What Makes this Mix Great? Tame Impala: "The Less I Know The Better"
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- Опубліковано 6 бер 2024
- What makes this mix great? Justin Colletti analyzes the mix, production and arrangement for Tame Impala's "The Less I Know The Better".
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Tame Impala's Kevin Parker has had a huge influence on indie pop and rock, and just how far sounds can be pushed toward their breaking point while still sounding impressive, musical and satisfying.
Take a deep dive into the sounds of "Currents" and "The Less I Know The Better" in this episode.
Big thanks to Soundtoys for making this episode possible.
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There's so much more I could have talked about here! The way the lowest notes in the bass riff are allowed to "blossom" compared to the upper notes... the way the vocal texture is created by layering multiple nearly identical takes... Parker's use of modulation effects... There are other thIngs I meant to mention, but didn't want to keep you for an hour! What else do you think I missed?
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I agree vocal sits in the B tier, because IDK about you but I had trouble understanding the lyrics. Reminded me of Fever the Ghost's "Source" (check this out if you are unfamiliar!!), except that track may even be C tier...
I think what helps the bass hit is the brightness, not only is it loud but I feel the upper end is way more pronounced than is typical. Plus, it *does* have some grungy distortion on it that just pops it right out.
The first time you played the Intro and asked to listen critically, I was like WHOA most parts are played SUPER quiet and blown up, which I never really noticed before (I've listened to this track since release). I also suspected the vocal might be recorded a bit from the mic, or with a condenser w/ room noise; it is so strangely distant that you almost are FORCED to seek it out. Its effect may have been achieved all in post, there's just SOMETHING so special about it.
What I wish you would have delved into is how he got all these searin' hot sounds to not crush the master, but I have to check out that compression video you suggested! I, too, find myself fearful of pushing comp hard on recorded 'analog' sounds (as I also do electronic styles that call for such mistreatment). IDK why I haven't noticed the sonic abuse on Mr Impala's tracks. I think because it's not smashed on the master, everything is still carefully balanced... Are there side chains? Sub busses? Really hard for me to tell the way-downstream mix elements like that.
Thanks for reminding me this song exists, it's insanely inspiring.
One of the first things that jumps out to me (more so than the compression) is the gating. Right from the intro you have these really abrupt decays, which contrast with the more sustained sounds, and the bass line, which has a bit of both damped & sustained notes.
This guy [Tame Impala] is just a genius who would make me want to quit if I were a young man...your analysis is really awesome and I hadn't considered a few things the way you did. Many years ago now I worked with an actual producer and it became clear to me at that point that I needed to be a LOT more involved in the mechanical process of making the recordings if I ever hoped to have any say over my own visions and so I have slowly, painfully, learned how to get decent sounds out of a project studio. And through the years I have occasionally managed to get my tunes on the semi-serious radioshows [not just college stations that anyone can get into]----now I dabble and dream about mastering too. Anywho, That's my way of saying thank you for sharing your professional insights [I guess I think it might be meaningful to have an approximation of where I might be coming from]. From an ex-semi-pro who has gone full time hobbyist for the love of the art, it is greatly appreciated!
The bass blossoms because the higher “bass” notes are actually from a guitar with a pedal pitch shifting the guitar an octave lower. Then that is layered with a real bass on the root notes
It seems almost like he's splitting the bass pattern into tracks with each separate note, or at least splitting the low and high bass notes into two tracks, and adding more compression/limiting to the tops.
If a mix is technically "bad" but it suits the genre, the mood and the idea of a certain song, it's not a bad mix
In fact, you are describing a good mix by definition.
Lol this describes my songs 🎵
100%. A good mix is one that serves the song and helps us recognize and focus on what makes it special.
-Justin
If it sounds good, it is good 🤷🏻♂️
If you are a mix engineer, I'd never listen to your music
That mid-rangey intro forces people in their cars to turn up the volume and then BAM!
As a person with a super loud sound system (400 watts on mids/ highs and 6,300+ watts on subwoofers), it throws me off every time lol.
I never understood how engineers / producers as they get more advanced and hone their craft fall into the "right and wrong mindset" because as I've grown my ears are so much more keen to the texture and sonic character of different records and have just grown to appreciate so many different subtles of how different genres sound. I find myself now gravitating to mixes that bring something new to the table regardless of how traditionally right or wrong it may be.
If there are rules to break, it's because there are basic rules. Life is not anarchy
@@Fr3nchFrisethey should be called conventions
This is album is one of my favorite sounding albums of all time.
When I listen to Tame Impala’s “Currents” I hear an indie retro pop album that’s been produced like it’s EDM. That sounds all kinds of wrong on paper but I’m still blown away by it.
Exactly what I was thinking all the way through this
You say in the first 10 seconds: "a great sounding track..." then at at 25 seconds: "it sounds terrible!"
I think this song is yet another example for people (us music "experts") to FINALLY accept that there is no one way that ART is to be (sound). NO RULES!!! FIGHT THE POWER!!! CREATE WHAT WE WANT!!! 🎶🕺
just my humble opinion 😊
Great video Justin.... keep 'em coming 🤘
Fr fr. As long as it sounds good
Some engineers forget that mixing is an art as much as it is a science.
A good arrangement mixes itself
True story!
-Justin
the old tape saturation is for me the main thing on impala mixes. he hits so hard on that
Long ago When I decided to take control of my own songs and mix them to my taste, an engineer kicked me out and decided not work with me anymore because I asked for too much 😅. Now I’m seeing that he was the one in the wrong and just didn’t want to put in that extra work to do something different
LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean" and The Faint's "Posed to Death" are a couple of examples that popped in my head, of quite, mid-rangy intros. LCD's being very long before you blow out your speakers or ears.
You nailed it !
Fridmann's finest work is with The Flaming Lips.Namely, The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi and Clouds Taste Metallic.
The bass and general sounds of Impala are VERY reminiscent of Lips' Yoshimi phase.Lips had a genius run of those three albums.
When it sounds good, it is good.
You can hear Kevin Parker’s production within Dua Lipa’s latest era. He produced both Houdini & Training Season.
Here's to hoping he had a hand in most of her new album
I love the production on houdini
The production on ‘Houdini’ is sublime! I’m so much looking forward to Dua’s new album.
I use the trick of using compression at the end of a vocal chain specifically to bring up the volume of reverb tails, etc…I hate boring mixes. This Tame Impala record in particular is full of ear candy and I love it.
,,,,but try distortion for delay and reverb tails😎
Saturation is another one that works on reverb tails for me
A key thing here is this guy is playing every instrument and composing everything. So he is able to make absolutely every decision
This song is so ironic I think: it's a masterpiece, very integer and emotional, disguised in a pseudo clumsy lo-fi with almost ridicule lyrics. It's amazing to sound intense and true with all those elements: almost all sounds here are made with a synth guitar, falsetto voice in reverb, "holding hands with tevor" lyrics. Very bold, cool and true dressed as messy! love it. Thanks for the analysis Justin !
Rule #1: Gain staging
Rule #2: What rules?
Great stuff, love the vid!
Subbed.
Awesome to hear! Glad to have you tuning in.
-Justin
I compress the vocal reverb with it side chained to th vocal so it’s larger in the gaps between the vocals and lower in level during the vocal. I know this is pretty normal but a good way to use larger reverbs but keep intelligibility in the vocals.
I'd love to see a video like this for Lush's Sweetness and Light.
His name is Kevin Parker and he’s from Perth, Australia :)
True facts!
-Justin
also known as "Mr. Impala" 🤣
“Make it more awesomer” put perfectly
Devil Loc Deluxe is the best! The mix knob is crucial imo- it makes it so flexible for adding subtle flavor as well as extreme crushing.
My mom knows Kevin Parker. I haven’t stopped talking about him for ten years! I love Tame.
The texture and “soundscape” generated by the effects is a creative approach made popular in modern times by groups like Flaming Lips & Radiohead.
It’s the equivalent to make-up… in a classical sense, one is not supposed to “see” the make-up, just experience the enhanced beauty… but then there exists bombastic theater-like bold make-up that is deliberately part of the aesthetic.
There is more, not less, technical prowess on display here… technique in service of artistic vision rather than forcing art through a filter that makes everything sound and behave the same.
was just relistening that album! love it.
Glad you looked at lonerism, best work of his imo
Kevin was doing his best Dungen impression ;) He knocked it out of the park btw! But all the weird panning- the influence is all over his stuff
Btw, his interview on Rick Rubin’s podcast gives some good insights into his thought process
I’ll have to check out that interview!
-Justin
Ahhh yess, this plus the other comment about retro pop produced like EDM are totally unlocking this band for me, had lots of friends into them but it never really clicked with me before. Dungen rules
Speaking of creative compression, I’d love to see a breakdown of a Jai Paul mix
Yes
+1 !! Jai Paul’s work is unreal
Fridmann’s work with Mercury Rev & Phantom Planet also not to be missed
And this is why idc to follow mixing rules , tame impala sounds is a vibe of its own
I noticed the more technique I learned the more stale things became in my mix. I really needed this video. Basically rules are made to be broken.
Listen to the album, Innerspeaker, by Tame Impala. The mixing is all over the place, but it sounds amazing, even cohesive in its own unique way. I absolutely love it. ❤
most informative, objective and comprehensive mixing podcast on UA-cam. There are lots of great ones out there, but always get so many gems here! 🙏
Oh heck yea! Gonna watch this right now
First off, I love the way you hear these elements and pick them apart, it reminds me of the way I actively listen. I think people are afraid to break from convention in many ways and that's part of what contributes to the homogenization of people's approaches to mix engineering and mastering... not all loud records/mixes/masters are bad or wrong, some sound fantastic, come to life in a way a more dynamic mix wouldn't... some loud masters hurt. but Tame Impala's never have hurt to my ear... Their first album like you allude to is masterful at being loud and yet musically dynamic and comforting. You gained a subscriber, I don't normally subscribe to anything to do with "mix advice" anymore because a lot of is crap. Thank you for reminding people to break out of instincts and 'best practices'; this is how we make groundbreaking records and earworms!!! For that matter, I'd like to point out that people used to mix records in absence of FFT analysis and just had to listen with their ears and decide from there, which also means people have to take care of their ears. I try to listen at low and high SPL levels to make sure I haven't sucked the life out of my tunes with compression and limiting...
Love geeking out with you, Justin! Great stuff as always
I geek out on these videos. So happy I just found your channel!
Thanks for this man! Super valuable.
This was fantastic! Love ALL your videos, man :)
great video, love this breakdown, keep it up Justin, appreciate you
Iconic track. It’s great having your vision of it 👍. Great video. Thanks a lot.
Thank you for this in-depth analysis of the mix. Compressor and limiter after delay/reverb makes so much sense, it's interesting to try. Greetings from Ukraine!
I remember when studying audio we had to bring in a song we liked the sound off. I brought in a tame impala record. Other students hated it, stated how much pumping there was etc etc. All the stuff that's intentional they didn't like, my teacher was more understanding of the deliberate over compression (shure level lok)
This is excellent advice and it tracks with my experience. Nicely done.
awesome insights, really good analysis
Awesome discussion. Really insightful stuff here.
Great Break down!! Tame Impala is Kevin Parker. Thanks for what you do.
Yup! Kevin is a real talent.
I called him "Mr. Impala" only because I thought it sounded funny that way :-)
(And to solicit comments, which help with the algorithm!)
-Justin
and Jay Watson, Dom Simper & Cameron Avery.
Lots of love for your channel
Very interesting mixes. Thank you. 👍
It hit me as beautiful too, wonderful enthusiastic session
Superb content, sir. I really like this kind of analysis. It’s great to listen to people with an acute ear breaking down productions like this.
Liked and subscribed, from the across the pond. 🇬🇧
If you carefully look at how the peaks are clipped It's clearly visible that the left channel is slightly louder, and you're right it's just because of the drums!
When something works, it just works, regardless of the standard or usual practice.
For sure!
-Justin
this is the most entertaining way to learn about mixing
AWESOME TO HEAR!! I was worried that people would find this less entertaining than conventional DAW mix tutorials.
Ironically, this approach is not only fun, but actually MORE USEFUL AND MORE INSTRUCTIVE, once you have a sense of what the controls do, and how audio works.
And if you don't know what the controls do, or how audio works? It's still more interesting and relatable and accessible for non-producers than mousing around with effects and sharing "quick tricks and tips".
-Justin
An absolute iconic eighties song is “In a big country” by the band “Big Country” from their debut album “The Crossing “. Now when you talk a lot about compression and how to sometimes “over do it” I now understand why this song stands out, super compressed drums. Album was produced by Steve Lillywhite. Would be so interesting to listen to your analysis of it. I learn so much from your pedagogical way of explaining things. Thanks!
Wow this made my day
loving this series please keep it coming! your song selection is very great!
Awesome to hear! I try to play music that I really like, and that I think others will like too if they give it a chance.
-Justin
I learned not to follow always the rules but use my ears to make the sonics become well glued and sound enjoyable.
Great Video! 🙏
So happy I found your channel I love your take on mixing! 😍 thank you!
Awesome to hear Ariel, glad to have you tuning in!
-Justin
Great stuff here, instant subscriber!
Amazing video. Nobody on youtube articulates the thought process like you.
I would love a breakdown of Travis Scott’s goosebumps from his 2016 album. I believe Scott has developed a sonic style similar to Parker’s due to his self taught style. It also features a pretty prominent Kendrick Lamar verse.
Thanks ! ❤
Ooh that would be sweet. I wanna say goosebumps is big on seasick LFOs bending that pitch everywhere
Just found your channel, this is awesome, man. Love how you walk us through it all with your ears and help us viewers understand the nuance and context. Keep it up!
Welcome aboard! Thanks for tuning in and hope to see more of you around the channel.
-Justin
This is awesome! I love how logical you are with your analysis
Great to hear! I'll be doing more in this format. Hope you enjoy them.
-Justin
Amazing video! Learned a lot 🙏 Also I have been listening to this track a lot and found it interesting. Thank you for this and greetings from Finland 🇫🇮
Thanks for listening! So glad to hear.
-Justin
I recorded and mixed the music. I was using really cheap computer speakers. It was before I purchased my monitors. I was looking for a Beatles vibe. In fact the session was done right after we finished re-recording The Beatles albums.
thanks for your videos
So, Tame Impala basically mixes rock/pop records the same way an electronic producer would. I find it fascinating how vastly different mixing styles can be from genre to genre.
For sure. Definitely some similarities there. And definitely different norms in different genres. “An electronic approach with organic instruments” is a decent way to think of this style!
But even then it depends on subgenre. Most EDM in particular won’t have the bass this big.
But the vocal treatment can be somewhat similar in EDM that it can be brighter more heavily effected than other elements, it can take a bit if a back seat in size compared to other elements, and incidental ear candy elements may be allowed to over take it from time to time.
Of course, EDM isn’t the only electronic style, but it’s a good frame of reference.
-Justin
This song proves that there shouldn't be "rules" in the first place. And as someone who's starting to get into recording and mixing, I'm glad I don't have any of those kinds of preconceptions about music or mixing. If it sounds good then it is good. Mixing is as much a part of the artistry as the instrumentation or writing
At 26:30 ... how is he getting that bass so damn forward without it sounding imbalanced?
This is a perfect album
what an incredible video
Tchad Blake and Leon Michels are the vibiest, vibey, vibeyest? Mixers I’ve ever heard
Tchad Blake rules. When in doubt, try running something through a Sansamp!
The bass is actually a guitar with all sorts of octave love on it 🤘🏼
I like the Miles Davis attitude that there are no mistakes. Maybe he said "no bad notes" and that the next note - the reaction to the 1st note in question - determines whether or not the 1st note sounds "wrong". My friend Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being made a name for himself making blown out "outsider" House music. Mixing is all about context, so to extrapolate from the Miles attitude about playing, mixing is about how you react and contextualize the elements you're mixing. Some of my favorite older tracks vary wildly in their comparitive levels and some are mixed really poorly (and now I can pick out the decisions that led to that) but they're still great tracks...although I have had to try and remaster a couple just to listen to them anymore because the mixing decisions become so glaring that's all I hear otherwise. That's the interesting thing - now we have all the tools to make everything sound "perfect" and sit along everything else and not sound "weird", but everything starts to have a sameness, so things that are considered "lofi" and weird become sought after.
💯
This is killer content, great work!
Thank you! So glad to be useful.
-Justin
Just came across this channel, was hoping to see tons of videos like this.
We will have a lot more like this coming, including one tomorrow.
I hope to do at least one of these a month, probably more.
It’s a new series, but we have almost a half dozen already.
-Justin
12:33 Kevin Parker
Thanks Justin! Great breakdown. To me it sounds like two bass tracks, one consistent and one for the hooks. Interesting with the cocept of tiers, you could almost say that the vocal is always A tier, no matter how quiet it is, our ears are drawn to the vocal first in a way. I feel like the vocal here is part of the synth layer, reverbs and the synth/pad sounds are melt together. You talk about the amount of compression and the level of the tune. can that be done without a clipper?
Suggestion of an awesome mix to dissect, «seventeen going under - Sam Fender». Would be cool to see a mastering engineers perspective. One of the best mixes ive ever heard
I'll check it our, thanks!
-Justin
The slightly more pop, upbeat, male version of "Men I Trust". The intricate bass lines, the airy & gooey synths, and with Tame's Beetles/D&B foundations = voilla. Whoever is original, don't matter how unconventional their production & mixes are. They are more likely to create a trend, by not sticking to any trends, and in doing so they create a lane of their own. I even feel like those vocal effects are possibly heavily influenced by the Weekend's vocal FX chain as well. Thank you for facilitating this great critical listening session, and sharing your thoughts and expertise 👌😎
Not even close, but I do love Men I Trust also.
Love your content! As an artist who's making a return after 8 years away & is planning to self produce & mix my first few releases, your content is invaluable. I'd LOVE to hear you speak on Blink 182's new record ONE MORE TIME as the mix has been a HUGE topic of discussion. I know pop punk probably isn't your go-to genre to review, but I would love to at least hear your thoughts on the production/mix!
Spot on 1,000%
I’m a fan on Tame Impala for sure. Thanks for this!I’m surprised you didn’t mention his use of Phasers which is really interesting. On Lonerism Kevin took more control of the process and some of the mixing, but still passed through Dave Friedman. Kevin’s mixes are not always technically perfect, but have a lot of character and sounds like him. Dave Pensado was once quoted as saying all he hears is a bunch of mistakes when listening to Tame Impala. Shawn Everett in the same convo said he thought Kevin was one of the best mixers around which tells you a lot of their approach to mixing.
Parker uses a lot of modulation effects for sure. They weren't the most prominent things to talk about in the sections we were listening to, but he definitely has mixes and moments where they are REALLY prominent.
-Justin
Kevin uses his mixing techniques to his own advantage or for his own songs. He's also mixed a Pond album or two, who have a similar approach. what would be interesting would be hearing Kevin mix another artist / band who is more conventional.
Oh this is interesting. There is so much to learn!!! )
One other thought 😅......
Perhaps the ability for anyone to create music at home, with an almost unlimited access to gear / plugins (free!!!), and FREE from the constraints of "the right way" to do things ('cause we're mostly self-taught) has created an environment where lots of us are making cool, unusual sounding tracks.
Me? I'm loving this time in music / recording history 🤸♂️
Great video! Great song which reminds me of the nostalgia of adolescence.
You said something interesting at the end regarding the bass…if you are trying to make it sound out front like Tame Impala and have tried mixing it in a similar way, and it isn’t working, maybe it’s your bass part itself that isn’t working.
Then, thinking of my own writing, maybe it’s how the bass sits compositionally against other instruments/vox. Maybe for the bass to sound like you want, everything but the bass needs to change for example.
Then to really go on a tangent, I’ve been learning about the golden ratio which was used in classic art…and applying it to distances between elements in my compositions as a whole. Music, in one key aspect, is about distances. Scales, for example, are distances between notes, that essentially give us access to different flavors, or moods, that are now like languages infused into hundreds of years of our cultures. A visual representation of all this, to some degree, can be attributed to these distances between notes…or to get even further down, the selection of a group of frequency wavelengths. SOUND ITSELF IS AMAZING.
Not that the goal should be for perfect adherence to some geometric rule- punk rock and blues for example explore the places in between in some sense in my speculative mind. Then I think about the relationship between order and chaos applied to music…just all of these concepts are fascinating to me.
Of course for me, to find something beautiful, my favorite method is Marco Polo…getting hotter or getting colder. Which requires being in tune with your inner world, your emotions…trying to see if you can provoke them in some way that you find exciting.
I’m finding it fun right now to do both- turn my left brain on enough to operate strictly within a mode, then start noodling while I introspect on whether there is something in it that moves me. One thing I can say for sure, is that there are so many flavors I never knew about. Never would have tasted.
Ah I love coffee. Go write/mix /master something beautiful!
+1 for Devil Loc... one of a kind plugin
Amazing video
Glad you dug it! Hope to see more of you around the channel.
-Justin
I imagine this is how people would feel when a new episode of GoT or Breaking Bad came out
This is my favorite comment of the month!
-Justin
It would be cool to see you break down an MGMT track, as they also work with Dave Fridmann a lot. Maybe something like Alien Days, where the mix is super pushed and fuzzed out and bonkers.
They are on the list for sure! I haven’t decided which track yet.
-Justin
I definitely prefer lonerism to currents sound . Everyone’s different!!. Backgrounds etc. this is some of the first music I ever listened to to be honest. Big shock haha
Tama impala i love them 🤘
i could listen to og sound engineers talk about the art of sonically sculpting songs all day😌
Mr. Impala is Kevin Parker
Awesome
Its mixed like 90s boom bap hip hop with new techniques they call it lo-fi these days
the good production comes through regardless of the mixing. would a different mix engineer have been able to bring out the ideas and emotions more clearly?
When I first started recording songs, I made some pretty terrible mixes, but they were interesting later on. I decided I should try to learn to do things the “right way” which did improve many elements of my mixes, but I left out a lot of the character and they were very boring now looking back. I wish I had done them better, but going forward I can now combine both elements and realize it’s not incorrect to add some odd vocal effects.