Among the trees
Feb 26, 2023
Kristoph
Earth Tones
Happy with this one. A song about the feeling of awe of finding myself alone walking in the woods near my hometown near a fire watchtower when out wandering with friends on a clear evening.
I had trouble with direct-in on my guitar so I mic’d it up my amp, but isn’t exactly the tone I had dreamed of – a little tinnier than my ideal tone but I think it mixed alright.
Fairly pleased with working with the GarageBand pre-programmed drummers, I usually just make songs sans a rhythm section, so it was fun to play guitar off of the beat on one of these.
Had written a chunk of another track that was even more jingle-melody focussed but a few days ago it gave me the ick and I got frustrated with it enough to pivot to this tune instead.
Happy with the final product, though I could see this being denouement to a long slow-burn-of-a-song to earn that half-time energy.
Hope you enjoy!
Looking for feedback on
Did I capture the energy right? Do the drums work? Does it need to be part of something bigger?
Discussion
nick March 6, 2023 11:34am
im into the guitar tone. i think im game for your inclination that this could follow something with a little more tension, and act as a sort of release. i think the drums work. whenever i use programmed live drum sounds, i add a thin trebly layer of some snare or cymbal or percussion to kind of coat it in a little natural humanness. just a thought. well done, brother.
Kristoph March 16, 2023 7:54pm
love that idea!
juliapiker February 28, 2023 8:23pm
I loooooove your vocal layers! more more more layers from you please! Also thank you for playing with your headvoice! I appreciate it! Fun idea: I sort of here this being a lofi intro and then kicking in to like a very clear HI FI fullness.
Sam Pearce February 28, 2023 4:17pm
Hey man, I love the guitar playing on this. It sounds like you’re playing your heart out. I think the tinny quality is actually cool. It makes the guitar sound like its fighting hard to cross a narrow but significant divide to reach our ears. And your singing is compelling as always. Psyched to hear a song inspired by the Fire Tower.
Ben February 28, 2023 9:13am
ahh yes, the ick-fueled song pivot. I know that well.
This is great, and honestly, your drummer was kind of nailing it. some early tame impala sounding driving beats that just start suddenly with a pretty huge spacey vocal accompaniment. I also love when they cut to half time around 0:24 (and then they sort of go down another notch at around 0:37). very cool and interesting. then they start cooking again. well done.
My one constructive critique is pretty much what you already described. Yeah, it’s either a few dB too loud, or just too present or too thin? What steps did you take to adjust the sound in postprodution?
Great vibes. Getting a little of those anthemic arcade fire vibes.
Glad NCBC is back and i’m glad youre here.
nick March 6, 2023 11:31am
tame impala, interesting. im getting a little more broken social scene.
nurphgun March 7, 2023 9:45pm
It’s giving Wilco to me, too. Love this, @@Kristoph! It’s sparkly, shiny, jingly, jangly, triumphant.
Kristoph March 16, 2023 7:53pm
haha the post production steps were… limited, my mixing knowledge is not my strong suit. y’all are too nice tho
atalinkay February 27, 2023 11:28pm
Love the delicious low-key ambiance merged with upbeat danceability! Can see a crowd swaying and bobbing to this hardcore!
Z February 27, 2023 4:33pm
So much payoff! Love the energy, particularly the brief dip of “ it’s quiet” and then it comes right back in – this to me is about the feeling, not a long, throat-clearing description of a time and place, just puts me right there.
love hearing you working with a fuller arrangements, especially drums. ~Glock was a great choice!
Your guitar tone has always been one of my favorites. I think it’s really what everything should and usually is organized around, there’s a lotta folks here that are more useful than I for that kinda stuff, but I will say that the plug-and-play nature of DI helps me a lot to capture inspo with less fuss, and if it means more full BergenBand I hope you pick out a hot new interface ASAP!
great work!
lizzie February 27, 2023 4:31pm
yes the vibe is so on point with the prompt. the woods as your place really stuck with me – takes me to that place where you’re amongst something so grounding and wiser than you that you can just relax and really marvel at it. i could see you and grouplove headlining some festival called The Roots. i would buy a VIP pass.
EliasSZ February 27, 2023 2:32pm
Getting strong 2010s indie rock vibes from this tune – in a great way. Love how trashy the guitar is, but agree it’s maybe slightly too tinny. I wouldn’t want to lose all of the vibe that brings though so wouldn’t want to tame it too much I think. And the drop for the vocal entrance at :55 is sick. I feel like this could be a solid interlude track on an album, though I’m also vibing with it as a standalone piece.
froebusiness February 27, 2023 1:14pm
Nice one Bergenman-man. I think this would for sure play as an earned outro to a slow-burn track. Spot on.
TylerK February 26, 2023 11:40pm
Indie rock through and through. This is tight. The big vocals are cool coming of age 2011 movie trailer style. Garageband rules, which drummer did you use? Ian is my guy, he’s no nonsense. Feels like you captured the correct ~alive~ energy in your pivot. Great work.
Ryan February 26, 2023 10:51pm
Yeahhhh! Haven’t heard a full-band Bergen-banger in a bit! This is fun. I do think the guitar tone could do with some taming in the high-end, but it’s definitely in the right territory. The extra harmonics that come with it are pretty rad. Reeeally love the glock or vibraphone or—actually what is that? This gives me big Broken Social feels and I’m here for it.
Kristoph March 16, 2023 7:55pm
nailed it, vibraphone. thanks!
agasthya February 26, 2023 10:10pm
this is nice and vibey. I agree that the tinniness works in the context of the mix, although I would still bring down the highs a leeetle bit. I could see this as a “standalone” interlude track in a larger body of work, but I don’t think it needs to have a ‘first half’ added. dope dope dope