It's Time - Imagine Dragons (acoustic cover)

Details

Description

The first two Imagine Dragons albums are sooo good! I really love them so much and they had a really big influence on me. It's Time is one of my all time favorite songs and was the song that introduced me to Imagine Dragons back in the day (10 years ago holly cow). I've been wanting to cover it ever since I started singing 4.5 years ago, however I always wanted to cover it with some friends, since I didn't think that I could capture the essence of the song by myself. I'm so glad I've waited and I thank Alicia, Lukas and Max so much for coming along to cover this song with me.

Lukas YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5l-Rljje8Ia8fYdGo7XHA
Max's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrkaraokeguy1
Lukas Insta: @lukas.spinner
Max's Insta: @sam.tee.music
Alicia's Insta: @shorty.shawdy

I used a Zoom H4n to record the whole performance. Lukas and Max's guitar and bass inputs went into the Zoom, where as my guitar input went into an additional audio-interface connected to my laptop that I brought. I also used an additional Rode nt-5 microphone (the one on the ground) to record my voice and have more freedom in the mixing stage. I had to fix soooo many phase issues, since somehow the things recorded with the interface kept changing their phase compared to the Zoom recording. This meant, that it wasn't enough to adjust the phase of the rode microphone recording and my guitar input once, no, I had to adjust the phase every 2-3 seconds!!! The difference it made to the sound was astronomical, so it was worth the work. Plus, I learned a thing or two for future recordings.
Also for the sake of transparency, I have to admit that there is some tiny bit of post-production magic going on. I always record video and audio live, meaning that the performance you see is the performance you hear. However, when I cover songs on my own, I usually (but not always) add some harmonies and other instruments in post-production, to make the cover more interesting, but also so that I get better at arranging, recording, mixing and producing. This cover is the first performance with a group on my channel and the plan was not to use any overdubs for this one. The problem was, that the microphone that I put in front of Lukas (blue shirt), didn't end up working, which I only noticed in post. You could still hear his parts over the Zoom H4n, but not very loud, since he had to sit a little further away, due to there not being enough space. So he over-dubbed his parts in post, which means that in the video, you are actually hearing a blend of his parts that were recorded live with us, plus his overdubs. Everything else that you hear, is what was recorded live on the spot with the video. Additionally, I slowed the video down a tiny bit (98% playback speed).

The lighting situation wasn't ideal. The idea was to sit in a spot, where the sun would reach us, so that we would not be darker than the background, however all the good spots were already taken by people sunbathing by the lake. We then found this spot, which was absolutely not comfortable to sit on, since the roots of the trees were sticking out of the ground. On top of that, we were sitting in the shade, which meant that the background was way better illuminated than us. Thanks to some DaVinci Resolve magic, I could raise the shadow and bring down the highlights in a way that looked not to shabby, but the loss of details in the shadows is still noticeable.

Lyrics:
So this is what you meant when you said that you were spent?
And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit
Right to the top, don't hold back
Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain-check
I don't ever wanna let you down
I don't ever wanna leave this town
'Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now, don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am?
So this is where you fell, and I am left to sell?
The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell
Right to the top, don't look back
Turning to rags and giving the commodities a rain-check
I don't ever wanna let you down
I don't ever wanna leave this town
'Cause after all
This city never sleeps at night
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now, don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am?
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now, don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am?
This road never looked so lonely
This house doesn't burn down slowly
To ashes
To ashes
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now, don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am?

- Recorded on the 11.08.2022