Weekly Update #20

Hey Everyone,

This week, I wanted to do something a little different. If you don’t want to read through all this, skip to the bottom for the TL;DR.

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I spent most of this week on one project and it’s been a struggle to get to something I’m happy with. I wanted to go over this process, give you some insight into my challenges, and also show you some different versions of the same project. So here we go!

The song I’ve been working on is Oath from Weekly Update #18. I had the help of the Executive Producers and Creative Crew to point me in the right direction (i.e. - moar bass) so that got me started this week. You can here this version at 0:00.

I was generally not happy with where this song was. Something was missing, so I tried to tackle this project by looking at it analytically. I thought the drop was a decent start (although it needed love) but the verse/intro was really meh. I started with the original chords and built out from there. I spent all of Monday rewriting chords and melodies until I finally got something I was happy with. You can here this at 2:08.

When I listened through with fresh ears the next day I thought the verse was really cool, but it didn’t fix the problem. Fun - this made me feel like Monday was now a complete waste. Yeah, I know… nothing is truly a waste as long as you’re actually creating, but in the moment it definitely felt that way.

Okay cool, whatever. Next studio session, time to shift focus. What was missing? Arrangement? Sound design? Better Percussion? More FX? — Well yes, basically all of that was missing, but most of that I do a little bit later in the process once the idea is solid. So arrangement then? Okay sure - I spent the better part of half a day restructuring my arrangement based on several different examples in the genre. I wrote a bunch of different chord progressions and melodies, inverted things, and shuffled around the sections. Nothing was working - time to sleep on it.

Next day, I refocused on some more specific examples in the genre to what I was going for (KSHMR stuck out to me because of the emotions he portrays with his chords/melodies and how big his drops feel). So… what was I going for in this song? I want it to have the same vibe as a KSHMR song but also be my own. I want it to be BIG and I want to express the theme of an “oath” - which is what I wrote this song about in the first place. The idea that you have obligations and that you’ve promised to accomplish something for someone or for some reason and that you’ve dedicated yourself to pushing through all the challenges you face.

Okay so… what now? Well it was time to get more purposeful about what each musical element was doing so that it can reflect that theme and tell that story. (Side note - sometimes I think this is easier if you’re in the creative flow because you’re naturally able to tell that story without distractions. This week I certainly wasn’t there so I had to push through).

Start with the most important thing first - Melody. I evaluated the melody note by note. Does it tell the right story? Does it get boring? Is it too all over the place? In the end I adjusted the original melody so that it has less repetition, a few more variations, but it still has the same feel. That felt a lot better. Then, I took the chords out of the drop. I rarely do this because I really like the backdrop that chords paint to a melody, but I found once I paid more attention to the intricacies of the melody, it could stand on its own. And this meant that the bass could stand out a LOT more, which helped bring the power to the drop.

Some adjustments to percussion and FX and you can hear where I ended up at 3:02. I really like where the drop is at now, but it’s funny because the other verse I came up with is pretty catchy, so I’m wondering if I can tie the two together. 

All in all, I really want this song to reflect the story of an “oath.” It’s something you don’t take on lightly. It’s something that weighs on you. It’s something that drives you. It’s difficult to accomplish. And it almost always comes with additional challenges. And I think I’m close, but there’s still lots left to do!

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TL;DR

0:00 - This was the version I started with this week. Creative Crew and Executive Producers helped get me here

2:08 - I tried tons of new verse ideas and this is the one I really like, but it feels out of place in the context of the song

3:02 - I rewrote most of the drop and ended up with something way more powerful and pretty “oath”-like and I’m going to finish the song by building from this point.

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Sometimes the creative process just works and other times it doesn’t. I’m a bit nervous to post this because it feels weird to show you my failures (no matter how small they might be). But let me know what you think about an update like this - maybe I’ll post more!

As always, thank you for your support and have a great weekend.

- Andrew

PS - I released a remix for Revenge (yes, that Revenge) this week, so make sure you grab your download!!