[flare]

The studio version of Dragon Slayer threw me off at first, but at this point I think it's much better than the live version. "Blurry" isn't a bad way to describe it, but I think that hazy production is why it shines. It might be my favorite of their opening tracks

[hedgecore]

opposite field wrote:

Marta Salogni interview in the newest Tape Op. She says this about mixing Skiffs:

wrote:

Q:I also listened to Time Skiffs by Animal Collective. I imagine you had rough mixes that had that gauzy reverb presence on the vocals, where they are sort of separate from the music. Is that correct?

Marta: With that, I spoke mostly with Brian [Weitz, a.k.a. “Geologist”]. We were always in touch about how elements in the mix should sound, and what the intent with the music was. I’m a huge fan of their music, and so I felt I had these songs I used to dance to as a teenager ingrained in me. When I was mixing it, I felt, “It needs to feel like Animal Collective,” because they have such a huge span of work. But I would also think, “Maybe the bass could have a little bit more definition.” There are so many elements to their tracks. They’re so rich. I wanted everything to have its own space, and everything to be very defined. I wanted the group vocals to have that quality of feeling like one vocal.

Q:True, right.

Marta: Gel them together and have the percussion all around it. When I mix, I almost feel like I try and visualize it in a 3D depth and height. One of my favorite things I learned when I was studying sound was the phantom center of the two speakers. It truly feels like I can create these prisms of 3D moving within stereo. That’s how I see it in my head. I want the bass to be the foundation. Sometimes it can be mono and sometimes it can be stereo, as long as it feels good in mono. Then I can build upon that. Here’s where I put the beat: The kick drum, and then I put the snare across it, the vocals round it up, and the percussion is a little bit on top of the vocals. Everything needs to feel focused and cohesive. That’s how I approached that. I wanted the experience for the listeners and the band to be immersive and to tip the hat to all their previous records, but also to have mixes that would feel like a step forward.

Full interview here https://tapeop.com/interviews/153/marta-salogni/

quoting for next page

thanks for posting that, I'm gonna check the whole interview out. I will say that the mix is pretty unique and I was really excited when I first heard it. It's definitely different from what we're used to from the band. But I'm glad they had an opportunity to try something different

[ingenue]

One of my biggest gripes about Time Skiffs has been its tempo. It has felt, to me, like it really drags. But I’m listening tonight and my perception is that the songs sound almost rushed! What the hell. Like I’m hearing a different, better record. A strange but groovy sensation.

[roopn]

ingenue wrote:

One of my biggest gripes about Time Skiffs has been its tempo. It has felt, to me, like it really drags. But I’m listening tonight and my perception is that the songs sound almost rushed! What the hell. Like I’m hearing a different, better record. A strange but groovy sensation.

Have you cut out caffeine lately?

[rohcti]

Lol I was just listening to Strung with Cheese earlier for the first time in a while and thinking about how slow it sounded compared to how I remember.

[organic cat]

Strung with Cheese?

[ingenue]

roopn wrote:

ingenue wrote:

One of my biggest gripes about Time Skiffs has been its tempo. It has felt, to me, like it really drags. But I’m listening tonight and my perception is that the songs sound almost rushed! What the hell. Like I’m hearing a different, better record. A strange but groovy sensation.

Have you cut out caffeine lately?

Not caffeine but alcohol!

[destiny]

organic cat wrote:

Strung with Cheese?

Ahahaha

[rohcti]

I'm a simple guy, I only need cheese on my strung

[andthephantom]

ingenue wrote:

One of my biggest gripes about Time Skiffs has been its tempo. It has felt, to me, like it really drags. But I’m listening tonight and my perception is that the songs sound almost rushed! What the hell. Like I’m hearing a different, better record. A strange but groovy sensation.

First time listening to the album, I got to Cherokee and was angry that they seemed to have slooowed and quieted it down so much. Now, it feels just right and it feels true to the boots from before. I'm not sure why I heard it that way on first listen, unless it was just demoitis or some fantasy of mine about how it would sound studioed.

[wilandhugs]

I love the mix, definitely allows for dynamic assessments after each listen, which is exactly what I love in every one of their other records. I remember some clamoring early on that the album wasn't going to be as easily repayable or emotionally deep, but I've been getting a lot of variation in my response to the different times/seasons/moods I've listened to it in. Gonna give it another listen right now, see where it settles in again nearly a year(!!!) later.

Also, I love Dragon Slayer. Totally one of their most memorable, and special(?) openers. It's a bit of a black sheep, but in such a stellar way, cuz I feel like most of their openers have this 'self-importance' that almost detaches from the rest of the album, whereas slayer feels like this... ego-less(?) track that settles in a much more subconscious way, and really does feel like the innocent, unassuming start to a grand adventure. This album is almost structured like a Nintendo game's levels, definitely transportative in a less immediately human way, and more through the mindful observation of environments.

[Stan]

I really like the album, it's a bit of a plodder and doesn't cut nearly as deep as some of the live performances (Passerby and Cherokee are still great but I blankly do not see them as improvements in any way) but under the circumstances and as something slightly different in their discography, it's a very solid release. I hope the next one or the one after will be somewhat more unhinged/off the leash but I can't expect that. I will enjoy well-crafted slightly leftfield jam band pop until they just go into old man singer songwriter mode.

[unrecordednight]

car keys to me is the only one that feels just slightly too slow, both on first listen and still, all the others feel like the right tempo

[roopn]

wilandhugs wrote:

Also, I love Dragon Slayer. Totally one of their most memorable, and special(?) openers. It's a bit of a black sheep, but in such a stellar way, cuz I feel like most of their openers have this 'self-importance' that almost detaches from the rest of the album, whereas slayer feels like this... ego-less(?) track that settles in a much more subconscious way, and really does feel like the innocent, unassuming start to a grand adventure. This album is almost structured like a Nintendo game's levels, definitely transportative in a less immediately human way, and more through the mindful observation of environments.

Agreed, I love dragon slayer too! Great post

[Hellomark]

unrecordednight wrote:

car keys to me is the only one that feels just slightly too slow, both on first listen and still, all the others feel like the right tempo

Agreed, that one definitely suffers the most from a more relaxed pace. The faster the better imo. Love the tempo of this particular performance.
https://youtu.be/neHFKUjxjGY

[roopn]

Never saw that clip, thanks for the link! And recorded by one of our own!

[captainlunatic]

that car keys is hot

dragon slayer could have had a longer intro on the album but i love the production personally

[coral lord]

Went back and listened to the Meow Wolf boot last night, despite the placeholder lyrics in Dragon Slayer and Car Keys those versions are still really nice. I used to find the stripped back nature of those songs weak as they compared to the full studio versions, but I'm not so sure anymore. Wonder how those songs turn out if they were recorded in March/April 2020 as planned instead of the remote reality.

One positive is that the songs that have yet to be released all could benefit from maximized production.

Can't believe we're still waiting on a full release of Gem and I in 2023. I have such high hopes for the chorus, I really hope they nail that to its fullest potential. @WinterCityWalks had a great cover of that in the Time Skiifs cover thread, looks like the link got taken down though. Bummer. The way they made the verse explode into a chaotic chorus worked so well. First time I've ever had a cover that unlocked my love for the actual song!

[unrecordednight]

coral lord wrote:

Went back and listened to the Meow Wolf boot last night, despite the placeholder lyrics in Dragon Slayer and Car Keys those versions are still really nice. I used to find the stripped back nature of those songs weak as they compared to the full studio versions, but I'm not so sure anymore. Wonder how those songs turn out if they were recorded in March/April 2020 as planned instead of the remote reality.

One positive is that the songs that have yet to be released all could benefit from maximized production.

Can't believe we're still waiting on a full release of Gem and I in 2023. I have such high hopes for the chorus, I really hope they nail that to its fullest potential. @WinterCityWalks had a great cover of that in the Time Skiifs cover thread, looks like the link got taken down though. Bummer. The way they made the verse explode into a chaotic chorus worked so well. First time I've ever had a cover that unlocked my love for the actual song!

that thought re: all the remaining 2018-19 songs crosses my mind several times a week lol it's wild

[LeadHat]

happy birthday time skiffs !!! hearing studio cherokee for the first time put the hugest smile on my face + this live era has been incredible.

[ingenue]

Found the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time OST on YouTube. Does “Inside the Great Deku Tree” remind you of anything? Some really great sonic and melodic reminiscences going on between this game (my favorite growing up) and Skiffs. At 13:55 in the video below:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XOeKf_5QGVg[/youtube]

[dio]

huh weird yea cherokee intro alright. Could be coincidence but this isn't even the first time we've sorta thught Dave has heard Ocarina of Time ost huh. Right?

[nothingmaster]

The Prester John outro thing really reminds me of 64 Zelda music too.

[Fovrodi]

Reminds me, I wonder if Panda sampled Erik Satie for Daily Routine

[ingenue]

dio wrote:

huh weird yea cherokee intro alright. Could be coincidence but this isn't even the first time we've sorta thught Dave has heard Ocarina of Time ost huh. Right?

I was thinking the intro to SWE! But you’re right, Cherokee too…

[dio]

o weird ya um i mean SWE intro lol. Yeah I heard the opening cherokee riffing, weird

[captainlunatic]

Album still rules, sorry

[captainlunatic]

Ringer in the hand = phone

[rampface]

Time Skiffs is another classic imo

[roopn]

Yup it's sick

[blindmowing]

not quite a classic for me yet, but a very solid album, yes.

i still struggle with the pacing of the album. not sold with "Prester John" being third, and i still haven't come around to "Passerby" or We Go Back"

[Fovrodi]

try:

1. Prester John
2. We Go Back
3. Dragon Slayer
4. Strung With Everything
5. Royal and Desire
6. Cherokee
7. Car Keys
8. Passerby
9. Walker

[blindmowing]

Fovrodi wrote:

try:

1. Prester John
2. We Go Back
3. Dragon Slayer
4. Strung With Everything
5. Royal and Desire
6. Cherokee
7. Car Keys
8. Passerby
9. Walker

Wow. This absolutely transformed my experience of the songs and the album as a whole. What a treat to hear the songs in this context and flow, it really was a beautiful and new experience. Really masterfully placed, each song feels more at home and at ease. A real winner of a tracklist here, and just goes to show how much changing the order of songs can change one's perspective on an album. Will definitely keep listening to the songs in this order: every song came a bit more alive for me.

[lhtd]

seconded on the track list. I listened to it all day yesterday forvrodi and noticed how the medieval jazz theme was much more prominent to my ears

[TetsuoUnderFire]

lhtd wrote:

medieval jazz theme

excuse me? i don't hear that at all on this album but that sounds sick and i wish i could

[roopn]

TetsuoUnderFire wrote:

lhtd wrote:

medieval jazz theme

excuse me? i don't hear that at all on this album but that sounds sick and i wish i could

I think the album itself drifted away from this zone but if you listen to shows from 2019 it's more apparent. I don't think the band ever said that's what they were aiming for specifically, but with the hurdy-gurdy, titles prester john and dragon slayer, and the harpsichord sound that defeat had at the time, "medieval" was a fairly appropriate touchstone to describe the new songs' vibe

[TetsuoUnderFire]

roopn wrote:

TetsuoUnderFire wrote:

lhtd wrote:

medieval jazz theme

excuse me? i don't hear that at all on this album but that sounds sick and i wish i could

I think the album itself drifted away from this zone but if you listen to shows from 2019 it's more apparent. I don't think the band ever said that's what they were aiming for specifically, but with the hurdy-gurdy, titles prester john and dragon slayer, and the harpsichord sound that defeat had at the time, "medieval" was a fairly appropriate touchstone to describe the new songs' vibe

i listened to the album in that order and i can kind of get what you mean. i absolutely loved the harpsichord in the earlier versions of Defeat because it evoked a sense of medieval style for me too, or maybe baroque more so. I would really like to see the band include more stringed, orchestral type instrumentation similar to the Music Box Village sets and the New Psycho Actives Volume 2 - Summer Blaze release in the future. The first half of Summer Blaze is a vastly different sound from anything we've heard from them before (though that first half is probably almost entirely Geo) but I feel it's something they could incorporate so well as a band.

[Tropic]

Can someone unearth those Avey insta messages where he got into all that? Would be interesting to read now

[unrecordednight]

"Noah probably brings the tropical vibes. Though something like prester probably best fuses his tropical vibrations to my medieval take"

"there's a certain post medieval/renaissance futuristic forest lore thing happening in the second group"

Spoiler: show

rampface wrote:

I asked about Defeat and Soul Capturer specifically. Also, how they decided which songs will be grouped for each record...




More thoughts and a autotune question...




He thumbed up the CA comment so here ya go! I'm hyped!

[roopn]

Nice nice, I had forgotten that post! thanks for digging that up