The Aristocrat
May 23, 2020
krismccarthy
WWW
In order to create this piece, I chose to improve a piano part that I felt reflected the general history of my article, then add vocals/synths. From there, I recorded spoken-word vocal parts that layered on top of one another to create both a story and a specific atmosphere that I was envisioning. The vocals tell the history of a specific lone train engine, as well as a story of a mother and daughter on the phone.
Looking for feedback on
I'd like feedback for the mix, my intention was to create a sort of swirling field of overlapping parts, but I am new to mixing and don't know much!
Discussion
laurawolf May 26, 2020 5:15pm
This feels totally transportive! It feels minimal yet full at the same time.
krismccarthy May 26, 2020 7:02pm
thank u!!
krismccarthy May 26, 2020 7:02pm
thank u!!
Ryan May 26, 2020 11:23am
Yo Kris! Lovely piece, here—absolutely gorgeous piano composition. Definitely agree with @@juliapikerthat the spoken word direction works super well. I think your mix is nice n’ swirly, and coagulates well. I wonder if you explored some different piano tone options whether the whole thing might open up a bit more/make even more room for that swirling. The tone as it is seems just a bit too cloudy in low-mid register. Speaking of the devil, I’m sure @@juliapikerwould have some good piano plug-in options for you to fool around with as well!
krismccarthy May 26, 2020 11:26am
Hi Ryan, thank you!! and yes I totally agree w/ the cloudiness of the keys, I always have trouble EQing keys esp with this tone
juliapiker May 25, 2020 3:08pm
beautiful beautiful
I really love the swirling. It’s very pretty. The rigidity of the talking quietly mixed behind this beautiful big wall of space and sound.. you are definitely doing it right with the mix. I would widen it even more. check out Ozone Imager: free stereo widening plugin. I think you might like it! =)
krismccarthy May 25, 2020 3:11pm
thank you so much!! and yes im definitely a sucker for a big swirly mix, so ill certainly give that plugin a whirl. :)!!!
peter May 25, 2020 3:01pm
i’m digging the space created by the swirling panning of the vocal track. i’d love to see lyrics of the spoken word if you are open to that!
krismccarthy May 25, 2020 3:02pm
thank you and yeah I can put them up!!
nick May 25, 2020 2:52pm
hi kris! i am a sucker for this kind of arrangement. Piano sounds great—nice and creepy/distant/ghostly. And I think all of the swirling elements weave together very nicely as a bed for the voice over. My only mix thing is that there appear to be a few moments when the low-end in the piano may be clipping and it’s a little scratchy. In a mix like this, it would be simple enough to remove with some cutting/pasting/crossfading of sections, as opposed to re-recording. Either way, great listen!
krismccarthy May 25, 2020 3:02pm
hi nick!! Thank you for the mix tip- I was having trouble with that and wasn’t sure how to fix, so thank you!
Carseat May 24, 2020 9:15pm
YEAAAA KRIS LETS GO
krismccarthy May 25, 2020 3:02pm
hi darcy