Silona - Learning How to Fly

[boomaga]

   

  Re-Re-edit note:     I know as a musician you can put so much blood sweat and tears into a part that it's hard to recognize when it's... really not needed, or worse, getting in the way.   I hear a lot of mixes here where there is no editing happening, and I understand that as a mixer you may be given a bloat-heavy project by a producer and you're expected to find cubbyholes for each part, each track, each ornamentation.  Anyhow, I cut out some tracks but nearly all of them make an appearance, at least. 

     
Edit - replacing mix.   Same edits, lower voc and room/amp bass.  Bounced tracks, created stems, mastering ready.  Also corrected artist's name spelling.

[Roy]

Couldn't the same be said for the original product? I'd venture there was way more time put into the recording and decisions than this mix. And yet you did take the time to bring down all of the choices regarding micing and tracks and tuning. So one could do the same for the mix.

Here's my critiques of the mix:

The fade in feels weird and changes the timing of the song. The "one" gets lost and makes the intro awkward. I miss the drum machine elements and the switch at the b verse feels a bit weird. It sort of works but then going into verse 2 highlights how "thick" things sound and nothing feels coherent.

The 'chorus' pulls the rug out for the listener and they need that release. The edits remove important elements for the song.

The bass guitar is very dominant and needs some lower mid cuts. It's 'tubby'

The lead vocal has a bit too much low end and could be more airy.

There's a lot of supporting elements that seem to be missing. I get trimming the fat but there's parts that help move the song along that aren't there.

For a song about flying it never gets off the ground. Intentionally and that's the biggest offense. You made choices and I applaud that but none seem to support the song. It feels like editing to remove as oppose to be concise. There's musical and harmonic pieces missing. I miss the piano. I miss some of the synths. It doesn't feel coherent. I can't say I care about the about of time put into mixing. As a listener it's not moving.

[boomaga]

You know what, I've learned my lesson.  "Hi, here's my mix," and that's it.   

     I mean, of course tracking took more time than mixing, trust me I know.   I actually had nothing but praise for  the mic'ing, the performances.  It's just bloated.  

    RoyM, I take your meaning.   On my first post, I was being snotty, J-pop isn't my jam, I didn't like mixing this one, whatever, the number of tracks, and you took me to task, and I totally deserved it, because [this is the part that I've deleted out of embarassment]  I came across as a jerk.   Unprofessional.   Bad first impression, and I'm new here.    I get it.    Maybe after I'm here for awhile, and you get to know me better, we'll see better where we're coming from.   

       I understand you're saying the producer will have added all the tracks with the specific intention of each of them being included.    ...    You could be right.   ...   I saw 88 tracks with no bounce-down, no consolidation, each mic included separately, and it says to me that decisions were expected to be made at the mix stage.   It's a kitchen-sink set of tracks.  One principle I was taught was producer-as-reducer.   The ones that I lowered or lost, I don't miss.  As far as the flow of the song, I absolutely think it flows better with this arrangement, I spliced up the rhythm / percussion tracks as I saw fit to make it flow and build.    These are production choices.  You and I would produce differently, make different creative choices.   The artist may have put everything in there and she intends for it all to be layered in there.   We just don't know.  We mix with the tools we're given.     I appreciate your critique, I do disagree with you on a lot, but that's what this is all about.   I am ashamed my attitude caused a sour note.  

 I will not apologize for complaining about the tuning of the vocal, it is shamefully robotic, way too much.   I  hope the singer has more confidence in her voice to not let it be tuned to that degree in the future, or at least to include the untuned track.   
     I do agree about the bass being tubby,  and the vocal low end - which was actually the reverb return being a little rich.  

     Sorry about the screed.
   Thanks.

[OctopusOnFire]

Just let us know about what you did for the mix without being judgmental of the previous work. We get all kinds of productions, and all are welcome in my opinion.
It's always interesting to listen to a mix having an idea of what the mixer was going for, or some techniques that he or she used for this or that element to work in a specific way.

About your mix, I like the sound of the drums, warm and full, if anything, a little on the dry side but coherent with the general mix. I don't know what was going on with the bass before, but now it sounds in place to me. The other elements of the mix don't get in the way and the voice is always under control.

[boomaga]

Just let us know about what you did for the mix without being judgmental of the previous work. We get all kinds of productions, and all are welcome in my opinion.
It's always interesting to listen to a mix having an idea of what the mixer was going for, or some techniques that he or she used for this or that element to work in a specific way.

About your mix, I like the sound of the drums, warm and full, if anything, a little on the dry side but coherent with the general mix. I don't know what was going on with the bass before, but now it sounds in place to me. The other elements of the mix don't get in the way and the voice is always under control.

Cheers, thanks !    Yeah, you're right ...  it's a craft, house painters paint the house regardless of how we feel about the architecture.    I don't want to be construed of sitting in judgment of a singer's talent or a songwriter's creation when what I'm listening for is what sounds are on the tracks.     I just finished Signe Jakobsen - What Have You Done to Me and found it a lot more work than the Silona but again, fantastic tracking, great instrumentalists.   This site is just turning out to be such a great resource, I'm having a blast.

[boomaga]

I listened to RoyM's mix of this song.   ... that's all.   
  I listened to it.