Artist Name: Lewin Barringer Title: Let’s All Drive Genre: Atmospheric Pop Rating:
Equipment Used
Apple Mac running Apple GarageBand and Slate Everything Bundle plug-ins. Mic: CAD Equitek 100. Monitors: Avantone MixCubes, M-Audio BX-8, iLoud Micro Monitors. CAD MH-510 and Avantone MixPhones headphones. Rhodes electric piano.
Production Notes & Credits
“Let’s All Drive” is a male vocal song that Lewin calls “Atmospheric Pop (if that’s a thing)”. Lewin was the one-man band on the project. After I handed in this review, our Editor told me that Lewin had written an article on GarageBand for our November 2018 issue. Good for him, to let us hear a little bit of what he can do with his favorite DAW!
Reviewed By Marty Peters
Lewin has submitted a slow, spacious track here with a minimum of sound sources, in keeping with his “Atmospheric Pop” mission statement. Let’s take a further look, shall we?
Tracked In GarageBand and employing the most basic rhythm bed, Lewin has focused mainly on a slightly flanged-sounding electric piano/vocal arrangement for his tune. Both sound sources were well-recorded and presented without artifact or overcompression or limiting. It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen one of our old favorites, the CAD Equitek 100 condenser mic, pop up in a gear list, but it suits Lewin’s light touch to a T in our opinion.
As far as the mix is concerned, the lyrics were obviously a focus here, and as opposed to many ambient/New Age recordings, they were thankfully not swathed in cavernous echo, leaving us with a guessing game as to their purpose. With that said, there’s not too much more to report here, friends. Lewin set out with a goal in mind for his track, and nailed it quite nicely in our opinion.
Suggestions
Interestingly, tracks such as these seem to light a fire under our old engineer/producer cauldron. Darn it if we don’t start thinking, “Boy, could I ever hear a (sound source/sources of your choice) added into this production.” Old habits die hard!
The fact is that in a world of endless tracks and possibilities, it is so difficult for most of us to rein in the options. Could we imagine additional instruments and vocals? You bet. Live drums, strings and harmonies, along with a few guitars, would easily be possibilities. But, and (at the risk of offending!) it’s a big but, whether the track would resemble anything of its original intent is a crapshoot at best. We’re content to honor Lewin’s presented intent and enjoy this little track just as it is.
Summary
Well designed and executed.
Contact
Lewin Barringer, [email protected]