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Blog Layout

This blog is in chronological order from the bottom upwards. The first post is the original abstract followed by the first progress post on 1 /2/20.

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Abstract

This projects primary aim is to explore an area of production that is previously unknown to the artist, thus developing their abilities and further enhancing their skill set. The project will explore a variety of production and synthesis techniques to create a drum and bass EP and the artists first public release. The EP will be created with help from collaborator Joe Hurrell, a producer from Bristol who will assist in a number of elements of the project. With the creation of this work, a full audio project will be completed which utilises the creative methodologies set upon at the beginning of the planning. The piece will be an exploration of these new ideas and techniques which will culminate into a full project of work created using skills the artist had little experience with before. In the context of this proposal, the artist referred to will be Luke Spry as he will be the creator of this project.

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Project Reflection

Final Reflections

The initial aims I set out to achieve with this project were to create a six track drum and bass EP utilising found sound synthesis as a major element of each track in collaboration with Joe Hurrell. Along with this I also proposed to create accompanying visuals for each of the tracks in collaboration with Kye Taylor. Since beginning the creation process there has been a lot of ups and downs and some big changes in the direction and scope of the work. Unfortunately the plans had to be adapted a lot to become realistic within the time scale and among other circumstances affecting myself and my collaborators. The first major change was the removal of all visual elements of the work. This was a huge disappointment to me but the amount of work and time needed to go into the creation of the videos for the tracks was very underestimated making it an unrealistic aim. Along with my personal lack of skill and time constraints, Kye was also very busy at work with his own graphic design projects meaning he had very little time to both help me learn and work on the visuals himself. Because of these reasons and in the interest of keeping the aims realistic we decided to remove this part of the plan. However, visuals are still something I am interested in learning so me and Kye have agreed to carry on with the project at a later date when we both have more time avaliable to concentrate on it. The next big change was deciding to remove the found sound synthesis idea all together. Again, it was a big shame to have to move away from this plan but there were a number of reasons making it a more realistic and sensible thing to do. Firstly, the issues of COVID-19 meaning that I couldn’t leave the house to get interesting recordings setback the idea massively. Secondly, I was struggling a lot to incorporate the sounds in the songs and making them fit which was holding back a lot of the progress being made because I was taking a lot longer than I should have been to create the tracks. Because of these reasons I decided to remove the idea although like the visuals it is something I am very interested in doing so will definitely continue with the idea when I have more time to put into it. Another big setback for the project was the COVID-19 pandemic which unfortunately took place over a large portion of the time scale for this work. Because of the lockdown in the UK I was unable to travel around collecting sounds and also didn’t have access to the hardware and studios at dBs meaning I could only use the plug ins I had and also had to do all of my mixing and mastering in my acoustically untreated room. 

Despite these big changes and setbacks I was still able to produce a piece of work that I am proud of and that has greatly expanded my skill set and experience within the music industry. To begin with, I have improved my production skills massively by using synths like serum and sampler throughout the tracks to create original patches. Along with this I have learnt a lot about digital processing methods and production techniques which have enabled me to finish the project. Another important positive from this process was the collaborations. Although they weren’t very successful due to time constraints, it was still an interesting learning curve to work with people on my music which is something I haven’t done before but is now something that I will continue doing for future work. 

Conclusion 

While the proposal aimed to create a body of work much larger than what it turned out to be, a series of setbacks and changes meant the final result was a much more refined and stripped back project. However, despite all of the changes, I still wanted to produce a piece of work that I could use as my first public release of music, that advanced my technical skill set and resulted in something I was proud of creating. This was achieved in the shape of my four track debut EP ‘React’. Compared against the original objectives it may be a lot less ambitious but it has given me a huge amount of experience and is something I am very proud of making and is an important first step in my career within the music industry. 

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(Vader)

#SoundCloud #music #Vader #Drum & Bass

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Week Beginning 23/5/20 - Completing the Project and the Official Release

With the tracks mixed and mastered the project was ready to be released on the 24th of May. I have chosen to release the EP on Soundcloud and Bandcamp at first and then put it onto Spotify at some point in the future. The plan for the original project was to put the visuals onto Youtube and then all of the tracks onto all streaming services but as it has all been refined into a much smaller piece of work I am only uploading it to Soundcloud and Bandcamp to begin with. To boost the release as much as possible I promoted it across social media and on the Vader instagram page. I have looked at a number of online sources to try and gauge the best methods of promotion to gather as much attention to it as possible. It seems that the best way to promote new music is to target specific communities and build up a strong network with other artists and other social media people like Youtube promoters for example. This is something I planned on doing for the release of the EP and it will hopefully result in a successful release that reaches a wide audience.

Below are the final mastered wav files that were ready to be uploaded and released on the 24th of May. The next blog post after this will be a link to the Soundcloud release of the React EP.

Below is the Bandcamp page for the released EP, I decided to keep the tracks free across all platforms as it is my first release which I just want to put out instead of use for profit.

Below are the promotional posts on instagram for the release of the EP on my Vader artist page. 

References

How to Promote Your Music & Grow Your Fanbase | New Artist Model. (2020). Retrieved 23 May 2020, from https://newartistmodel.com/promote-your-music/

Leni. (2019). Best ways to promote your music independently. Retrieved 23 May 2020, from https://www.amuse.io/content/best-ways-to-promote-your-music-independently-amuse?cn-reloaded=1

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Week Beginning 16/5/20 - Mastering

This week was spent mastering the completed tracks to get them ready for release on the 24th of May. Although it is usually suggested that tracks get sent to someone else to do the mastering I wanted to do each part of this project so chose to do it myself. One of the modules I completed at university was about mastering so I had a decent idea of how to do it but knew I definitely needed to learn more to make sure the quality was as high as possible. To do this I used a range of youtube videos and online articles such as from Sage Audio to further my knowledge of the process. 

I am really happy with the finished tracks after mastering them, I compared them against a number of reference tracks and got some of my friends opinions on them which were all positive. Despite not having any good plug ins to use during the process I was able to effectively use Abletons stock plug ins to do everything. Although plug ins from Izotope or Waves would have probably created a better sounding overall track I think Abletons were perfectly able to provide a quality master. 

Finally having all the tracks mixed and mastered was a great feeling and the progress to finish the project this week was really good and was one of the most productive weeks i’ve had for this. 

Below is an example of the mastering chain used for the track ‘Body and Mind’. It features a lot of EQ’ing to take out some unpleasant resonant frequencies along with a glue compressor to gel everything together more, a saturator to add slightly more harmonics across the track and finally a limiter to bring the level right up.

References 

Sage Audio. How to Master Music — Sage Audio. Retrieved 13 May 2020, from https://www.sageaudio.com/blog/mastering/how-to-master-music.php

Production Music Live. (2019). Mastering - Simple but Effective | Ableton Live 10 [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoiqyPM8B5w

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2 Weeks Beginning 9/5/20 - Final Changes

Completing the fourth track

I spent the first week finishing the fourth track as I wanted all of them to be ready and finished by the 16th of May so they would be ready for mastering. 

Below is the main synth used for the track ‘Grizzle’. As with others it was made in Serum and adapted by me to fit the song. Along with this patch the other images below are of the extensive effects chain used to get the sound to how it is within the song. Mid and side processing is used along with compression, reverb, EQ, dimension expander and multiband dynamics.

Final Mixdowns

I put aside time in the second week to go through each track and work on the overall mix to make sure they were ready to be mastered. There was a lot of work to do during this process and I used a lot of online sources to help make sure I was able to get the cleanest mixdown. This involved a range of techniques with a lot of EQ’ing to keep elements as clear as possible. Saturation, compression, reverb, gain staging and multiband dynamics among others were all utilised throughout this stage to form a well balanced mix. Once all of the songs were compared to reference tracks and listened to through a number of different mediums I exported the wav files in 44.1kHz 16 bit ready for them to be mastered.

References

Studio Slave. Mixing Dance Music - A Comprehensive Guide To Nailing Your Mixdowns Every Time! - Studio Slave. Retrieved 14 May 2020, from https://studioslave.com/mixing-dance-music-comprehensive-guide-nailing-mixdowns-every-time/

Sine Sound. (2020). Mixdowns and Madness. Retrieved 14 May 2020, from https://sinesoundmastering.com/2019/02/02/mixdowns-and-madness/

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2 Weeks Beginning 25/4/20 - EP Progression and Abstract Update

Progression on the EP

More objectives were hit this week with the third track completed and the fourth track under way. The aim now is to have all the tracks mostly completed by the 9th of May so I have time to go through them and make any final changes and to make sure the mix is okay on them.

Below is the lead synth used on the track ‘Body and Mind’, it is another Serum patch and is actually really simple but creates a perfect mid bass sound for a drum and bass track. The idea for using this patch came when looking online for tutorials and tips on how to make good neurofunk style sounds. Once again I found online help really crucial as creating music in this genre is still new to me and I am using a lot of techniques I haven’t done before. I also cut up a spoken word sample I found on Splice to act as a vocal element on both drops and which acted as a lead element throughout the track by chopping it up and effecting each use of it differently to keep it interesting and different as the song goes on.

Below is the effects chain used for a section of the vocal element during the second drop. The overdrive and chorus were both automated to provide a change during the progression of the vocal and erosion was used to create a really gritty and distorted sound.

Abstract Update

As a lot of the project has changed I thought it would be a good idea to update the abstract to reflect what the plan is now. Below is the updated abstract which removes the visual and found sound elements that were part of the original plan. Although it has been changed for the release of this project I am keeping the original one as I am determined to create and finish the original plan when I have more time to fully learn and bring together the elements needed for it. 

“This projects primary aim is to explore an area of production that is previously unknown to the artist, thus developing their abilities and further enhancing their skill set. The project will explore a variety of production and synthesis techniques to create a drum and bass EP and the artists first public release. The EP will be created with help from collaborator Joe Hurrell, a producer from Bristol who will assist in a number of elements of the project. With the creation of this work, a full audio project will be completed which utilises the creative methodologies set upon at the beginning of the planning. The piece will be an exploration of these new ideas and techniques which will culminate into a full project of work created using skills the artist had little experience with before. In the context of this proposal, the artist referred to will be Luke Spry as he will be the creator of this project.”

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2 Weeks Beginning 11/4/20 - Difficulty in Production and Slow Progress

Slow Progress

These two weeks were slow in terms of progress made for two reasons. The collaboration has fizzled out with Joe due to him being busy with his own work and finding it difficult to put any time into working with me on this project. This is understandable and i’m okay with moving on with the project mostly on my own although it is a shame that we both don’t have more time to work together. He was able to help with the first two tracks by providing good ideas for the outline of the tracks and the beginning of them both so a small collaboration was still possible. The other reason for the slow progress in these weeks is a lack of motivation due to the difficulty of production. As the main ideas of the project have unfortunately fallen through I have found it hard to keep myself motivated to finish the EP. Along with this I have encountered a few struggles with the productions, this is due to things like getting a good mix and getting the synth sounds to sound how I want. However, despite these setbacks progress is still at a good place and the project is still on track to be finished for the release date of the 24th of May.

Finished Tracks

Despite this, by the end of these weeks two tracks were fully completed and I had moved on with the creation of the rest of the EP. It will contain four songs all together which is a reduction from the original plan but still enough to display the ideas of the project and be a good release.

The image below is the lead synth for the song ‘Mewtwo’. As I am trying new production techniques throughout this project I decided to make a synth using sampler which I had never used before. Youtube tutorials were really helpful for this and I was able to make a strong drum and bass lead bass that plays throughout the song using a frozen reese bass and the automation of a filter and the volume of the FM synthesis within sampler.

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2 Weeks Beginning 28/3/20 - Another Disappointing Change in Direction and Where the Project is at Now

Project Plans Change

Along with battling to find the time to collaborate with Joe there is also another big problem that has arisen. Due to the UK lockdown measures from COVID-19 I am unable to continue to go out and capture my own found sounds around Bristol. This is a huge blow to the project as there are now a lot of sounds that I had planned to record that I am no longer able to do such as the trains at Temple Meads and the sounds of crowds at a Bristol City FC match. Alongside this I am finding it a lot harder to incorporate the sounds I have found into the tracks as well. As it is something me and Joe have never done before it is proving a big problem for the progress of the tracks and seems to be holding it back at this point. As the tracks are all drum and bass it is proving especially difficult to bring found sounds in as they all sound out of place due to the fast and tight nature of the drum and bass genre. 

Although this is yet another disappointing blow to the project I have decided to leave out the found sound synthesis element for now and to just focus on creating tracks of the highest quality possible for the release. Despite this, using found sounds is still something I want to do in the future and will definitely be using it it for a project when I have more time and am able to leave the house to go and capture the interesting sounds I want. I am aware of the huge changes that have happened to the project and am disappointed that they were not able to materialise as the idea and proposal were both promising and would have been a really interesting thing to create. Unfortunately though, with the heavy time constraints from other university modules and with collaborators, the work that needed to be put into it was underestimated and became unrealistic. As it stands my focus for this now is to create a drum and bass EP of the highest quality possible. This is still an interesting process for me as I haven’t made much of this genre before and have never released anything to the public. Because of this it is still essential that I create work that I am proud of and so I am able to take the next step in my career and begin releasing my music.

Finished EP Artwork

A positive of the progress however is that after deciding on the EP artwork I asked Kye to add the name of the EP to the image so that it will be ready for release. The final artwork for the project is below.  

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2 Weeks Beginning 14/3/20 - Track Progress and Project Artwork

Track Progress

Continuing in these weeks, work was carried on for the production of the tracks with the first being completed. Below is a Serum patch I made for a track called ‘Pathfinder‘. I am quite new to Serum and still learning a lot trying to work out how to use it to its full potential. I’ve found Youtube tutorials really helpful in finding out how to make my own synths and what I can do within Serum. This patch acts as the primary bass element throughout the song and is quite a classic neurofunk type of synth which is the style I am aiming for with this project.

Project Artwork

I wanted something unique for the projects artwork so decided to use my own piece to keep it original and personal to me. Coming from Bude in Cornwall I wanted something that featured elements personal to me but also works as an attractive and eye catching EP cover. I chose a piece I made a while ago which is made from a picture I took of a beach in Bude which I then edited into the picture you see below. I thought this would be the perfect artwork to use for the EP as it’s something I made myself and is a unique image. 

References 

Boder, R. (2018). What makes good artwork? A study | Spinnup. Retrieved 15 March 2020, from https://spinnup.com/gb/blog/what-makes-good-artwork-a-study/

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2 Weeks Beginning 28/2/20 - A Change in Direction for the Project

Due to heavy time constraints on both of our sides due to deadlines and Kye’s busy work schedule we have decided to remove the visual element from the project all together. This is a big shame as it is something I have always wanted to do and was looking forward to doing but on the realistic side of things it is just too much work for both of us to try and complete by the release date and would result in it being rushed. It was discussed with Kye that it would be better for the project to leave out the visuals for now and keep it for a future project when we both have the time and facilities avaliable to make something for a project that would be of a high enough quality to release. 

This is a big blow to the project as the visuals were one of the leading elements that was going to bring all of the work together and also something that I have personally always wanted to learn and begin introducing to my own music. Unfortunately though as I have never done anything to do with visuals before I would need to learn a huge amount of stuff to be able to make something of quality for the tracks. This is unrealistic alongside making the tracks for this and with the other two final modules I have for university at the same time. Although Kye was going to lead the visuals side and help me to learn how to do it he has a backlog of work he needs to complete for ‘Army of Few’ the graphic design company he works for. The amount of work and time needed to create the visuals was heavily underestimated by us so we have decided that leaving it for a future project is a better idea.

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2 Weeks Beginning 14/2/20 - Collecting Sounds and Starting Tracks

Found Sound Recordings

In preparation for the project I started recording my own sounds that I found around Bristol using a Zoom H2n microphone. As found sound synthesis is a crucial element for this idea it is essential to begin putting together a library of sounds for use in the production stages of the tracks. I got a portable microphone specifically for this project so I could record my own sounds at any time and begin compiling them for use. Below is an image of me recording a heavy drip from rainfall in a tunnel which had a lot of reverb in it creating a very interesting sound. Unique sounds like this are my focus as they will help massively during the production stages. Online sources were used to help during this process to make sure I capture the recordings as well as possible and produce a high quality collection.

Progress on the First Track

Along with recording found sounds, production continued on the first track for the project. Joe and myself began bringing pieces together and putting the ideas for the tracks into place. Once a number of recordings had been captured I started playing around with them using things like granular synthesis to heavily alter them and progress with ideas of what they can be used for. An important thing to remember when working with field recordings is the mixing of the sounds as I found they can be hard to work with and fit into a track. This is something that will need to be looked into to make sure using them in the future will be as high quality as possible.

References 

Brennen, I. (2018). Adventures In Field Recording. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/field-recording-technique

Virostek, P. (2018). How to Record Quiet Nature Sounds: The Threat of Noise | Creative Field Recording. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.creativefieldrecording.com/2018/08/22/how-to-record-quiet-nature-sounds-the-threat-of-noise/

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2 Weeks Beginning 1 /2/20 - Late Start, Project Beginning and Group Meetings

Late Start

Although the timeline within the project proposal aimed for the creation process of the project to begin on January 1st 2020, due to unforeseen circumstances and set backs the project began instead on the 1st of February 2020. As stated in the proposal the objectives for the first weeks of the project were to hold group meetings with the collaborators and create an outline for both the audio and visuals. 

Collaborator Meetings

This began by speaking to both Joe and Kye about the direction of the work and what we will all need to be doing in order to bring each element together and complete the project on time. The initial ideas for the songs were discussed with Kye while we both drew out some ideas for the direction of the visual pieces that we will create for the tracks. Discussions took place with Joe about how the collaboration would work and we both dicussed our strengths and weaknesses to get a good idea of which parts would be better for us. Along with this, different interests and styles along with a wide range of artists and music was discussed to bring together the influences for the project and narrow down the vision for the tracks. The projects idea for using found sound synthesis within the tracks was discussed with ideas for what can be used and how it can be implemented. Although we know it is going to be a difficult task to create something using this style it is something everyone is looking forward to working together on. 

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Original Abstract

This projects primary aim is to explore an area of production and performance that is previously unknown to the artist, thus developing their abilities and further enhancing their skill set. The project will explore a variety of production and synthesis techniques inspired mostly by the use of found sound recordings, along with visuals being developed specifically for each track. An electronic music EP will be created in collaboration with producer Joe Hurrell with a focus on utilising found sound recording techniques and digital processing methods. Alongside each of the tracks in the EP will be a visual composition made in collaboration with audio visual designer Kye Taylor. This will expand on the idea of the EP and create an extension of the tracks in video form. The videography of the visuals will be loosely linked together forming a theme from track to track corresponding to the audio. With the creation of this work, a full audio and visual project will be completed which utilises the creative methodologies set upon at the beginning of the planning. The piece will be an exploration of these new ideas and techniques which will culminate into a full project of work created using skills the artist had no experience with before. In the context of this proposal, the artist referred to will be Luke Spry as he will be the creator of this project.