I’ve been having a great time putting together a new playlist each week over the last 16 weeks!
Listening to more music and analysing the various production and mixing techniques in each track has really helped me fine tune my ears and my skills.
And I hope it’s doing the same for you!
I’ve got 10 more tracks for you this week and I really want to know what you think and what you’re listening to.
Now, without further ado, here’s the breakdown of Stephen’s Selects #16: January 13th – 19th 2020…
(Please note that the tracks listed above are part of a live playlist and are updated weekly. They might not match the information below!)
- The Notorious B.I.G. – ‘Hypnotize’
– A great intro idea (repetition!) that has been used many times by Pharrell and The Neptunes
– The beat is sampled from Herb Alpert’s ‘Rise’
– The chorus hook is borrowed from Slick Rick’s ‘La-Di-Da-Di’
– The bass is a big highlight of this track
– Wonderful use of delay to create a recurring guitar hook
– Lovely use of the stereo field
– On another note… Conor McGregor returns to the octagon this week with this music welcoming him back - Kid Cudi – ‘MANIAC’
– The automation used in the first 16 seconds creates sonic madness!
– There are a multitude of production ideas to borrow and make your own
– Very unusual beats
– Reverse vocal reverb on “I am a maniac” is a highlight
– Lead guitar used to create a sense of tension - Khalid – ‘Up All Night’
– Great pop production
– Crystal clear vocal mixing with tasteful delay and reverb
– Very nice blend of snare and clap
– A dense mix that has space for and maximises every element - Audioslave – ‘Be Yourself’
– A simple but beautiful intro
– Chris Cornell’s vocals are amazing and mixed perfectly
– Simple musical ideas and hooks produced to perfection
– No hi-hat or snare drum in verse 1 but they keep everything moving along nicely in verse 2
– Typically weird and wonderful guitar solo from Tom Morello with expert use of the Wah pedal
– The rhythm section is completely nailed down and in sync
– Bridge section at 3.12 provides a lovely contrast that builds to one chorus after another - Roxy Music – ‘In Every Home A Heartache’
– I thought this was James Blake when I first heard it as I was unfamiliar with the song
– A cyclical 4 chord progression is the focal point
– Very unusual combination of a Farfisa organ and heavily effected guitar
– Eventually, there’s an extended instrumental section which highlights the guitar work of Phil Manzanera
– Once the song fades out and returns, that instrumental section is very heavily phase shifted - Black Sabbath – ‘Sabbra Cadabra’
– An iconic guitar riff, doubled and panned to create a sense of width and depth
– The rhythm section is absolutely locked down in support of Tony Iommi’s playing
– Heavy use of reverb and delay on Ozzy’s vocals
– Lots of guitar layering even though there is only one guitarist in the band
– A great mixing reference for mixing guitar overdubs and multiple instrumental layers - Pink Floyd – ‘One Of These Days’
– The double-tracked bass guitar through an Echorec delay unit creates an amazing layered sound in there stereo field
– There are lots of ideas to pull apart and examine in the layered keyboard parts
– The only lyric in the whole track is Nick Mason’s heavily processed “One of these days, I’m going to cut you into little pieces”… that’s a statement!
– Incredible slide guitar work by David Gilmour later in the piece
– This song is used in the end credits of a particularly poignant episode of The Sopranos to great effect - Tyler Bates, Joel J. Richard – ‘John Wick Reckoning’
– Can you hear the similarities in this track to the delays used in ‘One Of These Days’? This time, it’s palm muted guitars rather than bass guitars
– The music in the movies is mostly guitar driven and this blend of guitars, synths and drums creates a huge sound
– Very eerie use of guitar bends combined with delay
– Creative use of tension and release all the way through the track
– If you haven’t seen the movies, they’re great for switching off your brain! - Zack Hemsey – ‘The Way’
– You’ve heard Zack Hemsey’s music in more places than you realise
– This track has been used in many movie trailers… most recently for ‘1917’
– Some very unusual sounds are blended creatively with some lovely strings
– The big “film drums” fit the piece perfectly
– The rap is unexpected but compliments the creative blend of genres showcased by Hemsey in this track
– This piece builds over the full 7 minutes and has many different sections that have been used and adapted for many purposes over the years - Tourist – ‘Someone Else’
– There’s something about the intro to this that captures your attention straight away
– The heavily processed vocals catch your ear and make you lean in
– Metallic percussive sounds are very interesting and give an industrial feel to quite bright and beautiful music
– Acoustic guitars are used really nicely throughout
– From about 1.45 onwards a very simple melody emerges and is repeated over and over again
– That melody becomes the backbone for the second half of the piece with everything building around it
– There are some lovely sounds and soundscapes used in this piece with many recurring and returning motifs
Take some of these notes away, make your own and implement what you’ve learned when you’re making your own music. I have no doubt that they will help you.
So, that’s week sixteen of Stephen’s Selects.Click here to listen to the full playlist on Spotify!
Remember that if you like what you hear, then please hit that ‘Follow’ button on Spotify and follow the playlist!
Now, I’d love to know…
What are you listening to this week?
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