What’s in a demo?
In a word, vibe. Vibe comes up a lot when talking to other producers. What is vibe?
Let’s look up a word to get on the same page.
“Vibe – noun
A distinctive emotional quality or atmosphere that is sensed or experienced by someone.
“a nostalgic vibe to the decor; a stranger who gave off bad vibes.”
A distinctive emotional aura experienced instinctively.
“it gave me a nostalgic vibe”
Vibe– verb
To relax and enjoy oneself.” dictionary.
Making a demo is a much talked about thing for musicians. They can help you score jobs. They can help you find talent for the job you’re on. They can point you in a direction for your project. But what are they supposed to contain according to producers I’ve met? I guess if you’re impatient and I was forced to sum it up here; a demo contains vibe and not much else. You ideally leave something for a producer or coworker to do.
Vibe is what you go for.
Vibe for me relaxes my mind enough to think about what’s playing in my ears. On second thought it doesn’t have to be relaxing, but it does put me at ease. I might be energetic, in that case, vibe would help me expel energy. Vibe is a pleasant response to the music I’m hearing.
Vibe isn’t expensive.
This is good for musicians I hear and work with. Most of us are poor. Vibe doesn’t cost a thing. So, that’s great news. I’ve heard great vibe on phone recordings. If you think the goal is fidelity, you’re unclear as to what producers do. If you’re making a recording for a producer, don’t step on their toes with the reverb. Haha. Simple, vibe.
Leave producing to producers. Unless that’s you, fine.
When I work with folks, I enjoy the cell phone recordings. They are like a blank canvas to me. When there’s a bunch of stink on it, I feel like they got producing by themselves, although they often need mixing. But that’s not what I’m after. I want to find raw songs a home on tape for audiences and artists.
True story about demos and vibe.
I got an email not too long ago from a seasoned artist. They were unclear what to include in a demo. If I could describe my preferred demo, it’s got as little as possible on it with the vibe you want. Be wary though, I’ve worked with more than one producer that never listens to demos. They just go from the tracks they get doing what they know. This is precisely why I no longer use them.
What do I do?
When you get someone like me to help, my job is to assist you in making a song you’re proud of. I’m not working with you on that if I ignore the demos you make. I am being stubborn and trying to work fast. That’s not helpful for anyone. What I want is for the artists to feel bad ass. They have to contribute for that to happen. They shouldn’t feel like they recorded into some machine and it spit out a mix. But it happens a lot, I’m sad to say.
Working with me is different than that. I do not like fumbling with knobs until I stumble on something l like. I’d rather hear it in my head first, then work toward that. Demos assist me greatly in this. I don’t know how so many producers work without them, but I do know a lot of those producers will get it wrong. Nearly every time. I’ve found that skilled mixers and musicians are not skilled at reading minds, like everyone. Even if they think so. To get the intent of the song right, I have to talk to who’s doing it and listen to their ideas. Fortunately for me, I enjoy that part the most.
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If you’re a songwriter and you don’t feel important in the packaging process and you want to, consider me. If I don’t mix up to snuff, I know lots of mixers. It’s not about the mixing. It’s about how it sounds when it’s done.
Producers take your ideas and make products you’re proud of with them. Mixing is just a part of that whole experience. It begins with vibe. Step one. How I do it.
Return to home.
A recent fun job.
Brian Jin out of St Louis and I talk a lot. We don’t see the world the same way, I can tell you. However, we both like music and we both like working together. This is connective tissue going on, here. I’m all about that. I got to help out on this one. Djembe, anyone?
