This is week 19 of Stephen’s Selects!
I’m happy to hear that you like having the flexibility of having a YouTube version of the playlist as well. So, I’ve decided to keep it!
This year’s Grammy Awards have influenced this list somewhat. There were some great nominees and winners that I wanted to showcase this week. Along with that, there’s the usual combination of classics and other tracks that have popped up throughout the week for me.
I hope you enjoy them too.
If you’re learning anything at all, make sure to leave a comment down below and let me know!
(Please note that the tracks listed above are part of a live Spotify playlist and are updated weekly. They might not match the information below!)
Now, without further ado, here’s the breakdown of Stephen’s Selects #19: February 3rd – 9th…
- ISLAND – ‘She’
– Those drums!
– I absolutely love the cymbals and snare in this track
– The guitars are given enough space in the mix by being panned wide
– Can you hear that overdrive on the vocals?
– The vocals in general are quite wet with a lot of delay and reverb
– They’re kept up front and “big” with a combination of the above effects and a lot of compression
– This mix in general is actually quite sparse - The Cardigans – ‘Erase/Rewind’
– The intro starts out with a kick drum in the centre and a hi-hat/snare combo on the left
– Once the vocals come in, another kick is added and the snare beefs up the centre
– The synth on the left at 0:09 is very buzzy and heavy in the mix but the guitars panned right help to balance everything
– Piano and synth strings are the main elements of the verse with the vocals
– Once the pre-chorus hits, the acoustic guitars come back and then the chorus is a combination of all of the above
– The vocals themselves are heavily processed in the chorus but more “open” in the verse… there’s a sense of contrast! - Four Tet – ‘Parallel Jalebi’
– This mix feels quite narrow and dark because the drums have been EQ’d so heavily to remove a lot of top end… that makes things seem much “deeper” and distant in the mix
– The vocal treatment is very nice… the vocals are airy to begin with but the use of panning and EQ gives them a sense of the vocal surrounding you
– The sequenced synth line starts the track and is almost ever-present throughout
– It does take a break at 2:23 – 2:52… that whole section is there to give your ears a break before re-introducing old elements with new parts - Drake – ‘Back To Back’
– We go from distant, ethereal vocals to as up front as they come!
– If you listen closely to the snare sample, you’ll hear an acoustic snare, drum machine sample and a clap all blended together
– The trap style hi-hats are panned left and right on an almost continuous basis and they’re as present as the vocals
– Pads are always present but they’re mixed in quite low and not all that prominent in the mix
– The bass has some very nice moments and slides within the part - Jai Paul – ‘jasmine’
– This track is from the elusive figure that is Jai Paul
– What better way to start your track than with the sound of a jet engine panning all over the place?!
– The instruments feels very “in your face”, including the big, deep bass sound
– The toms have a lot of the top end removed, which makes them feel very distant
– This song is quite unique in its style… it’s hard to define
– Guitar parts are very creative… at some points you hear chords and others just simple fragments of melodies - Daft Punk – ‘Aerodynamic’
– Often imitated but never replicated, this is the sound of Daft Punk
– This mix is again very different and in comparison to ‘jasmine’, it feels a lot thinner and more narrow
– The kick drum and bass are very tightly mixed together for impact in the funky groove
– I spent a lot of time learning the guitar solo at 1:03 when I was a kid!
– It’s quite rare to hear a two-handed tapping style guitar solo in music like this but it’s absolutely perfect
– The section from 2:21 onwards takes you on a different journey with an almost orchestra-sounding wide, panned synth style
– This is a much more spacey segment and is much wider from the start of the mix – always leave yourself room to go big! - The Chemical Brothers – ‘Got To Keep On’
– The Chemical Brothers won Best Dance Recording at this year’s Grammys with this song
– The riff at the start is a big hook that captures your attention
– The bass entry at 0:53 introduces a lot more hooks almost all at once
– This is a dense mix with a lot going on in the production
– There’s something about the bells at 1:24 that really help to push the beat forward and capture your interest
– From 2:10 onwards, The Chemical Brothers take you on a bit of a journey with unorthodox samples, crowd noises and recurring hooks until this section basically self destructs at 3:41
– The beat returns with the bright bells at 3:43 to provide you with much-needed sonic relief and the party continues! - Cage The Elephant – ‘Social Cues’
– Cage The Elephant won Best Rock Album at this year’s Grammys
– This track is mixed by Tom Elmhirst and as a result, you can hear everything perfectly
– A combination of guitars, bass, drums, synths and layered vocals make this a very accessible pop rock track
– The transition into the chorus introduces a lot more brightness in the cymbals and backing vocals
– The word “right” has a really beautiful delay used on it that helps to pad out the mix
– Vocals in general have a very nice modulation effect that weaves in and out
– This song features hook after hook after hook - Billie Eilish – ‘bad guy’
– This is from the “Queen of The Grammys” and it’s the Song of the Year
– What an intro… the bass and kick drum are absolutely nailed down in a 4 on the floor pattern
– Billie’s vocals are amazing and her voice is beautiful… the layering is exceptional
– The combination of finger clicks and claps from 0:27 onwards are perfect… they’re recorded live, so they’re easily layered
– The hi-hats at 1:00 onwards are not hi-hats. What you hear is the sampled sound of that plays from Sydney traffic lights when it’s safe for pedestrians to walk!
– 2:30 changes things up completely and creates a much darker vibe to what was a pop song up until that point
– Overall, this song is uniquely perfect in my opinion. There’s a reason why Billie and Finneas pulled in so many Grammys this year! - Smerz – ‘Sure’
– The synth pads in the intro capture your attention straight away
– I really like the vocal performance on this track… it’s a combination of sweet and melancholic
– There are some very nice, tight delays on the vocals
– If the hi-hats that enter at 1:25 weren’t mixed right, they’d be very distracting
– The super high end is taken out and there’s some saturation/distortion added
– The beat that enters at 3:00 really compliments the song and its gradual introduction stops it from being a distraction
– I think the samples used in this song are a very good example of how you can use short samples within a vocally-led piece but still compliment the music and avoid distraction for the listener
Take some of these notes away, make your own and implement what you’ve learned when you’re making your own music. I have no doubt that they will help you.
So, that’s week nineteen of Stephen’s Selects.Remember that if you like what you hear, then please hit that ‘Follow’ button on Spotify and follow the playlist!
Now, I’d love to know…
What did you like about this week’s playlist? What have you learned?
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