Going rascal (driven rock/prog track)

[jeanette_c]

Hey hey, I've just released Going rascal:
https://youtu.be/H0qAu1U9U3o
It's a driven/energetic instrumental rock track. A little too straight for prog. The idea mouldered in the basement and I thought it too good to get lost. So I recorded it from scratch. Both because I loved the melody and to show off a bit of synth patching.
Instrumentally, it's mostly the Behringer Neutron. But it wouldn't be a song without Drumgizmo and the Aasmonster kit, which I REALLY love. OK, I cheated a bit, by not recording all drum sounds at one time, but I always recorded the overheads with each pass. The drums took a lot of shaping, but I'm fine with that big sound now.
Hope you like it! Have a great Sunday!
Jeanette

[Basslint]

This is very nice prog, for which I am thankful, being a huge fan of the genre! Nice composition and choice of synth sounds. But I am going to spend more words than usual commenting on it, and not because I don't like it but because I think the track has a lot of potential, it's a very "open" piece of music.

The Aasimonster is indeed a monster: it eats a lot of energy from the other instruments, it overpowers the track. I think it's not a bad thing, this happens in a lot of prog tracks - busy drummers are a feature of the genre. I think The Aasimonster gave an organic edge to the track which I feel is a step ahead, something that you could keep in mind for future tracks. Not really a step ahead, I correct myself: a step aside. It's not necessarily better, fresher would be a better word; but for sure, it can lead you to unexplored territories, where your uber level of polishing would have to fight with an edginess which would have to be tamed.

I think this track can be the beginning of an adventure. So, I like it and hope you will pursue this road

[jeanette_c]

Many thanks @Basslint for your heart warming words. A friend of mine made a remark akin to your comment. He said it would work well as music for a drama (TV or radio), in that it left a lot of air in the middle.
The synth programming/patching was a lot of fun for this track. It did require quite a few takes of this monophonic synth to produce the final arrangement.
If you like this track, have you ever come across the song "Sounds of violence" by The Flower Kings from their album "Alive on Planet Earth"? This was what originally drove me to record this piece.
As always, I don't really know where the journey takes me. There is a "prog pop" or internationally inspired pop song in the wings, just finished this afternoon. As well as two other pieces which only need vocals. Though I'm not sure if they'll be ready in this order. Presently, things are moving and new inspirations hit everywhere.
Best wishes and many thanks again for your thoughtful and kind feedback,
Jeanette

[oscillator]

Wonderful song!

The two melody synths work so well together!

The large sound, yet very clear, is perfect!

It is great fun listening too, and it must have been very fun to record!

[Tenaba]

Lots of really interesting drum patterns on this song. And it's cool how you got an overdriven guitar sound using the Behringer Neutron. Somehow feels like it has some classical influence when you hear the harmonized arpeggio lines?

[jeanette_c]

Hello @Tenaba , many thanks for your kind words. Yes, there is definitely some classical heritage. I can't escape it.
The drums were immense fun to play and record. I like the different hihat articulations in this kit and the adequate choice of cymbals. It's inspiring to play those drums. I'm a fan of handy work in real drummers, so this appeals to me.

[Rainmak3r]

Cool song as always, which once more reminded me of the glorious 70s, and once more gave me the vibe of a rock opera (so your friend was not that far fetched when he talked about TV/radio dramas ).

I'll go a bit against the current about drums, though: while I like how you wrote the parts (and the overheads do sound great), I'm not a fan of how the Aasimonster kit sounds, and the snare in particular. But since I'm always the only one to like the drum parts in my own songs, I guess you can most definitely rule that out as a matter of taste

PS: YouTube auto-played Dark Spiral after this one ended, and wow, I had almost forgotten what an amazing song that was!

[jeanette_c]

Hi @Rainmak3r , many thanks for your comments. I'm happy that you enjoyed the song and Youtube even gave you an extra helping of dark spiral.
It's good that we can talk about taste and the drums. You know my fetish for certain sounds and my particular leanings in that part of the arrangement anyway. I suppose the snare is the element with most character in this - and many kits. It's so defining for the drum part. And in this piece I did process it strongly too.
Thanks again for sharing your nice words. I can only hope to keep up some form of good entertainment.
Best wishes, Jeanette

[nickture]

This is really cool! The drum programming you've done is awesome. I think it's mixed really well too; great job on this track! Could there be more of this from you in the future??

[jeanette_c]

Hey hey @nickture , thanks a lot! I'm not sure, if I can ever find another motif that will drive me that hard, then I'd love to do more like that.
Btw. the drums aren't programmed, played live on keys with a little quantisation afterwards to get them more in line.