The Minstrel Boy by illuminati
Genre: Electropop
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Keywords:
Thomas Moore (2), illuminati (27), Rebsie (47), war (126), what is it good for (1), absolutely nothing (1)
Description:
My entry in the MacJams Voice for Choice challenge. I think my main challenge was to stay out of the way of Rebsie's angelic rendition while adding some modern atmosphere.
I think this is the way Thomas Moore envisioned this song 200 plus years ago. Sadly, Logic hadn't been invented yet and it had to be rendered on the inferior stringed instruments of the time.
I think this is the way Thomas Moore envisioned this song 200 plus years ago. Sadly, Logic hadn't been invented yet and it had to be rendered on the inferior stringed instruments of the time.
Lyrics:
The minstrel boy to the war is gone,In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy right shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"
The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!
Hardware:
MacBook ProSoftware:
Logic Express, a myriad of software sound makersYou must be registered and logged-in to comment.
Rebsie
Fabulous! I love it!
illuminati
Nice to work with you!
Diviner
I think the backing music is brilliant, it has been put together very well, esp since you got your entry in very early. I am very impressed. I don't know if the vocal always mixed with the track, it mixed very well with the feeling and timing but not always with the tempo. Lovely track though.
The Orbiting
As far as the timing goes, I used what Rebsie recommended, 75 bpm. I know that Jim and others have said it is more like 70 or 140, but I synced up with a metronome at 75 and enough line resolutions landed on beat. I like the way it floats over the drums and hooks up in time at the right moments. I could have locked it in with more cutting, but I was happy with this version.
CosmicDaniel
beautiful pic,do you think thats what the young lad was thinking? I like your style of beats, this sounds very professional...
VicDiesel
Great sounds, and interpreting the vocal line as syncopated is a stroke of genius.
bud
performance. I really like the tone of your instrumentation and the soft yet martial pulse of the beat. Very original. I held off listening till I posted and it was hard to stay away from your entry.
your layers are amazingly clear! this one is very modern, and gives a great seperation from the antiquity of the lyrics... meter and tone are superb!!!
NICE
illuminati
as generally I obscure everything in 50 or so tracks. I think this one sits comfortably 15 or so. Although, even now, upon listening to it, I hear a space and think, I could certainly put something there to muck it all up. I really am trying to gravitate to a more simple approach to music.
each of the entries are superb, this is no exception!
i love the ethereal quality to bring to rebsie's voice!
that accompaniment you brought is remarkable!
outstanding!
illuminati
I was really going for ethereal. I wound up effecting her voice pretty heavily, adding a harmony and various other things to give it an even more otherworldly effect.
guitapick
...how you combined the "old" with the "new".
Beautifully done...
lengold
clever and skillful mix. Enjoyable.
Cheers
Len
illuminati
I had some really cool material to work with.
peacepiano
This works. Very up to date setting that still keeps to the emotion of the original. Nice work!
Thanks
Bill
perceptualvortex
I like the sound of ethereal over solid beats... excellent work, illuminati!
illuminati
as I certainly see this as a song that speaks to the beauty lost in the stupidness of war. I wanted to be absolutely sure that I didn't trivialize Rebsie's performance, or the sentiment Moore's lyrics bring forward to today.
Thanks for checking it out.
Dj French Toast
Love the way this vocal inspired dreamlike songs . The lyrics are so powerful and dreamy I can actally invision myself walking in line during a war with a musket . Love your version alot : )
ledebutant
This is a wonderful time-shifted/timeless version of this song and I love the vibe you've built with Rebsie's vocal and your music. It very much has the magic illluminati sound. I don't have any trouble with the beat not lining up exactly, I think it fits with what you're doing, mood-wise. As always, you do such lovely work with vocal production.
illuminati
and thanks for the kind words. That "illuminati magic" comes at a price. I have to hand over your soul to an Englishman when we hit the big time. At least he had an English accent. Come to think of it, I think he was just a bum. But then there's the magic. It's so hard to tell nowadays if you've sold your bandmate's soul.
Hey! How 'bout some more Orbiting music?
So much going on, and it's all so crisp and smooth (can those two adjectives even be used together?) and contemporary. The voice and the instrumentation seem to be playing off each other in many different ways... this is excellent.
alfalpha
...of Rebsie's vocals sound deceivingly simple, however, all the layers ring bone-chillingly clear. I am stunned by this rendition's complexity and originality.
This is definately going into my 'musical trophy library!' :)
Many Thanks Matt!
Cheers,
Alf
baki
great one. really liked it. the only thing that i didn;t like all the way was that open hi-hat coming back again and again. thanks for sharing, great tune
ktb
a wonderful backdrop. Its always difficult to sync something like this, but you did it masterfully...is that real word? regardless, the track leaves me tongue tied and speechless.