MacJams.com - Song: Porcelain dolls by apb

Porcelain dolls
by apb

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Guest views: 5036
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Song comments: 72
Tokens: 0
Plays: 512
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Downloads: 0
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Submitted on: Oct 02, 2007 - 03:52:26 PM
Last Updated: Oct 07 2007 - 10:19:43 AM

Keywords spooky (23), creepy (26), gothic (61), horror (17), scary (31), rock (1184), leviathan (1), halloween (36), porcelain (1), dolls (1), richard clayderman (1)

Description Wanted to try something creepy .. yet .. catchy too :o) .. and porcelain dolls scare the doo doo out of me, that and Richard Clayderman guest appearances ..lol.

It's very much an unfinished work in progress .. just some ideas.

Went overboard with sloppy leads, going for mood ..I'll figure out some singing melody and lyrics later.. and add bass, arrange to
suit vocals etc.

Lyrics Working on it.

Hardware Intel Mac mini, 1.66Ghz, 2GB RAM
MOTU Traveler firewire audio interface,
Rode NT-1A mic + pop-shield,
Gibson Les Paul Studio (EMG-ZW pickups),
Yamaha APX-8A acoustic

Software: GB v3,
Ozone 3,
Camel crusher,
Boldt Sitar/choir,
Drums on demand

Fan List

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	Feter said 464 days ago
	Porcelain dolls great guitar works ..if you want singin ... I think there will be diffrent take ? .. cos its totaly filled and complete work of art !! I loved the piano attack in the middle !! KUDOS

apb said 464 days ago

Thank you Feter
Yup, your correct: I will be removing some of the noodly
lead guitars to make room for vocals. It felt important to
get the mood/vibe (almost cinematic) before making it a
song. There is actually two different piano sections ..
but they are deliberately subtley different/disguised as each other - one a little spookier and one more jolly - it's more
the change of pace that I needed for how I play the vocals/lyrics to go over the top .. faster, more frantic.

	said 464 days ago
	yes nicely darkened, a definite halloween tune. maybe that should a new challenge? scariest song......hmmm. so far, with the added visual of the devil-doll, you are in first place.....great post

	Z293 said 464 days ago
	I Love The Vibe You have going in the opening section. That sitar really works to add to the mood. Porcelain dolls, great theme.

	said 464 days ago
	Cool This could end up a pretty happy tune, though, especially considering the vibe of that piano break...... Veddy cinematic, too; maybe you can get Danny Elfman to contribute?

apb said 464 days ago

Thanks Matt
I'll try to keep those piano breaks sombre with the lyrics ..:o)they are just pacing devices: to convey being nervous and
more frantic (looking over your shoulder kinda thing) and
there is two different piano sections, although similar ..
one is more intended as a 'conclusion' .. (the second one
that appears only once) .. is admittedly a bit 'lighter'.

This version could sit under Cinematic .. I did think
about it .. but I was scared the true cinematic/film score
peeps would still see it as just a half way house to
an alt./art rock song .. which is hopefully where it is
heading.

Danny Elfman? Pfft .. if you can put in a word .. hahaha.

	Macaudion said 464 days ago
	You dawg... Not letting us have a copy... What ragedy assed Anned edges... Man... This is PHAT! That rock thing is thick inside you - no wonder it keeps gushing out on "as you know it"... This has a fairly cenimatic lean to it - like there's a big story being told - Lots of stuff going on here Nice work, Alan. Can't wait to hear how the story ends. Then can we have one... Thanks! Dion

	jiguma said 464 days ago
	Porcelain dolls and Richard Claderman and clowns and Love the guitar tones and the Boldt sitar (it never sounds like that when I use it!). Interested to see where it goes. Neil

	caroline said 464 days ago
	words - ve need vords!! this is a new train of thought for you - i look forward to seeing which station you end up in - and your little red caboose too!!!

	Day For Night said 464 days ago
	Great mix of sounds I like the contrast between the big fat rock guitar and the clean piano arpeggios and synths. This sounds very big...a monster of rock! Well done Steve

	said 464 days ago
	What a sketch To me this is great just the way it is but like you said with some bass and Vox it would be killer cant wait to hear the finished version!

said 464 days ago

love it!!!
the mood here is nicely captured. it has a "lost highway" feel to it.
i think maybe the piano loops are not matched as well to the mood. i dunno, i like them, but there is something "off" to them i think.
maybe try cutting them up and piecing them together to get a darker vibe from them. maybe it's just me, though.
and overall it's a small nit, really. they sound good, but i think you can get them better.. if that makes sense
overall, i love this. the guitars are killer. nice noodling
nice "feel" to the song... very dark.
i can't wait to hear more from you on this piece! it's gonna be killer!

apb said 464 days ago

Thanks very much Jason
..your right about the piano of course, the piano has been bugging me ..(hence me teasing myself about "Richard Claderman" etc in the description...)

They are midi loops (handily) .. so I can edit them .. and
did a bit to the second piano section .. but left the
first .. so there is some tweaking for sure to do there ..
I wanted to see if they get 'disguised' a bit with
vocals over the top .. as those first piano section
I have plans for an up tempo, quick paced phrases that
run the whole length of the section.. I also want to try switching from piano to harpsichord, might be a bit darker... but I'll keep the short "duck" wah-wah'd piano bits .. that sound a bit like a wobble-board. (1:09)

"Lost highway" by Bon Jovi, I presume?

	said 463 days ago
	cool ideas... ... for sure! very intriguing to see what comes of it. i can't wait. "Lost Highway" was IMHO a really stupid movie, but the soundtrack was really dark. It had NIN and Smashing Pumpkins to name a few. But as whole the soundtrack has a real twisted and dak vibe to it. --- Learn, Love, Grow... that's all one can do.

	apb said 463 days ago
	Ah .. :o) the movie soundtrack!.. never ever heard of it .. I'll check it out .. I was wondering, as it didn't sound anything like the Bon Jovi number .. lol.. doh

	Bad Smells said 464 days ago
	I was a bit spooked at first but then I started reading your description and THEN! Richard went off... HAHAHA! excellent. nice sitar effect. Looking forward to a vocal version.

	said 463 days ago
	I know I comment to this but what a heck I really dig it so far and I look forward to the finally song. Nice mix and production. Take care Alan. --- Kenta

	said 463 days ago
	Killer ! %u0650Alan this is Great, the guitar work here is superb, the sounds in the background with the drums are just perfect. KILLER TUNE, the quality is just great ! Take Care ============== Yeman Auf Al-Rawi

said 463 days ago

It's ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!
Zey said it couldn't be done! Yes, zey said it vas WRONG and against ALL ZAT VAS HOLY, but... (hah hahh hah) who'se laughing NOW??? My pretty little porcelain lovely... (hah hahh hahhh) ... show zem how you can SMILE... (hah hahh HAHH HAHAHAHH)

Jeez, I'm creeping myself out here. Alan, this has one of the most sinuous and supple musical moods of gleeful horror I've heard in a while. This is what scientists hear in their heads when they go very, very wrong and don't care anymore. Until, that is, when the porcelain doll's eyes open, and the scientist screams "dear God, what have I done???" But of course, by then it's too late...

BTW, porcelain dolls ARE creepy. Clowns, too, really.

I'm also one that would love to have this as it is. (Not saying future variations won't be better, but I just love this as an instrumental.)

	craft said 463 days ago
	darky job my friend great guitar work... The piano at the middle is superb!!! You just need a singer to get it done...

	peacepiano said 463 days ago
	Why? There is a scary under tone here. Why do I keep coming back? You have a good hook going. I will be listening for updates :)

	SecaMode said 463 days ago
	i actually like a bit of clayderman every now and then... hey, this is sounding great. i'm not sure it needs vocals, but if you add them i'm sure it will turn out brilliantly. very good job!! freaky, enigmatic and captivating.

	lavalamp said 463 days ago
	Great modern sound You have got a nice modern sound on this one. Kind of a modern Floyd at the start. Well-done and very creepy(in a good way)

	apb said 462 days ago
	Thanks lava .. I think of it having a little bit of Floyd, Zep, Garbage, Alice Cooper, Diamond Head .. and as an instrumental it does sound like Faelin suggested, a song from the soundtrack to "Lost Highway" and even a little bit of The Squeeze with the piano (I could just picture Jools Holland pushing Richard Clayderman off his stool and going nuts).

	apb said 462 days ago
	oh and .. Radiohead, Muse ..

	apb said 460 days ago
	and .. perhaps a hint of Danzig? lol ..

	bud said 463 days ago
	Man this is an intense track I really like the pull of the 4 note melody throughout repeating on the sitar - and the layers of guitars from acoustic to hot blues rock remind me of Dave Gilmour during the at times very scary Animals album. Excellent - go for the vocals - I wanna hear this launched over the top.

Komrade K said 462 days ago

Hammer horror!
Well I associate porcelain dolls doing creepy things with Hammer films (wherein they're always accompaned by an eerie sounding musical box). This is a very accomplished piece of work in every sense, musicianship and production - adding vocals might just be a bit too much when the track feels so finished as it is. I particularly like it when the piano comes in - it's like a menacing porcelain doll is coming ever closer but at the last moment the mask comes off and you see that it's your favourite teddy bear who dances around in delight having scare the bejesus out of you!

KK

apb said 462 days ago

Thanks Martyn ..
..glad the piano's purpose/intent is coming across ..
I do still need to add bass (there isn't any bass in this
mix) .. and I can certainly keep an instrumental version
lying around if Hammer ever start up again ..

I used to watch Hammer horrors, loved 'em .. but, if I recall .. the inspiration/phobia originates from an ITV series not unlike "Tales of the Unexpected" that did a short on a living porcelain doll .. that and the fact I never liked the look
of 'em anyway...chucky doesn't get a look in .. lol.

	davisamerica said 461 days ago
	in progress work or not....very impressive piece this one. i like the dynamics, vocals or not..fantastic!

	apb said 461 days ago
	Thanks very much .. .. now I hope don't f'up the final :o)

	echoroom said 461 days ago
	Feckin hades Alan, this is a dark, swampy little horned beast, but light and funky too - love the change of pace (the production sounds aces). This sounds pretty close to finished to me.. you gonna sing, or leave it instrumental?? steve

apb said 461 days ago

Thanks Steve
...hmm, I might still throw some singing at it .. I have 'concept' & lyrics, melody for over the piano sections .. and did a quick vocal guide version: I'm recovering from a cold .. so, I don't yet know if I can actually hit the notes I want ..I cheated and recorded an octave lower, then converted myself with the trusty 'male to female' FX .. lol .. just to get it in the pitch I wanted for now .. hard to sing 'frantic' out of breath up high .. ended up sounding
pretty freaky .. even more than I had expected ..lol.
I could let you hear it .. if you send me your e-mail in
a note, I will... I was going to leave the 'verses' to
the 'singer', and drop the lead guitars further back in the
mix of course.

I do like the bed as an instrumental too .. but I want to
make a song out of it.

	apb said 461 days ago
	oh .. .. and there is the bass still to do .. keep forgetting that .. lol.

	thoddi said 461 days ago
	oooooooo Creepy indeed. Clever to come up with those creepy melody lines. The Clayderman piano is a treat:) Fab guitars!

spitlogic said 461 days ago

I can see it
This music (in its unfinished form) fits the mood I think you were going for. At its beginning I feel and almost clich� view of the porcelain figures. But as the song changes every few bars it begins to become more coplex in my mind. The piano includes the elegance that the dolls presumably were made to represent. Im starting to babble, but the main thing I get from this is the timelessness that things such as the dolls can represent; a thing of beauty from the past that becomes an obscurity in the present.

apb said 460 days ago

Thanks ..
.. everyone had their own musical interpretation (which is a good thing) and thanks for sharing yours, I appreciate that alot: to be honest I didn't think of using piano for adding any element of elegance .. although I can see that it can and may well give that interpretation .. I really chose those quick paced loops as contrast to the slow, relentless, unstoppable feel of the previous section .. I wanted to 'go fast' and quick paced .. to convey: frantic, nervousness, panic .. 'the sweats' .. might become clearer with the vocal/lyrics over the top - we'll see ... Komrade K was onto me :o)

	Leon said 460 days ago
	WOW... high marks... really high marks for this...

	musichead said 460 days ago
	do..do scare..the..do..do.wtf great..tune..just..for..the..rest..of..you..to.know. Ive,,heard,,the..latest..cos..Alan..like..me..the..best

	moorlandt said 459 days ago
	absolutely great ...this is a stunning piece of work, Alan. I'm very curious how it will evolve with the lyrics and vocals. But I can imagine already a nice contrast between the beautifully cluttered instrumental parts and a very melodical vocal line with sparse backgrounds. I watch out for version 2... - Walt

apb said 459 days ago

Thanks Walter
...glad you stopped in and enjoyed this. I may be a while
with a vocal version and I will for sure need to address some of the clutter to make 'adequate' room for the vocals for the
verses (non-piano bits) - it may work to just duck back
the guitars and heavy sitar a bit .. but it may not... we'll
see. On my later experiments with vocals over the piano sections, I did need to duck everything a little to make some
headroom for the vocals. I don't think it will be ready
for Halloween .. but another special, child friendly, Halloween version feat. some 'wicked' poetry from Caroline is already near completion...watch her space :o)

	Henke said 459 days ago
	Cheese Thanks for sharing this version, I think it's perfect as is. I would not like vocals on this, not necessary at all! But now it is really cool! Liked it a lot! Thanks! /Henke

	apb said 459 days ago
	Say "omelette" :oO ... :oD .. more cheese than a Quattro Stagioni pizza er.. with 4 different cheesy toppings :o) .. perhaps it was laid on a bit thick? I have trouble doing 'subtle' .. you may have noticed Henke .. lol. Thanks for stopping in and enjoying it.

	Henke said 458 days ago
	LOL Less CAN be more, but then too much can be a wonderful thing :-) On this listen I felt it had a certain feel of live performance, if you see what I mean? Slightly chaotic but with a nice groove or "känsla"... Well done!

	apb said 452 days ago
	I do .. .. see what you mean..and if I was to hazard a guess ..it's the real guitars .. 2 tracks: record and go for it .. then mix later .. no editing, no looping .. so pretty much 'live' and thus pretty much un-repeatable. It was something I was going for .. capturing some mood at the expensive of precision .. sloppy can be a good thing. :o)

	Foxymany said 457 days ago
	yes!! this is soooo good it hurts. keep em coming!

	timothy devine said 457 days ago
	Makes me want to pic up guitar my man This is a very cool start. Gonna be looking for the next mix. I like it the way it is also. peace tim

	said 455 days ago
	Wow! Ok now it is time for you to send this to me so I can lay down some didge to it! I love the "chorus" as well as the darker verse bits. especially when those slightly off color keys hit. Yummy! Miss you! Collab with me again when you get time! Im sooo ready!

	racerat said 443 days ago
	whacked I am totally whacked on this song. It is all over the place. Completely and happily down the rabbit hole. I'm rockin' away, them I'm all romantic and piano serenaded and then I'm creeping the f*ck out with crawlies all over my skin. More!

	Heightened said 378 days ago
	I love porcelain dolls - really chewy. And I love this song.

	apb said 464 days ago
	Thanks Steve .. a leviathan of gothic, horror rock ;o) .. just needs some yodelling over the piano? Now where has my singer got to ..probably under something...

	apb said 464 days ago
	Thanks Ego .. less is more .. but at the same time, no harm in having lots to cut down to less later ;o) lol .. Working on vocals and lyrics .. hopefully getting bass in before I start to mix the vocals.

	apb said 462 days ago
	Thanks Herr Smells .. they may even be more than one vocal version - intriguing, huh? huh? .. nah? Ah well .. sulks in the back lol.

	apb said 462 days ago
	Stop .. .. with the comment giving! hahaha .. no wait, wrong thread .. tack min vän.

	apb said 462 days ago
	Thanks Yemen .. I've been trying to improve my mastering skills recently .. this didn't start of with the intention of getting so full in terms of tracks .. just kinda happened.. I need to get back to collab work now, or the boys will be round :o)

	apb said 462 days ago
	LOL I love reading your expressive comments Rik .. as it speaks to you .. I might well be that mad scientist you refer to .. although, my phobia more centres around the more super-natural notion of living porcelain dolls, possessed etc. Clowns I don't mind - as long as they don't smell of petrol/gasoline. ;o)

	apb said 462 days ago
	Thanks Bill .. I'd never have guessed that a four note sitar plod could be so catchy... and I started with the acoustic part, which now sits way at the back .. mostly audible at the start .. sometimes songs just have a life of their own .. like those porcelain dolls ;o)

	apb said 462 days ago
	Confessions of Sergio .. .. what are we going to do with you? lol ;o) Thanks for stopping in bud.

	apb said 462 days ago
	Thanks Bud an irrational phobia give plenty of inspiration for an intense song :o) ... I hope to get vocals on this on it's original direction .. but there may well be a 'special version' around for Halloween...featuring the poetic wit of my chum Caroline .. if she can find her broomstick that is ..watch her space ;o)

	apb said 461 days ago
	Thanks Thor .. this started with the acoustic guitar line, then drums (and FX on them) .. and that sitar melody came about after just mucking about just listening to that bed, then the piano, then the electric over the top.

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	apb said 460 days ago
	Thanks very much Leon .. .. I couldn't help wonder if you meant to put a "?" at the end .. lol ;o)

	apb said 460 days ago
	Bwahahaa sorry Steve .. I just can't help using old childish euphemism's, it's a family show you know: doo doo - explained here wtf - the best? the best at what? You and your chain yanking Watson ;o)

	apb said 457 days ago
	Thank you very much Erin .. always nice to get a new face/listener, appreciate your kind words.

	apb said 455 days ago
	Thanks very much Timothy .. might be a while coming .. but it will come. Go on .. get that geetar oot and give it a blast .. glad to hear it may have inspired in some way .. even if it is just "oh, I can do that - where's that geetar .. " lol ;o)

	apb said 453 days ago
	Hej!! Jason .. wb! glad to see your back to popping into MJs .. I've just sent you a copy, feel free to play with it. I still haven't forgotten about "Deeper inside" at least .. apologies for taking so long with that. Hope all is well - I heard from Caroline things are looking up w.r.t. your teeth/jaw .. and thus you are all set for playing again. Excellent news. /Alan

	apb said 438 days ago
	Thanks Philip .. ..I hoped it would inflict some 'unease'. As an antidote .. consider this vocal version feat. Caroline: Old bones Happy halloween!