Script:
Slide 2: I came to uni with the hope of being able to produce my own music but I had no idea how to do it. Alongside this course I’ve been learning how to use Logic Pro. For this project, I decided to collaborate with my friend Ciaran who is a freelance composer. We have been friends since I started uni and we really wanted to make some music together because we have a lot in common in terms of musical interests and styles.
Slide 3: I have some experience of making my own music, for example my EP from a few months ago. I usually use a combination of samples and virtual synthesizers to make music in a chill, lo-fi electronic kind of style. I also find that my interest in classical piano, particularly Impressionism, helps to inform compositional choices.
Slide 4: Ciaran is a freelance composer who is mostly interested in video game music, though he has done work for other kinds of media as well such as short films. He has written in all different kinds of genres that you might find in games e.g. chiptune, synthwave, orchestral, etc. He is a good singer and guitarist but has also been learning to play the Japanese shakuhachi flute. I think all of these skills could be very interesting and useful in this project. He also has his own recording equipment so we won’t need to use the studio.
Slide 5: When thinking about collaboration one of the first things which came to mind for me was the collaborative work of vaporwave artist George Clanton and his ‘hero’ alternative rock artist Nick Hexum of 311. They released two singles in September last year and have released a few more since then. The combination of Hexum’s signature guitar and vocals combined with Clanton’s vaporwave-style electronic soundscapes works really well together and I was hoping to have the same kind of success in my project.
Slide 6: the main aim of this project is to have a pair of tracks to post on major streaming sites such as Spotify and Apple Music as we would both really like to have music on these sites. I would also just like more practice at producing music and thought this could be a really fun project.
Slide 7: Here is a Gantt chart I made this week for us to follow. As you can see I have left a fair bit of leeway for each step as plans keep changing recently. 6 total weeks to write and record both tracks should be plenty of time and we are already working on the first. I will be doing the cover art myself because I recently started doing digital painting and I really enjoy it. I’ve given two weeks for that but now that I have some ideas for it I may start it earlier. I’ve then given two weeks for mixing which I was originally going to do in the sound editing booths in Scott but as that is no longer possible I will do it at home with a combination of headphones and speakers. With electronic music mixing mostly happens as you go, so this will probably not take very long anyway. Finally, I will just need to choose a distributor and release it in time for the deadline. For mastering I have been looking into affordable mastering services, but may just do it myself if needed.
Slide 8: so far after a lot of discussion about themes etc. we have started working on the first track. I did some synth chords, drums, extra percussion and the little electronic piano decoration. Ciaran has added some flutes and extra bits like the vinyl effect plugin. I would like to think about adding some vocals as the next step. Overall I am happy with progress so far.
Damon Siseman MUS634 