Looking for Feedback on my Compositions

[ProjectGenome04]

Hello fellow talkbassers, I've been working on some compositions lately. The music comes from many different influences and each song definitely has a different feel to it. There aren't really any vocals on the tracks at the moment, as my voice doesn't fit most of the stuff I've worked on, so don't be timid to give it a listen. If you don't like a song just move to the next one, as they do vary stylistically. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

You can check out the songs here: http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2832640

If you like it, my main ReverbNation page is at http://www.reverbnation.com/ianbennett

So, what do the songs sound like? There are some bass solos sprinkled here and there, some songs are written with horn and string parts, while others may feature a more standard rock setup. There are some rock, jazz, electronic, and ambient elements mixed into the tunes. Some of my favorite bands are Tool, Radiohead, Opeth, A Perfect Circle, Thrice. Some of the songs have been compared more along the lines of something you'd hear from Sufjan Stevens or Sigur Ros. Since we're all bass players, there are a fair share of fretless tracks with some EBowing thrown in here and there. I tried laying off fo the "I'm a super duper bass player, so I'll play everything as fast as I possibly can" writing and these songs are more focused on conveying an emotion and blending different instruments into compositions. That doesn't mean that I don't throw some chops in there, I just try to do it tastefully. It's all in good fun and I definitely enjoyed writing and recording everything. I'm sure there's someone else out there who will be looking for something like this. Thanks again, you guys have always been great about this stuff.

I also have myspace and facebook pages if you're interested.

[Vakmere]

Nice stuff, sounds like you should be scoring film with the sound I'm hearing. As an instrumental thing it has potential, where to place it is the question. Nice writing.

[superbassman2000]

Good potential in these songs

Involuntary Evocation came on first--sounds decent, but I would clean up the timing. I can see where you are going, but the timing on a lot of the riffs sound a little off, sometimes giving a disconnected feeling, which maybe you are going for that feel, but in this case it sounds like it needs some tightening up. I like the string/bell bridge--it give good contrast to the main section. I think it would sound cool stretched out with a cool quiet to loud then the dynamic starts over with the synthy octave part imo, but that's artistic differences--totally subjective overall I really like the idea in this one

Ever So Hard came next--I totally dig this one! I do think the fretless bass line (the one that comes in after a few measures) is too upfront in the mix--it doesn't mesh very well, but the line itself is really cool. I would also give the vocals some air--i know it might sound weird and i might lose what credibility i have in saying this, but listen to Enya tracks--the way her voice is treated with a dark reverb--I could see that with the vocals giving it a real ethereal feel to match the rest of the song. composition-wise, i love it

Complex sensation is very cool--it reminds me hardcore of mutemath, only you can HEAR the bass lol i like it. A lot.

I didn't get a chance to listen to all of them, because i have some errands I have to run but i really like what I heard! keep it up!

[ProjectGenome04]

Thank you guys for the feedback.

SuperBass, I agree with some of the disconnection on Involuntary Evocation. Leading into the soft section, that's on purpose. The rest of it is more due to the fact that I'm stuck using some midi triggers on an M-Audio Axiom 49 to lay down the drum parts. I'd be much happier having a real drummer play on all of these songs, it would help bring them to life a little more. And this is what you get when you use some asymmetric rhythms, it's not easy to just throw in a drum loop that's going to have the same impact. There may be some artifacts left over from Logic that I missed cleaning up too, sometimes it likes to automatically manage your takes and leaves you with some interesting results, so I'll have to double check that.

As for Ever So Hard, I actually wanted to open mic record the vocals. Unfortunately, I live on a 3rd floor apartment and was tracking this during our recent heatwave. I had a fan blowing in my face and had to do a very close micing. I had vocals on top of the entire track that I had ripped out because I didn't like the way they sounded or fit, and it just so happens that I missed pulling out these backing tracks. I think in the end, I'd like to have a female vocalist on this one.

I actually hadn't heard of MUTEMATH, but I checked them out and I like their sound. Thanks for the heads up on that.

I'm hoping to be able to actually get some friends together to try and start playing this stuff live and I'm sure that some of this stuff will start taking on a life of its own if that happens. That's always the fun part of working with other people. Glad that there are "man, this sounds like crap" comments. Have gotten mostly good reviews from friends, but I know that the TB audience will give it to me straight and have some good constructive criticism. Thanks again for the feedback.