My final track was taken with a UK style drum pattern with a drum snare sample that I then used behind a beat that i have been working on. This drum pattern includes the drum samples used, like the snare, hi hats and crashes. These were all layered with the massive 808 behind them boosting it.
The effects used on this track were;
Lowpass filter
Cutting up audio clips
Slowing down and reversing parts of the tracks
These were all used to maintain the UK trap style. They may take allot of time once everything has been mastered, but they fit the genre perfectly. This track could have been mixed a little better when finalised, for example I could have boosted the hi hats and taken a little off the snare. This was another thing I had learnt from Phil's mixing sessions.
Monday, 3 July 2017
My Website (Week 9 EXP)
After spending weeks focussing on the final product of the website, I was able to come to a conclusion on what layout I've chosen, what information I will post and many more key aspects.
Layout
The style of the website was incredibly important when designing it, as it needed to be simple, easy to use and appealing to the eye. This was why I went with this design.
The name of the website was posted across the centre on the page, in larger text and a smoother font used. This Logo is used throughout the website on each page shown at the top left.
This Idea was given to me by Youtube as I noticed that there Logo was shown at the top left on each page.
 |
The boxes filled with the headings like 'Tracks' flash red when you hover over them just as a small feature that allows you to know what feature you are clicking on. They will then take you to the page you have clicked on from the home screen.
Information
The information provided on the website is a set of applications linked, promoting my music on different softwares. The front page consists of links to the Youtube page, Soundcloud page and the Social media page. These pages either have tracks or videos to be played or information about myself. Each page has a separate paragraph describing why I have chosen to include them.
This was the paragraph written beside the Soundcloud page discussing the popularity of the website and what features you can use it for.
I also have My social medias printed across the top right of every page so that it is easily accessible.
Comparison
When creating this website, I was able to use Drakes own page for inspiration. His layout isn't similar to mine, although it is very similar when promoting his music, It is directly linked to Apple Music which is also linked to Itunes. Drake having a fan base as large as his, he is able to get people to buy his music through Apple Music just by visiting his website. If I had a similar following I would be able to do the same although my website is non profitable as it is linked to Soundcloud & Youtube. He then has a small bibliography about himself and Tour dates as an option to click on. These are all features that I could be adding on in the future if I am to get to that stage.
Another website which is a similar idea to what I originally had was Fifth Element. This website promotes peoples work with no limitations on genres, ways to listen to it and what music you can find. This was my original idea as well as promoting my work although I had decided against it as I wanted it to be purely about me!
My website could become something similar to this if I were to gather enough music from people I know, and discuss prices they would like there work to be sold at or just streamed.
The layout was simple, but seemed more like a website where you be purchasing something rather then streaming some music.
Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Unit 10 Personal Statement
My motivation for applying to study a combination of Music Production, Business Management,
Law, Advertising and Marketing is driven by a desire to pursue a career in
Marketing/Advertising, possibly including music production, alongside a strong interest in
Retail/Business Management.
Two years ago, I was unable to study both Music and Law on the same course, so I decided to
continue with my music studies. My current course has taught me a great deal about the music
industry - I now have experience in areas such as copyright, live performing and organisation
- as well as perfecting my composing and technical skills and I am excited at the prospect of
adding business and marketing to my studies.
I hope one of my chosen courses will help develop my skills to communicate ideas, working
towards a career in Retail or Marketing and possibly incorporating Music Production too.
Business Law and Marketing are new subjects to me, but I enjoy learning, am self-motivated and
get a strong sense of satisfaction from following a music brief through to the completed work.
Alongside my current music course, I have also pursued my interest in Law, by doing some work
experience at a well-respected London Chambers, 24 Bedford Row. I found it fascinating
attending court sittings and working on research projects, as directed. I have also been lucky
enough to do some intern work at Chris Kimsey's music production studio and worked hard to
save up enough money to buy my own Apple Mac and Logic Pro to use at home. This has helped me
through the years on my current course and would help me in the future too.
On the marketing front, I currently work part-time at the fashion store Hunter Boots, in
Regent Street, Central London. I have developed a huge interest in sales and in how the store
succeeds. I enjoy the challenge of reaching sales targets and would very much like to explore
the effect of marketing in retail and learn key skills which might help me follow a possible
career path in a related area. Additionally, I interned at a property PR company in the summer
holidays to experience marketing/advertising through journalism, as opposed to the more direct
approach of paid-for-promotions or point-of-sale.
When I am not in college studying music, I am generally producing music in my home studio or
working at Hunter Boots, paying particular attention to how our products are packaged,
displayed and marketed within the store and how we are directed to use our own skills to make
the best sales. I'm learning new skills everyday both at work and at college, preparing for
further education and life after this course.
I am a competitive and focussed individual who has participated in team sports throughout my
school and college life, after gaining a Sports Scholarship to my secondary school. I played
football in the Selkent league for seven years, captaining the team for two years and I still
enjoy playing in a team, when I am not working at weekends.
I have been writing and producing music for nearly 10 years and have a successful music sales
site where I sell my music/beats to professional artists. Attending one of my chosen courses
would help me pursue my idea of working either in the music business or in the
marketing/retail sector.
Law, Advertising and Marketing is driven by a desire to pursue a career in
Marketing/Advertising, possibly including music production, alongside a strong interest in
Retail/Business Management.
Two years ago, I was unable to study both Music and Law on the same course, so I decided to
continue with my music studies. My current course has taught me a great deal about the music
industry - I now have experience in areas such as copyright, live performing and organisation
- as well as perfecting my composing and technical skills and I am excited at the prospect of
adding business and marketing to my studies.
I hope one of my chosen courses will help develop my skills to communicate ideas, working
towards a career in Retail or Marketing and possibly incorporating Music Production too.
Business Law and Marketing are new subjects to me, but I enjoy learning, am self-motivated and
get a strong sense of satisfaction from following a music brief through to the completed work.
Alongside my current music course, I have also pursued my interest in Law, by doing some work
experience at a well-respected London Chambers, 24 Bedford Row. I found it fascinating
attending court sittings and working on research projects, as directed. I have also been lucky
enough to do some intern work at Chris Kimsey's music production studio and worked hard to
save up enough money to buy my own Apple Mac and Logic Pro to use at home. This has helped me
through the years on my current course and would help me in the future too.
On the marketing front, I currently work part-time at the fashion store Hunter Boots, in
Regent Street, Central London. I have developed a huge interest in sales and in how the store
succeeds. I enjoy the challenge of reaching sales targets and would very much like to explore
the effect of marketing in retail and learn key skills which might help me follow a possible
career path in a related area. Additionally, I interned at a property PR company in the summer
holidays to experience marketing/advertising through journalism, as opposed to the more direct
approach of paid-for-promotions or point-of-sale.
When I am not in college studying music, I am generally producing music in my home studio or
working at Hunter Boots, paying particular attention to how our products are packaged,
displayed and marketed within the store and how we are directed to use our own skills to make
the best sales. I'm learning new skills everyday both at work and at college, preparing for
further education and life after this course.
I am a competitive and focussed individual who has participated in team sports throughout my
school and college life, after gaining a Sports Scholarship to my secondary school. I played
football in the Selkent league for seven years, captaining the team for two years and I still
enjoy playing in a team, when I am not working at weekends.
I have been writing and producing music for nearly 10 years and have a successful music sales
site where I sell my music/beats to professional artists. Attending one of my chosen courses
would help me pursue my idea of working either in the music business or in the
marketing/retail sector.
Unit 10 Industry
Social media is an important factor in today's music. The way music is mostly promoted is through platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. As an example recently Stormzy has released a new album which has traveled from community to community. This was helped by many different promotions like Manchester United having him over to the training ground to meet the players and promote is work. He also did a meet and greet at the stadium to encourage people to come along. He originally uploaded a video during may about the new signing Paul Pogba. This video went viral due to the amount of fans who wanted more gossip on the potential signing. He then built a relationship with the club as they have now recently supported his new album 'Gang signs & prayer'
In recent times finding out information of the latest tracks and artists haven't been as necessary as it was back in the day on tv
In recent times finding out information of the latest tracks and artists haven't been as necessary as it was back in the day on tv
Unit 11 Dissertation
TRAP
Does the media' s portrayal of Trap affect the success of UK Trap musicians?
Trap is a worldwide genre with artists from different backgrounds, heritages and upbringings. It brings a different variety of people together and mixes them into one big culture. Although gang violence still occurs on a regular basis, I still believe that this genre has a positive future for musicians.
The Trap genre has often been criticised for encouraging violence and gang culture. This is mainly because of the lyrics and actions used in music videos. Before Trap, artists would usually go against each other in rap battles which often caused tension. In the UK scene right now artists and groups are doing similar things, but are acted on. As bad as it sounds, most people who listen to Trap are usually engaged to the violence and are looking to find the most violent artists.
Sky news worked on the subject last year where they had taken footage from Edmonton rappers and their music videos and used them to almost protest against the acts. The footage showed up to 5 people with weapons before the song had started playing. The chorus then worded "Anything Green Get Bun" which is basically shouting that anyone from the other side will get shot. The Sky reporter told us that "social media is playing an increasing role in gang violence" which is true, but not just in gang violence. In fact Police reports show that social media-related crime reports an increase of 780% in four years. Crime has always occurred to this day and will continue for many years to come, as social media becomes more powerful, it becomes easier to blame the younger generation, especially if you voice it to an audience, which most musicians do in Trap.
(KAII TV, 2016)
Although some groups are creating this style of music to boost their reputation on the street, some artists have become successful coming off the streets doing Trap. The way most artists become successful is if somebody famous notices one of their tracks. For example, Rita Ora originally liked a Section Boys track and danced to it online. This brought all kinds of attention to the group's music. Section boys then went on to make a track with Chris Brown, which obviously brought them a lot of new fans from the UK and US. When rappers decide to make more mainstream music, it just becomes brand management and how you can promote your music. Another rapper who has recently blown up (who in fact attended a college with most of my friends) is Santan Dave. He was our age, creating music that we liked, which helped him gain a local following. The way he blew up was actually quite random. Millionaire artist Drake has recently been involved in some of the UK scene, as he "fell in love with the UK sound", by listening to Grime artist Skepta and BBK. He even got a tattoo on his right shoulder saying 'BBK' and this brought a lot more people to investigate the UK music scene. Drake heard one of Dave's songs 'Wanna Know'(Santan Dave, 2016) and remixed it at his studio. When this released, the UK went mad hearing the track. This showed Dave a different side to music industry, as he was offered promotions, signed with Nike and had him travelling on some of Drake tours around the world.
Music, just as an art, takes teenagers off the roads and gives them another road to choose for their future.(Drake, 2016) Local rappers from Camden NDubz started off with underground rap locally, but added melodies to the mix and got recognized instantly by gaining world wide tours, TV shows and nearly winning CBB. There's an endless amount of potential to become successful in the music industry with Trap. It's a worldwide genre that is vastly increasing in size of its following. Artists are looked at differently and are especially judged by their characters, as well as music with Trap, these are artists from Germany who create similar music, but have a different feel to the UK.
(IMMER READY, 2016)
The Trap music in Germany is an amazing style that is similar to the UK and US, but has its own grab. The instrumentals are are almost exact to US type beats, for example they use the same sample packs from Lex Lugar. This is mainly the snare drums instead of 808's. It's very hard to tell 808's apart. In this track the artist Morten was singing in the track which is more of an American style from artists like Future, Kodak and others. Saying it is more American Trap to UK doesn't change the genre feel. It still involves key aspects including the visuals, which were really well done from my point of view. There was a lady who was masked up and grinding down weed. This is more of a US style because of the work put into it. UK artists have recently been putting a lot more into visuals, but aren't this style.
(16BARS.TV, 2016)
My second choice of German Trap was called Balkon (balcony) by Jumpa ft Chima Ede. This track was a lot more like UK Trap. This was every aspect, from vocals to visuals. The visuals have a group of men on a balcony and in the middle of an alley. The effects used on the video made it all a bit grey and white. That could be another reason why it had a UK feel, they showed us some of the UK weather! The track had the foreign Trap feel though, with the acoustic stringed instrument with effects on it. The vocals were rapped and had a faster flow, until the chorus which was slowed down and had a melody over the top. This track was similar to an old school 67 style, one of the more successful groups.
(Link Up TV | Music, 2017)
This track's by the group 67. They are well known musicians who are taking off in the UK Trap scene. These two tracks (Balcon & Waps) are very similar when it comes to music, but the video creates a gritty atmosphere, which is a typical for UK Trap and gives the whole track a different feel. Although 67 are a music group and have sworn to be dedicated to music alone, they struggle to tour, as 'Feds keep shutting down shows' (the Police stop them from performing) because some are on music bans, or linked to individual crimes.
Artists like Skepta and Stormzy have very recently blown up from bringing out albums and individual tracks which have almost branched out to a higher end and wealthier group of artists.
(BBC Music, 2016) Since Skepta won the Mercury award over David Bowie, there has been a lot more talk about UK artists, in the papers, musicians and the public, who are being encouraged to embrace UK Trap. This recent move has shown the audience another side to the UK scene. The speech he gave on creating his album showed the audience that he really is doing this for the music and the success, which is a point many artists have tried to get across but failed. Stormzy is another artist who has been persistently working to become a successful musician. He recently performed at the BRITS with Ed Sheeren in front of a pretty well known audience! The two performed brilliantly as they mixed both genres into an incredible act. Social media enjoyed the funny moments between Stormzy and the actor Bradley Walsh. He was almost giddy as Stormzy approached him and congratulated him on his success. The two then took a picture after the awards and performance. Small gestures like this can give someone an entirely different perspective on the person and his background. Also performing that night was Skepta from BBK who had a lot of controversy to his name after performing. He performed his most recognised song 'Shutdown' to the thousands in the audience, only for some of the words to be muted because they weren't allowed to be said, although the presenter had sworn several times during the show. A minor act like this is almost used as a metaphor to show how UK rap is observed. As bad as the media are, with stories of this type, on the youth in the UK it can be helpful in some ways to artists like this. Being looked at as an underdog gives people more of a reason for them to do well, For instance, if Skepta was an average American hip hop rapper and won something as great as the Mercury Award, it would have been an amazing achievement, but because of his background, style of music and raw passion for the scene it makes it that little bit better.
Although the media are very persuasive and can change people's opinions on certain subjects, for instance Trap music, they aren't the only ones who control the internet platform. In March 2016 UK rapper Nines posted a video of himself with North London rapper CBiz's chain and watch.
(UKG Music, 2016) This video went viral and created a huge amount of tension between the two. People were locked on to see how CBiz and ER (CBiz's group) would react. As the viral spread across the UK and US it caught the eye of bloggers and reporters. In the same week an innocent civilian was shot in the head in Harlesden (Nines's area) and was killed. The immediate response, which flooded the internet, was that CBiz had committed the crime with one of his friends. Because of the coincidental circumstances, the Police had arrested CBiz because of the the way the internet had reacted. After many trials and court appearances there was not enough evidence to prove that CBiz was the murderer. This shows that, although the media have a huge impact on what people think, social media has the same amount of power, if not more.
My conclusion is that Trap is a genre that is easy to criticise because of the dark and gritty affect it lays out for an audience to see. It's being brought up by the youth of the UK and is almost becoming an accepted genre, as it is slowly, but gradually, building different types of following and is winning awards whilst doing that. The media doesn't cover the genre too much when it comes to success, but has a headline of 'London Rapper Showkey stabbed to death'. They are quick to pick up on faults, but are slow to recognise positives. If the media were to cover more on the genre and the success it can come with, there would be less artists writing about killings and gang violence (as that's the only part you'll see). It's almost easier to get fame through taking one's life than to earn it by selling a record amount of albums. The success of UK Trap can be easily gained because of the humbleness of the culture and could become a major genre if it was appreciated more by the media.
Bibliography
16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
BBC Music (2016) Skepta wins the 2016 mercury prize. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7Xa-OX7No (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Drake (2016) Wanna know ft. Drake - Dave (official audio). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZ0OXmXw38 (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
IMMER READY (2016) Morten x abermillion (prod. By morten) (official 4k video). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=4dr7z6iME4c (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
KAII TV (2016) A1FromThe9 (Edmonton) and Poky (AP) were on sky news (8/5/16). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Swu_6f2omQ (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
Link Up TV | Music (2017) 67 (monkey x Dimzy x LD) - #WAPS (prod by Carns hill) [Music Video] @Official6ix7 | link up TV. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPI7VNsN2K0 (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Santan Dave (2016) Dave - wanna know. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2H0mXC2Wbs (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
UKG Music (2016) Rapper NINES robs C BIZ’s chain and watch. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVbSOVRybo (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Will CT (2017) ED SHEERAN feat. STORMZY - shape of you - live at the BRIT awards 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kUCKEJvTGI (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Citations, Quotes & Annotations
16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
(16BARS.TV, 2016)
Does the media' s portrayal of Trap affect the success of UK Trap musicians?
Trap is a worldwide genre with artists from different backgrounds, heritages and upbringings. It brings a different variety of people together and mixes them into one big culture. Although gang violence still occurs on a regular basis, I still believe that this genre has a positive future for musicians.
The Trap genre has often been criticised for encouraging violence and gang culture. This is mainly because of the lyrics and actions used in music videos. Before Trap, artists would usually go against each other in rap battles which often caused tension. In the UK scene right now artists and groups are doing similar things, but are acted on. As bad as it sounds, most people who listen to Trap are usually engaged to the violence and are looking to find the most violent artists.
Sky news worked on the subject last year where they had taken footage from Edmonton rappers and their music videos and used them to almost protest against the acts. The footage showed up to 5 people with weapons before the song had started playing. The chorus then worded "Anything Green Get Bun" which is basically shouting that anyone from the other side will get shot. The Sky reporter told us that "social media is playing an increasing role in gang violence" which is true, but not just in gang violence. In fact Police reports show that social media-related crime reports an increase of 780% in four years. Crime has always occurred to this day and will continue for many years to come, as social media becomes more powerful, it becomes easier to blame the younger generation, especially if you voice it to an audience, which most musicians do in Trap.
(KAII TV, 2016)
Although some groups are creating this style of music to boost their reputation on the street, some artists have become successful coming off the streets doing Trap. The way most artists become successful is if somebody famous notices one of their tracks. For example, Rita Ora originally liked a Section Boys track and danced to it online. This brought all kinds of attention to the group's music. Section boys then went on to make a track with Chris Brown, which obviously brought them a lot of new fans from the UK and US. When rappers decide to make more mainstream music, it just becomes brand management and how you can promote your music. Another rapper who has recently blown up (who in fact attended a college with most of my friends) is Santan Dave. He was our age, creating music that we liked, which helped him gain a local following. The way he blew up was actually quite random. Millionaire artist Drake has recently been involved in some of the UK scene, as he "fell in love with the UK sound", by listening to Grime artist Skepta and BBK. He even got a tattoo on his right shoulder saying 'BBK' and this brought a lot more people to investigate the UK music scene. Drake heard one of Dave's songs 'Wanna Know'(Santan Dave, 2016) and remixed it at his studio. When this released, the UK went mad hearing the track. This showed Dave a different side to music industry, as he was offered promotions, signed with Nike and had him travelling on some of Drake tours around the world.
Music, just as an art, takes teenagers off the roads and gives them another road to choose for their future.(Drake, 2016) Local rappers from Camden NDubz started off with underground rap locally, but added melodies to the mix and got recognized instantly by gaining world wide tours, TV shows and nearly winning CBB. There's an endless amount of potential to become successful in the music industry with Trap. It's a worldwide genre that is vastly increasing in size of its following. Artists are looked at differently and are especially judged by their characters, as well as music with Trap, these are artists from Germany who create similar music, but have a different feel to the UK.
(IMMER READY, 2016)
The Trap music in Germany is an amazing style that is similar to the UK and US, but has its own grab. The instrumentals are are almost exact to US type beats, for example they use the same sample packs from Lex Lugar. This is mainly the snare drums instead of 808's. It's very hard to tell 808's apart. In this track the artist Morten was singing in the track which is more of an American style from artists like Future, Kodak and others. Saying it is more American Trap to UK doesn't change the genre feel. It still involves key aspects including the visuals, which were really well done from my point of view. There was a lady who was masked up and grinding down weed. This is more of a US style because of the work put into it. UK artists have recently been putting a lot more into visuals, but aren't this style.
(16BARS.TV, 2016)
My second choice of German Trap was called Balkon (balcony) by Jumpa ft Chima Ede. This track was a lot more like UK Trap. This was every aspect, from vocals to visuals. The visuals have a group of men on a balcony and in the middle of an alley. The effects used on the video made it all a bit grey and white. That could be another reason why it had a UK feel, they showed us some of the UK weather! The track had the foreign Trap feel though, with the acoustic stringed instrument with effects on it. The vocals were rapped and had a faster flow, until the chorus which was slowed down and had a melody over the top. This track was similar to an old school 67 style, one of the more successful groups.
(Link Up TV | Music, 2017)
This track's by the group 67. They are well known musicians who are taking off in the UK Trap scene. These two tracks (Balcon & Waps) are very similar when it comes to music, but the video creates a gritty atmosphere, which is a typical for UK Trap and gives the whole track a different feel. Although 67 are a music group and have sworn to be dedicated to music alone, they struggle to tour, as 'Feds keep shutting down shows' (the Police stop them from performing) because some are on music bans, or linked to individual crimes.
Artists like Skepta and Stormzy have very recently blown up from bringing out albums and individual tracks which have almost branched out to a higher end and wealthier group of artists.
(BBC Music, 2016) Since Skepta won the Mercury award over David Bowie, there has been a lot more talk about UK artists, in the papers, musicians and the public, who are being encouraged to embrace UK Trap. This recent move has shown the audience another side to the UK scene. The speech he gave on creating his album showed the audience that he really is doing this for the music and the success, which is a point many artists have tried to get across but failed. Stormzy is another artist who has been persistently working to become a successful musician. He recently performed at the BRITS with Ed Sheeren in front of a pretty well known audience! The two performed brilliantly as they mixed both genres into an incredible act. Social media enjoyed the funny moments between Stormzy and the actor Bradley Walsh. He was almost giddy as Stormzy approached him and congratulated him on his success. The two then took a picture after the awards and performance. Small gestures like this can give someone an entirely different perspective on the person and his background. Also performing that night was Skepta from BBK who had a lot of controversy to his name after performing. He performed his most recognised song 'Shutdown' to the thousands in the audience, only for some of the words to be muted because they weren't allowed to be said, although the presenter had sworn several times during the show. A minor act like this is almost used as a metaphor to show how UK rap is observed. As bad as the media are, with stories of this type, on the youth in the UK it can be helpful in some ways to artists like this. Being looked at as an underdog gives people more of a reason for them to do well, For instance, if Skepta was an average American hip hop rapper and won something as great as the Mercury Award, it would have been an amazing achievement, but because of his background, style of music and raw passion for the scene it makes it that little bit better.
Although the media are very persuasive and can change people's opinions on certain subjects, for instance Trap music, they aren't the only ones who control the internet platform. In March 2016 UK rapper Nines posted a video of himself with North London rapper CBiz's chain and watch.
(UKG Music, 2016) This video went viral and created a huge amount of tension between the two. People were locked on to see how CBiz and ER (CBiz's group) would react. As the viral spread across the UK and US it caught the eye of bloggers and reporters. In the same week an innocent civilian was shot in the head in Harlesden (Nines's area) and was killed. The immediate response, which flooded the internet, was that CBiz had committed the crime with one of his friends. Because of the coincidental circumstances, the Police had arrested CBiz because of the the way the internet had reacted. After many trials and court appearances there was not enough evidence to prove that CBiz was the murderer. This shows that, although the media have a huge impact on what people think, social media has the same amount of power, if not more.
My conclusion is that Trap is a genre that is easy to criticise because of the dark and gritty affect it lays out for an audience to see. It's being brought up by the youth of the UK and is almost becoming an accepted genre, as it is slowly, but gradually, building different types of following and is winning awards whilst doing that. The media doesn't cover the genre too much when it comes to success, but has a headline of 'London Rapper Showkey stabbed to death'. They are quick to pick up on faults, but are slow to recognise positives. If the media were to cover more on the genre and the success it can come with, there would be less artists writing about killings and gang violence (as that's the only part you'll see). It's almost easier to get fame through taking one's life than to earn it by selling a record amount of albums. The success of UK Trap can be easily gained because of the humbleness of the culture and could become a major genre if it was appreciated more by the media.
Bibliography
16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
BBC Music (2016) Skepta wins the 2016 mercury prize. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7Xa-OX7No (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Drake (2016) Wanna know ft. Drake - Dave (official audio). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZ0OXmXw38 (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
IMMER READY (2016) Morten x abermillion (prod. By morten) (official 4k video). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=4dr7z6iME4c (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
KAII TV (2016) A1FromThe9 (Edmonton) and Poky (AP) were on sky news (8/5/16). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Swu_6f2omQ (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
Link Up TV | Music (2017) 67 (monkey x Dimzy x LD) - #WAPS (prod by Carns hill) [Music Video] @Official6ix7 | link up TV. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPI7VNsN2K0 (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Santan Dave (2016) Dave - wanna know. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2H0mXC2Wbs (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
UKG Music (2016) Rapper NINES robs C BIZ’s chain and watch. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVbSOVRybo (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Will CT (2017) ED SHEERAN feat. STORMZY - shape of you - live at the BRIT awards 2017. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kUCKEJvTGI (Accessed: 23 February 2017).
Citations, Quotes & Annotations
16BARS.TV (2016) Jumpa feat. Chima Ede - Balkon (16BARS.TV PREMIERE). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjdmjLBFZsc_4Sc7RAdKJJvqh_2CLFf3N&v=HT4xaZakYZI (Accessed: 2 February 2017).
(16BARS.TV, 2016)
Friday, 9 June 2017
EXP Evaluation
When launching my new website, my intentions were purely to promote. I had two separate websites where I had my music uploaded too, so the links made my Music easily accessed. I believe that my project would fit into the music industry confidently as it's the composition of music and then the promotion of it, which are both as important as each other. A similar website that promotes sampling would be the well known producer 808Razz's website. This page is similar to how I would like my website to build up to, in the sense that although he has his Soundcloud and Youtube promoted, he is also able to be selling samples and drum kit's. The set up was almost identical when it came to the page layout and options setup, although he had pages promoting his drum kit's.
Looking back to my original proposal, I was questioning whether I would become more successful if my music was able to be purchased or if you were able to stream for free. This enabled me to do some research into the topic finding out individual opinions on it. An opinion that stood out to me was the response to the question "Why do people pay for Spotify when they can listen music for free?' A consumer replied "Because Spotify works better, because it has offline support, because it doesn’t have ads, because it supports playing in the background on mobile." This point was something that I agreed on as people want a software that is smooth & easy to play. That's why my conclusion was to connect my music to Soundcloud.
The main thing that I would either change or add onto my website would be somewhere to promote the samples. This would be a separate page where I would have collected every sample I have used, from Vocals to Drum Kit's. I had debated doing so earlier on in the project, but struggled collecting all the samples. This was one of the only major problems I encountered although I would've liked to create one more track with a strings piece I had found, but I didn't have the time to.
The key areas that I had chose to research were articles discussing sampling and finding out which sections of a track are mostly used. The best information as well as inspiration was from Captial Xtra's sampling page. They were able to show me examples of what samples that had been used and where they were found originally. This information encouraged me to find a Vox sample to play with. Originally my idea was to find a Choir group to sample, but every track had some sort of wind percussion or organ playing behind it. I then adapted to a middle eastern vocal to sample. When it came to producing and composing my Research was either found on youtube or I was helped from my tutors. The main information that I had gained was finding out how to change the Bpm of a Sample. This was the first research I had done as it was the first step of my project when producing. I am now confident after repeating the cycle with all tracks. The next practical bit of research was me discovering how to create the perfect 808 from scratch.
The 808 Tutorial was a topic I had struggled on as the one 808 the tutorial had created was close but not perfect to the sound I had pictured. In order to improve the sound I had to actually realise what I was replicating. Phil had taught us in previous lessons how to make use of the ES2 software and had recommended techniques on doing so. I was able to grab him for a second to repeat it.
Presenting
My decision in promoting my work online rather then experimenting with a performance, was to build up a following via social media over it being live. This is so I am able to have a website up and running connecting my social medias, Youtube and Soundcloud accounts to it. I then aspire to be able to promote music of my own and sell samples that I have collected. When creating music I try to keep up with the current trends.As record sales go down and the internet becomes a bigger source of getting your music now. Discovering another website which promotes music and is another way to stream increases the appeal to the modern audience. My target audience fits perfectly to the creation of the website as streaming increases by the day. As Soundcloud, Youtube and other music websites maximise in popularity, linking them to my website would only bring a larger audience.
Controlling my whole project left me a lot of time to divide each section into time slots. This worked well as my Website was complete and my weekly progress reports were all done in time. Although they worked out well I believe i spent to much time researching into Samples. As i collected them up I worked on over ten separately but couldn't find the perfect one to work on. This took a large chunk out of my time collection. Another Idea that had changed from my original plan was to have the music of my colleagues promoted on a separate page of the website. This plan failed as I was unable to collect the music from some of the students, therefore I prioritised the promotion of the music. This had a massive influence on the project as a whole because the music was focussed on the most. I don't regret doing it as I'm more then happy of the final project of the tracks, but It would have helped having more time to work on the Website as well as review.
The main issue i had from the beginning was being able to find some samples online to work with. I tried on numerous occasions to work along side them and they just didn't collaborate well. This was before I was able to discover how to time stretch. This worked extremely well as the samples were timed perfectly, but finding the samples before that was very stressful. I then went on to start my research where i wanted to discover statistics on how much streaming has gone up in the last 10 years. I tried to find this information online so that I can back up my point on the decision to doing everything online rather then live performances. When this was typed in no straight facts were there for me to use, as articles on peoples opinions were the only information that I was able to use.
I was originally contemplating whether or not i should include the website side to my project as the sampling was taking so long. I was then helped with research on the sampling and Phil had helped me mix down one of the tracks in a fraction of the time I would usually take. This gave me enough time to edit on the structure of the website at home.
As a whole, I was impressed with the progressions made in all areas, from the technical skills to the final product. From research I had discovered techniques on how to time shift and set the tempo of a sample to Bpm I am familiar with. That was a huge part of my project as well as the discovery of creating an 808 from scratch. The website has given me a whole other path of stuff to work on. The website can be enhanced to promoting samples to sell as well as other musicians tracks can be uploaded. The music has been successful as I have been able to sell one of the instrumentals on to an artist locally. This could be a promotion to not only my Soundcloud linked, but to my website as well. I have many features to work and expand on as well as gathering key information that will influence me positively when producing.
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