Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Song Of The Month Club - May 2018
What is the Song of the Month Club?
It's a place where musicians come to give and receive feedback on their work. Anyone is welcome, whatever their level of ability.
The spirit of the club is to contribute: if you submit a song for others to comment on, you should also have the courtesy to listen to everyone else's contributions and give as much feedback as possible. Posting a track and not listening and commenting on others is not cool.
The purpose of feedback is to be honest. Essentially you should give your truthful impressions of the song, whether good or bad. Negative feedback, if done in the right spirit and with courtesy, can be the most useful and can help the artist to grow and improve and correct their mistakes.
All submissions are welcome, don't hesitate if you want to contribute. We like all kinds of music and we are particularly fond of vocals (but of course we still love a great instrumental). If you are thinking of experimenting with vocals this is a good place to get started.
We ask that you only post one song per month in this thread - if you're lucky enough to be able to produce more, then please just submit your strongest material
And finally, iOS is not a requirement for posting here. If you've recorded your song using nothing but a ukulele and a Fostex 4 track, that's fine.
SoundCloud account:
Comments
My entry for the month, lyrics in the spoiler:
Drink from the cup that steals from tomorrow
Drink from the cup of shadow and rain
Drink from the cup that heals all your sorrow
Drink from the cup that dulls all your pain
You drank from the cup what can I say
You had your chance and you threw it away
Your wounded pride and your feet of clay
You sold out tomorrow for today
Drink from the cup that makes a man hollow
Drink from the cup that makes you insane
Drink from the cup, another will follow
Drink from the cup a runaway train
You drank from the cup what can I say
You had your chance and you threw it away
Your wounded pride and your feet of clay
You sold out tomorrow for today
Have taken to Gadget now that I have a new iPhone. Oh the battery drain!!! However I do it all on the phone then into Auria for vocals. I then try to mix it and invariably make it sound worse than it did in the first place...
This is a bit muddy - maybe needed more saturation on the mix. And I just can’t get the kick right. I’m always told off for my vocal being too quiet, and corresponding have turned it up to the point that I feel it’s way too loud
And as for the now customary 80s reference from the forum, let’s just say that Depeche Mode has already been mentioned, and I hit the mentioner hard...
cough cough, Heaven 17, cough cough,
Ooo there’s going to be trouble Mr Ydot...!
So here’s my entry for May. This was my most ambitious iOS track to date, with 40+ tracks really pushing the limits of the 2016 iPad 12.9. It’s got an interesting (and moving) backstory, included in the spoiler below so this post isn’t spammed with a wall of text. The song has an extended intro to give you time to read it.
Years before we met, my wife had a son born with Trisomy-18, similar to Down’s Syndrome but affecting a different chromosome. Children with this condition rarely live through the pregnancy. He did, though, and was born at full term weighing 1 pound 8 ounces. He lived for 2 weeks, undergoing several surgeries, before dying in her arms at the hospital. This is a loss no parent should ever bear, and it affected her deeply. Some time later, she had a job working on air conditioner electronics for large installations, and she was assigned to work on the a/c in this same hospital. She spent days in the basement, feeling the weight of the tragedy press down from the room above. Then a strange thing happened. She began to feel his presence around her, comforting her, letting her know that he would never leave her and would always be watching over her. And while finishing her work in that place, she sang this song to herself. It is surprisingly hopeful and upbeat, and it has been with her ever since. Fast forward (a lot) to a few months ago, and she gave me a Voice Memo of her singing it, asking if I could do a full piece around it and record her singing it. I hope I did it justice. She likes it very much, and I suppose that’s the most important thing.
Edit: Forgot to say that despite the emotional attachment to the song (or maybe because of it?), I’m interested in feedback especially regarding the mix. I’d like this to be included in the album I’m working on, hopefully finishing up next month, so anything I can do to improve things I’m completely open to.
@crouchie Well that's a really outstanding track, I really love it, one of the best things I've heard for a while, including commercial releases. It starts in a pretty unassuming manner, but really grows as the track evolves. When that bass comes in at the 3 minute mark, wow, then the track really comes alive. That bass is delicious.
I like the minimal arrangement, it showcases the voice really beautifully, it's all about the vocal melody, with some nice subtle instrumental touches just behind. I don't think I would have the courage to leave my voice quite so naked in a minimal arrangement like that, I'm always layering tons of stuff in my songs. The voice sits just right in the mix BTW, perfect. The kick is also just fine.
It's a really good track, and well done for starting it off on the phone. I tried that last week when I had a long train journey, Gadget on a tiny screen (iPhone 6s). Fukin horrible.
Many thanks, v kind. I finally upgraded and got an 8+. It’s just let me get so much more done, but I do feel guilty about all the apps sitting on my pad never getting used.... But it’s about getting things done in the end I suppose :-)
Cheers
P
I think we all have a ton of apps sitting unused on the iPad, even if we're productive. I'm sure most of the synths I own are never even opened from one month (or year) to the next. I mostly just use GarageBand, Gadget, and Auria. But I make at least one track every month, so it doesn't matter much.
Loved every second of this. The choice of sounds in the mix is excellent. And I absolutely dig the gravel feel of the voice in the verse portions, especially how that contrasts with the smoothness of the voice on the chorus. Very nicely done.
Thanks! Loved the back story on your track BTW, will give the music a proper review at the earliest opportunity.
This is cool, I like the feel of the mix. I don't think the vocals are too loud, the level sounds good to me. And it doesn't seem too "muddy", although since you mentioned it I was listening for it and my reaction was that the tiny bit of "mud" I noticed at all may be due to the pad. Maybe it's got too much low end for a pad (test it with a high-pass filter say cutting below 100hz to see if it lightens it up)? Not sure. But it's not bad by any means, so just ignore that whole thing I just said lol. Leave it, it's fine the way it is!
😁👍
Very Nice Richard... (Very "The DOORS" -ish)........ It did sound a bit Bassie, but that might be my setup?(or my poor old ears needs syringing?)..... But all in all, another good track mate.
Love it Mr @crouchie. Nice vocals matey. 80's stylee & relaxing. Love the pads sound.
Great song & production. Once Mastered, it should sound brill. Regina has a lovely vocals. Nice one mate.
Blimey! It's May already.........
Anyway, once again, 2 mixes of the same song.... I bet @richardyot will prefer the disco mix? 
(I've actually made 6 mixes of this vocals)
Enjoy guys! I hope you like them?.......
@studs1966, of the two I found the Deep Disco Mix more to my liking. I'm a sucker for claves. Well done!
I also preferred the deep disco mix, especially the vocals at 3:20 to 3:50ish. The vocal style and deep disco style fit perfectly together there (at least to my taste). Hmm, actually I could see a mix that starts with the deep disco style, morphs to the deep house, then back again for the final section, but I like experimenting with that kind of thing which probably isn’t for everybody lol. Both mixes are well done and have a nice professional sound to them. Just curious, did you use a desktop DAW or iOS or a combination?
Loved the “Smiths” style tremolo chords and the general sound of the song. Very catchy chorus, and thank you for the lyrics, because I couldn’t make up the words in the verses due to the FXs (delay and phone EQ?).
The vocals’ level is absolutely perfect. I didn’t feel it particularly muddy, and I actually liked the kick’s timbre.
The mix is absolutely balanced, ready for commercial release. Nothing that I noticed needed improvement.
I liked the disco mix better, but both are good!
My entry for the month:
Awesome! I really liked the Nosfetatu scenes which added a dimension to the song I wasn’t expecting. So great. Love truly can be a monster sometimes.
Nice work on the vocals and guitar particularly. I’m sure I’ll be giving this repeated viewings over the next few days.
I posted this on its own, but thought it best suited here.
https://soundcloud.com/alameind/test3/s-4GbG2
Here is my second attempt creating a piece since I delved into IOS in December.
My son lost interest so I decided to learn as much as I can. Sunrizer, Beathawk, EOS Reverb, AudioVerb and few other items. Not really Mastered as I am still learning. Used IRIG I/O 49 key. Played live for whole track.
Appreciate any feedback.
Thanks!
Very good! Welcome to the SOTMC!
Yeah man! Gotta say I really like this one. You nailed the melody mate & although the verse & chorus are similar, the way you treated them is perfect and a lovely contrast. It just works! I didn’t feel there was any wasted space either (which I have to say is never an issue with your stuff anyway) the music is fab, especially the bass.
There you have it mate, a review that you’ll hate, cos I slapped your back so hard, right on all that sun burn!!
@LostBoy85 thanks! Funnily enough I'm personally not that mad about the track, I think it will eventually end up in the folder labelled "Songs That Didn't Really Work Out". That one is a very thick three-ring binder, whereas the folder labelled "Songs That Did Work Out" is a slim manila envelope that's practically empty
But the funny thing about making stuff is that you never know how it's going to go down, and the feelings I might have about a particular track don't always gel with the reaction I get when people listen.
Well I fucking love this mate! You really are a talented bastard!
The vocal level is spot on. I put on my wellies, but found no mud, so I felt a bit silly!
The kick, kicked, but it didn’t hurt at all. I just love all the space and how clean everything sounds. The vocal melody is catchy as hell. Your harmonies as always are brill.
I could listen to this on repeat....really excellent work.
Don’t you dare stop!!
V kind of u! Thank u. It’s good to be back and getting things done. Thank u for the encouragement!
P