NerveJam - Latest Track - "JOY" available

[nervejam]

Hi.

My latest track "JOY" is now available on electromancer.

It's a bit different style wise, in that I tried to make it sound like a band, with drums, bass, synth, and guitars.

I aimed for a Joy Division style and missed, I think it landed more in the direction of NIN, although "Numanesque" has been mentioned.


Click here for NerveJam - Joy ..

[secretagent]

I see you are considering adding vocals to the track.

As good as it sounds already,i feel this is the only way to seperate it from countless other instrumentals.

Adding vocals give songs a uniqueness. ;D

[Dubsounds]

Doesn't sound real... I take it that's virtual bassist & slayer (am I right?).

The one thing that stikes me is that your bassline changes key up and down every two bars. I'm not sure if that was intentional but I kind of expect a song to stick to a scale. Rules are meant to be broken of course but some are there for a good reason.

Your synth work was really nice though. A lovely choice of sound and effects.

It does sound like an idea at the moment rather than a song but would be cool to hear it when yu've worked on it some more.

[nervejam]

Well spotted. It IS slayer, but it's BooBass, I'm afraid.
I have a serious lack of time at the moment, so getting around to updating it may take a while.
As for rules, even If I knew what they were, I'd probably ignore them, anyway!

Seiously, though, I realise I need to work on song structures and progression.

I'm never going to strictly adhere to musical rules, as I consider myself more of a "Music Technician", than a Musician.

I'd like to have a go at some vocals, but a serious lack of balls is currently preventing this..

[Tokyohunter]

The Slayer was what I was hinting about on the review I left.That sound is very distinct so if you really like it ,it's worth customising it a bit to make it more your own,and more interesting generally.
I get what you're saying about song structures etc.I tend not to work to a clear plan which can be ok sometimes,other times though it can cause problems which definaely need attending to.
Have you progressed this track any further since the version you uploaded to Electromancer?

[Dubsounds]

Some good observations there Bern. Slayer 2 is light years away from the original in terms of versatility of sound but STILL it has that "sound"... can't quite put my finger on it! All I can say is it's great for one finger rock wanks at home but in practice I've never actually used it in a finished track. Compared to a mate who's a reasonable guitarist with a nice amp and selection of stomp boxes it just has no soul like the real thing!

[Tokyohunter]

I've only used it on one track, but with several effects on it.You can hear it clearly on the intro to Hidden Frequencies (2004) and most of the way through it too.
Here's the link to Hidden Frequencies (2004) which incidentally needs tweaks for a 2005 version:

www.electromancer.com/showTrack.php?id=67032b28bc

[Minimoog]

If I remember rightly Bern you used it for that Engineers cover too, but playing a rather tasty clean twangy bass patch.

I still play that track a fair bit

[Tokyohunter]

Minimoog you are actually completely correct! I did use it on Engineers,can't believe I forgot that.
I'm glad you still like it. I played it in a car while travelling/working around Ireland recently and still liked it myself I think I got the "space" just right on that one.

[nervejam]

No progress on any of music lately, due to lack of time!

[vortex]

OK Nerve my old chap, brace yourself....

Your track doesn't work and I doubt if you will enjoy listening to it in a few years from now as your skill develops. I'm all for breaking rules but remember Trent Reznor is a classically trained pianist and so breaks rules knowingly (to be totally pretentious, just like van gogh and picasso).

I certainly don't pretend I can do better but I suspect you can. My own dabblings have demonstrated to me how even the most fascile of tracks, which I would I add I enjoy, like 1st generation DM or seemingly simplistic songs ie Kraftwerk are very skillful.

Find a melodic hook and wrap it around a conventional format for now. You clearly understand the technology and have produced an uncluttered mix.

This track tells me you are an engineer not a songwriter.

Sorry I'll get me coat

[nervejam]

Vortex:
You are correct, I AM a techie, rather than a muso. I also fully agree that I need to pay more attention to structures than I have so far.

In fact, the whole reason that I posted the link on here was to get some constructive criticism from some ACTUAL musos.

Thanks!

[Tokyohunter]

And on the subject of Structures...a good way to learn about structures is to deconstruct someone else's track...such as a track by Kraftwerk...hint hint...there is a Kraftwerk cover compo just started so why not join in....head over to the thread in the general stuff section for details...