Old 08-06-2019, 01:42 PM   #1
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default Song video "A lttle More"

My son has been recording/producing a local singer songwriter named Peter Whitaker over the last few months. Peter created a video that shows some of the recording session for one of the songs ("A Little More").

https://youtu.be/TVtoBcdwu9I

All filmed in my son's Sweetfoot Studios and on a rooftop in nearby Annapolis Maryland, and all recorded in my son's studio using Reaper. I think that both the recording and the video turned out nicely.

Beside seeing Peter, my son, and drummer Jordan Stanley, you will see a cameo appearance by uber studio-dog Ruxin, whose presence is often requested by artists.

Peter seems to be catching on. One of his tunes has been streamed over 170,000 times in the last few months. For reasons that are not clear, he seems to have a big following in the UK.

I am always interested in the environments that other Reaper users work in, and it seems to me that others might be likewise curious about our working environment here in Maryland. This video will give you a little view of what it is like in and around Sweetfoot Studios.

Edit:This song has now been streamed more than 1 million times. And I found out one of the reasons why. It appears that it got onto a couple of very influential playlists, and that is driving huge numbers of listeners to spotify.

T

Last edited by tspring; 08-16-2020 at 02:57 PM. Reason: Add info.
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2019, 01:56 PM   #2
Sambo Rouge
Human being with feelings
 
Sambo Rouge's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posts: 1,965
Default

Hey T,

Very nice song. Excellent mix and master.

I also thought the vid was nicely done --- lots of work there.

The girl he was dancing with on the roof was a bit thin.

Also the studio's name had a typo -- but who cares? It was all very fine.

Loved the dog.

Regards,
SR
__________________
Chill at home and stay well.
Sambo Rouge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2019, 02:34 PM   #3
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sambo Rouge View Post
Hey T,

Very nice song. Excellent mix and master.

I also thought the vid was nicely done --- lots of work there.

The girl he was dancing with on the roof was a bit thin.

Also the studio's name had a typo -- but who cares? It was all very fine.

Loved the dog.

Regards,
SR
Thanks Sambo. All the girls that I danced with when I was in high school were thin like that too. Fixing a typo embedded in a video is no fun and, as you say, who cares.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-07-2019, 11:05 AM   #4
toleolu
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,423
Default

When I listen to new songs, the question I ask myself is "Would I buy this?"

In this case, the answer is "Oh hell yeah!!!"

Excellent work.

Last edited by toleolu; 08-08-2019 at 11:07 AM.
toleolu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-07-2019, 11:18 AM   #5
superblonde.org
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1,035
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
all recorded in my son's studio using Reaper. I think that both the recording and the video turned out nicely.
i'm guessing the video wasn't recorded in reaper but imported into reaper, right? I dont think reaper has video capture yet?

also, is there a plan to make a square aspect ratio video for those square social video services (which I wont name). I tried making square aspect videos in reaper but it was tricky if starting with HD aspect ratio.
superblonde.org is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2019, 10:58 AM   #6
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Glad you like the recording Toleolu. Superblond, I think that my text was a little misleading. The audio was recorded using Reaper. Video was handled using other software. I am not following developments in Reaper video so I can't address your question regarding aspect ratio. Thank to all for your comments.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2019, 11:04 AM   #7
morgon
Human being with feelings
 
morgon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: 'straya
Posts: 9,409
Default

Excellent track, classy, cheers.
morgon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2019, 10:04 AM   #8
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Thanks for the listen and comment morgon. Seems my info on the number of sreams of the song on Spotify was out of date... it went over 300,000 yesterday, and is still trending up. Spotify indicates that listeners are most heavily concentrated in Northern England and Sweden. I wonder why?

T

Last edited by tspring; 08-11-2019 at 10:07 AM. Reason: I can't write a clear sentence for the life of me.
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2019, 03:19 PM   #9
Bearcub
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 280
Default

Yeah it really ticks all the right boxes in terms of performance, tune and production within 'epic acoustic commercial adult pop', it deserves to do well..and it could pass for both an English and an a Swedish pop song I think.


Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
Thanks for the listen and comment morgon. Seems my info on the number of sreams of the song on Spotify was out of date... it went over 300,000 yesterday, and is still trending up. Spotify indicates that listeners are most heavily concentrated in Northern England and Sweden. I wonder why?

T
Bearcub is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2019, 10:56 PM   #10
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Thanks Bearcub. I don't doubt that you are correct in saying the song would fit into the local music scene in Northern England and Sweden. I suppose that the exchange of music back and forth across the Atlantic leads to convergence of musical tastes. But it still seems odd that the song is getting more plays in Europe than in the US where the musician lives, is immersed in local music, and is presumably especially aware of local preferences.

I listened to some of the tunes on your Soundclick webpage, and it is pretty clear that you know epic when you hear it. I really like your "Nothing Lasts Forever", "River", and "Miracle Road". They are epic in the sense that they are very ambitious. It made my evening listening to them. You are very talented.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2019, 02:34 AM   #11
Bearcub
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 280
Default

Very cool that you checked out the tunes. Thanks for the nice words.
Bearcub is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2019, 09:42 AM   #12
toleolu
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,423
Default

@Bearcub, based on tsprings comments, I checked out your Soundclick page, and I agree with tspring, excellent songs.

Your cover of Seven Bridges Road is especially good. Can I ask how you went about doing the vocal harmonies? Very impressive.
toleolu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2019, 10:30 AM   #13
Bearcub
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 280
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by toleolu View Post
@Bearcub, based on tsprings comments, I checked out your Soundclick page, and I agree with tspring, excellent songs.

Your cover of Seven Bridges Road is especially good. Can I ask how you went about doing the vocal harmonies? Very impressive.
Oh thanks. Well, that was just a matter of laying down what I consider the main vocal line first with a handheld condenser, and then stacking the other voices around it until it filled things out.

It wasn't mapped out or anything, but I'm pretty familiar with the version on Eagles Live from 1980.

I tried to sing individual parts a bit like the different members of The Eagles, although it's pretty impossible to get it as good as you'd want it to be.
Bearcub is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2019, 10:53 AM   #14
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

One tidbit that might be interesting to some: Early in the video (when you see Shea [my son] fiddling with outboard pre-amps) you can hear a low droning sound. The sound is from one of those old electronic reed organs, overlaid with a reversed sustained note from an electric guitar. Shea got the reed organ for $15 at a thrift store. It sounds crappy by itself, but in the mix it really adds a thickness that I personally find appealing. Shea is always finding ways fit to oddball stuff into recordings. One recording he did has a note played by an electric drill that a repairman working in the building was using, and that he and the artist heard while listening to a playback. They borrowed the drill, recorded it, and voila, a subtle mysterious sound was added in just the right place in the song. Who needs a synth? Fun stuff.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-12-2019, 11:02 AM   #15
Bearcub
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 280
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
One tidbit that might be interesting to some: Early in the video (when you see Shea [my son] fiddling with outboard pre-amps) you can hear a low droning sound. The sound is from one of those old electronic reed organs, overlaid with a reversed sustained note from an electric guitar.

T
Kind of sounds like a synth or something, and yeah the combination of those two makes one sound that blends in to the rest seamlessly.
Bearcub is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-13-2019, 11:36 AM   #16
superblonde.org
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1,035
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bearcub View Post
Yeah it really ticks all the right boxes in terms of performance, tune and production within 'epic acoustic commercial adult pop',
I completely agree with this (even down to the commercial, cliche "whoa..whoa...whoa..."'s in the song)
which is why I very much did not like the song in terms of artistic taste.
my opinion could lead to a conversation regarding how to please more people (by that I mean, not drive away non-lovers of 'epic acoustic commercial adult pop') but that would be a long uninteresting topic.
superblonde.org is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-13-2019, 02:01 PM   #17
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by superblonde.org View Post
I completely agree with this (even down to the commercial, cliche "whoa..whoa...whoa..."'s in the song)
which is why I very much did not like the song in terms of artistic taste.
my opinion could lead to a conversation regarding how to please more people (by that I mean, not drive away non-lovers of 'epic acoustic commercial adult pop') but that would be a long uninteresting topic.
Indeed there is always the question of what art is and what purposes it should serve. I think that 'how to please more people' is a very worthy topic.
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-13-2019, 02:26 PM   #18
Stinger
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 194
Default

"voila, a subtle mysterious sound was added in just the right place in the song."

My phone has rung, quite loudly, in several of my recordings. If it is at a critical point (ie: too much trouble to re-do), I have just left it in there. Nobody has said a word yet.
Stinger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-13-2019, 06:54 PM   #19
superblonde.org
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 1,035
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stinger View Post
My phone has rung, quite loudly, in several of my recordings. If it is at a critical point (ie: too much trouble to re-do), I have just left it in there. Nobody has said a word yet.
lawyers might have a word, when they claim you illegally sampled :-P oops
superblonde.org is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-14-2019, 08:12 PM   #20
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

About that telephone...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A4PgOKcZ-Dw

I will let Kentavious Jones tell you about it (Song titled Telephone recorded a few months ago in my son's studio). Funky!

T

Last edited by tspring; 08-14-2019 at 09:20 PM.
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-14-2019, 08:39 PM   #21
morgon
Human being with feelings
 
morgon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: 'straya
Posts: 9,409
Default

I deem this an all time classic ballad, I just enjoyed it again, a really wonderful track, congrats to all involved.
morgon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2019, 06:22 PM   #22
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Morgon, thanks for the second listen and talong time to comment again. I am sure that Shea and Peter will eventually read this thread and will be glad to hear how much you like the song and performance.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2019, 10:07 AM   #23
synkrotron
Human being with feelings
 
synkrotron's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Warrington, UK
Posts: 1,444
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
I think that both the recording and the video turned out nicely.
Yes, I totally agree

Not something I would normally listen to, day today. I tend to swing between the two extremes of ambient and heavy/prog metal. But at no point was I inclined to click away. Very nicely done.

cheers

andy
__________________
Bandcamp // YouTube // SoundCloud
synkrotron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2019, 01:13 PM   #24
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Update: "A Little More" has now been streamed over 1/2 million times on Spotify. Apparently when a song passes this benchmark, it is handled a little differently by Spotify, and this has resulted in an increase in the frequency that the song is being streamed (something like 6,000 times a day over the last few days). Listeners still clustered in the UK.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2019, 02:23 PM   #25
karbomusic
Human being with feelings
 
karbomusic's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 29,260
Default

I missed this before, great job my friend, I can hear why it's getting a lot of plays.
__________________
Music is what feelings sound like.
karbomusic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2019, 09:20 PM   #26
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Hey karbo. Thanks for the listen, and I am glad that the recording passes the karbo-test.

And thanks to you too, synkotron. I am glad that you did not feel the need to click away.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2020, 03:00 PM   #27
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

This song has now been streamed more than 1 million times. And I found out one of the reasons why. It appears that it got onto a couple of very influential playlists, and that is driving huge numbers of listeners to Spotify. I wish that I knew what about the song got it onto the lists. Seems like understanding this would be a key to success in the current music world.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.