Category: Blog

Categories
Playlists

Friday Favorites (7/24)

This week, my Friday Favorites are made up of some of the best new releases I’ve recently found within a variety of genres. 

SUNRISE – MICHELLE 

This single was just released by MICHELLE: a band composed of six 21-year-olds from New York. The track is catchy, bouncy and has the perfect vibe for a summer afternoon. The vocals remind me of UMI or another great indie artist, and I definitely recommend giving it a listen. 

Don’t Be Mad At Me (ft. Freddie Gibbs, Snoop Dogg) – Problem

This song is definitely a summer hit to me – I love seeing artists I’ve known for a while start collaborating with bigger artists and getting more recognition. I recommend this song if you like rap, especially artists like Tyga or DaBaby. It’s super catchy and the verses are well done. 

Cookie Chips (ft. MF DOOM, Cam O’bi) – Rejjie Snow 

This song perfectly mixes rap and R&B verses with a dreamy, complex melody and a hook that doesn’t leave your mind. It’s a really beautiful song and features some artists I really love. I highly recommend this song in particular. 

Spit You Out – Cults 

The music Cults produce has undergone significant changes since their breakout album, Cults. Many of the new songs, including this new single, reflect deeper instrumentation and richer lyricism. This is a great song, listen if you enjoy artists like Sleigh Bells or Tennis. 

Radio Shack – Vulfpeck

Adding into Vulfpeck’s groovy discography comes their new EP, featuring Radio Shack, a funky instrumental track that will have you bobbing your head and putting it on repeat. This band is really cool because they actually sold out Madison Square Garden without a top record label or manager. 

You can check out this week’s Favorites as well as all songs from previous weeks on Spotify. Enjoy!

– Miranda

Categories
Music Education

The Booms and Baps of Music Production: Getting Started

 

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.

-Tegan

Categories
Music Education

How to make a podcast

 

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~

Until next time,

Let’s Stay Psyched about Podcasts,

DJ Psyched

Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 7/21

Artist Record Label
1 CASHINOVA Big Dragon Stophouse
2 PAT JUNIORI Thought I Knew Be Absxlute
3 MAXOLIL BIG MAN Def Jam
4 MC^2 Venus STYLiSM of Soul
5 ANDERSON .PAAK Ventura Aftermath
6 YOUNG RJ AND MEGA RAN 2HANDSUP Ne’Astra
7 KASH DOLL Stacked Republic
8T OBI LOU Live On Ice Empire
9 BREVNER IKIGAI Vol. 1 [EP] Urbnet
1 0SAINT JHN"Trap" [Single] Godd Complexx/HITCO

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 7/21

Artist Record Label
1 SCHOOL OF X Destiny [EP] Tambourhinoceros
2 MELODY Teacher’s Pet [EP] Self-Released
3 IGGY T AND THE CRAZYMAKERS Just Can’t Get Enough Underground Sun
4 JAUNTAll In One Self-Released
5 DAKOTA THEIM Somewhere Under The Sun Self-Released
6 EVE OWEN Don’t Let The Ink Dry37d03d
7 EX NORWEGIAN Something Unreal The Best Of Self-Released
8 BECCA MANCARI The Greatest Part Captured Tracks
9 BABA ALI This House [EP] 30th Century
10 JUNIOR MESA Peace [EP] Nice Life
11 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM Circulatory System Elephant 6
12 VARSITY The Basement Takes Run For Cover
13 STRFKR Future Past Life Polyvinyl
14 PIKES Camp Self-Released
15 METHYL ETHEL Hurts To Laugh [EP] Dot Dash
16 OH SEES Face Stabber Castle Face
17 HALF DREAM “Strange Lover” [Single] Self-Released
18 HALA Red Herring Cinematic
19 ANDY COOK I’ll Be Fine Self-Released
20 SOCCER MOMMY AND FRIENDS VARIOUS ARTISTS Loma Vista/Concord
21 KOKO NEETZ I.T.T.I.P. Admirable Traits
22 ROSE CITY BAND Summerlong Thrill Jockey
23 BUILT TO SPILL Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston Ernest Jenning
24 SIMEN LYNGROTH Muse Self-Released
25 FRITZ HUTCHINSON Wide Wild Acres Center Cut
26 DIET CIG Do You Wonder About Me? Frenchkiss
27 LADY LEGS Off Days Communicating Vessels
28 KID FROOPY Silver Silver Deadbeats
29 BASEMENT REVOLVER Wax And Digital [EP] Sonic Unyon
30 PIP BLOM Boat Self-Released

TOP ADDS 

1 AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT, THE Hollywood Park Rounder/Concord
2 MAKANAA Hawai’i Interlude Self-Released
3 NYALLAH Reflections [EP] Self-Released
4 NZCA LINES Pure Luxury Memphis Industries
5 BAD MOVES Untenable Don Giovanni
6 SHISH Imafitishei Self-Released
7 ILLUMINATI HOTTIES FREE I.H.: This Is Not The One You’ve Been Waiting For Self-Released
8 ST. SOUTH Get Well Soon Self-Released

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 7/21

Artist Record Label
1 IF I WERE YOU Radiant Dark Self-Released
2 ENSIFERUM Thalassic Metal Blade
3 DAWN OF ASHES The Antinomian Artoffact
4 BURY TOMORROW Cannibal Sony
5 CARACH ANGREN Franckensteina Strataemontanus Season Of Mist
6 LAMB OF GOD Lamb Of God Epic
7 MAKE THEM SUFFER How To Survive A Funeral Rise
8 HOLLOW FRONT Loose Threads Self-Released
9 ENTERPRISE EARTH Foundation of Bones Entertainment One
10 JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED Pain Is Power Self-Released

Categories
Playlists

Songs of Summer

Summer: it’s the time for hot weather and vacation. Unless of course, you’re living in a rainy town during a global pandemic, and have been under quarantine for months. But summer music is one of my favorite genres. These are the best summer songs and albums that take me right back to sitting on the beach and enjoying being under the sun. Hope you enjoy and have a fun, safe summer! 

channel ORANGE – Frank Ocean

This album is a really great one. It contains lots of upbeat songs that are great for a summer day, like Lost and Super Rich Kids. A summer playlist isn’t complete without Frank Ocean. 

PCH – Jaden 

Willow and Jaden’s vocals on this song make it so unique. The cool melody paired with their simple lyricism makes it a relaxing summer song that I can’t get enough of. 

Empty – Kevin Abstract
Listen to this song to get taken right back to your teenage summers. This song always gets me reminiscing about summers past. I absolutely recommend the song, once you hear it you’ll never forget it.  

STN MTN/Kauai – Childish Gambino 

This EP is extremely summer-y. It follows a narrative showcasing the “island life” of a vacation in Hawaii along with a narrative of Glover’s experiences in Stone Mountain, GA. I really recommend this whole EP, perfect for a summer on the beach. 

In The Flowers – Animal Collective 

This song borders more on the electronic, ethereal side but is beautiful. A great song for your visit to a field of flowers in the summer heat. 

King of the Beach – Wavves 

As the title suggests… this song will make you feel like the king of any beach you go to. I love any California pop-punk and this song is no exception. 

Birds Dont Sing – TV Girl 

This song and the album it appears on showcase the best of indie pop, and are perfectly upbeat but with contrastingly sorrowful lyrics. I love the samples used on the album and in this song particularly. 

You can find these songs and more at the playlist linked here. 

– Miranda

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Black Contributions to Music: Pop

As a continuation of my series of Black Contributions to Music, this week I am discussing the influence of Black artists on the pop genre. It’s important to recognize musicians of color and their contributions to music, as they are often overlooked or ignored.  

Black artists began transforming the pop mainstream in America with great popularity by the 1950s and 1960s. Pop origination from rock and roll, folk, and other styles into a genre of its own. Artists like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown helped bring R&B, funk, and soul to the forefront of pop culture and mainstream music. Their contributions have continued to shape music today and helped give pop music a wider breadth of sound. 

Artists like the Jackson 5 continued to impact pop music in the 1970s with singles that become extremely popular like “I Want You Back” and “ABC.” Michael Jackson’s influence continued with his hits like “Thriller.” Whitney Houston was one of the greatest pop artists to ever live, her version of “I Will Always Love You” becoming iconic and recognizable throughout the country, and her album being a top bestseller of all time. Iconic artists like Jackson, Houston, and Prince helped define and influence the genre. 

The 2000s gave rise to hip-hop and R&B-influenced pop music, exemplified by the popularity of Rihanna’s unique sound. The Pulitzer prize in music was given to a pop artist, rather than the typical classical, for the first time in 2018 to Kendrick Lamar for his album DAMN. Black artists continuously make an impact to the pop genre and create boundary-breaking mainstream music. 

Check out these amazing Black artists: Ciara, Jill Scott, Santigold

Sources: I, II 

 – Miranda

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Death

Ahhh… Death, the OG’s of death metal. Death was one of the first American bands to play (what would come to be called), Death Metal. They are known as one of the most influential bands that pioneered the genre. Today, they would be classified as the “old school,” traditional type of death metal, but when Death hit the scene back in 1987 with their debut release, Scream Bloody Gore, this sound was new, heavy, and groovy. This record is regarded to be the first death metal record. My dad used to play Death all the time when I was a little girl, he loves Death and always plays air drums, air guitar, and vocals when they come on. We love a one man show!! By listening to Death at a young age, it influenced me to lean more towards death metal and the heavier style of metal. And I’m not complaining about it!

Death was an American death metal band from Altamonte Springs, Florida, that formed in 1983 by guitarist and vocalist, Chuck Schuldiner (RIP). The original name of the band was Mantas but a year later, Schuldiner changed the name to Death. In an interview in 2010, Tim Aymar states that the renaming of the band happened because it allowed Schuldiner to turn his brother’s death into “something positive” (Aymar, Tim Speaks Out) Rehearsal tapes circulated around quickly and established the band’s entrance into the realm of heavy music. Death’s albums were very popular amongst the metal crowd and received positive criticism. Their 1991 release, Human is their best-selling album.

In 1994, Death left Relativity and signed with Roadrunner Records. They released Symbolic in 1995. After the release of Symbolic, Schuldiner broke up Death after tension with Roadrunner Records and focused on his other band, Control Denied. The seventh (and final) Death release, The Sound of Perseverance (1998), was released on Nuclear Blast.

After Schuldiner finished Control Denied’s debut album, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. His condition improved during the process of recoding on Control Denied second release, but the tumor impacted him negatively, leaving him in a vulnerable state. He contracted pneumonia and an hour after being released from the hospital on December 13, 2001, he passed away.  

Perseverance Holdings Ltd. Partnered with Relapse Records to re-master and re-issue the Death and Control Denied releases, along with Schuldiner’s earlier work in Mantas. Symbolic was the only record not a part of Relapse’s deal because the rights are still retained by Roadrunner Records as of 2008 (Sobti, K. Navjot, Relapse Records To Reissue All Chuck Schuldiner Material).

The lineup of Death has changed many, many, many, many times throughout the years, and it is hard to keep track. Chuck Schuldiner has remained the sole original member of Death throughout their album releases.


Discography:

Scream Bloody Gore (1987)

Leprosy (1988)

Spiritual Healing (1990)

Human (1991)

Individual Thought Patterns (1993)

Symbolic (1995)

The Sound of Perseverance (1998)


Favorite Songs:

Low Life, Pull the Plug, Symbolic, Voice of the Soul, The Philosopher, Scream Bloody Gore, and Living Monstrosity.

What are some of your favorite Death songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Sources: 

Tim Aymar Speaks Out 

Relapse Records To Reissue All Chuck Schuldiner Material 

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: As I Lay Dying – An Ocean Between Us (2007)

As I Lay Dying is one of those bands that are a staple piece within the metal community. Their sound when they first hit the scene was raw, fresh, heavy, and groovy. The type of era of metalcore that As I Lay Dying was in was my favorite type of metalcore. I loved the harmony mixed with intricate riffs, technical drumming, and to top it all off, with some very powerful screams and cleans. Their fourth studio album, An Ocean Between Us is a staple album for anyone who is a fan of the metalcore genre. The sound on this record is timeless, it sounds as if it was released today! This is an album that I never get tired of, when I listen to it I get a nostalgic feeling because it takes me back to when I first started listening to heavier metal and listening to this album with my brothers.

An Ocean Between Us is arguably the best release As I Lay Dying has ever come out with and it is argued that this is the record that defines that band. The album was released on August 21, 2007 through Metal Blade Records and it debut at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.

Nick Hipa commented on the album stating that everyone in the band pushed themselves and they were just experimenting and trying new things on this album. Overall, they were just jamming together and it ended up creating an amazing album. Tim Lambesis stated that they listened to their last album (Shadows Are Security) and they were getting tired of how the genre, as a whole, copies one another and As I Lay Dying wanted to create an album that was different and more diverse. I think they successfully made an album that sounds like no one else, and since it’s so different, it helps their sound stand out and become a recognizing force within metalcore. They didn’t just use the traditional metalcore sound, they had mixtures of deathcore, thrash, and death metal on this record, and I think the combinations of genres is what makes this record so timeless.

Almost all the songs have an epic feel to them, and it carries a message and a meaning within their songs. The cleans are not used to carry entire songs, but to compliment the songs and give it harmony along with the guitar riffs.

I love this album so much and I still know every word to every song, even after almost 13 years.

10/10!!!!!


Favorite songs:

Nothing Left, I Never Wanted, The Sound of Truth, An Ocean Between Us, and Within Destruction.

What are your favorite songs off of An Ocean Between Us?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW