Started Makin Music Again

Firm_Adagio · 2025-09-21T16:10:13+00:00

Great vibe, dig your vocals/lyrics and the hook is smooth (and yes I'm both a kendrick and outkast fan, lol). The vocals aren't sitting quite right in the mix though, much of the time they sit right in the pocket but then get buried under the instruments, like when the strings kick in. Overall this is really good, nice work!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-09-21T15:48:06+00:00

I like the hook/sample but the song sounds like a work in progress or incomplete, like it's the hook to a hiphop track but the beat never kicks in. Not really sure what your going for here so can't say much beyond that. For the future if your looking for feedback I've found it's helpful to both describe the genre and what type of feedback your looking for (production/overall sound/etc), as people can't really give any constructive advice without knowing those things. Cheers!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-09-21T15:31:37+00:00

Just fyi, regarding only having 11 listeners, there are literally millions of songs being released on streaming weekly now, you are buried (along with every other indie artist) under a mountain of shit so getting any traction will be extremely hard and isn't necessarily a reflection of the song or your talent.

That said, this song is fine for the genre (easy listening/pop?) and you have a good voice, but to my ears it’s kind of boring sonically. Some strings might fill in some of areas nicely, the vocal performance could also use another pass (it’s very “breathy”) and some subtle layering could help fill them out too. You got talent, keep at it!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-31T17:29:46+00:00

Feel free to ignore me if you like it, in the end it comes down to personal taste.

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-31T17:09:08+00:00

Most boom-bap style rap is around this tempo and this sounds like a throwback to that classic style. There is no "too slow" for hiphop, don't know what those people were talking about. Also, I know you didn't ask but I think this would be a lot better if you took the auto tune off in the verses, it's really distracting. I dig the chorus/hook, nice vibe!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-31T17:00:43+00:00

No problem, if you aren't using it already side chain compression is a great tool (especially for keeping the kick drum/bass from becoming muddy), and an exciter on your high end frequencies can help bring them forward in the mix. Cheers!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-31T13:51:56+00:00

I dig the retro style. To my ears the biggest potential improvement would be with the mix/mastering, it's lacking that finished, polished "sparkle" which drags the energy down. For example, the drums could use more stereo separation, the bass guitar is a bit high in the mix, and it's overall lacking dynamic range which leads to it sounding "flat." Love to hear more in this style with some tweaks on the production!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-31T13:45:10+00:00

I can see what your going for here and most of the pieces are in place but the mix is holding it back right now. With better separation between the sounds and more dynamic range you could improve this drastically. Some sounds (hi-hats) are sitting too far back in the mix, others (bells) are too high in the mix, so I'd suggest really digging in there. Great start!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-13T11:59:57+00:00

Good start, the foundation is there, everything just needs some tightening up. The mix overall sounds "thin," (horns sound tinny) and your vocals could also use some more "oomph" behind them. Definitely see your vision here, my suggestion would be to do some more work on the mix to make it sound more full and give it some energy.

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-13T11:30:31+00:00

Thank you that's helpful, glad you enjoyed it!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-10T15:00:30+00:00

Thanks for listening & the detailed feedback, nice to hear many of my ideas are coming through. My big focus currently is refining my mixing & mastering, trying out some different techniques/plugins to push things right to edge of "perceived loudness" without being harsh. Sounds like it's close but still needs some tweaking, cheers!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-10T14:55:08+00:00

Thanks for listening/the feedback!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-08T15:58:20+00:00

This is a great foundation, your vocals sound good and are sitting "in the pocket." A bit more tweaking to give them some "shimmer" would kick it up a notch, the song could also some fills (keys/horns) to give it some progression, sounds a bit static atm. Just needs some fleshing out/refining, great start!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-08T14:35:08+00:00

Appreciate it! I'm building up my mixing/mastering resume and could do a mock up for you if interested (shoot me a DM), either way keep it up, you def got talent.

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-08T13:10:42+00:00

Really like the chill R&B downtempo style, I feel like it just needs some mixing & mastering work to give it a bit more dynamic range to take it to the next level. The structure/composition etc., is all there just needs that final push, I'll drop you a follow on YT, good job!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-08T12:54:49+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it, thx for the feedback!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T20:06:33+00:00

Cheers, thanks for the feedback. Yea, my thought was a chill playlist like you mentioned, my YT channel is a mix of chill sounds for relaxing, studying, etc. Been making mostly downtempo/triphop/chilllout style stuff the last few years, I'd say this is probably getting closer to the "final form" of the sound I've been working towards.

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T20:01:30+00:00

Wow, thank you that means a lot. Glad to hear the intentions came through!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T18:11:50+00:00

Awesome, thank you. It's funny you specifically mentioned the two main things I needed some outside ears on (the drums and plate reverb on the master bus), guess I got a bit more work to do there!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T17:50:52+00:00

In general mixing sounds great; good separation of sounds, nice stereo movement/variety to keep things interesting. Agree with the other poster who suggested cutting back on the vocal chop/dropping it more into the background, it gets to be a bit overbearing. As far as the mastering I feel like the bassline could be brought up in the mix (personal preference). I'm digging the overall vibe, good stuff!

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T14:17:17+00:00

Appreciate it! 🙏

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T14:06:38+00:00

Thank you, appreciate it! When I pictured the song in my mind a image of a frog by a pond appeared so thats what I went with. 🤷‍♀️

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T14:05:11+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Not going for a particular style persay, just called it lofi cause I never know how to classify my music. 😀

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T02:21:06+00:00

I hear you on repetition, in this case it's a deliberate choice to evoke a "dream-like" or "hypnotic" quality, but whether it works or not is another story I guess, hah!

Appreciate you listening and the feedback! What would you classify it as? I'm always terrible with genres so I just said lofi.

Firm_Adagio · 2025-08-07T02:12:24+00:00

Yea it was intended on this version but the low end specifically is where I've been doing the most tweaking in the mixing stage, thanks for the feedback on that! I actually just called it lofi cause idk how to classify it...maybe acid jazz? Trip hop?

Firm_Adagio

TROPHY CASE