Saturday, July 30, 2011

Song Rating Outcome

Thanks all of you for listening and rating the songs! Some of you wrote a lot of comments too so bringing this together was not just a question of numbers.

Songs by Popularity
Here's the outcome of all votes:

So top 3 is quite clearly
  1. Never Easy
  2. You and Me (Oh Sofie)
  3. Falling
All three up-tempo and rock/pop.

Two of the songs are a little outside the ordinary – the slow and lengthy jazz song "Sunday" and the two minute long "Worries" with a bossa nova feel. When I decided to record these two I felt I was doing it for myself and that others wouldn't like them. Seems to be true for "Sunday" but "Worries" is actually five voters' favorite.

Comments
Here are some of the comments I got on the songs:
  • "Falling" is the most catchy one and it has really nice vocals.
  • "You and Me (Oh Sofie)" is great. It would fit well in a Disney movie. I hope that's a complement. :-)
  • "You Leave Me Wanting More" has a nice arrangement and gets better and better throughout the song. A little like "Ventura Highway" = like.
  • "You and Me (Oh Sofie)" was great until 2:12, didn't like the raise.
  • Most of the songs gave a kind of "flowey" feeling and I saw a music video in my heard where you were still, playing guitar but the background was moving like you were flying.
  • The chorus in "Lonely Saturday" is musically the strongest part of the whole album.
  • Sounds a lot like Popsicle / Andreas Mattsson.
  • I like the melancholy of the melody in "Early Morning". Especially the flips between major and minor scale.
  • Good lyrics throughout the album. I like that.

Thanks!

Regarding Vocals
Many have commented on my vocals, wanting more energy and intensity. This is very important feedback and something I'll consider going forward. I think the reason is twofold. First of all, many of you have heard me sing hard rock covers before which is nothing like the soft and mellow vocals of my own songs. Secondly, I've recorded all of the vocals and instruments in my project studio, i.e. in my Stockholm apartment. I guess what you hear at times is me being considerate of my neighbors and skipping that extra intensity.

The Next Step
During summer I've met with a few people who either produce themselves or work with producers. The next step is to have them listen to the material and see if we believe we can go that extra mile in cooperation.