Monday, June 25, 2012
Seal
Seal’s second self-titled album was released in 1994. The album consists of a combination of great
songs and great production. Each song
has it’s own unique message and each one is meaningful and heartfelt. The music is crafted to not only support the
song but to move you through it with style and taste. Kiss
from a Rose was a song released, from the Seal album, as a single that earned
him 2 Grammy awards in 1996 as it quickly rose to number 1 on the US charts.
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Seal has been gifted with an incredible voice and singing
style. I can only assume that all male
vocalists aspire to sound like him at some point in their careers. If not sound like him than they would
definitely want to be able to perform like him with such passion. It is his ability to express emotion through
his performance that makes him a star and well, that great voice helps too. Seal crafts lyrical stories that are not only
interesting they also carry an important message. His melodies carry the emotion right along
with the lyric, which provides a powerful dual impact for the listener. Add groovy, complex rhythms and masterfully
composed arrangements and you get a wonderful musical experience. If I were to try and sum up the sound of Seal
and his music, I would say that his melodies are from the heavens and they are carried
to your ear by the voice of an angel who has impeccable style and taste.
Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Trevor Horn and Jimi Hendrix are some
of Seal’s influences and what a line up.
Some of their traits can be heard in his music but his musical style
remains mostly unique. He has the
ability to connect to his listeners directly and personally while giving them
exactly what they want, more Seal. His
pop, contemporary and soul appeal is undeniable yet he does cross genres into
dance from time to time. The combination
of catchy club beats and that rich, rhythmic vocal makes for some great dance
tracks. His voice is a force unto
itself and has no real equal in terms of quality and delivery.
I have been a fan since the first note I heard Seal sing and
consider him to be one of the most prolific and stylish artists in the contemporary
pop genre. I find it interesting that
his music can be considered pop, as it is artistic and expressive yet without
the typical elements known to pop. I think
of Seal every time I sit down to write a piece of music or produce a
track. I use his music as a style and
depth meter to help me determine the quality of my own work. I think to myself, if I can make a song sound
and feel like the pure emotion with which it was written, like Seal does, than I
am getting really close to a finished product.
I intend to look to him throughout my career in the music business as an
inspiration and musical influence.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Digital Recording
Digital recording, editing, mixing and
mastering has become the industry standard format for record making over the
years since it’s creation. Digital
recording gives artists the ability to create literally anything they want with
the formats seemingly limitless creative boundaries. Recording digitally does pose some
limitations from the technological standpoint.
Sound has not yet been digitally recorded in the same sonic depth as
analog recording can produce. Many
engineers and hi fidelity sound lovers argue that digital is nothing compared
to analog. With bigger hard drives and
faster processors come more realistic digital sound recordings. The fact is that digital recording eats up a
lot of storage space on computers.
Digital recording has made it possible
for anyone with a computer or stand-alone recorder to make music. Most programs are designed to be appealing
and easy to operate from a visual context.
Home studio owners need only know how to a few critical commands in a
program in order to record, edit and mix their own music. Instruments are digital, recorders are
digital, effects are digital, in fact almost anything available in hardware
form or as an instrument can be reproduced digitally. That puts endless musical possibilities in
the hands of everyday people and streamlines the creative process for music
professionals.
Sony developed the first digital
recording device in 1978. Professional
engineers were the first to use this new technology but it soon became useful
to a much wider group of people. You can
find digital recording devices in many office and home environments such as the
answering machine, hand held dictation devices, home recording equipment and
many more.
I love digital and find myself
embracing every aspect of the technology.
I cannot get enough. I want to
record, use it in my live performances, and capture the sounds and activities
around my home as another form of documenting memories using something other
than a camera. I enjoy movies more than
ever now that I can simply stream one to my computer or handheld smart phone. They were all recorded digitally or have been
re-formatted to digital. I am a digital
guy all the way and cannot wait to produce records using all of its
flexibilities and boundless offerings.
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk started to take off after they chose to focus on
experimental music as opposed to their krautrock sound of their early
albums. They took the innovative
technologies available to them and formed a new type of music that was
completely different than everything else at their time. They set up in their own studio, named Kling
Klang, and started working with synthesizers, vocoders and drum machines to
develop what would become the most influential style of music. It was the droning and repetitious drum beats
that went on to inspire artists in almost every genre of music, pop, rock,
R&B, hip-hop, etc.… It was the
mechanical and robotic qualities of their music that they extended to their
appearance. They made themselves look
almost like robots by dressing in a very clean matching look with matching
short haircuts.
Kraftwerk made their first 3 albums with real instruments
featuring a traditional flute with little success. They made a decision to get a bit more static
in their sound and experimenting with electronic instruments and song writing
to create their 1974 release Autobahn. Autobahn
was a success and awarded the band the freedom to take over the production role
of their albums. They followed up Autobahn with Radio-Activity, which saw little success but for a gold record in
France. Trans-Europe Express was released in 1977 and managed to win a
Disco Award in New York a year later. 1978
saw the release of The Man-Machine, a
relative flop of an album. They waited 3
years to release Computer World. They released one of the tracks as a
single, The Model, which became the group’s
most successful record in the UK.
It is clear that Kraftwerk has influenced more artists than
anyone. Their simplistic style and
approach to their compositions and production is one of the biggest influences
on pop music. Many current albums are
put together in a similar fashion by minimalizing the sounds occupying the same
space on a recording. That process
leaves room for melodies to stand out.
Drums are a huge factor in the success of the band as they were able to
create the repetitious drumbeats that were irresistible, a critical element of
most styles and genres of music today. Experimentation
was another attractive element of the band’s influence. They were not afraid to be different, to
sound different in fact they embraced it and managed to encourage everyone
else.
I prefer to listen to the more structured songs by the
band. Experimentation is great however I
crave any sign of structure even if it is amongst chaos. One of the factors that I will bring to my
future projects, as a production professional, is experimentation in a sonic
form. I believe in creating form with
beautiful sounds and words that can take the listener into the emotion of the
artist that wrote and recorded the piece of music. That will make it easier to connect with your
audience overall.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Peer Comment
Hello Jason,
I find your blog on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On to be very well written. Your attention to detail is admirable and
educational. I am pleased to read through
and get a sense of a chronological order of events that flow very nicely. You built a nice picture leading up to his
start status as he started as a singer and move to studio drummer then
songwriter and finally artist. I did
have just one area to suggest a correction, the part where you write that Gordy
finally released the album after Gaye lobbied to record label execs when it is
said that the record was released without Gordy’s knowledge or approval. Other than that, your blog is concise,
intelligent and a pleasure to read.
Great work,
Michael Vealey
Week 3
Week 3
Hello Jason,
I am with you all the way on paying
homage to the DAW! I feel like it is the
only reason I have been able to get anywhere with my interests and aspirations
for music production. You are right that
many wonderful songs have been created right in the home of the artist themselves
that may never have been released due to high recording costs. Not to say that all home studio owners are
great engineers or capable of producing the quality comparable to a
professional engineer, but they are relevant in different ways. I pride myself on my home studio abilities,
and feel grateful to those who created the technology. I particularly like how you pointed out the
only real limitations as being musicianship and computer speed. I think you are right as well. Musicians can be quite fond of themselves and
be prone to overlooking obvious shortcomings when it comes to their music and
production quality. Nice blog my man, I
wish you the best.
Thank you,
Michael Vealey
Marvin Gaye's Whats Going On
Marvin Gaye started out singing in the vocal groups The Marquees
and The Moonglows performing and recording doo-wop style songs. He saw moderate success with these two groups. He went on to become a session drummer signed
to the Motown label by Barry Gordy. Gaye’s
first love was jazz. He released a jazz
album that saw little commercial success called The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye.
That record failed to chart and he soon after agreed to join in on the
Motown sound and record something more commercially appealing. He became the quintessential Motown R&B
artist and one of their biggest stars.
He released songs that would go on to the top 10 charts right away
including “Let’s Get It On” and “Trouble Man”.
Vietnam and race riots were a big influence on the lyrical
content of Gaye’s songs. Gaye’s brother Frankie Gaye spent 3 years
in Vietnam and lived to tell about it.
The brothers discussed what Frankie saw and did while serving in Vietnam,
which had a profound affect on Marvin.
Renaldo “Obie” Benson, the writer of the title track of Marvin’s album What’s Going On, was also troubled by
the activity in Vietnam and at home. It
was the expression of his observations that led to the key question what’s
going on? That question led to many more
questions and subsequently the lyrics to the song What’s Going on.
Barry Gordy was not interested in the self-produced Marvin
Gaye album yet Marvin was persistent to release it. His sound did not sit well with the Motown
quality control panel either. It was the
panel that shaped the signature sound that is Motown. Gaye was not going to give
in so easily and refused to record any more songs for the label until Barry
agreed to release What’s Going On. Gaye took up professional basketball in the
meantime and tried to make the Detroit Lions team until a key, yet unlikely
person in the fight against Gordy and Motown turned it all around. Harry Balk was blown away by the album and
was likely responsible for it’s release without Barry Gordy’s approval in
January of 1971. The album sold 100,000
copies in one day with orders for many more to follow. It was those figures that would turn Barry
Gordy around and request more albums by Gaye that were just like it.
What’s Going On
did not have that signature rhythm section which included a very prominent
tambourine track. His vocal production
was new as he recorded two different takes of the main melody and kept them in
the mix. That technique was a mistake
admitted the engineer on the session Ken Sands, which ultimately became the
signature vocal sound of Marvin Gaye.
The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground & Nico fashioned their brand of
rock songs with repetitious beats, guitar riffs and crafted melodies with
controversial lyrics. Droning violin
tones were another essential ingredient in their brand of rock. Their sound was commercial yet avant-garde, raw
yet real, as was their public image.
They influenced every band and likely inspired the starting of many
bands after them with their experimental, edgy yet accessible sound.
John Cale started the Velvet Underground in 1965 with Lou
Reed. Cale is a Welch singer, musician
and songwriter. He is best known for his
electric viola work in the Velvet Underground and has written and produced many
solo albums after the band disbanded. Lou
Reed was the lead singer, guitarist, and the primary songwriter for Velvet
Underground. Reed, known as the New York
Poet Lauriat, wrote about experimental subjects not previously recorded like
sex and drug culture.
Andy Warhol was a leader in the visual arts movement during
the 60’s known as pop art. His career
spanned from successful illustrator to pop art icon. He created his art in several different
mediums, painting, film, drawings, audio and many more. In 1965 he took in the Velvet Underground as
sort of a house band then became their manager, promoter and producer. The Velvet Underground performed as part of
Warhol’s multi media roadshow Exploding Plastic Inevitable. They toured the US and Canada for the
duration of the exhibit from 1965 through 1967.
Warhol insisted that the band take on a collaborative singer/model by
the name of Nico. Warhol produced their
next album The Velvet Underground &
Nico, which featured Nico on several songs and it was that album that would
live on to influence countless fans in the 1960’s and beyond.
The Velvet Underground did not have a traditional rock band
lineup. Their instrumentation consisted
of guitar; bass, viola and a partial drum set.
Their sound was droning, repetitious and experimental. Their lyrics were experimental as well as
they wrote of life experiences not yet expressed in lyrical form. The fact that the album had little commercial
success did not hinder its status as one of the most influential albums of the
60’s and arguably of all time. I believe
its influence stems form the raw and experimental nature of the songs as well
as overall production. Another example
of how unique qualities can equal success in more ways than one.
I can say that I am not a Velvet Underground fan however; I
am impressed with the band’s ability to stick to their guns with their lyrics
and music. I think the experimentation is
visionary and not to be discounted as it may often be in the industry. If artists stopped trying new things, there
would be no growth in the music and/or artistic community, only stagnation. I intend to encourage experimentation in my
professional production career.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
The Beatles Revolver
The Beatles started out playing straight rock music in the
Liverpool dance halls. They were signed
to the EMI label in 1962 where they met their new producer George Martin. Martin produced 16 number 1 hits with the
Beatles in less than 2 years. Their style
had been catchy pop songs about love up until Revolver. The recordings focused on the four-piece band
of Paul McCartney (bass), John Lennon (guitar), George Harrison (guitar) and
Ringo Star (drums). They had a spotless
image that showed no sign of changing as they saw the end of 1965.
The Beatles took some time off at the end of 1965 wherein
they started to experiment with drugs.
They were also no longer under the pressure of deadlines to release new
material. This led to an expanded pallet
from which to write new songs. They were moving
away from the usual boy, girl love songs they wrote up to that point. Taking pot shots at the taxman, telling
stories of loneliness and wanting to express themselves fueled the lyrical
content of Revolver.
Revolver opens with the Beatles counting in the first track
with sounds of the recording session mingled in the background. This invited the listener into the studio
session on an intimate level thus making the studio itself into an
instrument.
Recording Revolver was in itself an experiment in sound
engineering. Effects like reverse guitar
licks and vocals recorded coming out of a Leslie speaker cabinet to get a
spacey, moving vibe were innovations at the time. Reversing a recording was a time consuming
process of taking the tape of the recorded bit and playing it back in reverse
while re-recording it to another roll of tape.
John Lennon wanted his vocals to “sound like the Dalai Lama chanting from a hilltop”
for the song “Tomorrow Never Knows”, which incorporated the vocal through Leslie
speaker recording process.
Revolver struck me as a musically diverse and impressive
record. The Beatles made timeless music,
relevant to most if not all people. I
can’t believe the amount of talent and creativity expressed through the process
of writing and recording the record. I
will undoubtedly use Revolver as a measuring stick for my future songwriting
and production work.
The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
Prior to
recording the Pet Sounds album, the
Beach Boys focused on songs about the carefree youth lifestyle in California. Their songs about surfing and fast cars would
start a new trend of songs about life in sunny California and a new sound, the California
sound. Their first radio release
“Surfin” was aired on 2 of the most influential radio stations in California at
the time, KFWB and KDAY in 1963. The
song peaked at 75 on the national pop charts.
The Beach Boys
were originally made up of Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Mike Love
and Al Jardine. Brian was the leader, primary
songwriter, arranger and producer for the band.
He is responsible for their sound and overall success. He was a driven, creative man who suffered
from psychological problems. Although he
was a gifted musician he also possessed a much darker side. He abused drugs during his 20’s, which led to
a nervous breakdown in 1964.
It was the
release of the Beatles album Rubber Soul
in 1965 that inspired Brian to create an album that could top it. So he took on a new collaborator by the name of
Tony Asher and started to write Pet
Sounds.
Pet Sounds was pop’s first conceptual album where
all the songs were based on a common lyrical theme, Brian’s transition from adolescence
to adulthood. He employed the use of 23
studio musicians, all of who were regulars on Phil Spector sessions at Gold
Star Studios. He used experimental
sounds and instrumentation like the use of a theremin and bicycle bells. Brian recorded all of Pet Sounds in mono as opposed to stereo sound. Stereo had yet to be invented at that
time. Being that there were technical
limitations, the recording sessions had to be precise and decisions had to be
made swiftly. Brian found his home in
the role of songwriter and producer. His
style and sound was so good and new that he would come to influence all future
producers and help drive a new era of music production.
References
Reference:
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc (2001, October 23). The Beach Boys. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys
Howard, D.N, (2004). The California Sunshine Sound: Brian Wilson, Gary Usher, Terry Melcher, and Curt Boettcher. In Sonic Alchemy. (1st ed.). (p. 308). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation.
Revolver
Howard, D.N, (2004). The Pioneers: Phil Spector and George Martin. In Sonic Alchemy. (1st ed.). (p. 308). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation.
Public Radio Exchange (2006, May 15). Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revovler. PRX. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://www.prx.org/pieces/15368-everything-was-right-the-beatles-revolver
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Qlipso Media Netwroks LTD. (2009, January 1). The Southbank Show - The Velvet Underground. VEOH. Retrieved June 10, 2012, from http://www.veoh.com/watch/v18444087ZF6xZy9c
Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2001, March 9). The Velvet Underground. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 10, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velvet_Underground
What's Going On
Guardian News and Media Limited Inc. (2001, December 7). What Went On. The Guardian. Retrieved June 10, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/08/extract
Public Radio Exchange (2008, January 1). The R&B Chronicles - Marvin Gaye. PRX. Retrieved June 10, 2012, from http://www.prx.org/pieces/25278-the-r-b-chronicles-marvin-gaye#description
Seal
Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2002, February 25). Seal (musician). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_%28musician%29
Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2005, July 27). Kiss From a Rose. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_from_a_Rose
Friday, June 1, 2012
Greetings
My name is Michael Vealey and I am a musician, composer and producer. I prefer to take part in every aspect of the songwriting and production process from lyrics to engineering. It is a process that is rich with possibilities and a sense of new, wonder that I cannot resist. My musical interests and influences stretch from standard jazz to modern pop and everything in between. I am most influenced by artists like Harry Connick Jr., Seal, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Jacksoul and Soundgarden. My primary focus in the music industry is production. I spend most of my time studying, writing and editing other peoples songs in order to shape them into mature, evocative pieces of artwork. Composition, instrumentation and arrangement are a big part of that process so I play several instruments to keep production costs down for my artists. Here are some samples: flavors.me/michaelvealey.
Take care,
Michael Vealey
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