Author: semievolved (Page 2 of 2)

Sorry about this one.

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Media used:

• Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (studio multitrack)
• Ellie Goulding – Lights
• Ellie Goulding – Lights (Instrumental)

Production notes:

• Total production time: About 7 hours. Yeah. I probably could have spent longer on it.
• The fun part of working with vocals from rock-based music is that, generally, the BPM is slightly variable as you progress through the song. Which is a great way for the artist to manage the energy of the song, but plays hell when trying to line those vocals up with the steady BPM of a modern pop song. That process took a LOT of time to get right. The first time. I had to do it again after I discovered some corruption in the vocal file I was using and had to replace it with a new one. Fun.
• The first version I mocked up used only the Nirvana vocals, but I thought I should try to bring them both into the mix. I mocked that up and auditioned it for Jade, who agreed I should go with the dual vocal approach. I think it was the right call.
• I added reverb to Kurt’s vocals, and the pitch shift was .11 semitones. The dynamics of his vocals were very different than Goulding’s, and I probably could have spent a little more time getting them similar, but I worried about making Kurt’s vocals too “hot”. I left them reasonably untouched aside from some additional minor compression.

The spirit of experimentation leads to some odd and occasionally rewarding results. In this case, I was playing around with the OWILM acapella, overlaying it with other songs, seeing what fit. Initially, I didn’t think this pairing would work. The keys were off, the feel of the songs markedly different. But then I realized that, lyrically, the songs are nearly identical. So I decided to persevere and try to make it work. I wasn’t 100% successful, the keys are still slightly off because chord structure, but I think the result is enjoyable nonetheless.

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Media used:

• Depeche Mode – Only When I Lose Myself (Studio Acapella)
• Depeche Mode – Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Mix)
• Depeche Mode – Only When I Lose Myself
• Nine Inch Nails – Closer (Instrumental)
• Nine Inch Nails – Closer

Production notes:

• Total production time: No idea. I still need to start keeping better track.
• I’m still not great at understanding and matching pitch. I had to adjust both tracks to get them remotely similar, and I’m still not 100% pleased with the results. I have the tools to manipulate, but I have much to learn about getting things to fit properly, or knowing when they don’t fit at all.
• I’m particularly happy with the places where I brought Trent’s vocals into the mix. I had to figure out a way to extend the “sss” sound at the end of the “somebody else” sample because the chorus cuts into it. This involved using the spectral display to pick out the frequencies associated with that sound, copy as much as was there, then blend that sample into the end of the original sample. I had to do this twice to make the “sss” sound sufficiently long. I think it works.
• The first half of the mix came together reasonably quickly. It was obvious where the vocals should go and how the song should progress. The latter part of the song was difficult, because Closer eschews lyrics at that point. I wanted to bring something from the Depeche Mode side to bear, so I pulled in the soft pads from the album version of OWILM, which I also use towards the beginning of the mix. I also pulled in some heavily distorted lyrics from the OWILM bridge towards the end, playing to the increased distortion of Closer’s crescendo. The vocals after the crescendo are three progressively processed versions of the same sample, overlayed and faded into each other.