Link to CV:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A2NHMwQL0IWa4a9K9_b43RSJLAcwN1_5/view?usp=sharing
Artist case study
Gorillaz
The Gorillaz are arguably the most well known “Virtual Band” in the world. Averaging around 12 million monthly listeners on streaming services. They’ve managed to stay so popular after 20 years widely due to their cult following. They’ve Toured all over the world and collaborated with Rappers such as 6LACK and Andre 3000, big names in the HipHop world, which contributes to their currentness. One of their most defining and unique features is their use of art and storytelling. The idea that the Gorillaz are not a physical band, but rather a “Virtual Band” created through their avatars. Their social media is full of promotional posts and tour dates but always incorporates their art and uses vibrant colours and stories to attract the followers attention.
Videos on Youtube such as “Feel good Inc” tell a story through the Gorillaz eyes. It gives the audience a better understanding of Damon Albarn’s (The lead singer/ songwriters) mind.
The man behind the art is illustrator Jamie Hewlett. Funnily enough a former student at Northbrook MET. Maybe I could incorporate my own art into my music using someone studying illustration at Northbrook. This would be relatively unique to most artists my age. Also I thought I could incorporate animated avatars into real videos such as my skating videos. I think that would give me some uniqueness away from the Gorillaz.
For their release of their album “Humanz” in April of 2017, the Gorillaz launched a self titled App. It offered augmented reality insights and early access to trailers and songs from the new album spread out around a virtual house. With this app came their “Humanz house party”, a big virtual party showcased all over the world. There were over 500 global geolocated augmented reality parties in 146 countries that over 125,000 fans around the world found and attended to stream the new album. This was a marketing stroke of genius as augmented reality apps such as ‘pokemon go’ were just beginning to take off and this gave Gorillaz a massive boost in streams and interest.
Artists case study
Billie Eilish:
In the last few years Billie Eilish has exploded onto the music scene. She has this unique genre of Sad pop that resonates with younger audiences, and is best known for her sad “depressing” songs. Her timing was perfect as she released her first major album around the time that lots of social media platforms like TikTok were on the come up. A lot of youths do deal with mental health problems and I think Billie resonates with them as she’s relatable. Her parents used to sleep in the front room so Billie and her brother could have a room each and she expresses genuine emotion because her songs are telling a true heartfelt story that people can relate to and that she communicates so well.
Billie also has a bold and distinctive style that has a powerful message behind it. The story goes that she wears baggy clothes because she doesn’t want to be body shamed, which again is relatable to a lot of teens, her target audience, but has now become her signature look and gives her a lot of authenticity. Her brother and her use to go out and record weird sounds they find in the streets and they would then transfer that into their music, which again gives her that quirkiness and uniqueness. Maybe I could try and record and add my own sounds i’ve sound into my work. That would give me a uniqueness that most artists my age wouldn’t have.
Her music videos and artwork are a great reflection of her and her music. Bold and strange cover, with her almost always in the middle. This also reflects really well on stage as she has mesmerizing stage shows. She’s also a big figure in the social media game. She has over 40 million followers on instagram and averages around 5 – 10 million likes on each post. I could try experimenting with vibrant colours and strange artwork in my social media posts. One thing i haven’t done yet is show my face on my music socials. Perhaps thats something to think about.
She posts interesting, pre planned photos that always share a colour pattern, and turn her social media into an art form. When she released her album “When we all fall asleep, where do we go?” She hosted a release party and each room had a different song, with different smells, different textures and just little random things going on which again gave her a uniqueness. This shows how well she transfers people into her world and gives them an experience to remember.
Artist Biography;
Conor Walker is a British producer based out in Brighton. He started learning instruments from the age of 6 and has been playing ever since. 3 years ago, he started his producing journey on the original logic. He started experimenting with the loops in logic, creating his own unique tracks. He really enjoyed finding loops that fit perfectly together to create something no one else had.
Then when he was 13 he joined a couple youth groups, Access to music and Jam Brighton. Jam Brighton help young musicians create bands, finding other artists with similar tastes and they would then arrange gigs for the bands to perform at. Access to Music is a group helping teens produce music. This is when he was introduced to Logic Pro X, which he found he could already use pretty well as he’d had the previous software. This is where his passion for music was found.
He had a wide range of genres that he creates, primarily HipHop, Drill, Pop/R n B and indie using live instruments. His old twist if modern music makes him unique to other young producers his age. Inspired by music from the 60’s up to the 90’s and a lot of my music is inspired by 70’s and 80’s synths and dance / pop rock records.
He’s released single tracks on Soundcloud and Youtube. As of yet, he’s only played in smaller gigs such as the latest music bar in Brighton and bar 42 over in Worthing. A 12 track album showcasing multiple genres and all expects of my skills, computer based and instrumental is currently being work. With the help of Archie, another student at Northbrook, they plan to release their album for their FMP.
Personal Statement:
I realised that I had a strong passion for music when I was a very young child. On long journeys I would pass the time sitting in the back of the car, head leaning on the speaker, listening intently to my parents’ CD of hits from the 70’s and hearing the small, insignificant instruments and melodies behind the vocals.
As I got older, my dad taught me how to play the guitar and my parents always pushed me to expand my musical abilities and tastes. Later I learnt the drums and then piano. Being an instrumentalist I believe makes me stand out from a lot of other producers studying music technology and production as I have the ability to record my own live instruments without the help of other musicians. This way my music is more authentic and exactly how I want it to sound.
It was around the age of 13 that I first started experimenting with music production technology. I started to create tracks using Logic loops and loved how I could make my own unique songs. This is where my love for production started. I then joined a production group called Access to Music that helped young musicians like me learn production skills and help improve my songwriting. This is where I made my first fully authentic song and my first collaborative track with another producer and rapper.
What I particularly enjoy about my current college course is the chance to work in an industry level studio, recording live instruments, working with real synthesisers and mixing desks. It’s helped me develop a deeper understanding of the type of environment I’ll be working in at university. Through my course I’ve met loads of great producers and musicians, collaborating on multiple projects, in genres of music that I had never thought about creating before and I believe it has opened my eyes and influenced my tastes in the music I produce.
Some of the skills that I am looking forward to exploring and developing at university are sampling and recording. I love incorporating old samples from vinyl and CDs into my music as well as my own live instruments.
In my college course I’ve proven that I’m excellent at managing my time by always submitting my work to the deadline. I’m a highly motivated person and always pay attention to detail, working hard on a project until I believe it’s perfect. Several years ago I achieved my black belt in karate, then went on to work as a karate instructor which I feel demonstrates that I am hard working, focused and dedicated to anything I put my mind to.
A real passion of mine is live music and over the years I’ve seen performances by a diverse range of artists at gigs and festivals. A stand-out moment for me was seeing Gorillaz play live and experiencing the energy they created. They incorporated so many genres and aspects of music and art into their music and had rappers over from the US and London perform with them. What makes them such a unique band for me is their use of visuals they had playing on a huge screen at the back, showing each of their avatars. It created a story for each song and gave us a glimpse into their minds.
This is something I’d love to incorporate into my own music and I am looking forward to meeting and collaborating with musicians and visual artists at university. Currently my greatest inspiration is Tame Impala. I love how he incorporates live instruments and electronic sound in his unique 80’s style psychedelic pop rock songs.
Ultimately, my ambition is to become a successful producer/ songwriter. In 5 years time I hope to have a career working as a producer for a record label, perhaps my own, creating my own songs and collaborating with lots of upcoming artists and talent I’ve found. Studying music production at university will give me the skills and tools i need to make this possible.
GCSEs
English LanguageAQA – 6
English Literature AQA – 5
History Edexcel – 5
Maths – 5
Science 5,5
Music – 6
Photography – 4
Religious studies – 5
My EPK
As a producer, my role is to turn a track from an idea into a piece of art. It’s not just amazing production, it’s finding the right sound that best fits the song. I specialise in turning live instrument recordings into fully constructed and mastered songs. On top of being a multi instrumentalist, I also excel in recording vocals and creating synths and sounds via electronic production. I make sure I always push to make a track reach its full potential and won’t stop until everyone loves it. Im dedicated to progressing and expanding my musical abilities and hit every task I have at full force, soaking in new information and applying it to my work.
My production expands over many genres, producing work for Pop and Hip hop artists to Psychedelic Rock and folk. I love to talk to the artist im producing, find out exactly what they want and how they want something to sound, taking them through the process and showing them multiple different ways their track could sound.
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3U0ww7Al3qBXU2plYHUJYQ?view_as=subscriber
Soundlcoud:
Level 3 Music Tech (Second Year Blog) 