Feedback on 80s track

[Peterg]

Hello,
Would love some feedback on this track for tomorrow's deadline. Is the mix OK? Does it sound 80s to you?


https://www.taxi.com/members/KuKo-0SmTc ... no-worries

A Bunch of 1980's-Style INSTRUMENTALS in a Range of GENRES that would sound great in TV Commercials are needed by the Publishing division of a well-known Label.

NOTE: This request is pretty wide-ranging, so we opted to not include references because we felt they could be more misleading or limiting than helpful. If you need a refresher on the decade, here's a list of hits from the 1980s (use this list only to get you in the '80's zone, as this company does NOT want to hear any copies or soundalikes): Hot 100 Songs of the 1980s

Please submit Instrumentals with a 1980's-era sound and style that could work well for TV Commercials. Popular 1980's genres like (but not limited to) Pop, R&B, New Wave, New Romantic, Punk, Glam Rock, etc., etc., are all on the table for this request. If you're submitting recently recorded material, any software sounds and samples you use should sound authentic and high-quality.

Recent recordings that sound retro can work for this request, but if you’ve got any original vintage pieces that actually date back to the 1980s, this publisher wants to hear them as well!

TAXI Tip: Emotionally upbeat tracks with a sense of happy nostalgia will probably work best for this pitch. We think it'd be a good idea to avoid submitting anything dark, sad, or melancholy.

Your Instrumentals should be no longer than 3 minutes in length. Short intros (or no intro at all), easy edit points, and Non-faded, Buttoned/Stinger endings are all strongly recommended for this pitch. Broadcast Quality is needed.

The deal points will be negotiated directly with the Publisher on a song-by-song basis. Please submit as many Instrumentals as you'd like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by a TAXI Screener who has a strong relationship with the Label Owner. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PST) on Thursday, January 21st, 2021. TAXI # S210121AT

Thanks for listening

Peter

[funsongs]

Old-guy ears listening on JBL 305 monitors - production sounds solid.
First response was: sounds like it could've been the backing tracks to a Madonna dance/music-video/song.
Does that help confirm its 80s vintage?

[Peterg]

Old-guy ears listening on JBL 305 monitors - production sounds solid.
First response was: sounds like it could've been the backing tracks to a Madonna dance/music-video/song.
Does that help confirm its 80s vintage?

Thanks Peter, yes Madonna was a good 80s vintage. I thought it was a bit Pet shop boys.

Peter

[gitanosoy]

Hi Peter,
That sounds awesome..right away, I went to the movie "Flashdance, then Depeche mode and then Thompson Twins....Okay I guess you know what I feel about the track.


Good luck.

[cosmicdolphin]

Yeah I think you are in the ballpark here. Couple of thoughts..

Toms sound a bit loud to me, and I feel like they could use to be set back a little more into the track with some reverb

37s The new lead instrument that comes in is cool but I feel it needs to blend into the track more ..either reverb or delay..maybe filter off some of the HF energy

51s You repeat the same part again so it's a bit repetitive. You could try changing the octave of the lead part or change it for something else or bring something in to double it. Or you could delete some notes from your original melody so it's more spaced out and then 2nd time around use the fuller version. Just make it different

1:11 Something sounds out of key

1:40 Around this section I feel like I've got too many different parts going on ..seems like I can hear 3 melodies or part melodies all together and it's confusing. You might be better sticking with your two main melodies in call/response and stacking the extra instruments as doubles.

1:56 I get that off key sense again

2:13 Sounds like too much of a re-tread of what's gone before. If you're over time you can always cut out some of the repeated sections

And I would get rid of the coda at the end, finish the cue on a positive sting ending

Mark

[Peterg]

Thanks Andre, I’d forgotten about the Thomson twins, they were great.
Mark thanks for the detail, I’ll check out those points, I think you’re right about the ending, I just ran out of ideas, and I’ll look at the arrangement for the other bits you mentioned. Could be a busy day.
Thanks

[BuzzReed]

Peter

There's an eighties vibe to this track for sure. You've got organic toms doing what I might expect to hear from an arp bass (more likely to be Linn or Simmons e-drums in that era). And I agree with cosmic dolphin - the Fmaj#11 doesn't strike me as in the idiom.

[Peterg]

Peter

There's an eighties vibe to this track for sure. You've got organic toms doing what I might expect to hear from an arp bass (more likely to be Linn or Simmons e-drums in that era). And I agree with cosmic dolphin - the Fmaj#11 doesn't strike me as in the idiom.

Thanks Buzz,
I've found a Linn drum sample and replaced the toms, I seem to remember they cost an absolute fortune in the 80s!
I've changed the offending note in that F chord, I had been listening to it for so long that it sounded OK to me, but I agree, it was a wrong for this genre.

Here is a new mix taking your's and Mark's input on board

https://www.taxi.com/members/KuKo-0SmTc ... no-worries

Thanks again

Peter

[cosmicdolphin]

Sounds like an worthwhile improvement to me now Peter...I would still add more verb to the snare in true 80s style and it's a in need of a couple of edit points...like at 51s you can end and then pick back up again

I'd also still be tempted to try that lead synth down an octave at some point for more variation

[BuzzReed]

Peter

There's an eighties vibe to this track for sure. You've got organic toms doing what I might expect to hear from an arp bass (more likely to be Linn or Simmons e-drums in that era). And I agree with cosmic dolphin - the Fmaj#11 doesn't strike me as in the idiom.

Thanks Buzz,
I've found a Linn drum sample and replaced the toms, I seem to remember they cost an absolute fortune in the 80s!
I've changed the offending note in that F chord, I had been listening to it for so long that it sounded OK to me, but I agree, it was a wrong for this genre.

Here is a new mix taking your's and Mark's input on board

https://www.taxi.com/members/KuKo-0SmTc ... no-worries

Thanks again

Peter

Once people paid for those pricey e-drums they used them - a lot! The new mix is a big move in the right direction. Best of success with the submission.