NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

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Marlowe
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NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

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The Rebirth - What the “heck” is that… Well, in short… while working on our sequel to the album ”Northern Steel”, we have gone through our back catalog and decided that it was time to re-record a couple of our old songs. Several of the songs on “Land of Northern” are just demo recordings from the rehearsal room or from some simpler/smaller type of studio. We felt it was time to give some of the old ones a little extra treatment, as in, give the songs new life and extra vitality - hence “The Rebirth”.

All singles will be released "digitally" during the spring… but… if you can’t wait… “NWOTHM Full Albums” have got the exclusivity to upload the whole EP already today.

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bigfootkit
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Re: NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

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It's just a matter of taste, but personally i prefer the overall sound of those early recordings.
I can appreciate that you can do so much more nowadays in the studio to get closer to the sound in your head & in the separation of instrumentation, and i'm sure those sweet guitar tones took some time to get them just how you wanted, but where most modern production falls flat for me is in the drum sound.
To me the drums on modern recordings often just don't sound like real drum kits any more and, as a result, there is a loss of dynamics in a lot of current music which does spoil my enjoyment of a lot of contemporary records.
Of course this is a question of personal taste, but i did wonder, from a technical standpoint, as you're someone who's recorded in both eras, if there's a major difference between now and back in the day regarding how drums are miked up during the recording process that might explain the difference i hear?
I wish you every success & hope my comments didn't come across as over-critical. The drum issue is a personal bug-bear, but really it's my own cross to bear. :D
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Marlowe
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Re: NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

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bigfootkit wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 3:17 am It's just a matter of taste, but personally i prefer the overall sound of those early recordings.
I can appreciate that you can do so much more nowadays in the studio to get closer to the sound in your head & in the separation of instrumentation, and i'm sure those sweet guitar tones took some time to get them just how you wanted, but where most modern production falls flat for me is in the drum sound.
To me the drums on modern recordings often just don't sound like real drum kits any more and, as a result, there is a loss of dynamics in a lot of current music which does spoil my enjoyment of a lot of contemporary records.
Of course this is a question of personal taste, but i did wonder, from a technical standpoint, as you're someone who's recorded in both eras, if there's a major difference between now and back in the day regarding how drums are miked up during the recording process that might explain the difference i hear?
I wish you every success & hope my comments didn't come across as over-critical. The drum issue is a personal bug-bear, but really it's my own cross to bear. :D
Sorry for a lengthy post :) When you send out music, you must be able to take both positive and negative criticism. Negative criticism can often be divided into both pure trashing and constructive and the latter is often a sign that the person has put in time and listened and comes with some personal feedback… may thank for that. :D In short, constructive criticism is something that is really much appreciated I would say and we really listen to it and discuss it within the band.

Regarding your question, if there is any difference between when we recorded in the 80's and now .. mmm, yea you are right .. there is very much that differs I would say. And so much has happened since then, both with us as musicians and in the way we and many other record albums. I really wish we could have the same opportunities we had back then. Parts of our old album were recorded and paid for by a record company which helps a lot.

At that time, records were sold and could and should pay for the entire production and maybe give the band some extra money in the pocket. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many bands today. Our previous album was paid for entirely by ourselves and we chose to release it as both CD and vinyl which cost a lot. So yea… you have to cut some corners to get the economy together, which means that all recording takes place in your own studio and home studios. And to answer your question, one of the most difficult and demanding instruments to record is just the drums… and as many of us do today, to keep down the cost of the recording we use modern technology ie a drummer who records them digitally to give the producer more options to adjust the sound during the mix. So that's probably what you hear and don't like.

This release [The Rebirth] was partly something we wanted to do to show those who did not know our history and who got to know us with the Northern Steel album. In short, we wanted to give them a chance to hear some of the older songs and how they sound in 2022. Mainly because we know that not everyone likes the old somewhat unpolished sound either .. even if we ourselves love it, it is a part of our history. :)

On a side note.. we have something else cooking... Very soon we will release info about something that is old, nearly no one has heard it before, and it will be something for collectors. :wink:

Anders
NEPTUNE
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bigfootkit
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Re: NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

Post by bigfootkit »

Marlowe wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 11:03 am Sorry for a lengthy post :) When you send out music, you must be able to take both positive and negative criticism. Negative criticism can often be divided into both pure trashing and constructive and the latter is often a sign that the person has put in time and listened and comes with some personal feedback… may thank for that. :D In short, constructive criticism is something that is really much appreciated I would say and we really listen to it and discuss it within the band.

Regarding your question, if there is any difference between when we recorded in the 80's and now .. mmm, yea you are right .. there is very much that differs I would say. And so much has happened since then, both with us as musicians and in the way we and many other record albums. I really wish we could have the same opportunities we had back then. Parts of our old album were recorded and paid for by a record company which helps a lot.

At that time, records were sold and could and should pay for the entire production and maybe give the band some extra money in the pocket. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many bands today. Our previous album was paid for entirely by ourselves and we chose to release it as both CD and vinyl which cost a lot. So yea… you have to cut some corners to get the economy together, which means that all recording takes place in your own studio and home studios. And to answer your question, one of the most difficult and demanding instruments to record is just the drums… and as many of us do today, to keep down the cost of the recording we use modern technology ie a drummer who records them digitally to give the producer more options to adjust the sound during the mix. So that's probably what you hear and don't like.

This release [The Rebirth] was partly something we wanted to do to show those who did not know our history and who got to know us with the Northern Steel album. In short, we wanted to give them a chance to hear some of the older songs and how they sound in 2022. Mainly because we know that not everyone likes the old somewhat unpolished sound either .. even if we ourselves love it, it is a part of our history. :)

On a side note.. we have something else cooking... Very soon we will release info about something that is old, nearly no one has heard it before, and it will be something for collectors. :wink:

Anders
NEPTUNE
Really glad you took my comments in the way i'd intended Anders, particularly as i've enjoyed your previous releases and may yet come to like 'The Rebirth' better once i'm more familiar with it. Appreciate you taking the time to respond to my question, and now i better understand the reasons behind your choices, (particularly on the financial side), i'll feel better informed to make a more balanced evaluation on subsequent listens.
I absolutely understand that to a modern audience the approach you've taken regarding the drums may even make the overall sound more palatable, as that's what they're more used to, and long-in-the-tooth old timers like myself will likely always hanker for old-school methods as we're set in our ways and often curmudgeonly by nature. :)
I suppose it's a tightrope that bands of any vintage have to walk in order to please both their core & potential new audiences, that tricky question of balance between past & present, history & relevance. And the sure knowledge that regardless of what you do there'll be someone who finds fault with the approach you choose.
Sorry i was that guy on this occasion & my very best wishes to you & your band mates.
I cannot, I shall not, I will not obey.
Avenger wrote : I'm not a copyright office nor a judicial entity.
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Marlowe
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Re: NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

Post by Marlowe »

bigfootkit wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 3:17 am It's just a matter of taste, but personally i prefer the overall sound of those early recordings.
We have made something, especially for you then :D [just kidding]..
In parallel with "The Rebirth" which is old songs in somewhat 2022 disguise.. We have dug up some really really old recordings.. Actually recorded prior to the "Land of Northern" album. These findings will be released shortly... on cassette. Other media will follow.. some more info on the link below..

On one of the cassettes, you will find 5 songs, never released (widely). All songs were recorded between 1982-1983 and the rest of that tape is pre-production/demos for the Land of Northern album..

https://www.neptune.nu/news/neptune-leg ... the-north/
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Marlowe
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Re: NEPTUNE - The Rebirth [EP]

Post by Marlowe »

Marlowe wrote: Thu May 12, 2022 11:41 am
bigfootkit wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 3:17 am It's just a matter of taste, but personally i prefer the overall sound of those early recordings.
We have made something, especially for you then :D [just kidding]..
In parallel with "The Rebirth" which is old songs in somewhat 2022 disguise.. We have dug up some really really old recordings.. Actually recorded prior to the "Land of Northern" album. These findings will be released shortly... on cassette. Other media will follow.. some more info on the link below..

On one of the cassettes, you will find 5 songs, never released (widely). All songs were recorded between 1982-1983 and the rest of that tape is pre-production/demos for the Land of Northern album..

https://www.neptune.nu/news/neptune-leg ... the-north/


The box mentioned above is now officially released, more info in the link below...

https://www.jawbreaker.se/product/neptu ... sette-box/


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