Harp & drums collaboration

I much prefer this to the original. Amy's harp work always knocks me out. I thought the 2 instruments together were balanced and not "too" anything. There's a special something to Amy's and your collaborations Ben. She is such a sensitive player. It works well as an instrumental. The melody is so strong. I'm not a fan of Phils voice, so I liked it better. Nicely Done to everyone involved.
 
Love this Youtube comment, & couldn't agree more. I'm guessing it's a comment from a non drummer, which makes it even more gratifying.

"So so nice. (have been listening). And thank you as well to the Very professional and musical drummer who knows how to play WITH and not OVER his co-performer. Every strike was appropriate".


steadypocket said:
part of the impetus for doing this is to showcase the sound of these amazing drums.
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True Rich, but honestly, a much smaller part than usual in our sessions, & certainly a much smaller part than in typical drum videos. The whole approach to the sessions was quite different this time out - deliberately so. The emphasis was absolutely on the music, & simply letting the artists get on with doing their thing. Of course, there was a framework, but my input was fairly minimal.

larryace said:
I'm not a fan of Phils voice
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Got to admit Larry, nor am I, but I hugely admire him as a song writer / arranger, & musician.

Mad About Drums said:
brought tears to my eyes.
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Me too - the session was especially emotionally delightful.
 
I was touched. I don't get emotionally touched much these days but I was truly inspired. An honest and sincere performance. Bravo!
 
Push pull stroke said:
... just a little more raucous than was appropriate, given that you were accompanying a harp.
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I'll admit I thought so at first. There's a lot of sonic room around the two instruments and they both seemed so stark when I first heard it. So I listened again - really listened. And changed my mind. I didn't need a bass guitar, cello or Hammond B-3 to fill the spaces. The two instruments married perfectly.

At times Ben seemed a bit over the top, but then Amy had her moments too - it's live music (!!!), overall I wouldn't change a thing.

Bravo!! (one man standing ovation!)
 
bobdadruma said:
I was touched. I don't get emotionally touched much these days but I was truly inspired. An honest and sincere performance. Bravo!
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Wow - that's something Bob :)

Smoke said:
I'll admit I thought so at first. There's a lot of sonic room around the two instruments and they both seemed so stark when I first heard it. So I listened again - really listened. And changed my mind. I didn't need a bass guitar, cello or Hammond B-3 to fill the spaces. The two instruments married perfectly.

At times Ben seemed a bit over the top, but then Amy had her moments too - it's live music (!!!), overall I wouldn't change a thing.

Bravo!! (one man standing ovation!)
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Great evaluation. I think this was a rapid journey of realisation / adapt / adjust for all concerned. I know Pete Miles (producer) had his reservations before hearing the first run through, as did I. Never any doubt of the performance quality, because of those involved, but conceptualising how to capture / blend, such that the boxes were ticked, yet allowing the uniqueness of the approach to shine.
 
Finally got a chance to listen to it. Well done, Amy & Ben. A very nice rendition.

I don't know what sounded better, the song or dem drums. Oh, me.
 
Wow, that was really impressive, from all involved!

I also don't think the drums were too over the top either. In the original song the drums are surprisingly forward in the mix, even by today's standards.

This does make me wonder how a set of Guru concert toms would sound...
 
Amy and Ben aren't just people who play instruments, they are both high level musicians. There's a huge difference between the 2.

I'd marry Amy lol.
 
Thanks to everyone who's replied, and for the kind things you've said all round.

bobdadruma said:
I was touched. I don't get emotionally touched much these days but I was truly inspired. An honest and sincere performance. Bravo!
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There can be no higher praise than that. Thanks Bob.

Winston_Wolf said:
I also don't think the drums were too over the top either. In the original song the drums are surprisingly forward in the mix, even by today's standards.

This does make me wonder how a set of Guru concert toms would sound...
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I was wondering that too!

Yes, I should point out both to detractors and people praising my drumming choices that I was trying to emulate the original drum take pretty closely...I'm not normally one for transcribing parts but given that Amy is so fastidious with her arrangements, right down to the exact vocal phrasing and chord voicings, I thought I'd better step up to the mark and provide a good reproduction of what Phil played on the original.
He really lays into the hi-hat, for one thing, and those unusual one-handed tom fills with added crashes are something I would never have come up with on my own.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
This does make me wonder how a set of Guru concert toms would sound...
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Not going to happen. Not that I'm against concert toms - I like them for certain things - it's just that I don't believe our constructions would add significant sonic value compared to the cost. Shell excitement in concert toms is pretty much a non event. It really is all about the head choice, tuning, & the air column (sizing).

larryace said:
I'd marry Amy lol.
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But not Ben? Shame on you ;)

Midnite Zephyr said:
I don't know what sounded better, the song or dem drums. Oh, me.
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Oh, definitely the song / playing. Yes, super happy with how the drums sit with the harp, & beautifully played by Ben, but both Amy's performance & Pete's recording of the harp are absolutely sublime.
 
That was excellent, and sounded great together. I am living in the dark, having never heard of Amy but checked out many of her other videos. Something special about the harp. I think its important to push the envelope on conventions of what instruments 'go together'.
Nice atmosphere. Is all the lighting just from those standing lamps, or you have other lighting projected on the subject?
 
keep it simple said:
Not going to happen. Not that I'm against concert toms - I like them for certain things - it's just that I don't believe our constructions would add significant sonic value compared to the cost. Shell excitement in concert toms is pretty much a non event. It really is all about the head choice, tuning, & the air column (sizing).
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Andy, I think he was just joking because Phil Collins' love for concert toms.
(I happen to like them too, a little)
 
PQleyR said:
Hi everyone, got something interesting to share with you today. I'm aware this is potentially going to need moving to another subforum later but hopefully this is unusual enough to be of general interest for at least a short while.

Amy Turk - Against All Odds (feat. me)

You've probably seen me post things that my harpist sister Amy has done on here in the past, but while we've collaborated on lots of things in the past this is the first time we've played these two instruments together. We had the additional benefit of Pete Miles's engineering expertise, not to mention his extensive mic collection, so we got sounds out of the harp that we've never achieved before.
There was also the awesome live room at Middle Farm and of course the best drums in the world courtesy of Andy/Keep It Simple, so sonically we ended up with something quite exciting. Hope you enjoy it.
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Great job, Ben!

I subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel so I've already shared it on Facebook. I tagged Andy. If you're on FB and would like me to tag you, send me a PM.

Your collaboration was one of the things I was most looking forward to in the Honest Capture vids, and it didn't disappoint!
 
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