EP Evaluation - Phil

EP EVALUATION

1. My EP is called ‘PROWL’ This is the title track of the EP and I decided to name the EP after this track because its the one that gives the message behind the EP the best.

2. The styles music on my EP are Rock and Alternative Rock. These are the genres that I listen to a lot and figured came across well with the story that was told through the EP.

3.

4. Overall I am happy with the content of the EP as a whole I think when it was being written this was something that I felt passionate as well as during the recording. I think some of the lyrical ideas are there but I also think that they might not be as consistent as they could have been. i the guitars and drums are the best part of the EP they are quite expressive through out as well they rhythm sections. I don't think the EP especially leaks in originality but I think for an early piece for the arsenal is defiantly a great place to start and a massive learning curve while making.

5. I think this music fits well into the genre of music that its style fits into but not necessarily the genres and artists that I listen too. The artists that this music fits very well too is DON BROCO and Lower Than Atlantis. These aren't artist that I personally listen too. I think the EP would be very different if it was in the genre of the artist I listen too such as Radiohead, Muse and The Envy Corps to name a few. I think that the genre that this music is in is perfect for the ideas behind the EP but even tho its music that id not normally listen too I think it works well for this music and thats what matters most.

6. I think overall the sound of these tracks is very good although I don't think that it particularly sounds the way I heard it and wanted it to sound at first. The strengths are that the music sounds very fulfilling and powerful and all the musical parts are coming together very nicely! I think that the main problem is that the musical parts are not quite sitting well enough together and the tracks don't have as much energy behind them as they could. This is all things that would need to be changed in the recording process. I would have loved to have a proper producer on these tracks who is a professional in this genre and knows how to make it sound good and how I wanted. In terms of the mixing, I would prefer that someone else mixed it as I think when its your own music its hard to forget about the musical contest and just think about the sound and weather it sounds right. If I could I would re record it all again to make it sound right.

7. I think that this genre relies heavily on the tones of the kick and snare drum and also the guitar tones. I spend a very long time during the mixing to find this but I think that it was something that needed to be changed in the recording process. The kick and snare sounded nothing like the tracks that we were listening too. I really think and phat kick sound and a deep yet cracking snare was what I was after but due to equipment and time its hard to find the exact sound you are after. Even after lots of hours mixing. I listened to a lot of other music while recording this EP which helped to get towards the sound I wanted. I don't think this Ep compares to well with the artist that I listen to. Partly because my favourite artist don't all sound like how I wanted this EP to sound but also because the sound I was looking for was really hard to recreate. With more time and knowledge this would probably have been vey achievable.

8. I collaborated with a few musicians on this EP. Other writers as well as performers. There was a bass/vocalist as well as a guitarist who recorded all guitar parts for the EP. This was a massive part of getting the EP to sound the way I wanted as they had a lot of experience in the instruments that I don't play. They were also heavily involved with producing the record and finding the desired sounds.

9. During the recording of this EP I worked very few people as this EP was mostly self produced.  There was a producer alongside myself who was running the session for the bass and drum recordings as well as being the engineer. He was very slick in using the DAW and running all the gear in the studio. This was a huge help towards my EP as the bass and drums sounded good afterwards and we managed to complete it all in one day. He was a huge help towards the completion of the EP as he was very good and choosing microphone positions and correcting things as we go all going towards the final sound which was in mind. On the other hand he wasn't the most experienced engineer and producer in the genre we were recording. This wasn't so good as he found it hard to latch onto what I wanted the EP we sound like.

10. My favourite roll would be the 'producer' title. I feel that I can perform well as an engineer as I think my knowledge on microphone choice and placement is fairly well rounded but I would say I prefer the producing roll because you are very involved with the artist and you can add so much to great songs and work with the bands to add your own touch to the music. I find this very rewarding but although you are not part of the band musically you can still interact as if you are an extra member and add a lot to the music even your own personal style and edge. 

11. I have used a lot of really important equipment during the making but the most important I used in this project would have been 2 hard drives. These were so useful and although they didn't appear to do much they stored all the audio files and help back ups which was so useful and really keeps everything safe from being lost. If I didn't use this and keep back ups you can always loose data but I made sure that I always had up to date back ups across several drives.


12. A really good example of a session that went well was when recording the guitars. We tried a different approach when recording these as we had already tried recording the guitars but the tones weren't correct and how we wanted. We tried running the guitar though real pedals and micing a different amp with different microphones. This session went so well as the tones for the guitars just sounded to perfect and we were getting all the sounds we wanted. As well as this the session was running smoothly and we were making progress all day. This is a really way to keep moral high in the studio and everyone in high spirits and we were all working to our full potential.

13. My favourite track on the EP is most likely ‘Call Me Old Fashioned’. I love this song for so many reasons other than just the production and the way it sounds. I love this song the most over the other despite the fact that its the softer, smoother track on the EP. I love the way all the parts work together but also its a very personal song to myself and the others as it is was written by all of us in one room together as a band and thats what we are trying to promote and get back into doing. This track even includes a snippet of guitar that was recorded on that day. In terms of the production of it I think its the best sounding track and it also is probably the best mixed. I wanted to spend a long time making this one sound amazing because the vocal performance was very very good as well as the guitar etc. 

14. My finished EP will most likely be put of for free on Soundcloud and Bandcamp and possibly Spotify. I want this EP to be a promotional tool and use it to build a fan base for the music and then go on a run of playing shows and promoting the music as much as possible. I could charge for the EP but I feel that if I want to use it as a promotional tool that might be a barrier and prevent the music getting to as many people as it otherwise might.

15. The most important thing I have learned from making this EP is practise more and edit less. I found toward the end of the making the EP that this really does apply to most thing when recording from the performance to the mixing and mastering. If you really perfect your skills as an engineer or getting the best performances your life when mixing and editing will be so much easier and you can get much better results. I found this was a really good lesson I learned.

16. My latest purchase of music is Muse’s new album ‘Drones’.I bought this on iTunes as I wanted to get the tracks that were released prior to the album as and when they came out. I have also purchased the CD for this album but Muse are a particular favourite of mine and I wouldn't do this for every album I buy. I also tend to buy albums in full rather than just the song that I like as I feel that most bands will want there albums listen to from start to finish as thats how they are intended to be heard.

17. I probably spend around £20 on music every month as well as a £9.99 subscription to Spotify premium. This is sometimes from iTunes and sometimes CD’s and occasionally vinyl. I could buy all my music digitally but personally i really like having the physical CD, like I said so i cant listen to albums in full.

18. I spend around £30 a month on live music. I try to get too 3 or 4 gigs a month, sometimes its friends shows or bands that I really want to see from tiny to massive shows or festivals but over the year I do like to see as much live music as I can.

19. In the near future I plan to take music production further and start recording bands myself. I have a few people who want to record with me already and a few mixing project. I plan to start perfecting my skills and using what I have learned from making this EP to develop my own style and hopefully produce to top bands in the further future and have a great portfolio.