What influences can you hear in your track?
With my style of singing, you can't always make out exactly what I am saying throughout the song, especially in the verses. This adds to the contrast/journey within the song and aids the creation of the image I want to create in the listeners mind when they first hear the track; because they are not necessarily focusing on what I am saying, but more on the way the song feels. Some influences I can definitely hear in my singing are Lana Del Rey and Radiohead. The riff I am playing throughout the verse reminds me a bit of Nirvana and the chorus, with its long, sustained notes, reminds me of If I Get High by Nothing but Thieves (Brown, J. Craik, D. Mason C. 2015). A lot of the time, my melody/hook lyric writing is very influenced by a band called CREEPER, I love the catchiness and flow they create in their songs.
However, in this song I took a lot of inspiration from Radiohead and the themes in Yorke's music. When researching into the album In Rainbows, I realised that actually, the topics in this album, as well as in OK Computer (they both influenced this song) are very similar, as Thom states his lyrics are "about that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking, 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing something else'." This resonates a lot within my song, as the idea of 'everything being misplaced for no apparent reason' is very relevant throughout the theme of the lyrics and the emotion with which I sing.
The guitar sound and overall atmosphere I am trying to create are very much inspired by Radiohead too. I can also hear some influence from The Stone Roses (self-titled album), characterized by their wide spread sound, with a magical vibe to the music, where you feel as if you are floating.
What am I learning about my own sound?
My track is most descriptive through the lyrics and melody.
Up until now I have never gotten a song to the point where I was happy with it or even where I wanted to perform it, so it has been an amazing experience to finally create something as such. I am becoming more comfortable with my own voice every day, and have learnt that it sounds best if I just sing, instead of trying to sound a certain way. I am still experimenting with my sound but I would definitely say this song is a very good summary for my style/what kind of music I wanna put out into the world. The way I see it is I just wanna make music you can lose yourself in when everything else feels less alive.
What creative/artistic doors are opening through this track?
An MA student in the house band (Chris) has asked if he can produce my track with with me, which could be an amazing opportunity to finally get some of my music out there. It will also allow me to finally experience what it is like to work in a professional music environment as this is something I have never done before.
- BPM: 83bpm.
- Key: F#m
- Time signature: 4/4
- Structure: AABABCDCC
- Harmonic Ideas (chords): Shown on the left. The chord progression is unusual, in the verse it goes from chord I to chord VII, in the pre-chorus it is chords III, V, IV and in the chorus it is VI, III, VII. This works well to keep the listener engaged throughout, as they are not simply hearing the same, common chord progression of I, IV, V you hear a lot in pop music.
- Rhythmic/Melodic ideas: Almost the whole melody line is conjunct, repetitive and syncopated. In the pre-chorus the melody repeats its self and then the chords hang on the Bm for two bars. This creates tension and leaves the listener with a feeling that something is missing and longing for a melodic release. However, this does not happen until the second time round, where at the end of the pre-chorus leading into the chorus, there is a jump in the melody line. The chords go up to D, then to Asus2 and then to E, which marks the melodic resolution/release, as the chord of E was used at the beginning throughout the verse and therefore brings the song perfectly to an end.
- Key Technical/Performance Techniques: To capture the emotion, I make sure my posture, facial expressions and way of singing reflect exactly what I am talking about in every part of the song.
- Key Production Techniques: I have not yet produced this recording of the track due to complications which I have talked about in my reflection.
- Lyrics: (Also shown on my previous post)
Verse 1
See you walking, feel you talking
Sleeping on the streets, looking around for myself
Keep sleepwalking, colours warping
Creatures running around, it looks like hell
Buildings growl, they’re in denial
Creep in style for somebody else
My feet keep track of the pebbled cracks
I fear, give in and reveal their spells
Pre-chorus
Can you tell right from wrong at all?
It’s all fallen into place, it’s back,
Do you want it back? Do you want it back? Do you want it back? Will you wrong it?
Are people acting how they should?
You misplaced it now its sad,
It’s gone, it’s sad, it’s gone inside, this home is bad,
It’s come alive
(that last line skips the second time round to go straight into the chorus)
Verse 2
They speak in tongues sweep out your lungs on to the floor
Forced to breathe no more
The pebbled cracks keep track of me, but it’s so serene
I'm still stuck in a dream
Chorus/end release
Do you want it back Against the wall?
