[IainJohnstonMember]

Following a hint on “another place”, found that the Touch FM Network (including Banbury Sound and Rugby FM) in the English Midlands appear to have started some new jingles.

They sound quite “dated” and somewhat “weak” to me – with a real touch of jarring “don’t fit to the flow” awkwardness about them. Maybe a long listen required to get a better impression…

Anyone know where/who they have come from?

[Seany]

They did have news beds from NewsBeds.com, but just listed now at 3am.. and the news jingle was an almost classical piece, the sung jingle that followed was rather weak.

[simon_t123Member]

As posted by someone else over on DS … not so keen myself !

Touch FM New Jingle by James Martin 20

[goonernn7]

The Magic TOTH is so well sung – I loved that ident. Shame the Touch FM jingle doesn’t touch it for quality.

[simon_t123Member]

it’s the singing that’s the problem for touch on this occasion …. I agree with an earlier comment that the best jingles were the “Touch Radio” resings from TM’s TFM Radio package, they were pretty cool & still quite in trend, I remember asking for a resing via iJingles of a TFM Radio cut but they were too new at the time Touch were also airing them (darn it lols) maybe guys … as with Mcasso & the beeb these new ID’s at Touch will grown on us eh ?

[LenGroat]

Simple problem: ‘Touch’ is a poor name to SING, has an ‘invisible’ first letter, is single-syllable, so little can be done with it by the writer/singers, plus the cut they chose does not put the EMPHASIS on the name… it comes across as ‘Tush Efff Emm’

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

I couldn’t decipher the last 2 syllables on the Touch cut – didn’t sound like “F-M” – three notes?!
And the good-old “Countdown” afternoon TV “clock” once again makes its appearance.
A pleasant enough cut though – if it was maybe given a decent lyric…

Why do stations buy “ramp cuts” but either NEVER use the ramps “live” as “talk-ups” as they are designed-for, or as in this case, DO play them but with no voicing at all, so that they simply “intrude” between e.g. the news-end and the first piece of music…?
Doh….

(Probably same reason “transition cuts” never seemed to get used to make a change-of-pace/tempo/texture between one piece-of-music and the next…)

I’ve got near-30-year-old aircheck cassettes with UK ILRs sounding just like Touch/Rugby/Banbury did when I listened the other evening.

[mbMember]

What are they singling, I’m an old fart now but I thought jingles were supposed to help identify the station. Sorry no likey no lighty

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

I “revisited” the track above today on different speakers- but its STILL “S-Lush Eff-EE-Emm”…(almost like efff-ee-emmee” on South American station stuff). I don’t suppose they were done for the station by “not-English-as-their-first-language” singers (being careful not to mention any specific jingle producers…!)

Also, I’ve ranted over the years on JM about logos which end on a “down-note” sequence with no “lift note” – it makes a medium or faster-paced jingle ALWAYS end “slowly” and “loses” any tempo built-up and sounds awkward into the music coming after it. A “higher note” ending (even 2nd last note one, e,g, the long-standing WLS/KIIS-FM one) can always be sung one octave down on a slow cut, but one thats “always down” doesn’t work well if sung one octave higher.

For some reason, many UK-produced jingles for quite some time always seem to have this “musical defect” – its makes their jingles sound “wimpy” but they keep on copying what “others do”.
(Rant over! X( )

[simon_t123Member]

rant accepted & too true … I was having a listen last night in cans actually to the clip I blagged from DS & I was thinking the same, singers with “not-English-as-their-first-language” voices … but perhaps not from the place you were thinking as they’d be banging on about it on their web-page already … the singers for Touch sound almost French ??? in a way that the ‘Freeway’ jingles did for Galaxy 102, the ‘other producers’ only seem to to have one or two main vocalists, no group as such … over the years there have been companies such as the more respected “Temple Of Tune” and once a company called “Udder Creative” that both sold tracks with group vocals featuring a distinct Euro ‘twang’ (although TOT was a French/Belgian/Canadian resinger for JAM / Top Format tracks) … what’s more concerning with the Touch ID above is how very similar the track is to the Magic one posted below ! If it’s the same producer for Magic & Touch then that’s ok, if however a company has ‘obtained’ someone else’s tracks in the clear for a shuffty/shifty re-sing then that’s no so ok lols !!!

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

“…sound almost French ??? in a way that the ‘Freeway’ jingles…”

Well, if French, unlikely to be Freeway, home of the classy “layered” group+solo sound and well-produced tracks, but anything’s possible.

“the ‘other producers’ only seem to to have one or two main vocalists, no group as such…”

Certainly a feature of some “economy” producers – no names mentioned!

“…if however a company has ‘obtained’ someone else’s tracks in the clear…”
Obviously interesting but merely speculation – but has happened often enough!

[ratnobMember]

Also, I’ve ranted over the years on JM about logos which end on a “down-note” sequence with no “lift note” – it makes a medium or faster-paced jingle ALWAYS end “slowly” and “loses” any tempo built-up and sounds awkward into the music coming after it. A “higher note” ending (even 2nd last note one, e,g, the long-standing WLS/KIIS-FM one) can always be sung one octave down on a slow cut, but one thats “always down” doesn’t work well if sung one octave higher. For some reason, many UK-produced jingles for quite some time always seem to have this “musical defect” – its makes their jingles sound “wimpy” but they keep on copying what “others do”.
(Rant over! X( )

Absolutely agree. It’s as if producers think the ‘up’ ending is uncool, and yet it’s what connects with the music and maintains the flow.

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

I’ve looked up Hugo De Chair…and he did a “cinematic” ID package for Classic FM in 2009 through Wise Buddah.
http://www.wisebuddah.com/?p=jingle&cat=all&client=241

The guy is a “modern classical C O M P O S E R” (his website’s hyperbole, not mine) especially for the Film Industry – and he has a lot of actually very sophisticated stuff exampled on his website; but his ID jingle experience other than Classic FM’s “classical sounding bits” is the Richard Park inspired(?) Magic FM London “themes” – ugh.
http://www.hugodechaire.com/about/biography/

To me though, putting a synth “whoosh” on the front of a “thump-clap” rhtmym bed, adding an “Ohh oHH” or two (ok, not quite “Woah…W”..!) then singing a dull tired-logo weak end-sing in poorly-enunciated English plugged-over the end doth not a good contemporary-radio ID jingle make! Just because “others” do that all the time doesn’t mean he’s brought “anything new to the table”.

Sorry, but this is a fine example of why Boeing don’t make mass-produced motor cars and Ford don’t make 400-seat airliners – both are fine engineering companies with common skills & expertise but they know they are best sticking to what they do best and not try to do something that they are not suited for!

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

PS – I’m wondering if its his “real name” – seem to recall a “Rondo Veneziano” doing “modern classical sounding” albums a few years ago, all based upon a certain ITV Autumn Season ident! (…translates as “Venician Disk” by the way…nothing like a posh foreign-sounding name to impress potential customers…Would “Lenoard Vincent of East Cheam” been as famous as “Lenardo Da Vinc of Florence”?)

[Bigdave]

Just of a matter of interest,Top Format have done a British station…ever heard these?

http://www.topformat.nl/jingles/index.php?packageid=64

[ratnobMember]

I’ve looked up Hugo De Chair…and he did a “cinematic” ID package for Classic FM in 2009 through Wise Buddah.
http://www.wisebuddah.com/?p=jingle&cat=all&client=241
The guy is a “modern classical C O M P O S E R”

Well, it’s worth remembering that Classic FM had ditched their long-standing David Arnold package and replaced it with some sonic logos that one of their presenters described to me as “sounding like the bongs in an airport departure lounge”. But the Wise Buddah cuts always lacked the full symphonic sound that a national classical station deserves. I like the cuts, but now that David Arnold is back on the air (so quickly, which says something) we Classic FM junkies can hear what we’ve been missing.

[simon_t123Member]

@Bigdave, yeah noticed that T/F did those a while back, they also did Radio Pembrokeshire a custom package I think & Radio Camarthenshire I’ve always liked T/F for their JAM resings for the Dutch market … plus composing a gold package used by GEM AM & others, and input into mid-90’s packages in connection with Alfa, packages for MFM, Fox FM & Essex FM’s ‘Power Positive’ come to mind … I don’t mind the sound of T/F’s English sings, they are very professional but very expensive compared to some providers, even for personal cuts I was quoted £350 a cut at one stage (being as they didn’t have a personal cuts service I should add) …

Back to Touch, I wondered why the dropped the TFM Radio package when they did ? The terms on the full package ‘FIVE’ from TM had a 10 year licence period, they could have run with their successful sound for a while longer, they did sound a big player in days I uses to travel the patch … now it’s very washed out, and in between some darn plain sweepers & library track beds … station sound is EVERYTHING surely ? even more so when you cut presentation to voictracking at the minimum levels !!!

[IainJohnstonMemberAuthor]

Thanks Big Dave for the link to the Swansea Bay Radio cuts – are these custom? (..just wondered because of some of the crammed-in “One-oh-Two…”‘s, the “unchallenging” lyrics content, and the S2Blue-esque vocal sound!)

Ironic that the Swansea “FULL versions” are actually shorter than some of the so-called “shotguns” (which aren’t really as such…) that seem to permeate so many “long-ramp-and-then-chop-down” contemporary packages!

Also, WHY buy as many as FIVE near-identical Christmas cuts yet only 12 (+ utility cuts) to last through at least a whole year without risking “burn-out”?

Nothing to set the heather on fire, but not a bad “middle-of-the-road” package for a small non-conglomerate station

…I digress…back now to our original topic!

[mattrob91]

F-M on Touch is because it has to fit in with Rugby and Banbury when the stations are linked… They are growing on me now.. but I personally think that Rugby’s version with the voice over works a lot better have a listen!!

Rugby FM New Jingle by Matt Roberts 7

[simon_t123Member]

hmmm, not sure … better than the Touch offerings but not keen on the sing

[Author]

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