Month: August 2020

Broadjam Artist: Felice Kaye-Cooper / Songwriter
Song: Misirlu/ReMix

Reviewer: Landers Knott

Positive Comments: Good beats with a nice melody giving an exotic feel . Instrumentation good and well recorded with good balance . Like the main instrument

Constructive Comments: Would have been more commercial with a vocal . Doesn’t develop at all which limits it’s potential somewhat . Might work for soundtrack music

Broadjam Artist: Ian Graham
Song: Ephmres/Mayflies

Reviewer: Landers Knott

Positive Comments: Song hangs well together and has a good flow . Has a good filmic medieval feel so will work well as soundtrack music . Simple but keeps the attention . Instruments played well . Its fine for what it is and doesn’t require any more work

Constructive Comments: A little short but that may not be a problem . Unlikely to have any commercial success as it is for a limited market

Broadjam Artist: Kathyjo Varco
Song: Dare To Love

Reviewer: Ladee V

Positive Comments: Nice vibe. This song has a really good chance for placement. The relaxing vocals reminds me of a smooth jazz tune. The instrumental was very nice! I loved when the harmonies came in around the hook. Nice song. Great job

Constructive Comments: Nothing here. The song was very nice. Great job!

Broadjam Artist: B.Still
Song: SHADOWS

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: Very atmospheric, and overall a solid presentation. The ethereal tone remains constant throughout, with a nice chord progression making this a very enjoyable 5+ minutes.

Constructive Comments: For me personally it was a little too drenched in echo with a lot of high-end and not as much depth, but that’s just an individual thing. A couple of changes in dynamics would be welcomed. Well-crafted song though, despite any perceived flaws based on my taste.

Broadjam Artist: paul sandberg
Song: Track 13

Reviewer: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)

Positive Comments: I liked the train effect at the top. I can completely feel your passion for music and your dedication to the details of your music. I thought the hook was good, very memorable which if you can write like this, in my mind you have a gift. The change, probably the pre-chorus at 1:30 was beautiful. Blend of the mix is generally good aside from the low end is missing. Overall I like the song a lot, has a Ramones vibe to it, sass brass and class.

Constructive Comments: This mix makes it hard for me to hear your song. I am so distracted by the excited mid-range frequencies and lack of bottom end or bass that I can’t get past it. I am sorry. The guitar and vocals are kind of both heavy in the same frequency zone so there’s competition… I would add low end to the guitar. The main riff in the song reminds me of some classic rock song, I can’t put my finger on it… it’s hard to play that crunchy rhythm guitar and it not sounding like something before it.

Broadjam Artist: Phil Bouldry
Song: I Think It’s Time

Reviewer: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)

Positive Comments: Ok I really dig this music… it’s so jazz/rock. That Steely Dan vibe and classic rock and roots elements. In love with you drum track… the syncopation in the verses is so freaking groovy! Thank you for making this part of the song… Joe Jackson vibes too. good singing… you put it out there with confidence. Great performances all around, some of the better musicianship/songwriting and arranging I am hearing here on bj. I’ll have a second listen. 2:02 – what is that? Coolness. Great warm tone on the guitar solo… the mix is very good… love the placement of the acoustic and the organ comping is perfect. Well balanced mixed.

Constructive Comments: Right out the box I am thinking “Take It Easy” (Eagles) but it’s not. Good job of ripping a riff but making a thing of your own. Kick drum is a little ‘loose’ in spots toward the end but I’m being picky. He plays the super cool syncopated pars excellent. I can kind of hear the edit on the drums in that syncopated section but it’s not bad, the whole track is very pro!! Props – Respect.

Broadjam Artist: Kate Carpenter
Song: Coon in the Can

Reviewer: Catch Ten One Ten

Positive Comments: You made me smile lol. I’m 28, and this isn’t what I listen to haha. So I think that’s a very good sign. IT flows well. I could see this being used on a show for sure. Your production is so full, it’s like, I heard those kids, and saw them pop out in whatever scene this is in. so cool. Reminds me of all the 90’s shows I grew up with. The foley fx mixed in PERFECTLY. I can’t stress how little effort people give to mixing in sfx. They fit with the drums so well it felt…perfect. The cans, all of it. so good. My inner sound designer is happy!

Constructive Comments: The vocals were a little flat sometimes, the percussion when shifted to the right channel sometimes was too abrasive. Overall these are tiny things, and the production was great.

Broadjam Artist: Delta Burnett Reed
Song: Lady of Winter

Reviewer: Catch Ten One Ten

Positive Comments: I love this kind of sound. Cara Dillon…Wailin Jenny’s etc. The instrumentation was more in line with what I think of for a fantasy video game. (I’m a former game developer, so that may be part of where my ear went haha) I found the harsh plucking still soothing. Usually, Harps sound abrasive when not soft, unlike here, good work! The underscore, of the strings, is very sweet. Loved this most. They were lush and organic sounding. Mixed well with the rest. I feel I could literally see green when I listened. So you’re doing something very, very right to make that happen <3 Constructive Comments: The vocals were not on part with what I expect from this genre. It’s one of the few kinds of songs the standards are just, so high. Don’t be afraid to fine-tune in Melodyne. It can be done without sounding auto-tuned. Your vocals are good, they would be fine for a live setup, studio versions have a higher bar in my opinion. For how long it is, and not having a clear verse/chorus structure, I actually recommend making the lead vox a woodwind or some other sort of lead orchestral piece. The backing vocals added a lot of texture and would make it a perfect soundtrack song, rather than a Celtic/folk singer-songwriter peice.

Broadjam Artist: Gee Starr
Song: Everybody

Reviewer: Catch Ten One Ten

Positive Comments: Normally not my thing but I actually loved it! Has a more indie Linkin Park vibe, and I love this! The piano and electric guitar to act as an enhancement for the percussive nature of the style in hip hop/rap is KILLER. The more pop style vocals are interesting, and rarely do I hear anything like this, so you did a fantastic job making me stop and go wait for wHAT? oHH, WOAH! :p Keep it up!

Constructive Comments: Those first few seconds, yeet them away lol. The most crucial aspect of a song, especially on a platform like this is the first 3-5 seconds. It can make or break the whole track. The moment that mini intro thing stopped and I heard the song, I was into it, but my advice, really, get that out, it may be killing placements here… The vocals were so confident. It’s this powerful bad boy sound, and it sounds like someone hiding in his chest when singing. Unleash! Project! Fix it in the post if you can’t. Make those vocals stand out more! Repetitive, but the genre is supposed to be, so in the end, pretty awesome, and I hope to hear more from you!

Broadjam Artist: MGB
Song: ICE MARCH (instrumental)

Reviewer: Catch Ten One Ten

Positive Comments: Modern Cinematic composition is one of my favorite things!! I can hear the potential in this one. The camera movement and inspiration for visuals rings loud and true. The drums and brass are my two favorite aspects. They build nicely, the song feels much longer than 3 mins, to a surprising aspect, and this is a good thing. Cinematic music should feel cinematic! Tell a story. You did that! Also has a core melody and phrasing that could be adapted to make an entire soundtrack — smart composing on your part! Themes are too often overlooked in this style of music.

Constructive Comments: The intro is way too long. It’s not until almost 20 seconds another instrument is added, and the phrase repeats again in full up to almost 30 seconds in. Do not be afraid to add more than one thing at a time!! It’s a classic production style to build off a simple phrase. When fading in sustained strings, you don’t have to wait for a full measure to add Staccato ones too. (Just an example)My biggest crit with this would be whatever instrument patches you’re using. You don’t seem to be giving much attention if any, to velocity levels. It’s all so harsh at over 100 out of 127. As if drawn in with a mouse, and never altered.I know for a fact no opportunities here will even consider a track like this, unless it “sounds authentic”. That being said, if this had more production value, the core composition is amazing! <3