Cue by Casey and Owen

[Casey H]

Hi
Owen Grech and I are working on a cue for general library placement, no targeted listing. We'd appreciate any and all feedback on it-- construction, sounds, placement potential, etc. We recognize it needs some work. Also, what genre would you call this? EDM?

Thanks!

https://s.disco.ac/vhqfndvpykzl

[funsongs]

Seems too laid-back and slow of a tempo for EDM.
Too fast for Chill?
Something in between...?
Dunno.
But good energy in the composition & production, IMHO.

[AlonMarcus]

Nice track! Develops pleasantly and has a really good vibe. Liked the stop in the middle, very useful to video editors as far as I know.
Most of the sounds are soft and and unobtrusive. Just for my taste the mix is a little bit too bright. A little bit sharp at last section.
You can label the genre Corporate EDM.

[OwenGrech]

Seems too laid-back and slow of a tempo for EDM.
Too fast for Chill?
Something in between...?
Dunno.
But good energy in the composition & production, IMHO.

Thanks Peter and I agree it falls somewhere in between those two genres.

[OwenGrech]

Nice track! Develops pleasantly and has a really good vibe. Liked the stop in the middle, very useful to video editors as far as I know.
Most of the sounds are soft and and unobtrusive. Just for my taste the mix is a little bit too bright. A little bit sharp at last section.
You can label the genre Corporate EDM.

Thanks Alon,

I totally agree re the mix sounding a bit bright - I think it still needs some work in the bass department from my end for sure.
Thanks for the genre suggestion, I think that describes it pretty well !

Regards,
Owen

[cosmicdolphin]

Definitely not EDM

Sounds like some sort of electronica, it doesn't really have a particular emotion and is fairly neutral.

I think as far as licensability goes it's got a bit too many distracting sounds in the midrange where the voiceover would sit otherwise it might be okay as a neutral bed. If you can maybe change the arrangement to keep them out of the way more

Also it's super repetitive, it seems to cycle through the same chord sequence over and over. I might try to introduce some sort of B section to relieve the treadmill vibe.

Mark

[eandersonmusic]

You could use that break as a chance to change up the song a little.
Come back in on the one in a different key
and/or add some rhythm to the track ie a rhythmic pad or just a simple rhythmic (bass?) pattern instead of the blocky whole notes.
It has a great feel though, positive and catchy!
-Erik

[jefflaplante]

It didn't really catch my attention until 1:30. Up until there, it kinda sounded like a bed mix that was missing a necessary element. I also agree with Mark about the chord sequence needing some variation.
I would go this route:

Drum fill into main motif (the 1:30 section)
Same section but lose some of the pads to minimize things
A new section with a different chord progression (keeping same vibe and same sounds...just a different sequence)
The breakdown (what you have currently really works)
Main motif again, but this time...add something else on top
Of course a stinger ending

[Casey H]

Thanks all for the feedback! (From Owen and me). We're taking it all in!

[OwenGrech]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Re the chord changes I was under the impression that changing the key or being a little adventurous was kinda frowned upon in production music and it is something I struggled to restrict to be honest ( I come from a background of progressive rock/metal lol )

In fact last year I got some returns telling me to keep the same motif / chord structure when writing cues so I am a little confused. Does this still apply? or maybe there is a way to do it while being subtle? Either way I am over the moon to hear that I don't have to restrict myself to the same chord progression

Once again thanks for taking the time to listen and give feedback.

Owen