need help with 80s New Wave Vocals - please :)

[jaywilliams]

hi Taxi folks!

Well, I'm happy to report we've received our first three returns of 2020 - Happy New Year!

We sent in 3 songs (the we in this case being myself, music by Noell Romeo, and Heather Rachael on vocals and lyrics) for the listing looking for "Original 1980s-Style NEW WAVE SYNTH/POP SONGS with Female Vocals."

The reason for each return was "Vocal performance off target for the listing." and the comments in the critiques included "The vocal could be more in line with 80's New Wave" - "The vocal could be more distinct to 80's new wave." and "The vocal could be more distinct to 80's new wave"

I think the screener is trying to say our vocals could sound more like 80s New Wave vocals?

lol

Ok, great, now - how do we do that?!

I see there's a few resources online for this, but I figured I'd also poke my head into to Peer to Peer and ask for general feedback -

Who's good at creating 80s sounding vocals?

What are you doing that we didn't do?

Is this an actual vocal performance issue or is it a production/vocal processing issue?

Any and all potentially constructive comments are welcome, on behalf of myself and my collaborators - thank you in advance!

Jay

The tracks in question are the 3 currently at the top of my taxi hosting page, Be With You, Lost Cities, and Make You Mine. [**thread updated Jan 23rd 2020 with correct link, see below**]

Here is the full listing description:
Original 1980s-Style NEW WAVE SYNTH/POP SONGS with Female Vocals are needed by a very busy Music Library that a bunch of TAXI members have signed with. They're building a Synth/Pop compilation/digital album that will be distributed by a much larger company, and they need more material to fill it out.

Our client is looking for Mid-To-Up-Tempo Songs in the stylistic ballpark of these references (which we got directly from them):

“Just Can't Get Enough” by Depeche Mode

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears

“Hold Me Now” by Thompson Twins

“Cars” by Gary Numan

Quoting the Music Library: “We want original Songs, not cover versions, for this project. We’re looking for the "undiscovered" Synth/Pop and New Wave Hits of the '80s.”

Please submit original New Wave Synth Pop Songs with an authentic 1980s sound and style. Please be sure your Songs are well-produced, with era-appropriate synth sounds and production techniques. Break out the DX7s, kids! Vocals should also be well-performed with a solid ‘80s flair!

NOTE: 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 Music Library wants to hear them as long as the sound quality is reasonably good.

Lyric themes were not specified, but you’d be wise to try to keep them universal in nature and in-step with the '80s era and the Synth/Pop genre. Please avoid references to specific names, dates, times, brands, and profanity. Do NOT copy the referenced artists or Songs in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Era-Appropriate Broadcast quality is needed.

This company offers an EXCLUSIVE, 50/50 deal, with a 3-year reversion. If they don’t get your music used during that term, you can get your rights back. You’ll split any applicable sync fees 50/50 with the company. You’ll keep 100% of the Writer’s share and the Library will get 100% of the Publisher's share. You must own or control your Master and Copyright to submit for this opportunity. Please submit as many Songs as you'd like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PST) on Sunday, January 12th, 2020. TAXI #S200112SP

TAXI # S200112SP

[cosmicdolphin]

Listening to the first track ' Be with You '

Whilst there are various mix/production issues the vocals are just not up to scratch. They sound very pitchy ( have you run them through Autotune / Melodyne ? ) and there's also some poor vocal technique on show. For example the end of the phrase around 43s , I think she is singing ' The way I feel inside '...the last word has litte support / vocal cord connection at all, it just peters out into a light and pitchy co-ordination. So it doesn't matter how you produce them if the raw ingredients are low quality. Garbage In = Garbage Out. The bar for vocal tracks in Libraries is a lot higher than what your singer has given you here. Have you listend to any or at least tried to listen to what was forwarded on the Blog.

Mark

[cosmicdolphin]

The tracks in question are the 3 currently at the top of my taxi hosting page, Be With You, Lost Cities, and Make You Mine.

Hey Jay

This link does not work for me and only leads to my own TAXI page when I am logged in. Not sure why.

Tom

Same here, I hadda go to Soundcloud

[lesmac]

Hi Jay,

I could only listen to "Be With You" on Soundcloud.

I agree with what has been previously mentioned. It is a combination of the chord progression and the mode [haven't got an instrument with me so I'm not smart enough to figure out what it is] with some "pitchiness".

There is no anchor or home in this particular arrangement. It has an ethereal quality.
The mix sounds brighter than some 80s tracks.
I'd say pitch correct first on this one and nail down the melody, possibly support the vocal lines with instruments a bit.

The vocalist has a very nice voice and probably is having trouble identifying the melody.

[cosmicdolphin]

Maybe that is why Mark mentioned Autotune, but it feels to me the reason sits deeper.

No I meant the singer is wandering off pitch ( I say this as someone who has had several years of singing lessons so I feel my percption of vocal pitch is pretty well trained by now ) but you are also correct, as is Lesmac . It is difficult to figure out the underlying chord structure, it almost sounds like a bunch of stuff thrown together which is probably not helping a singer.

There's a fundamental relationship between chords - melody & harmony that help songs sound 'right' to our Western ears, and whilst you don't have to know all the theory to make a good song, you at least have to have the inate abilty to recognise whether what you are doing sounds right or not as you do it.

Without a solid foundation you can't build the rest of it properly.

[nicotina]

I also listened to "be with you". I agree with some of what was said above. I don't know if it is the singer with a pitch problem. I think the underlying chords keep doing some chromatic thing that sometimes clashes with the vocal. Dissonance was pretty legit in 80's synth pop, so probably just needs some tweaking. Sometimes the singer sounds new-wave, like in "I wanna be with you", but then at 1:40 she sigs "thought of" in a way that sounds more folky to me. I think it sounds too natural. Eighties singing was really wet, highly processed. Listen to Eurythmics ?

Best,

Vince

[mwb2]

I get sent to my own artist page too - seems like the Taxi site is broken for the moment.

Can you post soundcloud links to the tracks you're asking about?

[jaywilliams]

hi guys - thanks to everyone who chimed in with feedback, and I apologize about the bad link, apparently when taxi went through their site design last fall they changed where some things live.

here is the correct link (I think!): https://www.taxi.com/members/0mk0zjO1Qc ... roductions

I do find it curious the comments about the vocals being pitchy as there's a check box for that, that the screener did not check.

Aside from "vocal performance off target" they didn't give us a ton of additional feedback, with the following exceptions:

"Be With You" - You could shorten the intro to tighten up the structure of the track.

"Lost Cities" - The melody and instrumentation seem to be fighting in this mix. I could hear the synth parts being streamlined to allow for the vocal to be more the focal point.

"Make You Mine" - While there are unique textures in the track, the overall energy could be more breathable for enhanced dynamics.

Making the vocals less "dry" sounding is actionable feedback for me, thanks for that.

Getting up to speed with Autotunes or Melodyne? ditto.

Anything else?

Thanks in advance, its always a gut check for me to post here, but I ain't going to improve by continuing to do the same things in the same way, so I greatly appreciate the extra ears and feedback!

Jay

[cosmicdolphin]

I do find it curious the comments about the vocals being pitchy as there's a check box for that, that the screener did not check.

It's clearly well off in places. Other times it's not. If you have Melodyne you'll be able to see it visually if you don't have good pitch perception. Hearing pitch accurately is a learned skill...newbie guitarists often can't tell their guitar is not in tune until they get used to it for example. But if you ever have vocal lessons you will find that pitch is non-negotiable, where's other things you can put down to personal style and artistic interpretation.

Mark

[jaywilliams]

I do find it curious the comments about the vocals being pitchy as there's a check box for that, that the screener did not check.

It's clearly well off in places. Other times it's not. If you have Melodyne you'll be able to see it visually if you don't have good pitch perception. Hearing pitch accurately is a learned skill...newbie guitarists often can't tell their guitar is not in tune until they get used to it for example. But if you ever have vocal lessons you will find that pitch is non-negotiable, where's other things you can put down to personal style and artistic interpretation.

Mark

Got it. Melodyne is now at the top of my shopping list. Thanks Mark!