but I decided unlikely to better them and so left them. :) Bizarrely, the hardest part was the quiet bit in the middle, probably because there was nothing to cover up the rough edges. ;) I did endless passes on different lines of the verse, tacking together the bits I hated least :) and pushing the track volumes around. Gosh, I hate doing vocals! :) But I ain't got anyone else to do it for me. ;)
nice guitars too.. especially the wah lead and grungy bass - and of course Db track.
The mix remains a challenge that I'm trying to better and tweak even this morning. I suspect I'm still actually swamping the drums a bit with piles of guitar and grungy bass (I do _like_ grungy bass -- Bruce, Pappalardi, Entwhistle, a bit of Glover, Geezer, Lemmy, Allen Woody -- those are my boys on the bass :). But trying to adjust the levels, compression, and EQ on multi-track drums from scratch when you've never done it before is a _heck_ of a thing! And at the moment, I feel too lazy to tweak down the levels on everything non- drums ... ;) At worst, I don't think it's _too_ bad :) but I've got plenty to learn ... either about mixing or that I should just go back to using a handful of multi-velocity samples that someone _else_ has already processed to sound good together ;)
I read on your site that
the music is largely based on a traditional Breton tune called "Alar'ch" ("The Swan");
Which is interesting as In today's Welsh 'Alarch' does also mean 'Swan! The Breton language and Welsh language are very strongly connected as I'm sure you know. I hadn't heard the tune before though.
Too many years in uni has given me a modest background in Celtic historical linguistics, even though I only recognize words here and there in the various languages and can't actually read or speak the simplest sentence! But it doesn't surprise me to hear the Welsh word for "swan" is much like the "Breton" one. :) I should emphasize that I cannot at all claim credit for the pairing of words and tune. :) These were originally joined up by Scottish poet Maurice Blythman (aka “Thurso Berwick”) who set the words (only known sans tune) to the "Al Alar'ch" melody that he learned from a Breton folk musician named Zaig Montjarret (about whom I know nothing more!). I think the first recorded version came from Scottish singers Ray and Archie Fisher in the early '60s, and this inspired a 1970 version by Steeleye Span which I think has been the basis for most other people's versions since then. I think I get to claim the first heavy rock arrangement, though! ;) Coincidentally, another pairing of a random Breton folk tune with originally unassociated lyrics is Martin Carthy's match-up of the "Ar Ch'akouz" ("The Leper") melody with English Civil War vintage anonymous political lyrics "Dominion of the Sword". I've mused for years over a rock version of that -- even attempted it with a band when still living in the UK -- but haven't settled on an approach. It'd be easier than "Twa Corbies" though, since it's pretty straight 4/4 (as opposed to the grab-bag of time signatures in "Twa Corbies"!) Perhaps no one but the Bretons is quite sure how to pronounce the words in their folk songs, so they just cart away the melodies instead .... ;)
Mike - Great song and nice production as usual. I know what you mean about the toms in nskit. These sound really good. Quite a dark sounding kit, but not a 'live' as Ludwig.
The professionally crisp production on Mike's recordings never fails to blow me away, and his drum programming always nestles right in there with a transparently natural sound. Great stuff.
Charlie - your best to date too I think. Nice harmonies and guitar work.
Very fine! My ears may be off-base, but it actually gives me something of a late-Beatles John Lennonish vibe. You may have spent more time on the drum part that Ringo might have worried about, though :)
I've been inspired to upload some of my 2007 recordings too - latterly using the Ludwig kit, but also Yamaha 9000 http://www.sionsmusic.cinnamondesign.co.uk/index.php? option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=29&Itemid=29
Just downloaded the current version of "Cowboy Blue" -- good stuff! I had a bit of trouble getting my download to complete, so perhaps this is just some errors in my copy of the file, but I get sporadic bursts of static in the right channel after about 1:40, particularly in the following 30 o 40 seconds before the fade-out starts. Anyway, yes, I hear the Hey-Joeish thing -- you just need to pan the guitar lead more wildly around the stereo spectrum for that Jimi vibe. :) Some other early 70s-ish rootsy vibes, too ... maybe something Eaglesy or CSNYish ... I've probably had too much coffee ;) I see from your site you've got the "Tone Heaven 2" patches. I'll have to look into those, having got "Tone Heaven 1" and having used it on a few recordings. You can never have too many presets to poke around with :)
Finally - am working on a nice shiny new DB kit using free samples I found from http://www.warrenstreetstudio.com Samples were recorded on a Yamaha kit I think. Should be ready soon!! Sounds really good so far, just got a few icons to go. Will let everyone know. :-)
Groovy! :) Cheers, Carl -- Carl Edlund Anderson http://www.carlaz.com/