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brain bloggings

Place, Space and Bass...

28/4/2017

2 Comments

 
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​​For a long time now, I have pondered the relationship between visual art and music.
I happen to love both art forms greatly, and contemplate the ties between them when working on one or the other.
 
I laughed the other day when painting because I attempted to ‘EQ’ the warm colours out of a piece (I also tried to locate Ctrl-Z to ‘undo’ something on a drawing, so maybe I am going mad). It’s interesting when I am mixing songs, I get the sensation of frequencies as certain colours, that need to be mixed in a particular way, edited, moved around, removed, made more prominent or brought further back, as they would in a painting (especially more recently, in learning so much about, and manipulating and being creative with, sound, through this audio course).

It made me so happy, then, when today in class Tim used a work of art - ‘The Tower of Babel’, by Pieter Bruegel (1563) - to describe how a good music mix should be composed – with consideration of "Place, Space and Bass".
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Image Source: The Google Art Project - https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/bAGKOdJfvfAhYQ
I gained greater satisfaction mixing a track just after this, having these thoughts in mind; visualising the mix, how the composition was working, and where all the elements were within the space. It helped me to better conceptualise music composition! 

I can understand each art form far greater when I perceive their cross-over with others I practice - when I can visualise a song, or ‘hear’ a work of art. It allows more meaningful schemata to form in my mind, and this network of connections between information is exactly how humans learn. 
A deep, enduring understanding, changes us from thereon, rather than having detached ideas, isolated pieces of knowledge, that we may recall but that have no great influence or effect.
​One of my favourite artists of all time is Wassily Kandinsky, he was both a musician and visual artist, and was very attune to the connection between these art forms. A book of his I absolutely adore is ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’, where he addresses the association in our psyche, in our spirits, of visual and aural art.
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Image Source: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/01/12/cultura/a05n1cul
“Colour is a power which directly influences the soul. Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand which plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul”. - Kandinsky (1977, p. 25).
And that is exactly what art does - it causes vibrations in the soul. Both music and visual art touch those same ‘strings’ in us.
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Pertinent excerpts from Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
I attended the Van Gogh exhibition yesterday and, maybe it was my greater exposure to music recently, found I was struck by certain sounds, instruments, balances of music that different pieces permeated. It was a very affecting and impressionable experience of art.

His works have a life force, an impressive living quality. Because while they were created over a hundred years ago, the force that created them is the same now, and exists in those viewing them - the same reason any of us feel the need to paint, make music, make art, dance, act... Express something.
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I like looking at people looking at art.
​It’s just so wonderful that there is this inexplicable, unwritten correlation that we feel, that exists and that our minds manoeuvre without having to consciously employ it. It’s very natural, and feels beautiful, absorbing the intricacies of art - music and art - and allowing the experience of each to inform our own creativity.
Kandinsky, W. (1977). Concerning the Spiritual in Art. New York: Dover Publications.
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Top Image Source: 
http-//www.healing-power-of-art.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/brain-right
2 Comments

Preparing to make Live Sounds...

22/4/2017

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​​As time approaches my group's live gig night, it’s been interesting to look back at the gigs my peers have put on so far that I've attended.
It’s been so cool to experience my friends and classmates presenting such enjoyable and top-quality live gigs - I’ve been a proud audience member each time! I’ve been genuinely impressed with the effort and outcomes. It has been striking how complete the live sets have been for each of them - the lights, the projections, the stage set-up, the extras (some with food, even Snapchat filters) - and the quality of sound has been unreal - professional standard!
Liam Wilkerson opening for Hounds to Houses. (Live group: Lewis Murphy, Daniel Clark, Daniel McArthur, Louis Welch, Zac Dal Santo & Caleb Chayna). One of my favourite light shows here!
Hounds to Houses [feat. Liam Wilkerson]. (Facebook: ​https://www.facebook.com/houndstohouses/)
Hannah Glass opening for Hey Mammoth. (Live group: Jeremy Tang, Nic Spiteri, Henry Mo, Maj Brahman, David Sawang, Pete Srimuang).
Hey Mammoth... Some of the most magnificent vocal harmonies I've ever heard.
​(Facebook: ​
https://www.facebook.com/heymammoth/).
Venetian Blinds. I absolutely LOVED the lighting and projection in this one - it set such a cool, coherent vibe, with their gothic-style, dark music... brilliantly done. (Live group: Nick Elliott, Wayde Suchodolskiy, Ben Robertson, Jordan Duggan & Mohammed Mohammed). 
My group's second live session (Friday of this week) was focused on monitor set-up. I found what Tim was explaining about the importance of monitor positioning extremely interesting - there is so much involved in the arrangement of monitors that many people would not ordinarily think of or consider. The height, for example, is extremely important - to have the speakers actually projecting to the ears of the players (rather than hovering at their feet or something)... You have to at all times consider the direction of the sound coming from the cones and decide whether they are doing their job or possibly being detrimental to the overall sound!

The way monitors interact with each other is also vital to take into account. Where the high frequencies and low frequencies are directed (and their relation and cross-overs), the distances between artist and monitor/s, and the space between monitors. Something I found cool and thought-provoking was the need to add delay to certain monitors, in order that the sound from the different sources is reaching the artist at the same time. We worked out that the front monitor, for example, was around 3 metres closer to the lead singer than the side-stage monitors, so it had to have its signal delayed in order to have the sound in sync. The clarity increased straight away when a delay of 8 milliseconds was added - it suddenly brought the sounds perfectly together. It has made me extra aware now of the acoustic considerations required in setting up any sort of monitor sends and mixes, and is all very intriguing to learn about.

I really dig the console work with monitor set-ups - more so than the stage work. I made a few wrong and ‘not-great’ decisions with that - I think I get confused and sometimes even overwhelmed, for no particular reason. There are so many points to remember, and I may be focusing too hard on not making mistakes that I make mistakes anywhere I've neglected to focus on (?). It’s also a side of things I don’t do too often (or at least at that scale) - I am more so in-the-box mixing, and working consoles - so I’m less confident with the technicalities involved with on-stage equipment.

When I don't practice something often, it may as well not be considered a skill. So the more I am a part of this set-up, the more I hope I will get the hang of things and feel natural with this work, probably even enjoy it! It is a cool thing to be doing, I like the structure of it - the routines, the processes that one follows each time, the physicality and the organised-nature. As well as, and especially with, the final result.
 
It was challenging for me to work in and around 5 other people setting up the stage too - I feel strange constantly checking what other people are doing - what’s been done already, what needs doing next, and sometimes by the time you start something someone else goes to do it. That’s why I’m glad we’ll be each having our own roles on gig night - it’s much better to be able to focus on a particular task, and work through your own responsibilities! Always collaborating as a group, but not stepping on each others' toes.
 
I think overall we’re still needing to work better as a team - this is continuously improving though so I have faith it will extend for our gig. I started a Trello board too for this intensive, so I am hoping the admin side of proceedings will be taken more care of. Especially for events, it’s so vital to have WRITTEN plans of attack, and points to reference and delegate tasks.
 
If we can pull this off I’ll be absolutely stoked – it’ll be my first ever live experience as CREW, so I’m sure I’ll be elated!
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I'm looking forward to turning this space into a live event!
Somewhat randomly here is a song I have been listening to non-stop recently - a new track from Future Islands, Aladdin. Thinking about live gigs too, and recordings of live gigs, this is a nice-sounding live recording I think - it seems like it would have been an amazing gig, and the audience are well into it which shows that the quality of the sound was up there (enough that the technicalities are inconspicuous). Thanks too to Samuel Herring’s impassioned performance - I love the way he feels the music and sings REAL. (He IS one of my favourite voices). Plus, the bass line of this song is killer. Yes. 
YouTube URL: ​https://youtu.be/9lma5p09Pwk?t=40s
2 Comments

Freelancing...

15/4/2017

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Recently I've had the pleasure of working with Spec8 in the studio - a duo from Melbourne who play a variety of covers in acoustic-style.
​

Reinette and Leeroy have been playing together for about a year now, and are extremely well-rehearsed, so my job as an engineer was simplified thanks to their musicianship and professionalism. This studio time has also been their first in-studio experience, so I feel so glad to be able to provide this to them. I absolutely love Reinette's voice, and with Leeroy’s skilled playing they create some really beautiful sounds, that should be recorded in pristine studio quality and distributed for many people to enjoy (as much as I do).

I am currently in the process of continuing to mix and edit the tracks. There were ten all up, and they will be split into lots of mini EPs - the first will be completed over the next few weeks. As I am working on them, I have thought how I really do not want to over-produce them - the style of the music wouldn’t suit that, and I think the performances are quite wonderful even as they are. I am really only applying light work that will correct where necessary and emphasise the great aspects, whilst keeping the performance raw and genuine.
​
Being in the studio by myself has always been a little daunting for me, but I am becoming more and more comfortable with it. Of course, the more time I spend in studios by myself, having opportunities to practice, think things through and troubleshoot, the more confident I'll feel. It is still a very new and exciting thing for me to be working in audio, so I am sure that the longer I do it, the more everything will become natural, hopefully even second-nature (as quite a bit already has).
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Reinette & Leeroy in the Neve recording space
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The duo performing their covers
The past week also marked the beginning of my group’s Live Sound intensive. I didn’t expect to enjoy live sound as much as I did and am. I haven't yet considered live as a future profession for me, as I haven’t really perceived myself potentially working in the area, so never attempted to learn heaps about it. Nor was live sound the motivation behind me actually enrolling in this audio course (that was more the ideal of working in a studio). After my first session though, I hold a completely new outlook towards live sound, as a sector of the music industry I would potentially work in.

As my tutor, Tim, was explaining all about what it's like to be a part of the audio of a gig, and the amazing performances he had been a part of, I thought how absolutely amazing it would be to have this as a job - giving sound to audiences, people right in front of you, to experience live music (one of the most wonderful experiences there is).

Thinking about it, live actually was, and continually is, a significant contributor to my desire to work with musicians and music. The environment of gigs and concerts, and the thrill of experiencing music played in real-time, has been a huge influence in me desiring to professionally work within music. So in that way, live sound is extremely important to me, and the more I learn about the ins and outs of it all, the more I am enthralled.

Tim showed an interesting time-lapse video of the setting up of a Muse concert - the amount of work involved was actually hilariously extreme, I couldn’t fathom it. All the small figures bustling around, focused on their own tasks and jobs, the amount of practitioners from separate fields all working in and around each other... It was so aesthetically pleasing to watch! The efficacy and organised-nature of it all.

My favourite part was, when all the constructive and preparatory work was done, and the stage was at the point it always looked when I attend concerts, the audience rolled in - completely unaware of the intensity of the set up, and what it takes to put on a concert of that magnitude. But that is what's so special about it - they shouldn’t know. The very essence of music, the way it communicates and connects to us, is a stand-alone feature - it’s all a bit magical. That’s what is nice about it.
But learning the behind-the-scenes perspective I'm sure wouldn't necessarily take that away - it would rather allow you to focus on deeper aspects, and the formative pieces that present the music as a whole. Plus, the satisfaction of a successfully produced gig would surely be as rewarding.

The software and hardware we use in this class was also intriguing... Actually just reading through the instructions for the Venue software and the S3 was enjoyable somehow! Venue is extremely enjoyable to work - its layout is seriously simple to follow, with everything clearly marked and outlined. The S3 is also a very cool console to use in relation. I’m looking forward to the times I get to spend working them, especially in putting on our live gig (featuring Spec8 as our opening act)!

Maybe I am liking consoles and software more as we go because I am getting better familiarised and learned with the processes involved, and slowly gaining the underlying audio knowledge and understanding to work these sorts of surfaces.
It does tend to be that the better you are at something the more you enjoy it (and the more you enjoy it, the better you end up being). I’m starting to think my mind isn’t necessarily non-disposed to technology, and maybe instead, that I just needed the sufficient time to understand it.
2 Comments

Studio-ing...

6/4/2017

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Over the past four weeks, myself and five others from my course have formed a creative music-making, producing and engineering team. We've taken half a page of lyrics and turned them into a three-and-a-half minute song. ​

It was by no means a smooth process (just because of how difficult it is to function around six people creatively), but it was an extremely enjoyable, gratifying and educational one.

Something I’ve learnt that definitely stands out, is the need for a certain degree of roles within teams. Most prominently, the need for some sort of a creative leader – a head composer/creator and producer. Not that it isn't okay for everyone to work together and each have input, but a certain sense of order is maintained when the final decision rests on a single head.
It became a struggle when people wouldn’t take the reins, especially when others assumed they were. I’ve learnt not to expect – to set out tasks, in writing preferably, and all work on our specific allocations. It does depend on the people of course, maybe not everyone needs this, but our group, I realised, would have worked far better had we done this.

The technical roles are more easily spread, floated about, especially all being students, it’s good for us to move about. We did pick up these roles whenever we could (all attempting to learn the techniques involved) and jumped in when we felt. Here is a case of the more minds the better – working out steps and solutions to problems on the console and with the engineering.

We also didn’t have heavy contact throughout the off-days. I tried having mini-meetings at the end of sessions to delegate tasks, but having agreements only verbal didn’t do a lot because it's simple to skew from something un-written. A social platform really would have helped us, something like Trello (but that still does depend on everyone in the group using it).

It was quite a fluid process though, and there was much enjoyment in that. I did like that we were all pitching in, and on equal footing.
It’s more just for the organisation that structure within the team would have benefited us. Especially being that we had only 4 weeks for this entire activity! When you’re running tight on time your schedule has to be tight to cater.

My role was more clear (I did the Pro Tools work – the editing of the tracks and the arrangement), so I found I was able to focus on my task comfortably, and beyond that pitch in where I could with the production.
I enjoy Pro Tools so much now, I think there may be something wrong with me - I've grown a real fondness for the program! I really like working in-the-box; going at your own pace, trialling sounds, undo-ing, starting again, altering, editing, completing things to your satisfaction, and easily saving!

In the end, it did come together, and time-wise we didn’t do too badly!
Outside of the use of the outboard gear that is - I did find that more time for that would have been ideal - it would have been awesome to have been able to test out various compressors and reverbs before deciding on each (but in saying that, we did end up getting the sounds we wanted out of what we tried, so I guess it served its purpose). I just would have liked to survey the options a little more and get more experimental.

Overall I wish we had been more experimental, and taken more creative leaps in composing the track; adding more features, trying some electronic sounds, having greater variation throughout the track - just because this is a learning experience! Why not try as much as we can and carve out a song we’re proud of from that? We were a little timid in my opinion (which also comes from working within a group, it's hard to venture too far outside the box when everyone should be pleased). I would also tell anyone entering studio work (if they don’t already feel this way) to be extremely malleable and flexible - being tied down to ideas only stagnates growth. Our product is completely detached from our first ideas, and I like it that way. It was a more natural creative process for us - to build the song up, part by part, rather than 'tick off' each idea we originally had.

One of the most difficult aspects of this assignment being a group one, was the mixdown itself – it’s one thing to decide what goes in to a song, but a whole other to level the parts and resolve how the entire song will sound. Everyone has different taste when it comes to music and what, to them, sounds balanced – heavily dependent on the style of music we’re used to and what we’d aim to emulate – so it’s almost tiresome to try to work all of this together and for the song to become what each of us consider to be appropriate.

Balance and the mix are make or breaks for the track - all the elements of a good song can be present, but if they are not aesthetically balanced within the aural space, the song can lose the effect in its creative parts.
Levels really are everything, and one of the final hurdles in creating a quality piece of work.

If we were to have mixed this song individually, we would have created six different songs.
For interest’s sake, and simply because I want to practice the processes some more, I am going to make my own mix of the song, and hopefully a remix too (because I think there are gems of music within this song to work with).

Here is the track, as a creative amalgamation of the six people who worked on it: 

Listen on SoundCloud
I personally quite enjoy our song - it’s something I would listen to recreationally, so to me that’s a great sign! It’s the style of music I like - the gritty, lo-fi quality, with a thick arrangement, and several parts winding in and out of the mix. It's got a nice feel to it as well, in the key and chords.

The distorted guitars is one of my favourite parts, I think the way they underlie the entire song brings the whole piece together; tying it all in with each other, and providing the base for the lo-fi style. Dan made up the part for the electric guitar, the bass and the acoustic guitar, and I think the parts work wonderfully together. It set the tone for the rest of the track.

In saying all this I am not completely happy with our mix - there were ways I had to compromise, this being a group product. Amongst other things, I think it all needs more automation, so the levels are always shifting with one another and staying fluid. The distorted guitar I think needed to come forward and go backward more often. The drums also are too prominent in parts, while the bass I would have liked to be more prominent (I think it drives the song nicely, and lends a great groove to the track). In general I would've liked more riding of the faders.

I also thought the drum track could have changed up a little more, but other members liked the idea of a drum loop, which in the end suited, so that worked out fine in my opinion (it did turn out that the consistency throughout the song gave the track a particular vibe). The parts do work well together, and there is unity amongst the features… It just would have made for a more interesting and endearing mix I think - to have greater variation and dynamics, intricacies and depth, and a stronger character.

This is all just personal taste though, and overall I am very happy with what we managed to create over a four week period, especially being that we also learnt a whole new console within this time!

None of us were too fond of the lyrics either, so working beyond that to create a song we rated is something we should be proud of. To take a sheet of lyrics and create a living, breathing song is in itself a very rewarding process! I wouldn’t change a single aspect of it - it is the product of an intense learning period for us all, and I’d be happy to work with my team members again in the future.
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Creatively Collaborating...

1/4/2017

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The more time I spend in studios - in recording spaces, with consoles, amongst musical minds and musicians - the more I am reminded of why I chose ‘music’ to study in the first place.

Throughout my course we’ve learned the practices of various areas within audio (including Electronic Music Production, editing sound, acoustics, Post-production work and all about the technology involved in sound), but it’s always in the making itself that I refer back to in my aspirations. Working with artists is what made me enter a course in Audio. It’s within the music, that I gain the greatest pleasure.

There’s really nothing like being around musicians, around artists, around like-minded people, creatively working together to make something. What I love about this activity is its evolving nature, that you begin not knowing exactly where it will go! Someone suggests something, someone adds something, parts are added, edited, mixed, changed… It’s a process. The nature of it is ever-developing and unpredictable… It’s organic.

Hearing a song come together over time, and being a part of its creation, is so satisfying. There really is no feeling like it! The composition of music, the way phrases and sounds come together and intertwine, with the inexhaustible possibilities of music as a craft - is truly stirring.

This has also made me think about what it would be like to be more a part of the creative side of music making, like producing or performing, rather than the technical, engineering side alone. I’d also be keen for the more inter-personal aspect of this; working with musicians creatively, and helping artists express their music, to propel it into a public sphere, where it can be heard and appreciated (and affect people’s lives)!

The great thing about the music industry is that it is possible to be all of those things - it’s a diverse industry, and it’s possible to be adaptable, and move around! The more people I speak to, the more I realise how few practitioners only ever partake in one area, or have only pursued the area they decided from the beginning that they would.
There are so many avenues to be involved in, all working within the same network of music.
It’s a variable trade. Which is what’s so exciting about it!

Every time I am in the studio however, I am reminded how difficult it is to work on a single product with several people. The more minds, the more complex. Sometimes many brains cannot cohesively create a product that pleases them all! (Actually, ‘mostly’ would be more fitting). At the same time though, more minds = more ideas - more variation, more imagination, more possibilities...

That is why it’s very special to find persons that one can work intuitively and naturally with; you’re on each other’s wavelength… I think any good music that has ever been released, and any successful band or duo, has relied to some extent on a positive relationship between minds. Even if the relationship is quite volatile, or divergent, it can still bear something positive, something beneficial - in mutual objectives, in respect between peers - that even if there are disagreements, these can collaboratively cultivate a better, more interesting creative product.

Thinking of creative partnerships, here are some of my favourites...
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Image Source: http-//tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/92682960001
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Image Source: https-//au.pinterest.com/vilsonsa9/m%C3%BAsicos-the-beatles/
Lennon & McCartney, and The Beatles with George Martin...
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Image Source: http-//nightflight.com/r-i-p-george-martin-night-flight-remembers-a-day-in-the-life-of-the-celebrated-beatles-record-producer/
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Image Source: http-//www.vintag.es/2016/03/17-beatles-great-hits-produced-by

​Tony Visconti with Marc Bolan (T.Rex)...
Embed from Getty Images


​Jagger & Richards...
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Image Source: http-//www.soniceditions.com/image/mick-and-keith-in-the-studio
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Image Source: https-//bobbonis.com/tag/keith-richards/
The Velvet Underground & Nico with Andy Warhol...
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Image Source: http-//www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-velvet-underground-heroin
Simon & Garfunkel...
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Image Source: http-//societyofrock.com/simon-garfunkels-bridge-over-troubled-water-demo-is-a-masterpiece/
Mercury & May (and all of Queen, really)...
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Image Source: http-//supportbrianmay.tumblr.com/

​Strummer & Jones...
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Image Source: https://au.pinterest.com/foogirl/1/
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Image Source: https-//historiadeunacancion.lamula.pe/2015/07/16/the-clash-tiene-frio-por-los-ojos/israelzarate/

​​
I’ve heard from many people, and agree myself, that music is very much reliant on who you know - the people you work with. So I hope I continue to meet people that inspire me, surprise me, believe in me, respect me, interest me, and mentally stimulate and challenge me… and I them.

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    Bianca Molini

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