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Are We Animals?
Hey Crew!
Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th holiday week.
I wanted to run another upbeat bopper by y’all to check if the mix sounds master-ready to y’all (I have a gentle faux master on it). I had it mixed but have gone back to the stems to try and make it more banging and boppy, as I tend to do.
Especially curious how the bass and vocal levels feel to y’all.
PS: Thanks again to everyone that helped QC these last ditties. I just dropped Creepin’ and Greater Hands last week on the Spot. Woohoo!
Peace,
Jeremy
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18 Replies
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Can’t wait to put my ears on this in the studio tomorrow (mon), homey!
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So hoooooky, bruh!! Another freaking jam, man! Here are allll of the thoughts that occurred to me while I listened (not just the specific thoughts you requested – sorry, I can’t help myself! Take w a grain of salt ..)
2:38 – dying to hear the uh-uh-uh-uh vocal hook here in the breakdown
2:56 – when this post-breakdown chorus comes charging in I want something new to amp up the energy even more, like 16th-tamb and/or triangle pattern, and/or new perc-y loop element
3:14 – same note here as 2:56: bring in something new once the lead vocal ends and the track becomes instrumental party jam. Another new rhythmic element that we haven’t heard before. Could also introduce a new harmonic element too if u wanna go nuts … huge grand piano octave “bass bombs” holding whole notes, or deep e-gtr power chord whole notes
3:17 – uh-uh-uh-uh-uh vocal answer
3:20 – opportunity for a lead vocal tag/refrain of the title, verbed out, “we are animals”
3:26 – uh-uh-uh-uh-uh vocal answer
3:29 – we are animals (with dotted-quarter feedback delay, fading into track fade)
Other general notes (as always, take em or leave em!):
- love the low end
- feel like the mix overall could be brighter and a bit more aggressively poppy mastered
- Do u have a reference mix you’re using for this song? One song that just popped into mind that has a similar breezy summer essence and feel-good chords w synthy poppy textures is “iT” by Christine and the Queens (this link will work even if u don’t have Tidal): https://tidal.com/browse/track/83130513?u
- I found myself getting pulled out of the trance of the music on several little occurrences of minor vocal tuning or vocal alignment discrepancies btwn the two lead vocal doubles, like when an S or a T are flamming. Your vocals always have a very honest, natural, endearing quality that draws me in and makes me feel like I’m getting a true unfiltered treat straight from the source! And I would never steer you away from that essence!!! That said tho, if I were mixing/producing this track I’d prob give those leads a lil 15% nip-tuck in the ol’ pro tools melodyne machine to nudge them ever so slightly toward pop-polish.
Amazing music you’re crankin out, homey!! Thanks so much for sharing here with us!!
PS – @-PT is on a Motorcycle cross-country road trip without his computer and wants you and @JLEW and @Pat to know that he gets alerted that you two have posted here on MP and it’s eating him up inside not being able to respond to your recent posts to cheer you on and offer his sage wisdom!
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Hey Jeremy!
Such a crushing song, man! Every one I’ve heard so far is a hit and this is no exception!
It sounds really great to my ears!
I got the sense that the choruses, especially towards the second half of the song, could be bigger. Maybe just volume-wise? if there is a way to make them explode a bit more or hit a little harder? I think the mix sounds totally great as is, but I just mention it because I found myself wanting to hear those choruses a little louder or with a little more energy somehow. Just my two cents, and perhaps this could be achieved in mastering as well? That being said, I do really enjoy the chillness and groove of this tune and dig how it’s not trying to be too over the top. Maybe it’s just something to experiment with and see if it feels better with an extra DB on the choruses?
I also just wanted to point out that at 2:44 I hear some kind of pop or click. I can’t tell if it’s a percussion instrument or if it’s some kind of digital click, but I hear it every time I listen to that spot, just fyi.
Can’t wait to hear the final master of this when it’s done. Again, congrats on creating such compelling and unique and vibe-tastic music. You’re amazing!
Best,
Jesse
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Hey y’all! Sorry for the delay on reply. @dana @JLEW
Thank you SO MUCH for the notes and encouragement. You have no idea how much it means.
Especially because I agreed with them all.
Soooo, I’ve been woodshedding on the track (and finally bought and learned Melodyne as Wave Tune was too frustrating). I took all your notes into account and applied more of those pop-fundamental moments, cleaned up the vocals considerably, and even added a tambo!
I applied a faux master but will hand off to mastering. Hoping there’s no distracting pops or vocal bits to carry it to mastering? Whachall think?
Many thanks!
Jeremy-
Jeremy,
I checked the Mono button by looking at the Imager section of some mastering software and the data agreed with Dana and I. There is no difference between the L and R channels. The scooped out sound that MixMaster D heard is most likely the result of comb filters created by the destructive interference of the addition of two identical signals of equal level but with different arrival times. ie, those beautifully W I D E KBs and BGVs that are created with time based FX differences left to right, combine to a lifeless mono with large EQ cuts determined by how large the time differences are. I think I can make some measurement aids to help visualize what’s happening.
PT
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Homey! So exciting to hear this great track progress, and glad you took the plunge into melodyne – that software is incredible. Nuthin like it. And the vocal work you’ve done is definitely sounding more polished! Nice 👌
The mix sounds different than before – kinda thin and scooped out in everything but the bass and kick drum. When I checked the new mix against your original mix (and that Christine and the Queens ref) I was like, “ahhhh there’s all the body I was missing!”
Maybe you left sonarworks on while you bounced the file, or went too deep on a new mastering plugin? 🤷🏻♂️ I’m so curious! But regardless, it’s definitely comin along man! ⚡️
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Jeremy,
Probably best to refrain from sending this mix to mastering until after you check the MONO button!!
PT
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The first mix sounds more alive to me. The vocals sounds cool & tight on the second one, but perhaps having a hybrid between the two?? there’s a part where you can really hear the autotune in the quiet part, perhaps adjust that?
Song is sounding great though and production sounds like it’s there to me! Love it
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Jeremy,
I’m late to the party on your new offering and I think it’s toe tapping good. I can imagine all the goodness Dana was suggesting to relentlessly keep the groove moving forward. The more I hang around here the more I see his keen insight. Hell, I might even come to like reverb. 🙂
I do like the forward nature of you bass and kick sitting in front of all that ambient wall of instrumentation and vocal. I love your dynamic between the chorus and how it drops down for the verse. It’s very compelling and effective. I would offer up this perspective. The hand claps in the chorus feel too present for a couple possible reasons. They are close to leading the charge during the chorus whereas in the verses the interplay of percussion elements has me focusing in on them. Its an abrupt change distraction when the claps come in hot like they do. Secondarily, the claps are decidedly electronic. Would the party groove not be better served with real claps, humanly imperfect, sitting in the mix, but not leading the charge? I’m thinkin’ that’s how they do it on Discovery Channel.
I certainly look forward to the next iteration of this infectious song.
To the point of your second post which was heard to be “scooped out.”.
Does anyone concur that it’s mono as mono can be?
I took each version, the first, obviously stereo mix, and then the second, “scooped out” posting and ran them both through my Imaging module of Ozone. The display is a polar plot of sameness. Think of it like a Venn diagram. Whats common to both left and right channels are in the intersection of the two circles. What audio information exists only in one side lives in only that side but not in the intersection of the two. The mono version, which I contend is the state of your second post, is a straight tertical line, indicating NO DIFFERENCE between the left and right. The Stereo version, your original post, shows a different concentration of energy. There’s a bunch of energy concentrated around the middle (in both circles of the Venn diagram) but a substantial amount poking off to the extreme sides occupying the left only or right only circles of the Venn diagram. That extreme one-side-only-energy is most likely that ambience you’ve got going on. It sounds spacious. it feels luscious, but is extremely dangerous when combined to mono because of the time difference between the two. When combined to mono it gets way weird. I love the spaciousness it provides and pity the fool who listens in mono. They’re missing out. I’m not suggesting you remedy anything about this other than checking the mix in mono and then undoing that button.
PT
Happy to be back.
I kinda missed you guys
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Thanks everyone for the kind words, deep listens, and such. I took it all to heart and went a bit ham on the song. Added more poppy bits like harmonies, worked on the levels, learned the Studio version of Melodine to really sync and polish the millions of vocals, and, perhaps most expertly, didn’t leave the mix bus in mono this time like the last one. haha. Good catch, Paul!
Please let me know if there’s anything egregious or stealing the head nod / booty shaking vibe from your listen. (PS: This is not mastered yet just compressed a bit).
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Jeremy,
We’ve been patiently awaiting this next update and it’s been worth it. Animals came back stronger, cleaner and more precise despite the fact you actually added more musical information. We can listen deeper into the ambient layers now, especially that we’re back to the modern stereophonic sound. (I had to. 🙂 That percussion ensemble feels like a well oiled machine. Not in any mechanical, non musical way, more so like a flock of birds that fly as one, changing directions simultaneously or a school of fish that swim in formation to fend off the bigger predator fish by appearing larger than life. Apparently, they’ve been watching the Discovery Channel too.
I LOVE all those added “Uh, oh, oh ohs” that were suggested. There’s something very primal about call and response that speaks to me. It’s not like I grew up as the son of a black share cropper in rural Mississippi or anything like that. To the contrary, I was an underachieving, surfing, stoned teen living in a waterfront home on Long Island. Zillow says that house is now worth a million but that’s not relevant to my point which is this:
There are 5 instances of the chorus, each one with the 5 syllable call “We are animals” answered by the 9 syllable response “Uh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh.” That’s pretty wordy when competing with the ambient layers of synths and even more vocals. On the third listen I heard the muse whisper something like “What if Jeremy just uses a 4 syllable response “Uh oh oh oh” in the first two choruses? It’s hooky as hell and allows the bass line to finish the phrase. In the third chorus, which is a breakdown chorus, try the full complement of nine syllables to make the phrase unexpectedly new and exciting.” She’s very loquacious and finished her musing with “Writer’s choice on the final two choruses.” As she danced away, and she was a bootyfull dancer like you had hoped, the damn AI sand worm that popped up in a previous discussion made a quick lunch of her. Pity, I was diggin’ her suggestions.
PT
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Paul, haha, yes. I of course appreciate the notes, encouragement, and pop-centric muses. But, man, in addition to making music, you might consider getting into reviewing music or writing publicly (if you don’t already), love the surreal turns with a touch of Vonnegut humor. Thanks as always for the listen and suggestions. I have been listening to this song for a quarter of my life and decided to leave the oh oh count as is (mostly due to exasperation), but glad that you enjoyed them happening more. Kept those!
🙏
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@-PT I agree with @shimmerisland – I hope you’re writing and/or interviewing people publicly somewhere (in addition to Mix Protégé)! The wider world needs more of your spirit and turns of phrase.
And @shimmerisland, Vonnegut is right on the money 😂
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Vonnegut, huh? My English teacher wife would be proud. My early influences were actually Carlos Castaneda and Jack Kerouac.
A long time ago in a galaxy far away I did write publicaly about live audio, though I used a nom de plume because I was a bit snarky. I’ve mellowed in my old age like Obi-Wan Kenobi. Remember when Obi-Wan fought Darth Vader and had him one swing of his light saber away from death in episode 3 but walked away and let him live? That wise Jedi understood the bigger picture and later wisely said to Vader “You have no idea how powerful I will become” and let Garth slay him knowing that Darth Vader would eventually revert back to Anakin Skywalker and help restore order in the universe. That’s wisdom. I’m just trying to use my force for good at this time in my life and glad you’re diggin it. Should probably add George Lucas to my list of influences, huh? (motif alert!) I’m thinking Biden dropping out of the presidential race is a similar power move.
PT
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Haha – excellent and true stuff right there! Love it, Obi Wan!
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Jeremyyyy! I listened to this on my earpods on my walk today and LOVED it! Bravo, dude! My one and only micro-thought that occurred to me was this lil nugget I always put into practice:
Make sure the very first word of the very first lead vocal entrance is clear and proud. Often times I’ll give that initial vocal entrance some extra fader love to ensure it’s not lost at all beneath the beautiful track production. This isn’t something the listener should notice at all like a wild fader move. But more of an assurance QC checkbox for me while im mixing: can I absolutely understand the first word, first line of the lead? ✅ Does the lead vocal make a grand, memorable, definitive entrance? ✅
Whether you decide to update your mix with this in mind or not, you have crushed this production, song, performance, and mix, my man! Way to go!
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Thanks for the airpod walk-n-listen, Dana! That’s kinda the ultimate test, right?
And I love that tip. I mean, I do my best to make sure the vocal is loud enough broadly, but after hearing something a million times one can lose site of the trees for the forest.
I’ve never thought to qc the entrances. And it needed it! So I went back and added a touch of gain here and there in some of the sections so the vocals popped. Woohoo! 🙏
Really appreciate your guidance and support on this one. Feels good to finally let this track fly with confidence.
Thanks everybody!
Jeremy
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Amazing – love it, man! So glad I/we could help! Can’t wait for this super hooky jam to be out in the world! Great work, homey!!
And heck yeah … the ear pod walk-n-listen is the ultimate test! No note-taking, no over-analyzing, just listening and experiencing in the wild … like an animal.
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