Gone Project Update 6 - Putting the Pieces Together

In my last project update blog I discussed the minor changes that were made to our project for a better outcome of the overall mix. In this blog, considering we are getting incredibly close to the overall mix finally being done, I figured I should write about it! Originally, I had planned to post 3 different project update blogs this week. However, due to my terrible habit of forgetting to take screenshots and pictures in our sessions, I thought I would simply fuse two blogs into one and really give you guys some proper content to flick through! So lets get into it!

The Structure...

First of all, I am incredibly happy to say that the structure and backing track of the song is finally done and is ready for the final touches next week! It took my group and I a long time to get to this point (a little too long) and we couldn't be happier to finally be taking the last few steps before the release. Below, you'll find a screenshot from the studio session today of the songs full layout. Please note that the bass and synth tracks have been grouped together so I could fit all of it on one screen!

The entire session up until this point!

Now, I realise the labels may be hard to read so I apologise in advance for that. Luckily, they shouldn't be too important as I will be taking you through all of the new additions to the track one by one! Firstly, if you read my last blog you will notice instantly that the song now has two verse sections! These were formed out of synth layers, bass, the kick and the snare. However, these may be changed in the final touches as 3 synth layers does seem to be a little too much in the first verse (shown below).

The chord layout for the track!

Secondly, you'll notice that the chorus section for the track has been updated with multiple drum and percussion loops (green and yellow respectively) to keep the funk going until the build-up and eventually, the drop. At first, they were a little difficult to handle as the kick in these given loops was rather weak compared to our Ekali Splice Kick which we used in the verses and drops. Luckily, with the help of a little EQ and Multiple Dynamics, we were able to draw the punch out of the kick just enough without overdriving the crap out of the entire loop as a whole. As far as the percussion loop goes, we figured we would leave it almost exactly how it is. However, while Richard was experimenting with different audio effects, we came to find that a flanger gave a real cool effect to the hi hats in the track as it made them rise and fall automatically without the need of pitch bending at all. That combined with the classic sound of the flanger effect gives it a really nice tone.

transitions

If you took a hard look at the overall arrangement screenshot, some of you may have realised the tiny section between the end of the first drop and the beginning of the second verse. This section is comprised of four elements, an impact kick, a white noise drop and two reverse symbols. The final snares at the end of the drop make for an easy getaway into this transition as they were designed to lead into a kick. This also gives an element of surprise to the track as the drop doesn't fade or echo out with reverb or delay. I mentioned in my last blog that we were aiming to make the transitions short and sweet. Well, here you have it!

The moment you've all been waiting for... The Scratch Track

For weeks, I've been mentioning that a scratch track was in the works for the project but always seemed to beat around the bush when it came to releasing it. I'd personally like to apologise for that as we were originally meant to release it towards the start of the week but ended up experiencing some minor technical difficulties. Luckily, today I was able to move past that and create not one, but two scratch tracks for you guys to listen to! The original tempo of the track is 145BPM however, I also created a scratch that was slightly faster at 150BPM as an experiment! Be sure to let me know in the comments below which one you preferred or thought sounded better!

You can listen to both scratch tracks here (for 145BPM) and here (for 150BPM)

note: these are google drive links so if they don't work please leave a comment below and I will fix them immediately!

To finish...

Overall, the track is progressing very well and my group and I are very keen to release it in a weeks time. But as they say, time is of the essence and unfortunately its something we don't have much off due to our difficulties in the first 3 weeks of production. But, we'll pull through because no one ever came this far in to the race and just walked the last 100m not giving a shit right? Stay tuned guys, this next week is going to be absolute mayhem! As always, catch ya next time!

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