New Music Friday #16

[Steve Mueske]

This yawning into the void gets old, doesn't it? My latest stuff is always here.

 

https://play.reelcrafter.com/whoisthemuesk/musicistheriver

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Steve Mueske

[john]

Migraine wiped out most of my Friday, and 3 other days this week. I do have something to post. In fact somethings… I have an evolution of last week’s and another song. I’ll need to post when I wake up as one still has to be recorded!

[Steve Mueske]

I'm working with @Emily Quinn and am privileged to do so. I have so many things going. I'm so excited. Something has to bear fruit. I am here, listening...

[Steve Mueske]

My buddy @geographyhorse has been listening. Let's go! Backchannel me if you need to. This is a thing. We can make this a thing. I will always listen. Always.

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

10 hours ago, Steve Mueske said:

I'm working with @Emily Quinn 

 

That's really great!  I am glad to hear it for the both of you. 👍🏻

 

🎵 I believe Emily to be the most talented artist on this forum.  Her voice is great and her musical skill level far exceeds anyone else.🎵

Edited March 5, 2022 by Clay Anderson Johnson

[Emily Quinn]

2 hours ago, Clay Anderson Johnson said:

 

That's really great!  I am glad to hear it for the both of you. 👍🏻

 

🎵 I believe Emily to be the most talented artist on this forum.  Her voice is great and her musical skill level far exceeds anyone else.🎵

Wow, thank you! 😊 That is really kind of you to say. 

[geographyhorse]

23 hours ago, Steve Mueske said:

My buddy @geographyhorse has been listening. Let's go! Backchannel me if you need to. This is a thing. We can make this a thing. I will always listen. Always.

There’s something special there for sure. Very unique. 

[john]

I hope to record an update for last week’s track tomorrow…

 

Here’s another track recorded on my phone, Elemental. Missing a last verse and chorus repeat.

 

 

[john]

No one played it yet? Come on guys… hit that little play button!

[Steve Mueske]

I will later. The audio system in my studio always trashes the sound over the Internet after I've been working (it's a bug with many ASIO interfaces). I'll either have to restart my computer or run my phone through my Kilpsch personal system later. 

 

Meanwhile, would love to hear your thoughts on my mix of "Here."

 

 

[Steve Mueske]

Thanks for posting! Your voice reminds me a lot of Thom York. I especially like the transition to the fast chords about 2/3 of the way through.

 

The song feels too fast right now. Obviously still an early sketch and you know best what the vibe is supposed to be. Like, the speed is a kind of freedom that fuels the theme. I get that. But it feels on the edge of control and perhaps reining it back just a tad will help you find the missing pieces.

[john]

Here… it’s a lovely song. In general I love what you’ve done with it. I like the idea of the simple vocal treatment going to the expanded vocal sections. I kind of heard the here, here sections a bit like there could have been spin-off noises, like brief fire flies… nothing too detracting from the vocal though. Mostly I think you got that balance right though at a couple of points I thought it walked right up to the edge of overwhelming the vocal for the briefest of seconds.

 

It is really nice without percussion, though I would have liked to hear a comparison mix with a simple, round tone bass line, a bit like walk on the wild side, coming in around 1:22.

 

All in all there is nothing I don’t like and a whole lot I do. For all I know you considered my suggestions or tried similar and discounted them. If it stayed exactly as it is I would still be a very happy listener. The combination of the pair of you really seems to work very nicely…. I can’t wait to hear more!

[john]

52 minutes ago, Steve Mueske said:

Thanks for posting! Your voice reminds me a lot of Thom York. I especially like the transition to the fast chords about 2/3 of the way through.

 

The song feels too fast right now. Obviously still an early sketch and you know best what the vibe is supposed to be. Like, the speed is a kind of freedom that fuels the theme. I get that. But it feels on the edge of control and perhaps reining it back just a tad will help you find the missing pieces.

Although I am the only other person posting I did wonder if you meant my track! I completely get the too fast observation and agree… it’s maybe about 6-8bpm too fast, although if you get much more than 12 it struggles rhythmically, I think. There’s a few errors, but mostly I think it’s being out of practice!

 

The description that threw me was “reminds me a lot of Thom Yorke”. A very flattering comparison, but one I don’t see… though I never get my own vocal comparisons… I think it’s because I hear my voice in the unique way all singers do, with the tones that come via the jaw bone added to the mix. I don’t know what is Thom Yorke-ish about it. I should say I have had that comparison maybe 3 times before, about other songs. I didn’t see the comparison then either! Lol

 

I like that fast chord section too. As you said the whole thing needs tamed to properly work. I think the baseline I have in mind will really help set it off.

 

I hope to start with proper recordings of some songs this week. Can’t wait!

[john]

6 minutes ago, john said:

Although I am the only other person posting I did wonder if you meant my track! I completely get the too fast observation and agree… it’s maybe about 6-8bpm too fast, although if you get much more than 12 it struggles rhythmically, I think. There’s a few errors, but mostly I think it’s being out of practice!

 

The description that threw me was “reminds me a lot of Thom Yorke”. A very flattering comparison, but one I don’t see… though I never get my own vocal comparisons… I think it’s because I hear my voice in the unique way all singers do, with the tones that come via the jaw bone added to the mix. I don’t know what is Thom Yorke-ish about it. I should say I have had that comparison maybe 3 times before, about other songs. I didn’t see the comparison then either! Lol

 

I like that fast chord section too. As you said the whole thing needs tamed to properly work. I think the baseline I have in mind will really help set it off.

 

I hope to start with proper recordings of some songs this week. Can’t wait!

 

Oh and I meant than you lots for listening and posting up your feedback. Greatly appreciated as ever.

[Steve Mueske]

@johnYour style of singing reminds me, stylistically, of Thom Yorke. You don't have the same tone, but there is a similar quirkiness that feels deeply vulnerable and honest.

[john]

Ah, ok! Now that makes much more sense to me, thanks for that. I think emotion and that honest connection with the words you sing, the music you play, is a vital component of music I enjoy. The fact that you feel that it is there within my own work makes me a happy man!

[john]

Oh and I think the nature of my words or the emotion driving the songs has something that makes me feel vulnerable. Often it’s that I feel I pulled my punches if I am not honest in my emotions, in both writing and in performing. I owe it to myself, to my songs and to my listeners, to be honest in the moment of writing and performance. That means connecting with the emotion that drives the song. Easier to do when writing.

 

Honesty is not always comfortable.

 

It is funny, so many singers sound as emotional as they might when reading the Dow Jones. In doing so, they leave everything the song embodies, the power of the song, on the table. Such a pity. Give me honest, emotional performances any day!

[geographyhorse]

@john That's a pretty solid sketch. I agree with Steve that the tempo is bit fast. I reminds me a bit of grunge but with a more involved song structure. I can easily hear this as a bar tune; albeit with a bit of sophistication. 

 

There's a reverb effect that seems to be clashing with the natural eq of your voice. Consider something brighter and a bit more transparent. Although, I think you've got the vocal chops to sell this with minimal reverb (automate the reverb to mostly engage only on the tail end of words you want to stand out for emotional effect), that'll bring listener in closer  if you wish to keep this mostly acoustic. 

 

This is a really cool song and I think it'd be a treat to hear in a live setting. 

[Clay Anderson Johnson]

21 hours ago, john said:

Here’s another track recorded on my phone, Elemental.

 

I like the song itself and the vocal seemed very good since you have had problems with your voice recently.

 

The performance overall has a jerky feel to it.  The tempo is probably too fast to play smoothly.

 

I liked the change up in the middle where it speeded the chord changes although I did not like the transition out of it at the end.  It seemed a little too Peter Townsend like to fit with the rest of the song.

 

Overall well worth pursuing further 👍🏻

[geographyhorse]

This was sitting around on my hard drive since November. I think it's "mostly" done. It's one of my more experimental pieces and is an interpretation of the New Agey, Guided Meditation tapes you'd hear in the 70's and 80's, but with modern downtempo and lo-fi elements thrown in. 

 

I'm particularly fond of the wax cylinder sample and the fact that the chimes in the background during two of the verses mimics the melodic structure to anticipate and validate the sample. 

 

Let me know what you think or if it's even your thing....