Song106_It's Up To You

Today's song is nothing short of a miracle. Not because it's the best song I've ever done, but because of how well (and how quickly) it came together...under pressure. I didn't actually start this song until 8:15pm, and I had no idea what I was going to do. I started with 4 drum loops, then I added bass guitar. I created sections, added some synths for textures, and then I quickly wrote down a few lyrics. The lyrics were written in about 10 minutes, and I had trouble making things fit at first. By this time it was already 10:30, and it usually takes an hour to mix the song and get it uploaded. But, I knew I wanted vocals on most of the songs this week, so I gave it a few more tries. A few tracks were recorded in one take, and the ones that took longer caused me to skimp on my editing this time (but I think I hid the un-edited sections well). I was racing the clock during the mix, but fortunately it came out pretty balanced the first time through. This is one of the quickest songs I've written and recorded so far. This will be the first song on the next album, Atomic Darling (Week 16).

LYRICS: "Time races by, then races out of sight. I think I might like to try one more time. What will you do once you've caught your own tail? What will you do without the busyness around?"

I have been busy these past few days with work, and also with trying to update the website (http://www.anewsongeveryday.com/). Check out the new videos! Matt Coleman (http://www.unblindproductions.com/) did a great job filming and editing these short commercials.

-Matthew

Song105_Parting Skies

This song, Song105_Parting Skies, completes another album. Week 15 has been an experiment with new instruments and a new genre (sort of). I like the direction this music is going, and I feel like certain things are making more sense. It's getting easier to place and write guitar tracks into the dance rhythms. Also, I've learned to write the bass lines early in the process so that everything else compliments the rhythms and bass. I think I'm getting better at mixing (and EQ'ing) this new sound, and I've already learned new editing techniques (for creating pockets of intensity). There are many ways to build a techno song, but pop/rock songs have more of a direct formula (which can still be altered). I like the freedom of this music...taking any turn at any time, repeating certain sections, playing some section once (and never repeating them), etc. I plan on continuing this pursuit into next week, but I will add vocals into the experiment.

The newest album, Reverent Awe, will be online tonight.

-Matthew

Song104_Skylines

Today's song is a little different than the others from this week. It still incorporates a variety of synths, but it's much slower and smoother than the others. I started this song with a guitar track (that I cut before the final mix), and then I added bass guitar. I tried to play each section of the song in a different way on the bass guitar...one measure sustaining each quarter note, one measure double-time but sustained, one measure staccato with moments of silence between each note, etc. This helps things to sound different even when the drum rhythm stays the same.

I started recording this song around 6pm, worked on it for 4 hours, and ran out of time. I still need to update the website tonight (so the most recent songs are available), but I feel like I could've continued developing this song...possibly even adding vocals.

I met with Matt Coleman today, and we made the final edits to the video for this project. I hope to have that online tomorrow.

-Matthew

Song103_Reverent Awe

In a few ways, this song is my favorite (so far) of the week. I like the way the rhythms, synths, and guitars partner together on this one. And, it has a variety of sounds and sections so that it always seems to be changing. Each change doesn't just add instruments or get louder/quieter, but they also seem to have very different textures. I'm using synth sounds (and software) that I'm still getting familiar with. There are lots of sounds, and a limited amount of time each day. Sometimes I can't be too selective...especially if I already have a sound in my head that I'm searching the computer to find. I try to narrow down the qualities of each sound that I'm looking for, and then find something similar, record it, and move on. The mixing and mastering techniques have changed slightly this week because of the new sounds and style. After five days of this style I have learned some new tricks, and I'm happy with the final E.Q./levels.

I encountered another problem with the online jukebox that I'm using, so please be patient while I find a solution. I created a new account with SnoCap (so I'd have room for the next 100 songs), but there have been issues with publishing rights on the newest songs (?). I think I confused them by created two accounts. I have asked them for recommendations, but they typically take a while to respond. I will try to get things working as soon as possible.

-Matthew

Song102_Control

The past few days have been an interesting learning experience. It's been a challenge trying to learn how to write songs in an unfamiliar genre, but I'm not just trying to copy one certain band or style (that would be easier). I'm trying to take the foundational qualities of dance music and blend them with my favorite type of guitar-based rock. So far some things have worked, and some have not, but I think I'm closer to what I'd like to accomplish this week.

Once again, Brandon was able to help in the studio today. We talked through this idea before starting, and we were able to work out the details on guitars.

Today's song is ready (17:25 CST), but it will not be uploaded for another few hours. I'm incorporating an additional jukebox player into the website (to accommodate more songs), so please be patient.

-Matthew

Song101_Hard Drive

Brandon is in the studio with me today, and we're still experimenting with new equipment. The focus is to create a song driven by rhythm and bass...and loaded with synth. Most good songs of this style have multiple highs and lows...constantly creating and releasing tension. There's creative and technical techniques for achieving that, so we're focused on some particular tasks that will (hopefully) give us the outcome we want. There's always some degree of a learning curve when you start writing songs in unfamiliar genres. I've enjoyed this music for years, but I don't listen to it very often...nor have I taken the time to analyze it as much as I have other types of music, but it's been fun so far.

I realized today that yesterday's song didn't upload to the online jukebox (provided by SnoCap). This is because they have limited my account to 100 songs. They didn't say that I was limited to one account, so I have created a new one, and I hope to have yesterday's (and today's) songs uploaded by tonight. If you read this before the song can be posted, then you're welcome to send me an email and I'll attached the mp3 files in my reply.

-Matthew

Song100_Bright White

I enter into triple digits with this dance song, Song100_Bright White. This type of music has great energy with a solid bass line and layers of drum sequences driving the song. It's interesting how quickly a song like this can change directions (during the recording process), but that's to be expected since I write as I record. I plan on singing along to some of this week's songs, but I had a dentist appointment earlier today. My mouth was numb for hours.

100 songs is a good checkpoint. I plan on listening to everything over the weekend to critique things so far (there are lots of songs that I haven't listened to since recording them). Overall, I'm very happy with how things have gone. No technical difficulties. No (major) lulls in creativity.

I'm going to sleep now, but I'll celebrate this achievement tomorrow by recording another song.

-Matthew