My New Album - MINAMALISTIC

[Tony Long]

I have just completed an album called MINAMALISTIC. In the main I have used a FANTOM G. You can listen to 30 second clips of the tracks on my site. Please have a listen at :- http://www.tonylongmusic.co.uk/

Cheers

Tony

[Tony Long]

Thanks for listening Guys - I have been overwhelmed by all your feedback.

Tony

[Alphacode]

Tony would you like a honest feedback,? either if its very good or very bad ?
feedback is important !

[Tony Long]

Alphacode,

First of all thank you for responding. yes I would like some feedback, good or bad. This album has taken me 14 months. It is my first complete piece of work and I thought what the heck, I'll put it out there and you never know someone might like it enough to buy it. The reality is something very different. The experience is both educational and rewarding. I used to be just a drummer and that was it. I went out each night and did my stuff - it seemed very straight forward . I am much older now and found that I have to be a songwriter, a keyboard player, a drummer, a computer technician, a sound engineer, a producer, a graphic artist and most annoyingly a salesman. Well I am now all these things, not necessarily great at them (some better than others) but that is what I do (as well as my full time job).

At the end of the day what I can say, is that I do not feel embarrassed when I play a track to anyone in fact I feel very proud - and that is a good thing. Whether people like the music or not, I am content knowing that I have done everything to the best of my current abilities and having started my second album I feel confident I will do even better next time. Regardless of any shortcomings of the Fantom G (and personally I don't go hunting for them) I get on and use what the Fantom G has to offer and use it rather than keep complaining about it. Roland will give us Version 2 eventually and I know I will use that update in a future song, but for now I will work with what I have.
Anyway, thanks again for replying.

Best Wishes
Tony

[supergod]

I listened to the first five track samples.

First of all, I only played the music through the small speaker on my laptop, so it was a very limited impression I could get out of it...and so this review is not very serious and doesnt bring justice to the music at all.

Second, this is not my kind of music.

But when that is said, I think you had many good ideas here, and the music was energetic and lively.

But maybe you could benefit from a good producer in studio?

[Artemiy]

As instrumental music "for listening", the mix of sounds is a little too bizarre as to my ears. But this said. some tracks would be really great as soundtracks for TV shows and such, they're catchy and have a certain theme to them.

[kenchan]

Thanks for sharing your project!

[thextreme1]

"As instrumental music "for listening", the mix of sounds is a little too bizarre as to my ears. But this said. some tracks would be really great as soundtracks for TV shows and such, they're catchy and have a certain theme to them."

Art, I couldnt find the words, but you chose them perfectly. While not my preferred style of music, I find a certain charm to a few of the songs. If I were going to go on a shooting rampage, your loops would certainly be my theme music. Especially Warped Drive, which is the equivalent to 20 clowns in a Yugo, trying to run me off the highway. Which I would find mildly entertaining for the first few seconds and then be terrified as hell because there are 20 clowns in a Yugo trying to run me off of the f'ing road.


Keep playing and recording. That is what it is all about!

[Alphacode]

Hi again Tony

Ok ,first of all my feedback will include some comments that were already said .

You clearly know how to use your equipment but musically ,it is all over the place! . there's a mixture of styles which doesn't come out well unfortunately...
It reminds me cheesy Amiga soundtracks from early 90's which doesn't work out these days anymore. Some sounds are very harsh and noisy and don't fit in the songs .

On the other hand you clearly are passionate and love what you are doing , so keep it up but for the moment it's definitely not a professional CD and doesn't come close to being released by a label ( if this is what you intend someday of course ).

My advice would be to listen to some famous tracks that you like and analyze how they are structured ,and use that in building your songs.

One important thing to remember is ,keep it simple with good ideas for a bass line ,main lead efx etc ,instead of constantly adding up too much stuff as ...well, it gives us at the end exactly what you've done here.

Good luck ,don't stop producing but definitely work out on your songs again ,and please post again in the future either the new album or the first one reworked on ,so we can all see the progress/results and give you more feedback.

Bests

[thextreme1]

"It reminds me cheesy Amiga soundtracks from early 90's"

Hahaha. Yes. Particularly, Arkanoid. Damn, I love and miss the Amiga.

[Tony Long]

Well thanks Guys for your honesty. I was hoping for a better reaction, but that said you also have given me some structured way forward. I have to take into account that you have not heard the full tracks and possibly not in the best conditions. Sound quality wise, compared with my recordings prior to this album, I am very happy with the sound I have achieved. I have tested it on 3 hi-fi systems, 2 sets of studio monitors, my tv setup and the car and it sounds great. It was recorded at 24 bit 96 Hz on Sonar 8.

As for the sounds being cheesy, are you saying that that is how the Fantom G sounds?. If that is the case then perhaps Art should provide some sounds that are less cheesy for us to buy? I admit some of the ideas were a bit tongue in cheek, but when I started using vocal samples, I did it for fun and did not foresee how well it was going to turn out.

Thanks again for taking the time to listen and comment.

Tony

[Artemiy]

Tony, no, it's not that the instruments themselves are bad, all of them sound well. However, it's the whole selection of sounds, and the amount of sounds and melodies you mix in each track, that makes them sound as each of us described.

[Mystic38]

Tony,
I had a simiar impression to Art but will phrase it differently.

The recording quality is fine, i just think simpler would have musically been better..

To my ears, within any one given track there was a flurry of different lead sounds each one quickly taking over from another.. so it was a little difficult to catch hold of one sound and be carried along by its melody or emotion.. simply because the melodic structure would dramatically alter (as opposed to an extension or variation of a melody) and the instrument would change...hence (to my ears) confused and a bit disorganised.



dont know if that helps,

[dbijoux]

Minimalistic?

It sounds like the only thing minimal is the 30 second clips.

Honestly, I haven't listened. I'm not sure why OP has all this expectation and then gets defensive when people aren't throwing their hands in the air. I thought the feedback on this post is very good and should be rather helpful; just ignore the cheesy.

[Tony Long]

Thanks again to you all for your further comments. I have listened again to my song clips and I have tried to listen as impartially as it is at all possible taking your comments on board. Yes, whilst I agree there are tracks with possibly too much going on, I do not feel that all of my tracks are like this.

There are occasions when as my personal choice I actually like different melodies doing different things, overlapping, complicating and fighting each other. It can mean that each time you play it you hear different things. I know the songs inside out and my brain pulls out all the intricate parts without the need to try and concentrate on one. I suppose it is like most albums you buy after a few plays you get used to it and expect certain things to happen

Music would be very boring if we all did the same thing. Two-thirds of the world do it already.

Cheers
Tony