TRACK 2: Watching Fires

THE WRITING PROCESS

In contrast to the first track I wrote, I decided to take a different approach when it came to composing this track. Rather than starting with lyrics melodies and chords, like I usually do, I thought I would achieve an effective outcome by creating programmed drum loops before writing any other components. I had full focus on rhythm, and creating atmosphere just with the percussive parts helped me to take my time with forming the exact sound I had imagined for this part (for which I took inspiration from the track Broken, by Isak Danielson). The lyrics in this song explore an aspect of life when we feel alone in our own chaos, feeling like we’re not strong enough and our visions are blurred. Once again, I have written the lyrics with meaningful metaphors and imagery evoking language.

PRODUCTION INFLUENCES

Being inspired by artists such as Isak Danielson and Dermot Kennedy, I took greater interest in programming strong pulsating beats and also introducing vocal layers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0njhBp4ePCk – Moments Passed, Dermot Kennedy. Different sounds are constantly added and removed in this track to create texture and movement. This song has taken a complex approach to the use of beats and percussion, I am absorbed in all the different samples that are combined together to achieve the overall steady and energetic rhythm. Both this track and ‘Broken’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cBpu1pPpzk) evoke a sense of empowerment and individuality that I hope to replicate.

SOUNDS

To achieve atmosphere and character, in this track I used certain synth pads in Logic’s Alchemy plugin that have built in effects. The Emerald Haze pad, Tidal Space pad and Retro Phase Sweep (ES2 plugin) play a significant part by adding stereo field, dimension, and establishes a dreamy soundscape.

EDITING AND MIXING

Percussion – Metallics: Adding to the texture and movements in the track, I cut up a distinct sounding shaker loop and, taking inspiration from ‘Moments Passed’, altered the pan of this part so it gave a feel of constant exciting movement. 

Acoustic guitar: As I recorded the guitar with one microphone, adding a Chorus effect gave the guitar more depth and tone.

After recording a strumming part panned left, I decided to record a picking guitar part to pan right, and to give this more tonality and character, I used the effect of a Flanger combined with a stereo delay and echo.

Vocals: Following a mixing session in the studio with lecturer Patrik, we focused on some vocal editing that could really strengthen this part, bringing out the emotion in my vocal and shaping it to be the ‘star’ of the track. To do this, I was introduced to some effects I had never used on my vocals: pitchshifter, distortion, and a flanger with stereo delay. Without making the vocals too loud, these effects helped me to create a pocket for my vocals to sit in so everything blended nicely, but also ensured that the vocals were present and sounded ‘close’.

Once all the volumes in the track were mixed and automated, I wanted the track to fade out and I achieved this in volume automation by gradually bringing down the master output track to 0 dB.