After a long hiatus I have been able to produce something again. This time around it's a remix of Avicii's Fade into darkness for an Australian remix competition. Unfortunately it's only australians that are eligible for the fun prizes - the international winner is only featured on a compilation or something...
Anyway - here it is:
Also, my gotye remix was removed from Soundcloud which is a big disappointment! Apparently it violated copyright (which I guess is true) but in my opinion it didn't result in any net losses in record sales for Gotye... I actually contacted Gotye on Soundcloud but I do not have any high hopes of getting an answer. You can now listen to it on a Youtube instead:
A milestone was reached on my soundcloud-account the other day - my songs have now gotten a combined 1000 plays in total. Although probably 1/4 of that is me playing my songs on different units it is nevertheless a milestone...
I have also had time to finish the Gotye song which I think turned out very well. I think I managed to find my own expression of the song without destroying the beautiful singing by Gotye.
The internet is literally swarming with different covers of the song so its kinda hard to get traction. I did however find my song in this blogpost for some reason, Surprising to say the least.
First off. I hate the evolution of dance clip. It's why Internet shouldn't exist.
Anyway, thought I'd post the progress on the gotye remix so it's easier to follow the creative process. I think I found a good structure for the break now. Its much better to separate the chorus from the synth since they both are powerful on their own. Its also a lot better in terms of build-up. I'm also considering getting rid of the verse - right now it doesn't really add anything.
Tomorrow I'll start working on drums and different break tools such as reverse hihats etc.
Revisiting Gotyes - Somebody I used to know I think I've really found a lead that sticks. Still in early stages I think the remix has real potential. Will keep you updated as the song progresses - this is really work in progress.
Back from a 2-month hiatus from the music production, I've finally started to get some inspiration again. They don't tell you this beforehand, but having kids is actually quite tiresome...
Needless to say, I have really been slacking off . I also got a new computer which resulted in a lot of software synths getting lost in the process which also didn't help in the creative process.
No new material this time, just a radio edit of For the brave. I actually think the songs structure is much better as a radio edit.
Found a great song today by Gotye: Somebody that i used to know
It's one of those songs with a great hook. During the evening I have tried to punch it up a bit. The levels are still way off but I do think it has potential.
Listen to the work in progress here:
Gotye - Somebody that I used to know (Leadstrom mix) by Leadstrom
I have been quite productive this week. I managed to finalize the song I posted in my last entry and have also sent it to a label. The general feedback from friends and others have been that it is a pretty decent track, and I think so too. However, I don't think anything's is going to come out of it, at least not yet.
The first version was actually mixed while the soundcards internal equalizer was set to "Rock" instead of being off - which resulted in some rather crappy mixing...
I haven't really been that active music wise the last month. Christmas and having a child does that to you...
However, since I was so nice last year santa has given me a couple of great things.
First and foremost I got my AKG701 headphones. These are great and really a fantastic mastering tool in lieu of good monitors. In comparison with listening to my old HD-25 its really is new brave world.
In addition I have gotten an Onkyo A-5VL digital receiver. This is actually very good since I now do not have to rely on the built in Digital/Analog converter included in the soundcard integrated on the motherboard. This will provide an even more detailed and accurate sound. And lastly, I have also bought a new computer. Since I employ a lot of software instrument and effect plugs it takes a lot of hardware to avoid lag. I haven't gotten it yet though...
This is a new song I'm working on. It is, to a large part, a twin song of my first song posted on this blog. I came up with the main synth track when dabbling with that song and realised that it sounded great. I'm particularly happy with the pumping aspect of the song, which is also an effect of VERY heavy sidechaining. This is a preview - I will try and finalize it during the week.
I haven't posted anything in a couple of days due to my computer's motherboard crashing. Fortuneately there was no data loss since there were no problems with the disk.
In this song I have remixed one of the most remixed songs ever - Silence, by Delerium. Actually, this remix is a couple of years old, but I have done some modifications in recent days. I think I've done something different with it - however, this may be only because there are still hundreds of remixes I have yet to hear...
Btw, I have now decided to not do any mastering on any of my tracks until I get my new headphones. There is a limit on the kind of distorted sound reality I wanna live in...
Creating this blog has made me attack music creation with a much more structured approach with both its pros and cons. The first thing I realised is that to be able to complete tracks the most difficult part will be to find the strength to produce and mix the tracks - this is boring as hell...
However, using the right equipment helps. A few days ago, I realised that mixing through my HD-25s was not ideal - they clearly don't reflect the actual sound reality when playing songs in speakers.
Happy faces listening to daddy's mixes with HD25s
Crinching when instead hearing mixes through my EVO4 speakers
Therefore, I have realized that I should probably get the AKG-701, which give a more honest sound - right now, the bass drum take up too much frequency space in my mixes while the general balance of the tracks seem a bit off...
Does anyone have any other suggestions for good studio headphones?
