building a world pt ii
and frog ball
Welcome to Building a World, part 2. The above illustration has nothing to do with this newsletter I just painted it the other day and really like it.
So, anyway!
As most of you know, I’m working on getting some new music recorded and out there.
Last week I talked about building a visual world for my songs to live in. We looked at some inspirations, and the closest I can come to describing it is probably ‘Alpine folk Disneyland with gothic undertones.’ Make of that what you will.
But the most important part of a piece of music is what it will sound like… yes, really!!!
Although my songs exist — they have lyrics, melodies, chords, all preserved in demos — they still haven’t fully found their final form, like a Pokemon or an ever-evolving video-game avatar. If I recorded the songs as they sounded now, they would *probably* be kind-of boring and also sound pretty disparate.
It’s good to have variety, but what I don’t want to happen is someone listening to one of my songs, thinking “oh this is good, I should check the rest of her stuff out” and it’s totally different. Even if one of my songs is softer than another, I need ‘clues’ in the instrumentation and production that will link them all up. So if you listen to ‘Hardly’ and get a strong Americana feel from it, there’s maybe a guitar tone or a vocal processor which echoes the more indie-rock edge of ‘Control.’
Every piece of music produced needs references, much like fashion designers or film directors make moodboards. Here are some of my references:
Lizzy McAlpine - All My Ghosts
I think this song does a pretty good job of mixing that Americana influence with indie rock. On one hand you have the acoustic & electric guitars holding it down, noticeable harmonies on the choruses, straightforward rhythm patterns, and on the other you have double-tracked vocals, saturation/overdrive, and shimmers of sound that give atmosphere, curiosity and crunch to the song.
Talk - beabadoobee
Again you have double-tracked vocals (which is just the same vocal line recorded twice so it has that thicker, wobblier sound to it), and an electric guitar as the backbone of the song but this one is much heavier. I also love that breakbeat interlude which comes in the intro and after the chorus. I really love the sound of this song and also the way it goes so well with the songwriting itself.
Pinegrove - Size of The Moon
In some songs you can ‘hear the room,’ and you’ll be able to tell what I mean by listening to this song. Rather than feeling like the singer is directly in your ear, you can hear the space they’re singing in. When you hear Ethan sing “do you wanna dance?” it sounds like he’s in that “living room” that he mentions about two lines later. I really like this way of recording, having “the room” as another instrument.
May Erlewine - Easy
Mellow and simple, I love the arrangement of this song and also the way it’s processed. It has a really warm feel to it and the arrangement supports the lyrics in a way which doesn’t overshadow at all. There’s little phrases on the piano or guitar that just come in to softly punctuate.
things i liked
✶ I’ve been watching The Patient which is about a serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson) keeping a psychotherapist (Steve Carrell) hostage and oh my god my heart’s in my mouth. My MOUTH!!! The final episode comes out next week and I am both excited and terrified to see how it all ends.
✶ Boo hoo the Rings of Power has finished for now! With some REVELATIONS in that last episode. I don’t wanna leave Middle Earth again so I might go re-watch The Hobbit.
A great song to dance to by Tove Lo
✶ “You’re gone, girl!” — loved this piece about a literal cruise themed around Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl
✶ I am so enamoured by photographer’s Charles Freger’s exploration of folk costumes across the world:
✶ And this:
Every time I reach the end of the newsletter I want to write “here endeth the newsletter,” like, every time. I can’t do this because a) it’s embarrassing and b) it’ll be overdone if I do it every time. There are cool catchphrases and there are cool, uncatchy catchphrases and “here endeth the newsletter” is probably the uncatchiest and uncoolest of them all. We can workshop it, maybe.
Anyway, click the heart and claim your prize (if you don’t click the heart and claim your prize, you are really missing out (you are not missing out)).
Newsletter done now! Bye-bye!
Olivia ✨🎶