Whispers Of Tomorrow (EmmaJack)
Notes on "Whispers Of Tomorrow" (EmmaJack)
Whispers Of Tomorrow (FMT remakes EmmaJack's version)
TRACK DATA
Composition tool: MuseScore 3, Studio One 6.5 Professional
Recording tool (DAW): Studio One 6.5 Professional
Number of tracks: 71, 67(Karaoke)
Sound source: Presence XT, Impact XT, Sample One, Maitai (All built-in sound sources of Studio One)
Composition and recording period: Nov 19 2023 - Jun 4 2024
The impetus for this project
(TI writes:)
The project started when Emma Jack asked me what I thought of the song and I asked her, "How did you create the rhythm for this song?" She said, "I programmed it myself, but I feel like it still needs some work, maybe there's a better pattern", so I said, "Then why don't we replace that part?" So that's how we started.
Therefore, we did not initially plan to create such an arrangement, but simply replaced the rhythm and tried to adjust the volume balance somewhat accordingly.
Whispers Of Tomorrow (new drums and mix) Version
TRACK DATA
Composition tool: MuseScore 3, Studio One 6.5 Professional
Recording tool (DAW): Studio One 6.5 Professional
Number of tracks: 18
Sound source: Presence XT, Impact XT, Sample One, Maitai (All built-in sound sources of Studio One)
Composition and recording period: Nov 19 2023 - Dec 10 2023
Initially, the rhythm created by TM was too precise for Emma's live groove and didn't fit, so I decided to cut and paste the breakbeats to make a brushed-up version of her original song that sounded more like a live performance.
This is the 'Whispers Of Tomorrow (new drums and mix)' version already released on Emma's account.
For this one, I used her live performance as it is, without changing the structure, only replacing the rhythm.
The mix is also kept in mind not to deviate from the atmosphere of the original song, and even the noises and minor performance mistakes are left as is as much as possible, with minimal timing corrections, and the volume and sound pressure are only increased to the extent that the texture is not changed.
The rhythm is also more dynamic and exciting in the second half and the ending, with flashy phrases to give it a band-like feel, but the first half of the song follows the rhythm of the original, as per her request.
Arrangement of FMT remakes EmmaJack's version
In contrast, the 'FMT remakes EmmaJack's version' to be released this time is based on the TM rhythm that was originally created, and TM made the basic arrangement of the instrumental parts, added and changed the structure based on it, and added new electric piano chords and horn parts.
In particular, the electric piano phrases in the chorus part before ending were repeatedly discussed with TM.
Emma also sang again to this basic track.
Therefore, this version is not just a remix, but a 'new recording'.
The chorus part has been transposed from the original chorus part, with some rewriting of the phrases to make it a three-voice chorus.
Also, the refrain before the ending is repeated twice to gradually build up the song.
The Windscale Blues Experiment joins in
For these basic tracks, I asked The Windscale Blues Experiment to add a Horn section and solo part, and he added a minimal refrain and a great sax solo.
As for the sax solo, he had put it in the ending, but as it overlapped with the vocal, I wrote an additional solo part in the middle section to make his solo stand out more and moved it there.
I think you can rather recognise his phrasing better in this place because there is no overlap with vocals and so on.
In any case, anyway, his playing is excellent. He senses the mood of the song and always adds the appropriate phrases to it. The recording is also in excellent condition, and the sound is already organised so there is little to be done here.
However, there was a delay on the repetitive minimal refrain, but TM suggested cutting the delay to make the rhythm tighter, so I cut that out with waveform editing.
Mixing
The original mix was inspired by the Motown sound of the 80s, or AOR.
For example, a funky (synth) bassline, digital electric piano, chorus and phaser with a short delay on the cutting guitar and a horn section.
We went back and forth on the mix, but it was difficult to organise the sound traffic for the last part where all the instruments sounded.
The vocals and chorus are at the centre of the mix, while the rhythm guitars, horns and strings on the left and right, electric piano and saxophone all have a clear role to play, so in order for the vocals to be heard clearly without killing them, we wrote out the bandwidth we wanted each to sound in, and each asserted its own position, The EQ curves and threshold values of the dynamic EQ are set in detail so as not to interfere with each other, and side-chaining is applied between interfering parts.
Accident and Karaoke Version
For this song, the mix automation function did not work properly and the balance of the mix changed every time (apparently the information we had programmed was not fully read in), and in the end we could not find the cause.
For this song, I had written detailed information about the reverb, delay on, off and volume changes, but not all of it was reflected.
So the Karaoke version (Karaoke is a take without vocals) is also a take where the vocals were accidentally left out due to some sort of bug, and was not intended at first (probably the information on the dynamics of the drums as a whole was also left out, which is why it is called 'Karaoke Version'). (There are many other minor differences besides the fact that it is vocal-less).
However, when I played this to TM, he thought it was interesting and cool, so I released it as a separate version. I think you can hear the finer details of the arrangement in this version.
Visual image
The image visuals also pay homage to the atmosphere of 7-inch records in Japan in the 70s and 80s, especially the licensed vinyls of foreign artists, as described below.
In addition to the visuals of the original jackets of the home country, the record jackets of foreign artists in Japan at the time were carefully packaged with catchphrases and artist introductions in Japanese, together with liner notes containing lyrics and commentary, giving them a unique atmosphere. In addition, the songs are sometimes given unique Japanese titles apart from the original title (in some cases, the titles were far from the original title).
Therefore, for this song, the design is based on Emma's original visual image, with the artist's name in Japanese and an introduction in the atmosphere of the time, in a somewhat tacky way.
Looking back
As mentioned above, the initial production image was the Motown sound of the 80s, but as the arrangements and mixes were repeated, it gradually became closer to the genre of music that was popular in Japan from the mid-70s to the 80s, and is now known as 'City Pop'.
This 'City Pop' genre is characterised by more elaborate arrangements (characterized by the extensive use of tension chords) and complex compositional development, based on R&B and pop music from overseas.
Nevertheless, I have already collaborated with Emma on three albums, but they have all been in genres that differ from Emma's original musicality, such as European synth-pop and old-school hip-hop, and I am grateful for Emma's generosity in allowing me to do so! We thank Emma for her generosity in allowing us to do so.
Thanks also go to WBE, who always manages to capture the right mood and blow some great phrases in response to our complex and bizarre songs.
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