Indie Rock Instrumental

[DouglasKnight]

Hey all, hope all is well.

I'd really appreciate any feedback on this piece for the listing below: https://www.taxi.com/members/Gjdf7sdFR ... erious-kid

Thanks a lot,
Doug

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Lots of INDIE ROCK INSTRUMENTALS are needed by an awesome Publisher that's had a lot of success with really big placements, especially in TV Commercials!

This Publisher is looking for Mid-to-Up-Tempo Instrumentals that could fall in the general stylistic wheelhouse of the following examples:

Jeep E-Shop Commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xynRpyWqcRM

Rock the Block (from 0:00 to 1:15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmt_yi06E-8

"Morning Blue" by Giant Rooks

Although some of the references have vocals, please submit Instrumentals only for this pitch.

Please submit well-produced, Indie Rock Instrumentals with engaging motifs, driving rhythms, and plenty of rockin' energy that could work well for TV commercials! Typical Indie Rock instrumentation will work best for this request - think electric guitars, drum kit, ear candy, etc. Some non-lyrical vocals (like “whoas,” “yeahs,” “heys,” “woo-hoos,” etc.) could work well for this pitch as well, but they are not required. Please be sure your productions and any virtual instruments or samples you use are of the highest quality and not dated-sounding.

Submissions should be about 2 minutes long, give or take. Non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings will work best for this pitch. Do NOT copy the references in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a guide for tempo, tone, and overall vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed.

[Tonebonemarone]

Hey Douglas, cool piece! The song seems pretty on the mark in terms of writing and arrangement but I think your mix sounds more stylistically Rock than Indie. The main points that I'm hearing there are:

-The heavily distorted guitars seem more classic-rock than indie. I think a cleaner tone could bring the feel more into indie territory, and a less busy strumming pattern would help that even further. You seem to be sticking close to the Jeep E-Shop reference. In that particular example I only hear guitars at the very end and while they are pretty distorted, they are playing whole note held chords.

-The 1/4 note sloshy hihat groove on the drums also brings the feel of this into classic-rock territory. Many indie drum grooves are tightly closed hihats, in fact all three of the references for this listing feature a tight closed hihat groove.

-The drum sound in your song is fairly reverb heavy. The indie drum "sound" is tight, dry, and punchy, as well as a little bit electronic sounding at times. Try bringing your reverb times way down and layering an 808 snare sound on top of your snare sound with the goal of achieving that short, splatty snare sound.

-The synth lead is super cool but it sits in a frequency that could interfere with any voiceover that would be added to this piece later on. I would suggest cutting some of the biting buzzy high mids from the sound and focus it around a lower 500-700 hz range, or even bring the lead down an octave. It won't stand out as much as it does now but that is not a bad thing for a listing like this (in my humble opinion).

Hope that helps!

[DouglasKnight]

Hey Douglas, cool piece! The song seems pretty on the mark in terms of writing and arrangement but I think your mix sounds more stylistically Rock than Indie. The main points that I'm hearing there are:

-The heavily distorted guitars seem more classic-rock than indie. I think a cleaner tone could bring the feel more into indie territory, and a less busy strumming pattern would help that even further. You seem to be sticking close to the Jeep E-Shop reference. In that particular example I only hear guitars at the very end and while they are pretty distorted, they are playing whole note held chords.

-The 1/4 note sloshy hihat groove on the drums also brings the feel of this into classic-rock territory. Many indie drum grooves are tightly closed hihats, in fact all three of the references for this listing feature a tight closed hihat groove.

-The drum sound in your song is fairly reverb heavy. The indie drum "sound" is tight, dry, and punchy, as well as a little bit electronic sounding at times. Try bringing your reverb times way down and layering an 808 snare sound on top of your snare sound with the goal of achieving that short, splatty snare sound.

-The synth lead is super cool but it sits in a frequency that could interfere with any voiceover that would be added to this piece later on. I would suggest cutting some of the biting buzzy high mids from the sound and focus it around a lower 500-700 hz range, or even bring the lead down an octave. It won't stand out as much as it does now but that is not a bad thing for a listing like this (in my humble opinion).

Hope that helps!

Great input! Totally agree with you on this feedback and will get working on updating it right away. Very much appreciated!
Doug