#creativeaudio

Overall EP 

The EP I have created for creative audio is simply named id_01. This EP is a collection of works I have created over the semester. Originally I was planning on creating a 4 track EP that would try to follow the narrative of me finding my identity in terms of music genres and trying to find out more about what I liked, but over the course of creating all these pieces the real meaning became much more personal and tied in with who I was as a person much more deeply than I expected. Essentially what this EP has turned out to be is a sort of narrative following a group of lost boys trying to navigate throughout the confusing confines of their own minds in the attempt to gain a sense of direction in this, crazy conflicting world they have created.

What this means is that this EP is about me and my multiple personalities that I seem to possess, and all these personalities trying to find a way to escape out of the confines of my own mind in the way of artistic expression. This EP to me also was a way to start explaining how utterly lost I am in my own darkness/thoughts let alone the entirety of the world. The presence of strong emotional influencers are also very prevalent throughout this EP as the moods and feelings created by the music can all be mapped to my own personal state of mind and emotional condition due to countless amounts of different contributing factors.

So that was the main aim of this EP and class for me personally, to find a way to properly express myself. But a secondary aim I had was to improve my skills with a DAW (Digital Audio Workspace, Ableton)  to the point where I could focus more on what I wanted to hear and not pull that focus into how I would hear that specific noise if that makes sense. Essentially I wanted to pick up a new trade that would be able to aid me further down the line in my journey of creative expression.

Originally coming to this paper I had only the very basics of knowledge around ableton from what I had learned last year in clints one week paper, and a very limited musical theory knowledge that only consisted of a small amount of self taught guitar. So coming up with the idea to produce a 4 track EP seemed to be quite a tall task but through a bunch of mucking around with stuff I managed to start to find my way around the DAW a lot easier and gained a basic understanding of how to use some effects, how to properly focus the main aspects of a piece through mastering techniques, different types of automations and much more that I will showcase in each of the blog posts regarding each song and layer individually.

The tracks 

This EP has 8 separate tracks all amalgamated into one piece due to the nature of soundclouds inability to post fully ordered albums. I decided to post all of the songs together so that the order that the tracks were played in stayed in tact and so that I could master them all in accordance to each other more easily, plus it provided a good way to not have to really worry about when the song was ending and listeners could just relax and try to enjoy the music a bit more than they would usually.

The tracklist is as follows and they all have links to their own separate blogs where I will go more into depth about each layer and the purpose and meaning behind every song.

Track # 1 : gan

Track # 2 : umo

Track # 3 : sst

Track # 4 : too many

Track # 5 : vittosong

Track # 6 : ccc

Track # 7 : fuck

Concept + Context - Creative Audio

Research - Creative Audio

Practice - Creative Audio

Experimenting and Feedback - Creative Audio

Experimental I

Experimental II - Part One

Experimental II - Part Two

Recording - Creative Audio

Soundbites - Creative Audio

Continuing through - Creative Audio

Editing - Creative Audio

Day Drinking or Experimenting - Creative Audio

More Inspiration - Creative Audio

Preparing for Feedback - Creative Audio

Making Cover Art - Creative Audio

Cover Art - Creative Audio

Ahead of schedule - Creative Audio

Finish Line - Creative Audio

Creative Audio 2020:

Genre(s): Alternative/Lo-Fi

Concept idea: A mini EP album containing ideally three tracks which produces a juxtaposed form of sounds. I wanted to try to formulate work that is both calming and energising at the same time. Something like a mix of emotions, or symbolising confusion - if there were lyrics I would definitely consider rather slow, sad or significant expressions in the songs. 

The past few weeks, generating ideas for a song was tough but I made a few tracks that needed heaps of tweaking. Although I am inexperienced in this field, learning how to utilise some basic features in Audio editing apps has connected me, in a way, to my favourite artists, as I sort of have an understanding of how they produce and lay out their work.

For one, I have always loved sad songs - or very slowed and out-of-zone type beats. I like to find slowed + reverb versions to songs. I find it relaxing and it keeps me in a steady place of thought for a while.  

Most inspirational Artists:

Billie Eilish - I find that I relate to this artist in many ways. From connection to her music as well as her personality and being around the same age, I see that a lot of her music and agendas correlate with some issues in our generation. Her debut album “Don’t smile at me” was something I could heavily relate to 3 years ago as dealing with a lot and not feeling I can talk to anybody, this album was always sitting in my playlist, and I was ready to indulge into an emotional mind field almost at any point. I also think she really set a standard for our generation and pioneered a new era in music. The song that not only went viral, but also caught my attention was Ocean Eyes (2016) because it was one of the very calming and go-to songs. 

Troye Sivan - Although I don’t identify as a LGBT person, growing up in my early teens I was feeling down a lot of the time. I would often listen to his music because it was soothing but every time I’d listen to one his Blue Neighbourhood (Debut Album, 2015) it always felt like I was listening to it for the first time again. One of his best techniques, in my opinion, is how he uses suspense in his songs and a sense of unpredictability especially in FOOLS in the “Blue Neighbourhood” album(2015).

Tyler, the Creator - I really love his sense of music style. He does not care about criticism and produces what he wants, when he wants - I love his aggression in his music with also a reflecting sense of vulnerability, especially portrayed in EARFQUAKE from the “IGOR” album (2019). I grew up (from age 12…) watching OFWGKTA and I loved the rebellious sensation they give off. 

7:AMP: Que (7:AMP) is a very very underrated artist. Listening to his music on sound cloud at first was a bit overwhelming with the unusual composition. I am used to a certain structure of a song - a catchy beat and repetition. His music often embodies a sense of unpredictability - the elements he uses is so messy and unsteady to the point where it is kind of soothing. I can’t explain it but it kind of gives me something to look forward to as the sounds used in his songs are usually unexpected and that’s what makes it unique. Prada don Dada, Boonana and Baby ball are some of his best I reckon.

Cover Art research:

These are cover art pieces I always enjoyed observing or inspire what I want to make…

These album covers are of the following artists in chronological order:

Don’t smile at Me - Billie Eilish (2017)

Blue Neighbourhood - Troye Sivan (2015)

IGOR - Tyler Okonma (2019)

Thank u, next - Ariana Grande (2018)

BLOOM - Troye Sivan (2018)

Prada don Dada - 7:AMP (2018)

Lovely - Khalid & Billie Eilish (2017)

1999 a Charli XCX x Troye Sivan (2018)

Wings - BTS (2016)

Techniques:

I have always had an admiration for rather simplistic artwork or cover art. Album or single art covers are something I observe to try and break down the artist or their intentions. I consider the colours, layout and style highly effective in portraying a proper image of what an artist will want to convey. 

Symbolism is always interesting in art, as you have to interpret or comprehend it in different ways, either how the artist intends to show it or how you relate to it in your own way. 

Colours: Either using soft and opaque colours OR bright and vibrant colours, I don’t feel as though they would work together efficiently, in my opinion…

Minimalism: Having a simple image or design is always elegant, when using the right colours and techniques I think. I do like negative space in my work and a clean finish. 

Cover Art:

These are rough designs derived from one concept made today in class...

I like using a lot negative space as mentioned earlier. It is more aesthetically pleasing. This concept was just inspired by my fascination for outer-space, particular Saturn. I just like Saturn. To me, it depicts that there is much more out there, not just in the world, but in this entire universe - more than what we could ever imagine.

For the colours, I just thought that using contrasting colours in the first two as it would not be difficult to see. Third one, I wanted a softer, opaque base and a warm colour for the planet - not too harsh on the eyes... 

For the music, I haven’t quite got used to all the tools in Adobe Audition. Serato studio was fairly simple to make a basic tune but I much preferred to use a traditional looking programme. I’m still in the process of producing three tracks and still learning. Although, producing isn’t my forte, I get a lot of help from my brother who happens to work under Sony: Columbia records. I want to produce music similar to his although the genre of his songs aren’t officially a genre. Siren jams are popular amongst Polynesian, Micronesian and Latino communities, especially in Mexico. I wanted to attempt to make a different kind of sound without it just sounding like a bunch of random sounds - still working on it.

Playlists of interesting songs:

General: https://music.apple.com/nz/playlist/heat/pl.u-AkAmPlyU216Xbd4 

Project inspo: https://music.apple.com/nz/playlist/creative-audio-inspo/pl.u-RRbVvBVF35EVJlv 

Trap/Hip-hop: https://music.apple.com/nz/playlist/trap/pl.u-leyl0yeCjXqz7Kk 

Tranquillity: https://music.apple.com/nz/playlist/playlist/pl.u-vxy693XCzV9REqA 

The idea behind pulse is the fragile serenity in the rhythm of a heartbeat.

Reflection:

With different circumstances this project could have more time to grow. As it is, i did learn alot in terms of audio effects and have only scratched the surface of what’s possible. I’ve become much more confident in terms of using Ableton, but need more practice and experience producing music. More mini experimentation sessions could help to develop more sounds and techniques. 

More work on the project.

With inspiration low, the next best thing to do is to experiment. I’ve been throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

I’ve gotten more confident with the Auto Filter and Glue Compressor.