Music_001

Grab your MIDI Keyboard and prepare to mash some buttons! You're about to make music! Don't worry if you can't make it ether! Just head-bang to your favorite songs!

[dj-tg-001]

Avicii - Tough Love - Review

Okay, okay. I did say last time that I was going to be talking about DJing, however, change of plans. Avicii’s team and family have released yet another single, this time with only one day until its official release. As of now, it is released, and in my opinion, it’s great. 

.avicii_tough_love

Talking about the instruments, the way strings were used in the song along with the Progressive House genre was amazing. A huge upgrade from Avicii’s original melody, and makes things more interesting by making a melody derived from an authentic instrument. Fun fact: the melody was recorded in a studio by one of the producers actually playing the new melody on the violin. 

.violin

I also read up on the decision for the vocals, which was an amazing decision to have the sing and his wife both sing. This is due to the lyrics being about a relationship (just like every other popular song). That one has to teach the other., hence the name “Tough Love”.

.relationship

Lyrics:  

Weight is on me Weight is on you We scream and we fight like there's nothing to lose End of the day Come and take my arm There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms Weight is on you Weight is on me Sometimes I'm not who you want me to be God knows I try We stumble and we fall There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms Give me tough love And a lesson to learn Your tough love Is what I deserve Sweet tough love You're my pretty good luck charm There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms Weight is on you Weight is on me Sometimes I'm not who you want me to be God knows I try We stumble and we fall There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms Give me tough love And a lesson to learn Your tough love Is what I deserve Sweet tough love You're my pretty good luck charm There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms Give me tough love And a lesson to learn Your tough love Is what I deserve Sweet tough love You're my pretty good luck charm There's no place I'd rather be than in your arms

In my opinion, the lyrics are fairly repetitive. Because of this, this track is also as similar to the previous single: “SOS”. Where it can be put on loop for hours and hours. For some, the track will easily get old. For people like me, it’s something that you/I can’t stop listening to, even though it would be on loop. 

.vinyl

Anyway, that’s it for this week. Hopefully, next week I do actually start talking about DJing, and my current inspiration into becoming one. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Rising of the Shield Hero | FAITH OP | Review

It’s one of your biggest weeb producers, back with another Anime Opening review. We’re looking back at the Anime, “Rising of the Shield Hero”. Looking at the video itself, the opening is vastly different from the pervious one. The fact that the art looks very appealing, feels more expressive, and more fluid. 

At this point in time, the anime is still Naofumi’s journey of being an outcast from the world he has been summoned in (as usual). 

The vocals, the instruments, and the use of drums are all similar to one of my previous blogs talking about “Rising of the Shield Hero”’s first Opening: “RISE”. Which is produced and sung by the exact same music group that I will talk a bit about today. The group is “MADKID”. 

The lyrics are as follows:

Now or Never Just fight it out ... Night sky reflects in my eyes Reaching out to the glowing stars Time is ticking and bleeding into the future But I want to be honest with myself Come clean, Wind direction (ah?) Change and cause a scene Keep it real, proof of life (ah?) Leave a masterpiece Everybody betray me No, your finger touched me Every thing betray me That ’s not it It won't disappear even if it fades Hundreds of times, Even millions of times No matter how many times I get scarred, I won't give up my faith Proof of existence, always being myself I gotta make a change (make a change yeah) In the distorted world, following the footsteps Suppress the silent shout Hundreds of times, Even millions of times I Find & Create myself Now or Never Just fight it out ... [Full Version] Break out public pressure This never ending chain I'm just tangled up and spinning around No matter how much I resist, I am still in this world that I don't understand To be honest with myself Can not lose Disrupt Myself and Blow up But I'll conquer Never lose Negative emotions Fly up and out from this drifting world Even if I lose sight of myself in the fence that blocks my way I'll believe in you Hundreds of times, Even millions of times No matter how many times I get scarred, I won't give up my faith Proof of existence, always being myself I gotta make a change (make a change yeah) In the distorted world, following the footsteps Suppress the silent shout Hundreds of times, Even millions of times I Find & Create myself Life is short, like a Benjamin Button Images are flashing in my head No brake, no frame Solve the broken truth Blatka blah wow eh Searching glory like a zombie (Skrrr skrrr) Find a reason for fighting, turn it back Nothing to lose, Supa dopa fly Let's fight to the limit scream louder Let's Break out Let's Break out oh yeah Truly, Keep savage Hundreds of times, Even millions of times No matter how many times I get scarred, I won't give up my faith Proof of existence, always myself I gotta make a change (make a change yeah) In the distorted world Suppress the silent shout Hundreds of times, Even millions of times I Find & Create myself Now or Never Just fight it out ...

The lyrics can still be seen as how Naofumi sees the world with his eyes, and what he thinks about his current life, and the life of those around him. However this time, these lyrics can be seen as Naofumi climbing the ladder to becoming recognized as a hero instead of a villain or demon that the people see him to be. 

Halfway through the anime, we also take a took into the lives of Naofumi’s companions. Such as Filo, Melty, and Raphtalia. 

From here, the song itself is fairly similar to the previous Opening song: “RISE”. To be fair though, this song was made by the same musical group. The song itself still has that great sound and feeling that makes it so that you (the watcher/listener) keep listening. It’s something that sounds great, and that deserves not to be skipped. 

This is DJ tG_001 signing off. Next week, I would just want to talk about DJing and stuff like that. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Persona 4 OP | “Sky’s the Limit” | Review

I have been recently watching “Persona 4: The Animation”, otherwise known as the Persona 4 Anime, if you couldn’t tell by the title. I want to take a look at the Opening song for the first half of the Anime. 

If you didn’t know, usually an Anime would have a different Opening song for 1/2 of the Anime, and switch over to another song. Just like how Tokyo Ghoul has 4 different Openings, however it being the same Anime, each Season can be seen as 4 different parts. 

Back to the Opening, when I first heard it I was intrigued. I really liked the use of the piano and an old synthesizer in the first few seconds. If you didn’t already know, every Anime opening is restricted to only one minute and thirty seconds. Even though it was only one minute and thirty seconds, it is still a great song to listen to. 

Now taking a look at the song’s lyrics (translated from Japanese to English for your convenience): 

Glaciers of ideas importing To my friends then exporting To the next keeping it open No we want closing Even without doughs our thoughts Can be dope and This mind train no one can stop And act of thinking is terrible to stop We just wanna change up not drop And my crew can rock it like uprock Life is tedious if it ain't flowing Copy and paste? Constant defaulting? Put my courage to it Begin showing off That's the way we wanna live Keep going. Yeah. Love it so much Transfer and see Turning too bright It's intention Instinct tells me to keep going together, going together... It's breathtaking moments in life I'll lead you to a mind (???) more and more I believe in you and I can do anything We can change the world It's best to leave you with your spread wings Tomorrow's the (???) Together we go

To be completely honest, I was trolling you (the reader) by saying it was translated to English, because it’s entirely English. Just sung by a Japanese singer. 

In my opinion, the song is great, if not, almost perfect for the actual Anime. Sadly, this song was composed for the Anime itself. 

However, the lyrics really do speak for themselves. The lyrics are most likely explaining the entirety of what will happen in the first half of the Anime, which is just Yu Narakami making friends. 

This sounds strange as a plot line, however, it makes sense when you watch the Anime. (Which in my opinion is great! I’m still waiting on Persona 5 for Switch, because the Switch is the only console I own!)

Anyway, I highly encourage you to keep listening to whatever you’re listening to, and to watch this Anime! (Especially if you’re like me, waiting for Persona 5 on Switch!)

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Replacement Lead Singles [◢ ◤]

Okay, so hear me out here:  “Avicii - SOS” is a good track, even though it was Albin Neder and Kristoffer Fogelmark with the thought of Tim’s vision. And was said to be “dry”, and not a lot of ambiance. Still, it’s a good track with its instrumentals and lyrics. 

But why does this blog say “replacement”, if “SOS” was and still is a good lead single for Avicii’s “Tim” (Album)?

Recently I have gone through r/avicii, which is a subreddit on anything Avicii related. And I read a post where the Reddit user was asking, “Why SOS? Why not songs like Lord or Heaven?”. Now, me reading more through the comments, it was said that “SOS” was chosen due to its lyrics. Looking through SOS’s lyrics: 

[Verse 1] Can you hear me? S.O.S. Help me put my mind to rest Two times clean again, I'm actin' low A pound of weed and a bag of blow [Chorus] I can feel your love pullin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your touch pickin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers [Drop] We could be more than just part-time lovers We could be more than just part-time lovers [Verse 2] I get robbed of all my sleep As my thoughts begin to bleed I'd let go, but I don't know how Yeah, I don't know how, but I need to now [Chorus] I can feel your love pullin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your touch pickin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your touch pickin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers [Drop] (We could be) We could be more than just part-time lovers (Part-time lovers, yeah) (More than, more than lovers) We could be more than just part-time lovers [Outro] Can you hear me? S.O.S. Help me put my mind to rest

...it was a cry for help. This track was chosen by Tim’s family above tracks like “Lord” or “Heaven”, due to how much the lyrics speak for Tim and to the speaker. That this was a cry for help by Tim, and that this can see heard/seen as a little push for anyone to call for help. 

Looking into lyrics like “Heaven”: 

[Verse 1] Step out into the dawn You pray ’til, you pray ’til the lights come on And don't you feel like you’ve just been born? Yeah, you come to raise me up When I’m beaten and broken up And I’m back in the arms I love [Chorus] And I think I just died I think I just died Yeah, I think I just died I think I just died And went to heaven And went to heaven, yeah [Verse 2] Beaten and bathed in blood I'm hit by, I'm hit by your love and drug And now that you've come to raise me up Oh [Chorus] And I think I just died I think I just died Yeah, I think I just died And went to heaven And went to heaven And went to heaven Oh, and went to heaven [Bridge] It’s such a night, such a beautiful night It’s such a view, such a beautiful sight I think I just, oh, I think I just died, oh And went to heaven And went to heaven Oh, yeah, yeah [Refrain] We’re going be birds and fly We're gonna set the world alight We’re gonna lose ourselves tonight, oh We’re going be birds and fly We're gonna set the world alight We’re gonna lose ourselves tonight, oh [Outro] Heaven (Heaven) Went to heaven And went to heaven

...this can be easily seen as Avicii ascending to Heaven. This is more of a track of positivity, how things can still be seen as beautiful and majestic even though death has occurred. 

Now lastly, I want to talk about “Lord”. The song length of “Lord” is fairly short just like “SOS”, being a fair 2 minutes or so. 

Lyrics: 

All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see That dollar is all I see All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see I left my home as a gift to my past Next to the things I know will never last I looked for fire but found nothing but ash Was at my lowest when it hit like a flash

The song could have also been a considerable possibility for “Tim”’s lead single. Just because of the lyrics, how instead of speaking about a call for help, they talk about the life of Avicii. Of his struggles during his time of performing. 

This is tG_001 signing off.

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Avicii - SOS | Review

Alright guys, Avicii’s newest single just hit on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8tdT5pAE34

So anyway, I’ll be reviewing this song.

The instrumentals really give a 2016 radio vibe. Something you’d hear on the radio in the afternoon. The synths used for the drops are simple and to the point, while still having a memorable melody. The use of the piano also helps give the song it’s ambiance.  It’s chord progression is also something to take note. This is where it sounds a lot like something you would hear on the radio. The drums are simple and to the point as well as the melody, which helps mold the story being told. 

Now, this would be more relevant if Avicii was still alive. This track would fit with songs like:  Waiting for Love The Days Without You Friend of Mine All You Need is Love / Tracks of my Tears

This is due to how it gives off the feeling of love, and advancement in the lyrics. To me, this is also how it gets its radio vibe. 

Now although this doesn’t fit within the music part of my usual blogs, I want to talk about the video the music video provides:

The video itself has a beautiful background of Avicii’s “◢ ◤”. With shapes of the Earth, the Eiffel Tower, a car, headphones, a happy face, a speaker, lips (a kiss), a thunder bolt, a heart, and sparks. Each shape representing a key moment in a fan’s memories associated with Avicii’s music. 

 Onward to the review of the song! The track provides great vocals of Aloe Blacc, singer of Avicii’s most popular song: “Wake me Up”. 

Lyrics: 

[Verse 1] Can you hear me? S.O.S. Help me put my mind to rest Two times clean again, I'm actin' low A pound of weed and a bag of blow [Chorus] I can feel your love pullin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your touch pickin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers [Drop] We could be more than just part-time lovers We could be more than just part-time lovers [Verse 2] I get robbed of all my sleep As my thoughts begin to bleed I'd let go but I don't know how Yeah, I don't know how, but I need to now [Chorus] I can feel your love pullin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your touch pickin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers I can feel your love pullin' me up from the underground, and I don't need my drugs, we could be more than just part-time lovers [Drop] (We could be) We could be more than just part-time lovers (Part-time lovers, yeah) (More than, more than lovers) We could be more than just part-time lovers [Outro] Can you hear me? S.O.S. Help me put my mind to rest

To me the lyrics are those similar to a love song, more specifically an advancement of love. To explain, the song repeats in the Drops and the Chorus, “we could be more than just part-time lovers”. However, similar to other songs by Tim (Avicii), there are small little bits that are associated with Avicii himself as of now. If Tim was still alive, some of the lyrics would make some sense, such as, “I get robbed of all my sleep, as my thoughts begin to bleed, I'd let go but I don't know how, yeah, I don't know how, but I need to now”, most likely associated with the stress Tim had to deal with while performing shows. There is also the “S.O.S.” parts that can support this way of thinking. 

But in my opinion, it clearly is something not too different. If you keep listening (just like any other song) you’ll get used to it, and start to like it. 

This is tG_001 signing off for the week. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Avicii’s Newest Album on June 6: “Tim”

It’s been about a year since the well known “Tim Bergling”, stage name “Avicii”, has passed away. He left so much behind. His music and his impact on the world. Songs like: The Nights The Days Waiting for Love Lay Me Down etc.  Have impacted people on their own lives, how they should act upon their own lives, and telling the story of Tim Bergling in his album: Stories

About 2 days ago, I saw a video on the official Avicii YouTube channel. It was:  “Avicii - The Story Behind The Album “TIM””

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPVnx64_Hi4&t=0s\

Within the video, it was actually heartbreaking to hear that the Bergling family would be selecting the first 16 songs after Tim’s death to release.  I’m not trying to be rude, I appreciate the decision, it’s just that it would feel a lot better if Tim himself was the one to release the 16 songs of his choosing. Sadly, he is no longer with us. 

In the video, a small 12-second snippet of Avicii’s new song “SOS” can be heard. 

Although Tim had about 200 songs/tracks done in his hard drive, his label requested the people that he worked with to help finish his work. As of now, I am excited about the new Album release, however, I am a bit concerned about Avicii’s “touch”. By “touch” I mean his own sound to give the song its vibe. That it is Avicii’s. 

Avicii’s confirmed death was on April 20, 2018. Because of this, A Single is set to release a week before his deathday on April 12, 2019. This is very exciting for fans like you (I’m not sure if you’re a fan or not) and me. 

Most of us have sustained out the need for Avicii by listening to unreleased songs such as: Faster Than Light All you Need is Love Tracks of my Tears Unbreakable Heaven (A well known, unreleased track) Lord I’ll Be Gone etc.  All of which are from official podcasts and recordings from festivals, UMF (Ultra Music Festival) for example. 

In this point in time, some of us can’t get over the death of Tim, and some of us have moved on already. Although it’s been a year, to me, his music still impacts me to this day. Motivating me to continue persevering and making music. To be honest, way back when, I did hear Tim’s most popular songs like: Wake Me Up Hey Brother The Nights Levels

Their melodies always stuck in my head, but I never knew they came for this talented artist. 

Avicii will always live on in our hearts, through memories, and through his music. 

I’ll be looking forward to Avicii’s new Album release: “Tim”. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

New Track: “Let Me Be/Substantial Sunrise”

Yes, I know. I’m pathetic for self advertising my own tracks on my blog, but I just want to talk about it for a bit. 

This one is actually a strange one, because I used a sample instead of making the first four chords first. The sample was from a sample pack from Cymatics, an Audio File/Preset company. I kept the sample consistent throughout the majority of the track. However, I did add some audio devices like Reverb, an Auto Filter, and High EQ. 

From there, I did an Audio to MIDI conversion to get the notes of the sample, so I can start making a melody, and adding instruments. From there, I created the main melody, its calls and response variations, the bassline, the chords, and the main progression. 

I also started working on the SoundFX (sound-effects), which mostly consisted of cymbals and reverse cymbals. Which was the starting point of the SoundFX, this is due to me adding impacts, white noise, and other varying noises. Where the SoundFX shine the most is the buildup, by adding a White Noise Up and an Up Riser. 

Now, it’s not really a track without Drums. The drums honestly, I was lazy with. I just put the basic: Kick, High Hat, Snare+Kick, High Hat Pattern, and then added a drum/percussion loop over it, so it can sound different. I also added a fill in the buildup, so it can, well, “buildup” toward the drop. The “buildup” is usually just a bunch of snares, slowly playing more and more frequently. 

Back to the sample I used, I did say that I used the same sample consistently. However, in the drop, I had each note play 8 times before proceeding to the next note. This is because some of the drops I listen to have a chord progression that sounds similar to that. 

I also did mention that I made a bassline. In the bassline, I needed to include a sine wave bass, and a gritty bass. I’m sure you’ve listened to Skrillex at least once, that’s the kind of bass I’m talking about. The sine wave bass is more for giving the drop an atmosphere. 

Continuing on with the bassline, I used the sample for it. Now you may be thinking, how the heck can you use a sample for a chord progression, in a bassline? In Ableton Live Producer terms, I used an audio device that cuts off the higher tones, and only keeps the lower ones. I also used an EQ Eight to give more emphasis to the bass. 

Lastly, I would really be calling this a track if it were all instruments. But in this case, I wouldn’t really call it a song, without vocals. In this case, I did use vocals. I don’t recall where I got the vocals from, but it was indeed from a random vocals pack that I downloading off from the internet. The one I specifically used was an altered vocal labeled “Let Me Be”. Which, happened to work very well, so I kept and used it in this song. 

Originally, this track/song was intended to be named “Substantial Sunrise”, a polar opposite to “Translucent Nightfall”. But, I will be releasing two versions, one with vocals (“Let Me Be”), and one without vocals (“Substantial Sunrise”).

You can find the track on my SoundCloud, and hopefully YouTube at: 

https://soundcloud.com/tg_001

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_xMaFr3ZzPykk_addpqcVQ

[dj-tg-001]

Most Iconic Songs in EDM

Hey, it’s tG_001 back with another blog. This time, I want to talk about some of the most popular and iconic songs within the genre of EDM, and all of it’s sub genres. 

Taking a quick look at one song, you may know of this one:  Alan Walker - Fade

Now this one is a real classic. This came out in November 19, 2014. If you still haven’t recognized this song yet, its because it was used in direct correlation to his more popular songs: Faded. This true beauty of this track is it’s melody. The melody throughout the song constantly changes from the drop to the next break. 

Now, a quick lesson from a music producer:  The drop is usually associated with a buildup and a break. A buildup, which, well buildups to the drop. And the break, which, takes a break from the actual intensity of the drop. The buildup most commonly will consist of a repetition of snares and kicks, mostly focusing on the drums and percussion. Sometimes associated with an uplifter noise/white noise. 

.snaredrum

Well that was the end of that quick lesson! Back to the blog!

Next off we have another song from Alan: Alan Walker - Spectre

This one, along with Fade, is usually used with a whole ton of YouTube videos due to it’s record label:  No Copyright Sounds  Or, NCS for short. 

Anyway, the song itself has a lot of similar aspects as Fade. It also uses a whole lot of the same synths, like in Fade. This song specifically focuses on it’s “call” and “responses”. Looking at before the drops, like the intro, Spectre has a few noticeable “calls” and “responses” in the synths. 

Now quickly, what a “call” and “response” is: Call - Think of yourself playing the main melody, but along with another instrument for the first few notes. 

Response - Basically the same as the “call”, but instead of playing the first few notes, you would be playing the last few notes. 

Shifting away from Alan Walker, we have:

Avicii - Levels

This one is a true classic. It can never be a true iconic list without this iconic main melody. Although the song itself is very repetitive, it actually does a well job in utilizing it’s own flaws. Usually you would want to add as much diversity as possible in a song. In Levels however, the use of other instruments, pauses, and sound effects, make the song sound more and more interesting throughout the track. There really is no drop, but when the break hits, it’s really something unexpected, along with the well known vocal track: 

“Oh, sometimes, I get a good feeling. Yeah”

Next off we have a track from a fairly young Producer:

Martin Garrix - Animals

Now if you may, I want to tell a little story about this track:  Apparently, Martin had the idea for the track when he was 14, and finally finished the track at the age of 17 in this own bathroom. 

Pretty short story right? Well anyway, the track itself actually makes a sound, typically used for breaks, as a well crafted drop, and I’m sure you know which drop I’m talking about. The way it just casually uses a drop synth throughout 80% of the song is one major aspect, along with it’s strange “break-drop”. 

There’s one more iconic song, that everyone’s heard of: 

Darude - Sandstorm

There’s honestly nothing particular that I can say about this track, except for the way the melody is used. The melody is constantly changing and associates itself with other elements like an arpeggio in the background and its own beginning chords (the chords that start off the song). One major feature I can think of at the moment is the fact how it starts strait off with a somewhat “drop” with the synths Darude uses, and breaks into a break, where you might but still least expected. 

That’s all for this week, 

tG_001 signing off. 

[dj-tg-001]

KSHMR (Review)

Okay, for the first time, I’m actually looking into something (another artist) that isn’t Avicii. However, KSHMR is still within the topic of EDM, and Progressive House. One well-known song he has made is “Secrets” in collaboration with Tiesto. 

.secrets_cover

In my opinion, KSHMR is truly different and deserves to be recognized as a different artist. Surprisingly, KSHMR has actually teamed up with Splice, a website providing new composers (such as myself) with synths to sound files. 

His playlist of videos includes: Lessons of KSHMR: Music Theory To Get Started Part 1 Lessons of KSHMR: Music Theory To Get Started Part 2

(Now the reason why there are two parts, is because Music Theory is a really complicated topic, which also explains why it’s also it’s own college course)

Lessons of KSHMR: Creating a Symphony with Serum Lessons of KSHMR: Secret Reverb Tips Lessons of KSHMR: Mixing Vocals Lessons of KSHMR: Five Tips for Snares  Lessons of KSHMR: Orchestral and Ethnic Instruments Part 1 Lessons of KSHMR: Orchestral and Ethnic Instruments Part 2 Lessons of KSHMR: Making a Powerful Drop Lessons of KSHMR: Writing Melodies Lessons of KSHMR: Creative Pitch Correction Lessons of KSHMR: Nylon Guitar Strumming 

Here’s the YouTube link, if you’re interested (really helps in my opinion!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCOcxqiIRK4&list=PL1PEZ--NZi2I7-EwhyomvXDGoopREzTGc

KSHMR (or Hollowell-Dhar) was born in Berkeley, California (hello to all my fellow Californians!). He got his stage name from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, also referred to as "paradise on earth". His singles "Jammu" and "Kashmir" also derive their names from the state. 

KSHMR within his music is well known for using Ethnic instruments and using a strange, different scale. I’m sorry, I remember it being mentioned in a video called something like “how to make music like KSHMR”, and KSHMR uses a different scale to create his music. Anyway, KSHMR is also well known for downpitching and uppitching his notes. Basically, on a keyboard there’s a wheel called “Pitch”, which when put up can turn the pitch up, and when put down, can put the pitch down. 

KSHMR also has a pack containing all of his drum samples, and instruments. Including ethnic instruments, which is pretty crazy to include if you ask me. You can probably grab Packs 1 and 2 if you search through the internet enough. But in my opinion as a producer, those two packs are really good for making buildups, and if you’re just lazy to make your drops by just slapping a drum sample. 

Anyway, I think that KSHMR is a great DJ and Artist and is really showing his personal touch with Ethnic Instruments, and Tricks in music production. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

The Rising of the Shield Hero OP Review

Well, why don’t you look at that, I’m back at it again with another Anime Opening Review. Now, I just started watching “Rising of the Shield Hero”, another Isekai (Another world) Anime. In my opinion of the anime itself, it does a really good way of presenting itself. Instead of having another character from another world come to another world with one object, or power...

Examples:  Re: Zero - Return from Death  That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime - OP Slime Powers No Game No Life - OP Gaming (No Life) Senses Konosuba - Useless Water Goddess  Sword Art Online - OP Sword Skillz

...In this case, Naofumi (main protagonist) is given a shield opposed to a Spear, Bow, or Sword. Which throughout the story is not considered a “weapon”. And is given “the short end of the straw”. 

Anyway, back to the song review, here are the lyrics: 

Romaji: 

Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Hikari mitsuketa kuuhaku no jikan Mayoikonda chuuzuri no sekai Shinjirareru kotae sagashimotomete Tada samayotteru Yeah Yubi no sukima nigeru light Yosomi shiteru hima mo nai Uketa kizuna ato sae kate ni Seijaku kirisaiteku Dare mo kare mo Dead or alive Mamoru dake ja Can't survive I don't wanna lie to myself Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry Keep run up day and night Time to rewrite No matter what anyone say I find my way Yeah, never go away (Never go away) Now, nobody can't stop me no way Wasurete shimau koto no nai you ni Nakushita mono subete torimodosu tame Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Kurikaesu tabi no hate Nouri ni nokotta shippai nante Zenbu torikaese ima Turn over Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh [Full Version Continues:] Now, I know subeki koto meihaku daro Baransu ushinatta My world Kurayami no naka sagasu answer Daremo ga umu iwasezu Tatakatteru hontou no koto wa mimuki mo sezu Mijikai life ore nara nani ni tsukaou Sekai kaeru tame Fight my war Keep on the fight get right I'll never lose and cry Keep run up day and night Time to rewrite No matter what anyone say I find my way Yeah, never go away (Never go away) Now, nobody can't stop me no way Jibun jishin wo miushinawanai you ni Nanimo kamo subete tokihanatte Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Tachiagaru nando datte Risuku osorezu hikari otte Me wo somuketatte kesenai true heart Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) I gotta go Keep defend everything myself (everything myself) I gotta go Keep defend everything myself (yeah yeah yeah!) Feels so good ya Maboroshi madowasarezu kasuka na light wo sagashidashi Katachi no nai daiji na mono mamoreru ka wa kekkyoku wa jibun shidai Tate no hyouri dilemma Zenbu guards shite become vanguard Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Nani ga attemo run (yeah) (Never go away) Now, nobody can't stop me no way Wasurete shimau koto no nai you ni Nakushita mono subete torimodosu tame Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Kurikaesu tabi no hate Nouri ni nokotta shippai nante Zenbu torikaese ima Turn over Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh

English: 

Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh I found light in the void Wandered into a suspended world Looking for an answer that you can believe in Yeah Light escapes through my fingers I don't have time to even look away Turn the scars I got into energy Cutting though the silence Everyone (Dead or alive ) Can't just defend (Can't survive ) I don't wanna lie to myself Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry Keep run up day and night Time to rewrite No matter what anyone say I find my way Yeah, never go away (Never go away) Now nobody can stop me, no way I won't let it be forgotten To regain everything I lost Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Repeating, the end of journey Don't let memories of failure stuck in your brain get to you Now is the time to get everything back (Turn over) Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh [Full Version Continues:] Now, I know it's obvious what I need to do I lose my balance My Word In the dark Searching for an answer Nobody is forced To fight without looking at the reality Short life, How should I live? To change the world, Fight my war Keep on the fight, get right I'll never lose and cry Keep run up day and night Time to rewrite No matter what anyone say I find my way Yeah, never go away (Never go away) Now, nobody can't stop me no way Trying not to lose yourself Let everything go Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) I keep rising over and over Don't be afraid of risks, Chase the light Even if you look away, true hearts never disappear Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) I gotta go Keep defend everything myself (everything myself) I gotta go Keep defend everything myself (yeah yeah yeah!) Feels so good ya Feel so good ya Don't let illusions confuse you, Search for the light, even it's very faint It's up to you if you can protect what's not tangible The front and back of the shield, dilemma Guards, everything becomes a vanguard Stay hungry. Stay foolish. No matter what, run (yeah) (Never go away) Now nobody can stop me, no way I won't let it be forgotten To regain everything I lost Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Repeating, the end of journey Don't let memories of failure stuck in your brain get to you Now is the time to get everything back (Turn over) Rise suddenly in this world (I don't look back yeah) Oh oh oh oh oh ohh Oh oh oh oh oh ohh

So, I put the Romaji just for you guys to “sing-along” with the actual song. But looking at the English translation, in the eyes of Naofumi, the path he has taken is due to the illusions that this new society has created. Now, in this world, he must fend for himself, but still feeling betrayed by society, still has the need to fulfil his duty as the Shield Hero. The search for hope for him is still very faint, but he will still continue to protect others. 

Within the song itself, there’s a “glitchy” intro, which in my opinion, makes it stand out from any other Anime OP, making it a “must not skip” song. It also uses drums in different off beats which give it personality. And the guitar makes feel more authentic even with the singers. 

[dj-tg-001]

“That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime” OP2 Review

Okay, this may seem a bit off. However if you have seen my previous blogs, I was reviewing Animes and their Openings. Because my main interest in these set of blogs is in Music, if you haven’t already noticed. 

Anyway, I was recently watching an anime called “That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime”, which you can clearly see in the title. 

In my Otaku opinion, it’s a great Anime with an unlikely story. And even with having an overpowered protagonist, they still show a great amount of restraint from using their power to deal with every situation that they face. Instead of relying on violence, they would rely on rational thinking. 

But enough about my opinion on the anime. This blog is my opinion on it’s second opening. Because the opening is only a minute and thirty seconds long, I will be reviewing the “full version”. And I’m saying “full version”, because it’s only the same time, plus a minute and a couple of seconds. 

Usually when I watch Anime, I try to take the time to listen to the Opening at least once before skipping. However, this one really got me.  From hearing the first piano note, I have very little interest in listening. However when the amount of notes increased, I became more and more interested. 

When it goes strait into the vocals, it’s something you wouldn’t really expect. And the white noise used to settle down the impact and rising crash, is a good sample in my opinion. This is because it gives me the idea of the song actually winding down, and settling down.

But in the topic of vocals, here are the lyrics: 

Kanji: 雨上がりの空　星を数えた夜に こぼれた雫は　日暮れる世界を映す あらゆる命が　アンビバレンスを抱えて 流れる日々の中で　瞬く 儚く散る花も　吹き荒れる風も 過ぎゆく今のアクシス 刹那を生きるものへ　あまねくこと食ったが 自由の果へ　神が手を振るだろう 「生き抜け！」と We can find the way 誰もが等しく 希望という種を持ったメグルモノ 始まりと終わりは　奇跡のもとに DEAD OR ALIVE また時はメグル

Romaji:  Ameagari no sora hoshi o kazoeta yoru ni Koboreta shizuku wa higureru sekai o utsusu Arayuru inochi ga anbibarensu o kakaete Nagareru hibi no naka de matataku Hakanaku chiru hana mo fukiareru kaze mo Sugiyuku ima no akushisu Setsuna o ikiru mono e amaneku koto kutta ga Jiyū no hate e kami ga te o furudarō "ikinuke!" to We can find the way Dare mo ga hitoshiku kibō to yū tane o motta megurumono Hajimari to owari wa kiseki no moto ni DEAD OR ALIVE mata toki wa meguru

English:  On the night when we were counting stars, A raindrop was reflecting the sunset and the world Whilst falling off from the sky after the rain. Many souls holds ambivalence and flicker in the quick-moving everyday life Falling flower petals, raging wind They are the axis of the passing day These spirits living just for a second, have passed through the great open God shakes his hand, telling you to live free We can find the way Human are creatures born with a seed of Hope Dead or alive. Time begins with a miracle, and it will end with one too.

Usually, the song are written without the ideas of the anime, however in this case, it may have been coincidental, or made specifically for the anime. 

The first and second stanza can easily describe what is happening on screen in the actual opening. 

The last stanza is simply what the main protagonist wants to do to the world he/she/it has been reincarnated in. 

Anyway, I’ll be in the next one! And expect me to just keep on waiting every Monday for a new episode of “That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime”! 

[dj-tg-001]

Avicii’s Unreleased Song(s) Overview

Avicii was and still is a huge inspiration to me even after death. After his death, most of us, his listeners, now interpret his songs as messages and signs of his mental health. When the documentary “Avicii: True Stories” released after his death, we finally knew what he dealt with.  He never liked being the center of attention; which explains why he always had a few drinks before a show.  These shows he had to put on were slowly draining him of his life. 

In my previous blog, I was talking about how Artists/Producers/DJs affected my life and inspired me to start making music.  In this blog, I want to start looking through some of his songs.

One song I will go through is one of his unreleased songs: “I’ll Be Gone”.  Here are the Lyrics: 

I gave my world away A million rainy days Such a shame in a way And no one else alive Sacrificed everything A million broken dreams And I don't want to stay I did it anyway The stars all rise The moon won't shine The stars fall out of the sky And I could be your guiding light All through the night All through your life I'll be gone before we know each other Long, long, gone [And now the world is spinning] Like the sun And Now the day is burning I don't mind Spending some time on my own

In the first line: “I gave my world away” up to “Such a shame in a way”, I personally think that Tim gave away his own personal time for improvement and rest to give us the music he made and the talent he had. In the next stanza: “Sacrificed everything” to “I did it anyway”, could be interpreted as how Tim sacrificed the time for himself in exchange for our happiness, so he gave us the shows we wanted. Which can be shown in the line: “I did it anyway”.

Another song to look into is “Lord”, another one of Avicii’s unreleased songs.  The lyrics are very repetitive, until the end, which shows in the song’s length:

All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see That dollar is all I see All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see All my life I just wanted to be free All my life been blind I've been taught by greed Oh lord, what's wrong what's wrong with me? Oh lord, that dollar is all I see I left my home as a gift to my past Next to the things I know will never last I looked for fire but found nothing but ash Was at my lowest when it hit like a flash

The lines that start with “All my life...” and “Oh lord...” (yes, all the stanzas) is everything that Tim wished for, what he wanted. “I just wanted to be free” can easily be seen as Tim’s plead to cancel all his future shows. Of course, this happened, however as shown in “Avicii: True Stories”, his manager at the time wanted him to perform 3 more shows. The line “what’s wrong | with me” can be taken upon in a few different ways, however, I think it could mean why does Tim feel like this with the idea of performing shows. 

[dj-tg-001]

My Inspiring Artists/Producers/DJs

In the last blog I went through the process in making one of my personal, favorite, tracks, “Translucent Nightfall”. But I wouldn’t be able to get there if it wasn’t for any of my favorite artists. 

At the time my inspiration was well-known EDM Artist, Alan Walker. If you have no idea who this man is, well, either: 1. You’ve been living under a rock 2. You’ve only heard of one of his songs

One of the songs you may have heard of is “Faded”, which in my opinion is an overused YouTube intro song ever since its copyright was removed to let it be used for free for his viewers. 

Now, when I used to listen to Alan Walker, my personal favorites were Fade, Spectre, The Spectre, All Falls Down, Sing Me to Sleep, and Tired.  As a listener, I liked the idea of having a trilogy in music. However, this was mostly applied to the music videos rather than the actual music. Such as Tired, which then transitions to All Falls Down. At this point in time, the story goes in the order of: 1. Tired  2. All Falls Down 3. Darkside 4. Diamond Heart

Now from around that time and now, I touched a little bit on tracks by Marshmello. More specifically, “Alone”, a widely popular song. This actually gave me an  idea of what his music is like, which is like a happy, synthesized, trap genre. I also looked into other songs like “Summer”, which followed  Alan Walker’s “music trilogy” idea. 

Next off the list is the man of Dubstep, Skrillex. Yes, Skrillex. When I was first getting into music, my cousin actually suggested me to play a song by Skrillex. And at the time, my idea of “playing music” was using the launchpad. Yes all of you producers, all I did was tapping buttons in a certain order.  The first song I remember was Skrillex’s “First of the Year”, soon after the song my cousin suggested to me was “Bangarang”. 

Lastly, this point in time. One Artist I now look up to is Tim Bergling, a.k.a. Avicii. I’m sure you well know him as the man who created “Levels”. You know, the really generic electronic song. Anyway, if you don’t know him from that, I’m sure you know him as the Artist who created #1 songs like “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother”. There are also other songs other know him by, such as singles like: The Days, The Nights, and Waiting For Love. 

Personally, my favorite tracks from him are “I’ll Be Gone”, “Lord”, “Without You”, and “Heaven”. Now, I’m sure you haven’t heard of these songs (well, except for “Without You”), and that’s because these are unreleased songs that were only played during his shows, like in UMF (Ultra Music Festival). 

The main reason why he is my inspiration is due to how he was pushed into the mainstream at such a young age, which is explained in the documentary “Avicii: True Stories”. Sadly, he passed away on April 20, 2018. About 9 months ago. Even with him gone, he’s still a big inspiration with all the music he’s created. 

I’ll be gone for now. I’ll be back Brother.  ~ tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Examining “Translucent Nightfall”

 In the last blog I posted, I had said that I would be going through one of my personal, favorite, created, tracks.  Going back, this was made out of creativity and enjoyment. At the time, my mindset was only on making an EDM track, and making an EDM track work.  I had an inexperience in creating a chord progression that would play throughout the song.  At the time, it was my first time using Ableton Live 10. 

This was also the time when I started using MIDI Chord packs, that shows which scale has which notes for a chord progression. 

Just like my other track “Revitalize” I start off by using a piano to plan out the entire song. In my opinion, as of now, it is not a very good way to organize a song. This is due to how bland the final result will be because of the fact that it’s all piano, and nothing else. No guitar, pad, flutes, synths, or drums.  Here’s what it sounds like as Piano Only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CfellFlj9tQ6sIKS6QxaYDBbgLAQniFv/view?usp=sharing

My inspiration at the time was Alan Walker, instead of Avicii. So, for the chord progressions I copied the chord patterns from one of his popular songs “Faded”. 

To advance the track further, I made an arpeggio based on the chords I used. Which ended up being in majority of the track. Now, instead of making the arpeggio from the chords and from the arpeggiator, I created the MIDI file of the arpeggio instead. 

Next off from there, I added the main melody. Then added another melody, and another. Yep, just like my previous track “Revitalize”, I kept creating melodies and put them all in one song.

Each section in the song was different due to the times I made each section. The intro, I made from the idea of Alan Walker’s chord progressions. From there, the break was only plucks with a false idea of the song, and it goes strait to the buildup and drop. 

The buildup uses the basic “Track repeats itself over and over again until the drop hits” idea. 

Now, I didn’t just do the instruments and then the drums. I did the drum along with the instruments, so that I can hear the beat that can go with the instruments. In the track, you can hear the difference in kick, snare, and hi hat placements in the track.  Although I am taking pride in my work of putting each individual kick drum and snare, I also admit to using samples to speed the process up and have a basic examples to look through. 

(Yes)

Lastly was the Sound FX, which was just cymbal crashes, reverse crashes, white noise, reverse white noise, and impacts. It’s all fairly basic. 

Anyway that’s all for this week, I hope you learned a thing or two from my experience!  In my next blog I will be talking about some artists/producers that inspired me to make music. 

~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

tG_001 | Turning Back

Hey what’s up guys it’s tG_001 back with another blog where I’ll be  *cough*  self-advertising myself. *cough* Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/tg_001/turning-back To start off, I just want to talk about how I tried to plan this out.  A couple weeks before I watched a documentary about Tim Bergling, a.k.a. Avicii. The documentary was named “Avicii: True Stories”. 

And thanks to this documentary, I actually felt really inspired and started 5 other tracks just like this one.  By the time I started the 5, I left the files alone for a good while. Until I got back onto this file.  Songs like Avicii’s “Heaven” and “I’ll Be Gone”, start with an arpeggio like melody.  So, based on that idea, I wanted to start the song off with only an arpeggio.  From there my only problem I had in mind was the main melody. Which me mashing my hands on the piano, actually turned out well in my opinion. 

(It was not as elegant as this) At this point I needed to find what chords that I needed to use that can match up with the arpeggio and melody.  So, back to mashing my hands on the Keyboard! By the end of the day, I had a full rough draft of the track all on a compressed piano. 

Now you may be questioning, “what the heck is a compressed piano?”. 

Now to answer your question, there is a VST called OTT, which compresses instruments and makes certain sounds on certain frequencies sharper. 

In the end, this makes the piano sound much “better”. 

I kind of just abandoned the track project after that. Which was actually because I was preoccupied on school. 

But it being near the end of December, I decided that I wanted my next track on 2019 to really count. So I worked hard, and asked friends of mine what I should  do to improve my work. 

At the time, I was told that the “drop” wasn’t really there. So by the time I searched up “How to make a good EDM drop” I was given search results about “How to make a good buildup”. 

By doing more research on the topic, it turns out that the buildup is what helps the drop sound better and hard hitting. 

So, by having two drops originally all I had to do was add in two buildups to make each one hit hard. 

And by adding a one second pause before each drop, it makes the effect of a rest and then hits to the drop. 

Most commonly, the one second pause has 4 drum stick sounds or some form of drums before the actual drop. 

In the end, the last thing I had worked on was the buildup and drop. I even looked back at one of my favorite personally created tracks: “Translucent Nightfall” for reference. 

Anyway, I’ll be in the next blog as always! ~tG_001

[dj-tg-001]

Deconstructing “Translucent Nightfall”

Now in this blog I’ll be going through one of my personal favorite produced tracks:  Translucent Nightfall https://soundcloud.com/tg_001/translucent-nightfall Now to start off, I was feeling really inspired after this time, so I had decided to produce a new track every month to keep on working on producing better music. 

When I tried to start the track off, I had to think of a chord progression to use, and which notes to use. 

From there, I realized that everything else was easy. 

To create a chord progression, I simply had to make a pattern for the notes. 

To create the arpeggio, I just needed to put notes from each chord that goes up and down. 

The only hard part was the melody, which I ended up creating 3 of. 

Here is the song entirely in Piano. It may be missing some parts, because as a producer, a song is never finished until it is published. 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CfellFlj9tQ6sIKS6QxaYDBbgLAQniFv

From here, I needed to create a beat. I have already learned the basic EDM beat, but this time, I wanted to make it sound different. Much more different. I ended up adding some extra kicks, snares, and hi hats, to different parts of the song to “spice-en” things up a bit. 

Lastly, I needed to add some SFX. I added some of the more common sound effects such as, but not limited to, Reverse Crashes, White Noise, Reverse White Noise, Crashes, Impacts, and Reverse Kicks. Although this did not sound like enough to me, I thought it was okay for that moment in time. Near to when I was finishing up however, I added some smaller details like day-to-day sound effects, like cars, birds, nature, etc. 

Moving on, I needed to change the way it all sounded. It couldn’t be just piano.  I felt like it needed to be more diverse. So, trying to create a track within the parameters of EDM, I changed plenty of parts to synths to give it the electro feel. 

Lastly, this was something that was requested, but I never made happen. When I asked one of my friends to review the track... Here’s the first export of it:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PE-KE_xoFIcRc6UBn6BwpwxNtKlPROPd ...he asked me if he could make lyrics for me. I agreed, and the next day he came back with lyrics. However, without a good place to record, and me feeling already accomplished, I decided not to add in whatever we had recorded into the song, or continue the idea at that point. 

However, I am hoping that I will still have this as an option for future tracks, but as of now, I only want to focus on instrumentals and EDM track making. 

~tG_001 

[dj-tg-001]

Deconstructing “Revitalize”

Last week I did say that I would be going though how I made my first track “Revitalize”, and here it is!

https://soundcloud.com/tg_001/revitalize

In my mind at the time, I had just transitioned from making remixes from Anime OPs and EDs, as mentioned in the last blog. I had no clue what to do, no knowledge on music theory, or how to even start. 

That’s when I discovered the beauty of using the internet. I was able to search up terms and questions such as: “Music Theory, How to Make/Produce Music, and How to Make/Produce an EDM Track”. I know, the internet can be used for so much more than just memes. 

Even though I was really stumped, I came across the idea of using a MIDI pack of all chords. 

And from there I was able to choose which chords I liked in my Chord Progression.  Now, a Chord Progression is just a set of chords. for example: I–V–vi–IV Which is just which chords are put in each order. 

After that was done, I also came across other tutorials for how to make an EDM Track. One showed to me a common Harmonic pattern for EDM. 

From there, I was able to create an Arpeggio from just taking the Chord Progressions and using the “Arpeggiator” Effect to get an Arpeggio with the least amount of work. 

At this point, I didn’t like the way it all sounded. Due to the fact that the only instrument used in production was the piano. then, I stumbled upon a music service called “Splice”, which offered a deal where I only needed to pay $9.99 a month for using a high-quality, commonly used, synthesizer. The synthesizer was called “Serum”, and due to how it renders piano keys with waves, it ate up a lot of my CPU usage. In other words, when the drop hit, it became very distorted. 

Now one synth is not enough to do this, however using over 60 will just about do the trick. 

And this is where this become messy, I stacked layers upon layers of synths on top of one another for all the MIDI clips I made. 

Lastly, I finally made the Melody. Which is really strange because I actually made 3 different Melodies, and was able to fit them all into one Track. 

At the time, I didn’t know how to EQ, or what Mixing was, so the only closest thing I could do is to change the Volume of Each track. Which really isn’t hard but does show when you export the track. 

So on Soundcloud, the quality is very bad. As opposed to the YouTube video, the audio quality is much better, because I noticed this when editing. 

I hope you learned a thing or two from my experiences, and yes my Tracks are now getting better.  In my next blog, I will be talking about the next song “Translucent Nightfall”.

~tG_001