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Mix Feedback – Ready for radio?
Greetings everyone!
I posted this the moment MP came back online but it looks like others hadn’t joined. So hoping to get your thoughts!
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So grateful to back back on MP back. @dana thanks so much for your hard work and creating this space for us!
I seriously couldn’t bring myself to release this new track without getting expert feedback from the group.
Would love everyone’s thoughts on my next track “Daylight”.
– Main question – does the beat slap and vocals in a good place? (note: it’s not mastered yet).
Annnd any other bips and bops y’all are so generous at providing.
Many thanks in advance,
Jeremy
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21 Replies
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Homey! Sorry for the delay – been locked down in sessions the past few weeks with insane hours. Hoping to check out your latest magnum opus in the morn after some zzz’s!
Look fwd to hearing it, and reading the helpful ideas from others here in the community! 💜
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Thanks, Dana! All good! Hope those sessions are going swimmingly.
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Jeremy,
“Does the beat slap?” you ask. Yes, it’s a strong syncopated groove, but it’s also relentless and doesn’t hold up to the rest of your great work in the arrangement. The variations I hear are the drop in level in the pre-chorus and the dropout, the complete absence of the beat.
Dropping the beat is always dynamically effective because of the suspension of the groove and then when it returns, bang, we’re back on the dance floor. That’s tasty, but when the level changes during the pre-chorus, I’m feeling like it’s losing power AND the tonality changes. (Thanks Mr. Munson.)
Your backbeat is obviously a canned loop. I wish your “drummer” had a different and more thoughtful approach to the differing verse, pre-chorus, and chorus sections of your dance tune. To my sensibility, that would make a huge change to the good. You feelin’ me?
PT
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Hey Jeremy! “Daylight” feels so warm and familiar, like coming home. I loved the eerie vocals at the beginning—so glad you repeated that twice! The harmonies at 0:36 were absolutely delicious. Around 0:53, that vocal sample felt a bit too forward and pulled me out of the moment—maybe dial it back a touch? As always, I’m craving a bit more lead vocal volume. The beat is solid, and I think it could be bumped up too. Overall, such a beautiful track—amazing work! 🫶
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Really cool track, Jeremy!! I was drawn right into the chords and groove, and was smiling at the cool vocal ad libs and other ear candy. I don’t want to send you in mixing circles, but I was wanting to hear the vocals more, especially the beginning of the chorus / title of the song. Just listening on earbuds. Cheers and all the best with the release! Joe
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K … sorry for the long, detailed response. So much good stuff here, homey! And I wanted to reward your patience (sorry MP fam I’ve been so tied up lately!) with some juicy suggestions and observations – as always, take or leave em brah!. Ok, so, per usual, here are my unfiltered notes while listening 🥰:
- Love the affected vocal intro hook!
- Love the vocal treament / fx / harms / adlibs!
- Great sonic treats in the pre chorus
- Chorus needs to explode! (in a suitable-for-the-song “gentle” type of explosion). It gets there, texturally as the chorus progresses and new synths and vocals join the party, but I feel like it needs a big wide signature synth pad/chord element that starts on the downbeat of the chorus to really let the listener know – to borrow a phrase I picked up in New Orleans, “Yeah you right! This is the chorus!” I’m imagining, synth wise, something wide and gooey and luscious, like a Juno-106-esque vibe with some verb and chorus and the high pass filter set to medium (so that later choruses could use the same patch but with the filter set a bit brighter 😉 always building the intensity as the song progresses. What @dolph, @andrew-feltenstein, @john-nau, @Wolfe, @Dewey and I refer to a GLB (General Linear Build), as in “GLB that shit, dawg!”
- 1:30 – top of verse 2… since the verse melody sounds similar to the end of the Chorus melody, it could be cool to start the drum dropout here and clear out all the leftover chorus bells n whistles here too, to again tell the listener, “Yeah you right – this is the next verse!” Keep the beat filtered and small for the first two bars of V2 instead of the 2-beat filter dropout you have at 1:34. I feel like the only fairy-dust awesome element you should keep in this 2-bar V2 dropout section is that super cool fluttery ascending synth at 1:33-1:34. Just that, and filtered drums, and your soothing verb-y Pet Shop Boys-reminiscent vocal stylings (slay).
- CH2 – could benefit from some new additional percussive loop or fun breakbeat-y thing. Again in the GLB spirit.
- 2:38 – pre-bridge reintro – I would try shortening this breakdown by half, getting into the bridge sooner.
- 3:07 – fake-out breakdown chorus – love this trick. Anything you can do to ratchet up the contrast between the broken down section and the full-blown chorus when it comes back in will help. Try clearing out more production for the breakdown, then hitting us with the full kitchen sink when it comes back in at 3:13. Maybe even try a riser or 16th note snare fill into the big chorus entrance, and then go nuts with the synths on full throttle, filters open and blazing and buzzing with heavenly-gates-parting technicolor magic. Add a brand new plucky synth too, possibly even arpeggiating to dance off the breakbeat percussive elements that you know you’ll wanna reuse from CH2! Blow the doors off that sucka!
- LOVE the easter egg vocal riff at the end of the fade-out!
This thing has great bones and is well on its way to radio goodness! I think if you wring a bit more out of the production (the fun part!) you’ll be in great shape. I also feel like Moby would be a good Spirit Animal for you for this track. If you get lost or overwhelmed while picking out new GLB elements and textures, just ask yourself: What would Moby do? (WWMD)
💜⚡️💥
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Thanks so much @-PT @JoeRobinson @CMN @dana ! Really appreciate the encouraging words, production tips and tricks, and real talk.
I took your notes to heart as I agreed with most every time I hear the playback.
So I implemented them in this version!
Mostly subtle: vocals up, shorter pre-bridge, beat up a smidge (with more filtering here and there), arp up near the end, synths hit on the 1 in the chorus instead of fade ins.
My goal is not to add anymore bells and whistles at this point. Just hoping the vocal-to-instrumental levels feel right. (hard to hear my own voice sometimes haha).
Better with vocals up or too loud?
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Jeremy,
I think you got some great advice and executed it beautifully.
This version has all the dynamic movement and textural morphing to keep a listener riveted. I’m saying yes, it’s complete, wholesome, and ready for mastering after you consider its target audience. Your vocal work once again is compelling and perfect as a pop release. If the song gets used in support of a primarily visual presentation, let’s say (and hope) for a movie or a TV spot, the lead vocal might be so compelling as to be distracting. Good problem to have, easy problem to fix.
Bravo!👏
PT
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Ooooh! So stoked to give this a listen when I’m back in front of speakers, Jeremy!!! Wooo!
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Soooo great, homey! Bravo!!!!
My final thoughts/ideas (with salt🧂):
– try bouncing an option that has lead vocals down -1.5db and drums up +2db and see if it floats ur boat
– I hear something flamming with the snare every 2 bars or so that kinda pulls me out of the trance
Fantastic work, brother!!! 🤘💜⚡️
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Nice one Jeremy! Dana’s suggestion of voc down & beat up seems on point to me!! Overall I felt the chorus popped more than the last version – really cool track!!
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Thanks a million @dana and @JoeRobinson!
Per your advice, I pushed the drums up and vocals down a bit. I liked it and got it mastered by my usual guy; however I’m thinking of getting an alt.
I feel like the beat/snare in particular doesn’t crack or hit like my go to references (PBJ’s Young Folks, Odesza’s Line of Sight, Radiohead’s Lotus Flower).
And I feel like the mix/master sounds a bit mushy. 🙁Any recommendations for getting the snare to crack a bit more?
I can’t tell what frequency it really needs to stick out in the right place, my 6k/7k. Feeling lost.
Any recs would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Uh oh, uh-uh, uh oh-oh-oh! Someone let the Animals out.
🦁🐯🐼 Oh my.PT
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yeah!!! Really great, brother! So fun hearing this song take shape, and great work!
Re your question about the master, I hear what u mean about being a bit mushy, especially when I compare to your fav references. Nuthin a bit of Pultec EQP1A 10k couldn’t fix! Prob set the width to medium (12 o’clock) or wide (7 o’clock) for a nice gentle top end boost. And you know how I roll … don’t be afraid of those knobs – push em as far as they’ll go in order to get a sense of what they sound like, and don’t be mad if your setting “looks wrong” but “sounds right!”
🤘
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Jeremy,
I did a little listening to the newest (mastered?) version and I agree it’s not as airy as it coulda/shoulda/woulda be if the top end got a little love. I listened with a boost as Dana suggested ( no PULTEC in my tool box) and subjectively compared it to using added dynamically harmonic enhancement from my recently purchased PLASMA fx from iZotope. Based on looking at its amplitude vs frequency graph, I gather it creates harmonics to add texture dynamically rather than the static nature of an EQ. ie, a static EQ would amplify noise, the dynamic EQ would only add harmonic content level if there was signal there. I favored the “how much voodoo” setting to create about 3dB more harmonic content at most. It added air but never venturing into sounding strident.
PT
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This is sounding great @shimmerisland – super lush with lots of dimension and clarity. Great work getting this beast to the finish line! Love the beat switchup in the bridge, as well as the drop chorus and beat switchup stuff leading into the ending. Fav sounding Shimmer Island track to date
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Thank you so so much @dana and @-PT for repeated listens and feedback. I think I got it to a good place thanks to your help and hope to have it out in the coming days!
@Nate I appreciate it and glad you like the drop. Of course you deserve lots of credit with your gorgeous string and choral layers, as always!
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Yea man,
I feel like I benefit also. It’s good to exercise the perception of the songs and then gently articulate that into informative, entertaining, supportive suggestions (“what ifs?) and not get stuck in my own biases. I’m looking at you Wallace Clement Sabine.
PT
ps I agree, Nate is gifted with his vocal arrangements.
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❤🙏
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thanks my friend. Excited for this release
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