30 Apr 2008
by madeleinein bread crumbs, In the Studio, ramblings Tags: brass, lyrics, mix, mp3, music, recording studio, strings
OK, so I’ve been absent for quite some time. Unfortunately I had a relapse and spent my days feverishly in bed. I don’t know what my body has against me or if it was just sheer bad luck. And remarkably bad timing since my voice is sufficiently messed up.
While I was sick and bored on my couch I listened closely to all my songs and took notes of things missing or not sounding good enough. And in the last week I slowly went through all of them. I spent some time working on a song called ‘Paperheart’. This song is a bit older already and for a while I didn’t feel that excited about it anymore and so didn’t know what it still needed. The beats are all made of paper apart from a little bell I recorded. I had the idea to make this sound into an ‘instrument’ that I could then play on the keyboard. I added some nice little melodic fills with it and it sounds really good. I also completed the string arrangement, adjusted the overall sound and finished the rough mix.
The next on the list was ‘Breathing underwater’. Another song that’s been around for a bit. For this one I again finally completed the string arrangement, also fixed some sound issues and mixed it. Most of the other songs just needed some tiny tweakings in the mix. Just ‘Chaos & Order’ needed more work done. Before I couldn’t figure out a fitting brass arrangement for the refrain, but I’m happy to report I cracked the puzzle now. Boy, that was a tough one – especially since the song has so many separate tracks it’s given my computer massive CPU troubles – but so worth the effort. And again I made the sounds sparkle and sit nicely in the mix.
Now I have 8 songs only waiting for my voice to be fit so I can record loads of warblings and do the final mixes. Then there’s this one still untitled song I admittedly have been avoiding because it’s such a pain in the bum and ‘Hearts first’.Worked on the latter today. Perfected the string arrangement, some beat refinements…I still have the nagging feeling that something’s missing though. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been trapped in my place for too long and crave for being out in the world, meeting people and listening to new exciting music. Anyway… When I got a bit frustrated with my progress today I ended up recording and extending a new idea that I had about a month ago. I’m gonna call it ‘Celeste’ for now for lack of lyrics. It might even stay an instrumental. Speaking of lyrics, I seriously have to go the park equipped with notebook and pen the next day it’s warm and sunny. Spring really put a spring in my step yesterday. Seems so much more inspiring than being shut in a room. Been there, done that for months now. It’s time to go outside again, experience things to have something to write about. And soak up some sun and see the trees in bloom.
So for anyone who wants to know what beats made of paper and a bell ‘instrument’ can sound like. Here’s a little preview of ‘Paperheart’:
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/1926012_6udsh/paperheartbit.mp3]
14 Apr 2008
by madeleinein bread crumbs, In the Studio, ramblings Tags: beats, flugelhorn, flute, mp3, music, recording studio
I’ve been flat out for a whole week. After just having recovered from a cold I managed to get the flu, too. It came as the whole package: fever, chills, aching all over, extreme weakness… you name it. I sincerely hope that I’m done with being sick for this year. Especially since I’ve basically been coughing now for a month and that’s not exactly good for my vocal chords or my lungs. Definitely no singing yet and then I first have to practise again before I can record any vocals.
While I was sick I seriously started worrying I might not be able to finish the album before I have to get a job again. Panicking doesn’t help though. Just kills all creativity. It’s not that I have a specific deadline, but time is certainly running out. So I used the time to think up ways out in case… and maybe a little pressure might help me become even more productive. At least that’s the way it seemed this weekend.
In the last two days I’ve resumed work on ‘In Unison’. I’ve done 10 hours of work alone yesterday… I’ve had a real blast. It was almost as if it all happened by itself. I’ve automated the panning of the beats so they’re bouncing all over the place. I’ve played around with the flute I recorded and made some additional nice little bits out of it. I also added a flugelhorn as a counterpart to the flute. Had lots of fun creating and tweaking sounds. I start with some sound and in the end I’ve got heaps of great new sound gems. Quite often I don’t really know how I did it afterwards. And last, but not least I did the mix, some more automation to certain sounds, went through all the tracks and sounds seperately and polished everything so that the song shines and sparkles. The only thing that’s still missing is the outro. I guess it’ll come round all by itself once I can sing again.
And to make up for the time of non-blogging a sneak peek of ‘In Unison’:
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/1707953_cijpp/inunisonbit.mp3]
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03 Apr 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio, ramblings Tags: beats, external harddrive, music, recording studio
Still working on ‘In Unison’ and I really like the way it’s going. I spruced up the beats, all done now I guess apart from some panning and effects fun. They’re almost drum’n'bassey except the sounds I used are softer. I also took care of quite a few little details that might not change the overall sound, but add nice touches to the song. The rough mix is done, too. I’m definitely gonna be able to finish the song this weekend (minus final vocals and mix). Might post a snippet of it tomorrow.
Today I got my spanking new external harddrive. I decided to get a Seagate FreeAgent Pro with 500 GB. Should be plenty. It’s nicely quiet and even looks really great. The DVD burner in my desktop has been broken for quite a while. Each time I wanted to backup or burn anything on a CD I had to build up the network between my Windows XP and my Macbook Pro. What a procedure! It took me a bit to figure out how the FreeAgent should be formatted so I can use it for both XP and OS X. No more scooping things from one partition to the next because I’m running low on disk space. Just my musical programmes and plugins take up more 50 GB already. And did I mention that I love getting new gadgets?
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01 Apr 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio, ramblings Tags: canon, music, recording studio, tin whistle, vocals
Got a bit late last night and I’m trying to get up earlier. The cold’s been messing with my sleeping pattern. It’s not like I need to get up at a certain time every day, music can be made till late at night, but it sure helps reducing the pressure of ‘Oh my god, it’s already midday and I haven’t even started yet!’
‘In Unison’ is looking quite good. The new refrain works well. I wrote two more lines for it and the vocals are really soaring now. I also figured out the beginning. It’s almost acapella. The basis are the backing vocals of the refrain and after trying out different things I settled for canon-like vocals on top. I had to work out a few creases so the transition between the intro and the first verse doesn’t sound odd, but that’s taken care of now. I still don’t have the outro yet, but I’m sure it’s gonna present itself soon.
I started working on the details. Refining the beats, rough mix, putting interesting little bits in. I even got out my tin whistle that I hadn’t played for ages. Admittedly it took me a while before I wouldn’t get those cute screeching noises out anymore. Also it’s tuned in D, but ‘In Unison’ isn’t, so I couldn’t make up any intricate melodies. Though I must say it sounds just fine now.
Off to bed now to get a proper daily rhythm again.
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