THE "MANDELA" RESUBMISSION FOR UNIT 7B

During the group feedback I took notes on peoples critical opinions of my track. Names without comments are because nothing critical was received. I also received a lot of feedback during the initial production process for unit 8 (first submission) which basically reiterates the comments below.  

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Sam: “maybe brass?” (more elements)

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Jed:  

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Simon:  

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Joe H: “More percussive maybe (cow bell)?” “More drum variation” 

Kristan: “maybe kick filter isn’t low enough for the rest of the drum filters. This is when            

               Vox enters”

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Dan: 

Paul: “More real to it”

Geoff: “vocals maybe a bit harsh” “tape delays frequency spectrum”

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Feedback from Unit 8 submission 1:

“Mandela the metallic (hat?) sound is too much all the way through and needs to be quieter or less full. Well produced.”  

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RESPONSE 

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Sam: “maybe brass?” (more elements)

I agree. I did strive to make a spacious track with a lot of room in the mix. But maybe I could use this extra room to incorporate some new elements that compliment the track. 

I tried the suggestion of brass and for me it I didn’t really work. Just wasn’t quite the right feel for this deep, bass’y, slow rhythm track. I did however explore further possibilities that conform dub reggae style instrumentation. I tried a few other organs out, guitar sounds, sirens, but found that a piano playing off beats worked best. I panned it left and levelled it out with the guitar off beats being played in the right side of the stereo field. They compliment each other really well and fills the track out a little bit more.

I also added an organ that plays off beats (like the guitar and piano). It sits at about 11 o’clock in the stereo field and its aim is to try and complement the drum groove and to try and swing the musical style closer to that of reggae. Full details will be in unit 7b resub.  

Joe H: “More percussive maybe (cow bell)?” “More drum variation” 

I went straight in and tried out the cowbell idea… and it clashed too much with my snare 2 (the tight snare that I use the tape delay on). I think instrumentally the drums/percussion are all there. I have a whole drum kit, two percussive wood noises and a few tracks of drum samples loaded with effects. 

I interpreted the variation comment both ways: Velocity and structurally. The comment on humanising/variating parts of my track has been the main goal for this resubmission. So I humanised the drums by randomising some velocities and pushing/pulling some of the note locations. Never more than a demi-semi-quaver, but enough to give some more feel. I wanted the drums and the bass to act as more of a foundation that the rest of the instruments would bounce on and off. I don’t want to much going on. I have changed the general drum pattern to conform closer to that of a reggae track (hitting beat 2 and 4 as oppose to 1 and 3). I have also added addition instrumentation such as a piano and organ that play off beats. This adds variation to the beat/feel without over complication my drums. 

Kristan: “maybe kick filter isn’t low enough for the rest of the drum filters. This is when            

               Vox enters”

I agree. During the sample Nelson Mandela speech I filtered all the drums and guitars etc. They all received the same frequency value… but the kick obviously needed more as a lot of its primary information is in the low end and not enough was being removed (meaning it sticks out. Simply countered by lowering the filter on the kick channel. It now sits tighter in the drum mix.

Paul: “More real to it”

Again, it’s a point the lead me to do this track for the resubmission project. I was receiving a lot of feedback during the unit 8 first submission about the computerised feel to Jah 

Mandela. What stuck out was the drum and bass tracks. To heavily quantised, samey velocity structure and bass sound too weak to be a human playing and not quite in the style I was gong for. I took the bass down a more authentic route for dub reggae production which change the vibe instantly (again more info in the unit 7b write up). When I changed a lot of the drum velocities and positions everything started to sit nicer and feel more… real? In my opinion.

The addition of some new parts like the piano and organ helped build this new human feel. The piano is a fantastic kontakt piano that was performed live (no post recording edits) and the organs off beats give the drums some more life. What I would kind of like to reiterate is that this is still an “in the box” production. Its conceptual creation was based on the fact that it could be created using a MIDI board and not a lot else. I do feel that the quantised computer feel took over on the first submission. But I also feel that I don’t want to completely eradicate lt. Based upon the feedback (and my own opinion which was the same gist) I have given the track some more human feel.

I also bounced the track down via the TLAudio valve preamps. The very subtle harmonic distortion adds a little bit of colour that is the varnish (if you will) for this resubmission. 

Geoff: “vocals maybe a bit harsh” “tape delays frequency spectrum”

I decided to agree with this vocal feedback. When Geoff told me his thoughts I could kind of hear what he meant. The vocals were heavily compressed for some reason which I can’t quite remember. So I backed off the threshold so I could have some dynamic control but so that the vocals speech could breath a bit better and sound more natural. They now don’t sound so harsh and brittle. They sit better in opinion. 

The tape delay filtering/tuning is an amazing idea. It’s something I ought to have picked up on earlier really. I took influences for submission 1 from the Revolutionary Dub Warriors and engineer Brandon Knights who both use dub mixing heavily in their work and who filter/tune their delays… I just never pick up on it. 

The delays in question of the snare 2 channels and the additional drum parts that have up to 10 seconds of tape delay. I tired out some automated filtering which was kind of cool but didn’t really hit the nail on the head. The majority of my dum parts where being playing via the EXS24 sampler… so I experimented with the automated tuning. I assign the tuning control to my MIDI board, put the automation channel in “Write” and then mix the tape delay tuning live. I think it’s really cool effect.   

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Feedback from Unit 8 submission 1:

“Mandela the metallic (hat?) sound is too much all the way through and needs to be quieter or less full. Well produced.”  

These kind of issues were adjusted during the drum edits as explained earlier in the responses. It’s another point I agree with and have now made an edit. 

As started in my initial Mandela submission, Soul II Soul’s “Zion” massively influence this track. Especially the bass and the dub effects. I am fortunate enough to work for the Soul II Soul bass player and I asked him how he made his ‘synth bass’ line. It is literally an EXS24 sine wave. Some of the envelope settings needed a change so that it wasn’t a really click’y attack… But that was it. The studio recording and the live performances of “Zion” is literally a MIDI board and the EXS24 default sine wave setting. 

I used this to re-model my bass parts in Jah Mandela. I feel it’s made my track slightly more cultural defining and has added a depth that it didn’t have before. I changed alot of my velocity setting on the drums and organs to try and add some humanisation to them. I still wanted a sense of sequenced drums which I did by keeping the “trap” style hi-hat. But the snare hits now vary as do the cymbal hits.   

The musical director/producer of “Zion” was brought up and raised in culture that popularised dub reggae and the sound system. Trevor Beresford Romeo’s (Jazzie B’s) roots are in Antiguan/west indies music which has shaped his musical career. His arrival to London dub reggae sound system scene in the 70s/80s was pioneering, and his mark in the industry has inspired many including myself.  

This years work has helped highlight some of the issues I face in music production. Being overly critical of my music… and sometime being blind to some of the criticism that is needed. I feel I have the tools to make an impact on the music industry, but it’s my evaluative process that can let me down. I have learnt, and am still learning new ways to get perspective on my work that can help me identify problems and their solutions. 

In the real world, I hope to have a career built upon many different trades. I love working in a studio but I also love live sound, being a backline tech, and would like to be an educator. I also wish to work in with the managerial side of touring and production. I love working with people, problem solving and travelling… I think I’d make a good diplomat. I feel I carry alot of the necessary skills to start full time work in the industry tomorrow, but I know that I need to brush up on my equipment knowledge and the self admin side of things. They never teach you about self assessment tax returns, the pros and cons of becoming a limited company, understanding rates… basically anything to do with finance. I have the ball rolling with it, but I have alot more to learn.