I'm on fire

New tune : “Im on fire” - made with Cubase 6.5

https://soundcloud.com/audiorommet/iof-version-1

Any comments ?

Thanks in advance ! :slight_smile:

Very nicely done! It has a very nice groove to it, lots of movement.

Thank you Foolomon !

It is still not ready though. What i would like to know is what you think about the balance between the lead and rap vocals. Rap vox too low in the mix ? Yes / no ?

And other issues also of course.

Been working on this tune for quite some time … so i feel kinda “blinded” atm

Thx ! :slight_smile:

Here is a version 2. Rap and leadvox boosted a bit. And also included chorus dub lead vocals panned left and right.

https://soundcloud.com/audiorommet/iof-versjon-2

Would appreciate any feedback !

Man! Smokin’!! Great hard driving and infectious groove! I like the sound of your voice and the way you
deliver the vocal. This is really good. :sunglasses:

I heard the first version and thought the vocals should come up - then after hearing the 2nd version, they’re
good. I think there’s good balance between the sung part and the rap, volume wise, but I wouldn’t mind hearing a little more presence or ‘sparkle’ on the sung part.

Compositionally(and this is just my taste), I think you could make it more interesting overall by adding a bridge
somewhere around the 3 min mark, where you bring things down - perhaps with the part that you fade out on - and add a soft vocal scat to it - then bring the driving groove back in.

What drums did you use on this?

Nice work - looking forward to hearing more!

Lenny

Hi Lenny

Thank you so much the feedback - and ideas as well ! Helps me alot really !

Its no me singing though, but this guy ; www.lebrandt.com

… but i wrote the song :slight_smile:

Drums is Superior drummer 2

:slight_smile:

Killing track, I think 2nd version is better also, maybe add a couple of DB to lead vocal during verse The Vocal rider by waves is great for this or try something to bring out at edges over the tracks a bit more as Lenny suggests. Might even be the mastering that caused this but not sure how as I don’t know what plugs you are using.

There isn’t really any where the track breaks down that is why I think Lenny suggests bridge but another thought maybe you could work with rap section and drop all instruments except bass or drums , then add either bass/drums etc then do a snare hit one bar or 2/4 bar at rap end (glitch mob) here is link to what I am talking about…I’ve used this and it works well, be careful with track volume when trying this as the world will hear it as your monitors explode lol. UA Artist Tips & Tricks - The Glitch Mob - YouTube.

Its good length now so not sure about adding more to it.

You asked so I am contributing but truthfully I really like this track and it stands as is, so if you walked away now you would be really happy. Excuse typo’s as I am writing off ipad

Thank you so much kzarider !!

For the vocal chain, besides eq, compressor, reverb and delay, i have used the Soundtoys Decapitator plugin - and “modern drive” vocal preset (i think it was) This one may be the reason the lack of sparkle and presence. Wet button probably 100%. Dont remember exactly, but i will definitely have a look at it. Will try around 80%, maybe less

And thanks for the youtube link / tips … great idea !

Uploading a new version hopefully in a couple of days

Again ; thanks ! :slight_smile:

A superb track…if it got airplay it would sell big time, Kevin

Wow, thank you so much Kevin for the compliment !

Great track mate, very much the same sound as previous songs of this singer but that’s only good imo :slight_smile:.

Thank you so much Strophoid !! Really ! :slight_smile:

Im sorry to bother you again tho … but this tune is driving me nuts :wink:

Based on the feedback from here i have tried to improve the song / sound quality of the lead vocals - and the “middle8” / rap vocal part and backingtrack as well.

If you can listen again and leave any comments i would really appreciate that.

Version 3 … any better ?

https://soundcloud.com/audiorommet/iof-versjon-3

Thx ! :slight_smile:

This is just excellent…very pro sound and is basically faultless, any criticism could only be a matter of conjecture, I’m sure we would all do something different with any song but really this stands on it’s own as a really good and commercial song…what drums are you using …and what are you processing them with…they sound great, just how I’d like mine to sound…bloody well done…Kevin

Mind you I could do without the rap part…just spoils it…

Overall good mix and production, good composition, the sounds are all filled out nicely in regards to orchestration and sonically. The rhythmic elements sound really good too. The chorus is also a strong part of the song.

Agree with Kevin about the rap part though, it sounds really bad in comparison with the rest of the song and personally isn’t something I’m a fan of but maybe others will enjoy the rap segment.

Good job with the song.

Thanks to both of you, Kevin and Jonathan5456 !

Skipping the rap part, yes it has been on my mind as well. Im not 100% happy with it. We will see.

For drums Kevin, im using Superior Drummer 2. Pretty happy with it. Except the snares. Well, they sound great for sure, but im missing the energy “schmack” sound from most of them - like when a drummer is hitting the snare really hard (example The Police / Stewart Copeland snare sound, which i really like). I think i will email Toontrack and ask them to find a non-sleeping drummer for the next SD expansion … hehe, joking :wink:

Im a drummer myself and play live with these guys from time to time ; http://www.guttapagangen.no

Processing ; Im not using the presets inside SD, but sending them all to separate tracks in Cubase; hihat, snare top, snare bottom, kick, toms 1 to 4, overheads and ambiance / room mics

For compressing i mostly use Waves API and same with the EQ. Sometimes the V EQ4 from Waves on the kick and toms, which i think works pretty well.

Then it is about adjusting the compressors and EQ’s and blending all the different channels / mics togheter. Which is really time consuming sometimes. Im not a fan of too “roomy” drumsound - so the ambiance mics are pretty subtle

Hi, thanks for the info on the drums…I’ve got SD2 and API but tend to put all the drums on one stereo track because I’m lazy but clearly I need to wake up and do it right…cheers, Kevin

Sorry to bother you again, but heres a new version of the song …and the rap is gone :wink:

https://soundcloud.com/audiorommet/iof-050113

Let me know - and thanks in advance.

Btw @Kevin ; i purchased Steven Slate drums SSD4 and the CLA expansion pack a few days ago. Impressive stuff, worth checing out ! :slight_smile:

Wow! You added that bridge I suggested! I love it!

I also followed your your link to Jan Le’Brandt’s site and listened to a couple of other tunes there.
Great stuff! I noticed you’re involved in the other songs on his site, as well.
I also checked out your site with the other artists.

So are you Knut Andresen? Do you and Jan play live? You guys have a very ‘big’ pro sound.

Thanks Lenny ! Yes, i think this is much better too, so im glad i listened to your suggestion, Kevin and Jonathan here. But it gave me headache for a couple of weeks :smiley:. I also had to speak with the rap dude and tell him the “story” … not so cool, but we are still friends

Yupp, Knut thats me. And im collaborating with Jan, where i am the songwriter / producer blabla, and he is the singer and artist. So far we don’t play live, but hopefully in the future (this year). Both he and i are quite experienced on stage, Jan is atm singing in a 80’ies coverband called “Svigermord” www.svigermord.com (playing Def Leppard, Whitesnake, DIO etc) - and i drums in a Norwegian band called Gutta på Gangen www.guttapagangen.no

Lets see what the future brings

Again ; Thanks Lenny !