Any and all suggestions are welcome! Instrumental

[SawtoothPorter]

Is this enough for this listing? I wasn't going to submit for it but then listened to some of the refs and had a progression in my head so I decided to go for it. A lot of the refs are fairly sparse and not "rhythmically" engaging. What are your thoughts on what changes are needed for this track?

https://soundcloud.com/sawtoothporter/right-time

A WIDE RANGE of UNIQUE INSTRUMENTALS is needed by WEDNESDAY for a bunch of (up to) $10,000, placement by a NON-Exclusive Publisher that’s feeding material to the Music Supervisor of a Hit TV Series. They’re looking for Mid¬-to-¬Up-Tempo Instrumentals that have the general style and vibe of the following reference we got from the company! “Rennen” by SOHN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGYEDquZv5I “The Light” by Nick Hakim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpOILiRvixw “Can't Keep Checking My Phone” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpD_74Vc3mA “Trust” by Half Moon Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFUSuT_7qq8 “Glorious Warrior” by Electric Guest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBVBSTs0cS4 “Bridges” by Nine Pound Shadow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg9APx1aqkg “Red Eyes” by The War On Drugs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsoqmFL1vlU Although the references above have vocals, this pitch is for instrumentals only! Give them well-crafted Instrumentals with a rhythmically engaging approach, with melodic elements and influences that are stylistically in the feel of the references mentioned above.

[ernstinen]

Hey Sawtooth,

I rarely listen to the "ala's" before I listen to your piece. It's a very nice composition, and builds nicely. My first reaction was that I didn't hear much reverb, especially on the snare. THEN, I listened to the "ala's." Yup, I was right.

Real subtle use of reverb and/or delay on tracks can make your whole composition much larger. Just a mixing thing. I think the composition is great!

Cheers,

Ern

[SawtoothPorter]

Thanks Ern. I must be growing more restraint. This is the first time someone has ever told me more reverb!

[johnlewitt]

Originally I was going to say the the tempo is too slow for a mid to uptempo listing, but then I checked it against the SOHN reference and that one's pretty down tempo to my ears. So, I would use that as your reference track and A/B your song to it the best you can.

[Ejeffries]

I think you nailed the vibe. This submission sure has a lot of reference videos and different tempos, good job on sorting it out. My 2 cents is tighten the length to around 2 minutes and maybe make the piano lighter, slightly more synthy or like an electric piano.

[lesmac]

Hi Sawtooth, sorry I'm late, I thought I posted a few days ago but it didn't send .

I really like this, great composition.

Just to keep it simple,

I think the bass guitar and low notes on the piano are a bit too loud.

You could pan some instruments to the side more. some instruments seem to be sitting on top of one another.
Try and create space using level automation. The piano could do with a low cut in the mix after a while, you could pull it back to mono to create space for the pad for instance then widen it up again later.. Once elements in the mix have made themselves known pull them back to let something else shine with level or an eq cut of the previous element, rather than automatically boosting the new instrument.

You could add reverbs and or modulation to some elements but if you use eq and level automation the space made can make its own ambience. I think the composition and choice of instruments lends itself to that but most of the refs I think are quite affected.

Just generalities really but hope they may be of some help. Good luck with it.
Very catchy and enjoyable.