"HALO madness" - A bit of social satire

[mhoffman]

Hello all, Here's my latest song. I titled it "HALO madness" because of the source of my inspiration.I call it my, "Social Criticism of Fair-weather/Utilitarian Friendship" song. I've thrown in a LOT of new recording methods, instruments, and styles. It's kind of a "concept" song. All feedback is much appreciated. Thanks for listening!! -Matthew HALO madness hi-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplaye ... 83260&q=hi -Matthewwww.soundclick.com/matthewjhoffman

[jeffe]

I hear where you're trying to go here.If you haven't already heard of them, I think you should go out and buy the 4 main "Muse" albums. They cover all sorts of style and instrumentation in their music and they do it well. Particularly the last three albums. Great for research.With regards to this song. I think you've done pretty well in the blend of instruments, but the song itself is not very strong as far as releasing it single wise, and would probably be one of those 'maybe' tracks for an album. Clips could be used in TV and film though.

[mixopenta]

This is a great attempt of mixing different styles. There's also a pretty good hook going on in the chorus. This song can go a long way in the progressive rock genre, provided it gets the proper attention to its shortcomings.Drums don't provide enough punch. A song like this really relies heavily on a good, solid 2/4 beat IMHO.There are a lot of rhythm patterns fighting for attention at the same time, especially in the first verse. I'd consider spreading the patterns out, to make the arrangement more cohesive.Some harmony vocals might make the chorus stand out a little bit more.This is basically a guitar driven song, with some synth elements in it. I'd opt for focusing more on the guitars. The intro guitar provides a great basic rhythm and harmony. I'd like to see this guitar play a more prominent role in the whole arrangement.I'd also make sure the pitch enveloped/glide synth is dead on it's proper note values all the time (I'd also consider decrease its level in the mix).Overall I like the song, with some tweaks it's great progressive rock.

[mhoffman]

Quote:I hear where you're trying to go here.If you haven't already heard of them, I think you should go out and buy the 4 main "Muse" albums. They cover all sorts of style and instrumentation in their music and they do it well. Particularly the last three albums. Great for research.With regards to this song. I think you've done pretty well in the blend of instruments, but the song itself is not very strong as far as releasing it single wise, and would probably be one of those 'maybe' tracks for an album. Clips could be used in TV and film though. Jeffe, Thanks for the feedback. This really is a "concept" track due to the fact that I have a very limited DAW studio now so can only get my ideas recorded to the best of my current hardware and ability. I'm exploring my own creativity now and seeing what style of music I can create. I suppose my goal is to emulate the movie score composers I love to listen to. Dynamic rhythms and melodies. I wrote the lyrics to this song one day after work this week, and created the song in about three days. I'm listening to "Muse" right now on Amazon. I've never heard of them before. They sound like what I just described. Good call. -Matt

[mhoffman]

Quote:This is a great attempt of mixing different styles. There's also a pretty good hook going on in the chorus. This song can go a long way in the progressive rock genre, provided it gets the proper attention to its shortcomings.Drums don't provide enough punch. A song like this really relies heavily on a good, solid 2/4 beat IMHO.There are a lot of rhythm patterns fighting for attention at the same time, especially in the first verse. I'd consider spreading the patterns out, to make the arrangement more cohesive.Some harmony vocals might make the chorus stand out a little bit more.This is basically a guitar driven song, with some synth elements in it. I'd opt for focusing more on the guitars. The intro guitar provides a great basic rhythm and harmony. I'd like to see this guitar play a more prominent role in the whole arrangement.I'd also make sure the pitch enveloped/glide synth is dead on it's proper note values all the time (I'd also consider decrease its level in the mix).Overall I like the song, with some tweaks it's great progressive rock. u peter: Wow, this is a lot of great detail, thank you. Drums and rhythm are certainly my weakest part of song recording. I use a limited collection of WAV and RXP loops so my ability to produce exactly what's playing in my mind is virtually impossible right now. I certainly do hear the dynamic drums, rolls, stops, fills that would make this song a heart pounder. Do you recommend any software that is good at producing creative drum loops and digital hits (the kind that would fit this song)?I hear you about the competing rhythms in verse 1. I think they could be improved by some pan/balance mods. I'll look into it, thanks!I was wondering about vocal harmonies. I didn't want to detract from the underlying music. I'll throw in some harmonies and see how they land.Can you explain what pitch envelope/glide synth is? I'm not familiar with this term. Thanks again for the helpful response! -Matthew

[johnnydean1]

I like music that's quirky.I like music that's listenable.This is both.Good stuff!

[mhoffman]

Quote:I like music that's quirky.I like music that's listenable.This is both.Good stuff! LOL! Thanks Johnnydean, I'll take that to the bank!

[mixopenta]

Matt,As usual I'm very bad at recommending software stuff. As I'm very bad in keeping myself up to date of what is going on in that area. I have a friend using Drumcore (I think it's called) and he seems to have some nice pounding drum loops in his creations. You might wanna check that out.The synth I was talking about is the synth that's playing the rhythmic phrases throughout the song...I didn't know what else to call it, -The name comes from that the sound starts off with a quick glide in pitch, and is controlled by an envelope, as you hit a key.But never mind that, What I meant was, that the synth playing the complex rhythmic phrases, needs to be exactly in time, to really sit in with the groove, keeping the rhythmic feel cohesive.I apologize, but English is not my main language, so there are probably ways to explain this much more effectively. Just hope you understand me in the end

[apjc10]

Hey man...The electric guitar aspect was awesome. I lost the rock element cuz the drums weren't evident enough. The synth noise that is used is ok...it's a little cheesy ( I see what you're aiming for but it needs some eq or something) but there are times where it's not on beat and that kinda killed it. As far as the song itself goes...interesting.