EP Progress 6 - 3rd song done

Hooray. I finished my 3rd song today, and I've uploaded it to Myspace and Jango. I hope you enjoy it.

I'll admit, it feels a bit strange everytime I finish a song. It's like, that feeling you get when you say goodbye to someone. That little voice that tells you 'you need to move on', and so forth. Pretty strange. Or maybe, completely normal.

Anyway, I'm another major step closer to the 5-track EP. Once again, this track was a huge learning curve for me. Next post, I'll try a little desktop video walkthrough of how I put together the new song.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy 'The Fire in the Heart of Youth'.

Laters.

EP Progress 5 - New song nearly done

Hey Hey! It's getting longer between posts these days coz I've been working non-stop on my latest song, among other things. And I'm happy to announce that I should be able to release it on Jango next week!! YAY! The only other thing to say is that I've changed the title. It was going to be called 'Get up and skate girls!'. But I've ditched that title because those were going to be lyrics in the song, but got ditched coz they sounded crap. That's songwriting for ya!

Anyway, so I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think the new title will be 'The Fire in the Heart of Youth'. But I've yet to let that title sink in...

In other boring news, I took down the Tunecore widget from the side of my blog (it was on the right), coz they only let you play songs that I've distributed on iTunes (which is a bit annoying, blah blah, yeah I'll get over it). Jango does a great job with sound quality, so no probs there.

I've also been working with Amy (see last post) to fix some issues with her home studio, but unfortunately we're only making slow progress there. So her next track will be some time away I suspect.

That's all I have to say right now (SAD!), so here's a photo of me having a beer to cap off this post! Notice that I have that producer 'look' now. Yeah!   :P

producer hair....  producer stubble....  he's probably a producer

Amy's Single - Release

I'm proud to report that Amy's single, 'Too Drunk To Kiss' went on sale today, it's --> available on iTunes <--. And she has a little indie video clip that she did to go with it (taken on an iPhone!). I'm really chuffed to have been able to help her produce this song. It's a great song, well done Amy.

EP Progress 4 and new project

Ha! I've already changed my mind on a bunch of things from last post. Including scrapping the final song, and replacing it with potentially one of two others. I keep hypothesising what the final EP will look like, but to be honest, it's probably still too early to tell.

Anyway, I've come up with two new ideas for songs, so have been working on those, as well as the other two existing new songs. They're sounding pretty cool. I started some vocal work on 'Get up and skate girls'. I wrote 16 lines of rapping, tried it out, then scrapped it. Wrote some new lines, sang those, edited them, and they seem to work. It's an iterative process. At least, that's how I'm developing some parts of this song. Other parts are pretty clear in my head. I need to lay those parts down asap.

I've also been working with a musical friend of mine, Amy, to produce her first song. She has a website. After hearing about my project she got inspired to make an EP of her own, with my help as a producer. She wants to call it 'Spare Parts'. The song I've been producing for her is call 'Too Drunk To Kiss'. Her stuff sounds kinda like Lilly Allen. It's full of sassy humour and attitude. I really like it.

Amy recorded the key song parts at her home, sent them to me over Dropbox, and I pieced them together and added production details. Then we worked together on making it a quality product. The process was awesome, so much fun. I really want to do this for the rest of my life. The song came together in amazing speed, within a week, and it sounds fantastic. I'm really getting the hang of being a producer now.

Amy and I discussed marketing philosophy as well. The need to have the complete package together before release. It would consist of, a product (an EP), a website, at least 1 youtube video, artwork, and marketing material. And lets not forget, cash. Cash to dump on radio station plays, and other things, to help promote the product.

That's enough ranting for today. I was supposed to write something technical. Bah, maybe next time.

EP Progress 3 - Philosophical Rant 6

I had a few thoughts today about the EP, so figured I'd write them down. I'm noticing a natural progression in the structure of the EP. There's a pretty clear theme. Thoughts. And Love. But generally, just thoughts. Love kind of sneaks its way into all the thoughts. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's me telling myself something. It's like this EP is a reflection of the stuff that goes in and out of my head in any single day, or a moment even. So I had the idea of naming the EP 'Chaotic Tangents'. But I'm not entirely convinced on that title yet, because the EP isn't necessarily chaotic. Perhaps the original thoughts were, but then some part of my brain has ordered them.

For example, here's a draft tracklist with associated concepts:

The Fall - is dark but hopeful. It originated from ideas of dependency and redemption and that sort of stuff. 

I Feel Alive - is about recovering (from trauma perhaps?) and then living in the moment.

Get Up And Skate Girls! - is about sort of about self-reflection in a way, looking to the past and future, and defying the expectations of others.

21st Century Love Song (draft title) - is about rebellion or finding identity, and freedom. 

All Around Me (very draft title) - is supposed to be an epic conclusion, or I suppose, a transcendence.

There's sort of a pattern there. Or at least, an ordered collection of ideas. Not exactly chaotic, so maybe my EP title needs more thought.

I think next post, I'll write something technical instead of philosophical. Explain something about the sounds I'm using, and how I made them. In the mean time, I gotta record some vocals!

Cheers!

EP Progress 2

A few bits and pieces to report. I've finished the core elements of my third song this morning. I'm really happy with it. Now I just need to put the vocals in. 

I'm pretty sure this track will be titled 'Get up and skate girls!'. I might change it if it doesn't work for the finished product though. I got the inspiration for the song from a street mural. I may use this picture for the song artwork, since I can have artwork attached to each song on the EP. So then if you listen to the EP on an electronic player, like an iPhone or something, the art will match the song playing. I saw that Trent Reznor did that for the NIN album 'The Slip'. It was the first album I'd even seen someone do that. Yep so, anyway, this 3rd song won't release as a single. It will join the other 4 tracks on the EP which will be released for FREE. Yes, free. 

I'm actually really happy with the idea of releasing it for free. It's sort of liberating in a way. Just knowing that anyone who wants to listen can. I've been thinking about ideas for the website. I'm preferring the idea of having a single page with a graphic, the download button, and a donate button. Nothing else to click or interact with. Just really simple. I hope that people will be coming for the music, not the website. 

Get up and skate girls!

EP Progress 1

So what do you guys think about in the shower? Aside from the obvious sexual fantasies you all have. Don't deny it!

I've been working on my tracks and I find that, after a good sleep, in the morning shower I write songs in my head. I've had this partial tune in my head for sometime, but have struggled to get inspiration to complete it. Finally this morning, in the shower, I completed the tune. I mean that now it actually sounds like a song concept I can build as opposed to a little tune you'd whistle in the street. That got me thinking, I wonder what other people think up in the shower?

Ok, so anyway, this new song will be the 5th and last song on the EP. I want it to be ultra epic. Something that leaves people in awe, speechless. Something that leaves them wanting more. Or wanting to play the whole EP over again. I'll work on it today and see how I go. I play the first 4 tracks to myself all the time. I love the way they flow, undulate, through the EP. Tracks 3 and 4 only contain the basic elements, but the effect of the music is there.

I've also had a few job interviews over the new year. I really need a job, pronto. Zero money is not a cool way to be. Hopefully I get something really soon. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and happy new year to everybody!  :)