PhonoBrainer

I could certainly see an orchestra taking this on, so all you need is about 45 more minuets in four or so movements. Nice ideas. cheers, -Tom

Definitely has a cool noire swagger. Or rouge. Mix wise it was all very up front, for me each instrument is right up in the old face. My old face, anyway. Yet the vocals are delivered very well indeed, and are super clear. I may have made a similar comment on another song before? Everything is on the dry side. So it's all sort of up front that way. It's a mixing style and I'm not saying it doesn't work. Maybe my brain us just used to some smoky jazzy depth of field in a song such as this. As for the song itself, I think it's killer. Nice arrangement with a great vocal! I did notice towards the end, with the lead guitar solo, the drums drop out and are very hard to hear, but they are still there. Maybe don't lose so much of that snare when the lead guitar is soloing? I dunno. These are only suggestions, and you probably have an entirely different aesthetic on reverb and depth than I do. Still some awesome work on this, I appreciated getting to hear it. In contrast, you have a wood block thing getting hit on beat two, of almost every measure, and it is swamped in reverb. And of course, that would be something I'd want you to drop out ocassionally. So, go figure. Your saxes are very sweetly played, top quality lines. But they are so dry, have you put some room on them? They would sound sweet if they dripped with rvb, you'd put decent pre-delay on them so the attack shines through clearly. I'm thinking late 80's Dire Straits-type mix, "City of New Orleans" type stuff. Which you would probably not dig at all! I listened several times - cool tune, and your vocal gave me a Bobby Darin kind of vibe in spots. Really nicely done. cheers, -Tom

I like how the drums are panned on those fills. And the programming? is pretty good as well. You might stick all the drums on a bus and treat them to the same reverb space? And I'd say, snare louder in the chorus. Great vocal lines and delivery. If you listen in any given spot in your tune, those acoustic rhythm guitars seem loudest in the mix. I think you should tuck the volume down on those guitars, and let the lead instrument cut through more, be it voice, lead guitar, what have you. When they synths are in the lead, they are very much so - great mix on those! 100 extra points for coolness and originality. Those pics in the video, was that you on stage? cheers, -Tom

amiller - many thanks for the listen! SPAK - I made even more moves on the piano, and hopefully didn't take steps backwards. Thanks again! Galiteri Paul - glad you enjoyed the listen, thanks again . . . Gary Brun - good ideas, I tried to work on it and hopefully didn't polish the turd too much! Thanks! JMaar - Thanks you so much for the education on YMO. Glad I didn't know them when I was going to college, I might never have made it through. Too much fun! I liked their disco stuff the best. Glad to know them, thanks! Lynn - we are brothers then, because this kind of groove stuff clears my head, too. The Empty-Headed Brothers - yet another awesome band name. Appreciate the listen and the feedback.

I don't think the mix is bad, I just think absolutely everything is too dry. Like you really took it to heart when you read the admonition "don't use too much reverb" - so that is personal taste, of course, but I think your mix basically is great! What about one reverb on the master bus (something I've never done myself) and put everybody in a medium-sized room, with ample pre-delay, and hpf below 500hz? Yeah, personal taste, I know. Great tune, great bounce, awesome vocals, really listenable arrangement choices! I think the mix is just dry, that's all. Interesting - usually the issue is a reverb swamp! Not here. cheers, -Tom

Your song from the 90's - I've got those, too! Ah, the classics. Love your vocals. The guitar flanged out has got a tuning issue, unless you want it really psychadelic, in which case, you are there. More importantly, you seem to be a consistently good songwriter, I don't remember hearing any duds. Nice job! cheers, -Tom

Hey Lone Wolf! Sing this in a bar and the young lady wolves will . . . basically . . . rip you to pieces, that's what they'd do. So, nevermind! Great bluuuues tune, vocal is mixed well - I can tell you dialed the slapback back a skosh, well done. Sounds great. Guitars well played as per your usual. cheers, -Tom

Well this is very listenable. You might pull back on that intro distorted guitar just a hair. Really awesome mix, vocals are awash in a reverb dream, yet very distinct. Killer. I think you have contrasted the smooth stuff and the rough stuff very well. I agree with Gary, there are spots where you could bring up the percussion. Is it the same level throughout the song? Why not punch it, or program in some more fills / variation? Super vocals. Nice doubling, panning, rvb, delay - they are awesome. You might want to fix the spelling on "subscribe" . . . cheers, -Tom

Chill and cool swirly stuff with a dash of India? Nice one.

Maybe fade in the rain sounds a little more slowly in the very beginning? Love those vocals, the delay lines are very tasty indeed. Maybe make them a little louder relative to that very pristine guitar? When are the drums coming in? Maybe they are not! Bass note @ 1:52 comes in early? I dunno. Those different lead tones towards the end are a great add. Holy Hannah, those vocal blends are killer diller. Dig the ending, nice sustain chord choice. That was awesone. cheers, -Tom

You might double the snare with some hand claps or something, to brighten it? I agree it could be driving this thing just a bit more. It's a cool jam, and all the performances are very solid. Nice arrangement, the parts all work. Cool composition. I'd say your battle is in the drum mix. What are you using for drums? cheers, -Tom

SPAK - thanks, and good call on the piano, I had another whack at it. More predelay helps it cut through a little better. John B, thanks for the listen, and yes - I don't travel much myself so I was trying to in this song. Pathetic, probably! John Maar, many thanks indeed! I will check out YMO - what is that acronym standing for these days? And yes, the .wav is hellishly better. More resolution when you crank it up . . . Cookie J - cool, glad you liked it . . . made a video for it . . .

Cool song and the video is like a free trip to London. Very cool. cheers, -Tom

The guitars are a great blend of distortion and clarity. I was bobbing my head to the riff. Lyrics are fun. Mix is pretty darn clean overall. When the little "percolating" guitar comes in around 1:20, I'm not sure it's in sync. It tightens up great, right on the beat by 1:40. Maybe it's the delay that's weirding me out a little there. This whole song is just heavy fun! cheers, -Tom

I like the five chord thing! It's as you said a rough mix, you'd want to whip out a few high pass filters to whack away at the low-end build up. I'm sure you know that already. This song idea definitely nods the head. Where is it going? Spaghetti Space Western? Hans Zimmer driving the Tesla Space Roadster? Piano at the end was a very nice touch indeed. Best thing is, it's not the standard four chord structure. Thank you for being original! cheers, -Tom

Hi Michael! Good luck on your journey! I listened to the "Forever Lament". I'd get to the vocals earlier, and more delay or reverb on the vocals in the verses. Your treatment of the vocals in the chorus, with bgv's and ear candy, is pretty cool. You have a nifty synth echoing and quoting the vocal lines in the chorus in spots - very Thomas Dolby which I totally dig. I liked the arrangement and especially those cool chords in the chorus. As far as posting songs here, one at a time is the trick. Cool stuff! Creative songwriting! cheers, -Tom

Hello travellers. Arrangement is altered, mix is retweaked, piano is rethought . . . many thanks for any comments or suggestions! Or Soundcloud:

This is interesting! Will definitely check in as you develop it. Right now the hi hat in the left side is pretty prominent. nice idea to mosh up things like this! cheers, -Tom

Starise, very well done. You maybe might drop the piano out and let it come back in (on the first piece) - sometimes it's a busy arrangement and you might prefer trying a section with less going on, to increase the chill or let it breathe. Or, not! Really nothing wrong as is. The ending, which is great, shows a more chill mood. thanks for sharing that, it was very nice piece to let the mind meander through. -Tom

Those are some chords. Very nice jazz structures. I liked the vocals, and especially in the chorus where it was effected. For some reason, when I listen your melody choices, I end up picturing your sung lines as if played by a really good trumpet player. I think as an instrumental, with soloing trumpet, it would be great as well. Then I realized your singing style invites this comparison, as you choose a lot of "falls" at the end of your lines. It's a very cool style, but my only qualm is that you might be using those falls just a bit too often in your vocals? That's such a personal thing, a style thing, but for a comment, maybe worth considering. Your melody lines work, and especially, kudos for fitting the melodies to those very solid jazz chords. Impressive. cheers, -Tom

. . . has anyone seen Transcended Dimensions and Bapu in the same room? At the same time?

Did you guys catch the bass lines? Really understated but boy do they fit the piece well. In the first minute or so, I felt like I was fighting to hear the cadence, the rhythm. A lot of guitar timings that didn't seem to mesh or sync. And then I realized, not only did the rhythm get tighter as the song progresses - but great melody, super vocal, and those stringy mellotrons in the background. And the chorus? bgv's were really nice. So I came to see the rhythm as something more live, perhaps not in perfect sync, but very much as if they were all grooving in a room. And I liked it. And, holy crap, there are no drums! That's an ambitious leave-out. I'd say it works a treat. very cool. cheers, -Tom

Love that tele. Bass sits perfectly. Vocals are great, but she is a little forward in the mix for me, certainly right on top of the mic. But pretty much, killer vocal! I love this style of music, and I love this show particularly. Dialogue Shakespeare would be proud of, in the setting of a boom town. Just a great show! Your guitar tones are absolutely awesome, but it's your playing as much as it is Pod Farm. Really great work! I'd just make a little note of some guitar editing choppiness in just a couple of spots. I'm sure you know where they are! Any chance those couple of notes could go from truncated to smoothly decaying away? This is a killer song. Very well done! cheers, -Tom

Thanks, Freddy, appreciate the thoughts. I agree the song is ok but I think it really needs the video to be worth listening to. Weird. cheers, -Tom

It's the Lynn song machine at it again. Really cool tune here. One mix idea would be that open hi-hat, it's getting speared into a swoosh instead of ringing naturally. Are you compressing that thing a ton? And its volume in the left side leaps out of the groove. The rest of the hi-hat sounds nice and controlled. I like the congas. The killer stuff is your vocal and harmonized bgv. Wish I could do that. Do you send both to the same delay? nice mover, Lynn. cheers, -Tom