A Sonic Teardown of "Lay Down" by Touch Sensitive
- Jordan Bayne
- May 5, 2019
- 9 min read
Touch Sensitive is the alias of Sydney born artist, Michael Di Francesco. Francesco's name first appeared on the scene in 2005 with his involvement as a guitarist and sound designer for the electronic band Van She's debut EP "Van She EP"(Van She, 2019). Alongside Michael in the band was Nicholas Routledge, Matt Van Schie and Tomek Archer, they released a string of singles and EP's between 2005 and 2012; with two studio albums being released during that time. The most successful of the two albums was their 2008 release titled "V", which reached #10 on the ARIA album charts in the year of its release. Francesco also used the alias Arithmatix! during the years of 2009 and 2014 to release a short series of remix's (Arithmatix!, 2019).
Without a doubt, Touch Sensitive has achieved the most success out of all the names that Michael Di Francesco has been known by. So far he has sparsely released projects between 2004 and 2017, only releasing one EP, two singles and one album during that time. Touch Sensitive has managed to top EDM charts with his "quality over quantity" attitude towards his music, taking 4 years to produce his 2017 album, "Visions" (EDM Music, 2017). The single (and most successful) release from the project was none other than Lay Down; achieving Gold Status in Australia and a nomination for Best Independent Dance Single at the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) Awards in 2018(The Industry observer, 2018).
So, let's see what it takes to receive such prestigious accolades...
Track: Lay Down
Artist: Touch Sensitive
Album: Visions
Label: Future Classic
Producer:Touch Sensitive
Writer(s): Michael Di Francesco
Released: 30th of May, 2017
Tempo: 110BPM
Key: Bflat
Signature: 4/4
Song Length: 4:15
Genre: Electronic
Lay Down is composed in 8 bar sequences and is in an ABC or "Verse-Chorus-Bridge" format; the song structure is as follows...
Intro | Double A | Double B | Double C | Double A | Double B | Breakdown | C | Outro
Listen to the track here...
Let's break this song down even further; By using active listening techniques and reverse engineering the instrumentation and production techniques applied in each named section, we should be able to really dissect what goes into Touch Sensitive's masterful music.
Introduction -
Right from the beginning, this track creates the signature Touch Sensitive atmosphere that he has become famous for. The mixture of Francesco's falsetto voice and the syncopated syntheziser chords really generate the nostalgic and euphoric synth pop-esque vibe that has now become a timeless combination of instrumentation; seeming to always produce a floor filling composition. The 2 bar sweep that brings in the 9 bar intro (one bar riser before the first technical beat and one bar fall from first technical beat) resembles the sound of a percussive instrument (a crash cymbal) that has had a phaser effect added to it. This effect is mostly emphasised during the crescendo of the 2 bar sample, as the second bar (or decrescendo) is layered with an unprocessed, strongly accented crash cymbal for better clarity within the mix. The kick is only present on the first beat of the 8 bar sequence, there is also a Wooden Clave with a substantial amount of reverb added to it that is played on the third beat of every second bar, and a synthetic sweep that is played on the third beat of every bar. I speculate that there is a 1/2 time LFO with a +2dB narrow bandwidth bell-curve filter applied to the sweep. The LFO seems to have a very fast attack, a slower decay of about 1.1 seconds, no sustain and a short release; This would - in theory - explain the sweeping sound of this particular synth. This could also be achievable by using the same LFO parameters and applying it to the fine tuning element of the oscillator(s) and a sweeping low pass filter (or a combination of both techniques).
Now, the four base triads that are used for the chord progression are C Major, B Flat, G Major and E Flat. The progression stays the same for the majority of the songs duration, with minor variation during certain sections. I'm unsure as to what the extended chords may be, although it's apparent to me that they're present in the progression. I came to this conclusion because I can identify a range of audible frequencies that seem to be too complex for a basic triad chord.
Verse A -
This verse is separated into two, 8 bar sections; it acts as a prequel or "build" for the chorus. The first 8 bars are brought in with the same sweep as mentioned in the introduction paragraph above, minus the layered cymbal on top of the sweep. Everything is catchy about this song, this verse demands for Touch's cult-like crowd cheering along to the words as he begins to introduce the main melody. Apart from the transition effects and vocals, everything is relatively close to the speaker, in term of spacial dynamics. The syncopated piano riff alone generates hands that basically clap them self, if you add in those un-quantised live recorded hand claps and combine the two together with the warm room reverb that's present, it really makes the listener feel like they're sitting in on a live session in the studio with Touch Sensitive. The Vocals are the dominant aspect of this section as they sit 2-3dB above the keyboard's amplitude. I speculate that other than the obvious layering of the vocals, they seem to be separated into 3 different samples, "why don't we", "lay down" and "for a while". The last sample in the order of appearance is "for a while", it is repeated 3 times during a 4 bar period and sounds like the sample is warped to better fit the track; there is also a chorus that seems to be present in this sample. I would also like to point out that the third time the sample "for a while" is played (per 4 bars), the layer that is mostly audible in the right speaker has too much low end (meaning the lower frequencies of the sample are present), causing slight clarity issues which results to a term known as being "muddy".
The second 8 bars is an identical sequence to the first half of the verse, with minor changes to the vocal layering and piano riff. At first, the introduced vocal sample in this section sounds like a females voice, although through further analysis it became clear to me that it's simply a transposed version of the artists voice; the same chorus and warping techniques also seem to be added to these vocal samples. As for the piano riff, it seems like there is another element that has been added on top to create more body in the low end of the track, but it's much simpler than designing a new synth to add into the mix. The only thing that has changed to this melody, is the cut-off frequency of a -12dB hi-pass filter or the dB gain on a low shelf EQ. Compare the two images below, Appendix A is a visual analyser during the first 8 bars and Appendix B is during the second 8 bars (take note of the 40Hz and the 70-80Hz harmonics of each image). The frequency and physical shape of the sound waves don't change, only their amplitude does. They're always present in the mix, but they're only made audible in the second part of the verse to generate the feel that the song is building, making the listener start to move along more with the progression; installing hype to the track.
Appendix A - First 8 Bars
Appendix B - Second 8 bars
Verse B -
This verse is definitely the pinnacle of the song, it is played sempre forte for the whole 16 bars and is the true embodiment of what Touch Sensitive's disco inspired synth production is about. The slow house vibe is very uplifting and is definitely the type of hook that promises to get stuck in your head. The drum sequence consists of a kick, the same clap that was previously mentioned, layered with a snare for more body and an unquantised shaker that is mostly present in the left speaker. That basic, stripped back drum sequence would be enough for me to start bobbing my head. The other instrumentation is just the icing on the cake, to cement this production as a timeless hit. The syncopated piano riff is still present, although it's the finger picked bass guitar, the filtered synth stabs that are played at the start of each bar and the faint clarinet that is audible in the right speaker which I think really brings this groove to life. The vocals that seemed to dominate Verse A now fit nicely within the mix and don't overpower any other element, this subtle progression is something that most listeners won't even think to notice, but at it's core, it is what really makes progressive songs work so well. In the last 8 bars of this section, the vocal stem from the intro start to fade back in to transition into the next verse. The second Chorus in the song is identical to the first, with the addition of an open hat on every 1/2 beat.
Verse C -
This verse has the same beat structure as the Chorus minus the shaker, with addition to a rim shot and a sine wave-type Clave sound in the second 8 bars, there is no drop in rhythm or groove. In fact, there is almost more funk and groove in this section because Touch has put the emphasis on the synth stab and bass guitar instead of the keyboard riff. The synth stab follows the same chord pattern as the rest of the songs instrumentation does. Because it doesn't have a strong accent, it tells me that the attack on the oscillator envelope isn't at 0, although it still has a fast decay with no (or minimal) sustain and release. This may be simply done with a -12dB low pass filter that has an LFO with the same ADSR parameters that I just stated. The bass guitar seems to have had subtraction EQ techniques applied to it with some resonance added to fit in nicely with the synth style of the track. A transposed layer of the vocal stem is played in reverse on the last 2 bars of each 8 bar phrase and a one bar pre-verb has been used on the 12th bar to create a live mixing feel; making the song sound less repetitive but still flow. Another thing that aids to the flow of this section is the descending chime that is present on the 3rd beat of the 4th bar.
Breakdown/Bridge -
A complete production; the breakdown does not slow down in the slightest after the chorus, it's the gift that keep on giving. The "feel good", euphoric pad synth that has been introduced in this section compliments the mix so nicely, it sits in the same frequency range as the vocals resulting in a perfect exchange of instruments; vocals for pad. The evolving pad is very intricate and could have originally been a sample of a flute or another woodwind instrument. The sound design that has been applied to this instrument is exceptional, it begins with a texture that resembles a wind instrument and evolves into a glassy texture. There is a very large reverb applied to it, this just adds to the happy and uplifting atmosphere that has been present for the entire song.
Outro -
A perfect way to close out such a memorable track, leaving just enough room for you to get one last feel for the joy within this song all whilst leaving you wanting more. It's very stripped back with only a kick, clap, shaker, sine wave clave, synth stabs, rim shot, a descending chime and a few heavily phased and distorted tom drums. Together, it really shows that the time-old saying "less is more" is true. Only a small number of basic instrumentation has been used in this section, yet it still manages to highlight everything a good song needs.
Conclusion
While Michael Di Francesco has gone by a number of alias' and produced a multitude of genres, I think that it is the retro, synth pop style that he has become famous for. Who doesn't enjoy slow-house disco music, right? To be able to stick to your roots and incorporate that style into new age production is not an easy thing to do. Touch Sensitive has such a recognisable yet unique style, and even though the production is quite simple on this track, it takes a lot more than just arrangement and production techniques to compose something that can rival the standard that is brought in Francesco's music. It's about knowing what needs to be done to the mix rather than what could be done to it; working smart, not hard (although Touch Sensitive works extremely hard on his music). I hope Francesco sticks to his structure and maintains his quality over quantity mentality, I will happily wait another 3 years for a masterpiece album such as Visions.
References:
Van She. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/artist/525348-Van-She
Arithmatix!. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/artist/1790266-Arithmatix!
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