New Music 2 - Sparkles by Hookstick

[DJMantra]

I'm really beginning to enjoy surround mixing, something I never thought I would be involved in. Here is a track from another project called Hookstick which is really my wife Jane Lane's baby. She wrote this whole album (apart from one track) and we were lucky enough to get who we consider to be the cream of musicians from the Shrewsbury/Shropshire and Mid Wales areas to get involved. The album is called Refugee and is available in stereo in all the usual places - Spotify, iTunes etc. and physical CD copies can be bought from www.noochoon.com, our own ecommerce site.

I'm really please as to how this one has come out but, as always, please give me any constructive feedback.

I suppose I basically want to know if these projects are viable and as to whether it is worth the time needed to remix the entire albums and make them available as wav (or other format if desired) from our site. I think authoring them as discs at this stage might be a step too far but you never know.

I would also release commercial versions at much higher sample rates (and bit depths) if necessary.

Anyway, enjoy and please get as many people as possible to listen to them.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1C3lYEK2jufuu-RKulGU-RiKpp_PMVcO5

Again, copyright is exclusively owned by Lane & Lane, Noochoon Publishing - This version 16bit wav 5.1 mix at 44.1khz

 

[MrSmithers]

Just had a listen to Spakles in 5.1 - really nice! Like the use of panning for the jingly bells bit (sorry forgotten the instrument name). Actually talking of Jingly bells it actually sounds quite festive. Perhaps you and @skherbeck 's Manger Zone will be battling it out for the Christmas Number 1 on Top Of The Pops?!

You're not afraid to use the rear speakers which is a great start - as Jon Urban says a surround release does not have to be the same as the stereo version, we already have a stereo version for that!

Personally I would say to go with hi res FLAC files at 24 bit 96 kHz sample rate if you can? The FLAC codec is free to use as far as I'm aware? I'm intrigued to know how long it would take to remix a whole album into surround? I think I read somewhere about a song a day is doable? It's just because I'm curious on the costs associated with remixing in surround, which that obviously would effect - which I posted in a thread here...
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/surround-albums-production-costs.24348/

As far as authoring on discs, I personally don't think that is necessary at all. We had a recent poll at which 90% said they'd be happy to purchase downloads. There is a member on here - @OdysseyMusik who runs https://surroundmusic.one which is a download site for, surround music! So you could enquire?

Anyway keep up the good work, and hopefully lot's more people will get to hear your work...

 

[DJMantra]

Just had a listen to Spakles in 5.1 - really nice! Like the use of panning for the jingly bells bit (sorry forgotten the instrument name). Actually talking of Jingly bells it actually sounds quite festive. Perhaps you and @skherbeck 's Manger Zone will be battling it out for the Christmas Number 1 on Top Of The Pops?!

You're not afraid to use the rear speakers which is a great start - as Jon Urban says a surround release does not have to be the same as the stereo version, we already have a stereo version for that!

Personally I would say to go with hi res FLAC files at 24 bit 96 kHz sample rate if you can? The FLAC codec is free to use as far as I'm aware? I'm intrigued to know how long it would take to remix a whole album into surround? I think I read somewhere about a song a day is doable? It's just because I'm curious on the costs associated with remixing in surround, which that obviously would effect - which I posted in a thread here...
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/surround-albums-production-costs.24348/

As far as authoring on discs, I personally don't think that is necessary at all. We had a recent poll at which 90% said they'd be happy to purchase downloads. There is a member on here - @OdysseyMusik who runs https://surroundmusic.one which is a download site for, surround music! So you could enquire?

Anyway keep up the good work, and hopefully lot's more people will get to hear your work...

Glad you like it, it's always nice to get comments on what you do. It's called a "Bell Tree" by the way, miniature tubular bells. I can easily reproduce 24bit/96k versions and I will be doing so as Flac files should I make any commercial releases.

I've had to set my mixing desk up with two lots of 6 inputs because the higher sample rates use 2 channels of ADAT light pipe so you have to configure to use every other input instead of consecutive inputs - a bit confusing at first but I sussed it eventually.

I don't think it would take a huge amount of time to remix, I reckon I could remix this album in about a week. Once you have a good stereo mix it seems relatively easy to re-place the various stems into a surround field and thenjust a matter of checking levels to make sure nothing is lost. I noticed listening to Dark Side today that some sounds really hammer out like the guitar solo in "Time" whereas some of the lead vocals get a bit buried in parts, it's always going to be trade offs and especially with something like the guitar solo, it needs to be featured and so I suppose it doesn't matter too much if it pushes other things out a little so that it can take "centre stage" so to speak. It's all very interesting to me and I can't stress the amount of enjoyment it gives me in looking at music in a new (to me) way.

As the Hookstick album is a completed project I think it is likely to be the first release in surround. There are many textures on the album from full on funk to very orchestral, soulful ballads as well as synth laden tracks and some amazing musicianship, so I think it would be a good candidate.

Oh well, let's see what people think!