Little break from techno

[Opnå]

Hi,

So for whatever reason havent been getting into the techno production as much (maybe cause i suck haha). So took a trip into some deep house ( i think, cause i'm not sure what that term even means anymore) territory.

Be interested to hear what you guys think.

https://soundcloud.com/james_tones/love ... nd/s-91XjA

[dubdub]

I like the vocals and the synths. The drums feel a bit too sloppy timing wise and a bit too clean and thin for my taste. Kick could be a little less plastic and click-y and more organic.

[Opnå]

I like the vocals and the synths. The drums feel a bit too sloppy timing wise and a bit too clean and thin for my taste. Kick could be a little less plastic and click-y and more organic.

Yeah, i was thinking of reworking it with different kinda drums, maybe more filtered and a bit more grunged up.

I'm glad you like the vocals though.. that's the bit i was most concerned with as it's me singing...

Thanks for the feedback!

[Hades]

I like the vocals and the synths. The drums feel a bit too sloppy timing wise and a bit too clean and thin for my taste. Kick could be a little less plastic and click-y and more organic.

tbh, the above was exactly what I was thinking of as well when I had a listen.

your vocals are fine, they might benefit from being a little less monotonous sounding,
right now, it sounds a bit as if you're a bored hipster who's being asked about his favorite café latté.

but yeah, in total, this is deep house pretty well executed.

if you say you think you suck at techno,
why feel the urge you must make techno.
Nothing wrong with making proper house.

[Opnå]

I like the vocals and the synths. The drums feel a bit too sloppy timing wise and a bit too clean and thin for my taste. Kick could be a little less plastic and click-y and more organic.

tbh, the above was exactly what I was thinking of as well when I had a listen.

your vocals are fine, they might benefit from being a little less monotonous sounding,
right now, it sounds a bit as if you're a bored hipster who's being asked about his favorite café latté.

but yeah, in total, this is deep house pretty well executed.

if you say you think you suck at techno,
why feel the urge you must make techno.
Nothing wrong with making proper house.

Thanks for the feedback. It's really appreciated.

Techno for me is just a different set of skills and maybe one that i'm not perfectly suited to. However i'm determined to get better. For me house & techno have always been two points on the same continuum and i love them both.

Regarding the vocals, i am probably a some sort of hipster and i sound monotonous because i'm not really that good at singing

[Hades]

Thanks for the feedback. It's really appreciated.

Techno for me is just a different set of skills and maybe one that i'm not perfectly suited to. However i'm determined to get better. For me house & techno have always been two points on the same continuum and i love them both.

Regarding the vocals, i am probably a some sort of hipster and i sound monotonous because i'm not really that good at singing

I suffer from the same thing. I have all kinds of techno records here, and no matter how hard I try, I always end up with tracks that are far too melodic to be techno, and don't have enough cliché elements to be house.
I could just be harder on myself and make sure I really end up with more techno stuff, but I just follow the music.

And if you need more passionate vocals : try setting your beard on fire just before recording,
you fucking hipster cunt !

[Opnå]

Haha thanks for the tip! Not much of a beard though i'm afraid.

Part of my problem is that I have a pretty low voice. That vocal take is about as high as I can comfortably sing. Seems much easier to get vocals to work if you're a tenor. High pitched wailing a much better match with bass heavy beats.

As for your other point, i find the same, often get lost in middle ground. I'm drawn to melody and songs as much as beats. I've spent as much time in "bands" and doing other types of music as I have dance music. Trying to find something that works but in the end I always come home to house music.

[Hades]

Part of my problem is that I have a pretty low voice. That vocal take is about as high as I can comfortably sing. Seems much easier to get vocals to work if you're a tenor. High pitched wailing a much better match with bass heavy beats.

ow I feel you on that one...

my oldest (now 9) has been doing music school for about 2 years, and she convinced me to sing along in some choir performance a while back. I thought it would have rehearsals on week nights anyway, and I worked till 10PM back then, so yeah... But no way, rehearsals were only on saturday, so I couldn't back out.
I arrived, only to find out I practiced the part very well, but 1 octave too low.
Her teacher put me into the tenor section, which had 3 sad dads, myself included, but tbh, I can sing, I really can. Not to say I'm a super talent, of course not, but I sang in lots of bands in my teens, and I had a whole classical education years ago, and I have perfect pitch (which doesn't mean I always sing in perfect pitch though, but yeah)...
The other 2 dads couldn't keep a tune if their lives depended upon it, and I'm actually a bariton, not a tenor,
so I constantly had to sing with my falsetto, while they were mumbling next to me.
On top of all that, the bass department was a few men from some proper amateur choir, who just blew us apart with their voices.... Man man man did I ever feel properly fucked...
I mean, I had to sing loud enough to carry the 3 of us, but if I sang too loud, it would really look as if I was some ego-tripper, trying to draw all attention.
On the day of the performance, her teacher somehow magically got another dad in there who could properly sing, so together with him we somehow survived the ordeal...
God was I glad she did that...

As for your other point, i find the same, often get lost in middle ground. I'm drawn to melody and songs as much as beats. I've spent as much time in "bands" and doing other types of music as I have dance music. Trying to find something that works but in the end I always come home to house music.

yeah man, my weak point is percussion and all rhythmic parts.
I'm originally a classically trained pianist, and to this day, my piano is still my most expensive purchase ever gear wise. So yeah, I never have much trouble coming up with new melodic parts, but fuck me, I some times need ages to come up with something as simple as a hihats clip that I like...
I really should try to make house, but you know, house can get so cheesy so fast.
And most of the vocals in house... pfff, so many cliché's.

I love good house, but I much more prefer techno. For the sound design, the groove, the atmosphere,...
But I really do believe in "following the music/track", even if that sounds naïve.
I mean, I don't make a living out of my music, so I don't have to force my music to go to more popular fields/genres, and I think the outcome will be more sincere if I just follow the music.
not sure if that sounds stupid, but yeah...

[The_G]

I dig it man. One suggestion: with the vocals, why don't try messing around with a pitch shifter or some other vocal effects? Could be quite cool if it was really out there.

[Opnå]

I dig it man. One suggestion: with the vocals, why don't try messing around with a pitch shifter or some other vocal effects? Could be quite cool if it was really out there.

Cheers. I'm working on a remix that's a bit more clubby, with a bit of acid thrown in etc. Might try some more out there vocal FX on that version.

[jordanneke]

This is cool man.

The kick is a little too clean and thumpy. It's kinda alone down there battering me. It maybe a but too much in a club?

The vocals could do with a little more fx-ing as G said.

Nice.

[Hades]

It's kinda alone down there battering me.

getting your balls kicked huh ?

[jordanneke]

It's kinda alone down there battering me.

getting your balls kicked huh ?

Every dam day

[Hades]

It's kinda alone down there battering me.

getting your balls kicked huh ?

Every dam day

my sympathies, dear sir !
I just had the girls to myself for the whole day,
and I was up for like 30 minutes, and was already thinking
"shut UP, SHUT UPPPP !!! Just stop talking for at least 2 fucking hours"
(which was, of course, only 2 seconds)
And I only have girls.
You got 50% more worries than me, and they're boys...

One of these days we're gonna get together, drink too many beers, and whine about our kids and mrs,
only to realize how lucky we truly are...
We need enough beers to realize that though !

[Opnå]

This is cool man.

The kick is a little too clean and thumpy. It's kinda alone down there battering me. It maybe a but too much in a club?

The vocals could do with a little more fx-ing as G said.

Nice.

Cheers.

Thanks for the feedback. Points noted. Seems unanimous that the beats are a bit off.