unit 11

Kit farino

About my funding!

As a young producer in south London I create music to not only help my self and entertain the audience, but to boost the popularity of the Uk rap scene. When hiring different artists to express their emotions and experiences of where they come from and how the live. 

With some funding i will be able to use more equipment with better facilities as well as travel and book studios that top artists and producers have worked. This could build up more connections and introduce this genre to people with different style with a larger fan base.

The genre that I'm currently working in being Grime and Uk trap actually works really well with samples from either famous tracks or 1900's jazz tunes. Being able to afford some of these samples would also help because it could encourage people from an older generation to listen to it because it has the samples from tracks they may have loved before.

From previous experiences when i've had the chance to collaborate with certain artists or use studio equipment I've been in there 24/7 because I feel you are always given a chance for a reason and to for-fill it  is a responsibility.  I have made several tracks with artists that i have encountered and I'd like to think that the time i have off is mainly spent in a studio or online trying to find local upcoming artists. 

Growing up in London inspires me to show the other story aside the bright lights. This doesn't necessarily mean a dark genre, but it shows another side to the capital. These tracks are more then music. They are separate stories on top of a track that i will have composed. This is obviously a big part of the track because the music behind will add the mood as well as the hype! 

This is why it is so important to me to have the facilities to create these experiences.

   

 For my first track Training day I was mainly focusses on the drum patterns and what Bpm of 140. The drums contain a snare used from the Lex Lugar sample pack. The 808 was made by me on Logic pro X with the ES2 plug in. It was originally the saw synth, but  i played around with the filters and created this beauty! The whole track was so particular on key features like the simple strings riff. This was because i took inspiration from the Training day 2 Cypher that recently came out:

This hasn't been mixed and after 32 bars i just played around with it.
    II took inspiration from the American styled trap beats. This included an allot slower tempo at 85Bpm as well as a harder 808 to hit the piano. The pattern of the piano is 123,123,12. This is a pattern I'm not really familiar with. So with the being my first project of this sty, I'm satisfied with the outcome.  The clap were typical Lex Luger claps. These are usually used on tracks for artists like Tyga. The 808 is my usual creation although i added reverb and added EQ.    This track has the most amount of time spent when editing and deciding on key features when filtering  and cutting audio clips. This is a basic style of trap beat. The piano, pad and reverb creates the main hook which sticks through out the whole track. This is very particular to the genre of Uk trap. The drums usually  take are from sample packs but some of these are logic drums which have been filtered cut up and reused. There are also crashes that have been cut up and have even been reversed for build ups. This track was also helped out by Jesse who added the choir 1 minute in which i feel combines well with the 808 and crashes.   This track was something that i had been experimenting on recently because of the audio file. I wanted to see how it would be just with the drums and lowpass filters. This is why nothing is mixed and is all at the wrong levels. The snares need to be brought up as well as the high hats. the 808's are also distorted purely from not being mixed and clipped. This feature doesn't actually sound that bad and could be something I experiment with in the future. 

grime

Grime 

To what extent does grime music encourage drug use in 2016?


When looking into the Grime genre I believe that drugs is an addition to the culture. Underground music usually involves genres like House as well as Grime. This type Underground music is usually counter-cultural as it can vary from being a massive gig at the o2 to a house party not depending on the following of the artist. These type of events get people dancing and bouncing to the vibe of the tracks. Most audience members believe that they need


counter-culture
t
t
y

2000 words
50-100 words abstract   background, main issue, the argument
an add on for example.  interview, data.

Track post

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L64Y_LhP5Tw

This song consists with a simple piano riff with one of the most effective drum beats ive heard in a while. This is one of the first songs ive remixed and i've loved it since young.

The lyrics are real and slmost bring a story to thhe song with a message. And because it's meek

DRAKE AINT GOT NUTTIN ON MEEK

WHY have you chosen this course? Ive chosen to apply for this course because it's a combination of what im currently studying being music production which is a course that has taught me so much about the industry as well as technical skills when composing, but also law which is something that ive had a passion about since a young age. 2 years ago i tried to apply for a law course, but it would have meant that i had to drop music. It was a very hard choice to choose between the two but i had decided to study music.

WHAT have you done to demonstrate your passionate interest in the course subject? Even though i took the music course i was still really involved in law by sitting in court cases and attending law firms for the experience. As well as that i've also saved up to purchase an apple mac and Logic Pro. This has helped me throughout my years on the course. I can also see this really helping me witht this course.  As well as the Law and Music side to this course, i also see the marketting side really help me in my future. This is only because currently im working at Fashion Store Hunter. I feel that i interact well with people and that helps me sale. Whilst learning key skills on the marketing side of the course, it also gives me another path to follow in being a salesman or an estate agent (hopefully with some commission!)  Aside the fact that working at Hunter allows me to purchase such amazing things like the mac, It also enables me to gain skills that will help me in the future.

How does your BTEC COURSE relate to your chosen university course? When i first applied for college, i was caught in two minds about Law and Music. After doing work experiences in Studios and firms i was still stuck. I then saw the facilities that WKC had and the teachers that worked there and i made my mind up that i should study music for the 2 years.  During those years i definitely want to continue the subject or something similar. I feel that this course has really helped in areas like copyright, live performing and organisation, which belfore coming i didn't have the most knowledge on.

What have you learned from your INTERESTS & ACTIVITIES that is relevant to your chosen course and university life? When im not in college studying music i'm either at work or trying to get work experience from law firms to studios.  I'm learning new skills everyday at college whether they are when producing or for the life after this course.

CONCLUSION – What personal experience or ambition can you link to your chosen course to give the statement a sense of completion?

Bibliography

Mixing:

NateBSounds (2014) Logic pro X Tutorial - mastering/mixing Tutorial/tips. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ias2QwuYpco (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

Mastering: 

MusicTechHelpGuy (2014) Logic pro X - #76 - mixing (part18): Finishing the mix, final thoughts before mastering. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xTc6N2lJs (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

Creating trap: 

808Razz (2015) Logic pro X basic trap beat tutorial. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFjqYxjOrtQ (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

Trap genre:

Trap music (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_music#Characteristics (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

Copyright: 

Cohrs, L. (2014) 4 easiest ways to tell if an image is copyrighted. Available at: https://www.drumbeatmarketing.net/seo-blog/4-easiest-ways-tell-image-copyrighted (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

Copyright

ImSlimJesus (2015) Slim Jesus - drill time. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRo48zg2iyU (Accessed: 15 June 2016).

What I used to structure my song:

Evaluation

Final Project

For my Final Project idea, I have only decided now to mainly make my EP Full of instrumentals.
This is because my EP is not for the audience to listen to as a song. My tracks are made for Artists to listen to and use for future projects of theirs.

My tracks are similar styles to producers Pinero Beatz and MAZZA Prosuction. 

When these guys produce tracks and release them in either albums or EP's, they release the original tracks with artists that have put vocals over the top. They usually do this through soundcloud and youtube. But because of the publicity they get, they will leave emails in the description or bio's of their pages. This is for other artists who have heard the tracks and word either like to use the instrumentals that have already been released or others that haven't. 

At this stage i feel that i have not got enough of a following to do what they are doing even though some of the quality is similar. At this moment in time i have mainly focussed on the UK rap genre. Whether or not this takes off decides what music i will be creating and at the moment i am hoping to achieve a head start. This is because i feel that once the following grows of UK rap there will be many other producing competing with instrumentals.  So as for now i'm releasing them on soundlcoud hoping to build a bigger following as the days go on. 

I have struggled finding artists who have the time and write voices to feature on the tracks i will be releasing on soundlcoud. Some have left the college, others don't turn up often so it is hard to arrange bookings and studio slots.

When creating an EP in the future, i will maybe try out another genre and get vocalists to record and perform over it rather then making it just instrumentals. 

I have not released it on Bandcamp yet so once i have seen how people react on that, i will take into consideration of how i will next release it. I also did some research into Bandcamp whether or not i can release all tracks at once on an album or if there were other ways. Phil helped me when looking into this. 

In the future i'm hoping the quality of my work will improve. Also i'm looking forward to working with more artists and exploring more genres. My blog will include more screen shots as i am still investigating how to do it.

How it fits in

As i was researching into the genre i am covering, I found another producers work that i found very similar to mine. LA Beats is a producer who actually produces in the UK for artists.  Although his work is based on Soundcloud and i prefer mine to be put on BandCamp i feel that we have the same intentions with very similar music.
Here is how one of his tracks compares to one of mine

This track provides a catchy beginning with an army style drum pattern until an 808 Bass drum is included. Here is one of my tracks that was recently put up on Soundcloud for my audience to sway over to my BandCamp. But like LA Beat's track. The drum pattern and philosophy of the track is similar.

 Looking how my Ep has turned out, there isn't much i would change. I feel that i could have tried harder to get others to promote it. I also would have liked to have 5 on Soundcloud and 5 on BandCamp rather then 4 and 5. I would have been able to have done that but i felt that it was extremely hard to get in contact with Aaron from the college and therefore i had a missing track.
Also i would have tried to mute out all bad language on:   In fact I wouldn't have included this track if i had finished one of my final colab's with Joe.
So in future i will A, take longer researching at the beginning of my project rather then later. This will help me figure out what my aim is earlier on rather then changing it midway or even further. B, I will perhaps get other people that i Know to promote my music rather then rely on my unimpressive Soundcloud!

Collabs

My original idea was to work with as many artists, engineers and producers as possible.

And at the beginning i had done collaborations with Joe, Sonny, Taylor, Josh, Luke, Ryan, Tami & Elizabeth. 

Sonny, Taylor and Ryan all had me featuring on some of their tracks. This was for there Ep's only though as i wanted my Ep to be produced by me.

 To resolve this problem i did collaborations with Taylor, Josh and Sonny When producing. These tracks will be featured on my Ep on BandCamp. 

I also had Joe featuring on some of my tracks with Sonny. This track will be on soundcloud but not on my final Ep. 

I also had Luke Tami and Elizabeth asking for me to feature on some of their tracks. I have done some vocals for Tami Ryan and Elizabeth and Luke is a working progress. 

             

My Ep Research 

We had to set up a presentation for our classmates about our project for the end of term and this is how i performed mine

For my project i will be creating an ep from 5-8 tracks. On these songs you will hear a mix of genres although the main thought behind all of this was to make  UK style ep. I will be contributing in this by producing every beat allthough i have been working with other producers, putting vocals down on some of the tacks and doing the final mix of every song.

What makes a UK trap song successful?

Identity/branding -  how I can create 6 or so tracks with man different people and let people still know that I have been involved in the song whether it be vocals or producing the beat. Although I will be working with many other music students, I still want the EP to keep the original vibe I started of with.

What is the difference between UK Trap & US Trap.
 UK Trap is very unique and different to most genres. The instrumental is different the Vocals are different in these way.
A UK Trap instrumental includes a basic sequence of notes mainly played on a Piano or Pad. 
The vocals are at a standard level whilst the back up vocals/ad-libs are slightly higher. 
The ad-libs that UK artists use are usually very 'hyped' and fill in the simple track 

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-823087223/exorcism-rmx?in=user-823087223/sets/skl

The first three tracks will be put on my soundlcoud with there will be a link to my Band Camp account where the rest of my music will be held.

The first three tracks that will be put on my soundcloud will include 'Exorcism remix' which is a track which i created at college an used some vocals that i had found online and put a instrumental behind using logic pro X. I found out during my research that during most UK based EP's the one american styled track is usually started off with a melody followed by a deep base and highats. 

This is replicated on the first track of mine.But i have also learnt that it shouldn't be the opening track to my EP because this is one of the only songs of that style on the EP

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jPnTvh_n2-E

The rest a yet to be chosen 

Research (week 3)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=co4PXXGRBqs

The research i have done has been based on UK mix tapes. I have looked through many producers work with the question of what makes a UK ep and how can i experiment with it.

I have looked at pinero beats and what his mixtape covers   

https://m.soundcloud.com/pinerobeats/skengs-on-skengs-full-version

I have also looked at Prod. 5ive

https://m.soundcloud.com/rawz-luciano/rawz-455am-prod-5ive-x-b

The future of my project

This helps in what i will be looking to do in the future for this project.

In the next few weeks i will be looking to finalise all beats that have been created. 

Also i will be hopefully either receiving or recording 4 or more vocals to be put on tracks with other artists from the college including myself. 

I have chosen two different vocals online and have put instrumentals behind them but the main target for me on this project is to work with as many artists, producers and live recorders as possible. 

This will be pretty simple as i know most people here, but i would also like to use samples online wether it vocals or instruments.

When looking up producers an artists i was able to find out that most EP's that are released of this genre do not include vocalists on the tracks as the EP is mainly made for promotion for the instrumentals rather then finalised songs.

When i focus on another genre i will also research whether or not vocalists are the right things to add. Whilst researching this i had already created some tracks with vocals on. To counter this i decided to release those tracks on Soundcloud and then my final EP on Bandcamp which also was heavily researched.     

I used the Internet mainly for my research on my project. I also had allot of help unintentionally from the music that i listen to normally and how it has influenced my Ep.

I originally had other intentions when creating this Ep, bug as i did more and more research i came to the conclusion that should only use instrumentals on my BandCamp account. I feel that i did the amount research have done is more then enough.

I have also learnt for the future that publicity helps the promotion of music that you are looking to sell. This may not apply for other genres that i will explore in future years. Once i have built up a larger following  it will become allot easier.

FMP Literature

Most of Research was either on the genre, the producers and effects on Logic that either did online or in Lessons
Link to a walkthrough of learning how to time stretch:

For all my songs there are 808's featured. This is mainly because of the genre of music. But to do this I needed to create one on Logic as i can't find any online. I did some research in how to make using Youtube again.

This is the video i used to help create mine. That is what it looked liked when created. Here is mine.

Phil also helped me to create a BandCamp account. I was able to use his words and features online to find out how to release all my music on the correct date, with the right artwork behind it. Also i was able to release it all as one which to allot of research. 

This was inspiration for most of my songs. I was able to replicate some of the instruments and style of the beats. I used the same tempo of this track and used some samples that were featured here.
This video helped me recognise what i can do on logic pro to create a trap beat. It was very helpful.

FMP-(Week 7)

Here is my official final mix

This mix is completely different from last weeks. i felt that the bells were not needed and that the vocals could be placed differently. I made this happen through out the week and i'm finally happy with this track.
For this track i added snares, 808's and placed the vocals in different areas and mixed them well.
This took a full week from the last version and it is the only track i had time for last week.

I just need 1 more track to complete to have the 1st half of my Ep that will be placed on Soundcloud.
The 2nd half which is based on BandCamp is also very close to being complete.

FMP- (Week 6)

Mp4

I am incredibly happy with this mix, but i still have allot of time to make it better.
I have also tried mixing the vocals as well. Whilst doing this i researched how to mix and master online. I was also taught by Phil and Grant originally.

Hopefully you will here the difference in mix from Soundcloud.
Here is this weeks, but next weeks one is completely different due to some last minute changes.

This week was mainly focussed on learning how to mix and master. I feel that i am now familiar with this.

FMP-(Week 5)

Italian Gangster 

This track is complete and is now out on my Soundcloud. I will post it as an instrumental, but i will then get Joe to feature on it. This will be later on during the project as we have noticed that we have allot of work to do and are confident that this track will only take a short amount of tim recording. In other words will hopefully be a 'One Take!'

 Mp4

Here is my nearly finished version of the Mp4 track. In the following week I will release the finished version.This week i added drum, bells and reverb to the vocals.

I just need to mix it and move the vocals about. I have also used colours to highlight key areas of the track.

FMP-Evaluation

As i was researching into the genre i am covering, I found another producers work that i found very similar to mine. LA Beats is a producer who actually produces in the UK for artists.  Although his work is based on Soundcloud and i prefer mine to be put on BandCamp i feel that we have the same intentions with very similar music.
Here is how one of his tracks compares to one of mine

This track provides a catchy beginning with an army style drum pattern until an 808 Bass drum is included. Here is one of my tracks that was recently put up on Soundcloud for my audience to sway over to my BandCamp. But like LA Beat's track. The drum pattern and philosophy of the track is similar.

 Looking how my Ep has turned out, there isn't much i would change. I feel that i could have tried harder to get others to promote it. I also would have liked to have 5 on Soundcloud and 5 on BandCamp rather then 4 and 5. I would have been able to have done that but i felt that it was extremely hard to get in contact with Aaron from the college and therefore i had a missing track.
Also i would have tried to mute out all bad language on:   In fact I wouldn't have included this track if i had finished one of my final colab's with Joe.
So in future i will A, take longer researching at the beginning of my project rather then later. This will help me figure out what my aim is earlier on rather then changing it midway or even further. B, I will perhaps get other people that i Know to promote my music rather then rely on my unimpressive Soundcloud!

FMP- Presentation

For my Final Project idea, I have only decided now to mainly make my EP Full of instrumentals.
This is because my EP is not for the audience to listen to as a song. My tracks are made for Artists to listen to and use for future projects of theirs.

My tracks are similar styles to producers Pinero Beatz and MAZZA Prosuction. 

When these guys produce tracks and release them in either albums or EP's, they release the original tracks with artists that have put vocals over the top. They usually do this through soundcloud and youtube. But because of the publicity they get, they will leave emails in the description or bio's of their pages. This is for other artists who have heard the tracks and word either like to use the instrumentals that have allready been released or others that havent. 

At this stage i feel that i have not got enough of a following to do what they are doing even though some of the quality is similar. At this moment in time i have mainly focussed on the UK rap genre. Whether or not this takes off decides what music i will be creating and at the moment i am hoping to acheive a head start. This is because i feel that once the following grows of UK rap there will ve many other producing competing woth instrumentals.  So as for now im releasing them on soundlcoud hoping to build a bigger following as the days go on. 

I have struggled finding artists who have the time and write voices to feature on the tracks i will be releasing on soundlcoud. Some have left the college, others don't turn up often so it is hard to arrange bookings and studio slots.

When creating an EP in the future, i will maybe try out another genre and get vocalists to record and perform over it rather then making it just instrumentals. 

I have not released it on Bandcamp yet so once i have seen how people react on that, i will take into consideration of how i will next release it. I also did some research into Bandcamp whether or not i can release all tracks at once on an album or if there were other ways. Phil helped me when looking into this. 

In the future i'm hoping the quality of my work will improve. Also i'm looking foward to working with more artists and exploring more genres. My blog will include more screen shots as i am still investigating how to do it.

This is compared to my original idea that I had done for my presentation:

When watching back my presentation i was aware that some stuff was copyrighted. There fore i went back and double what i can use and cant. Luckily for me the art work and 'Exorcism' lyric were not. This was very helpful towards my final project. Unfortunately the track ' I was asked questions by Sonny Miles Taylor and Josh. These questions made me change the Way i was going about on my Ep. I was adding new tracks which had no vocals after i had spoke with them. I may of laughed a little but that is a unfortunate disadvantage of my personality! The tracks played here did have swearing on and i tried my hardest to edit that out but did not have the time to do it

FMP- Final week - Project Done

Here i have chosen 4 tracks that i have put on my Soundcloud for the first half of my Ep.
These all are tracks that are either produced by me or have vocals from me on the tracks. I have chosen to do this to give the audience an idea of what their music can sound similar to if they were to use my instrumentals. 


Here is my new BandCamp account where my current work is.
This is where my Instrumentals and Ep tracks have been posted.

Here are 4 of the 5 tracks that are included in this Ep. The final one comes with the album purchase

I also added a picture of my BandCamp on this track off Sound cloud so people would check it out as it is similar to stuff off the EP.

FMP-Week 4

Here is the next step on my Mp4 

I felt that the track needed some drums which they did not have before. I also added some bells that sounded nice behind the vocals of Hussein. The trap snares were taken from a free non copyright Young Chop sample which i had found online when researching the genre. This snare is mainly used to have the occasional hit, but i have tried to turn it into a slight melody. I feel it works well  

FMP-Research 3

My research has influenced me to remove most vocals on my tracks.

It has also caused me to add genres onto the Ep that i would not have thougth of. When i i had looked up how to time stretch the lyrics of one of my tracks. I did some research on youtube to discover how to do it. I included this in my presentation as not only did it help me but it may help others.

Here is a link to that particular bit of research 

I feel that these skills have really helped me and this year my mixing has really improves on vocals as well as some samples that have been added in. This year i have also learnt about drum packs new synths and new filters that have sounded really kl to add on. 

Phils lesson may not classify as research but those wednesday morinigs have really helped me learn about stuff being ;

Vocals, Mixing, Mastering, cutting and editing and also shortcuts that help me save VITAL seconds! 

When i first started using Logic and until i came to this college, my mixes were all over the place and actually on my audition to get into the college, Phil mixed my track and taught me from the beginning. It may not clasify as research that i have gone out my way to do but it was certainly helpful and made allot of impact of my project  

FMP-Research 5

When looking up producers an artists i was able to find out that most EP's that are released of this genre do not include vocalists on the tracks as the EP is mainly made for promotion for the instrumentals rather then finalised songs.

When i focus on another genre i will also research whether or not vocalists are the right things to add. Whilst researching this i had allready created some tracks with vocals on. To counter this i decided to release those tracks on Soundcloud and then my final EP on Bandcamp which also was heavily researched.     

I used the Internet mainly for my research on my project. I also had allot of help unintentionally from the music that i listen to normally and how it has influenced my Ep.

I originally had other intentions when creating this Ep, bug as i did more and more research i came to the conclusion that should only use instrumentals on my BandCamp account. I feel that i did the amount researchi have done is more then enough.

I have also learnt for the future that publicity helps the promotion of music that you are looking to sell. This may not apply for other genres that i will explore in future years. Once i have built up a larger following  it will become allot easier. 

FMP-Research 1

The word "trap" is used to refer to the place where drug deals are made and how it is difficult to escape the lifestyle. This is used all over the world and has been developed into a genre of music.
This has had positive and negative affects in the UK and US. This has brought young people together through music, but also has created allot of gang violence and other crimes.


This is the beginning of one of the many music videos on the channel. This video has a great song when it gets a minute in which is for the audience. But before that there is more of a message to 'enemies' This doesn't feature on every musical track, but when it does it doesn't go unnoticed:


This is another music video but without the intro showing the area. This is an artist who has recently taken the scene by shock by his Liverpool accent mixing with UK London trap. This type of stuff doesn't happen often where something new and experimental happens:


That was two videos from one of  the UK's most popular trap YouTube channels. Unlike the UK the US have personal channels and then one major channel called WorldStar HipHop. This is where most artists post there music videos.


The US videos are way more popular then the UK channels. Here is one song that Blew earlier this year. Like Tremz he is experimenting in rap w :



These music videos have given me ideas of what music I would like to produce and have produced, from the lyrics to the genre to the BPM of the actual tracks, which are mostly ranged between 120-140 BPM.

I have decided to create an EP from 6-8 tracks and collaborate with different artists engineers and producers. The way i want this to work out is to get all the instrumentals together and choose which rappers and singers should feature on what.Then book the studio for the week (2 hours a day) This way it will leave me all tracks to mix and perfect the vocals. 

As a producer and songwriter i have a clear idea of what i want my 'beats' and vocals to sound like as a whole. I listen to QUIETPVCK allot and his vocals are done all very similar and have something that stands out on every track no matter what artist, what instrumental.

FMP-Step By Step (week 3)

Here are three of my EP tracks that are being finalised.I have recently worked on them this week.

This week i was able to do allot of work in terms of this project. On monday i produced 'Anger'

   On wednesday i worked on 'Exorcism'. This track to me 2 days as it was mainly about mixing the vocals and getting them in time with the track. I was able to do this by researching on how to change the tempo of the vocals online. Here is the video i watched to do so.



This helped me allot as i basically copied it step by step

The final track here is not going to be included in the Ep as i have recently been unable to contact Aaron and therefore will go unused.This track isn't mixed and recently during that period more tracks have come up so this track will not feature on my EP.

FMP-Step By Step (week 2)

This is my week 2 research:

This is some research for my presentation.
When researching for my EP I noticed that although most UK rap EP's are focussed on the one genre, on each EP I looked at there were two or more tracks that were either of an American genre or involved a female singer that carried the song with a chorus or BV's. I got this information from @PineroBeats & @Gotttionem. This is why I have chosen to find some American rappers online and used accapella vocals of them.
I chose to sample Meek Mill and others vocals from the song Exorcism along side a woman's vocals that I had found online. the difference here is that I am only using her vocals for the chorus and having someone from college rap over the top.

Italian Gangster 

I have created the beginning of one of my tracks.
It consists of simple bells that change pitch throughout the track. I will now have to work on the drum beat.

Mp4

This track is a working progress where i have been given numerous vocals and i have to create a backing track whilst mixing all vocals.So far i have mixed the vocals in terms of volume, but i am yet to add any drums. 

Here is my week 2 version of this track

Research to do next week:

case study highlighting US rap
2 tracks UK and US
not very personal
what makes a UK rap sound.
BV REverb

FMP-Evaluation

                   Misunderstood

We had to set up a presentation for our classmates about our project for the end of term and this is how i performed mine

For my project i will be creating an ep from 5-8 tracks. On these songs you will hear a mix of genres although the main thought behind all of this was to make  UK style ep. I will be contributing in this by producing every beat allthough i have been working with other producers, putting vocals down on some of the tacks and doing the final mix of every song.

What makes a UK trap song successful?

Identity/branding -  how I can create 6 or so tracks with man different people and let people still know that I have been involved in the song whether it be vocals or producing the beat. Although I will be working with many other music students, I still want the EP to keep the original vibe I started of with.

What is the difference between UK Trap & US Trap.
 UK Trap is very unique and different to most genres. The instrumental is different the Vocals are different in these way.
A UK Trap instrumental includes a basic sequence of notes mainly played on a Piano or Pad. 
The vocals are at a standard level whilst the back up vocals/ad-libs are slightly higher. 
The ad-libs that UK artists use are usually very 'hyped' and fill in the simple track 

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-823087223/exorcism-rmx?in=user-823087223/sets/skl

The first three tracks will be put on my soundlcoud with there will be a link to my Band Camp account where the rest of my music will be held.

The first three tracks that will be put on my soundcloud will include 'Exorcism remix' which is a track which i created at college an used some vocals that i had found online and put a instrumental behind using logic pro X. I found out during my research that during most UK based EP's the one american styled track is usually started off with a melody followed by a deep base and highats. 

This is replicated on the first track of mine.But i have also learnt that it shouldn't be the opening track to my EP because this is one of the only songs of that style on the EP

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jPnTvh_n2-E

The rest a yet to be chosen 

Research (week 3)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=co4PXXGRBqs

The research i have done has been based on UK mix tapes. I have looked through many producers work with the question of what makes a UK ep and how can i experiment with it.

I have looked at pinero beats and what his mixtape covers   

https://m.soundcloud.com/pinerobeats/skengs-on-skengs-full-version

I have also looked at Prod. 5ive

https://m.soundcloud.com/rawz-luciano/rawz-455am-prod-5ive-x-b

This helps in what i will be looking to do in the future for this project.

In the next few weeks i will be looking to finalize all beats that have been created. 

Also i will be hopefully either receiving or recording 4 or more vocals to be put on tracks with other artists from the college including myself. 

I have chosen two different vocals online and have put instrumentals behind them but the main target for me on this project is to work with as many artists, producers and live recorders as possible. 

This will be pretty simple as i know most people here, but i would also like to use samples online wether it vocals or instruments.

FMP-Research 2

Ive chosen to create an ep of 5-8 tracks where i work with different artists, engineers and producers of the UK rap scene.

Most of my research has been based on . This can vary from an 808 bass drum mixed with a Steinway piano to Adlibs from the backup vocals. My project is very 'UK' basically.

UK producers and artists

What makes a UK trap song successful?

Identity/branding -  how I can create 6 or so tracks with man different people and let people still know that I have been involved in the song whether it be vocals or producing the beat. Although I will be working with many other music students, I still want the EP to keep the original vibe I started of with.

Music research  - local artists and producers like Pinero beats, Gotti on 'em and TR on the beat. These are all producers who are trying to do the same thing as me. They all have there music on     Soundcloud YouTube etc. I would like to find out how they structure there songs, how they actually switch it up but still keep the original genre still intact and what vocalists they choose on each track.

Contemporary project

The first track I've chosen is Sonny's. His track consisted of some some bells playing thr melody and chords with a nice bass behind it all. He also played around with the drums and created a nice beat that was made out of a kick drum, highat and a snare drumb. This was all held together by a pad behind the chords. 

The second track i chose was Tupacs 'If Only' his track begins with some highats playing with some chords that i believe are being playing on a pad synth. It takes quite a while to "drop" but when it does its some strings along side a kick drum and a clap. I enjoyed this track because of the mood that was set in it.

  

The third track i chose was jacks piano/organ piece. This was very interesting and diffferent as i felt most of it was played live. The drums certainly sounded live as well as the keys and knowing jack(he never gets out the studio!) it probably was.

I also chose Jesses risk Which included his typical synth lead with some nice highats and a plucked harp placing the bass behind it. It sounded abit sharp when the chorus came in but that could be easily avoided when mixed as it sounded slightly distorted .

The final song i chose was joshs my only. 

His song began with some chords being played on a synth pad with then converted into bells which was a nice touch. And his drum beat was on the off. Beat which was a really nice touch. The drums were really impressive i thought.

FMP- (week 1)

THE PLAN

For FMP I've decided to create an EP made with 5 to 8 tracks featuring different artists, producers and Band members.

I will try to mix up the genres although i would like to have something that represents me on it where people can notice that it was done by me.

I have met up with different rappers out of college hours and worked with them like Aaron, Joe and Tay. These are three rappers that will feature on my EP. 

Also Josh and david are both great key players and drummers. This could help me wanting to bring in some live sounds on some tracks. And I'm sure they would help.

I also know producers like Sonny, Tay and Philipe who would help me on the tracks.

Philipe has already converted some drum samples on to my USB that i will for sure be adding in onto my next mix.

Sonny is also pretty good at getting the mic's working and levels correct sO they sound professional. 

How i stand so far is at an average point i would say as i have 4 fully mixed instrumentals that are awaiting vocals. 

3 rappers that are willing to collaborate on some of the tracks. What i really need to do now is to crack on with some other producers and live performers so that i will have 5-8 tracks. Once they have been made i can see who will work well on what and when to book the studio.

Another thing that i will be doing when i return back to college is finding singers who will put down vocals on some of my tracks. This could be a whole song, chorus or even verses. Either way it is a must, just so that i have that something different on the final EP.

This EP will be put on Soundcloud an possibly YouTube. I have a bit of art that will be put as the main cover of Elephant & Castle. The font will be simple, black and the name of the EP has not been thought of yet but is a working progress. I have also not thought of the day that it will be released, but i will hope to have worked that all out once i have completed the whole thing.

Playlist plan my plan

My original idea was to actually post and share our playlist on thursday at 7pm so i agree with that. I also think we should post it on sound cloud, youtube an also we could release small clips on apps such as Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram .

My idea on what my art will be i think may be a picture of elephant and castle back in the day with my initials written somewhere on the picture. 

I can do this now because we will all be bringing in individual bits of art rather then deciding on one picture as a class to represent us all. 

I am happier with this result because i feel that the mixture of genres and backgrounds couldn't be explained in one picture, and even if it could, i feel that it wouldn't really represent it enough . 

This week i decided to use the composition 'let me breathe' because it was something i made recently and something i experimented with. I found a vocal online and changed the tempo an genre to it. It was originally quite a dark inspirational song but i changed it to a trap beat remix with choruses.

Week

Week 2 

We have dicusses a time when to dhare it as well as a date. Which is 7pm on a thursday because we fealt it is the time where people are most active. 

We also thought that we could all have separate photos for each of us.

Mp4

I got given great feedback from Hussein on my Mp4 track, He enjoyed how i combined both of our genres together to create this deep R&B/Trap mix.

He enjoyed how i made it into "British Trap" and compared it to a track made by R&B artist "Timberland"

This was great news as he was exited to hear what it would sound like after all the mixng 

XMas bangers

The first track i have chosen is Alex's (awful) one. His track began in a confusing but brilliant way. The first synth came in playing the original jingle with a click snare behind it, playing on the half beat. The next organ synth came in and began to play over it with high hats behind it. He also added a his own little bit which i though was great.

The second track i chose was Josh's which i also enjoyed. His track consisted of high pitch bells which was followed by a synth an then a piano. These three were working well an then a nice smooth synth lead played across changing the mood of the original one. And after two bars of the synth lead coming in the bells then switched and played an amazing final bar as it faded out. 

The third track i listened to was done by L.G.Beatz. His track was fairly simple but was a genre that i listen to alot. He began his piece with the original christmas jingle but in a bells form. He then brought in a choir playing the jingle aswell. He also added a familiar drum beat to me which is the young chop drum kit which consists of a snare drum kick drum abd high hats 

Tupacs track started with the basic jingle that everybody used until it's slightly faded out after teo bars. The synth was then I did in the with the high hats and then I kick drum was Added in. He also Added claps in but I felt that it took a bit too long to kick in. But when it had kicked in it was very catchy and i enjoyed it.

Daniels was pretty mad. It started from early with a synth organ and a snare at the beginning of every beat. The snare drums got Faster and faster until the kick happend which was built with odd bells

Kick drums and a tringle playing on each note of the bell. To be honest i didn't really enjoy it because of how mad it was.

My Skills review

Music Theory
At the start of the year I felt that i was not the most confident when it comes to music theory. I knew little about chords and came with the memory of 'Ragdesh'
When i had my first lesson with Philip i started to remember it bit by bit and at this moment o time i am very familiar with chord sequences and 'the circle of fifth's.

Composing

Composing is something that I feel I do well and is one of my best aspects in my opinion when it comes to music. When composing I often stick to one genre which is mainly chat on the phone my GCS the music I did pick two of those which was a world track and an R&B song. When composing, I have done what Cubase allthough most of my work is done on logic pro X which leads me on to...

Logic 

I feel that I am very confident on logic and being in class on Wednesday mornings and the rest of the time that focuses on the application helps me to discover new plug-ins, instruments and the ways of doing things quicker than I originally what I've done them. 

I do also feel that I help classmates out when needed and I am a reliable source when it comes to logic.

Dj'ing

Until this year I had never did it before and doing it in this college has actually been A brilliant experience and I feel that with a lot of practice and help from Phil I will be prepared for the concert. Learning new skills every week will actually really help me out for the future and I feel with my timing when it comes to music not punctuality unfortunately! I feel but I am pretty good with

Studio techniques

During the beginning classes. I did struggle when coming to remember the names of the mikes and how to set up properly because I am a producer I'm not a performer and that was all new to me but the new class that we have been putting another we are on a new subject I feel that I am pretty confident in the classes and I do know some of the answers which Grant gives us which are pretty hot to be honest.

Recording vocals

As some people may know I have been recording with Sonny and Taylor and Josh and some of the producer rooms because I do rap occasionally. We have recorded some vocals and they do sound pretty good to be honest LOL. But doing this I have learned how to edit the effects with Sonny but I'm sure that there is a lot more to learn about it and grants class and Phil's lesson will definitely help with this

Equipment 

Doing grants lesson and Olleys lesson every week helps me learn how to pack up treat the Equipment  with respect . Also when we were taught about how to plug in microphones, plug-in the MIDI keyboard and take apart the Mac and put it back together including the ethernet cable was and the main power of course.

Instruments

I do not actually playing instrument although Olleys lesson has helped me to learn many different things about playing the keys and for future I feel that buying the keyboard or even a piano would definitely benefit me and my work on music. For my GCSE music I did actually play the guitar although I am pretty shocking about you and have tried to forget the embarrassing memories of me believing that I lived the rockstar life!

Performance review

On the 28th if December i watched a local performance if Hannah Grazia at a local youth area.

When I went to see Hannah perform it felt involved in the performance as she was stood a few metres away from my seat. This was an amazing feature because she engaged me by making eye contact and i was actually also impressed with the way that the stage was arranged so that she was able to face everyone an occasionally pick out particular audience members. 

The lighting was dim of the set and there was a light that was controlled from above that followed her as she moved around the stage, which also reminds pf how well her actual movement was as in she would really try to involve everyone. 

Her voice was just perfect; the control she had, the notes she hit and the emotions she could portray by through the lyrics. I remember at one point that she had sung 'loving you', and the way she sung that was truly incredible. It was one of the opening songs and she was a but shaky and hadn't really found her form. She had a slight shakiness in her voice which in my opinion changed the whole atmosphere in the song. It created a completely different mood to it which was amazing.  

Her whole performance only lasted 35 minutes which was fairly disappointing   But whilst she was singing it was brilliant     

Evaluation

Evaluation

Overall progress
After the first half term i had increased my skills in Logic Pro X, My understanding of key signatures and my engineering skills have got allot better from what it was.
After the first term i had completed 5/9 studio quiz's but i corrected all of them including the ones that i had not completed.
I have struggled most with the theory and studio work because most of it is new to me, but if i focus on it and practice the work i will easily become good at it.
I am happy with my project because it is all completely to good enough quality in my opinion.

Technical skills
I have learnt allot over the recent months
Research

For both of my projects I reviewed Michael Jacksons album and highlighted the main things that I thought were influential which were the melodies, vocals and the order that the drums were organised. I was able to bring these individual techniques into both pieces by thoroughly listening and pin pointing what I could put into modern use. For instance the vocals on my second track were very similar to the vocals on a number on Michael's tracks on his album. I maybe could of replicated a melody of his, but by experimenting and playing around on the Steinway Piano I found a hook that fitted it perfectly.   

Gig review

I watched hanna grazia peform in Dulwich kingsdale. She performed a number of covers and also some original songs that she had created.

Allthough she is only 17, she controlled the stage impressively using techniques such as; eye contact, projecting her voice and interacting with the croud by using comedy at times which was quite interesting. 

Allthough she didn't have the best voice she made it a night to remember using Her personality and looks to be honest. 

 The lighting was very simple, it started off with the one main light aimed on her. 

She started off singing soul and as she progressed the lights became more adventurous and she became louder. 

Also the genre of what songs she was singing changed when she began to sing covers of 2000 r&b hits 

The dress code was also simple being a slim black dress and black trainers. This could have been just her choice of clothes, but i feel that it was a fashion statement to her performance. 

Her performance made me appreciate misè en scene when it comes to music. I noticed the lighting, props and how she dressed. I enjoyed the gig because of all of those features.

My-self review

Attendance and punctuality 

My attendance and punctuality has been pretty poor recently due to the unpredictable road works at elephant and castle which will either get me in school an hour early or 5-30 minutes late which is annoying for me, but also the teachers that i have interrupted. Also with out a solid timetable i have had to guess when to come in or ask unreliable sources as they have different lesson times as me.  

I never use to be late or missed some days at secondary school because i knew the route off by heart an other free alternative routes. And i knew when to be in everyday.

Organisation

My organisation is pretty average because of the fact that i may ask for pencils and pens, but do always bring a usb an headphones. Also i like to have a clean environment when working.

Motivation 

To motivate me when wanting to create a new son i just have to play some uk drill

That will get me hyped and inspire me on what type of instruments i can find and what i can perhaps sample if needed.

Also i am easily motivated when working on theory and i have a slightly odd way of getting motivated. I get motivated by gettin an answer wrong and wanting to answer thw next one correct 

Working individual 

I work well by my self, because i am not easily distracted when producing but during theory i do try to keep focusses, but obviously everyone will struggle to focus with a friend beside them and you both are shocking at the topic! 

But i do work well by myself but i feel that i am equally good with others

Working with a team 

I am often a friendly person and when working aith others i like to listen to suggestions, ideas and even the tracks that they may have created just to experience different genres or just see how he or she works. 

Also i have done work outside of lesson with josh david taylor and sonny so i feel that we are a pretty good tean because we are all similar when it comes to music.

Artist and Dj

The artsists i chose were local boys section boys because there was no footage of grittey ridez online.

And the Dj i chose was Dj Angger.  

One main reason that i chose Dj Angger was that he also had prople dancing along side him when performing. And also i enjoy the music that he was creating was christmas based so was cool when I listened to it first in December.

Dj Angger had people dancing with him on stage when performing, allthough hewasn't  really engaging with the audience i feel that his acts up with him definitely kept the audience entertained With the serious bangers he was playing!

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yjBpNgdqcX8

Watching Section boys perorm was pretty cool because most of the audience knew the lyrics to the song. So whilst they were all singing along sometimes Sleeks would stop rapping and lwt the members finish the lyrics which really engaged the audience. Although the two shows were completely fifferent i feel that the two shows both entertained well  and were SORT OF similar 

Decades Project 1990's

Decades Project

The decade I have chosen is the 1990s, this is because these were the years Elton John had written the best selling single being 'Candle in the wind He was thought to have sold 33 million copies of that song itself.This decade made history with most of the songs made in that decade still playing to this day and have no reason to stop.

in the the very late 1970's rap was first created by The Sugarhill Gang with the song 'Rappers Delight'  and was a major shock to the public but as the years went on more artists experimented with this genre but none had succeeded to make it into the top 20 charts until Will Smiths 'Men in black' song.

This decade was beginning of rap being a genres spread worldwide where countries like Japan had released rap that had been heard worldwide.

Before this there weren't many Uk artists who had made any rap or who had described the streets as much as they did although there were some other artists who actually were the creators of this unique genre who were allot calmer when rapping. Rap had then spread to many different genres which made Trap, Grime and UK Drill. 

Basically some of the Pioneers of this genre were artists like Dizzee Rascal, Skepta and Wiley.

Dizzee Rascal was a young producer experimenting with the genres of that era being Uk hip hop, Uk garage and R&B. Using these genres at the age of 16 he had produced his first single "I Luv U" in the year of 2002.This song was played world wide an still up to this day is cheered when coming on at festivals. It may have taken that long to get to these genres but it had to start somewhere.

The reason why i listen to rap music personally is because of the people who make it. It may be people i know or people from a certain area which influences my personal opinion on a track. Knowing people Dirty Dutch an Grittey ridez makes me want to listen to there music. Maybe to give feedback or even just because you want to stay true to an area. 

I feel that allthough there are grime battles and "'diss tracks' the beef doesn't just stay online and this anger i feel has increased gang violance which also makes the youth listen to it more. Rap had made music violent you could say which is why it was frowned upon and took 14 years to make it into the charts.

The years from 1990's have also included Uk R&B but it hasn't quite become a worldwide thing like American R&B which has been heard all over and to be honest I'm not surprised. There are many more genres in the Uk that i have heard although some do contrast over like american trap an some Uk R&B. 

There was also a song that made it viral from Japan called 'Hit G Ma' this song had 20 million+ hits on youtube because of how individual it was. A song with with an american trap brat and someone rapping in Japanese over. This art can be intense at times and disrespected but i feel if it weren't for the 1990s our music wouldn't have progressed this far.

I chose the years of 1990's because i appreciate that year for the variety of genres that have progressed in this time. 

Kit Farino's bio

Kit Farino

Kit Farino was born in London and has lived there to this day. His Marj was Italian and his dad was Scottish. He is a 16 year old producer who lives in central London, Elephant and Castle.
He studied at Kingsdale foundation school from year 7 to 11 and then switched to Kingsway college for year 12+.
He also had a part time job at Schuh ( a shop down by oxford circus) He worked in the hours that he wasn't either making music or completing coursework for his class.
He was extremely talented, trust me he really was. But one thing that made him unique was that he was a white rapper. As the years have progressed more white rappers have been introduced  like Vanilla Ice to Eminem and now even MGK but looking into this generation i believe there is room for one more.  ;)