Song099_Game Face

This song begins a new album, so, in effort to stay creatively fresh, I am changing a few things. I have tapped into a few software resources that I have not used before, and I now have access to hundreds of new sounds. (I got 5 new synth programs just before starting this project, and until today I had only used 1). This album, driven by rhythms and synths, will be a great opportunity for me to explore these new tools. I barely scratched the surface today, but I am already happy with the new sounds and features.

-Matthew

Song098_Drones Appear

Bass and drums drive this wash of bent guitar strumming, synth sounds, reversed guitar solos, and other miscellaneousness. I like the melodic sense of chaos and the comforting uneasiness of this type of sound (which was probably influenced by bands like The Swirlies and My Bloody Valentine).

This is the final song of Week 14, so that means a new album will be available online later tonight (Mayday). I wanted to get an early start on recording today, but my plan backfired. I worked on an idea for 3 hours before trashing it completely. I decided to look through a folder of old ideas that I store on a separate hard drive. I found one that had a guitar part that I liked, but there was a lot wrong with how the song was structured, edited, and mixed. I deleted about 16 tracks from this session (leaving only 2 tracks...one guitar and a backwards solo), and decided that was my new starting point. This old idea got new drums, a new (synth) bass line, synth vocals, an organ, and a few other things.

-Matthew

Song097_Storm Chaser

I wrote this song on an electric guitar, recorded it to a click, then deleted it after recording the bass guitar and solo electric guitar. This has been a reliable way of structuring the chord progression without always having a guitar strumming throughout the song. I really like how this one turned out. Especially since I didn't have a particular plan or a sound in mind. This one just worked. The opening section is very smooth, and it has minimal tracks (maybe 6?), and the Chorus section is dramatic (the "ahh" choir sends it over the top). The distorted guitar solo and fuzzy synth provide good contrast between the two sections, and the cymbal swells tie it together. I found a vocal melody that I liked for the Chorus section, and I wrote a few lyrics. Even though I liked the part, I felt like the singing distracted from what I really liked about the song...the instruments.

-Matthew

Song096_Sorting Beliefs

This slow, simple love song sticks to this week's theme...low track count with vocal harmonies. I actually wrote this song with a distorted guitar (recorded to the 'click'), and then added the two electric guitars. It was easy to find melodies to pick on the guitar while the distorted track was playing. The bass guitar changes notes quicker than the original distorted guitar, so I had to delete the distorted guitar track before recording the bass. Next, I added a soft string section and a solo violin. I took a 20 minute break to write some lyrics. I didn't want to use too many words, and I tried to record the main vocal track in a pure, heart-felt manor. Technically, that meant: proper E.Q., proper placement within the stereo-field, the right amount of reverb and compression, etc. Musically, that meant: singing quiet, 'breathy,' and close to the mic. It also helps to sing as though the person you're singing to is right in front of you.

LYRICS: "Holding you close, it's easy to see. What matters most, and why I believe. All that I am belongs to you. Always."

-Matthew

Song095_Mayday

This song, the title track on this weeks album, was fun to record. It's a dual-personality song...part rock, part space-rock. It started with a distorted guitar progression played to a simple percussion loop. I liked the combination of the different sections, and I thought it was a good challenge trying to make them connect. (verse: D-C, chorus: E-G-F#-B, bridge: F#-B-E-F). After the distorted electric guitar I added bass guitar, and a solo electric (also distorted). These few tracks filled the chorus, so I focused on building up the verse. I added a strumming electric (with deep reverb and a slight delay), and a string section. I'm still trying to keep things simple this week (i.e. low track count), so I decided to write and record vocals before adding anything else. I took a 30 minute break, wrote a few lyrics, and then I noticed that the best melody for the chorus was already being played by the electric guitar (solo). I re-arranged the words so the syllables fit the notes, and then recorded the first vocal track...mimicking the solo guitar melody. I'm also focusing on vocal harmonies this week, which I really enjoy doing, so I added two additional vocal tracks to the chorus. The verse has two tracks of vocals doing random "oohs" and "ahhhs." After recording the vocals the song felt pretty much complete. I added two gritty synth sounds to the bridge, and then I mixed, mastered, bounced, transferred, titled, saved, uploaded, emailed, blogged, twittered, prepared for tomorrow, and then ate some cheese and hummus.

LYRICS: "The system has lost it's course. Mayday follows. Radio Ground. Standby Control. Awaiting command. Procedure followed, but mayday resounds."

-Matthew

Song094_Ten Times Over

The foundation of this song is an acoustic guitar that strums throughout. This was how the song was written, and it was also the first track recorded. The bass guitar and string sections were recorded next...followed by the two electric guitars (picking single notes in different octaves). Brandon came by around 1:30pm and recorded the drums live (simple set-up...2 overhead mics and one on the snare...kick drum created using MIDI). Brandon engineered while I recorded the 3-part harmony section of vocals. I wrote the lyrics and the melody in 15-20 minutes, so it was seeming like we were close to finished, but the final details took another few hours. I had to mix this one 3 times before I was happy with the final E.Q., mix, and levels. My ears are tired. How does it sound?

LYRICS: "Love is such that it never goes bad, (it) spreads like wildfire. Ten times over."

-Matthew

Song093_Chaos As Strategy

I wrote this song around 11am today on the bass guitar. I didn't want other guitars playing throughout, so I added two tracks of simple parts (filling the sections without vocals). There is one keyboard part in this song...a string section. It doesn't demand attention, but the song sounds bare without it. There are also 3 vocal tracks and 2 percussion tracks (added towards the end). I think every track has some type/degree of reverb.

LYRICS: "There's the way it should be, and the way that it is. Staying might make it worse, but leaving won't make it better. One fighter fights for freedom, and one fights to rule the world. Neither are God's soldiers. Just misguided martyrs. The innocent, the majority, beg for peace and quiet, but the silence caused a riot."

-Matthew