SIX! Production

So, who here likes musicals? If the answer was yes stick around and you'll hear all about the production of one of the most amazing cast album recording I've heard in a while. If you answered no, well stick around anyway you might learn something and have fun doing it.

Im just going to link the spotify here so you can listen along and enjoy while i breakdown each song and some of the reasons they are awesome.

Quick description of the premise before we jump into the tracks for those unfamiliar with it: Basically the 6 wives of Henry the XIII's get together in a X factor style competition to decide who took the most S*** from their Husband. Resulting 1 song introducing them all then a song from each wife detailing how bad being married to the Tudor sucked and then a big empowerment song at the end.

TRACK 1 - EX WIVES

For this huge beginning track even the beginning sets the stage for something big with the reverse reverb glitch into the initial drum hits. Building the excitement before the vocals even come in.

Each Vocalist has they're own space in the mix with the initial vocal panned hard left and the final vocalist panned hard right with each subsequent vocalist being placed somewhere in the middle which makes the vocal lines with them all singing in harmony or unison absolutely huge which is an incredibly simple but effective way to build a sense of a huge space in the mix which is appropriate considering the concert setting.

There is a low drone in the beginning which keeps the ears attention during the space between each vocalists introduction. The use of space in this song is everywhere with most of the first half of the track being the vocalists singing with little going on the background with instrumentation coming in only on gaps between each wife and transitional bridge sections. This idea is flipped on its head in the 3rd movement when each Queen gives a little bit of exposition/brief synopsis of their situation. Where the gaps are taken up by wee ad libs from the other singers. for example the line "The only one he truly loved," up until now we'd have expected a quick synth line or a drum fill but we get the other cast members saying "rude" with silence underneath which is continued for the next few Queens as well.

The drums sound in the 2nd movement lends itself to the arena style by simulating claps instead of a generic snare drums to get the hypothetical audience clapping along. Since it's an extremely pop production its arpeggiators galore to keep you interested with big swelling reverbs.

The instrumentation is incredibly sparse in this first track for pretty much the entire piece to give the vocalists their time to shine and grab our attention and decide which one you like best before the competition even begins except for the last 30 second which has the main musical hook of the song repeated a few times before a vocalist countdown to end the song.

This initial track sets up alot of recurring production themes that will be used later on so i wont go into much detail when mentioning them again.

Track 2 - No way!

That filter sweep on the vocals in the beginning is a great introduction technique. The vocal comes in with no extra instrumentation underneath again. The huge reverb from the previous song on the drums and vocals has gone now giving this piece a more intimate feel as its now each individual Queens time to take the spotlight. Big reverse reverbs so build excitement

The drum sound in this are very electronic obviously build in a drum machine which lends itself to how the piece was written as it was done by a student for the Edinburgh Fringe festival 2017 so they wouldn't have had access to many live instruments or a place to record when writing the show.

The snare drum is overdubbed with clapping samples to both keep time for the listener and to get the audience clapping along. Nice harmonies come in on the chorus' "no no no no no ways."

The arpeggiators and synths from the track before have now disappeared and been replaced with trumpets and drums until the slow bridge comes in where its piano and strings and vocals which is very good way of conveying the vulnerability of the vocalists before she launches back into the refrain.

It even breaks into a marching band style authentic snare drums sound during the transition back into the chorus. These one off tricks are great for the repeated listeners as it's not often something that catches your ear on the first listen and only on future listens where the bones of the track are ingrained in your mind do you notice some of these things.

Track 3 - Dont lose Ur Head

Yet again we have a reverse reverb sweep coming into the first verse. Noticing some similarities because I am. This initial vocal sound very dry so it's very in your face which is the personality of this character. The backing vocals from the other characters on the other has a bit more effects on the vocals. Definitely has some reverb on the backings and they're wide in the stereo field giving the main vocalist the space in the middle. Which is very effective when the main vocals and backing vocals overlap and argue with each other.

Instrumentation in the chorus is very sparse leaving alot of room to build in the last chorus which is very effective in this song. The last lines of the verses always have the vocals on their own before a big reverb sweep into the pre-choruses.

We're back to big synth sounds during the bridge in comparison with the last song. Where they were conveying vulnerability they keep it electronic with big base synths to convey in my opinion the anger of the character to the adventures of her husband. Building into a climatic chorus where all the previous parts of the song come together. A good production/songwriting technique there.

The drums also get changed out from electronic claps and kick drum samples to a live drum kit or at least a very good approximation which is a very nice detail that adds excitement to the final chorus.

Track 4 - Heart of Stone

Heart of stone introduces a very drastic change in sound. From the electronic synth sound from the previous track to a slow ballad with mostly live instrumentation leaving the electronics behind in favour of a big 90's Ballad sound.

First thing to notice is how large it sounds. We've traded in the close up dry vocals to a big hall reverb on everything from the grand piano sound to the vocals. Also a wee note on the snare drum sound. It sound like a pure print from a reverb track or a very heavily mixed in reverb plug in.

Backing vocals are scarce but when they are they are similar to the snare drum sound and HEAVILY reverb-ed. This adds a very noticeable silence effect when the reverb tails are cut off abruptly in transitional sections.

The final choruses have a very 2000's vocal production with the main chorus vocals being done by backing vocals with the main vocalists improvises big Mariah Carey-esq melodies over the top. Also the Hi-Hats are heavily quantized in the last chorus, to an extremely noticeable degree. Too much for my liking but it suits the style of the other tracks but maybe not this one.

Track 5 - Haus of Holbein

Now have you ever wondered "What if the Venga-Boys got into writing musicals?" Well now you have your answer with the 90's rave-esq track Haus of Holbein. Also if you're trying to tell me you didn't laugh out loud when it started, who are you kidding i know you did.

The beginning sound really like something from a 90's rave and makes me want to go grab my glow sticks and party. With the aggressive synth line and big sweeping reverbs it would fit nicely in a "Hitch-clubbers guide to the 90's." With it still being a musical however they would have to ditch the synth lines and sweeping reverbs for the verses.

This is just a short transitional song which works very well to set up the next song story-wise also the svocals being panned hard left and right during the verses works well to make it seem like a dialogue.

Also can we take a moment to appreciate the air horns at the end. Nice touch.

Track 6 - Get Down

This track starts different than the others as there is nothing to lead into the verse. No reverse reverb sweep or filters. Just setting up the synth line that will be present through most of the entire song.

Each verse adds another layer on top of what came previously. The first verse starts with just the synth line and the clap snare. Then the second verse brings in an electronic drum kit which is present through the buildups as well

The pre-chorus brings back the sweeping reverse reverbs and synth lines. Also a heavily quantized clap style snare. A sub drop fills the space behind the vocals as it leads into the chorus, the "I'm the queen of the castle" line, which works to still have some sound but leave plenty of space for the vocals. There is a strong delay on the main vocal line at this point and overdubs.

There's also a very interesting effect present in the middle 8 where it plays the build-up with reverse vocals over it that have been heavily low pass filtered. Reminiscent of something you'd here in 2010's pop like one of the new Carly Rae Jepson tracks "Now that I've found you"

Track 7 - All you wanna do

Here we have the return of the return of a high pass filter introduction in the synth part over the top of the snare drum intro. One of my favourite production techniques in this piece is the different treatment between the backing vocals and the main vocal during the verse. The contrast between the large reverb vocal lines that are spread across the stereo width against the single panned mid dry vocal line is a very effective trick to focus the ear. The same large treatment is applied to the main vocal in the chorus as well giving it a much different feel form the verses.

During the chorus there is an oscillating high synth part in the background which creates a lot of interest for me. Alongside the ever popular clap snare sound. Also each kick drum has its own specific note played alongside it in the base which can be done by triggers or MIDI programmed bass. I'd do it with a midi programmed bass but triggers would also work.

The drums feel heavily quantized in the track which works for the style of music but again not my cup of tea as i like a live feel which is probably why track 3 wit hthe real drum kit is one of my more preferred tracks.

The vocal performance however is my favourite on the album. It will have taken multiple takes in order to get the raw emotion in the final chorus/verse that really pushes the listener to have sympathy for the character.

Track 8 - I don't need your love

Solo vocal with accompanied glossy keys start this track. As is in every single track so far the title is the obvious hook of the song.

The live drums make a comeback in this piece augmented with snaps and claps on the snare drum. As the song gets livelier the live drum sound gets replaced with a much more obvious drum machine which is obvious in the clap sounding snares. The latter half of the song has definitely the most obvious programmed drums as there are very quick repetitive Hi-hats that are normally popular in trap and electronic productions.

The transitional effect of a high pass filter sweep on a low oscillating synth part is back again, With reverse reverb sweeps into certain lines to give them emphasis.

Track 9 - Six

Here is another big change in the tone of the album for the final song. There is very tranquil i want to say either ukulele or mandolin with quelle suprise a reverse reverb sweep into a live sounding kick drum which suits the sound of the other live instruments. This piece cycles back through sounds and motifs for each Queen, all whilst keeping the tranquil feeling with the ukulele/mandolin throughout:

Queen 1 - The snare drum marching beat comes over the initial singing as well as the stutter on the "Nu" in nunnery which makes you think of the repeated "No" in No Way.

Queen 2 - The tranquil section cuts out and the aggressive synths come back in along with the electronic drum sounds.

Queen 3 - The entire dynamics change bringing back in the nice live sounding piano alongside a busy but HEAVILY reverb-ed snare drum.

Queen 4 - Not much to call back on for this character as the only real note is the cutting of all other instruments for the "Haus of Holbein" line.

Queen 5 - Most notable part of this character was the vocal gymnastics which come back for a brief moment in her reprise.

Queen 6 - Most notable change in dynamics again as it using the same sonic palette as song 8.

They also call back to the initial song with lyrical content and the initial big arena style reverbs building to an impressive crescendo.

The chorus is incredibly infectious with a very good hook in the trumpet part. The lyrics are very clever with the countdown flowing perfectly and cleverly into the next line of the chorus. The arpeggiators are also back along with the triumphant feeling brought about by the brass section which just give the feeling of winning.

Final Ramblings

Thank you for reading along. Now i make no secret that i always find the vocals the most important part of most productions and with this i found many different ways to get a vocal to stand out with instrumentation and transitional tricks that i have now added to my production toolbox. Also I love powerful vocal lines and given the competition style of the musical I get that in almost every song which is very appealing to me.

Now excuse me i have to go book tickets for the upcoming tour in February at the Edinburgh Playhouse, hope to see some of you there.