INTRODUCTION
OK so matching Super Freak was always going to be a big challenge for the team. Initially our thoughts were that this would be a difficult song to match but we could pull it off and it would be so much fun. By taking it on we have learnt a lot about the requirements and process involved with professional studio production. By partaking in a sound-a-like project we have had the chance to closely/critically analyse and learn a lot about Super Freak by Rick James. Besides trying to match the original as best we could in a short time this project has given us valuable studio experience. The opportunity to work with different microphones, recording techniques, outboard gear, patch bay operations, experimenting, learning the capabilities of analogue equipment, plugins and handy Pro Tools editing tricks.
MATCHING SUPERFREAK
*INSTRUMENTATION: When it came to matching the instrumentation we succeeded in finding every instrument used in the song. Another instrument we contemplated recording was guitar to play along and blend in with the bass line. When referencing back to the original we realised that regular guitar was layered over the bass guitar hook. Our biggest challenge however was matching the saxophone solo without having a willing saxophone player to record. Despite our efforts to replicate a real tenor sax with midi sounds envelope shaping and effects we became aware that certain instruments are impossible to replace artificially.
*PERFORMANCE: The performance is a very important aspect when doing a sound-a-like project. To try and recapture the energy and feel. I definitely noticed this when it came to recording the vocals and drums. Being the main vocalist and analysing the vocals for Super Freak I straight away noticed that Rick James has a strong operatic delivery and high vocal range. In fact his range is higher than what I am used to. A challenge to match. However by focusing more on the performance and energy of the vocals the range didn’t seem to be as bigger problem. Although not identical I feel we did well to capture a similar feel with the vocals. Perhaps adding female backing vocals in parts of the song would have been a good idea to further match the performance and feel of the original. When tracking the drums it was essential for our drummer to put a lot of feel in the performance. This was done extremely well. Same with the bass part being such a featured element of the song. There were several takes and full credit to our bass player for quickly learning rehearsing and performing the part with as much accuracy as possible in a short time.
*SONICS: Sonically our version differs from the original especially with the saxophone part which failed to sound authentic. The other instrument that was always going to be tricky to achieve an identical sound was the synth. We tried to slap a ghost like effect on the keys which I must say certainly helped. The difficultly we had was not having the Oberheim keyboard used in the original. This has a unique sound with unique settings only Rick James knows. We did however nail the placement and melody. It was recognisable and somewhat present in our version. Perhaps more presence and specification in this area could be the aim next time.
*EFFECTS: There were certainly unique effects and settings that Rick James used back in the days on his Oberheim OB Series keyboard, compressors, reverb and tape machines. Without any specific information on what was used and what parameters were set matching it was tricky and required experimentation, expert knowledge and advise from our supervisor as well as critical analysis from the team. I think we did well and there are definitely elements of our version that come close to the original and others that didn’t.
It is possible that a drum machine snare clap was triggered every time the real snare was hit in the original. To come up with this sound we recorded hand claps adding reverb giving them a similar tone and sustain as the original. Compared to the original our claps may have sounded thiner and more organic. To achieve this effect next time playing around with drum triggers, layering drum machine claps over the original snare and even trying to record and effect it through a tape machine or a tape machine plugin could be an option. In regards to the type and amount of reverb/delay used on the clap I think we did a great job. The effect used on the vocals was probably my favourite because it really did sound similar to the effects used on Rick James vocals. From memory the effects used on our sound a like were compression, reverb, delay, EQ, automation, beat detective and Melodyne.
*DISTORTION: One of the biggest challenges at the mixing stage was trying to give our bass line the same presence dominance and character as the original Super Freak bass line. We found that our bass sounded a bit too clean and added some distortion which helped us slightly along with adjusting EQ on the desk. I think we were right in choosing distortion. It’s very likely Rick James used it on his bass or on something to stop it sounding too clean.
*DYNAMICS: In regards to the dynamics of Super Freak there could have definitely been some improvements with our version. By playing back our mix and listening to it on other playback systems we could have had a better idea of levels and tweaked things accordingly. Particularly the backing vocals which stood back too much and could have done with a volume boost. I also noticed the same thing with the claps and bass line that didn’t sit in the same pocket as the original.
*VIBE: One technique that really helped us to capture a similar vibe was putting compression delay or reverb in the headphone mix while recording the vocals. This assisted in bringing out my confidence and ability to deliver a stronger vocal. Not sounding dry while trying to emulate the performance of Rick James. Another contribution to the vibe was the comfort of having mood lighting and clearly printed out lyrics. A good headphone mix with appropriate levels also helped. Encouragement and even recording with the original Rick James vocals in my headphones was also helpful to capture the vibe. besides adjustments to the mix needed here and there I found our attempt to remake this classic to be pretty good. I feel that despite what we missed we still managed to bring fourth an overall good vibe perhaps a bit closer than I thought we could have achieved with the limitations and time we had.
AUD210 GROUP 3 SUPER FREAK SOUNDALIKE PROJECT
ORIGINAL RICK JAMES-SUPER FREAK
REFERENCES
OB-6 – Dave Smith Instruments. (2016). Dave Smith Instruments. Retrieved 13 April 2016, from http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/product/ob-6/
rick james super freak – Google Search. (2016). Google.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2016, from https://www.google.com.au/search?
AUSTRAJAM PRODUCTIONS 2016
AustraJam Productions 