<Pony><Remix> Advice sought for WIP

[vaceslav]

Here is my dilema.

I am working on a remix for possible inclusion on an EP. I sat down tonight to do what I thought would be the final mixdown, then I had a silly idea. After the implementation of said idea I have become confused. I am honestly not sure if I like what I've done or am just amused by it.

So my question is as follows:

Does this actually work?


https://soundcloud.com/vaceslav/neon-jalapeno-cynicism-another


The remix as it was before I went a-fiddlin':
https://soundcloud.com/vaceslav/neon-jalapeno-cynicism

[Twy]

Oh man. First I'd like to say that I really dig this track a lot! Admittedly for the first 10 seconds I was pretty worried, but those concerns were put to bed real quick. There's really a lot to like, in both versions, like the almost hip hop-y flow of the drums, the interspersed piano, and the sliced vocals.

As for which version I'd prefer... That's really hard to say. The guitar makes the point at 0:12 where the drums kick in more impactful, where without the guitar it's a much more chill escalation up to 0:24 where the hi-hat, pads and chords really get the groove goin'.

I like the part where cut vocals come in, at about 0:48 seconds, more without the guitar. I feel like the extra space helps the vocals be more of an emphasis, which I like. On the other hand, I think the section immediately afterwards (1:12) is more interesting with the guitar's help. I also like the parts where the synth, at the end of each riff loop, has those short pauses in between notes, if you know what I mean? Like at 0:12, 0:23 and 0:35 for example you can kinda see it in the waveform on soundcloud. Anyway, I really like how those tend to introduce new elements and instruments and whatnot, but the guitar's notes tend to cover those little pauses up.

But overall I think I'd say that the guitar version is the one I prefer. It's just a little more interesting to listen to, and feels a little fuller.

Aside from that I'm not sure if you care about or want opinions on the mixing in general, so just ignore me if you don't, but I thought the bass kick had a little bit too much low end going on. Maybe it's because I'm thinking of the drums in kind of a hip hop way, but yeah. Also, the piano at 0:12 is really quiet. Perhaps turn it up, or just drop it altogether? And the vocals might be just a hair too quiet, but I'm not sure...


But seriously this is a cool track! Awesome job on it... Keep up the good work, and good luck with that EP.

[vaceslav]

Done, done and done.

My primary concern was whether the guitar worked in the song, but I really appreciate all of your advice. I've tried to implement as much as I could.

I've updated the audio file. The song is now kinda part way between the two I had originally.

[Twy]

Cool, good to know I wasn't going overboard with the non guitar advice. At least not too much.

Anyway, I think it sounds pretty sweet. I mean, I liked it before, but I think it's even better now with the elements of both the mixes you decided to use.

By the way... I only just now realized that this is a remix. Don't know how I missed that the first time, but I wanted to let you know that all opinions I have of your track are from the perspective of having never heard the original (Cynicism I guess?). So they're opinions of the song as a song, and not as a remix... Just so you know.

[vaceslav]

I though it was a little odd that you'd complimented the vocals, but hey, I'll take what I can get.