And Yet, Here I Am - mixing pop with my Nordic heritage

    This is a ballad I wrote hoping to incorporate some of my Nordic musical heritage into my own music. While this was the aim intellectually, I'm not at all sure there any Nordic elements here at all.


    Guitar: James Tyler SE HD recorded direct using a Fractal Audio FM3.

    Bass: Sire V7 recorded direct using a Boss GS-10.


    Hope you enjoy it!

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    Cheers,


    Mats N

    As others have mentioned the fretless bass just sounds magnificent! Great track, glad you're embracing your Scandinavian roots, it feels like it belongs, it fits and is relaxed and in it's right place.


    Really nice structure and tones here, the playing and production is as always amazing and crystal clear. I don't know how you do it just spot on every time.


    The only thing I wish is that you'd let your rhythm guitarist side out. I know that would go against the ultra-clean mix aesthetic but I'm just waiting for that deep drop tuned wash of high gain chords sound behind to kick in. It's a metal track waiting to happen!

    Quote from Per

    As others have mentioned the fretless bass just sounds magnificent! Great track, glad you're embracing your Scandinavian roots, it feels like it belongs, it fits and is relaxed and in it's right place.


    Really nice structure and tones here, the playing and production is as always amazing and crystal clear. I don't know how you do it just spot on every time.


    The only thing I wish is that you'd let your rhythm guitarist side out. I know that would go against the ultra-clean mix aesthetic but I'm just waiting for that deep drop tuned wash of high gain chords sound behind to kick in. It's a metal track waiting to happen!

    Thank you very much, Per!


    The fretless bass is actually NOT a fretless bass. It's my Sire Marcus Miller V7 4-string that I just love to bits. The fretless sound comes from the Defretter effect in my trusty old Boss GS-10.


    I'm happy that you recognize my efforts when it come to mixing and over all production. I've been recording since 1978 so I have learned a few things along the way. Having said that, every tune is still an effort so it's good to hear that it's noticed.


    I love playing rhythm guitar. Grooving with a good rhythm section is among my favourite things and I usually have at least one rhythm guitar track in my tunes.


    Funny thing that you mention drop tune guitars and metal. A guy at a Swedish forum said I should try to step out of my comfort zone and do something I don't really know how to do. So I started thinking about what I'm not familiar with and came up with three things.

    1. Drop tuned guitars. Our very own Franjoe30 has posted a lot of tunes that makes it painfully obvious that I can't do that.

    2. Electronica. I'm not familiar with this genre.

    3. Atonality. I'm very much schooled in the western concept of tonality. Too much! Anything out of the major/minor scales is problematic for me.


    So I decided to write an Electronica tune using drop tuned rhythm guitars and with a melody with notes outside the major scale.

    I have no idea how people knowledgable about those genres will think about how "real" the tune is but I had a blast writing and recording it and I'm in the process of mixing it now, still trying to have a very clean mix.


    Cheers,


    Mats N