Miss Understood Survivor

[treesha]

 

This was another one I would touch a bit for months and months but never had time to get into, so I have heard it a lot and had some time to get it further along so here it is. Feedback welcome as I have overheard this one too.  Used addictive drums,  a kontakt band reggae organ, si bass, Le Skank rhythm guitar, New Nation Blaque dark electric guitar that I really like, a mix of horns like DPro, alpine, vsco. Lyrics below, a bit of a vent song with a beat. Thanks for listening and any feedback/suggestions on the mix etc !

Miss Understood Survivor by Treesha deFrance

Miss Understood Survivor by Treesha deFrance

I explain myself but it does no good
I wish they’d listen the way they should
I talk about it, don’t whine or shout it
I simply state the simple facts
They still don’t get it, they never let it
Sink in their heads because they overreact

Miss Understood, it’s never good
No understanding sick of the branding

Survivor, I’m a survivor
Miss Understood Survivor
Done pretty good, Im a surviro
No thanks to you

Jump jump jum through the hoops
March in line like the troops
Dance dance dance to the drum
Raise raise raise your income

Miss Understood, its never good
No understanding sick of the branding

I defend myself, I get so tired of it
Look over your way, nobody home
Stuck in your mindset, feeding your mind pet
I have a message, I will express it
I simply say it’s not ok
If you don’t get it I will not let it
Go. Oh no

I’m a survivor, Miss Understood
Survivor, Miss Understood
I’m a survivor
No thanks to you, or you, or you

 

[RikF]

Hi Treesha, nice one, the organ part clashes a bit with the vocal at the "miss understood "parts imho. Also a bit of reverb on the vocal would be nice imho.

Rik

Edited April 9, 2023 by RikF

[treesha]

On 4/9/2023 at 9:32 AM, RikF said:

Hi Treesha, nice one, the organ part clashes a bit with the vocal at the "miss understood "parts imho. Also a bit of reverb on the vocal would be nice imho.

Rik

Hi Rik,

Thanks for listening and your feedback. I appreciate both. I do have reverb on the lead vocal via nectar and also a 2nd track I bring in and out with reverb and other fx, I think you are right there could be more that what I used. I will listen to the miss u parts and see what the organ is doing then and listen with clashes in mind. Thanks again

[bjornpdx]

Treesha
I like the unprocessed sound of your voice (at least that's how it comes across to me). But I think it could do with more treatment, bit more reverb or doubling, something like that. Very nice cadence to the lyrics - fits the music well. I kept hearing a reggae marching band in the background which actually works for me. Nice job. I like it.
-Bjorn

 

[treesha]

On 4/10/2023 at 10:19 PM, bjornpdx said:

Treesha
I like the unprocessed sound of your voice (at least that's how it comes across to me). But I think it could do with more treatment, bit more reverb or doubling, something like that. Very nice cadence to the lyrics - fits the music well. I kept hearing a reggae marching band in the background which actually works for me. Nice job. I like it.
-Bjorn

 

Thanks Bjorn glad you liked it! Yes I wanted the song to have a reggae influence I started it when a reggae musician acquaintance of mine died. I always struggle the most with my lead vocals they are processed but likely need a bit more something. I will keep trying! Thanks for listening and your feedback.

[DeeringAmps]

Much enjoyed treesha. 

t

[treesha]

 

2 hours ago, DeeringAmps said:

Much enjoyed treesha. 

t

Hi t, thanks for listening and letting me know you enjoyed it much. Appreciate both !

[Larry T.]

Really good stuff there. Mix is like nothing I've heard before (I say that as a compliment) with the possible exception of some of Tom Waits compositions. Very clear, clean and well balanced.

The music is quirky, intelligent, humoresque and melodic. The reggae influence is clear but the horns bring a subtle New Orleans feel.

Main vox is intriguing. It stands alone fine as its appeal is personality and honesty, not technical show boating.  Bjorn does have a point I would agree with. Doubling certain parts would bring some variation. The background vox are great, nicely placed and delivered. Great composition treesha ????

[treesha]

9 hours ago, Larry T. said:

Really good stuff there. Mix is like nothing I've heard before (I say that as a compliment) with the possible exception of some of Tom Waits compositions. Very clear, clean and well balanced.

The music is quirky, intelligent, humoresque and melodic. The reggae influence is clear but the horns bring a subtle New Orleans feel.

Main vox is intriguing. It stands alone fine as its appeal is personality and honesty, not technical show boating.  Bjorn does have a point I would agree with. Doubling certain parts would bring some variation. The background vox are great, nicely placed and delivered. Great composition treesha ????

Hi Larry T, thanks for listening and your feedback I appreciate the descriptive details and your very flattering compliments! It is always interesting to me to get feedback because I just do my messing around and then learn about it from an outside perspective like how you notice reggae and New Orleans in there.  Great to know my mix is working well ! Believe it or not the lead vocal in nectar has some doubling and reverb etc and also theres a 2nd track i bring in at times that is heavily treated but it seems I am too light on these.  I get how to do the backups better than lead vocals. I will keep learning. Thanks again, your words are very meaningful for me. 

[Paul Bush]

Hi Treesha, yes its quirky and just sort of ``out there´´ its fresh and conjures up so many images I really like it the dry vocals ,

nice one

cheers P

[treesha]

5 hours ago, Paul Bush said:

Hi Treesha, yes its quirky and just sort of ``out there´´ its fresh and conjures up so many images I really like it the dry vocals ,

nice one

cheers P

Hi Paul,

Thanks for listening and for the feedback, glad to know you enjoyed it. Feedback is always so interesting, I like that its quirky and out there to you, made me chuckle. I am always curious when one of my songs conjures images, if you feel like sharing let me know. The lead vocal really does have nectar and another track with processing but yes they do sound dry. I need to learn more about that. Cheers back and thanks again

[FreeEarCandy]

I enjoyed it. I think you took reggae to a very cool place. Personally, I think the vocals sit well. 

[Paul Bush]

21 hours ago, treesha said:

Hi Paul,

Thanks for listening and for the feedback, glad to know you enjoyed it. Feedback is always so interesting, I like that its quirky and out there to you, made me chuckle. I am always curious when one of my songs conjures images, if you feel like sharing let me know. The lead vocal really does have nectar and another track with processing but yes they do sound dry. I need to learn more about that. Cheers back and thanks again

No no no keep thèm dry   they sound great, it just reflects the true quality of your  voice ,

[treesha]

8 hours ago, FreeEarCandy said:

I enjoyed it. I think you took reggae to a very cool place. Personally, I think the vocals sit well. 

Hi FreeEarCandy,

thanks for listening and letting me know you enjoyed it. I played reggae bass in the past with island folks and enjoy reggae but have never really made a song on my own I can call reggae but more like reggae influenced like this one. Thanks for the feedback too! 

[treesha]

3 hours ago, Paul Bush said:

No no no keep thèm dry   they sound great, it just reflects the true quality of your  voice ,

Hi Paul,

thanks again! The comments and feedback really have me thinking about my lead vocals. I appreciate your feedback. Working on an instrumental now so lets see how my next singing song turns out! 

[whoisp]

With my production head on, here's my ten bobs worth....  

im singing a harmony "I’m a survivor, rrr rr   yeh!"  to that chorus up a octave ? it works.... I believe it makes the rest of the vocal better as makes the vocal more dynamic, its like having 3 backing singers doing a harmony is what i would attempt in parts, gives it the big band feeling ,i love the reggae ska vibe, its got my juices flowing . 

In the parts where you sing  "misunderstood" i sort of sing/shout a backing misunderstood straight after it and then you say "its never good" i do the same... its a voice repeat for the expression and works well, again breaks the song up. This you or anyone can do in areas to bring the production out. Honestly i was just messing with it and works real well.  Its one of those where you bounce of the vocal and reinforce the message, you wrote it well. 

i probably go bigger with the snare honk on it with some verb, especially in the intro.. That's more to do with production and getting ***** as it sound bit to processed when you start, even bit of noise could work. I maybe would try a engineered  synth string full sound in parts in the back very low too push it along and gel it together so it swishes in parts with some ambiance, i only would try in sections which gives the retro vibe more impact in areas when  you then take it out... like you did with the trumpets etc, maybe that's where the synth string full sound would sit. Maybe something to try... 

There's some nice character in your voice with the melody, however you never stop singing and this does not give the listener a break and time to breathe.  In parts for just 1 bar or more take the drums out "percussion break" maybe  and just you and the bass or instruments for a few split seconds, so you got some unsuspected element to break it up and bang, back in with everything or the kick is maybe something i would try.  I can hear 1 or 2 little separation places  adding a little silence to an abruptly bang back in... a

In keeping that in mind, i would put a 4 or 8 bar break after the chorus with just the bass and drums or start it off with "percussion break" brign everything in with maybe with the horns building up. Personally it always helps the listener to refresh the ears and brain why the majority of people need a lyrical break, its the illusion and space that adds more when there's less, its just how we work.  We tend to like structures which are often based around 4 8 12 bar

We all do things different and like you say, we over listen to our own creations, we get so entrenched in our work we can easy start missing the big picture. I loved it, gave me lots of ideas... big thumbs up

P   

 

[treesha]

5 hours ago, whoisp said:

With my production head on, here's my ten bobs worth....  

im singing a harmony "I’m a survivor, rrr rr   yeh!"  to that chorus up a octave ? it works.... I believe it makes the rest of the vocal better as makes the vocal more dynamic, its like having 3 backing singers doing a harmony is what i would attempt in parts, gives it the big band feeling ,i love the reggae ska vibe, its got my juices flowing . 

In the parts where you sing  "misunderstood" i sort of sing/shout a backing misunderstood straight after it and then you say "its never good" i do the same... its a voice repeat for the expression and works well, again breaks the song up. This you or anyone can do in areas to bring the production out. Honestly i was just messing with it and works real well.  Its one of those where you bounce of the vocal and reinforce the message, you wrote it well. 

i probably go bigger with the snare honk on it with some verb, especially in the intro.. That's more to do with production and getting ***** as it sound bit to processed when you start, even bit of noise could work. I maybe would try a engineered  synth string full sound in parts in the back very low too push it along and gel it together so it swishes in parts with some ambiance, i only would try in sections which gives the retro vibe more impact in areas when  you then take it out... like you did with the trumpets etc, maybe that's where the synth string full sound would sit. Maybe something to try... 

There's some nice character in your voice with the melody, however you never stop singing and this does not give the listener a break and time to breathe.  In parts for just 1 bar or more take the drums out "percussion break" maybe  and just you and the bass or instruments for a few split seconds, so you got some unsuspected element to break it up and bang, back in with everything or the kick is maybe something i would try.  I can hear 1 or 2 little separation places  adding a little silence to an abruptly bang back in... a

In keeping that in mind, i would put a 4 or 8 bar break after the chorus with just the bass and drums or start it off with "percussion break" brign everything in with maybe with the horns building up. Personally it always helps the listener to refresh the ears and brain why the majority of people need a lyrical break, its the illusion and space that adds more when there's less, its just how we work.  We tend to like structures which are often based around 4 8 12 bar

We all do things different and like you say, we over listen to our own creations, we get so entrenched in our work we can easy start missing the big picture. I loved it, gave me lots of ideas... big thumbs up

P   

 

Hi P,

Wow thanks for the many production suggestions! I really enjoy your songs/productions and I get the good ideas for improvements you are sharing here. Those ten bobs had a lot to say. Yes I never stop singing ha. I really like dub reggae where things stop or come in and out, or only 2 or 3 elements play as some of your production ideas remind me of my dub days on the bass.  Love the classic stuff and Gaudi productions. Sounds like you had fun messing with this vocally, and got ideas that's great. I'm glad to know you loved it, and how you think it could be more interesting production-wise.  I always want to learn more. Thank you, respect, Treesha

[freddy j]

Love it! 

I particularly like the message.  I think that Whiosp has made some good suggestions above.  I particularly like the  phrasing and the slightly  "de-tuned" sung notes (and harmony) on some of the words starting in around 0:52 (misunderstood, It's never good, etc) .  That is a torch, jump Blues, and jazz style that I have always appreciated.   I  am not sure if this would be appropriate for what you are trying to do --- but  -- perhaps increasing the tempo just a bit might and bringing forward the guitar (after all I'm a guitar guy) just a bit might add a bit to the reggae feel?

Great work Treesha.  This was a listening treat!

 

[whoisp]

1 hour ago, treesha said:

Hi P,

Wow thanks for the many production suggestions! I really enjoy your songs/productions and I get the good ideas for improvements you are sharing here. Those ten bobs had a lot to say. Yes I never stop singing ha. I really like dub reggae where things stop or come in and out, or only 2 or 3 elements play as some of your production ideas remind me of my dub days on the bass.  Love the classic stuff and Gaudi productions. Sounds like you had fun messing with this vocally, and got ideas that's great. I'm glad to know you loved it, and how you think it could be more interesting production-wise.  I always want to learn more. Thank you, respect, Treesha

Yes i really enjoyed it, I got the backing vocal ideas in two places and was screaming out to me lol Really adds to chouse and those two emphasis lines i was saying.  I do think you need some sort of break so it gives the listener chance to recalibrate the ears. Its like you race for start to finish, its not a big deal but i believe it needed it. 

[treesha]

On 4/17/2023 at 12:59 PM, freddy j said:

Love it! 

I particularly like the message.  I think that Whiosp has made some good suggestions above.  I particularly like the  phrasing and the slightly  "de-tuned" sung notes (and harmony) on some of the words starting in around 0:52 (misunderstood, It's never good, etc) .  That is a torch, jump Blues, and jazz style that I have always appreciated.   I  am not sure if this would be appropriate for what you are trying to do --- but  -- perhaps increasing the tempo just a bit might and bringing forward the guitar (after all I'm a guitar guy) just a bit might add a bit to the reggae feel?

Great work Treesha.  This was a listening treat!

 

Hi freddy j,

Thanks for listening and leaving your feedback. Im glad to know you love it and the message, it is kinda a vent song so message heavy. Yes I had the backing vocals a little odd cause I thought they sounded interesting that way, cool thats a blues technique! My favorite instrument is electric guitar and I wanted it to be prominent for sure. I would think about the tempo if I did a big rework on this. Its a treat for me to get your feedback, thanks again !