NEW PROGRESSIVE/ELECTRO BANGER, now with 5x more awesome!

:w00t: YOU READY? :w00t:




Track is finished, just in the mixing stage. Would LOVE your opinion and feedback on both the mix and the track overall.

My notes: It sounds PERFECT on my studio monitors but on my consumer headphones the mix isn't quite as bright as most modern progressive house mixes (generally I use Hardwell as a reference for mix downs as his tracks always bang).

I think I need to do some very light boosting of mid / high EQ on a the main breakdown synth and the overall mix and then maybe bring the lows back just a tiny bit so they aren't overwhelming on a proper club system. I don't have a sub and my monitors roll off at 55Hz, so it's hard for me to tell, but I can definitely hear a little too much low on my earbuds.

Let me know what you think before I do a proper release next week, experts of the SoundCloud community! :)

Tracks which change too much arent my thing personally so I wont lie and act like I enjoyed this track all too much. However, that being said it definately has some nice elements, I loved the intro and the main bits sound like a nice merger of tech house with electro house. Transition from one style to the other does work but I just dont like these kinda tracks.

In terms of mixdown are you compressing the track with the vocals? Some bits are definately hard to hear, especially in the first few mins.



Hope you dont take offense, good luck with the release!

None taken – music is a very personal kind of thing. :slight_smile:



Yes, the vocals are being compressed. I think I need to pull the attack time back a bit to make the vocal a little more clear. Unfortunately the singer was very “S”-y so it’s a compromise between clarity and and a little to much sibilance.



Any other notes on the overall mix?

OK, I tweaked the mix – let me know what you guys think of current version. VERY subtle differences, but they are there.

Well personally I would maybe boost the highs on the kick ever so slightly, just to get the click stronger.

For some of the risers (the first ones) I would personally have them more in the background, maybe raise the dry wet on the reverb if you have one on it to push it further back in the mix. But this is probably a more personal thing than anything.



The vocals still seems very weak in the mix its hard to hear the vocals. Maybe to compensate try to use a multiband compressor and sidechain the mids of everything to the vocals slightly more (again just enough so the duck in the melody, bass, etc. isnt audible). The drums shouldnt need compressing to vocals cause of their transient nature.

Maybe just for the vocal bits use automation to pan elements left and right or use a stereo expander to push them further out and then automate them back to their positions when the vocals stop.

You could also use a spectrum to find where the vocals are strongest and use EQ’s to duck from that region, I think for females the most prominent region is around 1000-2000hz.



Hope this helps!

i havent seen simon cowels dj show but this should be on it :stuck_out_tongue: sorry im in a miserable mood, giving up the booze and fags :stuck_out_tongue:

Thats a great remix! My head was bobbing from the very beginning…the only thing I noticed was that the stabs at around 1:30 seemed to overpower the vocals a little…might just be my head phones though! Great job

Thanks for feedback.



I think the vocals sit in the mix perfect and every system I’ve listened to the track on the vocals sit really well. Asked some other people, they think the same. What are you monitoring on? Maybe it’s your monitors / headphones?

[quote]thegeek (01/07/2012)[hr]Thanks for feedback.



I think the vocals sit in the mix perfect and every system I’ve listened to the track on the vocals sit really well. Asked some other people, they think the same. What are you monitoring on? Maybe it’s your monitors / headphones?[/quote]

Hmmm, you’re the second person to say this… Guess I need to revisit this before release. :slight_smile:

[quote]ekko (30/06/2012)[hr]i havent seen simon cowels dj show but this should be on it :stuck_out_tongue: sorry im in a miserable mood, giving up the booze and fags :P[/quote]I don’t know if this is a good thing or not? :stuck_out_tongue:

Im on Shure 840’s so it is headphones. Dont own monitors :frowning:

But from tests I’ve done comparing my headphones to monitors (a few genelics and some pioneer monitors) they are pretty reliable in terms of hearing a mixdown out. Not the best for spatial listening though and that may be why I cant hear it.

That could definitely be a part of it. The vocals are centered with some backing bits panned left and right, and the main synth during the breakdown has some EQ on the side channels to brighten it rather than on the center.



Anyway, sounds like it might be a minor issues that I could fix with some REALLY light sidechaining on the right EQ band. Will play with it a touch.



Thanks for the feedback! :smiley:

OK, played with the mix a bit more. Changes:


  1. Overall it’s a little “tougher” with the drums being more processed so they have more weight and the limiter running harder during the “drops” so it’s louder.


  2. Didn’t touch the vocal during the first break, but brought the volume up during the second break so it stands out. Every time I played with it I ended up not being happy with the results. Would rather give up a couple words than botch an entire mix. :slight_smile:


  3. Backed off the white noise some overall as well as I felt it was somewhat overwhelming.


  4. Made some really minor song structure changes.



    Let me know what you guys think of the new mix:


First of all - this has the potential to be a very, very good track indeed - with a little tweaking, i think this could be right up to standard as a ‘professional’ release!



However, i do feel at the moment there are some issues, so here’s my thoughts:


  • thought the intro percussion was a little too loud, and also a touch too bright


  • thought the kick was a little boomy and needs EQ’ing a bit to fit in the mix properly


  • thought the vocal could be made a little wider to sit back in the mix a touch


  • i thought the main problem is with the arrangement - it’s all over the place. i wouldn’t place this out for this main reason - you need to make it build properly and slowly up the energy etc, so it would work on a dancefloor. i think you need to make major changes to the arrangement. there’s just not enough excitement in the track, as you need more builds and then bring the track down and then up again, to create that all important tension and release that every great dance track has to have!


  • thought the sidechained pad was a little thin and could have more weight and presense


  • clap was too loud just before the drop


  • not enough bass in the drop / not enough power and impact


  • more fast hats / fast percussion need to come in after 8/16 bars of the drop, to move the track along and keep the energy up


  • more dramatic FX needed to give the track more energy and impact/excitement - especially going into the break


  • snare cuts out too early just before the track drops - takes away some of the tension and build just before the drop


  • my personal impression was that you’ve tried to be too clever with some elements of the track, and you’ve overcomplicated what you’re trying to do - stick to the basics sometimes - as they are the basics because they work i.e. keep the snare roll going til right til the drop, just play the same loop and add one additional element per 8/16 bars etc in order to build tension.



    think if you go back and redo things - particuarly the arrangement as i say, and stick to the basics as far as building the track up is concerned, and dropping it down, and then tweak some elements a little and add a few things, you’ve have a fantastic track!

Listened to it again and the drums definately sound better, dont personally think its too boomy but again the click is difficult to hear on the kick.

Vocals are easier to hear this time around.

Definately agree with david about your structure, the track has three minutes of actual dance and the breakdowns take the larger share of the tracks time. I think that first part where it swings into an electro house track can be extended out somewhat by maybe another 30 seconds, same with the second part.

But that may need other bits to be shortened.



Again good luck with this one, hope you do well!

Hey there Geek,



OK so it looks like pretty much everything to comment on has already been said. I liked the track, its got that Dutch House sound that everyone seems to be goin crazy for at the mo!



For me I’d say the white noise is still a touch too loud and overpowering in relation to the rest of the track, but I really like the kick. It sounds very punchy but doesn’t stand out so much that it drowns out the rest of what’s goin on.



Good job!! :smiley: