CONTEMPORARY SOPHISTICATED INSTRUMENTALS w/METRO sound??

[daveydad]

Interesting... but they gave no examples. Anyone have any ideas what this genre might be like?

A-LIST MUSIC SUPERVISOR working on a very successful TV SERIES needs CONTEMPORARY SOPHISTICATED INSTRUMENTALS with a METROPOLITAN feel. The tracks will be used for a scene that takes place in a highbrow, upscale, lounge. Stylistically she needs current sounding tracks influenced by soul, R&B, light rock, chill, lounge, etc. Nothing too fast, and nothing too slow. Nothing to loud or bombastic, and nothing too soft or mellow. The feel needs to be "just right". She's looking for tracks that will add a bit of a lift to the scene, without being distracting for dialogue. Quoting the Music Supervisor: "I can't use anything too aggressive. Loud drums, guitars, and horn solo's are not good for what I need. The track must have a great groove, but nothing that stands out or becomes too noticeable." She's NOT looking for jazz instrumentals, nor is she looking for heavy metal, hip-hop, country, or blues. Think of the kind of hip music you might hear in trendy lounge in a big city.

[dynamicalan]

Hi Dave,

thanks for posting. I'm interested in this listing as well and looking for the right approach. There aren't any examples given so I'm looking to see if anyone has specific ideas on the listing.

Thanks,

Alan

[daveydad]

I'm thinking something like this might work: https://soundcloud.com/davidhollandswor ... ney-home-1

[andygabrys]

i think this listing is going this way:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/great ... d551522981

or

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/some- ... id85323609

or maybe a little D'Angelo vibe keeping it clean and maybe not so HIP HOP, a little softer, a little more R&B than straight hip hop.

and naturally, instrumental.

[richmstudios]

May be a long shot but Suzanne and I submitted our track "The Perfect Business Model" for this one.

https://soundcloud.com/richmstudios/the ... ness-model

Tossing $5 into the pool...

Rich

[daveydad]

thanks for the examples... so what exactly does "metropolitan" mean??

[daveydad]

i'm thinking if i cut my song in half and left out the 80s synth solo focusing more on piano. maybe slow it down by 20 bpm, too. thoughts?

[andygabrys]

thanks for the examples... so what exactly does "metropolitan" mean??

the city mouse vs. the country mouse. I would say its the city mouse.

or is a kind of Martini.

[andygabrys]

i'm thinking if i cut my song in half and left out the 80s synth solo focusing more on piano. maybe slow it down by 20 bpm, too. thoughts?

I dig the sound and basic vibe, but IMO it might be a little new agey compared to the sort of R&B undercurrent or roots of the music they are asking for (again, just my thoughts, cannot verify beyond that).

But whatever you do to it, the synth lead sound that is fairly high in frequency and panning L+R is actually sorely out of tune with the actual track.

Maybe its got an analog setting that is set a little high (like the ES2 in Logic has an analog slider that makes things more out of tune as it gets pushed up)

Its loud and dry too. I would evaluate that for other options.

[dynamicalan]

Do y'all use Logic plugins like Scrupture or Ultrabeat? I usually try to stay from them because of what other musicians say. I'm really not clear of what "Metropolian" means unless we're talking about smooth jazz.