So I agreed many months ago to record a version of Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe In Anything” for my friends Alex and Laurenn’s wedding. They wanted to have their first dance to it, but the original is way too fast and indie rawk to slow dance to.
I’ve put together a massive orchestral version that has taken a very long time to put together. I arranged the song with a Brian Eno-style piano, pizzicato strings, bowed bass, a Moog, a Hammond Organ, a horn and woodwind section, plus loud distorted guitar. Tonight, I had Kiva Singh and Thom Chrastka and his lovely new lady friend Rosalie (I think that’s the right spelling) come by and record backup vocals, layers and layers of ’em.
All told, there’s something like fifty audio tracks in Reason (or will be, once I’ve got the drums separated to be mixed individually) plus three submixes (instruments, guitars and backup vocals) and a reverb track. It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever done musically, incredibly hard to mix (trying to harmoniously blend 50 audio tracks is like herding cattle) and it sounds exceedingly lovely. The background vocals are awesome; it sounds not so much like a choir but maybe a high school gym full of people singing the song.
If Alex and Laurenn are okay with it, I’ll post it sometime after the wedding (which is on Saturday) so you can hear it. I’m monstrously proud of it.
Now, back to mixing.
That song hit weird emotional strings in me when I had it on heavy rotation for over a month, recently.
I would love to hear what you’ve done with it.
Congratulations to Alex and the Lovely Laurenn! You guys are the Coolest Couple Ever. Now, buy a lot of Pampers at Costco right now, because I have a weird feeling that you’re gonna be an exceptionally fertile coupe to boot!