I’ve been away from Cubase for a week or so, but picked this one up again today and put together a rough mix of something which may make it to FOUR – but I’m still unsure (so any feedback gratefully received). I quite like some bits of it – certain bass parts, the drums and brass – but I think I may have ended up with two tracks here which I’m trying to mix into one, linked by the percussion.
First full arrangement – 6th June 2010
I’ve added a couple of new sounds and put together an arrangement. Need to leave this for a couple of days, let the ears recover and work on the mix later in the week. Doesn’t seem like too much is out of place, but tired ears mean I may not be hearing everything. (Over to Pure Tone for analysis.)
Track #6 Arrangement #1 by Kieron James
With some revisions – 30 May 2010
Track #6-98-bars by kieronjames
First upload
The Burns We Earn
I spotted the @blocsonic remix competition on Twitter on 1st May and was intrigued at how I’d get on remixing a track which was “outside my genre comfort zone”. A couple of elements of the track – notably the bass and vocals – suggested one or two ideas and I started to play around with them.
I extracted midi from the bass line and worked with Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass to generate a couple of different sounds. I created a new (extremely simple) drum part in Battery and glitched the hats using Audio Damage’s Automaton. I created a sequence for one of the original synth parts using BigSeq2 and applied a few filters to the vocals. The guitar part was run through Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig as was an additional synth to create the siren sound.
First up is the original – 2 minute track from Friends or Whatever:
Friends or Whatever – The Burns We Earn by blocSonic
And here is my remix:
The Burns We Earn (Kieron James RMX) by kieronjames
You can download the single including six other remixes and a lovely eleven page PDF booklet from blocSonic’s website:
Kicked this one off about a month ago, but kept it under wraps until I got the vocals back from BooSen. These came through last week and I spent a little time mixing them over the weekend. Not totally sure I’ve got the rap sitting exactly as I’d like in the mix, but it’s getting closer.
The track was born with one of the (several) bass lines – which, as usual, was created using my favourite bass VST/sequencer, SubBoomBass. It’s the one you hear first at around 0:30 – ba da da dada. As soon as I added that, I started think old skool house and so I wrote the piece with that in mind. It’s pretty vast in terms of instrumentation at 47 separate tracks(!)
Anyway, here you have it: Free Your Mind, with big thanks to BooSen and to @bubblesmusic for hooking us up.
FOUR, by Kieron James
Last Wednesday was Elisa’s birthday, so I took the day off work and we headed out to the cinema with the kids to watch “Clash of the Titans”. The film was pretty much as we’d expected – mediocre really, but we all kind of enjoyed it. I don’t remember the soundtrack being particularly captivating, but at some point during the movie, I started to think that I’d like to have a crack at something cinematic, something EPIC.
I didn’t get much of a chance to sit down with Cubase with one thing and another, but I did manage to develop a chord sequence late in the week and last night I added some new instruments and wrote a couple of melodies for oboe, trombone and a strings.
Alcmene has come together faster than anything I’ve ever written before and though I may tweak this a little before passing it to Pure Tone for mastering, I’m very pleased with the lead melody and I think it meets my goal.
Given the inspiration, I thought it appropriate to name the piece after Heracles’ mother – “the tallest, most beautiful woman with wisdom surpassed by no person born of mortal parents. It is said that her face and dark eyes were as charming as Aphrodite’s.”
FOUR, by Kieron James
OK, this one has turned out completely off whack with the first three tracks of the album, but there’s something I really like about its quirkiness. There are lots of parts – both in terms of its many layers and the way it jumps from section to section.
I still have doubts as to whether it all works as a whole, but I’m not sure I care! Kinda happy to let it exist as a free-spirited piece and bounce wherever it likes.
Four by kieronjames
Update: 7 June 2010
Lovely to see that Matt Pacyga used this track for one of his #DAPTS videos:
Daily Achievements #DAPTS Playing Foursquare from Daily Achievements on Vimeo.
Kicked off this morning with Battery, as I tweeted a couple of hours ago. Wrote a drum part, added a little Automaton (Audio Damage) and a bass line using my “go-to” bass sequencer, Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass.
This is what I have so far. Time to walk the dog and see what ideas come to mind.
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Dog walking complete and it all seems to have turned a bit dub. (Just drums as that bass line was too reminiscent of something I think Mass of Moments?)
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And after tea, a little bit more. Playing around with a couple of sequences in Massive and SubBoomBass which work quite nicely with the break beat.
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Update 4 – After a week away
Worked on the bass line and some of the drum sounds. I think I have enough to turn this into a track now. (And I’m really pleased with how it’s shaping up.)
Four (20100305) by kieronjames
Update 5 – Fun with SBB and PSP Nitro
Whatever becomes of this track, gotta say, I’m having great fun putting it together!
Four (20100306) by kieronjames
FOUR, by Kieron James
I’ve been working on this one for a while and I’m getting happier with the mix. Need to tweak the arrangement though – not sure about the first appearance of the guitar or its sound. I think that will be removed once I have the vocals. It seems incongruous early in the piece.
You can follow the history of work in progress as Johnny developed and the story of the track’s title on this post.
One thing which Pure Tone suggested, was some “girly vocals”. This set a train of thought in motion and I was looking around some movie sites last night. The track is pretty light and bouncy so I was after something with a touch of humour for some of the quiet sections. I thought these four lines would work well and I’m delighted with the way Salwa Azar has delivered them.
Johnny, is this true? ‘Cause if it is…
Good luck Johnny
Bye bye Johnny
Say kid, what do they call you?
…never should have picked a name like that. A name like that you gotta live up to.
Any last words Johnny?
FOUR, by Kieron James
This is the second track I’ve put together for my debut album FOUR, which will be released on 1st July by Clear Notice. (This will leave six months to create the three sibling albums for Somió, Half-BIT and Blue Omen.)
Recap is a remix of Capitulation – the first piece of music I composed, at the time using the Jonathan Scary moniker. It has been mastered by Pure Tone, though we may tweak a little when I have all the other tracks for the album completed.
Recap by kieronjames
FOUR, by Kieron James
So here it is. The fruits of around three weeks work and the first track for the album FOUR. The track has been beautifully mastered by @pure_tone whose attention to detail and ability to make stuff sparkle is second to none.
My plan at this stage is to complete FOUR before moving on to the other three albums, two of which are collaborative. I’ll be posting four bars of some of the individual channels here too – to see which inspires the collaborators and me to write for Blue Omen, Half-BIT and Sómio.
“Organised Sound” is a phrase coined by the stratospheric colossus of sound, Edgard Varèse. I was switched on to Varèse’s life and work by Chris Randall’s Analog Industries blog. From time to time he produces limited run, sound-themed tee shirts. I missed his Delia Derbyshire edition (sold out), but managed to get hold of one of the fabulous Varèse shirts designed by Stefan Goodchild.
And that’s the story behind the first track for FOUR.
Organised Sound by kieronjames
New year, new goals.
I posted a few days ago about my plan to release four albums this year and this week I started on the first track (not necessarily in terms of running order) for Four, which will be released under my own name. As mentioned in the last post, the other three will be produced under the Somió, Half-BIT and Blue Omen projects / collaborations.
So, here are twenty bars laying out some of the ideas I’ve been exploring for Four Track #1 (as yet untitled).
Once the track is complete, I’ll also post four bar samples of each of the stem files and select one sound for each of the “sibling” tracks on the other three albums.
Update: 22/01/2010
Hard to believe I spent three to four hours getting the sound on these four words and I’ve still not mixed or EQ’d the vocal track! Anyway, @groovecriminals was curious about what had taken me so long and whilst I’m sure it’ll be a disappointment, may as well put that work into the context of the piece:
Organised Sound (work in progress) by kieronjames
Update: 21/01/2010
Got a little more time on this. Have some doubts, but I’ll sit on it for a day and see what I think tomorrow / Saturday.
Four Track One (work in progress) by kieronjames
Update: 17/01/2010
Uploading the second update via Soundcloud as I’ve no FTP access today. May continue to do this as it makes it easier to annotate files. Might even consider upgrading to a paid Soundcloud account. Anyway, not had much time for this as I’ve been working on a track for Gavin Fisher (aka @bootslam. Added a bit of guitar (new melody) and some effects using PSP Nitro.
First Upload: 07/01/2010
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So apparently it’s Black Friday in the US. Not really sure whether there’s any significance beyond a general sale, but the good news is I managed to pick up a copy of Native Instruments’ Reaktor 5 for €99. Quite a bargain.
I didn’t really know what it was, though I’ve heard @ambienteer and @fjfonseca refer to it a good deal on Twitter. So I thought I’d satisfy my curiosity whilst the price was low.
Much to @dustmotes‘ doubtless incredulity, I have managed to hook it up to Cubase (without any sticky-backed plastic) and here’s my first upload. I’ve been messing around with the drum sequencer “Massive”, using some of the on board samples. To this I’ve added some Audio Damage Automaton FX and a quick and dirty bass line using Rob Papen’s SubBoomBass.
I can see that this is going to be fun 
Update 7: 03/01/2010
Here’s one that somehow never really gelled, but I’ve been so backwards and forwards with it that I’ve run out of steam.
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Update 6: 22/12/2009
I’ve been really on and off with this track for way too long. I’m at the point where I might just ditch it. I’m uploading 48 bars and as you can see, I’ve been pulled in lots of different directions with it. In truth, it’s all over the place. I’m not sure I can salvage anything, so I might bin it (or park it at least) and start with something new.
But I think I’m done for 2009. Time for a break and return in the New Year with a fresh direction.
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Update 5: 10/12/2009
A glitch too far? Very probably. Still screwing around with this to see what falls out. Creating some wah wah effects from Monday’s brass stabs. Still some bits I like and others which will go. Not the quickest track to come together, but I think it’ll get there in the end. May work on something else for a while and come back to this.
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Update 4: 07/12/2009
Last night, Doyle suggested some brass stabs – an idea supported by Linda. They both got me thinking and I couldn’t wait to have a play. It takes the track in an entirely different direction from the idea I’d loosely formulated, but hey!
I’ve not got very far – just toying around with some ideas, but is this the kind of sound we were all thinking of?
(Needless to say, there’s very little chance the brass will stay this “straight” throughout the track. It’ll need to be treated, glitched and generally bent out of shape, but I may keep the odd 4 bars here and there quite conventional.)
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Update 3: 06/12/2009
I’ve been a bit blocked – and I think it’s this track in particular. Really happy with the drum part and some of the other bits. I’ll add lots of incidental percussion – little fills here and there – once it’s complete, but it’s not coming together quickly. Then again, what’s the rush?
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Update 2: 01/12/2009
Starting to develop some parts, but still no arrangement to speak of. Again, not mixed or anything yet so levels are probably all over the place.
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Update 1: 29/11/2009
Had a bit of a play with this today. Added some elements which I like and some I’m not so sure about. I’ll leave it for a couple of days and see what stays and what goes. Also need to start thinking about a lead part.
As usual, there’s no arrangement here, not even an introduction – so prepare yourself as you hit play! The drum loop I’ve created is also pretty raw. The bass drum triplets, whilst powerful, are clearly repeating too frequently. I’ll pull these in probably once every 8 or even 16 bars once the piece is further on.
Not sure at all about the funky wah wah guitar type synth sound. I suspect that will die. Only bit I’m really happy with at the moment is the repetitive bass line and the drums (once the BD triplet frequency has been reduced.
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First upload: 27/11/2009
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I’m not going to add too much content to my own blog, since it’s being covered in detail over at Half-BIT.com, but I will take a moment just to add a brief description of what Fernando and I are working on.
It started with a tweet from @AudioPornTwitz about a Little Boots remix contest. The Earthquake stems were posted online so I DM’d Fernando to see if he was interested in having a play with them for our follow up to Separate.
Earthquake – GAP RMX by Half-BIT
I think the single most impressive thing about Twitter has been the opportunities for musical collaboration which it has brought about. This, my third significant ‘joint venture’ is with the amazing talent, Scott Lachance, aka Digitube. I really am absolutely thrilled to have an opportunity to work with such wonderful musicians and producers from all over the world.
I’ve only just begun with this and I do have a slight problem with one of the VST instruments drifting slightly out of time (around 2’10″ which I’ll fix). I’m uploading the small amount I’ve done and I guess here will be as good a place as any for Scott and I to exchange ideas as the piece develops. The upload of work in progress has become something of a tradition and people do seem to enjoy chucking in their two pennyworth as a track evolves (which I both seek out and value hugely).
This has not been mixed at all. Levels are definitely awry.
Update: 07/11/2009
FInished track. Mastered by @pure_tone
Update: 24/10/2009
Really great to speak with Scott on the telephone this evening. Felt very inspired after our call and so I did a little more work on this track. Spent quite a bit of time on the percussion and created a kinda funky guitar out of one of the stems (actually came from the drum stem, using BigSeq2 to create the groove).
I’ll have another listen tomorrow, but in truth barring level checks and EQ tweaks, I quite like the place this has got to.
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First Upload: 23/10/2009
Just playing around with some deep percussive ideas for this first upload. No arrangement and no mixing completed so far.
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Digitube Original “Organic Build 2″
Scott published his ‘let’s kick things off’ MP3 on SoundCloud and I’m uploading it here too for reference. Clearly, it’s much more than a ‘starter for ten’!
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OK, off we go again!
I finally completed my own remix of Alka’s Separate, when a few days ago I was sent a link by Fernando Fonseca to have a listen to what he was up to with his remix and to offer an opinion as to whether it needed vocals.
I am really impressed by what he’s put together.
Long and short of it is that we got talking about whether I’d be interested in mixing his remix. Fool that I am, I agreed!
Last night, I loaded the stems into Cubase and started to have a play around. I’ve worked on a supplementary bass part and I’m uploading a quick burst here, just a flavour of what I’ve got – it’s just a few bars of percs and bass, but gives a hint of where I want to take this.
Rather than the “drop” you’ll hear after the short soloed percussive break, it’ll almost certainly lift here (more drums!), but I do love the sub at this point.
As always, I’m uploading a tiny snippet to kick off the post. I really like looking back and listening to how the tracks evolve, so these are always great to hear once the finished piece has been mastered.
Mastered version
Separate – STRBX RMX by Half-BIT
Mastered by Pure Tone
Update: 20/10/2009
Should really listen to this again with fresh ears tomorrow before uploading, particularly as I did most of the mixing on the train. But what the heck! Let’s pop this version on the website now and if I need to remix or tinker in any other way, I can always come back to it over the next few days.
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Update: 15/10/2009
Train journey home allowed a bit more time to play around with the Half-BIT Mix. Really liking the way this is coming together, though clearly a way to go yet.
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Update: 12/10/2009
Still poorly so it’s laptop in bed (again) and a little bit more playing with The Half-BIT Mix.
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Update: 11/10/2009
Took @pure_tone’s advice and brought the laptop to bed to do a little more work on this track. Not taken it too much further as my head feels like ’tis full of cotton wool and I don’t want to have to undo lots of this later if it’s awful with proper ears.
Not an arrangement, nor a mix. Just some ideas. Some will stay, some will go.
Anyway, Tone was right. That killed an hour!
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First Upload: 07/10/2009
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I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be working on another piece with Shadi! :-] I was thrilled with her selection of Forough Farrokhzad’s poetry for The Wind Will Take Us and even more delighted with her outstanding vocal performance.
This is VERY early in its development. Shadi hasn’t even heard it as I upload this, but I’ll drop her a DM on Twitter in a moment and keep my fingers crossed. Right now (as usual) there’s no thought been given to arrangement or mixing. This is simply a preview of some of the instruments and the overall theme of the track. Brain dumping indeed.
Update: [25/11/2009]
Took on board Fernando’s comments below and added a filter and sequence to the opening bass line to give it a little more groove. Responding to Doyle by lifting the vocals and EQ-ing some of the instruments to give them more room. Also glitched up the percussion track and generally remixed (levels / EQ / some compression on one of the other bass lines).
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Update: [24/11/2009]
Now mixed with vocals (thank you Shadi!!!). MP3 below is not mastered. Any feedback very gratefully received. Would love to hear from you so post a comment below. Do it!
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Update: [27/09/2009 Arrangement 1]
I’ve added drums, worked on a couple of extra layers and put together the first arrangement. It’s a preliminary mix and in terms of levels / EQ, I’m going to leave it pretty much as is until the raw vocals are back. I want to hand over to Shadi now for her input.
Shadi: Keep in mind that the mix / arrangement is still very fluid and can be amended in way you like.
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Update: [18/09/2009]
Not a huge amount been modified since Wednesday’s update and since I’ve been full of a cold, I suspect the mix might be very weird. Feels like my head is stuffed with cotton wool!
I was inclined to agree with Fernando’s comments about the piano, so for now, I’ve deleted it. Sounded a bit Happy Mondays to me and changed the feel quite a lot.
Still just a collection of ideas and with the Great North Run on Sunday, I don’t think I’ll be moving this one on much until next week now. (Sorry Shadi!)
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Update: [16/09/2009]
I’ve lifted the tempo by 6bpm to help this one groove, but it still isn’t gelling for me (yet). I’ve got confidence in the track and I’m sure it’ll pull together, but right now, it’s just not happening. Being full of a cold and having had a couple of very intense days at work, guess I can’t really expect to be in the most creative of moods. Probably best to leave it for now.
As per previous posts, should point out that this is still not an arrangement. Just some of the possible themes for the final piece. Zero attention has been given to the mix (levels or EQ).
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Update: [13/09/2009]
Uploading a couple of additional parts, though must stress that this is NOT an arrangement at all. The piano is unlikely to kick this track off (but who knows!) and some of the synth sounds still need lots of work (EQ too). What’s more, this is a VERY rough mix. Levels are all over the place. Drums are toppy (but expect to hear another drum part too, this is mainly percussion for texture). Definitely needs a lot more sub/bottom end and bigger drums. I can hear the SBB sequencer drifting slightly out of time too. Loads to fix!
The feel of the piece has changed quite a lot over the weekend. It feels much brighter and lighter now. I’m not sure that’s entirely the direction I had planned, but I do kind of like it. Let’s see where it takes me next!
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First Upload: [11/09/2009]
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