Analysis
Artist: Afro Celts Sound System
Song Name: My Secret Bliss
Duration: 7:04
Musical Genre: World Fusion Electronica
Style: Medium tempo, fairly deep and dark sounding
Key: Unknown
Tempo: 83.98 bpm
Instrumentation: drum tracks, guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals, backing vocals and various miscellaneous sounds such as reverse cymbals
Performers: Larla O Lionaird (vocals), Sevara (vocals), James Mcnally (flutes)
Sound Quality: Very good sound quality, however some of the keyboard samples have minor clicks completing their duration. Massive amounts of reverb and delay have been used on most tracks, apart from the rhythm sections.
References
Stavrou, M, (2003), Mixing With Your Mind, Mosman, 1st ed N.S.W. : Gillingham
Flux Research, 2003.
- I used this reference to get a basic understanding of mixing itself, but for thisproject, I
am referencing the chapter involving compression techniques.
Burdette P. General EQ Guide, viewed 23rd May, 2007
http://www.sirgalahad.org/paul/music/eq-guide.html
- I used this reference to get an understanding of applying basic EQ values to certain instruments, which I used extensively.
Senior M. (May 2000) Sound on Sound magazine, Reverb
Frequently Asked Questions, viewed 20th May, 2007
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may00/articles/reverb.htm
- I never initially understood the concepts involving reverb, however this article answered
many of my questions and helped my gain a better vocal reverb sound, despite the fact the vocal tracks were already distinctly filled with reverb.
Peck. N, (), 6 Creative Uses of Plug-in Automation, viewed 21st May, 2007
http://www.obedia.com/articles_EM_01.cfm
This article gave me a brief guide into automatic double tracking. This involves the use of minor delay and was first discovered by George Martin while recording the Beatles.
Journal:
Monday, May 21, 2007 2:13 PM
After some consideration I have decided to use the Afto Celts – My Secret Bliss sample, as I believe it showed good dynamic range, good quality and a good use of musical knowledge.
As drums are an important part of a song, I began with the rhythm sections and imported those into a ProTools session. As I have stated, the recording as of excellent quality. However I came into a bump in my workings so I decided I would gather some references.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:27 PM
Late Monday I managed to borrow out Mixing With Your Mind, by Mike Stavro. I must say just the first chapter was like a complete revelation of how I initially thought of sound. It was so easy to read and understand, and I am going to use a few references from this title, such as compression and EQ techniques as I still struggle with both of their concepts.
The mix itself it showing that it’s quite hard, especially on the arrangement side of things. I find I am setting my standard to high and trying to achieve something more epic rather than something that will still show my learnt skills effectively. Unfortunately, this is my personality, and I have to work around it. It is safe to say that I am an ultimate perfectionist.
I also found a really good site on EQ technique. I was basically a list of what equalisation to apply to instruments from the individual drum, to an oboe it was there. I was very helpful for me because often I find I am just scrolling through the EQ settings not finding anything that I particularly liked the sound of.
Wednesday, May 22, 2007 12:43 AM
While mixing, I managed to think up of a few reference sound sources. The sound of the original mix reminded me of my childhood, listening to Enya, and Andean world music. It’s funny, as a child I would listen to these simply because I loved their natural and lush feel, but I haven’t listened to them for over a decade, so it was of great humour to me when I literally had to blow the dust off the covers. I want to use these CD’s a reference material for my desired sound.
The mixing proc
ess is going very well at this point, and I have nearly completed the arrangement. It was much easier than I thought. I have utilised a lot of plug-ins and double tracked flutes drums and guitars.I have used EQ and compression as well as reverbs and delays to capture my desired performance. In the end I think this did enhance the overall sound, however I am still unsure about the drums.
On a funny side, I managed to EQ 1000 Hz thanks to being very used to that particular frequency (I will elaborate on this in my presentation) on the flute section and this alone really enhanced it’s overall sound within the mix. I want the flute to be a driving force in it, one because I like it and two because it’s part of my referencing.
I think that if I were to do anything different in future, I would use my time more effectively, and explore the future possibilities of using other plug-ins than the ones I used.
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