Live Reflexion #024

Never mind the cheese - this is the bollocks. The Recursives give The Undertone's classic some welly - captured live at The Hand pub in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant
Al - lead vocals and bass
Bri - backing vocals and tambourine
Neil - backing vocals and drums
Tez - guitar

Teenage Kicks -  The Recursives

Asedio

Blackout

written, performed and produced by Richard Brown.

Lyrics:

I feel it comin I feel it within
My worlds getting darker the lights getting thin
I’m dying of hunger I’m dying to live
The spell that I’m under has left me in sin

Father you tried to break me
Sisters and brothers always leave
Mother why does your heart bleed
Why is a friend the one in need

It won’t be for nothin if I’m not to win
I’ll take what I’m given and drink it like gin
I’ll crawl through the darkness against the cold wind
And claw at your feet til you let me in

Father you tried to break me
Sisters and brothers always leave
Mother why does your heart bleed
Why is a friend the one in need

Blackout

noxpox - Why Are They Afraid Of Freedom?

Contemporary work for String Quartet, Woodwinds and Percussion.

My Method of Composing and Producing

I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Suite for Chamber Ensemble 2024

Suite For Chamber Ensemble 2024

Idiotic Robin - 13-4-2025

Life Is Cruel Without Sound

I tried some different beats and offbeat claps/snares/hihats in this one to make it a bit more interesting and less straightforward. The sidechain melody part seems like a total Bicep rip off but that was unintentional. I just liked the way it sounded and during the making I didn’t really notice it. I’ve used the Monomy synth plugin for this song. It’s a very nice plugin with great sounds. As for the last songs I made I again used some Hainbach “Landfill Totems” sounds by Spitfire Audio. I also used Carbon 2 with Reaktor and some strings and trumpets from Labs by Spitfire Audio. I simply can’t get away from all the nice and good sounding options Spitfire Audio offers. Off course I also had to use my one of my favourites effects; Camel Crusher and ValhallaSupermassive. All in all I liked this one enough to put it on Soundcloud. The picture is some weird cloud formation we saw from out of our bedroom and I took some photo’s of it. With some simple filters it almost looks as something out of this world.

Aged Notions

Flame Heart (Epic Music)

Take a Trip into the Deep State but Beware you may never Return...

Deep State Inc

Dark ambient music.

Disfruto haciendo esto, y espero que vosotros disfrutéis igual produciendo vuestros temas. 
Aquí podréis escuchar todos mis temas producidos desde el 2023.
Intento mejorar y explorar nuevos sonidos y ritmos en cada tema, siempre de un modo dark, sin ir a buscarlo, parece ser que ese es mi estilo aunque quien sabe en qué acabará esto. 

I enjoy doing this, and I hope you enjoy producing your songs as well.
Here you can listen to all my songs produced since 2023.
I try to improve and explore new sounds and rhythms in each song, always in a dark way, without going out of my way to find them. That seems to be my style, although who knows how this will end.

thanks to: https://www.instagram.com/indiala.studio?igsh=YnJiN3o0aGJsdHZw

Asedio

Colappso