Starting production for Attentive Hearts [Cancelled]

 

[EDIT JAN 15 2023: After multiple recordings and mixing sessions, this project was cancelled just after the 6th edition of the music, with more than 60 work hours down the drain. The employer had multiple parties involved that could not agree between themselves, which left me in the line of fire. Clearly "unlimited revisions" as a requirement was a bad sign, and a first for me. The music and lyrics belong to this studio, and will be repurposed for a new artist who knows what they want]

I've been listing my production services commercially on Airgigs recently, and got chosen to start working on the first song for an album of 10 tracks, for The Attentive Hearts Project (https://www.attentivehearts.org/). I'm humbled to have found that they were quite impressed with what I do, the way I do it and of course the end result.

Basically, Attentive Hearts is a non profit charity that trains and coordinate volunteers as emotional support givers, to the weakest members of the community. They also are in dire need of financial support, and you can donate here: https://www.jgive.com/new/en/usd/donation-targets/3202#donation-modal

I am so excited to add value to what they do, using music as a medium! Please go and check out their web site and see for yourself the wonderful work they do.

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Completed production of Shadow In The Mirror for Walking With Angels

Earlier in 2022 I discovered Doug Seeley (Walking with Angels) on SoundCloud, and his vocal style just captured my attention. I really enjoyed how he managed to come across just so raw and directly, reaching deep from within himself then hitting a spot deep inside the listener too - right on target! And it sounds like this guy does it effortlessly.

For me music is all about emotion, since that is what it really is. Not everyone that sings can get that right, but a few do without even trying. Thing is, he doesn't care to sound like anyone else. I just had to work with Doug.

I wanted to create a retro style pop song that would capture Doug's magic. Well OK, all I really ever do is retro pop, rock, or blues. What can I say, it's part of my DNA. Anyway, we created Shadow In The Mirror, and the song has many of the late 80s characteristics - at least my interpretation of it.

Doug had to face some challenges and it was not easy for us to finally get to finishing the track, but alas we've managed. Doug wrote the lyrics and melody, and of course he sang it too while I performed the music & mixing. I had to be quite creative with certain things in this song because of some limitations we were subjected to, but in the end I just loved how it came out.

It's clear that Shadow In The Mirror comes from really deep within this man's heart. Doug, we hear you loud and clear!

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Started production with Aurora Adams

 

I found Aurora in a music group on Facebook. Her profile says "Aurora is a friendly, tea drinking, actor/puppeteer, voice artist and writer from London." And from what I've seen so far it is a very fitting description for this multi talented lady.

We are collaborating in a production for a rock blues ballad, something similar to Black Velvet. She is testing out her talents of writing and singing, while I am busy with the music. So far it's been pretty impressive with what Aurora has came up with.

Go check out her profile and what creativity she is up to again.

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Onboarding Kaby Burton [Cancelled]

  [EDIT Jan 10 2022: After months no progress has been made, as Kaby keeps on responding that she is too busy. Sadly, I had to move on]
I discovered Kaby on Vocalizr and absolutely fell in love with her vocals when I listened to a demo. It contained something that I felt was different than many other vocalists, and I decided that I would love to create a production for her. So I made contact on Vocalizr to hire her, and almost when I gave up she responded later to my Facebook chat. She is into cinematic rock, a rare find for sure.
We decided that we will give it a go, although she could not commit right away since she has quite a busy schedule. I'm full of hope to start working with her soon, and I'm am really looking forward to this one. I'm ready to do my best!

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Completed production of "She" for Demian

 

"She" was quite an interesting song. Demian is into funk-blues stuff which leans somewhat towards a jazzy feel. He supplied the recordings for the vocals and acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Initially I attempted to replace the guitar with an electric guitar, and added a few other supporting instruments, but soon found that the original guitar contained such a rich rhythm, that I just had to keep it. And Demian does not like click tracks, and I agree that in this case the human feel is what made it work. It complicated things a bit in some sections in the arrangement though, as there was a little (and expected) drift in the timing.

I then again tried and added a few other instruments, more in the background this time to support the guitar, including a brush drum set, double bass, jazz organ and of course my tenor sax.

I played the sax using a very breathy style, to keep things mellow, since the vocals and guitar was what was important here and needed to stay in focus.

I think the track came out nice, Demian's guitar work made it sound impressive. A lot is going on with that actually, as it was originally done in mind to represent a full rhythm section live, only acoustic guitar and vocals.

Since the song is not been shared yet, I need permission from Demian - but perhaps I can share a snippet here soon. Go check out what he is up to at demian.band

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Completed production for Lovefire for Alexandra

 

Quite a while ago, after successfully completing Worry Not with Alexandra, we decided to work together once more on the next track for her. I really loved her vocals and I believe she is such an underrated artist. Even her accent gives the music a distinct character.

So we started work on LoveFire, a deep slow and soulful ballad. I created the music, lyrics and melody and a while later shared it with Alexandra. And right away she started working hard on the vocals and delivered it right on time, her commitment has always been on par.

But then at some point - with world events out of our control, we started having trouble to communicate and finish the production in full. We actually only had a few administration tasks left while we struggled on since April 2021, when the song was already completed 99%.

However, over time we continued to try to get in touch and managed to make some, albeit little contact. I got the kind blessings of Alexandra to host the song on my profile until she is able to continue with a normal life again. I pray for that day to be soon.

Here it is, waiting for you to hear it since April 2021 - the one and only Alexandra performing her song for you to enjoy, at her very best: Lovefire

• Performance: Alexandra Esakova
• Music, lyrics and melody: Sonic Dreamer Studio
• Artwork: Shanx

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Completed production for Adéle from Songforyou.co.za

 

This was a relatively short production, as the lyrics, melody and chords were already created and set in place by Adéle from Song For You. The studio accordingly created the music, including recording some live guitar, bass and sax. Adéle opted to perform and record her vocals as a placeholder, since the song in it's current state will be used as a demo for other artists to use in future, whom Adéle is involved with.

If it wasn't for a few technical challenges, including frequent power blackouts (called Load Shedding here in South Africa), the project would have been quick and easy. However it was still a lot of fun and I hope for it to move to the next level at some point.

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Completed Production of Pistis

I thought it was time to create something cinematic, and one of the most effective ways to convey that raw emotion is through a big symphony orchestra. I'm not really too fond of classical music and the little I know breaks all the rules. But it can be something powerful and can provoke our emotions. So, I attempted this for myself in studio with the limited tools I have and created Pistis (faith). It starts out calm and soft and ultimately rages into a climax, and includes strings, brass, a choir, percussion and of course some other contrasting elements like the synth at the start. A cello helps to create the feeling of movement. The piece was done in Reason Studios, although after a few years I'm busy transitioning back to Pro Tools for future work.

The artwork was done by my oldest brother many years ago, and I'm sure he forgot all about the unfinished A4 size pencil sketch. I thought for it to be a good fit.

I also made a quick video to help somewhat with visualizing the power of sound for this piece. Spoiler alert: included are some clips of me busy working on the project in studio:

And here is the audio track, I would love to to hear what you think:

https://soundcloud.com/sonic-dreamer/pistis

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Starting production for Adéle from Songforyou.co.za

Adéle stumbled upon me on the internet and shared some details about what they are exactly doing at Song For You, where she is the founder. I think their website says it all: YOUR PERSONAL STORIES, LYRICS OR POEMS INTO A SONG & PRE-PRODUCTION SERVICES. How cool is that!  Besides serious song writing (including melody and chords), she also mentioned some great talent she is working with (including Lize Mynhardt https://www.lizemynhardt.com and Jacqueline Tolken https://jtolken.wixsite.com/jacquelinetolken). She shared some details of what they've achieved, and it's clear that she's done this for a while. Needless to say we've decided to collaborate on a song (written by her), and I can't wait to get going with working together with her and the team. Go check out what https://songforyou.co.za/ is all about, they might have something tailored just for you. And oh, tell them I've sent you ;)

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Starting Production for Dimitri

 Dimitri has written many blues funk songs, with the acoustic guitar capturing the genre quite well. We've decided to work together on "She", and while we're busy finishing it you can find the original version on his profile here: https://demian.band/

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Heavy from Kuu Sound has been released!

It has been great working with Kai from Kuu Sound and I really think she has something different to offer when it comes to music. She has a great future ahead for sure, and it is wonderful to have played a tiny part in it. Here is a link to the preview on Sound Cloud on my profile:

Heavy - Kuu Sound (preview)

Do I want more of this amazing artist? Oh yes!
To support Kuu Sound to make more fantastic music, get it here on Google Play Music, or of course any of the other online platforms:

Heavy - (album Ashes) Kuu Sound

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Kuu - Heavy

It says "Coming out soon", yay!
What I can tell you is that I've spent a total of 99 hours on this project, after hours that is! And that's not counting in Kai's own hard hours spent on her vocal work. The project ran from 1 May 2022 to 30 June 2022.
Here is the post on Instagram

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Complete Production Demo of Get Away using EmVoice Keela

EmVoice created another artificial voice called Keela, and I must say it is quite impressive! Of course it still requires lots of work to let it sound more human, but not as much as the previous voices. I've only completed short demo projects with any of the EmVoice vocal synths up to now, as I find it too intensive to create a full length track that requires the constant tweaking of the voices. There is no control over expression for example, so I can't see that it can ever compete with a real human. Who would ever want to trade anything for a real human voice anyway? Never the less, these guys are getting better with every new voice they create and it is remarkable what they have achieved, keep an eye out for them. For this demo I have a finger picking acoustic guitar with soft strings and a cello emphasizing the song's mood, sad of course. Here is the result: EmVoice Keela - Get Away

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Completed production for Kuu

 

I can't believe we've reached the end of this production already, and it was a relative quick one with me spending a total of 99 hours on it. Kuu also took quite a few hours to get the performance just right, and she delivered timeously. We started on 4 May 2022 and finished on 28 June 20220 which is not too bad considering the amount of work - and the fact that it can only be done after hours. We've put in hard work, but it was a pleasant experience. I am very excited about Kuu's new track, and as soon as I have permission I will share a preview and more details of it, as well as where it is available. For now you will just have to wait it out, but I think it will be worth your while. I can tell you that it is packed lots of little surprises, like a bit of sax, synth arpeggios, guitar, and bass & drums. But the highlight is undoubtedly Kuu's golden voice, her performance is delightfully different. I know she has more to offer to this world, and I'm really looking forward to her next piece of art. Stay tuned for some more insight into the production soon.

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Pre-save for Way Home from Natalie DeVaney

 I'm delighted to announce the Pre-save for Way Home from Natalie DeVaney! Go be the first inline to get it.

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Started Production for Kuu

  I stumbled across Kuu while looking for new vocals, and found some of her work on http://voclio.com. Man, was I mesmerized! I decided to purchase the track right away. She kindly agreed to assist me with working on something she wrote, and I can't wait.

I find myself often listening to her vocals by itself. She has a way of capturing the listener's attention, rewarding your senses with carefully chosen lyrics, enriched with soothing and sensitive sounds, reaching deep within.

Watch this one closely, and expect big things. linkfly.to/kuusound

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Produced demo Lost It All with EmVoice Lucy

 

I was in the mood to create a short demo again using the synth Lucy vocals from EmVoice. And to fit with these times, the theme just had to be about war. I wanted to make the melody and message simple, as you can paint a pretty picture with words - and this subject should not be so.

I always challenge myself to get Lucy to sound really like an actual human, and this time was no exception. The songs starts out timid and calm with a classic-ish sound, but be warned that in the middle it gets quite loud with the hard rock instrumental section.

The song ends with a simple, final and sad message of what we humans result in with our actions, so often affecting everything else. Not that a robot or program can teach us anything about ourselves, no matter how nice it sounds.

But as before I had fun with this attempt, and zoomed into the little imperfections of the stock Lucy vocals. It took a lot of work and many polishing attempts to get to this point, from bringing out subtle mouth noises, to pitch bends and EQs to make it sound as natural as possible.

No, there is no chance in hell I'll trade Lucy for real vocals ever, but I think this is still quite impressive. The world is moving forward and these toys are getting better and better, and I believe there will be a time when most of us will not be able to tell if it was a real singer or faked. But we are not there yet.

Listen to it here: EmVoice Lucy - Lost It All

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Completed Production for Natalie

The Production for Natalie has been completed successfully, yay! It was quite a pleasant journey, and her commitment and hard work has paid off. Off course not much may be revealed at this point, but it is worth the suspense ;) You can be sure this is one is straight from Natalie's heart.

Stay tuned for details of the release on where you can find it available, and also some insight into the production for it.

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Jam time - woohoo!

Giving myself a break. On Thursdays evenings I am normally unreachable until midnight hours: 

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Starting Production for Becca [Cancelled]

 

[EDIT: After a few weeks, Becca felt she just did not have enough time to continue with a project with this studio]

Becca is a talented voiceover artist and actor, and play multiple instruments too. Singing is just one of her talents. We are buy on a track that will show what she can do when it comes to music.

To learn more of her, here is her profile:
https://rebeccajensenuesugi.square.site

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Starting Production for Marno Fourie [Cancelled]

 

[Edit: After a discussion, understandably Marno decided that he is uncomfortable that we do a production for one of his songs. Unfortunately we could not agree on something alternative from the studio. Eventually he did offer work on his material.]

Marno is from my side of the world here in Johannesburg, South Africa. We will be working on some of his original stuff, and he will be recording right here in the studio - now that's what I like! Looking forward. Check out his sounds here: https://soundcloud.com/marnofourie

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Starting Production for Rose Campbell [Cancelled]

[EDIT: I truly don't know what happened. Rose stopped answering WhatsApps, and eventually I just had to move on]

Rose is from the USA and has done quite a few of this sort of thing already. She also plays guitar to aid with when she feels like singing. She joins the studio to perform on a laid back chillout track, and I share her excitement.

Listen her to her here where she is part of an acapella suite and is actually the lead vocalist:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4VizU9k7oqXwsgjlFxqCrc?si=tbNOlbIcSZa7MCLTvdHb8w

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Started Production for Walking With Angels

I was impressed by the raw emotions of Dough Seeley's music. He agreed to do a production with me and things are happening! In the mean time check out Walking With Angels on

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/n4aCG

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