SemiEvolved

Almost, but not quite...

Tag: Mashup

New Mashup – Halsey vs Olive – “You’re Not Alone In The Castle”

August 25, 2021 /

In a pandemic, everyone is alone.

Okay, that’s only true in the figurative sense, at least in my case. But with the howling insanity of anti-vaxxing yahoos whistling through the streets, it seems best to sequester one’s self away from the world and ponder creative choices.

Below are two creative choices. Because I couldn’t choose which version to do, I did both.

You’re Not Alone In The Castle (Album Edit)
You’re Not Alone In The Castle (Club Mix)

The Album Edit is by far my favorite, and is the greater deconstruction and reconstruction of the two. But I still really enjoy the energy of the Club Mix, so it’s presented here as a bit of fun. Both are available to download from the White.Noise page, along with the rest of my misbegotten experiments.

No full write-up this time. Enjoy the tunes. I had a lot of fun putting this together, and I’m reasonably satisfied with the results.

Screenshot of Album Edit in process

New Mashup – Duran Duran vs VNV Nation

July 2, 2015 /

Sometimes stuff just happens. You didn’t plan it. You didn’t think about it. You just start piling things on top of each other until something coherent cuts through the noise and reveals a sound that is, if not right, then at least not bad. I can work with not bad.

Thus, we arrive at Duran Duran vs VNV Nation – Girls On Film (Saviour Mix).

Download

Extra special thanks to my lovely wife, Jade, for assistance with the last few details that, in my mind, really pulled this mix together.

Media used:

  • VNV Nation – Saviour (Album Version)
  • Duran Duran – Girls On Film (Studio Acapella)
  • Duran Duran – Girls On Film (Album Version)

Production notes:

  • Total production time: approx 20 hours? I need to start keeping better track.
  • The only sample used from the GoF album version was the camera shutter sound.
  • Adjusting the pitch on the vocals involved much experimentation. Adjust, listen, adjust, listen, rinse, repeat, stab yourself in the eardrums. I think I wound up at 0.92 semitones? Something like that.
  • The acapella vocals were largely dry, so I processed them a number of ways, including stereo expansion and reverse reverb.
  • The reverse reverb was a pain in the ass, as I applied it only to the vocal at the beginning of each sung line (though it was applied across the entire chorus). I had to develop a process for applying the effect to vocals that were too close to each other.
  • Backing vocals in the chorus were subjected to additional, separate echo effects. This involved carving them out of the vocal track, applying the effect, then downmixing the entire vocal track together. The downmixed track was then subjected to the reverse reverb process. If I had this to do over, I’d likely change the order in which some of these operations were performed.
  • I originally employed some stretched vocal effects at the beginning and end of the song. They added a weird, industrial effect, but weren’t necessarily pleasing to the ear. The introduction of the shutter sample helped capture the character I wanted without being a discordant distraction, so the stretched vocals were discarded.
  • I have more versions of this mix saved in various incarnations than any other project.
  • Jade, amongst other helpful feedback, suggested the vocal cutoff at the end, which made a HUGE improvement to a section of the song I’d been struggling with.

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