Couldn’t agree with you more regarding the conservative mix on A Scar Is Born, Comrade! The music is fantastic and rife with a plethora of sonic elements begging for inclusion in an immersive surround mix. Bummer!
perhaps you can guide this neophytes as to how i might adjust things. do you own As It Should Be? I love the mix on that one. A Scar Is Born, though musically and thematically very interesting and engaging, is very front-centric--very little going on behind me. @The56Kid put it best in his post. It reminds me of, say, some of the Marillion mixes in that same way. And yet, @edisonbaggins recent LiS video with engineer's perspective on SFaJT has me enjoying that mix more. i look forward to your assessment. Stay Surrounded, Comrade!
Right on, right on.
here's the answer to my mix question, from the man:
Hi, y'all. First off, thank you again for your support and interest in ABC and especially thank you for your honest views/opinions particularly about "A Scar Is Born". For full transparency, yes, the "...Scar..." surround mix was done that way on purpose. I mix (stereo and surround) according to the album's context. "As It Should Be" was a dream-like collection so I wanted to present it as lush and immersive. "A Scar Is Born" was based on my mental state before, during, and after a military deployment to Afghanistan, and in that regard, the mix was/is very direct and forward-focused (much like the deployment was for me). It definitely wasn't a dream nor dreamlike and thus those songs I couldn't represent similarly to AISB. The deployment and "...Scar..." were the experiences of having so much information "directly and in my face (forward)" with activity in the back to represent information going on "in the back of my mind" if that makes sense. I'm sorry that Scar's mix wasn't as enjoyable to some of you as AISB but I wasn't going to turn the subject matter into something that it wasn't. And in truth, I think "...Scar..." is more aggressive than AISB as it is much more "in your face" both mix-wise and musically (unless you meant aggressive as more exploratory?). If it helps any, the next ABC album, the soundtrack to the movie "Zohe", will also be contextually inspired (a fictional narrative movie) and hopefully, it will be similar to a movie where there are forward-based moments along with immersive moments as well. The plan is for "Zohe" to be a combination of AISB and Scar mix-wise. If all goes well, it should be available around October/November of this year. Again, thank you all for your honest opinions and views and hopefully the "...Scar..." mix doesn't turn you from being a fan (we lovingly call "Freaks") of A Beautiful Curse and glad that at least you enjoyed the music in spite of the mix.
That's from Kenny James (aka A Beautiful Curse). And that's what I'm talking about--his explanation helps my appreciation! Mad Love, Brother James--fly your Freak Flag HIGH!
Thanks for sharing Kenny’s response, Clement. It’s Kenny’s call as to how he wants to have his art presented and I respect that.here's the answer to my mix question, from the man:
Hi, y'all. First off, thank you again for your support and interest in ABC and especially thank you for your honest views/opinions particularly about "A Scar Is Born". For full transparency, yes, the "...Scar..." surround mix was done that way on purpose. I mix (stereo and surround) according to the album's context. "As It Should Be" was a dream-like collection so I wanted to present it as lush and immersive. "A Scar Is Born" was based on my mental state before, during, and after a military deployment to Afghanistan, and in that regard, the mix was/is very direct and forward-focused (much like the deployment was for me). It definitely wasn't a dream nor dreamlike and thus those songs I couldn't represent similarly to AISB. The deployment and "...Scar..." were the experiences of having so much information "directly and in my face (forward)" with activity in the back to represent information going on "in the back of my mind" if that makes sense. I'm sorry that Scar's mix wasn't as enjoyable to some of you as AISB but I wasn't going to turn the subject matter into something that it wasn't. And in truth, I think "...Scar..." is more aggressive than AISB as it is much more "in your face" both mix-wise and musically (unless you meant aggressive as more exploratory?). If it helps any, the next ABC album, the soundtrack to the movie "Zohe", will also be contextually inspired (a fictional narrative movie) and hopefully, it will be similar to a movie where there are forward-based moments along with immersive moments as well. The plan is for "Zohe" to be a combination of AISB and Scar mix-wise. If all goes well, it should be available around October/November of this year. Again, thank you all for your honest opinions and views and hopefully the "...Scar..." mix doesn't turn you from being a fan (we lovingly call "Freaks") of A Beautiful Curse and glad that at least you enjoyed the music in spite of the mix.
That's from Kenny James (aka A Beautiful Curse). And that's what I'm talking about--his explanation helps my appreciation! Mad Love, Brother James--fly your Freak Flag HIGH!
