Acoustic song with vocals, lots of purdy chord/key changes, layered harmonies, etc.

[Zephyr_Nova]

The only thing really electronic about it is the pads and textures towards the end, but I think there are quite a few posters here into more melodic organic music as well. It's my favorite thing I've done... but that's pretty typical for new recordings, heh:

 

 

 

The Eric Hogg myspace, for those interested: http://www.myspace.com/erichogg

[Dementia]

I didn't know that Eric Hogg = Zephyr Nova.

 

I'll post my thoughts later.

[Zephyr_Nova]

You've already heard of me? How'd that happen!

 

Also... I meant to put this one in YLC... moderators, please move me.

[Dpek]

I really like it. I like the sharpness of the sound. hey, how about your album?

[Zephyr_Nova]

Thanks!

Metric was planning on releasing the Zephyr Nova early 2007, so expect more info on that soon. I'll be sure to post about it here (probably in general banter as seems to be the tradition). The next Eric Hogg album will also be coming out this year, but I've still got a fair bit of recording and writing ahead of me for that. I've recorded about 12 songs so far, but I only really like about 6 of them and I want to make sure I've got something I'm really happy with for the finished product.

[Zephyr_Nova]

Yeah, I too prefer rougher vocals a lot of the time, but my voice is just too damn "pure" sounding to ever pull that off without sounding silly. I can't sing nearly as low as I'd like either. Maybe I should take up smoking or something. Then again, that would just make harmonizing more of a chore, and the harmonies are probably my favorite part right now. It's a pretty big part of my sound.

 

I was weary about overdoing the production on this one. I did have some extra stuff towards the end, but I found it to be more of a distraction rather than a compliment. I just really like what's going on with the vocals there and I want that to remain a really stand-out thing (harmonies especially). There's room perhaps for something at the end where it's winding down, the tough part is coming up with something that works there that won't sound like an obvious Godrich-ism. There are already pads there, and I've alreday done the reverb pocket thing on a few other tracks of mine. I was going for a different vibe with this one. I know what you mean though and the reverb pocket idea's a good one. I'd been thinking about it.

 

Vocal recording really can be a bitch, or at least learning what works and what doesn't. Like there's ways I sing live that sound great in a big room but crummy through a condensor mic. It picks up different qualities in the voice than a mic/PA at a club or coffee shop. So I've had to learn what works best with my type of voice in the studio. My voice sounds absolutely horrid in some of my older recordings (had a compressor that did everything within its power to bring out every nasal quality out of my voice). You should try just experimenting with your voice, try some gruff old man wheezy parts, maybe some overly expressive phasing, maybe even some mumbling --there's always a way. Les Claypool's an awful singer yet he usually makes it work for whatever he's doing.

 

You might prefer my songs live --a lot of my friends do. But then again it's probably just the different emotions and interaction involved at a live setting that makes them think they like the songs better... though I do sing differently in a live setting for some songs --doesn't always work in the studio. And it's tough to capture the same emotion in the studio. I've got a live vid of myself playing this song on my acidplanet site, http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=917795&t=9673 --my favorite bit's right near the end.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

[Zephyr_Nova]

Thank you for listening and providing feedback. It's always interesting to get an idea of how other people hear it. I like the fact that the vibe is totally different between the live version and the studio one, and definitely prefer how my voice sounds on the recording --going for a melancholy lullabye type thing, hehe. I really like the dry, up front, intimate vocal tone. Dry but crisp and warm at the same time. It gives the chorus vocals more impact with all the layered harmonies and whatnot, everything just opens up.

 

That glass shattering part's my favorite part of the performance. It's right on queue for the ending. Maybe I startled someone with that first BWANGgg chord in the closing sequence. I just thought that was so perfect.

 

Plectrum's a new term for me. I'll have to look that one up... I've used that picking pattern a fair bit, so I don't really have to think about it much any more. I remember when I first wrote the song I had a hell of a time making all the chord changes quickly and cleanly because most of them I'd never used before, and certainly not in that sequence. It's all over the neck. I tried recording it after writing it (many months ago) and I just played small sections and cut/pasted them. I didn't really have a decent arrangement worked out then, so I scrapped that version. It was probably the toughest song for me to get the hang of out of anything I've written. Usually I try not to write music that's above my playing ability! :laughing: I was surprised when I went back to it a while later and found I could play it with relative ease. Lately I've been really working on my finger picking + writing for a band I just started up, totally different style.

 

I did do a tabla track a while back, sort of glitch-hop type thing. I have a feeling I took it down to make room for the next couple I posted.

 

I love David Syvan's work as well, though I have no idea what he looked like as a younger guy. Pasty white and scrawny apparently! hehe.

[cruising for burgers]

fuck u play the guitars right, and what a hell of melodies/harmonies wtfs!!!!

the guitars and bells remind me beck acoustic works...

 

10/10

 

 

get some distorted guitars for a solo ok!?!?!?

 

 

u remind me the guy from silverchair singing....

[producer snafu]

i hope you do not take any offence to what i am posting here but. .

 

i really enjoyed the song alot, infact i liked the song before it could even finish.

 

the problem was that while i was listening to it i had to lower the song prctically almost all the way down on my media player.

 

i reccomend that you get some studio monitor speakers or headphones.

 

you have a talent but if you do not have these tools then you cannot fully hear your craft that you are creating.

 

and if you plan on sending demos and what not then they are gonna hear your song clipped to all hell

 

so i edited yer song for ya =D

 

 

here is a screen shot of what yer song looked like before

 

 

and here is the after and the final product after editing it

 

 

 

Eric_Hogg___Disenchanted_Melodies (Edited)

 

all i did was just cut the volume -6db and boost the lows and lower the highs and bam acoustic radness

[Zephyr_Nova]

producer snafu:

 

I appreciate that you are trying to help, but please take down the reduced volume version you posted. I use Sony 700's for monitoring and compare my mixes with other mixes that I enjoy most. I also listen afterwards on other systems and haven't had any problems with it. I also look at what the wav looks like after I master it. I LIKE louder mixes and I assure you it's intentionally that way. The version you posted is similar to what the song sounded before I mastered it, but the enhanced lower mids/bass make it sound muddy to me --don't like it as much and it's not how I want it heard by other people.

 

kim:

 

Cheers man. Glad you liked it. I wouldn't put a distorted solo in this one, but I did that in a different "acoustic" song I did recently. It's also got IDMish chop ups on some of the guitars and found sound percussion. I still need to go back and improve the mix because it's a bit on the murky side, though you can hear an unfinished crappy sounding stream of it on my myspace page (it's called Lost in Static)

[producer snafu]

=)

 

tooken down

[Zephyr_Nova]

Cheers man, I appreciate it.