Many, MANY songs waiting to be 'played with'... Collaborator/Programmer sought

[VOLOVIA]

Dear all, I have been reading SOS since it was in B&W and played on a valve gramophone and... seriously. I have been in the music business to a various degree of success for many a year.
Now I play for fun, being an "academic", but I am still producing lots of music in terms of "traditional song format".
Now, like most things in life, playing solo, albeit fun is not nearly as fun as when we share the experience. I have recorded basic tracks for 40+, yes, four zero songs in a straight format: bass, guitar(s), chords ("piano"), and drums, courtesy of Logic Pro.
They sound ok, they are 'demos', but I would love to collaborate with some 'electronic wizards' to give them (some!) a more contemporary feeling. Think Electronic (with Jonny Marr) or late Depeche Mode, or whatever.
All the tracks are also extremely easy to play with: they are tempo locked, the bass and keys (chords) are MIDI, so, plenty of scope for creativity!
I add some links for you to check out and I hope we can produce some cool stuff. BTW, I would love to take the backing track (and the poor me) live. I live in Macau... but this is another story. Ciao!
www.volovia.uk - For the website. Sorry, "unsecure", but please trust me, it's not a virus... but I don't want to pay to have it "certified".
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MuzClH ... drive_link - This is the booklet that explains everything about me.
https://soundcloud.com/volovia-it - Soundcloud files
https://www.youtube.com/@VoloviaUk - Songs on YouTube

[Drew Stephenson]

Nice cleanly produced stuff there.
Good luck!

[VOLOVIA]

Thanks! I find it puzzling that tons of electronic gear is sold everyday across the world, with immense potential for creativity in terms of arrangements and production. However, most are not songwriters (composers, call them what you will), so I would think that there would be a buoyant market for people like me (regardless of the talent level, that is!).
I think the issue is that very few people love music per se, but collecting gear more (which is great for SOS... ). Or maybe my music is not appealing. Which is fair I suppose...
Thanks again. I'll keep y'all posted!

[Sam Spoons]

TBF it's only 24 hours since your OP. I'm a guitar guy and mostly into acoustic/roots music and jazz these days so no use at all to you but I'm sure someboidy will be along eventually. The mods will correct me if I'm wrong but I think the collaborations forum is probably not as well frequented as other, maybe (again of ok with the mods) stick a post in the keyboards forum or the lounge pointing to this thread?

[VOLOVIA]

ahaha, sorry, I come across like a cry baby... No, it's ok. But your suggestion is good, but I am scared it would be considered 'spam' if I placed an advert in the keyboards section for istance.
Thanks anyhow.

[James Perrett]

I must admit that your demos are almost sounding too good. I can imagine a really talented producer taking them to the next level but people with that level of talent are almost certainly making a living from music already.

You may actually be more successful in finding a collaborator if you were to offer one or two very basic songs with just a single instrument and vocals. That would allow the collaborator to add more of their own ideas and make it feel more worthwhile.

[Sam Spoons]

ahaha, sorry, I come across like a cry baby... No, it's ok. But your suggestion is good, but I am scared it would be considered 'spam' if I placed an advert in the keyboards section for istance.
Thanks anyhow.

Not at all, just slightly impatient WRT posting elsewhere that's why I invoked the mods but I'm sure a separate post in the lounge asking if anybody might be interested in taking a look would be ok (again, mods?).

[OneWorld]

Collaboration at first sight might seem a relatively 'benign' endeavor and many might be inclined to leap. But then find it requires considerably more time than anticipated.

I might venture to say if adding guitar, ass, drums etc, because they are restricted to one sound. However adding synth implies so many more options, and thus more difficult to assimilate with. Of course that is the attraction of synths, the variety of sound available in the palette, almost infinite, but it takes considerable time to explore the options.

Of course there is are the occasions where one just drops straight in having established the groove and can enhance it. I have to add, your music is already highly polished and each song says exactly what it needs to say and is presented in a way that is worthy of the song.

I suppose you have to ask yourself - where is the persuasive aspect of my proposal that would entice someone to abandon their own music to concentrate on someone else's, what is there on offer? Of course there is the challenge and interest and allure, that could well interest and inspire someone, it's not all about more tangible reward. I think most people here are composers/writers and their priorities require much or if not all their time. That's just a fact not an opinion.

I have collaborated in the past, where I have heard a piece of music, done my own take on it, and the writer absolutely delighted. We have gone on to work on other stuff and the results were unconvincing, That was because in the first instance I worked producing my own take on things, to the extent of changing chords, in following examples I was working under direction, and that simply did not suit me. I tend to change things radically. Use the original song as a leaping off point as opposed to a collab, and the results might/might not be acceptable.

Can you imagine Picasso (I am not claiming to be a musical Picasso - I wish!) and Lowry working on the same painting? Be interesting I guess, but hardly ever likely to have happened.

Yes there have been many collabs in music, that's the beauty of music, it can be a collective as well as singular activity and wish you the best.

[Drew Stephenson]

I think James's point above is a good one. I had a listen to a few tracks out of curiosity (synths aren't my thing) and wasn't hearing a lot of space to claim.
So I'd second the suggestion of a handful of stripped back numbers to lure people in.

[VOLOVIA]

Dear friends, thank you so much for your feedback. I answer in a random fashion.
The demos are really, really... demos: I used LogicPro as drummer (with some tweaking, of course, I am an old 'pro'...), programmed the bass, restricted myself to two guitar tracks (one strumming chords and another doing some "appropriate" melody riffs) and one electric piano track playing simple basic chords (necessary to nail the 'right' chords/harmony). The voice is only one track, no BVs or embellishments from a cheap handheld dynamic straight onto my prehistoric Alesis interface.

I have prepared a file with everything needed for "fun", each containing a song, with the tempo, the 'mixed' track, and individual tracks, plus MIDI files for the bass and chords.
They are really drop and play. I also include the 'instructions' of each file.
The only -problem- is that the vocal track is in Italian at present ("English is available on request"), but it should not matter at this stage.

That's it, 14 songs: put the 4-5 stereo tracks on your Cubase, Logic at the stated tempo and see if you can have some fun with them. Also, NO instrument or performace track is sacred: they were recorded as DEMO, plug and play and the quality is decent (for purpose) but NOT professionally recorded or played as. Thus, keep or bin whatever you like.

I hope this clarifies the issue. And thanks again for hosting me. LINK below

https://1drv.ms/f/c/a01f74b10b2bbaa9/Ig ... g?e=WQHfmS

PS. If you prefer, the folder contains, apart from bass and chords in MIDI, also lyrics with chords symbols.

[WilliamAshley]

I flipped through a bunch of your songs on soundcloud

Overeall the guitar and vocal is seeming a little heavy on most of the tracks

IMO you really need to like lounge as far as italo stuff I am more on the side of Italo dance in my listening like
A.G.F. - Loved By You (Flemming Dalum Remix)
A few of my favorite tracks are by Alfredo Larry Pignagnoli

Your stuff is outside my listening overall the lead guitar and your vocal were just too present in every track to actually lock in on them I felt they were to dominant of the tracks I skimed through there were a few that had some sections that sounded ok and might be listenable for me.

pace from about 2:20 it has a flow. the intro around 50 seconds also sort of works. IMO too many structures
in the the track as its all over the place not sure if that is the reason for the name of the trackits hard to really
get into the feel of the track with so many changes.

Robe - Amico Mio
(feels sort of live levels imo vocal is just to much and is blocking the instrumental, the instrumental
itself a little complex. The tone and instrumentation on the track is alright though.

mile strade blu about 3 minutes there is an easy listening section - the vocal is just way heavy on it
imo the instrumental is sort of alright.

Io Sono Io about 2:10 onward has a nice overall structure the rest is hard to listen to.

I'm no electronic wizard but a long time hobbiest I'd be more than willing to take a look at the tracks and see if I can provide any concept sketches / remixes etc..

IMO your material is hard to listen to for someone who isn't locked in on the particular genre of music - it has the feel of being the PA essentially listening to your stuff. This is not negative feedback just my impression in hopes that listener feedback may give you a sense of how it is received.

BTW I think the music is very musically complex and intricate and the vocal and instrumentation work seems very complex - not speaking much italian it makes it hard to connect with the music or get any meaning from the lyrics placing a large importance on the feel of the song itself. It does feel like you are singing your heart out it just feels like you are singing your heart out directly into my ear and the guitar and vocal is drowning out the backing track.

Thanks for sharing these do evoke an 80s or 90s pop ballad feel for me but I am more into Italo and Freestyle Italo dance etc.. more of a club feel and this was very heavy on the pop rock ballad side so just not in my listening so I struggle to find anything I liked in it.