Continuing to experiment and slowly learning to make music. Most of the stuff I make so far I don't end up posting anywhere, but I am now finishing up three songs that I felt I wanted to post to document some sort of progress.
I took some time away from my old songs I wrote when I was a kid and made demos of a few newer songs that I actually like and am moderately proud of. They are all demos meant to be songs on my band's fourth album. I finished up the first one today, which is a song called 'Cruise Control', one of my long time favorites. With this one I really got deeper into my love for sound design and soundscaping to enhance the mood of the track. Trying to mix this track (as well as the other two I might post in the coming weeks) almost made me quit music, because I thought everything sounded like a big pile of steaming shit for so long. I finally made it out the other side of that, however. The result may not be perfect, and I know I still have a long way to go if I'm ever going make professional-sounding stuff. But for now, I feel like this is as good as I can currently make it, and to keep working on it would just be keeping me from working on other cool tracks.
This one is written to be the opening track of the album, and was an attempt to create a big-feeling strong opening statement.
OKTOBER | Cruise Control - Instrumental Demo (9:48)
Everything in your post resonated with me on multiple levels...trust me when I say, I've been there.
That said, as someone who's 'been there,' I'd also like to say the following: if you'd started this last post with 'this is the best song I've ever recorded!!!' I wouldn't have thought twice about.
The mix for "Cruise Control" is sound/solid on all fronts. As someone who's been writing/mixing/recording since the Clinton administration, what you just shared is absolutely 'professional' sounding.
I know the last thing a musician wants to hear is 'music production is subjective,' but it's freaking true!
It's all about framing your expectations. If you were going for something in line with the last Five Finger Death Punch record, your mix might fall a bit short in the low end and drums, but it sounds like that wasn't what you were going for.
Liz Harris, aka 'Grouper' has put out some of the most devastatingly beautiful releases of the past decade. She is critically acclaimed and revered by those who are in the know. Her recordings are mostly self-produced and lo-fi as all hell. Are her records 'professional'
I guess it depends on what your definition of 'professional' is. I'll tell you this much, people buy them and enjoy them.
It's late, and I feel like I've been circling a point without actually making it
The bottom line: I dig the track, and to my ears, the mix sounds fan-freaking-tastic! Move on to the next track and consider this one 'done.'