Culminating
 Experience
 
EP:
 Finding
 Colors
 
Yohahn
 Jo
 

ABSTRACT
 
The
 proposed
 project
 includes
 eight
 tracks
 in
 genres
 of
 Pop/R&B/Electro.
 As
 a
 
producer
 and
 a
 songwriter,
 I
 collaborated
 with
 nine
 musicians
 to
 create
 these
 
tracks.
 

 

 

 

 

Jo
  2
 

 
I.
 Introduction
 
For
 this
 project,
 I
 have
 written,
 produced,
 mixed,
 and
 mastered
 eight
 tracks.
 By
 
using
 the
 techniques
 learned
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia,
 I
 collaborated
 with
 nine
 musicians
 
to
 create
 an
 EP.
 The
 eight
 tracks
 will
 be
 used
 as
 a
 portfolio
 to
 promote
 myself
 as
 a
 
musician
 and
 a
 producer.
 
 The
 EP
 is
 in
 style
 of
 R&B,
 Hip-­‐Hop,
 Pop,
 Jazz
 and
 
Electronic
 Dance.
 
 

 
II.
 The
 Work
 
List
 of
 Tracks:
 

 
Bodywalk
 
Bodywalk
 is
 an
 R&B
 track
 with
 house
 rhythm.
 For
 the
 kick
 drum,
 I
 used
 simple
 808-­‐
kick
 sound.
 The
 instrumentation
 and
 arrangement
 are
 very
 simple
 in
 this
 track.
 In
 
order
 to
 make
 more
 interesting
 track,
 lots
 of
 vocal
 harmonies
 are
 added.
 
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Guitar:
 Juancristobal
 Aliaga
 
Vocal:
 Daniel
 Omphroy
 

 
Lover
 
This
 is
 a
 jazz
 tune
 arranged
 into
 Neo-­‐Soul/R&B.
 The
 original
 tune,
 written
 by
 Djudju
 
Hartono,
 was
 recorded
 in
 December
 2013.
 
 Using
 the
 recorded
 track,
 I
 rearranged
 
the
 song
 and
 designed
 drum
 loops.
 Then
 the
 melody
 was
 written
 to
 fit
 into
 the
 song.
 
 
The
 inspiration
 comes
 from
 Nujabes
 and
 Musiq
 Soulchild.
 
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Vocal
 -­‐
 Daniel
 Omprhoy
 
 
Bass
 –
 Max
 Ridley
 
Guitar
 –
 Peter
 Conolly
 
Piano
 –
 Djudju
 Hartono
 

Jo
  3
 

 
The
 First
 
This
 is
 a
 Jazz/Hip-­‐Hop
 tune
 with
 an
 electronic
 twist.
 I
 used
 John
 Blackwell’s
 drum
 
loops
 recorded
 in
 Fall
 2013,
 and
 manipulated
 different
 samples
 to
 create
 interesting
 
textures
 to
 the
 music.
 The
 track
 contains
 glitch
 sounds
 that
 serve
 as
 percussions
 and
 
effects.
 In
 the
 track,
 a
 lot
 of
 the
 glitch
 sounds
 are
 created
 by
 time
 stretching
 the
 
clicks
 or
 drums
 by
 four
 times,
 and
 then
 I
 chopped
 transients
 and
 arranged
 those
 
transients
 into
 a
 rhythm.
 
 For
 more
 information
 on
 time-­‐stretching
 and
 chopping
 
sample,
 please
 refer
 to
 the
 Innovation
 Aspects
 section.
 

 
This
 track
 is
 called
 ‘The
 First,’
 because
 this
 is
 the
 first
 track
 collaborated
 with
 Djudju
 
Hartono.
 
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Co-­‐Producer
 –
 Djudju
 Hartono
 
Drum
 –
 John
 Blackwell
 

 
Soundscape
 
This
 is
 a
 one-­‐minute
 soundscape,
 which
 conveys
 the
 emotion
 of
 being
 happy
 in
 one-­‐
minute.
 I
 used
 80’s
 synth
 sound
 to
 create
 the
 excitement.
 
 I
 placed
 the
 synth
 on
 the
 
fourth
 beat,
 thus
 creating
 a
 continuous
 excitement.
 I
 used
 different
 samples
 to
 
control
 the
 dynamics
 of
 the
 whole
 song.
 
 
Collaborator(s):
 
String Arrangements – Anze Rozman
Singer/Songwriter – Daniel Omphroy

One
 Step
 
This
 track
 was
 inspired
 by
 Prince,
 which
 we
 created
 Prince-­‐like
 groove,
 then
 we
 
developed
 into
 a
 new
 piece.
 This
 song
 contains
 more
 harmonic
 variations
 and
 sound
 

Jo
  4
 
changes.
 Since
 a
 lot
 of
 commercial
 electronic
 music
 contains
 repeated
 same
 chord
 
progression,
 I
 wanted
 to
 create
 a
 track
 that
 is
 more
 interesting
 harmonically.
 The
 
song
 form
 is
 A-­‐B-­‐C-­‐A-­‐B-­‐C-­‐C.
 A-­‐section
 contains
 funky
 groove
 and
 chord
 progression,
 
which
 is
 followed
 by
 80’s
 pop-­‐music
 sounds
 in
 B-­‐section.
 Then,
 the
 C-­‐section
 
contains
 more
 modern
 electronic
 music
 groove
 and
 sounds.
 
 This
 track
 was
 tied
 
together
 by
 the
 bass
 sound
 and
 the
 same
 drum
 loop.
 Despite
 a
 lot
 of
 changes,
 the
 
drum
 pattern
 stays
 the
 same
 throughout
 the
 song.
 
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Co-­‐Producer
 –
 Djudju
 Hartono
 

 
I
 Just
 Want
 To
 
This
 track
 is
 the
 most
 commercial
 track
 in
 this
 EP.
 
 Using
 Michael
 Jackson’s
 tracks
 as
 
a
 reference,
 we
 created
 funk-­‐pop
 songs.
 By
 working
 with
 multiple
 musicians,
 we
 
were
 able
 to
 create
 a
 catchy
 hook
 as
 well
 as
 catchy
 instrumentation.
 Varying
 
rhythms
 make
 the
 keeps
 the
 song
 interesting
 throughout
 the
 song.
 Also,
 the
 Daft
 
Punk-­‐like
 rhythm
 guitar
 adds
 extra
 groove
 to
 the
 song.
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Singer/Songwriter
 –
 Daniel
 Omprhoy
 
Guitar
 –
 Jad
 El
 Alam
 
Co-­‐Producer/Songwriter
 –
 Djudju
 Hartono
 

 
I’m
 Not
 Tired
 
This
 track
 uses
 alternative
 rock
 groove
 with
 electro-­‐house
 sounds.
 The
 track
 
contains
 one
 main
 bass
 line
 and
 one
 guitar
 chord.
 
 Despite
 the
 simplicity
 of
 the
 song,
 
I
 used
 different
 sounds
 and
 effects
 to
 keep
 the
 song
 interesting.
 
 I
 wanted
 to
 create
 a
 
piece
 that
 I
 am
 not
 familiar
 with.
 This
 is
 my
 interpretation
 of
 alternative
 rock.
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Guitar
 –
 Tyler
 Sasso
 

Jo
  5
 
Bass
 –
 Haojun
 Qi
 

 
Gotta
 Get
 Up
 
This
 is
 a
 vocal
 version
 of
 the
 song
 The
 First.
 
 
 

 
Collaborator(s):
 
Sniger/Songwriter
 –
 Daniel
 Omphroy
 

 
III.
 Innovative
 Aspects
 
I
 used
 different
 techniques
 to
 create
 and
 mix
 tracks.
 For
 the
 track
 ‘The
 First,’
 I
 
designed
 Sidechain
 EQ1,
 which
 the
 EQ
 frequency
 is
 triggered
 by
 the
 drum
 track.
 
 In
 
order
 to
 do
 this
 I
 used
 Envelope
 Follower
 effect
 in
 Max
 For
 Live,
 which
 is
 placed
 on
 
the
 drum
 track.
 
 
 


 
Figure
 1
 Envelope
 Follower
 in
 Ableton
 Live
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 http://www.bluecataudio.com/Tutorials/Tutorial_Dynamics_EQ/
 

Jo
  6
 

 
Then
 the
 Envelope
 follower
 is
 linked
 to
 the
 frequency
 of
 low
 pass
 filter
 on
 the
 EQ.
 


 
Figure
 2
 EQ
 in
 Ableton
 Live
 


 
By
 using
 this
 technique,
 I
 was
 able
 to
 keep
 the
 mid
 and
 high
 frequency
 information.
 
This
 idea
 is
 same
 as
 sidechain
 compression,
 however,
 with
 this
 sidechain
 EQ,
 I
 can
 
be
 more
 specific
 with
 which
 frequency
 information
 I
 want
 to
 remove
 at
 specific
 time
 
points.
 

 
In tracks ‘I Just Want To’, ‘One Step’, and ‘The First,’ manipulated short (less than 2
seconds), to create glitch percussive sounds.
Instead of using Hi-Hats, cymbals or other percussion samples, I used a simple click
sounds. Once I selected click samples, using Ableton’s warp feature, I stretched the
samples. By choosing different warp modes, the sounds can vary.

Jo
  7
 


 
Figure
 3
 Warp
 Mode
 in
 Samples
 


 
Figure
 4
 Original
 Sample
 and
 Warped
 Sample
 

These
 stretched
 samples
 are
 then
 cut
 into
 sizes
 that
 I
 need
 and
 then
 arranged
 into
 a
 
loop.
 
 

 

 
IV.
 New
 Skills
 Acquired
 
The
 production
 of
 the
 EP
 gave
 me
 an
 opportunity
 to
 improve
 as
 a
 musician
 and
 a
 
producer.
 As
 a
 producer
 and
 arranger,
 I
 designed
 numerous
 sounds
 for
 the
 songs,
 in
 
which
 about
 30%
 of
 the
 sounds
 are
 designed
 by
 me.
 
 Also,
 all
 of
 the
 tracks
 are
 
arranged
 and
 written
 by
 me
 along
 with
 the
 help
 of
 others.
 
 

 
As
 a
 result
 of
 this
 project,
 I
 have
 become
 a
 better
 producer
 and
 an
 arranger.
 Also,
 I
 
learned
 various
 music
 theories
 through
 other
 performance
 students,
 which
 I
 now
 
have
 deeper
 understanding
 of
 my
 music.
 
 
 

Jo
  8
 

 
V.
 Challenges
 
There
 were
 many
 challenges
 faced
 during
 this
 project.
 The
 source
 of
 the
 problem
 
came
 from
 collaboration.
 The
 tracks
 ‘Gotta
 Get
 Up’,
 ‘I
 Just
 Want
 To’,
 ‘Bodywalk’,
 and
 
‘Lover’
 served
 as
 a
 promotion
 track
 for
 Daniel
 Omphroy.
 In
 order
 to
 meet
 the
 needs
 
of
 the
 singer
 and
 the
 business
 partner,
 I
 had
 to
 adjust
 these
 tracks
 multiple
 times.
 
Through
 collaboration,
 we
 wanted
 to
 create
 commercial
 tracks
 with
 memorable
 
hooks.
 In
 the
 end
 we
 were
 able
 to
 create
 tracks
 that
 captures
 Daniel
 Omphroy’s
 
strength
 as
 a
 singer.
 
 

 
I
 wanted
 all
 of
 the
 tracks
 to
 be
 interesting
 to
 listen
 to
 throughout
 the
 whole
 song.
 In
 
order
 to
 maintain
 the
 interest
 following
 actions
 were
 taking:
 
-­‐

Melodies
 were
 changed/Solos
 were
 added
 

-­‐

Rhythms
 and
 arrangements
 were
 changed
 in
 the
 second
 verse
 and
 the
 
second
 chorus
 

-­‐

Extra
 layers
 of
 sounds
 were
 added
 in
 the
 later
 parts
 of
 the
 songs
 


 
VI.
 Future
 Ramification
 
This
 EP
 will
 be
 used
 as
 a
 portfolio
 to
 promote
 myself
 as
 a
 producer
 and
 a
 
songwriter.
 
 
 
How
 will
 this
 be
 promoted?
 
Understanding
 the
 Current
 Market
 and
 Promoting
 the
 Tracks
 
According
 to
 The
 Recording
 Industry
 Association
 of
 America23,
 U.S.
 music
 
industry
 has
 been
 getting
 smaller
 every
 year.
 In
 1999,
 the
 revenue
 of
 U.S.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2
 Joshua
 P.
 Friedlander,
 “News
 and
 Notes
 on
 2013
 RIAA
 Music
 Industry
 Shipment
 
and
 Revenue
 Statistics,”
 The
 Recording
 Industry
 Association
 of
 America,
 
http://76.74.24.142/2463566A-­‐FF96-­‐E0CA-­‐2766-­‐72779A364D01.pdf,
 May
 1,
 2014
 

 
3
 Anonymous,
 “2008
 Consumer
 Profiles,”
 The
 Recording
 Industry
 Association
 of
 
America,
 http://76.74.24.142/CA052A55-­‐9910-­‐2DAC-­‐925F-­‐27663DCFFFF3.pdf,
 
April
 30,
 2014
 

Jo
  9
 
music
 industry
 was
 $14.5
 billion,
 and
 in
 2013,
 it
 was
 $7
 billion.
 There
 have
 
been
 decreasing
 trends
 in
 physical
 sales
 (i.e.
 CD)
 and
 digital
 downloads,
 and
 
an
 increasing
 trend
 in
 streaming
 and
 performance
 rights.
 

 
The
 trend
 indicates
 that
 the
 access
 to
 music
 is
 getting
 cheaper,
 and
 the
 
recorded
 music
 is
 used
 to
 promote
 other
 products,
 which
 artists
 use
 their
 
songs
 to
 promote
 their
 live
 shows.
 

 
Based
 on
 the
 above
 information,
 I
 have
 come
 up
 with
 following
 options
 for
 
promotions:
 
i.

Contacting
 record
 labels
 
 
a. The
 tracks
 worked
 with
 Daniel
 Omphroy
 will
 serve
 as
 the
 main
 
promotion
 as
 a
 producer.
 As
 these
 tracks
 contain
 lyrics
 and
 hooks,
 I
 
believe
 that
 these
 tracks
 can
 serve
 as
 a
 portfolio
 for
 record
 labels
 and
 
publishers.
 
b. This
 is
 the
 most
 traditional
 way.
 The
 problem
 is
 that
 most
 U.S.
 record
 
labels
 do
 not
 accept
 demos
 anymore,
 since
 most
 unsigned
 artists
 can
 
promote
 themselves
 without
 the
 help
 of
 the
 record
 labels.
 
 Despite
 the
 
losing
 trend,
 I
 will
 collaborate
 with
 Jane
 Kim
 to
 distribute
 my
 songs
 to
 
people
 in
 record
 labels
 and
 publishing
 companies.
 
c. In
 Asian
 market,
 the
 record
 labels
 are
 heavily
 involved
 in
 artist
 
development.
 For
 example,
 in
 Korea,
 record
 labels
 manage
 the
 artists
 
since
 they
 are
 young,
 where
 the
 artists
 are
 trained
 since
 young
 age.
 
They
 are
 looking
 for
 cheaper
 ways
 to
 produce
 music,
 where
 they
 hire
 
in-­‐house
 producers.
 Again,
 I
 will
 collaborate
 with
 Jane
 Kim
 to
 
distribute
 my
 songs
 to
 Asian
 companies
 

 

ii.

Direct
 Promotions
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Jo
  10
 
a. The
 other
 tracks
 will
 be
 promoted
 under
 the
 name
 of
 Pom3lo.
 
(soundcloud.com/pom3lo)
 
b. In
 order
 to
 create
 more
 online
 presence,
 I
 have
 been
 working
 on
 
remixes.
 I
 believe
 that
 people
 are
 more
 likely
 to
 listen
 to
 the
 songs
 
that
 already
 have
 some
 presence.
 These
 remixes
 are
 released
 on
 
soundcloud,
 and
 beatport.
 
c. These
 tracks
 will
 be
 released
 free
 in
 order
 to
 create
 more
 presence
 
online.
 
d. There
 are
 Youtube
 users
 who
 make
 short
 films
 and
 movies.
 In
 order
 
to
 help
 them
 promote
 their
 movies.
 I
 will
 contact
 the
 youtube
 users
 so
 
that
 they
 can
 use
 my
 tracks
 in
 their
 movies.
 
e. I
 will
 be
 arranging
 live
 performance
 with
 Djudju
 Hartono
 for
 future
 
performances;
 

 
VII.
 Conclusion
 
The
 collaborative
 endeavor
 to
 create
 an
 EP
 was
 a
 valuable
 experience
 for
 both
 
collaborators
 and
 myself.
 In
 the
 end
 I
 wanted
 to
 create
 an
 experience
 that
 involves
 
the
 Berklee
 Valencia
 community.
 As
 a
 producer
 on
 budget,
 I
 do
 not
 have
 that
 many
 
opportunities
 to
 work
 with
 other
 musicians.
 Based
 on
 the
 musicians’
 style,
 I
 created
 
eight
 tracks,
 which
 shows
 their
 own
 colors.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jo
  11
 

 

 
VIII.
 Works
 Cited
 
Andrews,
 Ian, “Post-­‐digital
 Aesthetics
 and
 the
 return
 to
 Modernism”
 http://ian-­‐
andrews.org/texts/postdig.html,
 April
 13,
 2014
 

 
VIII.
 Resources
 Used
 
Berklee
 Valencia
 Studios
 
Ableton
 Live
 9
 
Native
 Instrument
 Komplete
 9
 
Izotope
 Trash
 2
 
Izotope
 Ozone
 
Pro
 Tools
 10/11
 

 
IX.
 List
 of
 Collaborators
 
Daniel
 Omphroy
 
Jane
 Kim
 
Djudju
 Hartono
 
Juancristobal
 Aliaga
 
Max
 Ridley
 
Peter
 Conolly
 
Anze
 Rozman
 

 Jad
 El
 Alam
 
Tyler
 Sasso
 
Haojun
 Qi