Patriek - Dreamer

[Patriek]

It's been quite a while since I shared any music, working on the following:



I think it's a little long with 9minutes. The mix seems awfull but had a lot of fun working on it!

[acesd619]

I really like the composition and arrangement. Mix feels subdued and very dreamy as you suspect. I'm wanting more definition and excitement.

[Root]

nice one, i like those kind of rolling dub tracks. as said, mix feels dull and i really would love to hear it polished in the sub mids plus a little air. your kick lacks connection to the higher range, maybe add a little transient and then check for your bassline, that might be fighting with your kick.

[0dd]

NIce track overall, I agree it's a bit long for what it is, I'd maybe dump the second phrase altogether. Hate the sidechain comp at the very start. Love the synth somewhere from midpoint, but maybe add just a bit of brightness to it. Agreed on the kick, could use a bit more bite, but just a bit.

[Kromasome]

I really like this overall. Yes, there are probably some improvements that could be made to the mix etc but overall this is really good in my opinion.

I think there are enough elements to keep it interesting but not too much to make it overwhelming.

I'm not sure if I really like the ride sitting on the kick, but that's just something minor really.

Good stuff!

[timc3]

Nice track. At about 0:30>1:05 it sounds a little boxed in to me which continues, and that could be a lot to do with the aforementioned kick. It could do with a little bit more going on and some changes happening a little earlier to help with the excitement.

Keep it up.

[Planar]

Patriek! It's been a while! Good to see you logging back in again. I will give the track a listen tomorrow and give some feedback.

[jordanneke]

Hi Patriek,

Aside from the mix I do think that this is too long, there's not enough change to keep my interest, especially after the 7th minute.

The first 3 minutes - 4 mins, not too much happens, and once the synth line comes in, it's in. Nothing changes about it. I think you need to make some filter work happen with it, some gradual changes throughout with that and the bubbling low synth. Keep the interest that way, rather than just having tracks come in and out.

[Patriek]

Thanks for listening! It still needs a lot of work

[Lost to the Void]

Ello mate, been a while.

Spacey and proggy feel to this, reminds me of Silver Planet records era Prog (a good thing, I love that era).

That sub is bigger than the kick, so your low end is a bit out of wack. I would say bring the kick up, 2-3db, and take the sub down 3-4db, and that should get things back on track. The kick could maybe do with a little more guts in the lows, but it`s hard to tell due to the sub/kick imbalance.

I like the rolling, contant 16ths synth line, it holds a constant line of tension that keeps things moving. I would say take the wet of the reverb on it down, just a touch as the mix is just a little too distant for it.

during the last break at 5:4ish, you bring in a second chordal stab that acts as a response to the call of the main stab. It sounds like a really nice breathy sound, but it`s buried in the mix and maybe too swamped in delay and reverb. I think it would more effective about 25% more dry (in fx terms) and louder in the mix, with a little more high end presence to fill out the space you have under the hats/rides etc. It`s a lovely sound, be proud of it.

[Patriek]

Thanks for the feedback! Life has been chaos lately, hahaha...hopefully I will find some time this weekend to polish this somewhat shiny turd

[0dd]

That sub is bigger than the kick

Just wondering if there's an actual technical reason that kick needs to be louder than bass, or is that just a general rule made out of habit?

[ZenoSupreme]

hi! was doing some other stuff while listening to this, so the length didn't bother me much

Like the overall dub feeling of the track, feels hypnotic!

like there has been said before me, it feels like the track is a bit boxed in. some mixing could help let the track breath. Also the ride seems to be a bit to much, perhaps turn it down a bit?

[ZenoSupreme]

That sub is bigger than the kick

Just wondering if there's an actual technical reason that kick needs to be louder than bass, or is that just a general rule made out of habit?

How I experienced it the kick seems to get flushed away by the bass if it's smaller or more quiet... of course this is a matter of taste, I you like a flushed out kick, then you should go for it...

[Patriek]

Thanks for listening Zeno! Hypnotic was my aim at this track

[Lost to the Void]

That sub is bigger than the kick

Just wondering if there's an actual technical reason that kick needs to be louder than bass, or is that just a general rule made out of habit?

It's not about louder more about impact.
If the kick is the main drive of the track (in techno it is 99% of the time) then it needs solid impact equal to or greater than the bass.
Otherwise if the bass moves more air at high volume, the kick loses impact, the dancefloor goes to the bar, the whole drive goes out of wack,l.
Generally the kick counterpoint is the hats, but if the bass is louder than the kick it will upset the basic rhythm that is the root of the genre.
You can try to go the other way, and I've done it, but techno people don't respond well to it on the dancefloor.

In drum and bass it's different, the sub takes up more room, the kick sits higher up and has more upper chest hit, high bass/low mid, and all the rhythmic drive comes from the hihats and the high mid snares etc.

That's why techno with big basslines is so difficult to get right, and why , therefore, so many people don't make basslines, just booming kicks or standard rumble, they take the easy road.

[0dd]

That sub is bigger than the kick

Just wondering if there's an actual technical reason that kick needs to be louder than bass, or is that just a general rule made out of habit?

It's not about louder more about impact.
If the kick is the main drive of the track (in techno it is 99% of the time) then it needs solid impact equal to or greater than the bass.
Otherwise if the bass moves more air at high volume, the kick loses impact, the dancefloor goes to the bar, the whole drive goes out of wack,l.
Generally the kick counterpoint is the hats, but if the bass is louder than the kick it will upset the basic rhythm that is the root of the genre.
You can try to go the other way, and I've done it, but techno people don't respond well to it on the dancefloor.

In drum and bass it's different, the sub takes up more room, the kick sits higher up and has more upper chest hit, high bass/low mid, and all the rhythmic drive comes from the hihats and the high mid snares etc.

That's why techno with big basslines is so difficult to get right, and why , therefore, so many people don't make basslines, just booming kicks or standard rumble, they take the easy road.

Louder was the wrong word. Thanks for the clarification once again, that's what I thought.

[Patriek]

Updated version, thanks for the great feedback. Kept it the same length, as I really like it myself
Tried to put most of the technical feedback into the mix. Let's see if I screwed it up, haha!!

[jordanneke]

It sounds much better than the original (I think), but I think that the kick and bass still need some work.

The kick is too flabby and undefined. It has no snap to it at all. It really doesn't hit. The lows still sound a bit muddy too. The kick and the bass are not separated enough. They kind of merge into one mushy sound.

I thinks I would try letting through more of the higher frequencies of the kick (assuming it's filtered), and or overdrivine the kick a bit to get a bit of crunch in there. For sure i'd let more of the highers of the bass through. Perhaps try scooping some of the low mids from both? Around 200-350 to see it that cleans things up a bit? For more precise EQ advice, i'd see if Mattias or dub or steve replies

How did you make the bass?

Also overall, your reverb needs to have the lows taken out. It adds to the swampy-ness of the track I assume it's a send, then I would cut everything below 400hz.

Thirdly, your individual tracks also need taming in the lower frequencies. Try a higher low shelf or maybe a higher low cut. The fact that the sounds bleed into each other adds to the dullness of the whole track. Especially with the synth stab. Overall there's not enough high end sparkle/ presence.

[pafavag]

I really like the track. There is not much I can add after all the feedback you got. The only thing that hasn't been mentioned and I had a problem with was the high end percussion in the first part. It seems a bit dry and rigid. When more elements come in later I don't mind it that much anymore but in the beginning when it's leading the track I'd like it to have some more groove and blend in better. Also when the stab opens up in the second part it sounds a bit too distorted to me. I enjoyed the leading melody and the accidentals a lot. The whole thing is arranged well too.