Project Updates 4 - Halfway There

Hey guys! It has been a hot minute since the last update blog and in that hot minute a lot of shit has been done! Let me enlighten you ;)

The bugs life project - contribution completed

As far as my part in this project goes, I'm essentially finished now unless I am needed by Yasmin for specific studio sessions (to which I'm yet to be informed about). The soundtrack for this project was presented to our lecturer/s in this last week in class was complimented on to which Jackson and myself are rather happy with considering it was our creation. It also fit in rather well with the video, having certain elements occur at specific points in the film which was exactly how I had arranged it. However, considering this project as a whole is only halfway finished, the audio assets that have been gathered already are rather impressive!

Side project Glitch - Completed

In the last update blog I said that this project would fully finished, mixed, mastered and out on SoundCloud by the 28th of October. Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm more than happy to say that Glitch is now out for the listening pleasure of my fellow bass heads! Link is below if you're keen on listening to it!

https://soundcloud.com/levelsmusik/glitch

However, in terms of the actual production of this track, the master is rather average as I don't quite have my head fully wrapped around mastering as a process yet nor do I have very good plugins to do so. Although with this being said, I am still rather happy with the overall mix as all elements that were brought together sat rather well with each other and made quite a funky track! In terms of revisiting, Kevin Barber has offered to give a remaster of this track to me as he is currently getting more into mastering and is interested in the mastering of EDM. On a side note to production however, you'll notice that 'Glitch' has its own cover art! This was done by an incredibly talented and hard working design student I'm working with at the moment known as Nicolas Faull-Cryan!

Design/Photo Collaboration with Nic Faull-Cryan

This project is something I've decided to hold off on talking about until it got into full swing as most of it up until this point has just been basic discussion with Nic as to what we are actually planning to capture and represent for my 'Levels' brand! So far, Nic has not only designed the track artwork for 'Glitch' (full image below), but has also done a new banner logo for my SoundCloud account (image also below).

Levels - SoundCloud Banner by Nic Faull-Cryan

'Glitch' Eclipse artwork by Nic Faull-Cryan

This isn't all of it?! What's Next?

I know, as impressive as these two pieces of art are, there is still more yet to come! One of Nic's assignments is to design a new logo for me as well as take professional photos so those two are yet to come ;). However, considering that I already have a logo, I'm going to be discussing with Nic about a logo for a new (back up) alias that I've been in the process of making lately in case my 'Levels' brand gets shot down for copyright or something goes haywire. Although this new alias may never come into existence depending on my situation so a new Levels logo may also be in the works! Needless to say, Nic's work ethic and artwork that he has supplied me with so far is mind blowing and I love his style.

major project update - Chase Johnstone 2 track EP

Ladies & gentlemen, we have officially locked in dates for recording Chases 2 track EP! After a long period of going backwards and forwards with Chase trying to organise the appropriate days for him to take off work and travel to Brisbane, we have finally done it! From the 19th to the 23rd of November, Chase will be recorded in the NEVE Studio at SAE along with backing vocals by KYA and Drums and Bass by Kevin Barber and Daniel Quaglia respectively. It's going to be jam packed 4 days but I believe the musicians I have gathered for this project are very talented and can pull this off. If necessary, extra studio sessions can be booked after Chase goes back to Bundaberg but for these 4 days, a solid vocal and acoustic guitar take for Chase is going to be the main priority. The other musicians are all locals to the Brisbane area and are much easier to get to and work around. With Chase however, we have 4 days and if we don't capture a take Chase is happy with in that time frame then the overall product of this EP is going to be of a significantly less quality.

Kevin Barber 'Warble' EP recording

Similarly to the last project update, there have not yet been any other recording sessions however, Kevin and I have locked in Monday the 8th of November to be our biggest session yet running for 8 hours and recording both Guitars and Bass for all 5 songs. The bass session being the first 4 hours and the guitars being other 4. Its been a while since we were at work on this project as Kevin and I have been caught up doing our own projects as well as assisting in others. But after a small break we are ready to get straight back into it and if this session runs like the last with equipment being set up with precision and speed and Kevin nailing his takes one after another then we will have this EP recorded and done in no time!

INSERT_NAME Collaboration...

Granted, this one was meant to be done already however, the situation for this one is rather similar to Kevin's and my own with the 'Warble' EP recording as Richard, Callum and myself have all been busy with projects and other commitments outside of university. The primary goal for this project at this point is to get back into the studio and finish the arrangement so processing and mixing can be done as soon as possible. Once this is done then mastering is the final step and the goal for this track's completion is now 3 weeks from now.

To wrap this up

Although this blog is incredibly similar to last week in terms of progression, I can still safely say that my projects are sitting at very safe levels (no pun intended :P) and that I am more than happy with their current progression. In terms of project work for this week, a studio session for my INSERT_NAME collab is well overdue and will hopefully be taking place this week if I can get time in between planning for gigs, meeting musicians and taking care of other outside commitments. Until next time guys!

Levels :)