I'm happy to announce that my instrumental track "Reason With Me" has been featured in Show # 90 of the LDS Music Today Podcast.
The link above will take you to the details and the main website. Please support the podcast, thanks!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Music Production and Sound Quality: Keys!
Hello! Check out my latest installment on www.linescratchers.com!
Music Production and Sound Quality: Keys!
Music Production and Sound Quality: Keys!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Featured Track: Chunk of Funk
Another "pre-release" mix of mine has now been posted online. You can check it out on my facebook or reverbnation profiles, or right here on my blog music player.
Chunk of Funk is a short instrumental that is part of a tribute to one of my former bands - Funk n' Groovin'. Of the various bands I've played in, this was by far my favorite. We played both covers and original music, and drew heavily on sounds from the blues and rock - both classic and modern.
The band was born out of the rubble of Backyard Band - which disbanded almost immediately after the completion of their self-titled album (which I recorded, mixed, and co-produced). Drummer Tyler Forsberg and Bassist/Vocalist Nate Maughan parted ways with the band and invited me to join them. I did and we came up with the name Funk n' Groovin'. It was fun, catching, and did a pretty good job of describing our energetic, upbeat, blues and groove influenced brand of rock music. Shortly thereafter, we added Mike Gordon who alternated between keyboard and guitar.
The best thing about this particular band years ago was that we were having FUN. Our focus wasn't on being perfect, we weren't trying to get a record deal, and we really weren't trying to sound like anyone else. We were just a few guys enjoying making music together.
One day, a simple guitar part I was noodling with turned into a funky jam session full of various solos and lots of improvising. We decided to make this into our "signature" song, and I came up with some very simple - but effective - lyrics. The only words were - "Everybody get up, everybody get moving - come on everybody get FUNK N' GROOVIN'!!!". Used as a chorus in the middle of a loosely structured jam session, the song was very effective live - getting the crowd on their feet and having fun. It was a lot of fun. Simple, but fun. Isn't music supposed to be fun?
Chunk of Funk takes that same basic guitar rhythm part that I played years ago and builds upon it a short, funky jam that pays tribute to my old friends and bandmates, and recollects "the good old days" while bringing some freshness to the sound. The percussion part features a rap/hip hop style kick drum and a synth bass instead of more traditional instrumentation. A little lo-fi hum and buzz on the main guitar track keeps the sound a little more organic. The lead guitar part is quite a bit different than my original jams all those years ago, but still has a very live, improvised feel to it. Rather than record countless takes and edit the track to death, I allowed the track to be a little "loose" and let small "mistakes" happen. Just like me, the track is a little rough around the edges.
I used a lot of digital tricks in this production that I don't use that often in my own music. After finding a nice drum loop, I broke the loop up so that each individual hit was a tiny piece of audio. I then played the track constantly in a loop and rearranged the individual hits while it played, until I had something completely fresh sounding. I then added in a traditional style snare drum. The bass was done with a soft synth. Once a basic part was recorded, I edited the track so that the notes ended more abruptly, and then processed it heavily for bass enhancement, auto-panning, and a light "wah" type of effect. To round out the rhythm section, I copied a small piece of muted audio from the main guitar track, again adjusted the timing to create a different rhythm, and then ran it through a multi-tap delay to create a track that is very rhythmic and compliments the song nicely. The main guitar part was recorded through a Line6 Pod Pro direct into Pro Tools. The lead guitar was recorded with a Matchless Chieftain and Fulltone OCD pedal, using an inexpensive strat copy.
I had a ton of fun making this track and I hope that as you listen to it, you'll feel the fun in it and enjoy it. Ultimately, this track will serve as the intro/lead-in to another song of mine called Funk n' Groovin', which is not only a further tribute to my old band, but is a tribute to garage bands and closet musicians everywhere. Production hasn't started yet on this track, but it's on my to-do list so stay tuned!
Chunk of Funk is a short instrumental that is part of a tribute to one of my former bands - Funk n' Groovin'. Of the various bands I've played in, this was by far my favorite. We played both covers and original music, and drew heavily on sounds from the blues and rock - both classic and modern.
The band was born out of the rubble of Backyard Band - which disbanded almost immediately after the completion of their self-titled album (which I recorded, mixed, and co-produced). Drummer Tyler Forsberg and Bassist/Vocalist Nate Maughan parted ways with the band and invited me to join them. I did and we came up with the name Funk n' Groovin'. It was fun, catching, and did a pretty good job of describing our energetic, upbeat, blues and groove influenced brand of rock music. Shortly thereafter, we added Mike Gordon who alternated between keyboard and guitar.
The best thing about this particular band years ago was that we were having FUN. Our focus wasn't on being perfect, we weren't trying to get a record deal, and we really weren't trying to sound like anyone else. We were just a few guys enjoying making music together.
One day, a simple guitar part I was noodling with turned into a funky jam session full of various solos and lots of improvising. We decided to make this into our "signature" song, and I came up with some very simple - but effective - lyrics. The only words were - "Everybody get up, everybody get moving - come on everybody get FUNK N' GROOVIN'!!!". Used as a chorus in the middle of a loosely structured jam session, the song was very effective live - getting the crowd on their feet and having fun. It was a lot of fun. Simple, but fun. Isn't music supposed to be fun?
Chunk of Funk takes that same basic guitar rhythm part that I played years ago and builds upon it a short, funky jam that pays tribute to my old friends and bandmates, and recollects "the good old days" while bringing some freshness to the sound. The percussion part features a rap/hip hop style kick drum and a synth bass instead of more traditional instrumentation. A little lo-fi hum and buzz on the main guitar track keeps the sound a little more organic. The lead guitar part is quite a bit different than my original jams all those years ago, but still has a very live, improvised feel to it. Rather than record countless takes and edit the track to death, I allowed the track to be a little "loose" and let small "mistakes" happen. Just like me, the track is a little rough around the edges.
I used a lot of digital tricks in this production that I don't use that often in my own music. After finding a nice drum loop, I broke the loop up so that each individual hit was a tiny piece of audio. I then played the track constantly in a loop and rearranged the individual hits while it played, until I had something completely fresh sounding. I then added in a traditional style snare drum. The bass was done with a soft synth. Once a basic part was recorded, I edited the track so that the notes ended more abruptly, and then processed it heavily for bass enhancement, auto-panning, and a light "wah" type of effect. To round out the rhythm section, I copied a small piece of muted audio from the main guitar track, again adjusted the timing to create a different rhythm, and then ran it through a multi-tap delay to create a track that is very rhythmic and compliments the song nicely. The main guitar part was recorded through a Line6 Pod Pro direct into Pro Tools. The lead guitar was recorded with a Matchless Chieftain and Fulltone OCD pedal, using an inexpensive strat copy.
I had a ton of fun making this track and I hope that as you listen to it, you'll feel the fun in it and enjoy it. Ultimately, this track will serve as the intro/lead-in to another song of mine called Funk n' Groovin', which is not only a further tribute to my old band, but is a tribute to garage bands and closet musicians everywhere. Production hasn't started yet on this track, but it's on my to-do list so stay tuned!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Featured Track: Reason with Me
Reason with Me is an original composition of mine - you can hear at it: http://www.reverbnation.com/#/mattmylroie
Most of my songs have a good story behind them, and many of them have spent years in the process of writing, recording, and producing. This song doesn't fit that mold at all - its just a unique, experimental moment captured on tape one short afternoon while living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was working in my studio and experimenting with sounds and methods outside of my "normal" process. I assembled a drum kit from carefully selected samples. Once I had done that, I tracked the rest of the song within a period of about 15 minutes. Obviously, I did some heavy processing of some of the sounds, but even so, this arrangement was completely put together in one short afternoon.
I never intended for this to be a finished track, but there is something about this little piece that I really like, in spite of its shortcomings. I've been told many times that I should develop this into a full length song, but I feel that this captured my mood well that day, and in spite of it's obvious flaws, I intend to keep it as is. The finished track will possibly serve as an instrumental lead-in to another track on my album.
Most of my songs have a good story behind them, and many of them have spent years in the process of writing, recording, and producing. This song doesn't fit that mold at all - its just a unique, experimental moment captured on tape one short afternoon while living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was working in my studio and experimenting with sounds and methods outside of my "normal" process. I assembled a drum kit from carefully selected samples. Once I had done that, I tracked the rest of the song within a period of about 15 minutes. Obviously, I did some heavy processing of some of the sounds, but even so, this arrangement was completely put together in one short afternoon.
I never intended for this to be a finished track, but there is something about this little piece that I really like, in spite of its shortcomings. I've been told many times that I should develop this into a full length song, but I feel that this captured my mood well that day, and in spite of it's obvious flaws, I intend to keep it as is. The finished track will possibly serve as an instrumental lead-in to another track on my album.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Music Production and Sound Quality: Drums
The following is the 2nd article in my series on music production and sound quality, currently being featured on www.linescratchers.com
Music Production and Sound Quality: Drums
Music Production and Sound Quality: Drums
Music Production and Sound Quality: Does it Really Matter?
The following is an article of mine that was recently published on www.linescratchers.com
Music Production and Sound Quality: Does it Really Matter?
Music Production and Sound Quality: Does it Really Matter?
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