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Freewave

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  1. Freewave
    Well I have the first of 3 albums out now that I've planned to collect the brony music I've worked on for a little over a year. It's called U+I and it's out now for free on bandcamp.
     
    http://freewave.bandcamp.com/
     
    This album focuses on remixes of some amazing talent (hence the U+I title), some of the more positive themes, and variety of styles and genres of dance music I've made. I hope you check out and enjoy this free album as it has some newer versions of older tracks and is a retrospective of the joy, themes, and inspiration i've tried to channel from the show. It features remixes of And The Rainfall (my pal through thick and thin), Evdog, FraGMenTd, Stars in Autumn, Sub.Sound, Psychedelic Brony, Aviators, SoGreatAndPowerful, Jackleapp, Copycat, PinkiePieSwear, and EverfreeLuna.
     
    Second album will be Chaos Squared and focus on villains, discorded ponies, and darker music. Third album will be Bootleg and will feature plunderphonics and sampled medleys, covers, and mash-ups. But those are a ways off so I hope that you check out U+I as it's a labor of love and an album I've been working on for a month or two to just get in shape for you to enjoy.
     
    **Hugs**
  2. Freewave
    https://freewave.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-goodbye
     
    This album is a collection of the music I've made this year and deals with many of the same themes; Loneliness, recognition, community, friendship, and sadness. But mostly it's about ponies, the episodes of season 5, and my love of music. After my last album which was rock based I went back to my roots of EDM and to the past. Styles ranging from Deep and Progressive House, Disco, Trance, Big Beat, Garage, Synthwave, and plenty of hybrids of genres. I've got a brony convention next month so I hope $5 (or whatever you can spare) isn't that much to ask for an album of 10 songs thatI've been prepping for over the year.. Thanks to all those who've supported my music over the years and who still continue to.
     
    1. 4EverFreeBrony (ft Chi Chi) - Chant of Immortality (Freewave Immortal Remix)
    I loved this song as soon as i heard it and it's one of the few tracks to deal with the "immortality blues" what it means for Twilight to outlive her friends. What would be left for Twilight if she lost those she knew and loved? To me the death of friendship is something that paints a dark cloud on the people in this community as we consistently see friends and colleagues move on and leave us behind time and time again. In many way this track and the loneliness it embodies is the central theme of the album. The long goodbye.
    2. Mathematicus (ft Aoshi) – Fly Away (Freewave Tech Trance Remix)
    Mathie's original dealt with fan obsession and body transformation (of a fan into Fluttershy) and this remix too tried to center around those themes through Aoshi's great vocals. Ultimately this is one remix off of his future EP of eventual remixes and I think it came out well as a storming tech-trance track of its own identity. I kept getting visuals of this obsessed fan losing his sense of reality, hating his past, and jumping off the high rise floor thinking that he could fly. That's one tragic way of flying away that hits too close to home. So a song about misplaced obsession.
    3. You Can’t Get Away From Your Shadow
    I liked that Bloom & Gloom had a theme of paranoia and of bad thoughts getting away from Apple Bloom and mixing it with her reality. Ultimately it's easy to get wrapped up in your own unhealthy thoughts until you can practically become your own enemy. Creepy concept done in a Future Garage style.
    4. The Mistake
    The episode with Moon Dancer was one of my favorite episodes of the season as Twilight abandoning her former Canterlot friends in episode 1 was a subject that wasn't addressed before and frankly needed to be. MD's utter abandonment of friendship is tragic and yet expected as it's very easy to detach from friendships that have moved on. It's also easy not to reach out when your friends are right there and ready to get back in touch (hence the mistake on both their parts). Style-wise I wanted to do a synthwave track real bad and this gave me the opportunity to do so in yet another retro themed song.
    5. Whatever Happened?
    So I wanted to do a song about the Daft Rarity briefly seen in EqGirls. We all saw in the movie how the band formed around rock music with Rainbow Dash but I wanted to envision what the mane 6 band would look and sound like formed around Rarity's ideals (and Daft Punk's style obviously). This track is also about what happens when people take someone for granted and just how passive aggressive a band / community can get. At least Pinkie gets that making music is still supposed to be about fun. Some smooth disco with a slice of sadness.
    6. Rarity on the Case
    I really enjoyed this unlikely pairing of Dash and Rarity in the episode and liked how it focused on Rarity's feminine and flirty charm. I hope people find this track equally stylish as it has kind of a mix of a tango and classical within deep house. Rarity is likely my favorite character to write about as she captures the artistic and creative drive and the beauty of style.
    7. The Party Planner
    While not a great episode I loved the small scenes where Pinkie's friends discovered her "party cave" and of how much time and effort she really applies to her pursuits. Likewise music is one of those things that takes oodles of time for such a little payoff and few people rarely recognize that. i liked that there's that analogy there and that it also focused on her failing in her efforts but remaining upbeat. Just some good moments of dialogue in a small scene that were worth a closer look.
    8. Yardwork (Big Beat Remix)
    So I loved the Made in Manehattan episode and the background music tune Yardwork that was in the middle of the episode. I did an ever-changing big beat remix and revolved the pmv around all the great locations of the city. With a similar episode idea of slapping together a quick but effective performance with what I had. Something a bit more upbeat and incorporating some organic elements too.
    9. Lost Treasures
    The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone had some real cool moments where they examined the griffon's amazing past and how much they had departed from their former glory. I think in many ways our own community has lost sight of where we started from and gone down some similar roads. It's upbeat nature is something I wanted to end the album with and to have a really positive nu-rave vibe. I think Pinkie's positive message in how friendship and caring about each other again vs selfishness is key towards turning it around. After all friendship is magic.
    10. How to Disappear Completely (ft Scribbler and Aksel)
    I made this ponified Radiohead cover a long time ago based upon my favorite fimfiction about Lyra, Background Pony.. It could fit on either my planned fimfiction or my ponified covers albums, but it 's feel ultimately meant that it should be the epilogue to THIS album as it has the overall same theme of loneliness and and hinting of what might be next. Ultimately background pony is not just about Lyra's tragic fate but about the musicians and the fans who are noticed one moment and then invisible the next. Whether it's a magical curse or the reality of being in a fandom where there's too many fan creators, it' something that's a grim reality and a dark cloud. Almost all of us are background ponies and many of us disappear without so much as an afterthought after we are gone.
     
    So there it is. I hope you take the time to check it out and find it worth your while!
  3. Freewave
    PRE-PRODUCTION
    Do I have a theme to my music, a concept? Is this a fresh concept or a tired retread?
    Will this fit into my style or the rest of my catalog?
    Is this a good idea that people will like? Would it have a very small audience? Am i catering to ANY audience?
    Do I have a genre in mind or a creative hybrid of several ideas? Be familar with the sounds of those genres before production.
    If a remix; do I have permission, a midi file, stems, or an flp to do the work?
    Is this track Pony enough!? Can I justify sending this to EQD by the end?
    Do I have the time to pull this track off from start to completion (is there an event deadline)?
    Write down all good concepts. I have in a concept queue so if i can't do them immediately i could do try them later if they still sound like a good idea.

    PRODUCTION
    A reminder to rename your project with a new name or number every time you make a significant change to it so you can revert back from any mistakes.
    Assign a mixer channel for every instrument you have.
    Rename and add colors to differentitiate between patterns and instruments.
    Are my synths or libraries good enough? Have I avoided recognizable defaults presets or samples and made it my own?
    Is my track too repetitive? Do I have enough different melodies and sections?
    Is my track to minimal? Is there enough elements going on throughout?
    Is my track to short or long? Is it interesting throughout?
    Do i have mix in /mix out points? Is it dj friendly if it's edm?
    How are my drums? Too simple, strong enough, eq'd right?
    Does each instrument stand out? Loud enough, panned, and eq'd? Automated so each has a moment to shine? Does the velocity change so that they don't play the same level continually?
    Does it need vocals? samples? Are they compressed and eq'd right?
    Do I have drops, risers, sidechaining, filters, glitch, or noise sweeps?
    Do I have enough automation and effects on the track?
    Is my track completely in key?
    Any fades ins or outs needed?
    Is my track infringing on any prior piece of music uncredited (important if you plan to sell it)?
    Have I listened to my track multiple times on different equiptment? Listen to it again and again and take notes when you hear something you need to improve.
    Have I had several friends listen to my WIP to recommend changes?
    Is my final track eq'd or mixed effectively? Are there no remaining flaws?
    Is there enough reverb on the final track? Too much? Is it too clean? Is it organic enough?
    Are the bass and vocals centered? Am i avoiding any synths echoing the vocal line and competing with the vocals for midrange space.
    Is there any clipping? Am I relying on a limiter to mask poor mixing? (Don't do that). Mix under threshold, avoid clipping, and master in a final project.
    Is my track loud and full enough (across all EQ freq)? (ie had a final Mastering phase)
    If I am absolutely stuck at this point, take a break and come back in a week or two and repeat going through the checklist.
    If I'm doing doing a vocal track have i gotten rid of sibilance and it? Do it!!
    Look to other people to add what you can't. Collaboration not only gives another pov on what to improve but also another set of hands and another skillset you may not have. Don't know how to piano or play guitar? Don't know how to sing? Someone out there likely does. Ask for their help and collaborate with them.

    RELEASE
    Has the original artist heard the remix and given a thumbs up before it's release? (for remixes). Not required but might be nice for their input or to make them be aware it's coming out and to look for it. Have I let them know about the video upload when it's completed so they can check it out?
    Have I named it appropriately? Check spelling!! Is that title in the video for the track? Does it look good?
    Is the mp3 tagged correctly before the upload?
    Do I have artwork to go with the track? Is it credited, linked, and approved? Does it look good? Have I let them know about the video upload so they can check it out? Is there animation or just a boring static image?
    Is my youtube 720p or above (HD) for better quality music? Is the art/pmv good? Is the thumbnail worth clicking on after the upload? Does it look good on youtube or do i need to re-up for better thumb choices(3)? Does this compete with what other brony musicians are doiing?
    Does it look and sound ok? (in stereo, no glitches or bad encoding)
    Have I credited and linked to any original artist and track? (for a remix) Have I linked back to the original via a youtube video response so it will show as a link from the original track?
    Have I explained the concept behind the track in the description? (Very important with EQD)
    Have I linked back to a working mp3 link?
    Have I uploaded this to all the places I upload my music to? (soundcloud, eqbeats, etc)
    Have I submitted this track to EqD, reddit, EQDmusic, or any other periodical or website? Tumblr post? Linked out to friends?
    If Eqd features my track have I given a secondary link if my download maxes out? (ie only 100 downloads for a free soundcloud account)
    Have I posted it on my own tumblr? On my own youtube playlist? As a featured video?
    Have i looked to friends to help promote, alt bronysites, or reddit?

    POST-RELEASE
    Did my friends/other musicians like it? Did people comment, favorite, or download?
    What was the positive and negative feedback? Justified?
    Did I gain subscriptions from this track?
    What would I have done differently? (add it to the checklist!)
    If feedback is poor and based on production failure should I re-do / VIP a new / better version?
    Listen to your track a month later, do you still like it? Are you proud of it? Should you VIP remix it, burn it with fire, or feel good about it?
    Learn and improve. Lean on friends when you feel down as you often will.

    I wanted to post (and update) a music list I made awhile back based on all my experiences with making music and things I've learned often from mistakes. With so many steps involved in making a track (pre-production,production,release, and reflection) it's very easy to make mistakes, skip steps, or forget to do things but I am hoping this may help whoever has looked into making music, or makes it currently, and just how involved it is and how important are some of the marketing steps (if you want to be even seen these days). Hopefully this will help someone as i don't see too many music making threads in this forum as creative resources.
  4. Freewave
    Got in a discussion on MLR (mylittleremix) about what consititutes a brony musician. While i understand that people often avoid labels like the plague or want to branch out from manking JUST music about ponies i find it so SAD when people are afraid to call themselves brony musicians or don't see what it's all about. So here's a bunch of points all cut & pasted into a blog entry. WALLOFTEXT approaching
     
    We are a fanbase that actively writes music ABOUT the show (and in many genres and in many different ways). I wouldn't consider a person who is a fan of the show but who doesn't do anything with pony images, titles, or MLP-themes a "brony musician" and i don't think most people use that in that way. But some people who sometimes say they aren't brony musicians title their tracks with character names, use pony images, and then hang out in the community and yet don't want to labeled as part of us; and thats really disengenuous.
     
    We allow a lot of flexibility when it comes to brony music you can do any genre, you can do instrumentals, all that we ask is you find some way to channel some influence of the show. Just being a fan of mlp and making non affiliated music doesn't really make you a "brony musician". I think we know that and yes we benefit as much as we limit ourselves when we take that on. There's a load of people just waiting to give your music a chance if it just captures some of that MLP magic.
     
    There's been a few people like Swagberg, Renard, Ken Ashcorp who've done 1 or 2 pony tracks. I wouldn't call them "Brony Musicians" anymore than I would call Queen, Rolling Stones, Kiss, Rod Stewart a "Disco Band" that did 1 or 2 disco songs in the 70's. But they COULD be lumped in with us/them if you wanna include making a well known brony/disco song in the most generic sense or more importantly in the past tense. They still made an impact as a one-hoof wonder and there's a lot of people who make a pony track or 2 and disappear forever from this community.
     
    As a "brony musician" as you are combining 2 things - music and MLP as the subject. For awhile people were equally calling it "pony music" but that sounds a little weird to the outside world so brony musician or brony music stuck. When you don't combine those 2 interests you're not a "brony musician" you're "a brony who happens to be a musican". Andrew WK doesn't make "pony music" and is not a "brony musician". He's a musician who happens to be a fan of MLP. See what I'm saying?
     
    People can come and go and make pony music and then decide not to make it at a different point in their lives. It doesn't stop what they've done (Archie **cough* Icky *cough*) but it may change how they choose to identify themselves in the present tense.
     
    But don't be embarassed to be a PART of our community as MLP is a show that has HUNDREDS (if not one THOUSAND plus over 2 years) of people making dedicated music about it, that has its own massive fanbase, that has about 6+ dedicated radio stations playing NOTHING BUT pony music, that has blogs that get hundred and thousands of hits a day highlighting that music, that has several conventions dedicated to that fanbase, it's own musician forum (mylittleremix), and it's own compilations and events. I'm a guy who runs a directory just to help brony musicians be found and stick out from each other because that's actually needed. That's a big fanbase.
     
    But a label isn't something that shouldn't restrict or embarass anyone! There's no reason to feel that!! It's just simply means "hey there's a person who made some music about mlp" and that's because you did (and likely several times!). What we share in this community may not be that unique. What's important is how you create your own story about who you are as a person outside of that and what makes you different and unique. Just because we share a lot in common doesn't mean we're all the same, we're not. It's great to be linked as brony musicians but we're all different in the many ways we make music and live our lives. This music community is still built up of hundreds of individuals just trying to tell the stories of who they are through their unique contributions, personalities, pasts, and styles. And that's awesome, that's as it should be. It's great to be different but it's wonderful to have shared interests.
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