Completed production of Valor

It is probably just my age, but in the last few years I've started getting into short cinematic orchestral pieces, and have been enjoying it ever since. Even though I really know jack-shit of classical music, and probably all the time break all the rules, I'm not letting that stop me and ended up creating "Valor".

The piano part formed the foundation, and was actually a project where I experimented with my piano chords, that I've abandoned about 2 years ago. I discovered it recently again in my lost and found section on my digital audio workstation. After listening to it, I decided to resurrect it and pushed through to finish the music.

There are only string instruments in this piece: piano, violas, contra bass and of course - my favorite, a solo cello. I played the (fake) cello using Friktion, made by Reason Studios. Such an amazing piece of software. The cello ended up becoming the focus of the song, as it contains something humanlike. I don't understand it, but I just love it! It took a lot of work to express the feeling on the cello, but I think it came out alright.

There is no percussion, so some dramatic stabs strings had to help with a simple rhythm on most part of the track.

In the last section, I've used the "Lucy" computer voice from Emvoice to perform soft melodic "oohs", to add more emotion.

But, the original and truly remarkable artwork was yet another pencil sketch made by my brother, more than 2 decades ago. It is part of a few of his drawing that I have "acquired" since that time (and he probably forgot all about them). The saying is "a picture paints a thousand words", so there you go. And you thought this instrumental had none? How this guy never got his art works to be displayed in an art gallery, is just beyond me. This drawing came in handy to set the scene for this track - in fact, it might just get more attention than the music!

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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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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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Genre is so overrated

At least that is what I think. It is sometimes tricky to take a piece of music and try to fit it into a genre. Most artists I work with feel quite strong of what style of music they perform, but often I don't think it is technically correct. People want to belong somewhere and be part of something, and at the same time strive to be unique. Genres overlap very much, so the same song will be called different genres by different people. Some generalize and slot the song into a broad genre, while others will be specific and use sub genres.

To me, you don't need to understand much when it comes to genres when you favour a song. It is after all what the song sounded like and how it made you feel, that hooked you. When you search for more music in that genre, you'll find other stuff there that will sometimes seem out of place or be unexpected. Of course it is valuable to categorize a song under a certain genre for reference, however people don't necessarily agree on that genre so it does not always work. So what we end up doing is classifying a song under multiple genres, as if it is not confusing enough already!

I've been looking at Music Map (https://musicmap.info/) and it is very interesting to read up on the history of the different music styles. You can see how one genre has transformed into another over the world and trough the years.

So after many years I still get confused when I try to slap a genre onto a song that I produced...but it has to be done else it does not belong anywhere.

So, what genres then is the music from Sonic Dreamer Studio? It depends on who you ask.

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16 SEP 2021 Starting production for Dani

 A little birdie told me about Dani and how much she enjoys singing behind the piano. After listening to a demo I were immediately interested and contacted her. Dani agreed that we should start on her next big track. We'll be recording her vocals right here in my studio. Woah!

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Emendy Sound & Music interviews After Hours (2009)

Extracted from the After Hours Biography done by Willie Els, EMENDY Sound & Music Technologies 2009

It’s one of those nights; life threw a curveball, time is speeding by like a euro-train on nitro’s, you just can’t seem to get that ultimate grip on what you used to be like, where and the places you used to do the “groove” at. Shockingly, to your surprise - it’s the mid late 80’s. The realm of those days, right here, right now! Yes, my friend...the bliss of the good old days came to you, instead of mindlessly fetching it from a book of memories. The big question is: “Where did this come from?” Well, look at the stage. It could only be the two boys from After Hours. The two piece that, time after time, rocks the entertainment world with their timeless repertoire from the 80’s. Of course a few newer numbers are also included in the mix. I decided to meet up with these two fellows, Eben Van Der Merwe and Johnny Daniels, to discuss the future and to “fish-out” their secret recipe for rocking up a good time. “We bring back those ageless hits like it was sang originally, here - right on your door step within reach!” And needless to say, that’s exactly what After Hours is all about. Its most likely to experience a thrilling, “goose-bump-giver” performance from After Hours, knowing that they have been professionally hitting the keys and twanging the strings for the last fifteen years! Ad some saxophone lead and blues harmonica and you've got a variety that keeps on entertaining you for hours on end.

Eben and Johnny informed me about how they met, a bit more than fifteen years ago; and gave me a smile, to say the least. A small music shop in Witbank saw the two young men bumping into each other, soon to team up and start jamming together. Ultimately ready to perform, they spent about six months just practicing the then most recent hits and started performing locally with the sounds we can never forget. From having quite a busy schedule, two to three gigs a week, they tend to lend out their persona to many corporate functions, pubs, clubs, weddings and private events all over Gauteng. Their music is a definite stress reliever, full-filling the heart and soul with hits like “500 Miles”, “Every Breath You Take”, “Hotel California” and many more to get em’ bones crackling again. Years later bass player Kuifie Van Heerden joined and added a solidness to the band with his humble personality and smoothed things out with his brilliant harmony. Later vocalist and lead guitarist, Piet Le Roux also joined and contributed his unique husky voice to really give shine to the band by allowing a special selection of songs not previously possible. The 4-piece did well but as times changed, priorities did and eventually After Hours scaled down to the practical 2-piece again. This allows for cheaper costs and in effect more opportunities, but still a great performance like always. 

I asked the guys who would be their market and yet again a quite surprisingly answer: “Everyone with good taste in music, young and old”. The '80s has some good stuff as you'll find hearing these guys, like the original - the way you like it. Reading up on the history of the band, I stumbled upon a few lines written by one of the members that just released a sense of pure excitement and eager to see them perform. He wrote: “Everywhere we played, the crowd was happy to sit back and relax, lifting a glass in acknowledgement of an old memory awakened by the melodies and words we delivered, or maybe just tapping a foot, eyes staring while the mind is wandering off escaping to that special place, some trying to remember, some just trying to forget. As one so often find, some would spontaneously grab a partner to the dance floor and indulge in the sounds and rhythm and forget about everything else for a minute - and I could see in the corner of my eye the smile on my band mates faces and just knew, yes - we're doing ok!” For those of you curious to know where they have performed, some venues might sound familiar in the likes of Witbank Casino, TWINS in Pretoria, Upper Deck in Harties, Heidelberg Pub and of course countless corporate functions and parties, all over Gauteng. These boys are still up for a good time, anywhere - anytime!

Curiosity got me to my next point, anxiously asking Eben and Johnny, where to from know? Well, most bands want their “claim-to-fame”, but popularity is the last satisfactional element on their mind, they clearly just want you to have a good time with them, just to chill and let it go.

Music is what they enjoy, music is a language, and boy can they speak it! I myself, can’t wait to experience the next delivery from the band After Hours, knowingly that the chances for them rocking my mind and soul is as clear as daylight. I feel proud to say, for any queries and bookings, don’t hesitate. You definitely found the right band!

Extracted from the After Hours Biography done by Willie Els, EMENDY Sound & Music Technologies 2009

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