I was the guitarist on that album the noises were me... I used a cello guitar and walked backwards and forwards from the monitors to create all the long notes (and other noises). Thats what I'm good at.. Spike was given the full backing track... I know I was at the mixing stage in the studio, same with the whole album.
By an odd coincidence, I was present in the studio of our local campus radio station during their final broadcast in 1998. They were doing a listener-voted countdown of "Best songs of all time", were about to cue up the #1 which would be their last ever song and I distinctly remember the announcer saying (off air) "It's Teardrop", and everyone just sort of nodding like of course it is
It's not though. Protection is their best tune as well as the best video. Or Safe from Harm. Or gosh, Inertia Creeps? I'm a long-time Cocteau fan but I wouldn't put Teardrop in MA's top five, or Frasier's top 10.
@@lqr824 do you understand subjectivity? I'm asking. It's okay for folks to like different things. That's diversity. When we think something is better it doesn't make the first thing worse. It's just different. We can't really say others choices are wrong.
@@w_ll__4824 You said it especially in relation to a 1990s raised group of college goers at a surreal last broadcast in a dying stations last heartbeats were sonically relatable as such. You hear "[etc etc] after all, It's the 90s" as a common term that they would have understood. if you weren't there f you're antisocial masterclass of professional MA fandom and thx for sharing that great story "everyone nodded of course it is", incredibly relatable comment and factually accurate historic event from an eye/ear witness, easily in the top
A lot of noises on mezzanine may have come from Mark Stent who had a sample library from the sessions of Depeche Modes songs of faith and devotion. The album is full of drums, snares, noises and textures from that album.
@@GyuBeats mark Stent was the mixer on both albums. There's probably a lot of guitar scapes and textures processed with a system 100. Most of it happy accidents and probably impossible to recreate.
absolutely phenomenal song from a fantastic album. Mezzanine came out the same day as Music Has the Right to Children by Boards of Canada. Both amazing albums.
I actually thought boards was too mainstream for me, then i found out i was being a hipster. now i just hate the haters. thx for reminding me of Boards :)
I worked in the Music shop Music Connections just round the corner from Christchurch studio in Bristol when this was being made. Neil Davidge did an amazing job producing it but there were so many people involved from the Bristol music scene at the time which was just thriving, and I was lucky to witness some of it happening. We even got a shout out on the album cover
Very sorry, I had to pause the video and listen to the whole song because my brain couldn't handle only hearing snippets of this masterpiece. Great job as always
I first found you today via your Aphex Twin video and now this. I got to say I absolutely love your taste and content. Creators like you are why I love RUclips.
So nice for you to comment on here! Thank you, I learned so much from your video, not least the actual chords. I thought I had figured them out but I was just playing 5ths, finding the correct ones meant a lot to me
their bass sound is much larger, thicker and noisier. Like they somehow managed to make low end rumble from samples work in the track where a lot of producers would filter it out. Like its this massive compressed slab of warm sound everything floats on. Their sound is just incredible.
they EQ'd so much bass into their mixes; more than you would conventionally these days. the amount of speakers that rattled when "Angel" came on in the 90's...but they were Pro Tools pioneers... way ahead of the game, so nobody could tell them otherwise @jasonchambers6787
@angelobruschini4899 Love your comments Angelo, I remember seeing your live guitar rig in a magazine with the gorgeous PRS you had and the story behind it. Although your time on this earth came to and end the music you helped create will last forever...Rest In Peace
One of my all-time favorite songs, ever since I first heard it in the 90's. As an amateur producer, studying how my favorite songs were composed truly helps me understand how to achieve what I want to in my own music; thank you truly for this video. 👏🏾
Hi, Newton Faulkner did a (very good) cover of this, and the lyric you are stuck on says (on his version) 'You're stumbling in the dark' - another great video - thank you!!
Another great job, I learn so much from these. I know you run into occasional trouble with RUclips re copyright (which is nonsense - but what can you do), but PLEASE don't stop doing what you do, it's so instructional and inspiring. Understanding in detail how these pieces are constructed actually makes them MORE magical!
Such a seminal track. A person's absolute favourite song/track usually has a lot of meaning to them, and it's obvious from your mannerisms and expressions throughout this video that Teardrop has a lot of meaning to you. Fantastic work, Guy!
Absolutely loved this. Took me right back to uni days and hearing it for the first time. Regarding that sound effect at the start. To me it sounds like plugging my guitar in at the body when I've forgotten to mute the amp. The jack going in suddenly vibrating the strings on an open tuning and getting connected to the amp, has a spring reverb quality to it too. Probably barking up the wrong tree, but it's what it makes me think of.
After reading your comment, I now hear guitars being plugged into amps as well. You might be onto something. If not the exact sound then at least something very close.
@@obbekjaer Yeah. It's a sound that feels familiar from the practice room. Big amp with the spring reverb dialled up, and when you push the jack home the click translates into the strings. Although this sounds more "tuned" then the fourths of the strings. Either an open tuning or it's been pitch quantized or something. Or maybe I'm just bonkers, however if anyone tries it, I take no responsibility for blown cabs when plugging into high gain equipment un-muted. I only know that sound because I'm a total muppet. 😆
@@GyuBeats good luck with the search! Also wanted to say these deep dives you've been doing have been so valuable. I've been bringing some of the techniques into my own mixes. I'm just starting out with production but these videos are great for my learning. Really appreciate it.
Well this was unexpected. I fully expected someone to be working entirely in the box rebuilding the track with soft synths and all sorts of stuff which in my mind were probably massively untrue to the original. However here I am, welling up with emotion at a track Ive not given the airtime in a fair few years, beautifully broken down by someone that the music clearly touched. Fantastic. Looking forward to digging deeper into the channel.
@@GyuBeats Yeh for demonstration purposes, I get it. I just presume a lot more was done with hardware back in the day and it would be great (but expensive) to see a faithful reproduction with original equipment. At least you recognise this and explain to the viewer. Other videos of this type just seem to give the illusion that everything was done in a DAW which usually is far from the truth. Keep up the good work :)
As I recall, Massive Attack purposely did not publish or explain the lyrics from this album, there was nothing in the CD or Tape cover, because it was all about how it felt, not the meaning, and it has never been officially published, so all written lyrics are, in fact, taken by ear. That might be BS, because I’m using memory here, but that is what I recall.
I've always completely misunderstood the lyrics for Teardrop! "Fearless are my prey" for example! Just shows we don't always associate a great song with lyrics, more the emotion and atmosphere. Mezzanine is such an incredible album. That scene emerging from Bristol around that time (including Portishead) was just amazing.
I love the details you put into this video. Digging deep on the song's composition, what you could find and couldn't and also putting in your own experience and connection with the song.
Top job as per usual. Massive one of my all time faves, seen them live on numerous occasions. When you say your song is lacking something, to my ears it just sound like your track has more high frequency. The massive song has very little high freq and is quite a dark/duller mix compared to other mezzanine tracks. If you take down the volume of your hats and roll off some of the highs on the harpsichord etc it will sound instantly the same 👍
Great video - AGAIN! Really appreciating these, particularly given the FSOL challenges…. Those 12 bar sections are interesting and your friend’s daughter has a great voice!
Another stunning video. I bought the album on day one and Teardrop still stops me in my tracks. Until now I had no idea what the lyrics were so thanks for that. I’d love to know what the artists think of your efforts and would like to see you and them together on a video. Huge respect to you man.
Back in 2003/4 I was studying music tech in Bristol and one of my tutors was a contemporary of Massive Attack from the local scene; somehow he had all the stems to Teardrop and set us the task of remixing it. I've still got the stems on a CD somewhere (but with no CD drive to open it)... though I'm pretty sure they're floating around online somewhere these days anyway!
I love music that trips up the mind. Alot of dub artists drop several bars of say kick or bass then drop them back in just when you aren't expecting even halfway through a pattern. Oddly your mind starts to fill the gaps and sometimes both your mind and the track add to each other. The last thing I want is to know what's coming. It's a mysterious journey that pulls me along always... stumbling in the dark.
Always been my favorite ever tune. It is everything that music should be and should achieve in the listener. Absolute perfection from Massive Attack! Amazing to see it broken down like this.
Thanks for doing this. This track is absolutely spellbinding. Beautiful in its simplicity and utterly captivating. That vocal is glorious. Another Massive Attack song I’d love to see deconstructed is Paradise Circus. Another incredible vocal over one the the most moving and yet seductive tracks I’ve ever heard. The final crescendo is mind blowing.
Jon hopkins is a master of this “don’t know where we are” feeling. He never follows any regular pattern and that makes his songs so engrossing. Coz every moment has its own unique feel
Thank Christ Madonna didnt get near it - this was around the same time she was trying to recruit Aphex twin and he flat told her to piss off - trying to attach herself to the latest trend - There is no way this song would have the same reverence or gravity that it has, and has had with Madonna singing - massive bullet dodge imo - it would have been a sacrilege - You, on the other hand, have done an amazing job recreating it mate - fantastic - and probably with a professional mix and master engineer it would be a solid updated and modernised arrangement - I can hear it and would definately like to listen to it
@@w_ll__4824 Well its more of an educated guess than an assumption but still only an opinion so definately up for debate - I think Madonna would have popified the tune - its not a pop tune and shouldnt be in that format and I dont think it would have lasted or been as memorable if it had taken that path and form - I could be wrong of course but thats the joy of it isnt it ?
Fabulous breakdown to a wonderful song. Oddly, I remember Coronation Street using this back in 2001 as the outro to a storyline when Sarah Platt was being groomed. Very powerful.
This comments section has late 90's early '00's rave scene message board vibes. I love it! Mezzanine is literally the internet's official best sexitime album of all time! Lovely breakdown, there are so many key elements that come together and any one missing is so noticeable. Couldn't help recalling the haze of red wine and fine cannabis, between the sheets with the most beautiful woman in the world, cosmic divine union best sex ever stylee with this album blasting. Really takes me back, and reminds me to be making this kind of music, rather than reminiscing. Subbed, niceone bruvvah! Keep up the fantastic work. You teleported me to the happiest moments of my life while simultaneously inspiring me to get on the ball.
If even an English native speaker has problems to understand the lyrics, then I can "die relieved" - ex-German here. And finally I know what this song was, they never say it when they play it on radio etc ... so, thanks in a multiple way!
Great video. Just one thought - The original is also much more mono. Specially the beat. Makes it sometimes like more impactful and makes the wide landscape more audible.
I haven't listened to the original really closely, but the piano sounds to me like it is playing only octaves in the low end, not chords as in your version. Good job though, you're a man after my own heart. I love to pay almost obsessive attention to detail to my backing tracks! 😊
Beautiful stuff, you are very talented. Love learning to appreciate classics all over again but in more depth. I hope you can get round to doing analogue bubblebath in the future, I'd love to see it through your interpretation. Keep doing what you do.
Every track you deconstruct just happen to be one of my all time favorites. You do such a great job man. Really nice to hear your track as well, beautiful. Damn shame you lost the project. oh well, shit happens hehe. Maybe it was the Universe telling you it is done. Anyway fantastic job all round as ever. Turns out I had most of the lyrics right, apart from the stumbling bit. I had that as "it's totally internal" lol. Anyway, have a good one and again thanks for doing these, they are so fun.
Brilliant video (as are your other breakdowns). I have a mega flex for this (apologies in advance!!), but I think you would be interested so forgive me - which is I bought a JV1080 off the lovely Neil Davidge a few years ago, which he said he was a bit sad to let go as it had sentimental value...because he said it was the source of the harpsichord sound when they recorded Teardrop. Among some other sounds apparently. So if he wasn't trying to just get a quick sale...it's the actual one. Now while this is insanely cool and significant to me to have the actual unit used, it is also a terrifying object to own as I will never in a billion years write anything nearly as good with it.
@@GyuBeats Thanks!! Currently reverently dusting it of course, but I will be doing something with it when I have my studio build done, as it'll be part of the hardware corner - especially since it's really a pretty deep synth engine, and you can get Patch Base to edit it with these days. When I bought it Neil didn't mention whether there were any expansion cards in it, so I was a bit surprised to pop the hood and discover four cards in there!! I need to go through the entire preset bank and see if I can find the exact sounds used, I seem to recall there were sounds at the end of the tune from the 1080 too. Now's the time to buy 90's romplers as they aren't vintage analogue synths, I reckon their time is coming, as people cotton that they're amazing/quirky weird synths just like any other and they go up in value...
Dam, just found your channel and we have very similar music tastes ... from Ray Keith, to inner city .. and now this. I use this song (among a few others) to tune speakers or rooms or what ever I happen to need to get sounding right at the time. The high end on this with them harpsichord strings and that that crackle is something else .. sends shivers every time when it sounds how it should. I put it on in the background when I was having some cuddle time with my ex, (it was the first time she came over mine), and she stopped randomly and was like "Is it raining outside WTF?!" (as it was in the middle of summer), but it was the sizzling crackle from this track played out of my studio monitors in my room lol. It really fills the air with an atmosphere this track, It never gets old either. You did a fantastic Job recreating it btw, especially the drums and low end, that's almost identical, other than some dark arts mixing magic as you describe. ;) Have you heard the Remastered version? It's really nice when the song gets going, but doesn't have the same impact when it initially builds imho. I'm currently trying to recreate Cutslo by Ed Rush, Opticle and Fierce. I wanted to do my rendition rather than a faithful reproduction. It started as I accidentally made one of the bass sounds from it and got super hyped xD. Not sure if I'll finish it though as I need to be focusing on my own music really haha. Not sure I could get the last distorted reeseish bass anywhere near right, so probably wont try lol. It's fun to mess about with however. You can learn so much from doing exercises like this.
This was a Joy to watch, the track is a all time favorite for me that i awlays circle bac to. I learned a bunch from your video! Thanks for the indepth video!
The intro sound you were unsure of is a drop-tuned guitar with a Ennio Morrocone-like efx tone (think Spaghetti Western). Considering how they put the album together, it could’ve either have been a record sample (they were major sample choppers), or even a uncredited guitar performance by Portishead’s Adrian Utely (they were all from the Bristol music scene). Also, for years I thought the “fearless on my breath” sounded like “feels like someone praying”.
Much love. Great Tutorial. I found it was important to stick to original sample for the crackle and shower it with compressors and warming saturators to get the drums near to where they got it. Always tried to achieve this kind of crisp and clean whopping sound. Thanks for the video!!
The stems for Teardrop were out there at some point. I have them somewhere along with a few of their tracks, It was a remix competition or something official.
Amazing breakdown of one of my favorite songs of all time, this way one could appreciate even more all the work that goes into such a beautiful track, also the influence that you could just gain by trying to get close as much as possible to a masterpiece, it's a very fun and didactic experience! Thanks for this amazing video
I only just came across this video and it turns out you have went through the EXACT same process in trying to recreate this song! I learned the chords through Ixi, used who sampled, and even read the exact same article about the creation of the track! It truly is one of the very best tracks ever written and I too get shivers EVERY time inlisten to it, like it's my very first time hearing it 😀
I read that Neil was waiting for the guys in the studio and he was tinkering around on a piano playing the harpsichord part. They heard it and put it down
God I love this song. I love the tension building in it towards the breakdown. I can't imagine what it would have been like if Madonna had provided the vocals instead of Elisabeth Frazer. If you are interested in the vocal aspects check out Beth Roars analysis of the same track, she is awesome!
I love your version, because the original used a lot of slowed down samples, treated with chorus and reverb to be passable, by my ear, so even a modern remaster still sounds a bit muddy because you can’t add extra detail, but yours sounds clear as day. Lovely.
5:27 my goto for this sort of thing is the start of novocaine for the soul by the eels. the 50s style peppy loop at the start, then introduce some lullaby-like simple keys (also looping), and then the heavy foreboding strings come in. It totally changes the feel with each stepwise introduction. Obviously plays with those elements for the rest of the song too, but just that little 20 second intro is so succinct.
Ha yeaH nice reverseEngineering! Someday, when ‘Momentum (dubstep mix)’ is a classic, someone is going to try and figure out how you made it- just love that tune, thanks for the vibes!
You know what, I feel like 'Dissolved Girl' is the track in which I can FEEL the group's tension the most. There is an unusual push pull effect in that track, as if I can feel Mushroom fighting with Del Naja and Daddy G. All the influences are in that track and it creates an unusual piece of art. Especially that middle act..it's so weird and then it becomes dubby
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
I was the guitarist on that album the noises were me... I used a cello guitar and walked backwards and forwards from the monitors to create all the long notes (and other noises). Thats what I'm good at.. Spike was given the full backing track... I know I was at the mixing stage in the studio, same with the whole album.
Yo Angelo! How are you doing?
How awesome ✊ Much respect and thanks for you contribution to such a memorable/magical recording 🙏
Wow man, what a claim to fame! :) Props! #iconic
@@andytuke8986 Hi Andy yes fine, bit old but fine, How are you?
OMG I missed this! That's fascinating! Thanks so much for commenting. Massive respect for your contribution to this amazing track (and album)
Mezzanine is Massive Attack's masterpiece. Up there with Portishead's self-titled and Recoil's Liquid. Absolutely sublime.
By an odd coincidence, I was present in the studio of our local campus radio station during their final broadcast in 1998. They were doing a listener-voted countdown of "Best songs of all time", were about to cue up the #1 which would be their last ever song and I distinctly remember the announcer saying (off air) "It's Teardrop", and everyone just sort of nodding like of course it is
Nice :)
It's not though. Protection is their best tune as well as the best video. Or Safe from Harm. Or gosh, Inertia Creeps? I'm a long-time Cocteau fan but I wouldn't put Teardrop in MA's top five, or Frasier's top 10.
@@lqr824 do you understand subjectivity? I'm asking. It's okay for folks to like different things. That's diversity. When we think something is better it doesn't make the first thing worse. It's just different. We can't really say others choices are wrong.
@@w_ll__4824 You said it especially in relation to a 1990s raised group of college goers at a surreal last broadcast in a dying stations last heartbeats were sonically relatable as such. You hear "[etc etc] after all, It's the 90s" as a common term that they would have understood. if you weren't there f you're antisocial masterclass of professional MA fandom and thx for sharing that great story "everyone nodded of course it is", incredibly relatable comment and factually accurate historic event from an eye/ear witness, easily in the top
A lot of noises on mezzanine may have come from Mark Stent who had a sample library from the sessions of Depeche Modes songs of faith and devotion. The album is full of drums, snares, noises and textures from that album.
yup yup!!
i has snare from when the levee breaks in Man Next Door, that has been also used in Never let me down again
Oh wow
Ah great knowledge! Thanks so much for sharing!
I don’t feel bad over reusing my Vengeance Essential house pack now ;)
@@GyuBeats mark Stent was the mixer on both albums. There's probably a lot of guitar scapes and textures processed with a system 100. Most of it happy accidents and probably impossible to recreate.
absolutely phenomenal song from a fantastic album. Mezzanine came out the same day as Music Has the Right to Children by Boards of Canada. Both amazing albums.
Ah I didn't realise that! Yeah definitely!
I actually thought boards was too mainstream for me, then i found out i was being a hipster. now i just hate the haters. thx for reminding me of Boards :)
Please keep going with this series these are so amazing. I'm not even a producer but I could watch these all day.
Ah thank you! these vids mainly get shown to producers but I like to think they're interesting for people who just dig the music
I worked in the Music shop Music Connections just round the corner from Christchurch studio in Bristol when this was being made. Neil Davidge did an amazing job producing it but there were so many people involved from the Bristol music scene at the time which was just thriving, and I was lucky to witness some of it happening. We even got a shout out on the album cover
Amazing!
This was Mushroom's track until the whole Madonna fiasco.
Hey Andy, been a while! Rob from "the shop across the road". Hope all is well.
@@bobeschism9426 Rob! How are you doing!!!
@@andytuke8986 Hanging in there! We should catch up sometime
Very sorry, I had to pause the video and listen to the whole song because my brain couldn't handle only hearing snippets of this masterpiece. Great job as always
Fair play!!!
I first found you today via your Aphex Twin video and now this. I got to say I absolutely love your taste and content. Creators like you are why I love RUclips.
Wow, thank you! :)
Ah thank you so much for the shout out, Gyu! Awesome breakdown - I can tell you love this track as I do. 🖤
So nice for you to comment on here! Thank you, I learned so much from your video, not least the actual chords. I thought I had figured them out but I was just playing 5ths, finding the correct ones meant a lot to me
the "understated bass" was a crucial part of the sound of trip hop
I'm so fortunate to have this song tied to an amazing time of my life, and not just the intro to HOUSE MD.
Absolutely love this tune. I remember blasting this out on my JBL control 5’s in my tiny halls room at uni. Around 2002.
their bass sound is much larger, thicker and noisier. Like they somehow managed to make low end rumble from samples work in the track where a lot of producers would filter it out. Like its this massive compressed slab of warm sound everything floats on. Their sound is just incredible.
I think their bass got an octaver on it.
I agree!
@@lamarthe_headcrab7687 The piano doubles the bass with octaves.
they EQ'd so much bass into their mixes; more than you would conventionally these days. the amount of speakers that rattled when "Angel" came on in the 90's...but they were Pro Tools pioneers... way ahead of the game, so nobody could tell them otherwise @jasonchambers6787
@angelobruschini4899 Love your comments Angelo, I remember seeing your live guitar rig in a magazine with the gorgeous PRS you had and the story behind it. Although your time on this earth came to and end the music you helped create will last forever...Rest In Peace
One of my all-time favorite songs, ever since I first heard it in the 90's. As an amateur producer, studying how my favorite songs were composed truly helps me understand how to achieve what I want to in my own music; thank you truly for this video. 👏🏾
I heard that first line as "love, love isn't fair". Great video as ever!
Yeah that's a good one!
Gyu, you are an absolute star. Thank you once again for your terrific breakdown. First rate YT content.
Ah thanks so much!
Hi, Newton Faulkner did a (very good) cover of this, and the lyric you are stuck on says (on his version) 'You're stumbling in the dark' - another great video - thank you!!
Another great job, I learn so much from these. I know you run into occasional trouble with RUclips re copyright (which is nonsense - but what can you do), but PLEASE don't stop doing what you do, it's so instructional and inspiring. Understanding in detail how these pieces are constructed actually makes them MORE magical!
Ah thank you!! Glad you think so - I agree :)
Another fantastic video and song breakdown. Love your choices of tracks to recreate. That end lyric is "you're stumbling in the dark".
Thanks :) Ah yes! Some of the lyrics I found were wrong but I did find more accurate ones after finishing recording.
As an electronic music lover who has no idea about production techniques I find your videos fascinating.
Ah thanks! Nice to hear that :)
Such a seminal track. A person's absolute favourite song/track usually has a lot of meaning to them, and it's obvious from your mannerisms and expressions throughout this video that Teardrop has a lot of meaning to you. Fantastic work, Guy!
Ah thanks Chris - it's really true
Mezzanine was such a jewel in their catalogue. Horace's Man Next Door is sublime.
Yeah man :)
That's a Daddy G production that one. I agree it's sublime and underrated
Absolutely loved this. Took me right back to uni days and hearing it for the first time. Regarding that sound effect at the start. To me it sounds like plugging my guitar in at the body when I've forgotten to mute the amp. The jack going in suddenly vibrating the strings on an open tuning and getting connected to the amp, has a spring reverb quality to it too. Probably barking up the wrong tree, but it's what it makes me think of.
After reading your comment, I now hear guitars being plugged into amps as well. You might be onto something. If not the exact sound then at least something very close.
@@obbekjaer Yeah. It's a sound that feels familiar from the practice room. Big amp with the spring reverb dialled up, and when you push the jack home the click translates into the strings. Although this sounds more "tuned" then the fourths of the strings. Either an open tuning or it's been pitch quantized or something. Or maybe I'm just bonkers, however if anyone tries it, I take no responsibility for blown cabs when plugging into high gain equipment un-muted. I only know that sound because I'm a total muppet. 😆
Yeah i agree, i was thinking the same too..
Yeah that's a great thought - it very much could be that
@@GyuBeats good luck with the search! Also wanted to say these deep dives you've been doing have been so valuable. I've been bringing some of the techniques into my own mixes. I'm just starting out with production but these videos are great for my learning. Really appreciate it.
Well this was unexpected.
I fully expected someone to be working entirely in the box rebuilding the track with soft synths and all sorts of stuff which in my mind were probably massively untrue to the original. However here I am, welling up with emotion at a track Ive not given the airtime in a fair few years, beautifully broken down by someone that the music clearly touched. Fantastic. Looking forward to digging deeper into the channel.
Ah thank you! I mean, I kind of did do that but I'm glad you liked it :)
@@GyuBeats Yeh for demonstration purposes, I get it. I just presume a lot more was done with hardware back in the day and it would be great (but expensive) to see a faithful reproduction with original equipment. At least you recognise this and explain to the viewer. Other videos of this type just seem to give the illusion that everything was done in a DAW which usually is far from the truth. Keep up the good work :)
@@aeronheavyindustries4287 Yeah I'd love to be able to do a more faithful recreation. Thanks :)
As I recall, Massive Attack purposely did not publish or explain the lyrics from this album, there was nothing in the CD or Tape cover, because it was all about how it felt, not the meaning, and it has never been officially published, so all written lyrics are, in fact, taken by ear. That might be BS, because I’m using memory here, but that is what I recall.
Ah that's cool!
Liz Fraser was famous for that (Glossolalia) in Cocteau Twins. Many of the words are probably made up.
Your videos are so good and nostalgic for me. Please keep doing these. I’m loving them. Thank you good sir
Ok! Thank you!
I've always completely misunderstood the lyrics for Teardrop! "Fearless are my prey" for example! Just shows we don't always associate a great song with lyrics, more the emotion and atmosphere. Mezzanine is such an incredible album. That scene emerging from Bristol around that time (including Portishead) was just amazing.
Ha ha. For 20 years I’ve been thinking it was “Fearless summer. Pray”. 😂
I love the details you put into this video. Digging deep on the song's composition, what you could find and couldn't and also putting in your own experience and connection with the song.
I always heard the lyric as "Feathers on my breath".
It would be so interesting to get the feedback from the artist on how they did the piece.
That was really good - thanks! It's amazing the job Massive Attack did on the mix to get even more energy into it.
Yep
"sigh , what is she saying !!"
That my friend, is Liz Fraser all over...., don't try and find out , just embrace the vocal of anything she sings
Yep
This song is absolute magic
Yep :)
This is the first video I've seen by you and I subscribed almost instantly.
Nice one!
They do the same unpredictable thing with the claps in paradise circus- I live for it.
Top job as per usual. Massive one of my all time faves, seen them live on numerous occasions. When you say your song is lacking something, to my ears it just sound like your track has more high frequency. The massive song has very little high freq and is quite a dark/duller mix compared to other mezzanine tracks. If you take down the volume of your hats and roll off some of the highs on the harpsichord etc it will sound instantly the same 👍
Yeah I think you're right :)
The "magical" part is... the crowds, the people, the time and the experience!
Great video - AGAIN! Really appreciating these, particularly given the FSOL challenges…. Those 12 bar sections are interesting and your friend’s daughter has a great voice!
Ah thanks! Yes she does doesn't she :)
Another stunning video. I bought the album on day one and Teardrop still stops me in my tracks. Until now I had no idea what the lyrics were so thanks for that. I’d love to know what the artists think of your efforts and would like to see you and them together on a video. Huge respect to you man.
thank you! Yeah that's my dream really
Back in 2003/4 I was studying music tech in Bristol and one of my tutors was a contemporary of Massive Attack from the local scene; somehow he had all the stems to Teardrop and set us the task of remixing it. I've still got the stems on a CD somewhere (but with no CD drive to open it)... though I'm pretty sure they're floating around online somewhere these days anyway!
Yeah you can find the story of how they got leaked in the comments here. I was in Bristol then, did you go to many free parties?
I love music that trips up the mind. Alot of dub artists drop several bars of say kick or bass then drop them back in just when you aren't expecting even halfway through a pattern. Oddly your mind starts to fill the gaps and sometimes both your mind and the track add to each other. The last thing I want is to know what's coming. It's a mysterious journey that pulls me along always... stumbling in the dark.
Great vid as usual. Do you fancy having a bash at some Underworld.... 8 Ball maybe?
As it's my fav Underworld track I'll be attempting it soon - it'll be a toughie though - I'll have to get my guitar out...
Always been my favorite ever tune. It is everything that music should be and should achieve in the listener. Absolute perfection from Massive Attack! Amazing to see it broken down like this.
❤️❤️❤️
Amazing job of recreating this!
I'm sort of creeped out by how you keep making videos about some of the most iconic songs in my mind's musical library, but keep it up!
Hehehe Great minds and all that :D
Thanks for doing this. This track is absolutely spellbinding. Beautiful in its simplicity and utterly captivating. That vocal is glorious. Another Massive Attack song I’d love to see deconstructed is Paradise Circus. Another incredible vocal over one the the most moving and yet seductive tracks I’ve ever heard. The final crescendo is mind blowing.
Absolutely fantastic. Wowza and the guitarist even commented. Unbelievable.
Thank you!
Your smile at the beginning of this is so heartwarming. Way to feel the music!
Jon hopkins is a master of this “don’t know where we are” feeling. He never follows any regular pattern and that makes his songs so engrossing. Coz every moment has its own unique feel
Thank Christ Madonna didnt get near it - this was around the same time she was trying to recruit Aphex twin and he flat told her to piss off - trying to attach herself to the latest trend - There is no way this song would have the same reverence or gravity that it has, and has had with Madonna singing - massive bullet dodge imo - it would have been a sacrilege - You, on the other hand, have done an amazing job recreating it mate - fantastic - and probably with a professional mix and master engineer it would be a solid updated and modernised arrangement - I can hear it and would definately like to listen to it
Ah thanks for the kind words!
Well never know and can only assume. So let's not. We have what we have.
@@w_ll__4824 Well its more of an educated guess than an assumption but still only an opinion so definately up for debate - I think Madonna would have popified the tune - its not a pop tune and shouldnt be in that format and I dont think it would have lasted or been as memorable if it had taken that path and form - I could be wrong of course but thats the joy of it isnt it ?
Fabulous breakdown to a wonderful song. Oddly, I remember Coronation Street using this back in 2001 as the outro to a storyline when Sarah Platt was being groomed. Very powerful.
This comments section has late 90's early '00's rave scene message board vibes. I love it!
Mezzanine is literally the internet's official best sexitime album of all time!
Lovely breakdown, there are so many key elements that come together and any one missing is so noticeable. Couldn't help recalling the haze of red wine and fine cannabis, between the sheets with the most beautiful woman in the world, cosmic divine union best sex ever stylee with this album blasting. Really takes me back, and reminds me to be making this kind of music, rather than reminiscing. Subbed, niceone bruvvah! Keep up the fantastic work. You teleported me to the happiest moments of my life while simultaneously inspiring me to get on the ball.
Great! :D
Portishead as next please.
This will be a challenge for you! 🙂
goosebumps everytime..?? well who doesn't??..
Perfect analysis of a mega super chill song of Massive Attack’s teardrop song & I do have the song in my collection! 🎵🔊🎵🔊
If even an English native speaker has problems to understand the lyrics, then I can "die relieved" - ex-German here. And finally I know what this song was, they never say it when they play it on radio etc ... so, thanks in a multiple way!
Liz Fraser was famous for singing gibberish in Cocteau Twins (Glossolalia is the technical term). Maybe she did that here too.
I would be happy just getting that beep to sound the same! Excellent job mate 👍😎👏
Hehe Cheers :)
Whoah! So glad you did this. Subscribed now. R.I.P. Angelo.
Love this. Such an amazing track thanks for showing how it’s made
Thanks!
Great video. Just one thought - The original is also much more mono. Specially the beat. Makes it sometimes like more impactful and makes the wide landscape more audible.
I haven't listened to the original really closely, but the piano sounds to me like it is playing only octaves in the low end, not chords as in your version. Good job though, you're a man after my own heart. I love to pay almost obsessive attention to detail to my backing tracks! 😊
Yeah you might well be right - I didn't really have time to get the piano at close as I possibly could have (that's my excuse anyway)
Beautiful stuff, you are very talented. Love learning to appreciate classics all over again but in more depth.
I hope you can get round to doing analogue bubblebath in the future, I'd love to see it through your interpretation. Keep doing what you do.
Between this video and Ixi's I've learned so much about this entrancing song. So simple in many ways yet so deep in others.
Always look forward to these!!
Big up!
Every track you deconstruct just happen to be one of my all time favorites. You do such a great job man. Really nice to hear your track as well, beautiful. Damn shame you lost the project. oh well, shit happens hehe. Maybe it was the Universe telling you it is done. Anyway fantastic job all round as ever. Turns out I had most of the lyrics right, apart from the stumbling bit. I had that as "it's totally internal" lol. Anyway, have a good one and again thanks for doing these, they are so fun.
Thank you! "it's totally internal" works really well tbh :)
Brilliant video (as are your other breakdowns). I have a mega flex for this (apologies in advance!!), but I think you would be interested so forgive me - which is I bought a JV1080 off the lovely Neil Davidge a few years ago, which he said he was a bit sad to let go as it had sentimental value...because he said it was the source of the harpsichord sound when they recorded Teardrop. Among some other sounds apparently. So if he wasn't trying to just get a quick sale...it's the actual one. Now while this is insanely cool and significant to me to have the actual unit used, it is also a terrifying object to own as I will never in a billion years write anything nearly as good with it.
OMG!! A: I'm a big fan of yours 🙂B: that's so cool! Do you use it or just dust it reverently? And 3: thanks for the kind words! You've made my day 😀
@@GyuBeats Thanks!! Currently reverently dusting it of course, but I will be doing something with it when I have my studio build done, as it'll be part of the hardware corner - especially since it's really a pretty deep synth engine, and you can get Patch Base to edit it with these days. When I bought it Neil didn't mention whether there were any expansion cards in it, so I was a bit surprised to pop the hood and discover four cards in there!! I need to go through the entire preset bank and see if I can find the exact sounds used, I seem to recall there were sounds at the end of the tune from the 1080 too. Now's the time to buy 90's romplers as they aren't vintage analogue synths, I reckon their time is coming, as people cotton that they're amazing/quirky weird synths just like any other and they go up in value...
@@mylarmelodies I love the 1080. Solid kit. 4 cards hold epic promise.
Great look at this cool composition, and your video editing made it easy to listen to your comments, but also focus on the music tracks. Loved it!
Massive Attack = God Mode!🙏
Superb break down..👏👏
Why thank you!!!
Dam, just found your channel and we have very similar music tastes ... from Ray Keith, to inner city .. and now this. I use this song (among a few others) to tune speakers or rooms or what ever I happen to need to get sounding right at the time. The high end on this with them harpsichord strings and that that crackle is something else .. sends shivers every time when it sounds how it should.
I put it on in the background when I was having some cuddle time with my ex, (it was the first time she came over mine), and she stopped randomly and was like "Is it raining outside WTF?!" (as it was in the middle of summer), but it was the sizzling crackle from this track played out of my studio monitors in my room lol. It really fills the air with an atmosphere this track, It never gets old either.
You did a fantastic Job recreating it btw, especially the drums and low end, that's almost identical, other than some dark arts mixing magic as you describe. ;)
Have you heard the Remastered version? It's really nice when the song gets going, but doesn't have the same impact when it initially builds imho.
I'm currently trying to recreate Cutslo by Ed Rush, Opticle and Fierce. I wanted to do my rendition rather than a faithful reproduction. It started as I accidentally made one of the bass sounds from it and got super hyped xD. Not sure if I'll finish it though as I need to be focusing on my own music really haha. Not sure I could get the last distorted reeseish bass anywhere near right, so probably wont try lol. It's fun to mess about with however. You can learn so much from doing exercises like this.
Great recreation. These deconstruction/recreation videos are revealing, insightful and fun!
very good and solid cover, good job 👍
i would be happy to see anyone cover anything else than teardrop or angel
Ah thanks :) I did do Protection...- ruclips.net/video/e-n_q7put1s/видео.html
This was a Joy to watch, the track is a all time favorite for me that i awlays circle bac to. I learned a bunch from your video! Thanks for the indepth video!
The intro sound you were unsure of is a drop-tuned guitar with a Ennio Morrocone-like efx tone (think Spaghetti Western). Considering how they put the album together, it could’ve either have been a record sample (they were major sample choppers), or even a uncredited guitar performance by Portishead’s Adrian Utely (they were all from the Bristol music scene).
Also, for years I thought the “fearless on my breath” sounded like “feels like someone praying”.
A friend thought it was just the theme to House. When I played the original version, he nearly fell out of his chair when the lyrics came in.
Fantastic work 🙏 thanks for sharing..
Dear God. That harpsichord sound . . . . . . . Sublime.
Much love. Great Tutorial. I found it was important to stick to original sample for the crackle and shower it with compressors and warming saturators to get the drums near to where they got it. Always tried to achieve this kind of crisp and clean whopping sound. Thanks for the video!!
Didn't really understand much of that but I loved it. Because that's how I roll...
LOL love it :)
Brilliant! Mezzanine is one of my favorite albums. Brings back so many good memories.
The stems for Teardrop were out there at some point. I have them somewhere along with a few of their tracks, It was a remix competition or something official.
Amazing breakdown of one of my favorite songs of all time, this way one could appreciate even more all the work that goes into such a beautiful track, also the influence that you could just gain by trying to get close as much as possible to a masterpiece, it's a very fun and didactic experience! Thanks for this amazing video
Much appreciated!
I only just came across this video and it turns out you have went through the EXACT same process in trying to recreate this song! I learned the chords through Ixi, used who sampled, and even read the exact same article about the creation of the track! It truly is one of the very best tracks ever written and I too get shivers EVERY time inlisten to it, like it's my very first time hearing it 😀
Oh and the sound at the beginning you couldn't figure out- it's a guitar believe it or not lol
Forgive the mix though, I'm relatively new to mixing
This was my version ruclips.net/video/Nb6pc5G-d5s/видео.html
Noo way! That's awesome :) Yeah man, such a tune
@@GyuBeats shivers literally every time I hear it 😁
I read that Neil was waiting for the guys in the studio and he was tinkering around on a piano playing the harpsichord part. They heard it and put it down
Ah cool, yeah he's definitely an unsung hero
beautiful take on the original this mate. Enjoyed watching this. Well done
God I love this song. I love the tension building in it towards the breakdown. I can't imagine what it would have been like if Madonna had provided the vocals instead of Elisabeth Frazer. If you are interested in the vocal aspects check out Beth Roars analysis of the same track, she is awesome!
Ah thanks for the tip! I'll watch it :)
I love your version, because the original used a lot of slowed down samples, treated with chorus and reverb to be passable, by my ear, so even a modern remaster still sounds a bit muddy because you can’t add extra detail, but yours sounds clear as day. Lovely.
Ah thanks :)
5:27 my goto for this sort of thing is the start of novocaine for the soul by the eels.
the 50s style peppy loop at the start, then introduce some lullaby-like simple keys (also looping), and then the heavy foreboding strings come in. It totally changes the feel with each stepwise introduction. Obviously plays with those elements for the rest of the song too, but just that little 20 second intro is so succinct.
oh I love that track! great comment :)
would love to see you cover Nosaj Thing. Blue Hour is one of my favs
Brilliant video, and superb work breaking down one of my favourite bands/tracks.
Many thanks!
Ha yeaH nice reverseEngineering!
Someday, when ‘Momentum (dubstep mix)’ is a classic, someone is going to try and figure out how you made it- just love that tune, thanks for the vibes!
I'm blushing! Thank you!
brilliant work - really love these videos of yours. Thanks!
awesome breakdown! possibly my favourite album of all time
Amazing breakdown! Love the song too.
Another great video, keep them coming please sir 😎
Just brilliant yet again. You never fail to deliver.
You know what, I feel like 'Dissolved Girl' is the track in which I can FEEL the group's tension the most. There is an unusual push pull effect in that track, as if I can feel Mushroom fighting with Del Naja and Daddy G. All the influences are in that track and it creates an unusual piece of art. Especially that middle act..it's so weird and then it becomes dubby
Great video! Also much appreciated are the links you provided too, you have a new subscriber with the bell enabled
the opening sound in the intro, I'd say is a hammer dulcimer rather than a drum - like Portishead often use.