Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

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harperpeterson
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Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by harperpeterson » Thu Apr 04, 2019 3:22 pm

Hey, everyone!

I'm looking for some feedback on this submission in terms of arrangement, mix, general songwriting, etc.



Here is the listing:
CURRENT-SOUNDING ELECTRONIC DANCE INSTRUMENTALS are needed by an expanding International Music Library that needs lots of new music!Submit Mid-to-Up-Tempo Instrumentals in the general stylistic range of the references below:

"365" by Zedd & Katy Perry
"Hope" by The Chainsmokers ft. Winona Oak
"So Close" by NOTD, Felix Jaehn ft. Georgia Ku & Captain Cuts

Although the references have vocals, this request is for Instrumentals only!
NOTE: We recently ran this request as a TAXI Dispatch Listing (TAXI # D190321DM) but the company asked us to run this request to our full membership to see if we could find them more. If you submitted to TAXI # D190321DM, please submit different material this time around!
Please send in fresh, current-sounding Instrumentals with infectious rhythms and catchy, contemporary hooks. Be sure your instrumentation (especially the electronic elements) sounds modern and not dated.
Your submissions should be at least 2 minutes in length. Non-Faded, Buttoned/Stinger endings will work best for this pitch. 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. Broadcast Quality is needed.
This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal, so please be sure the songs you pitch for this opportunity are NOT already signed with any other Companies or Catalogs. Any sync fees will be split 50/50 with the Company. You'll get 100% of the Writer's share, and the Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher's share. You must own or control your Master and Copyright to submit. Please submit as many Instrumentals s as you'd like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis - No full critiques. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PDT) on Monday, April 15th, 2019. TAXI #Y190415DM
Thanks for looking!

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by ComposerLDG » Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:10 pm

Hi Harper,

Dance is not my genre, but I always listen and envy those who can do it! I like your track. I agree with what Tom said about the drums. They seem to stand out in the mix to my ear, rather than have their place in it. Also, they seem to me to sound a little more like rock drums than EDM. The drums in the reference tracks seem to have a more EDM sound. Like I said though, EDM is not my forte by a long shot, so take with a grain of salt.

Good luck with the submission!
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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by harperpeterson » Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:25 pm

CTWF wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 1:42 pm
harperpeterson wrote:
Thu Apr 04, 2019 3:22 pm
Hey, everyone!
Thanks for looking!
Hi Harper, it sounds current to me, but I must admit that I did not listen to any of the references. Two things: Maybe the snare is a little to upfront. Maybe a synth instead of the piano? I know, I sound like a broken record because I just wrote that somewhere else, and, even worse, I have used piano myself in something that was supposed to more electronic. In the end, it turned out to be simply "unique". :roll: Anyway, nice piece! Tom
Thanks for the feedback, Tom! I appreciate it!

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by harperpeterson » Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:27 pm

ComposerLDG wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:10 pm
Hi Harper,

Dance is not my genre, but I always listen and envy those who can do it! I like your track. I agree with what Tom said about the drums. They seem to stand out in the mix to my ear, rather than have their place in it. Also, they seem to me to sound a little more like rock drums than EDM. The drums in the reference tracks seem to have a more EDM sound. Like I said though, EDM is not my forte by a long shot, so take with a grain of salt.

Good luck with the submission!
Hey Loren! Yeah, listening back to it, I agree the drums are a little too upfront. I'll get those levels adjusted and possibly play around with some different patches. Thanks for your input!

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by cosmicdolphin » Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:38 pm

Sorry but the sounds are really dated especially the drums, they just don't cut it for modern EDM.

Sounds to like you may be using some sort of workstation synth as it comes across rather midi like and old fashioned. Musically it's not very close either, the reference tracks are all Tropical Pop music so you need to go and study a bunch of it to understand what they are doing.

There are some good videos on YouTube breaking down this sort of music, the Chainsmokers did one themselves for one of their other songs.

Once you understand what the genre is all about it should help you get closer but you need to be using better sounds from the get go.

Mark

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by ResonantTone » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:35 pm

Hey Harper!

Here's the the pros:

- I think I heard some compression goin on. If so, welcome to an endless journey of tweaking and second guessing on the settings that make your track better in the moment but then worse after you come back and listen later on. :D For real though, the compression is a step in the right direction if that's new.

- You've integrating some great dynamics and are building the song in the right way imo. You maintained integrity in the theme and kept it cohesive throughout.

- Sounds like you're incorporating smart panning. I'm not an expert here, but there was separation in your sounds and stuff seemed to have it's designated sonic space for the most part.

Here's the cons:

- Like mentioned above, a lot of the sounds/instrumentation are dated and won't hold up to modern edm tracks imo. I think I kinda heard the vibe you were goin for on the piano sound in your track and how it lined up with the "So Close" vibe, but the devil is in the details here. Apart from probably just changing up the sound to veer from straight piano sounds, here's something else to try. If you listen real close the the "So Close" chorus, you can here something called sidechain compression (yes, get ready for another rabbit hole). The idea is to use a compressor to "duck" the sound out of a specific track by being triggered usually by a kick drum (or sometimes a phantom kick that isn't even heard on the track) Anyway, something to check out if you're not already familiar with it.

- I think the EQ overall could use some help. If you haven't already delved in to it, really start listening critically to crispness of modern tracks. Pretty much everything pop related nowadays has a "Hifi" sound to it. Some of this is achieved with saturation and some with EQ... whether that's on the track itself or possibly the master buss.

- I noticed the same drum fill used over and over. Variation on that kinda stuff will help bring a track to life. In the EDM, variation probably looks and sounds more like a different snare/claps/whatever you want with some smart rhythmic ideas mixed in.

- I noticed there weren't any edit points in your song. I don't think this is wrong per se, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind as you're creating. A simple start for something like this would be to a simple measure of dead space after a drum riser or fill. Build up to something, then drop it off to nothing. Throw a little reversed crash or impact of some kind on the last beat of the empty bar and let that bring it all right back into where you left off.


Hope this helps some! Feel free to hit me up if you have questions about any of my rambling. :)

Andrew

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by harperpeterson » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:11 pm

cosmicdolphin wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:38 pm
Sorry but the sounds are really dated especially the drums, they just don't cut it for modern EDM.

Sounds to like you may be using some sort of workstation synth as it comes across rather midi like and old fashioned. Musically it's not very close either, the reference tracks are all Tropical Pop music so you need to go and study a bunch of it to understand what they are doing.

There are some good videos on YouTube breaking down this sort of music, the Chainsmokers did one themselves for one of their other songs.

Once you understand what the genre is all about it should help you get closer but you need to be using better sounds from the get go.

Mark
No need to apologize, I'm asking for feedback! I appreciate your straight forward response and honesty. This is the second listing I've attempted to write for so there's definitely a learning curve there.
In regards to the sounds being dated.. I'm not using any patches from a workstation synth but do you have any libraries that you would recommend for this style?

Thanks!

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by harperpeterson » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:19 pm

ResonantTone wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:35 pm
Hey Harper!

Here's the the pros:

- I think I heard some compression goin on. If so, welcome to an endless journey of tweaking and second guessing on the settings that make your track better in the moment but then worse after you come back and listen later on. :D For real though, the compression is a step in the right direction if that's new.

- You've integrating some great dynamics and are building the song in the right way imo. You maintained integrity in the theme and kept it cohesive throughout.

- Sounds like you're incorporating smart panning. I'm not an expert here, but there was separation in your sounds and stuff seemed to have it's designated sonic space for the most part.

Here's the cons:

- Like mentioned above, a lot of the sounds/instrumentation are dated and won't hold up to modern edm tracks imo. I think I kinda heard the vibe you were goin for on the piano sound in your track and how it lined up with the "So Close" vibe, but the devil is in the details here. Apart from probably just changing up the sound to veer from straight piano sounds, here's something else to try. If you listen real close the the "So Close" chorus, you can here something called sidechain compression (yes, get ready for another rabbit hole). The idea is to use a compressor to "duck" the sound out of a specific track by being triggered usually by a kick drum (or sometimes a phantom kick that isn't even heard on the track) Anyway, something to check out if you're not already familiar with it.

- I think the EQ overall could use some help. If you haven't already delved in to it, really start listening critically to crispness of modern tracks. Pretty much everything pop related nowadays has a "Hifi" sound to it. Some of this is achieved with saturation and some with EQ... whether that's on the track itself or possibly the master buss.

- I noticed the same drum fill used over and over. Variation on that kinda stuff will help bring a track to life. In the EDM, variation probably looks and sounds more like a different snare/claps/whatever you want with some smart rhythmic ideas mixed in.

- I noticed there weren't any edit points in your song. I don't think this is wrong per se, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind as you're creating. A simple start for something like this would be to a simple measure of dead space after a drum riser or fill. Build up to something, then drop it off to nothing. Throw a little reversed crash or impact of some kind on the last beat of the empty bar and let that bring it all right back into where you left off.


Hope this helps some! Feel free to hit me up if you have questions about any of my rambling. :)

Andrew
Andrew! Thank you so much for your detailed response!

I think in general I need to sharpen my production skills, and I've been working towards that by watching a ton of videos and trying things out. I'll definitely brush up on some of the techniques you mentioned!
I hadn't thought about edit points! Thank you for bringing that up!

I always appreciate your rambling!


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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by HigherSelf » Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:30 pm

hey man,

Honestly I think you are quite a way off sound wise.

I agree with Cosmic, the sounds/synths perc claps/kicks don't sound punchy enough or tbh in the style of the Briefs.

Those tracks use a lot of organic sounds/percussion especially the Zedd one, if you don't have it then look into something like Omnisphere, you will get all the sounds you need for these styles there. :)

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Re: Current Sounding Electronic Dance Submission

Post by LachlanCross » Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:33 am

You may wanna throw in some Future Bass chords. ala Chainsmokers, Flume.
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