EatMe Woopi
Nicely produced, although the drums are a bit up-front and punchy for muzak. The whole thing feels like a backing track to me – no melody, just that turn around figure and staccato descending chord line which repeats over and over. So, good vibe, nice production even with overly loud drums, but not really musically developed enough (i.e. no melody) to qualify as muzak for me. The production is so good, and you are obviously a very good player and adept at creating music, which make the lack of a melody feel like it's unfinished.
Elevating the Waltz – Dr Bob
Nicely produced. I feel like I’ve heard this melody a million times but can’t quite place it – which pretty much makes it perfect for elevator music. The sax is very realistic and great sounding. At times the drums stick out a bit so distract from the melody, but this works really, really well for me – nice Muzak.
Olli H – Lift Me UP
I love this song – especially the twangy guitar and Hammond organ sound. I think it suffers from modern production – drums too up front for really feeling like Muzak – feels more like an instrumental pop song for the radio (that’s a compliment!). Really nice guitar playing. The melody and feel are very appropriate – the production is the only thing that throws me a bit as it seems too good for Muzak.
RyanC – A Good Man
I like the concept of this song, but it doesn’t quite hang together – the rhythm feels a bit off to me which is distracting, there are some intonation problems with the sax, and the mix feels more like a live performance than background muzak. I think it’s a good song and on the right track though – with more polished production would have worked better for me.
EricTracks – Otis Forever
Jazzy! This has that “I’ve heard it a million times before” vibe which I think really works for this genre. I really like the guitar playing, but it feels like the drummer had a couple of drinks before the recording sessions – the little fills are stiff and distracting to me. The piano chords are a bit clunky to me – could have been a little lighter in feel to support the breezy nature of the track. All in all, nice muzak though – especially am impressed with the guitar playing (and jealous). The production is nice and clean and at moments absolutely perfect for muzak.
Leonard Bowman – Revolving Door Rondo
I loved the beginning of this. The oboe? that comes come in is kind of naked feeling to me – my perception of elevator music is that it’s usually pretty filled out and my expectation was that at :35 the full band would kick in – not instruments sitting out front in a sparse arrangement, which draws attention to it, even when it’s as well done as yours is! I also found the piano soloing to be a distracting, mostly because it’s so interesting and exposed, as opposed to buried in a production designed to be very easy to listen to. I like the simple melody though when it plays – it’s very catchy. I think we all suffer from the temptation to push towards more intellectually interesting music – the skill of the Muzak writers is that they’re ok with banal….
VCA-89 Love In the Elevator
This is a lovely piece of music, but doesn’t really work for me as Muzak. It is emotional and evocative, which is nice, but I don’t think it works well as something light in the background that is basically unnoticed other than helping to create a pleasant environment (i.e. Muzak) – as with some others, it’s too interesting. I also felt that some of the notes in the B section were dissonant, which can work on a subjective creative level but are jarring to listen to as Muzak. Nicely produced though with good sounds. It works best as Muzak starting at 2:48.
Clueless – Manimal
Jazzy and a little abstract. The entire piece feels kind of jagged to me, which makes it more interesting to listen to, but I think it would be kind of distracting and weird in an elevator. The ending feels like it’s a band in a club kind of winding down. Nice sounds and pretty good production though.
Canese – Mis
This works for me as Muzak. I’m not in love with the drums, but the rest of the track works as the type of smooth melodic vibe I expect in an elevator. The piano also gets a bit frisky at times. When the drummer calms down it works really well but all the filling around is very distracting to me. Nice production.
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