Little Roman Boy (Red Ver.)
from Little Roman Boy by Neo Te Aika
about
Notes on LITTLE ROMAN BOY, 2021
Nearly four years in the making, I finally achieved a sound that I'm both satisfied with the overall track on, and confident is "me" and "my sound" now, with all of the extra singing ability I've managed to pick up the last couple of years. The track is far, far more in rock territory with synthesizers than it is pop with rock elements. I would consider this to still be new wave in my mind, though I feel it overall has a more interesting feel now.
There's much more "space" in the verses now for the vocals to really take up space, no longer are three or four vocal tracks (or more if you count harmonies) layered but I can sing with enough power to carry through with just a single lead take, only three fainter backup tracks that kick up a notch for the choruses, and a "whisper" track, inspired by my favorite song, Riders On The Storm by The Doors.
The intro to me is dual-symbolic, firstly that the journey is complete, I have finally reached the "release" version and is almost a retrospect on how I bring to the track, more experience and technique compared to the earlier versions, and also serves towards the fictional side of the song's story.
This was mixed with Sony MDR-7506's, I did not have the luxury of speakers to reference on so it's a bit of a best-guess mix but I'm happy with the end result! Enjoy. <3
Nearly four years in the making, I finally achieved a sound that I'm both satisfied with the overall track on, and confident is "me" and "my sound" now, with all of the extra singing ability I've managed to pick up the last couple of years. The track is far, far more in rock territory with synthesizers than it is pop with rock elements. I would consider this to still be new wave in my mind, though I feel it overall has a more interesting feel now.
There's much more "space" in the verses now for the vocals to really take up space, no longer are three or four vocal tracks (or more if you count harmonies) layered but I can sing with enough power to carry through with just a single lead take, only three fainter backup tracks that kick up a notch for the choruses, and a "whisper" track, inspired by my favorite song, Riders On The Storm by The Doors.
The intro to me is dual-symbolic, firstly that the journey is complete, I have finally reached the "release" version and is almost a retrospect on how I bring to the track, more experience and technique compared to the earlier versions, and also serves towards the fictional side of the song's story.
This was mixed with Sony MDR-7506's, I did not have the luxury of speakers to reference on so it's a bit of a best-guess mix but I'm happy with the end result! Enjoy. <3
lyrics
VERSE 1:
There was a small little soldier
I gave him too many toys
And now he’s easily annoyed
I told him was just a game, only just a game
He gathered up a militia
And declared all the rules
He knew he had all the power
And it made him a powerful fool
CHORUS 1:
Little Roman boy has come to take your queen
He's already taken everything from me
Marching with a legion burning cities for joy, he's a
Little Roman boy
VERSE 2:
With a knife he calls a sword
A slave to cut when he’s bored
This tiny mighty kid turns a smile to a frown
So don't you come across, you’d better go around
It was him and I playing in a battle he won
I was tired and defeated, for today I was done, he said
I’ll never stop, I'm having so much fun
I’m gonna conquer every single village under the sun
CHORUS 2:
Little Roman boy has come to take your king
He’s already taken everything from me
Marching with a legion burning cities for joy, he's a
Little Roman boy
Little Roman boy has come to take your things
Taking everything is his philosophy
Says it’s for the greater good while laughing with joy
Little Roman boy
OUTRO:
All it took to make him like this was a couple of toys
Deep inside he’s still just a boy
But make no mistake that he will have your head
A deadly Roman boy
A crazy Roman boy
A little Roman boy
Little Roman boy
There was a small little soldier
I gave him too many toys
And now he’s easily annoyed
I told him was just a game, only just a game
He gathered up a militia
And declared all the rules
He knew he had all the power
And it made him a powerful fool
CHORUS 1:
Little Roman boy has come to take your queen
He's already taken everything from me
Marching with a legion burning cities for joy, he's a
Little Roman boy
VERSE 2:
With a knife he calls a sword
A slave to cut when he’s bored
This tiny mighty kid turns a smile to a frown
So don't you come across, you’d better go around
It was him and I playing in a battle he won
I was tired and defeated, for today I was done, he said
I’ll never stop, I'm having so much fun
I’m gonna conquer every single village under the sun
CHORUS 2:
Little Roman boy has come to take your king
He’s already taken everything from me
Marching with a legion burning cities for joy, he's a
Little Roman boy
Little Roman boy has come to take your things
Taking everything is his philosophy
Says it’s for the greater good while laughing with joy
Little Roman boy
OUTRO:
All it took to make him like this was a couple of toys
Deep inside he’s still just a boy
But make no mistake that he will have your head
A deadly Roman boy
A crazy Roman boy
A little Roman boy
Little Roman boy
credits
from Little Roman Boy,
released November 11, 2021
license
all rights reserved
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about
Neo Te Aika New Zealand
Hunkered down in the rainiest part of Aotearoa, Neo works with hardware and software to tell stories through sound, often inspired by New Wave.
He also really likes takoyaki & the colour purple.
discography
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Apr 2022 -
Feb 2022 -
Jan 2022 -
Nov 2021