# Sassy Loungerie, now an official Soundiron demo!



## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 25, 2021)

*UPDATE: Sassy Loungerie has been selected as an official Soundiron demo for Voice of Wind: Connie !!  Thank you everyone for listening !!*

You're sitting quietly at the bar, having a drink, lost in thoughts, when suddenly the lights go dim. A short intro, a few notes and she appears, out of the dark: *the jazz singer*. _She's past her bebop glory days,_ you think, _but she could still get attention and make a trombone scoop and doit._

She casually starts to scat. People turn silent and start to follow her voice as it coils itself around the piano like a python around its prey. There is something about the way it sways and swaggers as she drapes herself around the pianist...

The crazy sensuality of these undulations got her the stage name *Sassy Loungerie*.

Listen to her carefully.... _very carefully..._




Behind it all you can hear the beautiful voice of *Connie Doolan, *now immortalized in *Soundiron's Voice of Wind: Connie*.


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## Bollen (Jun 25, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> He's sitting quietly at the bar, having a drink, lost in thoughts, when suddenly the lights go dim. A short intro, a few notes and she appears, out of the dark: *the jazz singer*. She was past her bebop glory days, he thought, but she could still get attention and make a trombone scoop and doit.
> 
> She casually starts to scat. People turn silent and start to follow her voice as it coils itself around the piano like a python around its prey. There is something about the way it sways and swaggers as she drapes herself around the pianist...
> 
> ...



Needs a nice sexy tenor sax... (hint, hint)


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## Number Six (Jun 25, 2021)

Love this smooth jazz. Very atmospheric track! Nice voice and simple effective arrangement!
Feels like we really are in a jazz club. Oh, and cool name too!


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 26, 2021)

*Sassy *is very pleased by your warm response and wishes to thank everyone for listening and liking this track!

She released two SoundCloud versions for those of you who prefer the audio only version:

The LIVE version



and a *_new* _STUDIO version


without the usual noises present in a jazz club. 

Tatiana for
_*Sassy Loungerie*_
❤️ 💘 ❤️ ​


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## Gerald (Jun 27, 2021)

Hi Tatiana, as always à nice work! I love your trio piano, bass and drums


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 28, 2021)

Sassy is as Sassy does. 

I'm just curious: what are the names of the musicians in Sassy's band? 

And by any chance was this recorded at the famed "Sassafras" jazz club in Montreal? 

Nicely done as always, TaG.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 28, 2021)

Thank you all for your nice comments!! *Sassy* is very pleased! 🥰 ❤️


TigerTheFrog said:


> Sassy is as Sassy does.
> I'm just curious: what are the names of the musicians in Sassy's band?
> And by any chance was this recorded at the famed "Sassafras" jazz club in Montreal?
> Nicely done as always, TaG.


Haha! Actually later I will be posting a "making of" of the track, giving some tech details, line-up and location info. Stay tuned...


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## Soundiron Team (Jun 28, 2021)

Excellent work as always Tatiana!


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## el-bo (Jun 28, 2021)

Really love the live version. Those moments where mic technique are used are uncannily real. Is that an automatic feature of the library, or are you automating those parts?


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 28, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Sassy is as Sassy does.
> I'm just curious: what are the names of the musicians in Sassy's band?
> And by any chance was this recorded at the famed "Sassafras" jazz club in Montreal?
> Nicely done as always, TaG.


Thanks Reid! Here's the info you requested:

The _*Sassy's Awesome Foursome* _band is composed of 

Piano - Tony de Peltrie
Bass - Justin Tufingerz
Drums - Lyle "Sticky" Drumrboi

and, of course, the (in)famous, *Sassy Loungerie *(vocals).

Track recorded "live" at _*Le Uptairs *_*jazz club*, where _nothing is really as it looks. _ Montreal (June 2021)





Upstairs Jazz Bar And Grill Montreal is a painting by Carole Spandau

More details later as I will post "The Making Of" to answer some lingering questions...


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 28, 2021)

Tony de Peltrie is a legend. It's a real coup that Sassy got him for this!


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 28, 2021)

Hoohoo! 500+ views. THANK YOU! As promised here's The Making of Sassy...

First, for those of you who have asked me privately the question "is it a _real _live recording? The answer is: *absolutely*... _maybe..._ 

Seriously, here's the breakdown of how I made this track.

The voice you hear is _really _*Connie Doolan*'s, as sampled by Soundiron in their new library _*Voice of Wind: Connie*._ In this library Connie sings in different genres or styles, some phrases sound more "ethno-world" others are more pop, folk, blues or jazzy. There are so many possibilities!

As I had decided that my piece would be an exploration of female jazz vocals I went with the more jazzy scat samples. But you can also create full phrases with the software in a very powerful way. I didn't explore that aspect yet... but I plan to in the future 

To reply to @el-bo's question: the mic techniques you refer to, if I understand correctly, have to do with dynamic mic distancing. In that respect Connie already recorded the samples in a very natural way, changing her position relative to the microphone depending on how loud or intimately she was singing. Then Soundiron's tech wizards processed them to eliminate artifacts while preserving the beautiful tone of her voice.

In my track I splitted her voice into multiple tracks, grouped by sound types, and applied processing (mostly EQ and some compressing) in different ways depending on the intended effect and to make them blend with each other as naturally as possible. I also controlled the way her voice swelled within each segment by modifying CCs.

Other instruments are more conventional in their treatment. The piano I played was a modified version of Pianoteq v7 Yamaha C5 (YC5), EQ'ed to my taste to cut through the mix without being overwhelming. I tried over 40 pianos for this track and this is the one I preferred for that specific job. I wanted this "son feutré" (closed lid, soft) sound.

The ambience of the (fake) "live" jazz club is built using multiple tracks of carefully adjusted sound effects such as walla (crowd voices), dishes noises and glasses clinking, a guy saying "Shhh...Listen" at the beginning and applauses at the end. Everything went through a discrete reverb of a small room, not too bright because such a performance is bound to pack the room full of people 

Concept, back story, cover and video by Uber Nemo.

That's it!

Oh, and the aforementioned *jazz club "Uptairs" is a real one*, in Montreal and the sign is really inverted because the club is located in a basement!


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## el-bo (Jun 28, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> To reply to @el-bo 's question: the mic techniques you refer to, if I understand correctly, have to do with dynamic mic distancing. In that respect Connie already recorded the samples in a very natural way, changing her position relative to the microphone depending on how loud or intimately she was singing. Then Soundiron's tech wizards processed them to eliminate artifacts while preserving the beautiful tone of her voice.


Yes, I am referring to the distancing technique.

Reading your answer, it occurs to me that it was a bit of a stupid question - Of course it had to have been sampled that way. Guess I just got quite caught up in the whole world you presented. You seem to have a real knack for creating worlds for your music to inhabit. It's a nice touch.

Gotta give credit to Soundiron for that attention to detail. Will have to listen to more of the demos.

And not to drag your thread off-topic, but one of the more effortless examples I've seen of this technique are from this performance. It's even more impressive, given the bare naked-ness of the backing:


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jun 28, 2021)

@el-bo your question is not stupid at all! Actually the microphone proximity effect is used efficiently by Connie here, adding this additional amount of extra-bass that creates the intimacy of her voice in softer moments but sometimes it can become too boomy for reasons shown here:






That's why I had to treat samples differently, EQing them in separate regions of the spectrum, according to taste of course, but also to make them blend more smoothly with each other without changing their original nature.


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## Double Helix (Jun 28, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Hoohoo! 500+ views. THANK YOU! As promised here's The Making of Sassy...
> 
> . . .That's it!


Now, given this inside info, I will listen to the piece with a fresh perspective. Thanks, Tatiana


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## el-bo (Jun 28, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> @el-bo your question is not stupid at all! Actually the microphone proximity effect is used efficiently by Connie here, adding this additional amount of extra-bass that creates the intimacy of her voice in softer moments but sometimes it can become too boomy for reasons shown here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very cool! I appreciate the amount of effort you've put into this. It's really paid off


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 29, 2021)

Congratulations to Sassy and Tatiana for being selected as a Soundiron demo!


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## Toecutter (Jun 29, 2021)

Congrats Tatiana! And thanks for putting Connie on my radar


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## Living Fossil (Jul 1, 2021)

This is great, Tatiana!

I also agree with @Bollen , a tenor sax would be a great addition. wink, wink @Saxer !


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jul 1, 2021)

Hi guys & gals! Thank you all for listening _and liking _*Sassy*'s latest track. More than 700+ views so far... Wow!!  The video is now also available on YouTube as well as on Vimeo.

*Sassy* is presently on vacation in an undisclosed location , away from crowds and, alas, also away from her adoring fans.  She needed some _me time _after all the gruelling  recording sessions for her upcoming album. Yes! There will be a new Sassy album soon!  You heard it here first!

She thanks all of you for the special requests for some "extra sax", which is quite a change for her from the similarly sounding, _but very different, _requests she usually receives, if you know what I mean... 

You'll be pleased to know that she promised that her new album will include some extra tenor "sax & bone" to please all of you! 

*Sassy* sends her love! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Stay tuned... Be cool! 
Tatiana, Sassy's BFF.


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## Bollen (Jul 1, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Hi guys & gals! Thank you all for listening _and liking _*Sassy*'s latest track. More than 700+ views so far... Wow!!  The video is now also available on YouTube as well as on Vimeo.
> 
> *Sassy* is presently on vacation in an undisclosed location , away from crowds and, alas, also away from her adoring fans.  She needed some _me time _after all the gruelling  recording sessions for her upcoming album. Yes! There will be a new Sassy album soon!  You heard it here first!
> 
> ...


Divas...🙄


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## creativeforge (Jan 4, 2022)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Hoohoo! 500+ views. THANK YOU! As promised here's The Making of Sassy...
> 
> First, for those of you who have asked me privately the question "is it a _real _live recording? The answer is: *absolutely*... _maybe..._
> 
> ...


What an adventure...  Well done! Now I got to go hear His Eminence...

BTW, in my darker years in Montreal, I would occasionally stop at a few restaurants/bars and with permission be allowed to play their piano gently while people were socializing. Upstairs was one of those that I visited a few times. Very neat spot, not too far from the University. Amazing that they are still going. 

I also loved to spend time at Cafe Sarajevo but it was closed when I left in 1996. Galerie Fra Angelico on Montcalm had a very nice upright piano. Les Joyeux Naufragés (closed). Archambault Musique also, second floor in the piano department, would let me play to my heart's content, and at times I'd sneak in at UQAM in small piano rooms. I miss Montreal for the amazing access to artistic venues. Well, that was before the Covid, of course...


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jan 5, 2022)

First let me thank everyone who listened to _*Sassy *_for the first time or came back to re-listen! ❤️

@creativeforge, thank you for your kind words! These are great personal stories of your time in Montreal! It's so cool that you could play at these different venues. My husband remember many of them fondly too! And Montreal is indeed usually a very cultural city, very unique in North America, kind of European for me. 

We're you also visiting _Biddle's _as it was known then? I dedicated my other track _*His Eminence & I*_ to their branch (now closed) on Aylmer street in downtown Montreal, also near McGill Uni. I've been there quite a few times. The decor was beautiful and surreal. Very atmospheric! And the music was...just wow!


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## creativeforge (Jan 6, 2022)

I never visited Biddle's but once spent time at Vic Vogel's club. 

Love the Eminence tune, great horn, and you have a knack for recreating believable ambience.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jan 6, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> I never visited Biddle's but once spent time at Vic Vogel's club.


Ah, the "Brass Man"! Himself a versatile trombonist and a big band leader. He was a very important figure of jazz in Montreal for many years I was told. R.I.P.


creativeforge said:


> Love the Eminence tune, great horn, and you have a knack for recreating believable ambience.


Thank you very much! ❤️ I think it makes it even more believable, more atmospheric. We don't experience jazz in real life the same way we experience, say, a symphonic piece. Different genres mean different instruments, venues, mood, atmosphere, etc.

I think that, as composers of virtual works, our job goes further than choosing the right reverb.  And about *His Eminence & I* please stay tuned... More is coming...


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## tmhuud (Jan 6, 2022)

Bravo! And with S.I. some of my favorite blokes!


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jan 6, 2022)

tmhuud said:


> Bravo! And with S.I. some of my favorite blokes!


Thank you so much! ❤️ 
Sorry but I'm drawing a blank here...  Who/what is "S.I."?


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## tmhuud (Jan 6, 2022)

SoundIron. 👍


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Jan 6, 2022)

OMG, I'm soo dumb sometimes! 

Haha! My husband will find this one funny!
Cheers!


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