Research : Professional Practices : Contacting Artists

Throughout my project I have contacted multiple artists/vocalists, with the aim of getting them featured on my EP

When approaching an artist, I have always approached them in a professional manor so that myself and my work will be taken seriously. I have been using email and social media platforms such as Facebook to contact artists I would like to work with. I have a attached a screenshot of one of the emails I have sent out to an artist to demonstrate the appropriate manor in which to contact people.

Professional email 1

 

Reply 1

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1

Research : Professional Practices : Demos

Throughout this project I have been carrying out professional practices to collaborate with artists/vocalists

One of the things I have been doing is ensuring all of the demos I have sent out to artists are produced and mixed to a high quality. Firstly I create a beat in the DAW Fruity Loops using a variety of midi instruments and samples I have also been applying processes such as reverb, compression and distortion to mold these instruments to make beats that sound good.

After I have finished making a beat in Fruity Loops I then export all the stems into Pro Tools where I mix the beat and use a frequency analyser plugin, the plugin I use is called Neutron and it allows me to remove individual frequencies from each instrument stem to allow each instrument to better sit in the mix so rival frequencies are not competing with one another.

I have attached two screenshots of the processes the same beat undergoes in Fruity Loops and in Pro Tools

Fruity EvidencePro tools evidence

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1

Research : Professional Practices : Communication

Today I have been carrying out research on professional practices within the music industry, I have been looking at a various number of websites and books. Sourcing the article Learn How to Communicate in the Music Industry(thebalance.com) by Heather McDonald I have found a relevant passage to help me define and explain professional practices in the music industry,

One of the most basic ways to demonstrate your professionalism is the way you communicate with your colleagues in the music industry. Whether you’re a musician approaching a record label, a label approaching a distributor or a wannabe manager reaching out to an established manager for some advice, being professional matters. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Get to the point
  • Don’t be too casual
  • Respect Boundaries
  • Don’t lose your temper
  • Be Courteous

I have also been looking at the The New Music Industry: Adapting,Growing, And Thriving in the Information Age (David Andrew Wiebe)

David wrote professionalism is important….different industry people have different preferences for communication

Good communication is a key skill to have if you wish to be professional and successful within the music industry. Throughout the duration of this project I will be ensuring my communication with artists is always appropriate and  productive.

This post relates to Learning Outcome 1


 References

The New Music Industry: Adapting,Growing, And Thriving in the Information Age By David Andrew Wiebe

https://www.thebalance.com/music-industry-quick-tip-communicate-like-a-professional-2460778

 

 

Research : Mike Dean : Travis Scott : Vocals

Travis Scott is a producer/rapper who’s unique sound is composed of heavy autotune, deep 808’s and lively synths. Birds In The Trap Sing Mcknight is Travis Scott’s second album and American engineer Mike Dean is responsible for the mixing on this album.

Today I did some research on Mike Dean and his techniques used for Travis Scott’s vocals and I found a Twitter conversation between Mike Dean and a fan talking about  Travis Scott’s Vocals on the album, from reasing this Twitter thread I have identified two main things valuable to my research.

 

mike dean evidence

Image sourced from (https://twitter.com/therealmikedean/status/771856313383026688)

 

Firstly it is clear that Mike Dean intentionally made Travis Scott’s vocals the most noticeable part of his mixes. By allowing the vocals to have more dynamic range, it places emphasis on Travis as an artist and forces the listener to acknowledge his voice is the main instrument used in his music. This relates to learning outcome three and I will be incorporating this technique of vast dynamic range on the vocals for my Travis Scott inspired track.

Secondly I find Mike Dean’s response very interesting, it shows that even as a well established audio engineer with years of experience,the final sound of the music is ultimately the artists decision’s and as an engineer Mike Dean has to respect how Travis Scott wants his music to sound and be consumed. This relates to learning outcome one, as it gives me a prime example of how professionalism extends beyond mannerisms. Being a professional audio engineer means you have to listen to the artist you are working with and respect their wishes when it comes to the overall sound of their music.

This post relates to Learning Outcomes 1 & 3

Research : Young Guru : Vocal Tracking of Jay-Z

Young Guru is an American audio engineer who aided Jay-Z in the recording and mixing of the album The Blueprint 3.

The Blueprint 3 is Jay-Z’s 11th studio album and was released on the 8th September 2009. This album is one of Jay-Z’s more commercial albums featuring chart topper’s such as “Run This Town”,”Young Forever” and “Empire State Of Mind” which was Jay’Zs first number 1 on the Billboard 100.The album was clearly created to be commercially appealing and  I believe that should be taken into consideration as I carry out my research on Young Guru.

Today I carried out some initial research research on Young Guru and I found  an interview with him and Sound on Sound magazine. In one segment of the interview Young Guru starts talks about his method of  recording Jay Z

“My signal chain is normally a Neumann 87 or 67 going into an Avalon 737. I love the way the Avalon preamp sounds with his voice. It’s a perfect match.”

The Neumann u87/u67 are both very high end large diaphragm condenser microphones and are famous for giving an extremely neutral vocal recording ,the Avalon 737 is a top of the line channel strip that adds warmth,definition and presence to a recording. Jay-Z has a very distinguishable voice so it is clear why such a neutral microphone would be put through a channel strip that can add even more to his unique voice. For my project I will be doing all of my vocal recording using a Neumann 87,this will allow me to capture a neutral sound and will not stop the creative process in production . However I can try to imitate these choices Young Guru made using the equipment that is available to me.

With regards to the Avalon 737, the multi track studio has a Chameleon 7720 compressor that I will be running all my vocal tracks though.The Chameleon 7720 is the closest thing to the Avalon I can get my hands on and it will allow me to imitate the Avalon’s audio processing capabilities.

This post relates to Learning Outcome 5

Full Interview is available at https://www.soundonsound.com/people/secrets-mix-engineers-young-guru