Wanted to write about the hard choices in life, but wrap it in an unpolished synth-pop sound of the mid-80s. Almost Italo synth-pop sound.
Drums off the EMU ESI-4000 sampler. My own samples from old. High-hats of the Roland TR-626.
Bass is from a MiniNova. Bells is Yamaha DX7mk1 - Poly-synths is Roland Juno 6 and the rest is a mixture of Roland D-550, Juno 2 and JX-8P.
https://soundcloud.com/espenkraft/espen-kraft-dont-go
Italo Disco inspired synth-pop with a DX7, Juno 6 and more analogs
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
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- KVRAF
- 40243 posts since 11 Aug, 2008 from clown world
Pet Shop Boys rule. 
Unusual melody and chord changes. Caught me off guard a little bit but in a good way. I know that after hearing this a few times I'll totally dig it.
I was going to make a suggestion for the final chorus but wait ... you did it as I was typing.
I like it a lot. It's got that combination of sad but uplifting feeling that I seem to enjoy in a lot of '80s music.
Thumbs up!
Unusual melody and chord changes. Caught me off guard a little bit but in a good way. I know that after hearing this a few times I'll totally dig it.
I was going to make a suggestion for the final chorus but wait ... you did it as I was typing.
I like it a lot. It's got that combination of sad but uplifting feeling that I seem to enjoy in a lot of '80s music.
Thumbs up!
Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Thanks man! I appreciate you listening through and feeling the "happysad" emotions I've tried to capture. Awesome!Aloysius wrote:Pet Shop Boys rule.
Unusual melody and chord changes. Caught me off guard a little bit but in a good way. I know that after hearing this a few times I'll totally dig it.
I was going to make a suggestion for the final chorus but wait ... you did it as I was typing.
I like it a lot. It's got that combination of sad but uplifting feeling that I seem to enjoy in a lot of '80s music.
Thumbs up!
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- KVRist
- 445 posts since 17 Sep, 2014
Well...this song is fresh out of the 80's...so much so,that it brings back some wonderful memories of my teenage years!This song perfectly encapsulates that era of music.
A bit of a critique on your mix,if I may....the vocals don't sound forward enough in the mix(& the vocals in the chorus sections are especially difficult to decipher.)Other than that though,a very fine recording.
I haven't thought about purchasing digital music in a long time & I've never bought anything from BandCamp as of yet.When I went to buy your song,I ran into a bit of a snag,as the currency conversion thing,is very confusing to me.
As I understand it,USD is worth only a small fraction of a Norwegian Krone and in fact,after using the Currency Converter on Google,your asking price of $0.83(USD)...actually comes up as $9.87(USD) for what is $0.83(NOK).
However...on the checkout page of Bandcamp's website,USD is listed as $1.16(which is fine)...but how in the world,do you get $9.87 in Norwegian Krone,if I am only paying $1.16??)
Also...on the Guest Checkout of the PayPal website,there is no mention of the total charge,so if I fill out the form and pay it,I won't know exactly what I am paying,until I've already authorized the payment?
A bit of a critique on your mix,if I may....the vocals don't sound forward enough in the mix(& the vocals in the chorus sections are especially difficult to decipher.)Other than that though,a very fine recording.
I haven't thought about purchasing digital music in a long time & I've never bought anything from BandCamp as of yet.When I went to buy your song,I ran into a bit of a snag,as the currency conversion thing,is very confusing to me.
As I understand it,USD is worth only a small fraction of a Norwegian Krone and in fact,after using the Currency Converter on Google,your asking price of $0.83(USD)...actually comes up as $9.87(USD) for what is $0.83(NOK).
However...on the checkout page of Bandcamp's website,USD is listed as $1.16(which is fine)...but how in the world,do you get $9.87 in Norwegian Krone,if I am only paying $1.16??)
Also...on the Guest Checkout of the PayPal website,there is no mention of the total charge,so if I fill out the form and pay it,I won't know exactly what I am paying,until I've already authorized the payment?
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- KVRAF
- 3186 posts since 18 Mar, 2008
Wow, what an awesome pluck sound. 
This entire forum is wading through predictions, opinions, barely formed thoughts, drama, and whining. If you don't enjoy that, why are you here? 
ShawnG
ShawnG-
Brother Charles Brother Charles https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=271995 - KVRian
- 1104 posts since 3 Jan, 2012 from Alberta, Canada
Loved it! Thanx for posting. 80s all the way, baby.
80s all the way, baby. -
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Thank you for your constructive criticism, I appreciate it, I do!AlesisVi61 wrote:Well...this song is fresh out of the 80's...so much so,that it brings back some wonderful memories of my teenage years!This song perfectly encapsulates that era of music.
A bit of a critique on your mix,if I may....the vocals don't sound forward enough in the mix(& the vocals in the chorus sections are especially difficult to decipher.)Other than that though,a very fine recording.
I haven't thought about purchasing digital music in a long time & I've never bought anything from BandCamp as of yet.When I went to buy your song,I ran into a bit of a snag,as the currency conversion thing,is very confusing to me.
As I understand it,USD is worth only a small fraction of a Norwegian Krone and in fact,after using the Currency Converter on Google,your asking price of $0.83(USD)...actually comes up as $9.87(USD) for what is $0.83(NOK).
However...on the checkout page of Bandcamp's website,USD is listed as $1.16(which is fine)...but how in the world,do you get $9.87 in Norwegian Krone,if I am only paying $1.16??)
Also...on the Guest Checkout of the PayPal website,there is no mention of the total charge,so if I fill out the form and pay it,I won't know exactly what I am paying,until I've already authorized the payment?
As for the Bandcamp. I can't say I have TONS of customers, but I've sold quote a few albums this years and some singles too. I havn't had any complaints about the pricing going havoc in the checkout so I think it works like it should. Most of my buying fans comes from the US.
You should never have to pay more than the "minimum" price for a track, As a seller I have to set the currency in which country I come from so it's in norwegian kroner, but I guess the exchange rate of the day comes into account,. Anyways, the 7 NOK should be approx. $1 or there about. As for a guest or logged in, I truly don't know the difference.
You really don't HAVE to buy it there, all my music is on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, iTunes and Google Play (and more) so just go there if you want.
Thanks for your support!
all the best from Norway!
EK
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Thanks! The MiniNova is a synth from Novation. I usually use it as a controller, but this time it had the most potent bass-sound for this particular track.lsterling wrote:I don't know what a MiniNova is, but the bass sounds awesome!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Sweet! ThanksZexila wrote:Wow, what an awesome pluck sound.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Gotto love the 80s! Thanks!Brother Charles wrote:Loved it! Thanx for posting.
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- KVRAF
- 6325 posts since 18 Jul, 2008 from New York
Solid synthpop with lots of nice touches and details in the arrangement! You really do sound like Neil Tennant at times. I find that explosive snare tiresome after a while.
Good job!
Good job!
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
This is great! Definitely reminiscent of classic Pet Shop Boys. I do have to agree with the comment that the vocals should be much more prominent in the mix.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
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- KVRian
- 884 posts since 3 Jan, 2016
I like the music. It's eighties but that's fine in a retro way.
The problem I see "commercially" is with the lyrics. They more or less just create a situation for the music to play along to rather than being a strong center for the song. I think there needs to be a stronger story idea with more imagery and a more cleaver central idea (hook). Something really unique and tuff.
The problem I see "commercially" is with the lyrics. They more or less just create a situation for the music to play along to rather than being a strong center for the song. I think there needs to be a stronger story idea with more imagery and a more cleaver central idea (hook). Something really unique and tuff.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 143 posts since 3 Jul, 2016 from Norway
Thanks man! I can see what you mean about the snare. In hindsight I could have lowered that snare a bit, although I personally like snares high in the mix and therefor probably mix it the same way.Frantz wrote:Solid synthpop with lots of nice touches and details in the arrangement! You really do sound like Neil Tennant at times. I find that explosive snare tiresome after a while.
Good job!
