What if a music licensing company asks you to produce an album of Vocal Pop for media productions? Here are the given guidelines :
- Ten full brand new pieces of music need to be composed, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered.
- They have to be sung and a variety of voices is required (both male and female).
- Each will exists also as instrumental version: this means a total of 20 pieces.
- The album shall have a house beat as rhythmic but with a pop drafting, so nothing extreme, indeed much more addressed to the radiophonic network.
- Rapid BPMs are required: nothing less than 110BPM.
- No long intros or outros, 30 seconds is the limit acceptable.
- Lyrics must forward positivity and motivation to the listener.
Everything clear? Let’s start!
So, first of all, let’s have a look at the deadline: 45 days. Well, this means my pace of work shall be of at least 4 tracks per week, preferably more so that I can have time also to put my hands on them again if required. “Feel Good” title tells everything you need to know about this album: fresh and innovative sonorities produced in line with worldwide greatest hits of the genre. Fortunately, I already had a pair of drafts which can do the trick. I will be one of the two voices, but what about the second? I asked Giada Boe, a great singer, and friend of mine, to join the team and she gave me her availability immediately. The workflow was instant: blinds closed, lights off and hands on the keys. As soon as I composed a new song I already knew if it would be sung by me or Giada. If I was in the need to involve her, I sent her the song just once I was 90% done with the production. This helped to optimize productivity: I was sure to give her a solid ground to put the feet on, always letting her the freedom of interpretation and write her own lyrics, keeping in mind the main guidelines. Once ready, Giada contacted me to say she prepared both lyrics and melodies of all the tracks I sent her. So now it is time to record: we met just twice to record 5 tracks in total. As a producer, I was in charge to supervise the performance closely and everything needed to be perfect but natural at the same time. So it was. I and Giada have never worked together, but the first day we’ve been able to record three layers of voices for the first 4 tracks. Every first take was simply perfect. This was possible just because she took this so seriously that she was prepared and trained, so I could remove those few doubts remained. If this was amazing, the second day was even more: in one day, we shaped an entire song which didn’t exist before. I am talking about of the whole music, melody, and lyrics. A flux of ongoing inspiration addressed in the right direction. At the end it took the name of “By My Side” and it instantly became one of the hits of the entire album. So what is the receipt? Planning, dedication, inspiration, no overthinking and be with the right people.
Drop the mic.
I am so proud of this work and I look forward to the next one. Yes, I am at work again, but this time will be a completely different sound and I can’t wait to complete it!
