We've had a song called Gravity in our back pocket for some time now. If I can correctly recall, I believe it was mostly written and recorded pre-soundtrack. Well, this song is number one on our list of songs to be on the new Diads release. There's no track list yet, but it could very well be the opening track.
We originally wanted to re-record the guitars on the track, because we didn't like the sound we got years ago. Due to some difficulties in re-recording, I decided I would try to make the mix work again, but this time, I would take a completely different approach. Instead of mixing the guitars to the rest of the instruments, I would mix the song around the guitars. By doing this, the guitars hopefully wouldn't sound out of place to us. You can only do so much "in the mix." Also, I've learned some new tricks and plug-ins since then, so I have more experience going into it this time.
I bought myself an electronic drum kit in January of 2012. It had been a long time coming. Tim suggested I play drums for the song as he wasn't happy with how his programmed drum track turned out. I liked the idea of writing and recording a drum track for it. I used the drums that Tim created as a starting point to influence the direction I went in. I recorded many takes and saved most of them to either use or at least listen to as a tool to remember or improve upon. This was all done in 2012. And now, in 2017, after listening through those tracks, I will be creating one master drum track out of a few of those. I am happy with what I wrote and performed for this song. I believe my drum track gives the song some pep and the drive it was lacking.
The vocals have been done for a long time as well. Maybe you don't understand this as a listener, but songs can take a long time to come out. Many reasons can be given, and it's not just us amateurs. It happens even with the big names. And although the vocals have been done, I've been back and forth on whether or not I want to re-record them. I'm leaning towards re-recording them at this point. I think I can get a better performance. But, if I can't, then I guess I'll have my answer. Maybe, it'll be a hybrid of both. One thing I know for sure is that I will be doing another round of vocal recordings. When exactly may be the better question.
What's left, then? Well, the bass. The often overlooked instrument in rock music, not that we do straight-up rock music much. Ironically, though, this song is about as "straight-up rock" as we get. While the bass does add nicely to this song, there's not much to comment on at this point. It, along with guitars, is recorded and done. All that's left is to enhance the bass and blend it into the mix.
This post gives some back story to the song, and for the most part, it touches upon the state of this song before I started working on it again. I have now begun working on it (again) with the goal of finishing it for the upcoming release.
Stay tuned for more on the progress of the third Diads release.
Graham
