How to give this more energy?

C

crimsonhawk47

New member
Definitely not the first time this has been asked, but I need help giving this song more entertainment. Halfway through making it, I was very impressed by Timberlakes "Only when I walk away" Justin Timberlake - Only When I Walk Away (The 20/20 Experience 2of2) [Official Audio] - YouTube

View attachment Output 1-2.mp3
The beat was made with Maschine and mixed in logic. I know the mix isn't that great cause I did it on headphones, but I'm more concerned with the composition.

The first 4 bars are the intro, next 4 bars are an example of where a verse would be, and the last 4 bars would be the chorus.

SO I tried a standard intro without percussion, then brought percussion in for the verse and took out an instrument to make it less pronounced than the chorus. Then I brought everything in on the chorus. It's still missing something.
 
Here are some standard recipes I would try if I want to give a track more energy:
-more/faster Movement. The Justin Timberlake song has a huge autopan on the organs/effects throughout the song, talk about movement! The harmonic foundation of that tune moves from the very right to the very left of the "stage" in half a bar all the time ...

-more high frequency information. The high end of the frequency spectrum just has this effect. This can be handled through mixing, EQing and also arrangement and instrumentaion. Distortion/saturation is a go-to when something sounds too tired. The Justing Timberlake song has a lot of very distorted vocals mixed in.

-compression. Sometimes a slight compressor on the stereo bus can do wonders to the energy level. Or compress the more energetic parts a little more aggressively than you would. In-your-face kind of sounds have a way of being exciting ... thats why everyone keeps compressing the shit out of everything, which I would not recommend (Because by killing dynamic range you also kill a dimension of movement), so proceed with caution. Your beat is a nice start, just give it some work!
 
That plucky pad in the intro/verse seems a bit weak, and so does the bass synth. The beat itself hits really hard and has energy, I like it. As for that pad, you could try adding a bit of delay or reverb, maybe use larger chords, or maybe even just turn it up. I like what Kalle said about making it move, too.
 
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