Posts Tagged: A&R

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27
Jan 11

A 2010 Fave: Sharon Van Etten’s “Epic”

If the lemon and cigarette breakfast plan yields songs like Sharon's, I'm in.

If a lemon and smokes breakfast yields songs like hers, I'm in.

Happy New Year!  I’ve been in Colombia hearing some remarkable music that I’ll be writing about soon.  I mention it now as an excuse for the delay in mentioning a favorite album of 2010, Sharon Van Etten’s, “Epic.”

The singer/songwriter genre is particularly tricky one.   The lyrically gifted ones can detail a personal struggle for insight from  anguish that summons us to reflect on our own lives .   Those less talented confuse earnestness with relevance or self-absorption with awareness.   On “Epic”, Sharon Van Etten hits an artistic grand slam.  Listen and learn, kids.

On each track of Epic, Von Etten’s vocals are front and center, her evocative lyrical tales supplanted occasionally by echo-laden ambient vocal sounds and a smattering of drums, reed sounds, pedal steel, and bass.  Every element frames the songs beautifully. The entire album is testament to the powerful reach of sonic simplicity and outstanding songwriting.

Can’t wait to hear her music live when she plays Lincoln Hall in Chicago.

Check out:   Sister Don’t Mind

Record label:  Badabing Records

Interview:  Sharon Van Etten Village Voice

Sharon Van Etten Tour Dates (courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan)

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13
Jun 10

Diplo on Creativity

DJ, Producer, and Songwriter Diplo offers some helpful insight into his interesting creative process as well as some of the insecurities that most artists grapple with as they enter “studio” mode. Check it out here. It is from The Creators Project series, which is definitely worth a look.

While Diplo is involved in numerous cool, fun projects, he is probably best known to date for his work with MIA and the track Paper Planes.

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23
Feb 10

Be your own A&R.

In today’s world,  everyone creates.  With A&R execs becoming relics of the past, it’s up to a microcosm of taste-makers and local communities to point out the good stuff amidst a sonic avalanche of mediocrity.

The good news is that moving your career forward isn’t dependent on the subjective whims of a few gatekeepers.  While this means you have to work harder than ever to make yourself known,  at least it’s now up to you.

Journalist Paul Rogers sums up the current situation well in his excellent LA Weekly article:  A&R Starmakers:  The Vanishing Gatekeepers.


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29
Dec 09

When in Doubt, Leave it Out.

Making decisions about recording and mixing options has always had the potential to bog a musician down with variables.    Even home-recording rough demos can now invite the use of multi-tracking, countless effects, plug-ins, mic choices, etc.  For an artist this often invites the opportunity to drown in options.  By obsessively reviewing variables that often do not contribute to the material, you are distracting yourself from an important objective:  finishing the song.

When considering any choice you make during the recording process, you can avoid missing the big picture and simplify things by asking yourself, “Does making this change in the recording improve the song?”   If the answer is no, obviously leave it out.  Importantly,  if you truly can’t decide whether it improves it or not, then the answer still is leave it out. Every sound on your recording, every arrangement decision, every vocal, every mix technique should propel the song forward.  Flourishes that are pleasant but not helpful only drag down the impact of the important elements of your song.

Tom Petty believes his pop anthem “Free Fallin’” was greatly improved when producer Jeff Lynne simply suggested he remove some pleasant but non-integral chords from the song.  The advice was valuable enough that Tom gave Jeff a co-writing credit.

Often the adage is true that less is more.

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8
Dec 09

Making money with your music.

You create music, or at least you want to. It has been your passion for as long as you can remember and you can’t imagine life without it. Beyond your music’s immeasurable personal value, do you care how others respond? If so, is it possible for you to make a living from your music or at minimum generate some income?

You likely have a better chance of generating income from your musical creativity now more than ever. While much has been made of the collapse of the traditional music industry due to the digital distribution revolution, less has been said about the tremendous opportunities provided musicians and other artists by technological advances. Now you can record, mix, and master quality recordings for much less cost than a decade ago, and often using less workspace in your home or apartment than a small closet.  If you want to go from music as hobby (“I do what I do because that’s what I do and public response is irrelevant.”) to music as livelihood (“I do what I do and I’d like to make a living at it.”), start thinking about where your creative output – your music – exists relative to public interest.

For your music, you can save time, money, and frustration by being mindful of three things:

  1. What is Your Music? Step outside your art and envision how others may perceive it. Ask the opinion of both people you respect and some that you don’t know well. Their perceptions may be surprising.
  2. What is the Public Taste for Music? Be aware of the music that is around you beyond your own ‘comfort zone’ of taste. What are your fellow human beings responding to? Remember, you aren’t researching this to change how you create, rather you want to get a sense of whether your creativity has a potential audience.
  3. How big is the Overlap of Your Music and Public Taste?

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