![]() What do you do when you want everything at the same volume, but the parts naturally occupy the same frequency range? (Like all the crazy vocals in this song.) You use stereo panning to differentiate between parts, to give the feeling of space in the mix image, and to freak out the people listening with headphones or earbuds. Using EQ is a bit more subtle, because you have to decide which instrument will occupy which part of the frequency spectrum without competing against its neighboring instruments/voices for attention. The frequency curve feels constrained until the drums/percussion enters and fills out the rest of the spectrum.Īs engineers, we basically have three tools for mixing music: Volume, EQ and stereo panning.īalancing with volume is obvious: you make a thing louder than something else when it’s supposed to be louder. Even her edited breaths are used to drive the rhythm track forward. However and whenever she did this, I consider it a prototype for mixing layered vocals with sparse electronic instrumentation. This is the outgrowth of a project Kimbra started when she was 16 and in high school. Here’s a frequency response snapshot in the chorus, as monitored via Tonal Balance Control. I give mastering engineers all due credit, but I would love to have sat in on the mastering sessions to see what the mixes really sound like. Unless you have the before and after mastering versions of a song, a listener never really knows what magic has happened in the privacy of the mastering suite. Well written, well played and produced-all-in-all, this track represents everything I could ever want in a mix. The editing choices here are key-what parts stay in and what gets left out.īy the time Youssou N’dour’s vocal enters in the out-chorus, the frequency response curve has nearly flattened, and the amplitude of the piece has reached its zenith but never sounds overly compressed. The well-conceived arrangement is the star here because we can hear the band’s natural dynamics as parts enter and depart our focus, always audible, never obscured. In the pre-chorus the compressed/chorused guitars and ethereal background vocals swirl hard left and right, setting us up for the dramatic chorus. Percussion is allowed to fill the far left and right of the stereo image, while the band and PG are firmly centered. On an RTA, the frequencies are well balanced from 20 Hz – 20 kHz.įrom the downbeat, the quality of the recording is evident as the opening percussion gives way to Gabriel’s poignant vocals, which are blended perfectly with the track. The first thing I notice is the smooth frequency response and transparent high-end. For me, it’s all about the following:Īrrangement, recording quality, editing, imaging, balance, and frequency response. The end result is probably better played from the bedroom than from the front porch of the girl you're madly in love with, though.This song was a cultural touchstone in the late 1980s, and it was a breakthrough reinvention for Peter Gabriel (PG) as an artist. Replacing the worldbeat influence of the original with sheer sexiness, she still holds onto a few of the elements that made the song such a hit way back when. ![]() With this cover, Banks puts a totally chilled out vibe to the song, adding a bit of a dark note. Apparently she released the track as a tribute to her dad for Father's Day, as he was a big fan of the original (so says a handwritten note on her Facebook page). I believe I introduced you to to her silky smooth vocals earlier this year with the song " Warm Water." While she still doesn't have a full LP out in her name, yesterday she did release a cover of the Peter Gabriel classic "In Your Eyes." Yep, the song that plays through the boom box John Cusak was holding up in the 80s classic flick Say Anything. Get your boom boxes ready because boy, does Banks have a Peter Gabriel cover for you! ![]()
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