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 - January 2023
SOTMC is entering it's 9th year!
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.
Comments
My entry for the month, lyrics in the spoiler:
Talk talk it out
Show me your doubts
Just talk it out
I’m here
We talk our lives away
And we will talk our dreams away
Talking all day
But do we have something to say?
I tell you I’m near you
But I don’t think I’ll ever hear you
And so it’s just not what it seems
Holding on
Even when the moment’s gone
You’re holding on
To dreams
Don’t you walk away
Just help me to find a way
I wish you would stay
There's nothing left to throw away
But with all the things that I need to say
Well I can’t believe that you’d be this way
It’s such a cruel game that you play.
You're holding on to dreams
And all the things that you wished away
And all your dreams that will drift away
This is a music track that I improvised on two MIDI keyboards connected to an iPad.
I used Bome Network software to send the iPad's MIDI notes to Bitwig Studio running on a desktop PC. There the MIDI was routed to Solo for the singing voice, as well as to Omnisphere and Plasmonic for the background instruments.
After bringing the audio recording into Vegas Pro, I applied the Lurssen Mastering Console plug-in to the audio mix.
It's titled Sanctuary.
A new year and one year since I first posted here and about 40 tracks later
! This thread made me complete my tracks instead of abandoning them unfinished.
Trying to dive into and try to learn some sounddesign this year, maybe some electronic music.
My track this month.
This is my entry for January.
Three years ago this month I went to a concert and before the show, I met a fellow fan who happened to be on the cusp of retirement. We spent a couple of hours chatting and this song was inspired by our conversation.
Man at the Gig
Winter in Madrid, the man at the gig counting down his working days
Regaling stories of bundled regrets, a lifetime’s malaise
A banker of decades standing, a release in his creative writing
Took 20 years, 800 pages, his friends didn’t read it and the irony is biting
The man at the gig, he loves the band, but
Just 10 minutes in offers his right hand, he says
It’s time to go, I’ve seen it all before, and the singer he can’t sing anymore
And like the Man in the Restaurant, the Man at the Gig,
Is losing his internal fight, he turns around and disappears into the night
37 years, she’s been the only one but now she hates his new tattoos
He’s given his all, always been there for them, but should he twist now and risk losing it all
Should he hide in his music, his books and allotment, or get lost in the sequel
Will it be enough in the golden years, is he equal to what lies ahead?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bkGTtrOHggM
@richardyot you have such a distinctive style - I’ve listened to maybe three or four of your songs now, and they’re very recognisable and well executed. Once again, the lyrics are excellent and tell a story without being too descriptive, which leaves the listener just enough to interpret for themselves, which is difficult to pull off. I also like the guitar work and the breakdown towards the end. Excellent stuff
Interesting piece. How were the keys/piano created? Also would be good to know how the basic rhythm in the background is generated (before the drums come in). I’m always trying to learn more about iOS music making methods. I enjoyed it.
Very professional and clean production, with the usual great performances and smooth and confident vocals. Nice change at 2.30 with the acoustic guitar. I think it might have benefitted from a louder and more muscular build-up afterwards for the final guitar solo though. The soft ending after that works very nicely though.
The piano was created with a plugin vst called pianoteq 8. I usually start my tracks on my ipad or iphone (zenbeats usually, aum, groovebox also fun, piano motifs is a great idea generator) to come up with basic ideas, then I take all ideas to my macbook pro and ableton live. Work in the piano roll and some manipulating midi with plugins and max for live devices, sequencers, arps. The rythm drum elements is manipulated samples from splice in plugins like cableguys shaperbox or infiltrator or stuff like that, or think egoist by sugarbytes, just to get some kind of groove going. I often use superior drummer if i want regular drums. Groovepool in ableton live is very important to, to set some kind of ”swing” and loose the static feel of the pianoroll midi. Thanks for listening!
Some great tracks already here @richardyot , thanks for keeping these posts going 👌
Enjoyed yours @martinsa82 , especially the extra percussion / rhythmic bits at about 2:25.
Loved the video @BillS which fitted the music perfectly … spookily also at 2:25 loved the images of what I thought were Gibson Flying Vs ?
@DavidEnglish already gets enough comments from me without any extra ones here ☺️
@GeoTony thanks! Good spot - taken in my studio, that’s me playing my 1980 Gibson Flying V2 in red sparkle in a rather fetching pair of shorts in the height of a Spanish summer 😂
Yes great and interesting break around 2:50, perfect 👍, very solid performance and great melody in the chorus. Good production as always!
Congratulations on your first anniversary at the SOTMC, and amazing achievement to have made 40 tracks in a year!
This is a really nice genre-bending track, the piano is always evolving and interesting and the drums and percussion are really interesting, creating lots of subtle textures behind the music and also helping to propel the track forward with the groove and momentum they provide. The acoustic instruments give it a really nice vibe and help to differentiate it from most other types of electronic instrumental music.
Very nice ambient piece, with just the right amount of movement to keep it interesting. The voice is haunting.
Floating, nice textures and voice, a bit dark industrial space sounds, nice production
wow great work, like the prog rock vibes and clean professionalsounding production, can you tell me a bit of your process making this track?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow, 9 years, you are setting a great milestone with your dedication and commitment.
This is an achievement and outstanding service to all members!
Your talent and musical creativity are clearly displayed in this forum.
This song, "Dreams" has a very hopeful message, and I am loving your vocals, very smooth and professional production.
Thank you for what you are doing, @richardyot !!!
With respect,
Rene
Thanks for the comment, much appreciated
Thanks for listening! I’ve had quite a few nice comments about the production of my tracks and whilst I am only an amateur and definitely not holding myself out to be any sort of expert, here are a few of the things I do:
Vocals
This is the bit that people listen to more than any other and I spend a lot of time trying to get my vocals to sound as good as they can:
Synths
Mix
Mastering
I hope this doesn’t come across as me being some kind of expert that I know I’m not, I’m a hobbyist and there’s loads I don’t know or can’t get right but I guess we all pick up knowledge over the years when this recording game is our passion and this is just some of the stuff I know has helped me! Cheers
mix and mastering is not that fun
I think, my tracks lacks a great deal in this, hopefully someday I learn more, thanks for your advice!
My first submission. Posted before getting ready for bed, so will be back to listen to others' stuff tomorrow
Short but very cinematic - this would make a great segment in a movie soundtrack.
Thanks for the listen and comment. The length was given in the brief, but I'm not sure where I'd have taken it from there, anyway
By the way, I had to delete the first submission due to some mix issues. i've done some more work and uploaded a new version. No biggie, but the link in your post is now broken. I can give you the new link if you want.
Your tracks and sound take me right back to being in High-School, later 80's/early 90's. Started jamming with friends, with visions of band stardom. One possible outfit, with my best mate and a girl we knew never quite realised that dream, but had we made it work this would've been the sound we were after. But had we got it together, there's no way we'd have been able to write to anything like this standard. Such well-crafted songs, and whether intentional or not...so evocative.
Anyway, please don't take away from my critique that I think your music is dated. That wasn't what was meant at all.
Really lovely track. Lots of depth and movement, which is definitely enhanced by the video's movement. Sweet!
Totally mesmerised! Beautiful work!
I think this already gives more than a nod to electronic music, even if not in the purest sense. Even before the more overt 'beat' the pulse and drive behind the first section really propels and drives the piece along. Somewhat evocative of Thom Yorke's fusion of electronic and piano stylings, but even more interesting.
Awesome! Read the lyrics before hearing the track and had no idea it would sound like that. The music really amps-up (figuratively and literally) the sentiment that the words evoke. Quite dark, man
Certainly could feel like a bit of a metaphorical punch-to-the-gut for some of us, of (let's say) more advanced years 
Great stuff!
A more orchestral piece! nice! very short but I guess it would be a great soundtrack for a videogame? nice sound and production. Will be interesting to hear more from you!
Thank you for your comments on my track!
Thanks for listening, and for the feedback ❤️
@richardyot
Strong rock-and-roll opening. Voice, guitar, and drums blend especially well within the mix. I also especially liked the lyrics with this one.
@martinsa82
Engaging repetitive music that moves forward picking up short melodies as it progresses. It has a tempo that seems just right and a satisfying back-and-forth between the piano and percussion. I really like this one.
@BillS
Cool slice-of-life story with an instrumental accompaniment that gives it an ironically epic feel. Visuals help to convey the same feel. Everything works here. Well done.
@el_bo
Strong orchestration and instrumentation. Feels like a critical turning-point scene from a rousing film score.
Many thanks @DavidEnglish