So I’ve been re-focused on making music over the past two years and been having a lot of fun with it. My project is called Sidekick Wave and I’m going to be releasing a single a month through July of next year.
The first one is a fun little piece of dance pop that I have no idea if anyone on this board will like or not, but I figured why not share anyway!
BandCamp:
Spotify:
Let me know what you think (even if you tear into it). I’ve grown quite a bit from negative feedback and I know Prongs can be brutal, so gimme that growth!
The vocals sound a little like weird Al is singing and are a little too much on top of the mix. It kinda sounds soundtracky… like maybe an edgier school house rock but without the learning angle…. That said better than anything i could even remotely do but you asked fir brutal so thats what i got for ya.
Was kinda disorienting for me, actually. The lead intro part made me think it was going to open up some dark vibed spacey stuff, but all of a sudden it went to the LEGO song instead. I think for me it was the two parts that didn’t marry well because they seemed completely unrelated. I’m not really a fan of poppy uptempo stuff for the most part anyway, so it wouldn’t be my first pick anyway, but I think was good for what it was . . . but was hoping the “feature” would match the “preview”. I’m interested to hear your other tracks and see if they follow a similar vibe or if things are mixed up.
Hey thanks so much for the feedback - I didn’t think anyone would actually listen, no less respond! I appreciate the time taken on both - I’m at that stage where I’m hungry for feedback so I can continue to grow my skills so this is gold!
I hadn’t heard the Weird Al vocal comparisons, so that cracked me up @grmpysmrf! If I were to mix it again, I would drop the vocals a db or two. They were really hard to mix because of the number of layers on the closing sing along chorus, but that’s exactly the sort of feedback I need to hear so I can push.
I also agree with you and @Gunnar that it does have a certain kind of happy kid’s song feel to it. The singles I’m releasing go by the season so everything during the summer months will be pretty up-tempo (though each in a different way) but once we get to the fall things will get darker, including a straight industrial dance track. I’m trying to jump genres and see what I like doing the best and what people respond to.
And Hot Chip was absolutely my launching point for this track and I’ve been an OMD fan since I first stole my brother’s cassette of theirs - so great ears @realmdemagic
Well let me tel ya’, i gave voidhead a ton of brutal feedback and he ended up on tour with Ministry with some actual decent music overall. So, you were right to ask me fir a critique!!
I just listened to track 2. i think i like track 2 better but that organ riff that kicks in at about 44/45 second mark kinda takes the song down … maybe a different instrument on the keyboard… maybe try a lower/higher tuning. The rhythm seem of it seems fine but the sound seems out of place… i like the distorted sporadic vox thats cool.
I guess I can hear a bit of Weird Al-ness. I thought more of “They Might Be Giants”, actually. Not just the vocal tone but the rhythm and tempos seemed kinda in that happy quirky vein too.
I like the concept of having a series of songs changing in accordance with the seasons. I’ve never heard of that before and it’s a cool idea. It will be fun to hear each month’s song.
Sounds good. Lots of stuff going on there. I think what others are keying in on with your vocals are how you enunciate. It gives it “that sound”. Whereas some singers don’t speak clearly, you do. The vocals are right up front, but that’s how some like them. I prefer vocals to be just like another instrument in terms of volume and space.
I also pulled up “human cost”. What instruments are you using in your tracks?
I also like to make recordings, I haven’t been motivated to create anything in the last year. I need to get back into creating stuff. I feel like the more music I make the better it gets.
You know, since there are a few of us here who make music on our own, we should create a megathread so we can post all our stuff in the same location. I remember reading about the Prongs compilation years ago, and I enjoy checking out new music. Would be nice to bring all the talent together for quick access. I have a Soundcloud account that’s a bit bloated and outdated, but I can make a new playlist and add some newer material.
Wow, didn’t expect more people to weigh in, thanks so much! I love the idea of a promote your music thread. There’s a lot of talented folks here on Prongs.
The remix is by a pretty amazing British vapor/funk project Donor Lens that I’m a huge fan. Thought they really hit a modern club vibe and I love it. Been really digging getting remixes done and seeing where people take it.
My next single will be out in a week. It’s a lot more chaotic than the first, but still in the summer dance genre.
In the meantime, a spoken word collab I did (I did the vocals and Pete Murphy (no not Peter Murphy) did the music. It’s radically different than the single, but I’m pretty proud of how it turned out.
I just listened to about 8 of them. They were really cool. I think this is actually a really good example of the music and vocals complementing each other properly. Makes for a really cool disorienting dystopic soundscape. The cold beat poetry / jazz style delivery with your voice and the spacey and sorta atonal background is a winning formula. Makes me think of a lot of dark future film stuff. I think some carefully chosen imagery could make these tracks into some really cool video pieces.
As a point of reference, this is something that it makes me think of, which is a track I was obsessed with as a kid. I should warn anyone that loves it as I did, that all of the rest of Was Not Was’ catalog is nothing like it, haha. They’re a solid funky jazz act better known for “Walk The Dinosaur”. I bought the “Dad, I’m In Jail” single and even the other track (“Jail” actually might have been the B-side, now that I think of it, haha) was pleasantly nice and playable for grandparents and whatnot (“Spy In The House Of Love”). All I wanted was more wacked out psycho shit, though, hahhaa.
Thanks so much for listening and your kind response! Man, I’m blown away that you know that Was (Not Was) track. I dug their funk stuff, but that track was always my favorite though I’ve not thought about it for years, so cool to listen to it again!
I’ve long been a fan of a lot of weirdo spoken word stuff (obviously Leary and Burroughs, but Lydia Lunch, Sow and that crazy Golden Palominos “Dead Inside” album too - also some early rap, especially the incredible “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash). I kind of built my improv vocals through leading guided meditations. Doing this stuff is similar but darker!
This is rad!! You’ve totally captured the 90s spoken word genre without being all nostalgic.
I like it. kinda what Gunnar said. your voice goes perfectly well with the music. It’s quirky and “important” without being pretentious. Your delivery kinda reminds me of Kristen Kosmas.
This is cool as hell
And . . . I don’t think it was a composed spoken word piece in the same vein (I think they found some old educational record and put the “music” over it), but here’s one from way back in the day that I absolutely adored because of how terrifyingly creepy it is. Boyd actually has a lot of really cool shit in the “spoken word” style (also check out “People” if you aren’t familiar with it).
Soooo, here’s this month’s single. Still summer dance, but this time glitchy and stranger stuff than last month’s. Again, any feedback good or bad is greatly appreciated!
