Question about current listing #S101207CH

[chi]

Good evening Taxi Forum Friends!

We're still flailing at the bottom of the learning curve in decoding listings and trying to figure out whether any of our recorded repertoire fills the bill....

I've see the following listing before, as well as other listings from the same entity:

SOFT INSTRUMENTALS OF ORIGINAL CHILDREN'S LULLABIES needed by an Austrian Production Company with Major Distribution, for a comp CD that will be marketed and distributed to European Wellness Hotels. They want to hear original pieces only, please do not send in covers of known Children's songs. Compositions should have simple structure and instrumentation but also need to be a full arrangement. They definitely do not want solo pieces. They are suggesting that acoustic guitar or piano be the main instruments in the piece and they do not want any heavy drums or loud, disturbing effects. Instrumentals that have a gentle tone and are easy to digest by the listeners is essential. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). Their deal is a non-exclusive license along with mechanical royalties paid per unit sold. Please submit one to three instrumentals online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than Tuesday, December 7, 2010. TAXI #S101207CH

and a discussion on this forum in the "peer reviews" section about a previous iteration of it. One remark in the aforementioned forum discussion brought up the issue that this time the listing did not contraindicate strings, or violins in particular, like their other listings have. Since I'd got the distinct impression that someone in that outfit hates violins, I gave up on their listings since I'm a violinist and my instrument is prominently featured in all of my ensemble's music.

Since this listing doesn't appear to have that bias, I was wondering if anyone might give a listen to the following two tracks and let me know whether they would be suitable candidates for this project, and of course I welcome comments about how they fall short too:

http://soundcloud.com/thepanacheorchestra/neo

http://soundcloud.com/thepanacheorchestra/halleys-comet

On "Halley's Comet" (the second track), I realize the violin part is a little dodgy during the restatement of the A-theme at 2:57 and would fix that. For that matter, I realize that it's too long and the extended improvised solo section at the end is inappropriate for a lullaby, so would work out a fix for that too. Anything else?

Thanks so much for your assistance with this!!

Brenda K

[utremifa]

Hi Brenda,

I'm also interested in this listing, so I was very happy to listen to your possible submission.

Your pieces are beautiful, but they strike me more as "new age" adult pieces than children's lullabies. Of course that is only my opinion and I may have the wrong idea of what the company is looking for.

I think the first number could work, but I find the transition into the B section--the sudden aggressive strumming in the guitar--a little jarring. If that could be subdued a bit and the piece made shorter--two to three minutes--it might be more suitable. For Haley's Comet, the violin part in the beginning draws a lot of attention and the effect might seem eerie or a bit scary to a child. I wonder if there were another approach you could use there. Maybe just start with the guitar part.

Production-wise, I think more reverb and a little more space would give the whole a "dreamier," softer quality. Since I just joined Taxi a month ago, I wouldn't know anything about whether the company likes or dislikes certain instruments. I was planning to arrange my pieces for oboe, violin, cello, guitar and piano, so I hope they are open to that.

Good luck!

Vince

[chi]

Hello Vince, and welcome to Taxi!

I am so sorry to take forever to get back to you! Right after I posted this Chi went in the hospital for major surgery, so that is what our world has been revolving around ever since. Thank you very much for your helpful feedback, and best of luck with your submission(s). I love your idea for arranging your piece. I'd love to hear it, so would you post a link to it?

Thanks again and best wishes,

Brenda (and Chi)

[utremifa]

Hi Brenda,

I'm very sorry to hear about Chi. My thoughts go out to you both. Did you have time to post your songs for the listing?

I composed two new pieces for this: The Enchanted Bells and The Little Shepherd's Dream. Yeah, I know, the titles are a little ridiculous--almost gagworthy--but I was so busy with the post production that I had little time to sleep, let alone come up with decent titles.

You can here them at:

http://taxi.com/vincentrusso

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Vince