George Walker's Audio Project 2 Resit

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Electronic Sequencing + Voices – Wandering Eye Dance Remix

The original Wandering Eye song by Savlonic (2011) was the inspiration for creating this remix for the EP. Savlonic are a synthpop (pop music featuring heavy use of synthesizers/electronic instruments) virtual band (where the band members are portrayed as animated characters, a term that was popularized by the Gorillaz in 2001) that was created by the flash animator Jonti “Weebl” Picking, and consists of himself voicing the lead singer called Thunderpants, his wife Sarah Darling voicing the singer/keyboardist called Evangeline D’isco, and Katt Wade as the voice behind the drummer Kandi Flaus. Their first single as a band was Electro Gypsy in 2008, and their first album, Red, was released in mid 2014. Wandering Eye was their third single, and was a song that I remembered quite vividly since its release on Weebl’s YouTube page. I was 14 at the time it was released, and hearing the song again after 7 years has inspired me to create a dance remix of it.

Wandering Eye Dance Remix – The ProTools Session

When it came to getting the vocal parts for the remix, I downloaded the vocal files from the official acapella that Weebl uploaded on his YouTube channel. I did this because I wanted to do a proper remix of a song that I listened to for a lot of my teenage years, and I felt that using the official vocals would help to make that a reality. In addition, I knew I had permission to use the vocals in my remix because, in the description of the video, Weebl himself stated: “Feel free to use this audio for remixes but please, please, please don’t release any tracks you make with it commercially unless you get our permission first”. Once I downloaded the vocals and inserted them into the ProTools session with the right tempo to go with it (138 bpm), I was ready to begin the sequencing process.

I started with the drum set, including a kick drum, a hi-hat, and a snare, to form the basis of the songs rhythm. The kick is a basic ‘4 on the floor’ pattern (4 beats per bar), with the last 2 beats on every second set of 4 kicks being a triplet of kick drum hits. In addition, the hi-hat is sequenced to be on every other 8th note so it plays between the kicks, which is a common trance pattern (1:05 – 2:08 in the video linked), while the snare is on every 2nd beat, otherwise known as the backbeat. All of this was done because I wanted to create a Techno remix of Wandering Eye, and using a very common Techno drum beat to keep the rhythm for the remix was an obvious first step. After this, I then had the task of creating the bass-line synthesizers, as well as a more melodic sound, to give the track some life.

I had 2 bass synth tracks layered on top of each other, but panned to the left and right to avoid cluttering the sounds too much and provide some space within the song. In regards to the sequencing pattern, both tracks copied the kick drum pattern because I wanted them to be helping to accentuate the kick drum beats and boosting the rhythm of the song, while still providing the bass-line which supported the vocals and the melody.

The melodic synth plays an arpeggio (when the notes of a chord are played one after another instead of all at once) melody for the chorus, the same for the middle section (although an octave higher in pitch), and then shows a unique difference for the verses, where it is structured to play 5 notes every bar. This drastic change for the verses is because I wanted the vocals to take over the melody from the synth within those sections of the song, shifting focus away from the instrumental background to the vocals. The reason I didn’t do this 5-note pattern on the choruses is because the choruses repeat themselves, and while the vocals are still the most prominent feature in that section, I wanted a melodic arpeggio to back them up in order to make the chorus sound more ‘exciting’.

Wandering Eye Dance Remix – The use of Velocity in the sequenced elements

In regards to the velocity changes within the song, there are only two major areas to talk about: the build up to the vocals and the fade-out at the end. The velocity of the tracks was quite high throughout the entire song to make each of the sounds and beats sound more intense (as velocity is similar to how a piano key behaves – the harder it is pressed, the more forceful the note is), following on from the steady increase of the velocity of the synths at the start. I did this, as well as the fade-out at the end of the song from the slowly reducing velocity, because I wanted to add some variety to the start and end of the song, so it wasn’t completely repetitive the whole way through and served as a clear intro and outro to the song.

Genre Research for the EP

Over the course of the last 2 weeks I have been collecting various pieces of research which I hope will aid in the creation of this EP.

I decided that researching Electronic Dance Music was a good way to start, as it would allow me to understand the kinds of songs that I intend to design. As it turns out, EDM is only considered an umbrella term for the huge variety of musical styles that emerged. The genres all include several features which link them all together: they feature inorganic sounds and synthesizers, with some inclusion of vocals and instrumentation as an extra addition to the songs. The most important thing to note is that the genres are all designed with strong rhythms with one goal in mind for the listener: to make them want to dance to the songs. Each genre has a different audience and different production techniques, so, for my project, I needed to narrow down my research into which genres I wanted to choose for the project… and there were many of them to choose from.

Some of these options included House, Techno, Drum and Bass, and Trance, although there were many more in addition to these. However, the ones mentioned above were the ones I had chosen initially to briefly analyze and talk about their features, because these were the ones I had either listened to or at least heard of prior to this project. The plan was that when the analysis of each of these genres was done, I would then be able to understand more about each of the genres and choose what to create based on the knowledge I gained.

We start with the House genre. Originating from Chicago in the early 80’s, it is characterized by its use of repetitive rhythm patterns (the ‘4 on the floor’ kick drum rhythm specifically, where the drum hits on every beat) and electronic drum machines, with one or two build-ups and drops around the verses and choruses. House is considered one of the more popular forms of EDM, used by many notable artists such as Deadmau5, Avicii, David Guetta and Daft Punk.

Techno began life in Detroit in the mid 1980’s, with influences from House, Synthpop, and Electro music. Compared to House music, Techno is usually faster paced, with most songs between 130-150 beats per minute while House songs vary between 118-135 beats per minute, and while both genres feature repetitive beats in a 4/4 pattern (4 beats per bar) and similar uses of hi-hats and snares, they both portray completely different feelings to one another. Techno has been historically more serious and dark, while House is more positive and upbeat in comparison. Some popular techno artists include Blake Baxter, Ken Ishii, LFO and Adam X.

Drum and Bass is a faster genre of music, with songs that usually remain between 160-180 bpm and is centered around the use of drums and a bass synthesizer. Usually the drum kit has a pattern that sounds like this (the original sample was known as The Amen Break from the 1969 song “Amen Brother” by the Winstons), and usually features one or two main sections following build-ups/breaks. Some well known drum and bass artists are Pendulum, High Contrast, Goldie and DJ Hype.

Lastly we have Trance, which is a melodic, freeform genre that originated in Germany in the early 90’s, and is considered a very simple and repetitive genre of EDM. The main features of this genre which give this impression are the tempo (around 140 bpm), the drums (due to the basic 4/4 pattern they have), the riffs (synth riffs in Trance are incredibly common) and the female vocals, if any vocals are included at all, which are “floating above the synths” to offset the robotic nature of the synths. Notable Trance artists include Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, and DJ Tiesto.

With these genres listed above and some of their main features detailed, I can make my decision about what genres I wish to use for my EP. After much thought, and looking over the genres several more times, I have decided that I want to create Trance and Techno songs in this EP.

Aim, Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Aim: For my project, I aim to create a 5 track Electronic Dance Music (EDM) EP. The entire process of creating this EP (the sequencing, mixing and mastering) will be done by myself.

Objectives:

1) To create 5 EDM tracks for the EP (to a total of around 15 minutes in length),
2) I will develop the tracks to a professional standard and compare them to similar songs, or songs that heavily influenced their creation,
3) I will organise/manage my time effectively in order to best produce the EP.

Leaning Outcomes: By the end of the project, I will have

– Used appropriate techniques to add electronic music effectively based on my research into Electronic Dance Music,
– Compared my work to professional products and evaluated the creative choices used on those works, which help my own creativity to flourish.
– Highlighted any influences on my music, and explained why they had such an impact.

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