First attempts at producing :) Feedback welcome

[MikeParkes]

First of all a big hello to everyone on the forum I've been working with live for about a month now and have been lurking on these pages learning as much as I can. Over the last couple of weeks I have produced my first two tunes and have uploaded them for the world to see.The style is sorta Dirty Electro I guess, but I am trying to find my own sound and am still somewhere on the learning curve currently.

Comments/ constructive criticism/ feedback welcome and comments will be returned if you take the time to comment on my work. I intend to participate actively in the forum whilst avoiding doing any work!

Hoping to get to know you all better soon..

Parkesie

http://soundcloud.com/parkesie/forest[url][/url]

[lamdasond]

hi mike and welcome to the forum!
i liked tits&arse a lot, but imo its a bit too much sidechaining compression/ducking on the synth, which might sound better if you add some static pad sounds (would be worth a trial).
i especially like the bass line at the end of each section.
nice done!

[MikeParkes]

Hey lamdasond, thanks for the feedback. Yeah I thought that too, it didn't quite feel natural somehow. Thanks for the tips dude, I'll give it a bash tonight

[soultwist]

Sweet. Couldn't listen to Tits (can only listen if it's a download here at work). It's cool to see someone else who is just starting out. You have definitely made a lot of progress in a month. It's been a couple of months for me, but I don't think I even knew what side chain compression was in the first month.

But purely from a listeners perspective, I think the 'chorus' comes in too suddenly. There is no anticipation, build up/tension. And the first time it came in I thought it was a little harsh/loud. But cool track, the parts are there, just not yet dance ready (if that's what you're going for of course)
Hope that helps

[MikeParkes]

Hey soultwist, thanks a lot for the support. I was thinking that with the chorus also, I wanted to have a really big drop into the chorus but haven't really figured the correct techniques for it yet. Have you got any tips on how to build suspense/ tension? Would be greatly appreciated.

Btw guys, if you have your own tracks and link to them I will return the favour and give feedback on your work too.

Cheers

Mike

[soultwist]

Last month's Future Music goes into quite a lot of detail on how to make effective build ups and drops. Check it out if you can.
I'm still pretty new to this myself, and the kind of music I try to do doesn't ask for too many intense builds. You can check it here: http://soundcloud.com/soultwist/take-two
I don't have very much as far as full tracks as you can see

In the first one I posted there is a bit of a transition where I just used a reverse crash trick. Otherwise, I don't know if you've explored all other 'traditional' methods like white noise, filter sweeps, reverb builds, etc. You can find little tutorials on YouTube.

[MikeParkes]

Nice one..cheers! I'm at work at the moment so can't listen to anything, but will definately check out your tracks when I get in. Thanks again for the advice, I'll look into it for sure. I haven't mastered or eq'd the tracks at all as yet, seems like theres so much to take in when your new to the game!

[tlennon]

Welcome Mike. Forest has a blasting part of synths @1:00 to 1:25 that need to be evened out with the rest of the track. I know you are just starting, but the abrupt ending is a no-no. Tits and Arse - Landasond hit it spot on. The sidechaning/pump action is a bit extreme but maybe that is the effect you were going for. I noted that both tracks are in the same key and have the same flavor but for your first attempt, both are pretty good.

...comments will be returned if you take the time to comment on my work. I intend to participate actively in the forum...

I've been pushing this idea for some time now. Thanks for sharing.

[MikeParkes]

Hey, thanks for the advice tlennon. I was trying to make that bit really banging when it kicked in, I'm still sorta at the trial and error stage I guess! that bit needs bringing back in line with the rest like you say.I think I still need to add more percussion to it (at the moment theres only a kick drum.)Also need to look at techniques for transitions in and out of different bits, as it feels abrupt at the moment.

I will work on it further over the weekend, and share my results once completed.

With regards to your idea, I think its a good one. If somebody takes the time to listen to my work and provide feedback I am more than happy to do the same. I would have done so last night, but was out til stupid 'o clock and am paying for it today in work!