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Post by Kapitan on Jul 16, 2022 16:01:14 GMT
I really like the title, "Ready, Fire, Aim", and the sax quartet works really well, I think. Then your previous song, "Nothing Going On", came on, and I really like just about everything about that one. I suppose it's just more to my style, but it definitely gave me a similar vibe to "Can't Wait Too Long" and the arrangement also reminded me of Friends-era Brian. (And this was before coming here today and being reminded of the "Feels" thread and that discussion - of which I don't recall the specifics.) Also, again, I liked the implementation of the sax quartet. Thanks very much. I appreciate that. Re "Nothing Going On," that's exactly what I had in mind at the time.
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 8, 2022 22:34:09 GMT
Here is my newest song, " Apocalypse, Baby." (As in, "it's not the..." so don't worry that it's a downer!)
It's the one I referenced in the songwriting thread, where I was playing with a bass line that didn't change chords during the verses while everything else did. I had Motown on the brain for that part, but obviously the song overall goes far from that.
I enjoyed it. Even added a guitar solo. In fact, this includes both of my new Gretsches, the six-string in the left channel and 12-string in the right channel during the verses and pre-chorus, with another, heavier rhythm part on the 6 in the right channel in the choruses. And the solo on 6 string, obviously. I hope you like it.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 8, 2022 19:34:00 GMT
On my little vacation last week (while thinking about Belle & Sebastian stealing from Nick Drake) I wrote this song. The rhythm and soft feel of the vocal were absolutely taken from the aforementioned. I recorded it today. I kind of like it and hope you do, too. Here is " Anymore."
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2022 16:36:17 GMT
I took Friday off from work and wrote a new song, initially thinking about some of Elvis Costello's more soul-oriented music with horns, etc., though my results strayed mostly another direction (verses aside, maybe).
Recording happened yesterday and today. It's basic rock instrumentation plus bari sax, tenor sax, two trumpets and an organ.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 25, 2022 18:19:08 GMT
Here is another new song, "Disney Movies."
It opens a chamber-pop ballad / torch song sort of thing with organ, bassoon, English horn, two 12-string guitars, bass and drums (and one voice). I've been fiddling with it over the past month or so--the lyrics, mostly. The music and melody were written very quickly right away. But I also didn't know how to continue or end the song, so...
Part two is actually stolen from an old song of mine, and is all of the above plus another electric guitar, piano, and a couple add'l synth parts, plus more vocals.
You can listen here.
I hope you enjoy it! I am planning to get at least one more tune done in 2022.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 7, 2022 23:12:03 GMT
Another new recording up. "When We Lie/Unlit Cigarette" combines a decade-old song (the former) with a new one (the latter). The recording is all new, done over the past couple of days. It's basically a country/folkish thing, with (programmed) drums and percussion, bass, acoustic, electric, electric 12-string guitars, a little banjo, organ, celesta, and vocals.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2022 17:33:51 GMT
Spent a few hours this morning and yesterday recording my first song in (4?) years. I wrote this almost 20 years ago, but not having anything recent that's ready to go, I dusted it off, changed a few lines, newly arranged it, and recorded it anew. Very rough going as I both try to learn how to record properly and get my fingers and voice into shape.
Yesterday I started wishing I'd done a better job with this song I'd used to get back into recording almost exactly two years ago, "Pale Saturday Sun": I was really just learning the software and getting into shape musically at the time. I'm still doing the latter (because I'm lazy), but had a few ideas to improve the mix. I also added trumpet and sax, some percussion in the bridge, and almost entirely new vocals (with the only remaining part being the doubling of the last line of each verse).
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Post by B.E. on Dec 10, 2022 1:18:43 GMT
Cool stuff, Kapitan. I just listened to your last 6 posted songs. My main takeaway is your arranging ability and just your musicality (which far exceeds my own). You've often got multiple musical lines or countermelodies going, and they're clearly identifiable in the mix. "Anymore" had the different guitar parts panned left/right and then another layered on top over the outro which was really cool. That song also just had a nice laidback mood. And I really like the "I'd be sorry if" melody/chord changes. "Disney Movies" is probably the best example of what I'm trying to point out arrangement-wise. Also, that transition was really cool. And the 2nd part/tag was super Brian-esque: the vocal harmonies, the repetition of it, the countermelodies (especially the "plucked"-sounding synth(?) part panned to the left). And sustaining the vocal part over the fade was a nice touch. Also, I dug the guitar solos on both "Apocalypse, Baby" and "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing".
Oh, and the new guitars sound great!
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 10, 2022 13:36:30 GMT
Thanks, B.E., I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment! Texture is really something I appreciate in music, so I'm glad you noted the countermelodies and such. That's a big part of why I do them, along with using different instruments. For me, having a couple guitars doing the same thing and the bass on the root the whole way through a song just isn't very fun: I love layers, changing instrumentation, surprises occasionally, and counterpoint ideas in the lines.
And you're totally right about the second half of "Disney Movies": it's absolutely a ripoff (or shall we say homage?) to mid-late '70s BW.
Hopefully I'll finish another one this weekend.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 11, 2022 21:27:59 GMT
As hoped, I finished another one (at least for now ... I'm not sold on the mix). This is a sort of chamber pop ballad with a few touches in the arrangement and production indebted to you-know-who, though the song itself isn't especially in his vein (especially the second half). It includes drums and percussion, bass, bari sax, piano, acoustic guitars, vibes, electric guitar, and electric 12-string guitar. And a little mellotron in the latter part. And vocals.
I wrote this 10 or 11 years ago, but hadn't done a proper recording of it before. So now I have. I hope you enjoy "To Spite My Face," which can be found here.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 15, 2023 21:03:31 GMT
I've had a new song--appropriately titled "New Year"--more or less written for the past month, but when this weekend I intended to record it (and did actually get the drums down), the universe had other plans. Going for groceries yesterday morning, I had an idea. And now I have that song finished and recorded, "Trojan Horse." You can hear it here.It has a lot more of a synth pop feel than anything I recall doing before, though it still has two guitars, bass, and "real" (well...synth imitating real) drums, plus a guitar solo. So it doesn't go ALL the way. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it. Personally I liked the vocal harmonies of the chorus.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 17, 2023 14:39:42 GMT
I had an idea yesterday that is rare for me, but that I acted upon: I did a second, very different mix of the same recording. I was curious whether I could take the synth-oriented "Trojan Horse" that I just finished over the weekend and make a convincing rock mix of it without adding any new content whatsoever. Whether I succeeded is a matter of opinion, of course. But what I did was: - Change the amps and settings of the guitars (which, being added via the software rather than recorded naturally, was possible), so they are more distorded and heavier. - Change the synth sounds to Hammond organ. - Switch the drum kit. - Adjust the EQ and compression on the bass. - Add some delay to the guitar solo and bridge vocals. After that, I adjusted the levels (guitars and drums up, synth-turned-organ down) and the panning. The new "Trojan Horse (Rock Mix)" is found here.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 27, 2023 21:38:24 GMT
Here is a song I began around New Year's of 2021-22, but didn't finish; then I did (mostly) finish it in December 2022. I tweaked it a little this month and, finally, here is the aptly named "New Year," a power pop kind of thing with some new wave synths. I'm not happy with the mix (which, when it sounds great in my headphones, sounds awful through speakers, and vice versa), but such is life. Hell, I'm not a pro, what do I care!? I hope you like "New Year," which you can find here.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 19, 2023 20:14:25 GMT
Very shortly after recording the above, my recording laptop began crashing for no discernible reason. First it was Logic specifically, but within a day, it was everything. It just died and died and died. I did a little digging into what might repair it, came up with a few ideas that failed, and then quite frankly I set it aside and kept thinking I'd get to it later.
Well, my strategy of "ignore it and it will fix itself" worked! (Knock on wood.) Yesterday, I decided I'd at least check in on it to see if I could make any repairs. Fired it up: so far so good. Opened Logic: so far so good. Opened a file in Logic: so far so good. Fiddled with the mix, just to see if it could DO anything: so far so good!
That was enough for one day.
A half hour or so ago, I fired it up again and brought up the tune I had begun when it all died. I recorded a bass track just now, and haven't had any issues. Fingers crossed, but I think the Music Gods smiled upon me and fixed things. (Actually I suspect there was some combination of updates on various things that didn't like one another, and the bug(s) have since been corrected. I can't imagine what else explains it.)
Edit - and now I've added electric 12-string and (synth) trumpet, sax, and vibes. Still no crashes! I am so excited to be back into the swing of things. Fingers crossed that it lasts.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 21, 2023 21:08:16 GMT
I'm very excited to be back in business. (Well, not business. But "back in hobby" doesn't have the same ring to it...) This one has an arrangement I'm very proud of, especially the horns (two trumpets, two saxes), 12-string electric, and electric guitar parts. (Especially the bridge, which begins around 2:44.) It's actually a 15-year-old song, give or take. But a new arrangement and recording. I hope you enjoy "Half Past One," which you can find here.
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