Before I took the WKNC DJ training course I was a little nervous about the term ‘DJ’. I didn’t know much about being a DJ and I was pretty new to the local music scene, I wondered if I was ready to take on DJ training. I’m writing this for anyone who might be wondering the same thing, or is just curious about what the WKNC training course is all about.
Two and a half years ago I took my shot and went to the station to see what it was like, and if I was a good fit for me. As soon as I walked in I knew I had found something special on campus. Everyone was really cool and chill, the vibe was positive and relaxing, and when I asked if there was anything I could do to get involved I was given some options about how I could connect and work with the station.
I was given the opportunity to review music for the station. I went in about once a week to pick up a new album and give back the ones I had reviewed. A few months later I started the DJ training course in the summer.
I went to the interest meeting (flyer above, link below) and realized that it wasn’t as nerve wrecking as it seemed. I learned that just about anyone with a love for music, video, audio, and writing could find a place at WKNC. If you vibe with the station, agree with the mission, and are inclusive and friendly yourself, WKNC could be for you. We do our work professionally, but it’s certainly not a scary place. The training course is there to teach future DJs how we operate and give insight into what being apart of WKNC is like.
My advice, if you are interested, is to go to the meeting and learn about all the different ways you can get connected. If you go to the interest meeting you can learn more about what the station does and see if it’s right for you.
My time at WKNC was my favorite part of my college experience, and I know it will be special for many future DJs too.
I honestly don’t know how the seasons work outside of the context of school, but given the second summer session at NC State is about to come to an end I thought I’d share some of my favorite tunes from this summer. Thanks to WKNC, and my Daytime Music Director position, my listening has diversified a lot lately, so here are some songs I found very enjoyable over the last two months. I hope you enjoy the variety of this playlist:
Zeros by Declan McKenna – Declan has been releasing tracks over the last few months for the record ‘Zeros’ that will be released August 21st. The original release had to be pushed back, given current events in the world, but I couldn’t be more excited that it’ll be out just next month.’ The Key to Life on Earth’ is my favorite track of the three singles so far, do you have a favorite?
Dance Alone by Blanks – This track feels like summer with it’s up beat rhythm and catchy chorus, it just makes me want to dance alone. Blanks has also had a few releases this summer, but if you need a quick pick-me-up I recommend starting with this track.
I Wish I Missed My Ex by Mahalia – This song is a vibe with it’s R&B and Soul sound, and it’s also incredibly catchy. The lyrics are funny and it’s easy to get into.
Social Drinker by Ballyhoo! – This is an incredibly relatable track I’ve mentioned on the blog before. It’s also really catchy with it’s surfer rock vibes and the hook is hard not to sing along to.
Eat Your Heart by Steam Powered Giraffe – I have not heard from this group in years and I was extremely excited when I heard this one, it’s an extremely catchy and beautifully dark track. It’s a love song for people who don’t like typical love songs. This band always stands out for their steam punk influence and it makes this song perfect for anyone who likes the style.
Easy by Justin Starling – This track is lyrically empowering and the beat paired with Justin’s raping is easy to get into. The chorus is also nearly impossible not to sing along to, a characteristic of any good summer tune.
Sick of Feeling Useless by Neon Dreams – I’ve talked about this track a lot on the blog but that’s just because I love it a lot. It also happens to have the perfect summer vibe, so it fits this list perfectly.
Was It Something I Said MyKey ft. Cavetown – This song is a bit less like the rest on the list. It has an interesting ‘old school’ sound, but it’s still extremely catchy. The lyrics are a bit ‘darker’ then the music lets on. It’s a really easy track to sing along to without realizing what you’re saying, and McKey and Cavetown vocals sound amazing together.
House by Baba Ali – This is another one I’ve mentioned on the blog before, so all I’ll say this time is it hasn’t gotten old and the genre bending sound makes it a stand out on any playlist.
If you are looking for some softer sounding tracks this summer I recommend Nothing by Bruno Major and Black Dog by Alo Parks.
Artist Record Label 1 EARTHGANG Mirrorland Dreamville/Interscope 2 YOUNG RJ AND MEGA RAN 2HANDSUP Ne’Astra 3 CASHINOVA Big Dragon Stophouse 4 SHIVUM SHARMA"Diamond" [Single] Self-Released 5 KING GINO Infinity Tapes, Vol. 1 Callisto 6 YOUNG FLETCHER" Energy" [Single] Stack Dollars Empire 7 OHAJIJ East Manhattan Project More Valid Decisions/Hustleward 8 FELIXX “My Baby” [Single] Loud N Klear 9B IG SEAN"Berzerk" [Single ]aftermath 10 MARMAR OSO Love Don’t Cost A Thing Free The Lost/EMPIRE
Artist Record Label 1 BUSCABULLA Regresa Ribbon 2 COWGIRL CLUE Icebreaker Vada Vada 3 JESSY LANZA All The Time Hyperdub 4 CARIBOU Suddenly Merge 5 DEATON CHRIS ANTHONY BO Y Self-Released 6 CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS La Vita Nuova [EP] Because/Capitol 7 HOT CHIPA Bath Full of Ecstasy (Remixes) Domino 8 JAMES MASSIAH Natural Born Killers (Ride for Me) [EP] Levels 9 GRIMES Miss Anthropocene 4AD/Beggars Group 10 SASSY 009 KILL SASSY 009 Luft
Artist Record Label 1 ABOMINABLE PUTRIDITY “Non Infinite Sequence” [Single] Self-Released 2 ENTERPRISE EARTH Foundation of Bones [EP] Entertainment One 3 FIT FOR A KING “God of Fire” [Single] Solid State 4 SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL"Demolisher" [Single] Sumerian 5 CURRENTS The Way It Ends SharpTone 6 BEHEMOTH A Forest [EP] Metal Blade 7 BENIGHTED Obscene Repressed Season of Mist 8 AVERSIONS CROWN Hell Will Come For Us All Nuclear Blast 9 GULCH Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress Closed Casket Activities 10 THE ACACIA STRAIN Slow Decay Rise
ALBUM REVIEW: Love Fame Tragedy – Wherever I go, I Want To Leave
BEST TRACKS: Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2), Honeypie, Sharks, My Cheating Heart
FCC violations: 5150, Pills, Body Parts, Multiply, B-Team
Love Fame Tragedy is the solo project of The Wombat’s lead vocalist and guitarist Mathew Murphy. It all began in 2016 as a place for him to put his songs that didn’t quite fit in with the Wombat’s album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, which is leagues more innocent and love-struck than this independent project of Murphy’s. Wherever I go, I Want To Leave is Murph’s debut solo album. This music is about as alternative indie rock as you can get for your buck, taking influences from bands such as Bastille and The Killers.
This album features an incredibly lush medley of percussion, guitar, and keyboard. Synth-pop elements are notably seen on the 5th track, ‘Multiply’, while track 2, ‘My Cheating Heart’, is heavier on the guitar and bass. Most songs on this album, however, are a spectacular blend of synth-pop elements and classic indie rock, mixing tight percussion and wavy synthetic effects with grounding baselines and catchy electric riffs. The instrumental on this album melds together, with no one instrument really taking the spotlight, which makes the vocals stand out a lot more. This is especially true on track 9, ‘Please Don’t Murder Me (Part 2)’ where the instrumental is really toned down to emphasize the message in the lyrics.
Though the cover art and title of this album seem pessimistic and bleak, the feeling I got from most of the songs on the album was quite the opposite. This album is very vibrant and lively, especially the 14th track, ‘Honeypie’. This album sort of seems like a confessional, as a common theme on this album is Murphy outlining numerous of his own flaws, such as his propensity to give in to the temptations of toxic women, spending huge amounts of money, drug abuse, and his tendency to bet everything on a whim – just to name a few. The list goes on and on.
Recommended if you like: The 1975, The Killers, Bastille, Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats
The Booms and Baps of Music Production: Getting Started
Now that you have chosen a DAW to create music in (If not, refer to The Booms and Baps of Music Production: DAWs), it’s time to get started creating your own track. However, staring at your computer screen with a new project can be daunting, especially if you are still learning it. Fear not! These guides are meant to help you gather your footing in music production by sharing my own experiences and tips I’ve learned from the pros (aka YouTube). Whenever I look at a new project, I typically already have a genre that has inspired me. It is a good idea to start learning different genres of music and determine which one you would be most interested in. That way, you can learn the key characteristics of the genre and jumpstart your next project.
First, I start with the chord progression or the drums. You can start with either one and many people prefer one way or another, however it is all up to you on where you would like to start. Now, some may believe that suddenly a lightbulb enters your head and then you begin creating your track as if someone inserted the instructions into your brain, but that is not really true. Most inspiration comes from experimentation. In order to create a chord progression, I have to search for the right sound and come up with an exciting pattern that I enjoy. Honestly, sometimes I am just tapping on my MIDI keyboard and playing something randomly while I’m scrolling through synth presets and end up using that. It’s even more exciting that way because it feels like it is your subconscious creation. You can do the same thing with the drums too, create a drum kit to your liking and play around with beats and rhythms that you like and remember there are no limits. Add two snares here and add four kicks here, as long as it has rhythm you have drums.
If you’re like me though, inspiration can still be tough to find and even then, creating professional sounding music can be tough. So, services such as Splice or Loopcloud could help give you that extra edge. I personally use Splice and have found much inspiration in their catalog. Splice or Loopcloud are services that for a monthly fee (Splice is $8/month), you can peruse a collection of samples, loops, and individual notes or drum hits and download them or drag it into your DAW directly. It is very helpful for producers looking to add extra elements to their music. If you’re thinking that you’re unoriginal for using samples, then trust me, I understand. However, it is what you do with the sample that makes it yours. Plus, professionals sample audio all the time.
I would also recommend googling free sample packs and see what comes up. People are always giving away free sounds which may be part of your new hit. I hope these tips help new producers learn more about the world of music and remember, create the music that makes you happy.
Let’s Get Psyched about creating a podcast. Making podcasts is rewarding and, thankfully, pretty simple too. If you don’t have everything you need at the start I think it would still be worth it to try and make do with whatever you do have and advance what you have as you go. This way by the time you have your ~preferred~ setup your podcast has matured to the point you want it at.
Step 1: The idea & purpose
If you’re planning to start a podcast you may already have your idea going, but either way it’s worth it to do an ‘purpose’ that you write down or say aloud. This can simply be a written statement you put in the description, on your social media, or even just in your personal writing spaces. This could also be a short first episode setting the premise of what you are doing, which is what I like to do when I start a new project.
This can help both you and your potential audience have an idea of where the podcast is going and why you are doing it. Knowing why you are doing something will help keep the work cohesive, and it’s good for brainstorming. If you ever feel stuck you can go back to this mission statement and remind yourself what you’re in it for. And if you ever feel like you don’t connect with the purpose anymore you can go back and change it. This just gives an easy and trackable way to see how you feel about your content and evaluate what you’ve been doing!
Step 2: Make a sample episode
The best way to learn anything is to try it. Just sitting down and making your first episode will teach you a lot. Do you like free flowing? Does it help to have notes written up? Do you sound natural? Are your ideas coming across the way you hoped? It has always been difficult for me to listen back to old material and watch old videos, but it’s the most helpful thing you can do for yourself.
I’ve found that scripting does not work well for me at all. I sound very unnatural if I plan my thoughts too much and it’s slightly less exciting to record that way. However, not scripting at all doesn’t work for me either. I like to have bullet points, highlights, something to guide me if I get lost in thought, but I like to keep them brief so I can be more engaged in thought while recording. They really just serve to give an episode direction and cohesiveness, but most of what I say is freehanded and I find that has served my purposes best. But there is no one way to do it and you may find something else works way better for you. The best way to figure it out is to try and learn along the way.
Step 3: Equipment
You know it makes sense this would come before 2… but anyhow the equipment needed for a podcast is simply a microphone (depending on the type you may need an interface), something to record into (laptop, computer, tablet, maybe even phone), a pair of headphones, and software for editing.
There are so many ways to do a podcast and setups can go from ‘simple and affordable’ to ‘complex and studio grade’. I use an Audiotechnica AT2020 microphone, I got it used for $50 and I got my interface (Scarlet red solo) for $70 open box. I used to use audition to edit podcasts, but since I no longer have access to that I use Audacity and reaper for recording and editing. Audacity is a free software so it’s an ideal choice for anyone starting and not looking for something too complex that is also affordable. Reaper is also pretty affordable, a license can be obtained for as little as $60 depending on the use of the software. Lastly, I use a pair of Audiotechnica M50X headphones. They’re studio quality and not too expensive at around $100, but there are definitely cheaper alternatives if you aren’t looking to spend that much. I believe the M20Xs are much cheaper and still a good choice.
Step 4: Putting your stuff out there
Publishing a podcast is also a pretty varying part. This really depends on the purpose of your podcast and who you want it to reach and how much you’re willing to pay. Publishing a podcast can be free if you use something like youtube (there are also other options), but again this is something you’ll have to do further research into because popular streaming services like Spotify and Apple music require payment for publishing. If you’re just starting publishing somewhere like youtube is a great place to start. You can gain an audience while you work on your direction and content. I posted my first episode on a free wix website before I started the ‘Get Psyched’ Podcast through WKNC and it helped me learn a lot about how I wanted to make my podcast before it went on a bigger platform.
I hope this information is useful to anyone looking to start their own podcasts. The best piece of advice I have is to just have fun with it~ Making podcasts has become one of my favorite things and further developing my podcasts mission and topics has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve enjoyed having guests on my podcasts a lot, starting to turn my podcasts into videos, and using the podcast as a way to educate myself more. There’s so much that came out of podcast making I didn’t expect, so good luck on your podcast creating journeys~
