I have a LOT of Raccoon ideas

https://soundcloud.com/achlis/i-have-a-lot-of-raccoon-ideas

Not autistic enough imo

https://soundcloud.com/achlis/i-have-a-lot-of-raccoon-ideas
Hyperlink next time --

That aside, it's really very good despite the distortion and stuck-in-1976 sound.   You might start a jazz-fusion retrograde.   I especially like what happens at about 3:10 with the wonky rhythms.

Do you think the distortion was too much? I really like the texture that comes with that kind of lo-fi amped sound. It brings out overtones I really like, especially on rhodes and synths. The distorted soprano sax is a new thing for me, but maybe it was weird. What do you mean by stuck in 1976? There are some music circles I really like from that era and some I really don't, haha. I really don't want this to come off as Weather Report-ish (except for Jaco, but I'm nowhere near the bassist he is), or cheesy Brecker Brothers or anything. 

What instruments did you find to be the most over-distorted? I mostly did that to try to avoid any sonic connotation with more contemporary pop-jazz stuff or soul/R&B/traditional funk. Rhodes and sax tend to do that, and it bugs me. I want it to come off very rockish, but maybe it is too forced.

Replayer wrote: Funnily enough, the organ-driven intro reminded me of the soundtrack to an old video game about weaponized cars in the American Southwest called Interstate '76, even though the music was more funk-driven.

I used to spend hours playing Twisted Metal 2--  was I-76 a precursor?

The distortion is all artificial and created with intention for an aesthetic. I used it to make it sound as organic as possible with some grit. It's a combination of different saturation/distortion plugins and vintage compressors and whatnot. The original unaltered stems sound a lot cleaner. Especially the sax. However, the distortion gives the sax the ability to cut through big drums that it normally struggles with, and it helps it to blend texturally with the synth harmonies. Is the distortion altogether a bad choice, or would a more subtle implementation be better? What instruments would you like to see more/less/none of distortion wise? Sorry if I am spamming you guys with questions, most forums I go to are super dead. Since you guys are pretty involved listeners to good music, it's a good insight to the types of audiences I'd like to have. And I agree the song isn't very conceptually raccoony. It was more of a non-sequitur joke to entertain myself with my titles, knowing that I don't have to worry about a disappointed or super serious fan base, haha.

Edited by sage.judd - March 09 2017 at 00:16

I try to stay away from peanuts these days. I used to have a big problem, they ran my life. But, that was the old me, and my therapist and I have been working on it.