BRAD LEE "Others Among Us"

[BRADLEE]

Well it's not quite done yet. Want to change the arrangement after the break a bit and such...sounds like I need a slight bit of EQ or volume adjustment on a certain sound as well. But just tell me what you think of the sketch....Haven't had loads of time to work on it....but blah blahblah blah blah blah blah :laughing:

http://iluvtekno.com/BRADLEE-others_among_us.mp3

http://iluvtekno.com/BRADLEE-others_among_us.jpg

[p_brane]

gut busting, gruesome beats.

very interesting tune there mate, i like the atmosphere you've created.

i think you made my ears bleed though, IMO the highs are a little pearcing.

were did the sample come from? im sure ive heard it somewhere!

p_

[BRADLEE]

gut busting, gruesome beats.

very interesting tune there mate, i like the atmosphere you've created.

i think you made my ears bleed though, IMO the highs are a little pearcing.

were did the sample come from? im sure ive heard it somewhere!

p_

Yeah man, glad I could make the ears bleed a little bit ;) haha

For sure, need to tune down the highs on this. Glad you like the track overall amigo.

As for the vocal samples, I got them from a Russian movie that was dubbed in English called "Night Watch".

[detfella]

listening now, nice cinematic intro, wicked edits and sequence. vocal works really well, reminds me of stuff on barcode (drum & bass label). maybe lift the acid synth out of the mix more or make it develop as it goes on? other than that everything sounds spot on to me :)

maybe as p_brane says, bit top heavy, which means i cant listen in my headphones as loud as i want. maybe this is the reason all mine are too bottom heavy. good work brad :D

[BRADLEE]

listening now, nice cinematic intro, wicked edits and sequence. vocal works really well, reminds me of stuff on barcode (drum & bass label). maybe lift the acid synth out of the mix more or make it develop as it goes on? other than that everything sounds spot on to me :)

maybe as p_brane says, bit top heavy, which means i cant listen in my headphones as loud as i want. maybe this is the reason all mine are too bottom heavy. good work brad :D

Thanks Dan, yeah I want to make that line sort of evolve and change a bit more too I recon. Will probably do some sort of filter automation, cause the noise is only a single shot sample, then just programmed the sequence of it. But I'll get some more edits on that noise and see what I can do about keeping it shifting a bit more in the arrangement. Thanks homie!!!

[loopdon]

Back to your roots it seems, pretty unique trademark sound! On the technical side i think the tune may be a little to loud. Sounds as if the highs are clipping, perhaps. Looking at the waveform would tell me if that assumption was right or not. Easily fixable, though, only a minor issue. Which limiter are you using, waves l2/l3 by chance?

[BRADLEE]

Back to your roots it seems, pretty unique trademark sound! On the technical side i think the tune may be a little to loud. Sounds as if the highs are clipping, perhaps. Looking at the waveform would tell me if that assumption was right or not. Easily fixable, though, only a minor issue. Which limiter are you using, waves l2/l3 by chance?

Yeah all of my stuff is a bit loud homie...h aha Guess I'm a little bit def my friend...But I usually tone it down once I've got it ready. The limiter I use is built into the Izotope Ozone. ( I never use the waves limiters cause they clip really heavy) Use that on my master channel of the fx mixer. But yeah I can back that down a bit...no worries. Will do that when I'm satisfied with the tune as a whole.

Really glad you're liking it thus far my friend. Still have some hours left to put into it I think. Bit more edits, then of course final mixdown as well. Thanks for leaving me the feedback my friend. Really appreciate it.

[jk_scowling]

Nice mate, really atmospheric and aggressive.

I Agree with the comments on it sounding like its clipping a little.

Love the little variations with the beat, all the atmospheric stuff sounds good, well done.

[BRADLEE]

Nice mate, really atmospheric and aggressive.

I Agree with the comments on it sounding like its clipping a little.

Love the little variations with the beat, all the atmospheric stuff sounds good, well done.

Thank you as well for the feedback. Much appreciated amigo.

[judas_beast]

I like it, nice and aggressive, thats what I'm into to a t!!

Gotta agree the high end does sound a little harsh at points. I don't know if you ever do but maybe you should use a tape saturation vst instead of a limiter, if you are running it really hard, gives you the volume you obviously like(!!) but not the harshness.

Yeh this is brutal mate, I'm digging it.

[DannyBlack]

f**k yeah i like this! fantastic and really atmospheric. sweet mate, well done!

[BRADLEE]

Thanks Danny and Judas. Appreciate the comments guys. Judas, I'll give that a shot man...Just gotta find one of those plugs like that. Didn't have time to work on it last night man....will still do some more to this.

[loopdon]

tape sims:

http://home.versatel.nl/breebaar/downloads/ferox/ferox.zip

not free:

http://www.voxengo.com/files/VoxengoAnalogfluxSuite_152_WinVST_setup.exe

-->tape bus in that bundle

[BRADLEE]

tape sims:

http://home.versatel.nl/breebaar/downloads/ferox/ferox.zip

not free:

http://www.voxengo.com/files/VoxengoAnalogfluxSuite_152_WinVST_setup.exe

-->tape bus in that bundle

Thanks Martin...Is the Voxengo one a demo or something?

[loopdon]

yep, but ok to testrun i'd say.

[BRADLEE]

Thanks amigo. I'll definitely give it a spin to see what goes down homie!!!

[loopdon]

From what i have heard ferox is cool and the voxengo stuff must be about the best tape sim there is. i liked them both when i tried them. those were the two tha came to my mind :)

[decoherance]

holy jesus! thats loud!
like it though, proper gritty and dark.
bit of overkill on the gains imo, everythings fighting for space.
great track though, i would buy it (with less distortion)
;)

[BRADLEE]

Thanks bro....I've done a few more hours work with the edits, and also mixed it back down again. Tried that tape simulator out too. Thanks martin...I think it's much better now. What do you guys think?

[rhythmtech]

listenin now brad

ok.. you know this aint my style but F**K me you do it well!!

only problem i can find is that the overheads arent sittin in the mix properly.. they sound like they werent compressed with the mix (if you know what i mean)..

the vocal sample is f**king beautiful.. and the lazers that come in after it made me cream my panties!!!!!

top top stuff homie.

actually scrap what i said earlier about this not being my thing.. this is feckin awesome listening material..

[BRADLEE]

listenin now brad

ok.. you know this aint my style but F**K me you do it well!!

only problem i can find is that the overheads arent sittin in the mix properly.. they sound like they werent compressed with the mix (if you know what i mean)..

the vocal sample is f**king beautiful.. and the lazers that come in after it made me cream my panties!!!!!

top top stuff homie.

actually scrap what i said earlier about this not being my thing.. this is feckin awesome listening material..

Just wondering what you mean by overheads Baz? Do you mean some of my atmospheres? Maybe they're sitting to high in the mix?

Ace that you're liking the tune too homie. I really got in deep the bits last night. I really hope all who have listened will take another listen. It's much better than yesterday....

[rhythmtech]

by overheads i mean hats and ride cymbals

[BRADLEE]

by overheads i mean hats and ride cymbals

yeah, they're compressed into the mix too...Dunno what you mean homie...

[rhythmtech]

yeah, they're compressed into the mix too...Dunno what you mean homie...

i mean they sound like they arent.. maybe levels a little too high.. just dont sound like they're gelling with the rest. its not the sounds or the patterns. they're working well. i cant really explain.. maybe too dry compared to the rest of the mix?

[BRADLEE]

i mean they sound like they arent.. maybe levels a little too high.. just dont sound like they're gelling with the rest. its not the sounds or the patterns. they're working well. i cant really explain.. maybe too dry compared to the rest of the mix?


Hmm, I dunno it sounds well balanced to me...Maybe I'll try to compress the rides a little bit heavier...but i rather enjoy where the hats are sitting personally.

Anyone else think this is an issue?

[loopdon]

aaah, this is less ''harsh''; liking the mix a LOT more now. the highs are smooother now and the edits are catchier! cinematic. i reckon rhythmech means the highs are sticking out a little because the are pretty high up in the mix tuning-wise. they aren't a wash of noise as in lots of other records. maybe pull the volumes down on the highs just an ickle little bit. or a little verb over them with the highs dimmed . or let them play lower notes. dunno, i reckon they are OK as they are :)

[loopdon]

maybe you could run the highs through izotope vinyl or something (free) partially. just came to my mind. has nothing to do with the quality of the tune, though, don't get me wrong!

ps: otiumfx sonitex 1260 is also a beautiful vinyl thingie. unfortunately i only have the demo, though :(

[BRADLEE]

Yeah for now I think I'll let them sit where they are and maybe just turn the volume on them down slightly. That's probably the best fix if one is needed. At the moment I'm pretty content with them though...have a few more listens tonight indeed.

Anybody else got some comments, questions, fan mail or hate mail?

[Barely Human]

Gonna type as i listen mate.

Intro is sounding nice. Got your signature atmophere to it. I like the filter work.

Kick drum sounds nice, not too distorted so you lose dynamics. Loving the little edits. I think the mix could do with widening in places to bring it out of the speakers. That vocal sounds awesome man! Just kicking in now, this sounds really cool. Propper digging this. I think its missing some freqs in the mid range maybe, and i think the highs could do with a little more crunch.

All in all, sounds cool as **** man! I'd deffo play this shit. Always good work from you man.

Keep it up!!!!

[BRADLEE]

Gonna type as i listen mate.

Intro is sounding nice. Got your signature atmophere to it. I like the filter work.

Kick drum sounds nice, not too distorted so you lose dynamics. Loving the little edits. I think the mix could do with widening in places to bring it out of the speakers. That vocal sounds awesome man! Just kicking in now, this sounds really cool. Propper digging this. I think its missing some freqs in the mid range maybe, and i think the highs could do with a little more crunch.

All in all, sounds cool as **** man! I'd deffo play this shit. Always good work from you man.

Keep it up!!!!

Thanks Q...I well appreciate it. Well it seems everyone feels the highs need to be compacted a bit more. So I'll do my best to sort that out. Hopefully I can get it a bit more crunchy without making it clip or distort. To find a happy median so to speak. ha ha

Keep the feedback coming folks. Much appreciated. Sounds like I basically just need to let my ears be fresh and go thru the mix one more time. :-)

[BRADLEE]

I'm going to go thru the mix one more time, but I think that's about it at this point. haven't had studio time the last few days...but I can hear what the peeps are saying with the rides. I'll notch the volume down a hair and mess with my compressor. Should be fine then I recon.

So everyone likes it as a whole then yes?

[p_brane]

awsome atmos, brutal beats.

its a winner with me anyways

[force]

BIG ****ing scary wall of bassy beats and acid reverb!!!

Awesome mate. Cymbals are sounding phat as well.

Some of the atmospheres you produce remind me a little of Tobin

[BRADLEE]

awsome atmos, brutal beats.

its a winner with me anyways

Thank you sir. Much appreciated.


BIG ****ing scary wall of bassy beats and acid reverb!!!

Awesome mate. Cymbals are sounding phat as well.

Some of the atmospheres you produce remind me a little of Tobin

Glad I can appease you too amigo. I was hoping you would enjoy it too. Can you tell me though..what is Tobin? I'm not familiar... :ohdear:

[loopdon]

Amon Tobin

http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=1

Haven't listened to any of his stuff yet, though...

[audioinjection]

damn brad, this track is ill!! i'm loving it!! great job!

[p_brane]

Amon Tobin

http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=1

Haven't listened to any of his stuff yet, though...

check out verbal on 'out from out where' such an awsome sample mash up!

[loopdon]

Will do so, Sir!

[p_brane]

i think you can watch the video on ninjatunes site.

[BRADLEE]

damn brad, this track is ill!! i'm loving it!! great job!

Hey, Thanks homie. Much appreciated. Very happy you like it indeed.

@ Martin, I'm gonna go peep that stuff out. Sounds interesting for sure.

[dirty_bass]

Ok, checked this out after our chat `tother day.
Nice man, so you are fully into the broken thing now ey?
Overall production is pretty nice, I agree with the tops.

I`ll get niggly now, so close your eyes if you don`t wanna see this..

the problem to me is that everything in the mix apart from the hats, is a little dull (in sound, not content), so the hats come out extra bright.
Are you overdriving all your channels on each part? Everything sounds a little too boxy and dynamically static, seeming to sit in the same audible space.

the lows don`t really go very low, and everything seems constrained within a tight bandwidth except the hats, which seem to sit outside the mix.

Try going back through the channels and separating them more, as you can definitely get more dynamic spread, and maybe back off on your compression over the master, if an engineer tried to cut this to vinyl they would complain about lack of dynamic, and the end cut would be weak as they wouldn`t be able to work with it.

As an asside, what EQ`s are you using? by my ears they sound a little too digital and leave a still/static archetype over your sounds.

Try using some high end analog emulating EQ`s to keep a little warmth and presence, and movement in the mix.


this all being said, I like the tune.

[BRADLEE]

hehe, yeah It's cool Steve. You're always brutally Honest within your opinion. Listening more and More I agree that it's needs a bit more sorting in the mix. Will have another go at it...Each sound runs to it's own channel, but perhaps I just need to fiddle a bit with the EQ's they're sitting on each channel a bit more.

Really glad you like the tune overall...but yeah I'll mess with the mix a bit more. Agreed.

As for me being on this full on broken thing recently...nah..I've been doing it a couple years...just more so recently. Get bored with the utsi utsi utsi utsi.. ha ah

Thanks for the help amigo. I'll definitely toss the Poshifopit a bit more into use.

[dirty_bass]

sure EQing will help.
But is each channel the sounds run to running in the red?
Or are you keeping your channels nicely in the green?

[BRADLEE]

sure EQing will help.
But is each channel the sounds run to running in the red?
Or are you keeping your channels nicely in the green?

Nah, nothing is hitting the reds actually. Just green light go my friend...

[dirty_bass]

Ok probably compression and EQ issue then.
Easy enough to sort out.

[BRADLEE]

Ok probably compression and EQ issue then.
Easy enough to sort out.

Yeah that's my guess too...I'll have another fiddle with it. Tonight I have some extra special ummm....events going on....:; But I'll get to this tomorrow night for sure.

[StoQ]

yes that's it !!! proper broken smasher Brad . well arranged and sounds phat to me. has a nice aggressiveness innit .keep apocalyptic music mate &^%$#

[BRADLEE]

Hey thank you my friend Peter. Really glad you like it homie.