Keys - Ting Ting (elliott)
Bass- Adelline 
Vocals- Hui Yan

Verse
你的亮光会为我 不停闪亮
陪着我走在 前途的远方
从前的迷失现在 不必慌张
因为有你在身旁 我勇敢向前望

Pre-chorus
遥远的未来我会 紧紧抱住你
过去的痛苦都会 成为个回忆
永远对我的承诺 我不会忘记
牵着我的手 跟你一起往前行

Chorus
我不知道 未来如何你
不要不舍 依旧的不舍
迷失得不得
世界能分成两段
你还会有我与你相伴

我不知道 未来如何你
不要不舍 依旧的不舍
离不得有你选择
只要有你在我身旁
我生命 充满着希望

只要相信奇迹会出现
只要进力就会被听见
从前背的伤现在已需 要放掉
看见命运露出的微笑
就终于明了

Recorded at: Rehearsal Tower level 4

PROD-41-Darrill-Demo 2

To prepare for the start of school i tried mixing again but I obviously am not good at it lel tilt

s/o to the people who are losing hope, because the future is bright !

充满

Melody & Lyrics : Darrill Chan
Arrangement: Darrill Chan, Don Chan

Lyrics:

Verse 
if only i knew how 
you bled and cried
if only i had seen 
all the scars that peeled your skin

Pre-chorus
wasting late nights bottles upright chasing lights
white crystals held tight so open wide look up 
and breathe

Chorus
when all was wrong you had nowhere but the limelight it’s alright
But then you chose to leave and now you’re no more

Verse 2

The gifts beyond measure
You had inside 
The voice that i treasure
Is carved within my mind

Prechorus 2

Plastered smiles and petty talks cant resolve you inside 
So you hold tight tie your neck right look down
And breathe

Chorus
when all was wrong you had nowhere but the limelight it’s alright
But then you chose to leave and now you’re no more

Synth,keyboard, bass, drum samples and vocals by Darrill Chan
Vocals - SM58, rehearsal tower 4
Mixed by Don Chan

PROW week 7

Summary: The theme of the piece is about saving the environment. The instrumentation idea came from the concept of simplicity and keeping everything to minimal, but sufficient. The lyrics came from some friends around me who were mocking environmentalism and saying that it it useless to even try to go green because it would not make a difference. 

Differentiating factor: What makes this piece different is that instead of encouraging people to keep the earth alive, it is someone who is making fun of the idea of environmentalism. Having a different perspective towards a topic like this will make people notice how it’s written and to listen to the piece again to hear the lyrics and what it truly means. 

Delivery: to push this idea, I used the bell patch as an intro line to keep it light and give it a joyous feeling. The melody was also simple, and the refrain ends with “it’ll never be the same”, which stresses how earth is changing and it’s up to us to try to reduce the damage we cause. I went back to the refrain to give a sense of familiarity, but changed the lyrics drastically to continue to catch the listen’s attention, and didn’t not end the verse with “it’ll never be the same”, a obvious change to represent that we should be changing already, to save out environment.

Lyrics:
oh wear your crown and look around , smiles turn into to frowns
words that you say, it’ll never be the same
this land we call our friend is coming to an end
try all you can, it’ll never be the same
 
dive into the mess we’re making 
see with your own eyes
hear the cries of trees that have died in vain  for us 

may we never live till we see the day
green turns to grey, it’ll never be the same
away the dying trees, get out of my hand, 
do what you want cos i don’t even care

Credits:
Melody, lyrics, arrangement : Darrill Chan
Instrumentation :
Piano,Bass, Recorder,Bells, Shakers (MIDI): Darrill Chan
Vocals (Bedroom): Raynard Li (MXL 2003A)
Wind Chimes (Rehearsal Tower 4): Darrill Chan (AKG 420)

It'll Never Be the Same (PROW 1 of 7)

Idea by: Darrill Chan
Composed by : Robbie Say 
Arranged by : Darrill Chan

Piano (MIDI): Robbie Say
Flute, Strings, Cello, Harp (MIDI) : Darrill Chan

Summary: The main idea of this piece is repetition. Throughout the piece, a single part multiple times to create the repetition, but still showed change and advancement in the accompaniment. What makes this piece different is that most instrumentals advance very quickly and only have selected lines that play after a certain period of time, but this piece has the same phrase repeat continuously. How I showcased this idea was through an instrumental. Since the idea was about repetition, having a song would defeat the purpose because most songs are repetitive anyway. However, using an instrumental highlights that repetition is used.


Differentiation factor: What make this piece different is that this instrumental uses a lot of repetition instead of having multiple lines for multiple instruments. In many instrumentals, parts are written out for multiple instruments and flow between sections. In this instrumental, however, there are multiple lead lines but all under a repetitive piano part at the side. This brings out the idea that even though subtle changes are happening, the constant is the repetition. 

Delivery: To enhance this main idea, I did not write a song because choruses already repetitive, so it will not showcase my idea. Hence, i used an instrumental. The song starts out with a 5 note line which is repeated over an accompaniment. Then, i used a flute patch is introduced. I used a flute patch because it was not overpowering and the new repetition could be heard, but still not the main focus. After the flute patch we went back to the first repeated line but was paired with a strings patch to show change and that even though it was something new, it was different. Then came the “climax” of the piece, where the piano was playing 1 line and the harp patch was playing a new repetitive line and the 2 are seemingly singing to each other before coming to the end. I panned the piano to the right and harp to the left to show the bicker and allow each line to be heard clearly without having to fight for the limelight, which is the center. All of this was grounded by the piano accompaniment, which supported all the other layers.

Back and Forth (PROW 2 of 7)

chicago song

Summary: the idea of this song came when I was reading my production lab journals, and I remember our first semester we only used our phone to record. Even though the quality was horrible, it was still good songs. The reason why I wanted to explore this was because I felt that I was over-reliant with technology and lost the essence of making music because I love it so much. To achieve that, I did not use any “professional” microphones and mostly used my phone to record. 

Differentiation factor: This song was produced very differently, because i used my handphone for most of the recordings, giving a “unclean” and almost unpleasant recording. Even though it is like that, the song itself is still audible properly. Even though I recorded each track individually except for the vocals and guitar, which was recorded together, I did not do any processing so the song has an authentic earth tied to it. Compared to every other song produced, this is very organic and has a sense of real-ness. 

Delivery: For this song, I wanted the song to be light and positive, and the lyrics complimented it by painting the image of a better day, using phrases like “your time to show the world”. It sounds like a love song at first, but the “you” in this song represents the listener, and the “me” is the dream they want to achieve. I used a guitar, piano and bass because I feel this is just right. I had originally recorded drums and strings but it sounded too much in a soothing song so I removed them. The song tries to depict the picture of a girl in her room, recording with her guitar ,and can think of the other accompaniment along with it. Her dream.

CREDITS:
Melody: Darrill Chan, Alicia Tan 
Lyrics, Arrangement: Darrill Chan
Vocals: Alicia Tan (ZOOM 1 handy recorder at Dinz's house)
Guitar: Darrill Chan (ZOOM 1 handy recorder at Dinz's house)
Piano, Bass: Darrill Chan (Samsung voice recorder at Darrill's house)

LYRICS: 
Verse 1:
dream a life 
where your troubles seem to be aligned
feel alive 
breaking through them one by one inside of you

Pre-chorus 1:
running out of options 
crawling through the dark all alone 
but i know one day 
that you’ll be mine

Chorus:
so close your eyes and let me take you on a ride
hold me tight it wont easy but we’ll be shining bright 
through the darkest nights 

Verse 2 :
dont be afraid 
let your colours filled the sky of grey 
stand up strong 
it’s your time to show the world who you are 
ohhh

Pre-chorus 2:
remember what you stood for 
for all the tears and blood you shed 
cos you know one day 
that i’ll be yours

Chorus:
so close your eyes and let me take you on a ride
hold me tight it wont easy but we’ll be shining bright 
through the darkest nights

Dream (PROW 3 of 7)

Melody: Darrill Chan, Brandon Ling
Lyrics: Darrill Chan

MIDI (piano,bass,drums): Darrill Chan 
Vocals: Brandon Ling

Summary: the message of this song is to encourage people to be themselves. The idea came from a discussion with friends, about how we all put on a facade to hide ourselves. Sadly, I am expriencing the same issue and dont feel true to myself. I hope that through this song that people will be encouraged to embrace their true selves and not be trapped by the thoughts of others. 

Differentiation factor: this song is different becaused I used chinese instead of English. Songs that are written in Chinese are normally sentimental songs which recall the past. So, having a chinese song that looks forward to the future is something different. 

Delivery: for this song, the main focus is on the lyrics and since chinese music is known for its arrangement, I decided to change that stereotype and simplified the arrangement to a simple band set-up. The lyrics is written in the first person, but the person is not an actual human being. The one singing the story is the inner, unrestrained self. It is speaking to the listener, and is hoping to help the listener to get over the issue.

遇见我 （prow 4 of 7)

Drums (logic drummer & MIDI) : Darrill Chan

summary: the idea came from a drum duet i was watching between 2 friends, where the 2 drummers played together and also gave each other 4 bars to play whatever they wanted. I thought it was interesting because I seldom see 2 people playing a “duet” on the drums, which piqued my interest. It was different because even though it was just drums, there was a lot of flow and motion throughout the session and it was magical. There, i tried to replicate the feeling of 2 people playing their instrument.

Differentiation factor: this piece is different in the sense that there is no melody, no harmony. just a bunch of rhythms and noise generated from drum kits. This piece focuses on the different playing styles of different people, and is about sharing an experience instead of bringing the listener through a journey, something most songs do. 

Delivery: For this piece, I used different logic drummers and panned them to the left, then I recorded my own drums and panned them to the right. This gives the image of “seeing” two people facing each other and playing. The grooves were vastly different as well, showing how each drummer is unique in terms of their playing style. They can play together, give each other solo time, but at the end can still come back together to play something simple, and still bring their differences.

Crash Crash (PROW 5 of 7)

summary: the idea of the song is about a person who is taking the train but has many inner thoughts which are fighting again each other and while he is on the train the thoughts start to run. What makes this piece different is that the piece was a representation of the inner thoughts and even though the surroundings could be heard, he could only think about the things bothering him. To enhance that idea, I used various instruments which are always clashing to represent different ideas overlapping and hence cause confusion. 

Differentiation factor : the difference that this piece has is that the piece focuses on the emotion rather than a particular situation. Everything heard beside the train recording was to represent the struggle inside. Compared to other instrumentals, this does not bring the listener to a journey, but keeps the listener in the present. 

Delivery: I started off recording the train ride I was on and the familiar sound makes it relatable for people to “see” the context this piece is in. The instrumentation used was common, but unique in terms of purpose. The violin represent the innocent thoughts that we have : wishes, hopes and dreams. That was the reason it was played at a high register. The bass was showing the wants that we undermine. Everything in between are emotions and rash thoughts which always seem to clash with what we actually need. The marimbas and glockenspiel are the emotions we have, monotonous or “exciting”. The horn and guzheng are the logical senses that we have. Having this encompassed around a very fast heartbeat, but when all does to an end, the heart is still beating. Life still goes on.

Credits : Darrill Chan

Train (Prow 6 of 7)

summary: the idea of this piece came from my inspiration of a 1 note samba that I heard, and thought if a piece could be created by just 1 note. It is very unconventional because pieces usually have more than 1 note through. What separates this piece is that everything was created using only one note, the C. It was played in various octaves to create variance, but never left the single C note. To create a forward motion of the song, i used different patches and sounds that I created from various synthesisers.

Differentiation factor: this whole piece is created only using the c note. What makes it stand out was that even though it was a single note, it still feels like a complete piece. in other instrumentals, there is many movements especially note runs. However, this piece has none of that. Instead of highlighting the instrument, this piece highlights the arrangement used because it is so simple in terms of notes.

Delivery: For this piece, I found different patches and even made my own. I started out with a bass as the foundation. From there, I add pads and lines to change the soundscape. Synths and other ambience sounds start coming in before an “eruption” cancels most of the sound and a second sections comes in with another kind of pad, with the sounds of a church choir, pianos and harps, very different to the synth-heavy section earlier. Then, everything fades into nothingness. To make the sound seem very distant, a reverb was placed on the master output instead of a certain patch.

Idea: Darrill
Arrangement: Dinz, Bryan, Darrill

Darrill Chan

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