3 of my recordings (all from 2003)

arjunmenon

Hi everybody,

I know i've been MIA at this forum. My apologies ?. I've been busy tryin to put up my recordings on the forum.

Well, its finally done and the link for my first track titled "Eat This!" is below:
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=D51GDJYUMLKW

The second track titled "Out of India" can be heard at the following link:
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=CBQM6P45D378

"Eat This!" was recorded using a Washburn N4 through a Boss GT6 into a Roland JC55. "Out of India" was recorded using my trusty JS1200 through the same Boss GT6 into a Marshall JCM 900 Dual Reverb. All tracks recorded at Creative Kingdom Studios, Dubai.

All tracks :

Mixing & Engineering : Paul Francesco
Bass guitar: Jason Davids
Keyboard : Charles Davids
Drums : Kiran Andrathe (on Eat This & Out of India)
Vocals on "Out of India" : Diya Lahiri

Let me know what you think. There is one more song that i will put up shortly.

Cheers,
Arjun

AlanRatcliffe

Arjun

Great stuff! I particularly liked Out of India - But then I've been a sucker for indian influenced music since I first heard John McLaughlin. I really liked the change at about halfway through the track, reminded me of the Dixie Dregs/Steve Morse. Is that a DI'd guitar doing the "frailing banjo" part and doubling the keys further in? What did you use for DI?

Eat this! isn't as memorable in comparison, really great playing though. I don't like the mix at all. Bass guitar is a bit far back in the mix and snare a bit too upfront. Guitar riffs are a bit too loud while the solos are a bit too quiet.

cain

The out of India one is awesome! I agree with alan, the mix on eatch this could have been done a bit better. For your playing on the other hand ... astounding!

NorioDS

Eat This! reminds me of Marty Friedman -- big time. Very similar to his tracks on his "Music for Speeding" album. Just love it!

NorioDS

I think you should load these on GarageBand.com and get the exposure you deserve!

These recordings are fantastic, the music is superb, you've truly got a good thing going here and I think you should share it with the world on a bit of a larger scale!

NorioDS

The melody in Out of India is reminiscent of Eric Johnson's stuff.

arjunmenon

Hi Guys,

Thank you all very much for your feedback. It really feels great ? I wrongly mentioned 3 recordings when i only put up 2. The third one (which i will be putting up later this evening) is my slightly electronica infused take on something...for lack of a better word, jazzy ?

Well, "Out of India" came to me and the other guys who helped with the project, while we busy getting stoned and listening to Mclaughlin's "What need have i for this, what need have i for that. I'm dancing at the feet of my lord. All is bliss...". And i'm extremely impressed with the way it was mixed and mastered. The volume swell stuff (in the outro) was a subtle tribute to Morse ? The intro, as Norio put it, was very much a tribute to Eric Johnson. But one thing i forgot to mention was that the main vocal line in the song was actually taken from a famous piece of indian music by a fabulous classical singer. The translation of the words spoken in the intro are as follows:

"Lord, lead us to you, so that we may be one with the eternal truth and the reason for being"

And there's me going "That's all i can think about for now.." towards the end of the song. As for Alan's query, i was completely unaware of something called direct injection at the time of recording. Initially, i wanted to just send a clean dry signal that could be EQ'd later. We gave this a try and there seemed to be a lot of humming that was starting to really annoy me. So, Paul, my engineer, suggested using a DI box, and to my luck, he had a Hughes & Ketner Red Box Pro at the studio. That solved our problem ;D So Alan's absolutely right on the button about the DI'd guitar doubling the keys.

As for "Eat This!", i wanted to do something in the style of John Petrucci. Unfortunately, we wanted to do too much over too little. And to top it off, Paul was down with the runs..and hence, couldn't leave his house. I had my best friend (also a fantastic guitar player) Isaac Khazi step in to do the mixing (because i completely suck at it). But it still turned out better than i expected, because about 3/4th the way into the song i was starting to lose focus as to where the solo was heading. This, i'm sure you guys would have noticed. Anyways, i'm still happy with the track, because IMO there are quite a few ideas in this track.

Once again, thanks for the feedback, guys. Can't wait to hear the stuff that you guys are gonna put up here. My last track should be up sometime this evening. Alan..go easy on me.. he he ;D

By the way, Norio, i'm really sorry i haven't had the opportunity to scan those papers on the modes for you. However, i promise to get it done before the end of this week. Thanks for understanding bro.

Cheers,
Arjun

PS - Alan, where do you stay..i need to steal you dixie dregs records ? ;D

NorioDS

Good to see you more active on the forum, Arjun ?

I'm glad I managed to pick up the Eric Johnson influence in there -- his melodies are just fantastic and, until now, I didn't realise how much of a signature style he really has. Something very specific about his playing.

Any time you have a chance to send me that modes stuff is cool with me. I'm really busy these days so no worries if it's a bit late ?

arjunmenon

Thanks Norio.

You know what they say, the more you listen, the better you get at understanding whats happening and where the influences come from.

Incidentally, i'm sure you'll enjoy listening to EJ's "Ah Via Musicom" and "Venus Isle" albums. Some really interesting stuff. Give it a listen.

Also, if you like Al DiMeola, check out his albums, e.g. "Kiss my axe", "Consequence of Chaos" etc. And you absolutely should check out his song "Race with devil on Turkish highway" with Steve Vai. Way cool ?

Cheers ?

AlanRatcliffe

Arjun Menon wrote: My last track should be up sometime this evening. Alan..go easy on me.. he he ;D

Do I come off that critical? Sorry, don't mean to - I just point out things that jump out at me. You can play rings around me anyway, that much is obvious. Good thing I'm not too worried about that any more or I'd be depressed with some of the talent around here.

PS - Alan, where do you stay..i need to steal you dixie dregs records ? ;D

Including the seven Morse solo albums, or just the Dregs? ;D

Satriani

How do I listen to these 2 tracks? God I suck with the internet ?

NorioDS

Just click one of them and wait. A flash player will load and play the song automatically.

Enjoy ?

Satriani

yeah, but click WHERE? It isn't showing me any attachment?
Ps, I repied to your private message, and it doesn't seem to go through. Nothing in the outbox either?

NorioDS

Click on the link that says:

http://www.supload.com/ (etc etc)

NorioDS

I've got 3 PMs from you today -- was there more?

Satriani

nope, must be working fine. Just doesn't say anything in my outbox.

andrewjbryson

Arjun Arjun, really good material, masterful playing and great tone

The smoothness reminds me of Johnson, but you got your own thing going aswell

Are you from Cape Town bro? , always been a South African?

arjunmenon

Hey guys,

Its great to read your responses ?

@Alan : I was only kidding mate. I value your opinion very much and well, i apologise if you took offence to me asking you to go easy on me. As for the dregs' and morse stuff, i'll take whatever you've got ?

@ Andrew: Hey, i've been wanting to leave you a message saying that your playing rocks. F22 is F^$&ing awesome man ;D. And thanks for the comment on my tone (makes me all warm and fuzzy inside..he he ;D )
As for whether i'm South African...nope, i'm from India...that should solve a couple of mysteries ?

And as promised, the link to my final (for now) offering is at the below link :
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=RWU7LF1UFCAL

It was recorded using a friend's PRS Modern Eagle. Really nice guitar ? sent clean into a Roland JC55. EQ'd quite a bit. The interesting thing was that i did this song with my tone set at about 3 and we finally managed to get an "under water" feel. Hence the name of the song, "Flying under water" ?

Mixing & Engineering : Paul Francesco
Bass guitar: Jason Davids
Keyboards :Charles Davids
Vocals : Ahmed Ghamdi

Hope you guys like it as much as i enjoyed making the song ?

Cheers,

Arjun

AlanRatcliffe

No offense taken - just wanted to make sure I hadn't been too harsh. I can sometimes focus too much on what's wrong without giving enough credit for what is right ...and you have a lot that is right. ?

Flying Under Water is great. I'm trying to decide if I like it more than Out of India - probably not, I like both.

Do you have a CD for sale anywhere?

arjunmenon

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your message ? Its good to have someone tell you whats wrong with your stuff rather than just saying its good and so on..it provides valuable insight into what i should watch out for...so all taken in good spirit, Alan.

And thank you very much for your feedback on "Flying under water". As for the CD...he he, unfortunately, i don't have enough material at the moment to put out a CD. But its something i will do someday, god willing.

Thanks for everything Alan.

Cheers,

Arjun