“Music is in life. It occurs everywhere – at any moment in time, in every place” (Page 2010)
Continuing on from last month’s Cultural Production Project – Part 2 [February 2010], I will focus this month on the actual project of fusing together three musical styles to create a soundscape that expresses myself musically and sonically.
Aim and Objective for this Project
To recap, the aim of this project is to refocus on a creative production project that allows me to create a natural musical style and arrangement.
The objective of this project is two-fold: to fuse multiple musical styles into a finished product – a soundscape that expresses myself musically and sonically; and to develop a greater understanding of my workflow in a virtual environment using both a range of technologies (software and hardware).
The three musical styles I intend to fuse are: folk-rock, new-age/spiritual, and soul-rock musical styles, creating a new fusion musical style.
The Fusion of the 3 Musical Styles into 1 Cultural Production
The musical styles I have described and analysed in Cultural Production Project – Part 2 [February 2010] are three-fold:
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Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul;
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World Fusion/New Age;
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Country Folk/Indie Rock.
The fusion of these three musical styles I believe has yet to be developed and exploited in the mass market. I believe this fusion is of three quite disparate musical styles could be described as a: rock track, with soulful overtones, a strong ethnic-flavoured instrumental/synthetic base, with possibly a simplistic real-type story and/or music-bed (harmony/melody) underlying the track.
The historical development of these specific musical styles can be best shown within the following graphic.
The graphic shows:
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the development of the two genres of Rock n’Roll and Soul, developing into the genres of Rock n’ Soul and Neo Soul. These two genres then develops into the genre of Nu Soul;
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the development of the two genres of World Fusion and New Age into the genre of Nu World;
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the development of Country and Folk into the genres of Country Rock and Folk Rock. These two genres then develop into the genre of Country Folk Rock, which in turn develops into the genre of Indie Rock.
Therefore, from now I am referring to the historical development of musical styles of:
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World Fusion/New Age as Nu World;
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Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul as Nu Soul; and
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Country Folk/ Rock as Indie Rock.
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Collectively I will refer to the new three-part fusion musical style as Nu World IndiSoul.
The Production & Compositional Elements of Nu World IndiSoul
As part of my analysis, I will now discuss the production and compositional elements of the three musical styles.
Musical Style Name |
Nu Soul |
Nu World |
Indie Rock |
Production & Compositional Elements |
Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul |
World Fusion/New Age |
Country Folk/Indie Rock |
Story Line |
Love –love found/love lost/heartacheSurvivalLife |
Meditative/Spiritual Connection |
LifeDay to Day LifePoliticsLifestyleLife IdealsEthnic/Cultural Connections |
Compositional |
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Tempo |
100-130 bpm |
90-120bpm |
80-100 bpm |
Chord variety |
6-8 chords |
2-4 chords |
3-4 Chords |
Time signature |
Typically 4/4 |
A variety |
Typically 4/4 or 3/4 |
Instrumentation |
Organic |
Synthetic + Organic Combination |
Organic |
Drums/Percussive |
Straight Up Full Rock Kit |
Hollow Drum/Jembahs//Shakers/Triangles |
Partial/Jazz Drum Kit |
Bass |
Rock Bass and/or Upright Double Bass |
Synth/s |
Bass or Upright Double Bass |
Chordal |
Guitar and/or Keyboards |
Synth/s |
Guitar and/or Keyboards |
Lead |
Vocals |
Chanting/Pan Flute/Strings (Cello) |
Vocals/Harmony Vocals |
Secondary lead Lines |
Strings (eg violin)Brass (eg saxophone/ trumpet)Backup Vocals |
Synth/sPercussion |
Strings (eg violin)Brass (eg saxophone/ trumpet)Backup Vocals |
Breaks |
Vocals/Guitar/ Keyboards |
Synth/s |
Vocals/Harmony Vocals |
Production |
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Production techniques typical in this musical style |
Depending upon the producer and the chosen sound for the band for this particular project; & their desire to stay as close to organic/pure ‘rock’ sound, or their intention to stray as far away from organic as possible;A number of producers are known for ‘wall of sound’ – Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno – using synths/layers to build up sound (eg U2, Coldplay).Steve Lillywhite is known for organic, keeping the guitar sound as organic as they are produced at source (eg Bruce Springsteen) |
Depending upon the producer and the chosen sound for the particular project; but generally keeping the sound ‘crisp, clear & clean’. |
Depending upon the producer and the chosen sound for the band for this particular project; & their desire to stay as close to organic/pure ‘country’ or ‘folk’ sound, or their intention to stray as far away from organic as possible;Jeff Lynne, in contrast to his ‘synthetic’ session band ELO, produced a very organic sound for the Travelling Wilburies, keeping the guitars and vocals of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and himself sound as organic as they are produced at source |
Mixing |
Applying the principles of David Gibson’s “The Art Of Mixing” to this project. Using Volume, Panning, EQ, Reverb and FX to give the feeling of space and placement[see Mixing blogs for greater explanation here] |
Applying the principles of David Gibson’s “The Art Of Mixing” to this project. Using Volume, Panning, EQ, Reverb and FX to give the feeling of space and placement[see Mixing blogs for greater explanation here] |
Applying the principles of David Gibson’s “The Art Of Mixing” to this project. Using Volume, Panning, EQ, Reverb and FX to give the feeling of space and placement[see Mixing blogs for greater explanation here] |
Dynamics & Effects Processing |
Depending upon the artist and their desire to stay as close to organic/pure ‘rock’ sound, or their intention to stray as far away from organic as possible; generally, moderate amounts of reverb and/or echo. Possibly the individual musicians will add FX to their instrument at source, as they have become known for their sound = ‘colour’ |
A lot of echo & reverb on all of the tracks – drums, vocals, keys – making even the ‘organic’ instruments sound synthetic – but clear’ |
Depending upon the artist and their desire to stay as close to organic/pure ‘country’ or ‘folk’ sound, or their adventure to stray as far away from organic as possible; generally, very little reverb and/or echo as possible |
Prominent Producers & Engineers |
Brian Eno; Daniel Lanois; Steve Lilywhite |
Alan Parsons; Brian Eno; Mike Oldfield;Ennio Morricone; Eric Serra |
Jaques Levy; Daniel Lanois; Brendan O’Brien; Jeff Lynne; Glen Ballard; Scott Litt |
Common release formats (ie: Vinyl, CD, DVD, Digital or combination) |
Combination -CD, DVD, Digital |
Combination -CD, DVD, Digital |
Combination -CD, DVD, Digital |
Live performances of musical style/artists |
Yes, traditional rock venues; pubs; festivals |
Yes, but also music in DJ events, nightclubs, etc; certain festivals; Not in traditional pop-rock performance venues; possibly in cultural events such as WOMAD etc |
Yes, traditional live music venues; festivals; folk festivals |
The Cultural Production
Below is a link to the actual Nu World IndiSoul cultural production, Termination. It is the result of the fusion of three quite disparate musical styles possibly best described as a: rock track, with soulful overtones, a strong ethnic-flavoured instrumental/synthetic base, with possibly a simplistic real-type story and/or music-bed (harmony/melody) underlying the track.
Soundcloud link: The Termination
How Has This Project Influenced My Own Understanding of Production and Composition
Essentially this project has forced me to stop and consider what my influences are, and then be able to concisely articulate this into a musical style. Whilst I have spent many hours in the past considering such a question, it would seem there are benefits to choosing to explore a specific cultural production project within a specified time-frame .
How Will This Project Influence My Future Development, Including the On-going Development of Nu World IndiSoul
I believe this project will influence my future development by allowing me to express myself more congruently within my music practice:
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of divine spirit;
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of rock drive;
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of folk/culture/roots;
I believe this project will influence my future development by allowing me to express myself within my music practice through the technology of:
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organic instruments – allowing me to create with more flexibility/more efficiency than I could on the Porta 4 Studio several decades ago;
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Whilst utilizing the convenience of synthetics/electronic instruments
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time;
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cost;
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organization of people;
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hiring of space;
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allowing myself to be more self-sufficient;
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allowing myself to become more experimental;
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trialling varying structures;
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trialling varying instrumentation;
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trailing varying combinations of the above;
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trialling varying fusions of organic & synthetic;
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Ultimately creating the famous wall of sound/anthemic/stadium rock sounds of the 1980’s that so many great Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul bands possessed with the use of additional synthetic sounds, and a number have since continued on to create and develop to a new level.
Summary – The Fused Musical style of Nu World IndiSoul
I imagine Nu World IndiSoul to be a fusion of production and compositional elements from the three quite disparate musical styles of:
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Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul;
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World Fusion/New Age;
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Country Folk/Indie Rock.
Into the future, my vision is to:
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continue to experiment with a combination of both organic and synthetic instruments;
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continue to experiment with a combination of both organic and synthetic processing, adding a variety of FX
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continue to experiment fusing the main lyrical message of the three musical styles; and as well,
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continue to experiment fusing the three musical styles in terms of musical elements such as tempo, chord variety, and time signature.
In essence, it is to be an ethnic-flavoured rock track, lying on an interesting but simple music-bed (harmony/melody), layered with a combination of both organics and synthetics, and a connected-type story sitting comfortably within. I have referred throughout my music analysis to relevant audio examples of each of three musical styles, and summarized these in the references below.
References – Print Examples – Books/Magazines/Internet Sites
Rock n’ Soul/Neo Soul |
World Fusion/New Age |
Country Folk/Indie Rock |
“The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock”By Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden (1977) |
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“The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock”By Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden (1977) |
“Rock Lives – Profiles & Interviews” By Timothy White (1990) |
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“Rock Lives – Profiles & Interviews” By Timothy White (1990) |
“Rock & Roll – The Music, Musicians and the Mania”By Ted Greenwald (1992) |
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“Rock & Roll – The Music, Musicians and the Mania”By Ted Greenwald (1992) |
“Writing Music for Hit Songs” By Jai Josefs (1996) |
“Writing Music for Hit Songs” By Jai Josefs (1996) |
“Writing Music for Hit Songs” By Jai Josefs (1996) |
“The Art of Mixing” by David Gibson (1997) |
“The Art of Mixing” by David Gibson (1997) |
“The Art of Mixing” by David Gibson (1997) |
“The Usborne Internet-Linked Introduction To Music” By Eileen O’Brien (2000) |
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“The Usborne Internet-Linked Introduction To Music” By Eileen O’Brien (2000) |
“The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll”By John Pareles 2001) |
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“The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll”By John Pareles (2001) |
“Future Sounds –An insider’s Guide To Making & Selling Music in The Digital Age” By Tom Frederiske & Adrien Cook (2001) |
“Future Sounds –An insider’s Guide To Making & Selling Music in The Digital Age” By Tom Frederiske & Adrien Cook (2001) |
“Future Sounds –An insider’s Guide To Making & Selling Music in The Digital Age” By Tom Frederiske & Adrien Cook (2001) |
“PC Music – The Easy Guide”By Robin Vincent (2006) |
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“Behind The Glass – Volume 1 + 11” By Howard Massey (2006+2008) |
“Behind The Glass – Volume 1 + 11” By Howard Massey (2006+2008) |
“Behind The Glass – Volume 1 + 11” By Howard Massey (2006+2008) |
“The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock”By Michael Heatley (2008) |
“The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock”By Michael Heatley (2008) |
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“Mixing Audio” By Roey Izhaki (2008) |
“Mixing Audio” By Roey Izhaki (2008) |
“Mixing Audio” By Roey Izhaki (2008) |
Wikipedia(internet as at Sept 2009) |
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References – Audio Examples – CD/MP3
Rock n’ Soul/Neo SouSoul |
World Fusion/New Age |
Country Folk/Indie Rock |
Bruce Springsteen ‘The River’ |
Peter Gabriel ‘Biko’ |
Bob Dylan ‘I Shall Be Released’ |
Bryan Adams ‘Cuts Like A Knife’ |
Amr Diab ‘Tamally Maak’ |
Tom Petty ‘Learning To Fly’ |
U2 ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ |
Enigma ‘The Cross Of Changes’ |
Travelling Wilburys ‘I Was So Much Older Then…’ |
Hothouse Flowers ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ |
Deep Forest ‘Sweet Lullaby’ |
Alanis Morrisette ‘Ironic’ |
INXS ‘By My Side’ |
Oliver Shanti + Friends ‘Donovan My Timeless’ |
Paul Kelly ‘Leaps & Bounds’ |
Michael Jackson ‘Stranger In Moscow’ + ‘Billie Jean’ |
Nakai & Khecog ‘Winds Of Devotion’ |
Linda Ronstadt ‘The Blue Train’ |
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Sacred Earth ‘Dancing Shiva’ |
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Sina Vodjani ‘Straight To The Heart’ |
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Moby ‘Look Back In’ |
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