I’ve heard the idea floated about that because rap doesn’t have melody, it doesn’t qualify as music. Well, actually it does have melody and if a rapper didn’t use subtle melody in their verses or used a melody that didn’t fit, you would definitely notice. Anyway, that’s a discussion for elsewhere, the point is even though I disagree with the idea, I have wanted to do something more overtly ‘melodious’ for a while. In these two songs I sing quite a lot and though I know I still have a way to go, this was a huge step towards finding my sound. Thanks to my cousin Sky CD for the awesome beat used in part 1. Part 2 was fully produced by me which was a big step for me too.

It's about being 'caught up' in multiple ways. Hope you enjoy!

Caught Up

This was an assignment I did during a course with Point Blank Music School.

For this assignment in the Music Composition module we had to use just Logic Pro instruments and no audio to create a composition that used different aspects of what we'd learnt that semester. I was getting a better grip on a lot of music theory at the time and really enjoyed this challenge. Hope you enjoy too!

Music Composition Assignment

This was an assignment for a course with Point Blank Music School.

For this assignment in the Creative Audio module we were given a few samples (a drum loop, a drone, a short rhodes riff, a sine wave, three notes sung in the same pitch and white noise). We had to use just them, some audio we recorded and all our creative audio skills to create a track. Trust me, getting these samples to sound good was much harder than starting from scratch (it took me aaages) but it was a great exercise. 

It turned into quite an emotional song as well as a great exercise and the end of the song has quite a surprise which contrasts from the rest. A key change to a major key and my singing really changes the mood from dark to light though there is still something yearning in it.

Here were some thoughts I had about the process (surprisingly I could have written more):

I messed with the drums we were given quite a lot as I didn't like some aspects of them. For the kick, I put a low pass at 2k or so and added overdrive and saturation. For the snare, I did a similar thing and cut above around 3k. I also boosted around 200, put some saturation on and a bit of reverb too.

I recorded some hits on an old drum that we found in our house at different intensities and mapped the zones over different velocity ranges in Sampler.

I had some trouble with my recorded vocals on this. I tried to layer my verses which I have done a couple of times before but I found I couldn’t get the right balance between similar and different this time and they kept phasing with each other or sounding wrong. This issue was causing so much trouble that I decided to just do some dubs.

I made a sine sub bass by looping the sine wave sample in Sampler and using envelopes and glide to create a slightly 808 sounding sub bass.

I used a bus to filter all the tracks playing at the breakdown with a high pass. This was part of an effect that I was pretty proud of, though it wasn't executed perfectly. To start this breakdown I used a stretched snare sound (using the Flex Time speed algorithm) layer at the start of a white noise sound which I wanted to sound a bit like a drum fill to a cymbal. We didn't have a cymbal or an open hat so I had to use that. It then morphed into a wave on a beach like sound using a band-pass filter on the white noise in Sampler.

I used the vocal sample by placing the three notes in different groups and 'flex-timing' them within sampler to half speed so that they formed a choir. I made this effect even richer by playing chords and having multiple tracks panned right and left. I also had tracks playing an octave below. Finally I had reverb and a chorus effect in Pedalboard which really helped complete the sound.

There is a bit less than deal recording in this, and it's because I was recording something with my built-in laptop microphone so I wouldn't forget it - just humming it. But I ended up really liking how it went with the singing at the end so I used an expander and kept it in. The expander did a pretty good job I think.

I really enjoyed this project but as a perfectionist I still feel slightly frustrated by the result. I feel like I could have executed some aspects better, and made it sound smoother/less messy. Overall though, for what we were given I was happy with what I came up with.

Creative Audio Assignment

A few months ago I tried to make a beat every day for a week. These beats were the result. 

I struggled a bit at the end to stay on pace and didn't quite manage a beat per day exactly but the challenge definitely helped motivate me so in that sense it was a success. 

After finishing the mixing module of my music production course I decided to clean the beats up a bit and do a casual release on SoundCloud - so here we are. 

There is an interesting progression to the beats, the first two I was trying to create more complicated melodies, both having kind of lead lines that were more the focus. 

Beat 3 is probably my favourite beat because of the piano chords. I added them more recently when it felt a little too minimal without them and that it could something in the higher up in mid-range.

Beats 4 and 5 were my experimental phase of the challenge. I had them named on my computer 'Madness' and 'Guitar Madness' respectively. I really liked these ones too but I'd rather you just listen than try to explain them.

Finally, beats 6 and 7 were the only beats to use sample. For 6, I used a piano loop from Splice that was very atmospheric so I added some reverb to my snare that I felt complimented it. Lastly, in beat 7 I sampled a beautiful track from the beautiful movie 'Talk to Her' (directed by Pedro Almodovar). So no I did not play the divine flamenco guitar in beat 7 but I don't think I completely ruined it with my additions.

Thanks for reading.. hope you enjoy!

Beat 7

A few months ago I tried to make a beat every day for a week. These beats were the result. 

I struggled a bit at the end to stay on pace and didn't quite manage a beat per day exactly but the challenge definitely helped motivate me so in that sense it was a success. 

After finishing the mixing module of my music production course I decided to clean the beats up a bit and do a casual release on SoundCloud - so here we are. 

There is an interesting progression to the beats, the first two I was trying to create more complicated melodies, both having kind of lead lines that were more the focus. 

Beat 3 is probably my favourite beat because of the piano chords. I added them more recently when it felt a little too minimal without them and that it could something in the higher up in mid-range.

Beats 4 and 5 were my experimental phase of the challenge. I had them named on my computer 'Madness' and 'Guitar Madness' respectively. I really liked these ones too but I'd rather you just listen than try to explain them.

Finally, beats 6 and 7 were the only beats to use samples. For 6, I used a piano loop from Splice that was very atmospheric so I added some reverb to my snare that I felt complimented it. Lastly, in beat 7 I sampled a beautiful track from the beautiful movie 'Talk to Her' (directed by Pedro Almodovar). So no I did not play the divine flamenco guitar in beat 7 but I don't think I completely ruined it with my additions.

Thanks for reading.. hope you enjoy!

Beat 6

Beat 5

Beat 4

Beat 3

Beat 2

Beat 1

Just having fun on this beat made by KEEM.THE.CIPHER. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

LYRICS:

i want it all i got to have it, thats why i give my all and never half it (yeah)..

been thinking too much - the last habit to kick, bars for you people, i’ve been at it and shit, like its magic i trick, then treat you with that fast wit, and still ready to spit, i’m that sick, cuz i’m quick-witted, so stick wit it, admit it i’m sick wit it, unlimited and astonishing, can’t see whats inside, cuz my windows is tinted, i pinch hitted (baseball reference - look it up) your mistress, my **** got her addicted, im just kidding, but in actual fact, j kiz is back with the rappidy raps, heard this beat and was like, gimme dat, this is phat, imma kill this beat in one take, and do it just for fun's sake, bun fakes (uh)..

oh what a difference a year makes, yeah, oh what a difference a year/yeah makes (uh)..

you get it? don’t lose it, imma fuckin abuse it, gimme a second to prove it, im just coming through with, that sound that’ll make your heart pound, and get it pounding quicker, i’m sicker than those who drink liquor (yeah) man i need more vocab in my notepad (uh)..

check the score and you’re under like an underscore, magic like dumbledore, said magic before, but fuck it, thats what i feel like, fuck it..

im just saying im done playing your dumb games,

this beat makes it easy to switch flows, bringin it up then down, nobody knows, im so over these flows, of those rappers who pose, and whose throats start to close, soon as i produce my poems, cuz i’m manic, but titanic, like jack and rose, i suppose, these verbal punches these blows, they’ll leave your nose broke, no joke, so dope, no you won’t cope..

if it was up to me, it’d be up to you, cuz im indecisive, insides cold as ice is, sometimes i feel lifeless, then im reminded, of the miracle that life is, that shit is priceless, that shit is timeless..

alpha and omega, alpha and omega..

OMEGA (prod. KEEM.THE.CIPHER)(thanks for 1k)

Decided to release this demo before I put out two songs (including a final version of this) sometime in the next couple weeks. I'll try and let the song speak for itself but basically it's about the feeling of being forced to let go of a part of yourself that wasn't working. The clip at the beginning is from the amazing film 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'. Thanks to COMODO for the dope beat.

LYRICS:

lie down and bite down, shock him til he pipes down, right now, don’t fight now, it’ll only make it worse, fuck it, make my brain cells burst, make this curse disperse, i’m the worst.. guess i'm calling off the search, cause it's hard to find a needle when you’re looking in a haystack, face facts, fucked up like i just smoked a blunt laced with crack and some smack in the back of a shack.. and i’m running out of space and time, i need some space to rhyme, give me some space i’m fine.. in my zone, all alone, on my own, been scribblin down some different shit, so ridiculous and wicked, that i’m killing off witnesses, but truth is what my business is, envision this - i've been living life but missing it, arising from the flames and the chrysalis..

Cuckoo (demo)(prod. COMODO)

My first proper single and the first part of a two song release called ‘Cuckoo/Light’. This song has gone through a lot of changes since I released a demo of it. I kept changing my mind about parts of it, even my perspective on the lyrics. In the end, I think this song is about change, and more specifically, feelings about letting a cherished part of myself go. Apart from that I’ll let the song do the talking.

Vocals: J Kizla
Original Beat: COMODO
Remixing Beat & Other Engineering: J Kizla
Mixing: J Kizla
Mastering: Coast
Cover Art: @zouassi

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/17ZOP0fwsdVGwns87UygAL

Apple: h t t p s : / / i t u n e s . a p p l e . c o m / g b / a l b u m / c u c k o o - s i n g l e / 1 3 6 9 7 8 6 0 5 2 

LYRICS:

lie down and bite down, shock him ’til he pipes down, right now, don’t fight now, it’ll only make it worse.. fuck it, make my brain cells burst, make this curse disperse, i’m the worst, guess i'm calling off the search, cuz it's hard to find a needle, when you’re looking in a haystack, face facts, fucked up like i just smoked a blunt laced with crack and some smack in the back of a shack

i’m running out of space and time (x3)

still passive but I’m actin up, the actions of the masses fucked, the lack of trust is cancerous, kicking up a fuss, but who is man to judge, when the devil’s playing double dutch and god keeps losing track of stuff, now that’s enough, and maybe i just ask too much, like who set me to self-destruct? still stuck as fuck and out of touch, cuz i’m nuts trust, so let’s switch up the rhyme before i go nuts plus (like the upgraded version of nuts.. lol) 

i’m running out of space and time (x3)
                
i’m running out of space and time, i need some space to rhyme, give me some space i’m fine.. in my zone, all alone, on my own, been scribbling down some different shit, so ridiculous and wicked, that i’m killing off witnesses, but truth is what my business is, envision this - i'd been living life but missing it, arising from the flames and the chrysalis..

Cuckoo (see description)

I started writing this song during Coronavirus and finished it when the Black Lives Matter protests were going on. It's safe to say the world has been going through a dark time. It's a symbolic song that hopefully reminds people that even at the darkest times, they have that light and power inside them.

J Kizla

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