About

“Sons and Daughters of Harmony” is a choral and orchestral work celebrating the universal gift of music and musicians and the idea that we are all, without exception, “Sons and Daughters of Harmony”

Mark Scheffler

This project, put together by Mark Scheffler (Appleton, Wisconsin USA), is a high-quality recording of a studio performance for an 11 minute choral and orchestra piece.

Had a great time working in this project because it was challenging, in terms of sound design and editing. Got access to 8x separate vocal files by Darren and Caroline Clarke (England), an orchestral composition by Oren Sela (Israel), and the goal was to turn the 8 voices SSAATTBB (2x soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), into a full choir accompanying the orchestra.

Process

Characteristics of a Choir

Audio editing and Choir production

To create the illusion of a Choir, from only 8 SSAATTBB vocals, I had to duplicate them, to some extent, in new audio channels, each with its own processing, as if new singers with different vocal registers were present.

Some of the techniques used include:

• changing the position of specific words and phrases in the 11 min timeline (tedious process but worthwhile for a more natural sounding),
• making tonal variations with a couple of pitch shifting and format tools (specific for high pitch and lower pitch voices),
• adding tonal corrections,
• panning,
• and of course, the usual EQing, compression and saturation to make the sound more rich.

In addition, most choirs are recorded in Halls and Churches. Creating a “space” effect and ambience for the final sound was mandatory, which also made the sound more realistic. One of the things I tried to avoid was going too hard on processing (might sound like a paradox, giving all the tools used and changes done). I didn’t want a robotic/degraded choir, but rather a more natural one.

After having done many lines of audio, the music piece really sounded like a full and realistic choir in a large hall. Although, Me and Mark decided to go back a bit, reducing the number of vocals, because we started to miss some of the sharp and fast consonant sounds. Going back and forth was necessary to find the perfect balance between getting a great sound and crispiness of the consonants!

Mixing all elements together

After ending up with a nice textured ensemble the next step was to blend the Orchestra instrumentation and the Choir together. In the final mixing, and since the orchestra is really dynamic (can go too quiet and too loud in a matter of seconds) I had to make sure the Choir didn’t stay behind, in energy and gain.

Getting into more technical stuff, side-chain processing and automating parameters were needed, in order to make the sound translate well across the 11min piece.

One other reason why I like this method, apart from maintaining most dynamics, is the option to make any sound responsive to both the overall gain or just part of the spectrum (lows, mids or highs) of another instrument.

Did you know that you can find this technique in modern music such as Pop, Electronics, Metal…?

When the kick hits, all other elements go down in different proportions or specific parts of the spectrum, making the kick feel stronger in the mix, without being actually louder than the rest.

Final Product

“Carbon Exit” is the first single by the artist known as Veronica+. Based at United Kingdom, the music presented here pushes the boundaries of experimental. Its also accompanied by a mysterious and intriguing video, which you can watch bellow.

The process

Mastering this music piece was captivating in a way, not only because I enjoy working with experimental music but also because the sound has a challenging side.

In the more pop or commercial genres, the instruments are much more defined, being easier to recognize, process, and compare with other references. But in an experimental genre, nothing is obvious, its a discovery listening! Which requires me to be much more objective when mastering while, at the same time, analyze every new element that comes up.

All to make sure the piece sounds balanced and dynamical enough to fit any possible scenario, either in a multi-genre playlist or as a score for a video.

Listen

You can find “Carbon Exit” at youtube: https://youtu.be/hDQnFi4uKiQ

[CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES]

Had the pleasure to master this remix, done by AVH, a new UK based electronic artist, presenting fresh fusions of House, UKG, DNB.

The original song “Fall Into You” is the latest release by British indie rockers Vigilantes.

You can stream/download the remix here: http://linktr.ee/ambrosevh

Find more about Vigilantes here: http://linktr.ee/vigilantesmusic

About

Was hired to produce a song for a Techno artist, following a couple of references with a dark and hypnotic feel (some by Drumcode label).

Techno music, despite being one genre of electronic music, has a wide diverse of styles. some more melodic than others, some more aggressive and some are in fact country specific, due to its culture and nightlife.

Goal

For this song in particular, and following the client’s vision, some of the characteristics that can be distinguished in this style and song are: the punchy/hot kick, which comes through the mix nicely, the reverby percussion accompaniment (making everything darker and roomy) and the use of modular synthesizers, some with a vintage/raw kind of sound, delivering the main theme of the song. The modular/vintage sounds can come in the form of a Lead and/or hypnotic Bassline.

The track bellow is a short alternate version of the original, for showcasing purposes.

These are two different trap beats. Alternate versions for different rappers, which I ended up not using.

I offer unique beats to each client. I don’t do leasing or copy. So most of the time I end up with lots of unused sounds and unreleased material which goes to the trash bin. Nevertheless I decided to share these two.

Laid Back

West Coast, G-Funk, Death Row recs type beat.

Hesitant

Lo-Fi type beat.

Had the chance to be involved in the finishing touches of “On Fleek”, a song by Darknet, a mysterious producer from United States.

Helped with the final arrangement and worked on the Master of the song.

The song “Darknet – On Fleek” is out on many platforms.