Video-Live #5 "Torn" ~ Natalie Imbruglia
Fifth song in the Video-Live format on our Youtube channel!
In the meantime, we're keeping up the pace of our Studio-Clips, with a minimum of one new video per month posted on the networks. And that's FIVE! Youhou!
Just a reminder that people who subscribe to our Newsletter can not only choose which song will be the next to be featured in these video-lives, but they also receive the audio the following month. 😮 Wouldn't that be a shame to miss out? And it's totally FREE! 🎉
1. Our choice
Due to time constraints, there was no survey of our newsletter subscribers. We had to decide quickly which track I would sing next. In order to alternate the sounds of these live videos, we decided to go for “Torn”, which had come in 2nd place just after “Murder Song” in the VL2 poll. So we were faced with a new challenge: making a proper live take with bodhrán-guitar-2voice. Haha. Haha. Haha. Well, that was no mean feat at all!
2. Title presentation
When you look at the story of “Torn”, you realize that the original was not at all written by or for Natalie Imbruglia!
So where does this title come from? According to Wikipedia, Torn is a song written and composed by Scott Cutler (en), Anne Preven (en) and Phil Thornalley. It was first recorded in 1993 by Danish singer Lis Sørensen under the title Brændt, then in 1995 by American alternative rock band Ednaswap (en), of which Scott Cutler and Anne Preven are members.
Covered in 1997 by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, it enjoyed a major international success. Note that her version bears a striking resemblance to Trine Rein's version.
Lyrically, this is a song about disillusionment with a relationship based on lies. The young woman who tells her story is completely devastated and torn apart once the truth is revealed, and although her lover wants to come back to her, it's too late, their relationship is broken. It's a subject that speaks to me a lot, and one that I can easily defend on stage without having to invent my own story or draw on someone else's.
Now that's another upbeat song! At least the melody, rhythm and harmony counterbalance the subject matter.
Torn
I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know, don't seem to care what your heart is for
But I don't know him anymore
There's nothing where he used to lie
Conversation has run dry
That's what's going on, nothing's fine I'm torn
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late, I'm already torn
So I guess the fortune teller's right Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light But you crawled beneath my veins and now I don't care, I have no luck, I don't miss it all that much There's just so many things that I can't touch, I'm torn
Chorus
There's nothing where he used to lie My inspiration has run dry That's what's going on, nothing's right, I'm torn Chorus + I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel I'm cold and I'm ashamed, bound and broken on the floor You're a little late, I'm already torn
3. Our version
A guitar, bodhrán and two-voice cover for a change! The percussion follows in the guitar's footsteps; the pre-frains are syncopated, so you don't stay locked into the same rhythm all the way through; there are additional backing vocals (Cloud had a lot of fun looking for a few new ones); and there are a few set-ups (stops, held notes, breaths in the rhythm).
We hope you enjoy all these little variations 😊.
4. Shooting / Mixing
For practical reasons, I positioned myself to Cloud's left, which varies from our “Murder Song” video. I would have needed a 2nd mic for my percussion, but it was too complicated to set up alone. Only the AKG clip-on mic does the job.
We were more efficient on this shoot with only 10 takes and the 6th kept (yeah, because we always aim for the best, but sometimes it's just not physically possible).
As always, there are little last-minute surprises with details to be changed / replaced (and as our brains are dumb and stubborn, it's hard to overwrite previous saves of things to play / sing).
And then, singing in a “torn” way, I couldn't necessarily perform it too often. Because yes, this track is much more testing for me than “Shallow”, which “screams” a lot. Singing it too much can trigger headaches, haha (true). Anyway, I wasn't necessarily in the best position with my bodhrán pointing to my left and my head aiming at my Aston on the right. Alas, the configuration of our room meant that we had to be creative when it came to camera placement, and as we couldn't push walls or furniture, we sometimes found ourselves in unlikely positions. Poor Alex had to compress my voice a lot so as not to “lose” it in the mix, because of course I move around a lot. In a traditional track-by-track studio recording, I would obviously have kept my mouth right in front of the microphone the whole time.
On the mixing side, it's always a poem. And managing the percussion was a real challenge for our sound engineer. I had to “trigger” my strikes to make them stand out, and think of my instrument more as a bass drum and a snare drum (poom / tchak) and not as a traditional “muted” Irish instrument, so as not to encroach on the guitar's frequencies, but still bringing out the places where there are a few variations in skin tension and intensity...
Not to mention that the microphones pick up all the other instruments. If we were to re-record a track with bodhrán, we'd really have to do the take differently. We'll have time to look into it if the case arises (but let's face it, we're in no hurry!).
Alex would have loved the sound of a bass to cover the missing frequencies and fill out the bottom end. Come on, one day a version with foot bass at the same time? (yeah, independence, fastoche 🤪 - I must say I had the audacity to tell myself 3 days before shooting that it was being considered.... Yes, Rebecca, and what does the groundhog put in the tinfoil? Calm down, calm down).
We've lost count of the number of hours spent on this mixing and mastering. Alex is going to have a hard time re-appreciating the song for a while 😅.
5. Finally
Do you like our version of “Torn”? You could receive it for free in high quality in your mailbox if you subscribe to our Newsletter (max one per month, only in french sorry!, and we don't sell your data) before November 7, 2024... After that, all you'll be able to do is listen to it over and over again on our Youtube channel (which also suits us).
Thank you very much for your invaluable help 🥰. These Live Videos are financed thanks to Twitch subscriptions and bit donations during our live broadcasts (Mix/Mastering + equipment). What's more, your comments on Youtube, your likes, shares, make us better known and bring definite credibility with programmers. 🫶
What are we planning for the 6th Video Live? We'll be working on a duet track for sure. Whether or not there'll be a poll remains to be seen... but just in case, sign up for the newsletter, you never know! 😜
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