From the Composer: "Inspired by the curriculum of MUSI 3341: Introduction to Electronic Music, I have created a piece that is heavily influenced by the EDM genre and its impact on society. Set with ambient city, train, and rain sounds in the background, the pumping MIDI beats drive a syncopated rhythmic motif that pushes the melodic development of the synthesized chords in the forefront. My personal 'DJ signature' is the Baby Vocal sample placed before the anti-drops of the song which inspired the title of the song, '(HEY)DM', a pun based off of EDM influences. It’s a piece best listened to using headphones to fully get all of the wobbly and swirling effects used in the MIDI instruments. There is a theremin solo in the middle of the song as a homage to this iconic instrument’s role in the history of electronic music. '(HEY)DM' not only pushes the limits of my musical skill set but also that of Ableton’s tools too!"

S22 MUS 3341 - Final Projects

Faith Sporbert - (HEY)DM

From the composer: "Ben Carter’s “The Beaver” is a 2024 original electronic piece that can mostly be considered house music. House music is one of many electronic music branches that is known for its “four on the floor” steady and repetitive rhythm, off beat hi-hats, and ominous yet simple melodies. Carter used his appreciation for environmental noises and incorporated rain throughout the piece at varying volumes. At the start of the second half of the piece, an intentionally unproportionally loud thundercrack erupts as a novel synth bass line emerges from the thunder. The high frequencies of this bassline reveal themselves through use of an automated low pass filter. Just before things become too repetitive, a simple melody arises over the synth bass and becomes increasingly more developed through additional voices. The piece ends how it started, with gentle rain. However, it ends with a somber piano melody that unexpectedly resolves on a major chord."

S24 MUS 3341 - Final Projects

Ben Carter - The Beaver

From the composer: "This explores the artists recent change in character and how she misses the person she used to be. She opens with the lyrics “There’s a girl I see at night very time I close my eyes” which sets the scene for the audience, as the song is meant to have a dream-like sound scape. This is achieved by the synthesizers present in the instrumentation. Though the lyrics are relatively sad, the piece is fast-paced and in a major key to keep the atmosphere hopeful rather than hopeless. It I natural to change who you are throughout your life, it is our job to choose who we want to be at any given moment. So, as the piece concludes, the artists explains how even though it’s sad she is not the same person she was, she still has the opportunity to choose to be a person she can admire.

Elizabeth Flaherty - I Miss Her

From the composer: "'Replay' is a two-part hip-hop instrumental piece that utilizes a plethora of eﬀects and automation to create a sound that begins slower and more somber, and ends upbeat and joyous. By use of layering and arrangement, each half has their distinct style while the core melodic components remain the same. The first half, being at a slower tempo, gives a more relaxed and laid-back feel to listeners, while the second half increases tempo and is much more bright and energetic. As different elements are brought in and taken out, the typical hip-hop format can be seen throughout, yet the unorthodox switch midway through gives the four minute piece a breath of fresh air. When played in the background, many sounds can fly under the radar unnoticed, but when listened to closely, listeners can hear the many underlying sounds that compose the entirely of the piece, bringing everything together."

Matthew Reilly - Replay

From the composer: "Above a down-tempo setting of drums, organ, guitar, sometimes saxophone, and other ambiance, Sarina sings of wanting someone to come home as she is suffering the treachery of nostalgia and longing. Whether it be another person, herself, her confidence, or her ability to do the things she wants to, there is something she is yearning for. Her vocals switch between her light falsetto and her aching belted chest voice. The saxophone is punchy, palpable like her craving for safety and a feeling she once experienced. The guitar is brutal yet candid in a way she cannot express within words. Often on open vowels, Sarina employs the use of runs and riffs to sincerely add color and context to the music falling underneath the lead vocals. With a thick amount of reverb, this song is here to accompany someone in a dream, or perchance nightmare, state of self-solitude, and reflection of a life that feels like it is constantly running ahead of you."

a song I long to know

From the composer: "The aim of this piece is to take you out of reality and into somewhere slightly to the left of it. It was inspired by psychedelic rock and emphasizes contrast between a dreamy sound and a more grounded, 'real' sound. This piece was composed in F minor and includes guitar, drums, piano, and synths."

Crystaline

From the composer: "'STUCK IN A TRANCE' by Kyle Lovell (a.k.a pndmkyle) is an electronic dance track in F minor that, at 136 beats per minute, will get your heart pumping and your feet moving. This house/trance-inspired track came out of Kyle’s love for electronic dance music, and his desire to return to his production roots. The fast-paced, high-energy, sometimes video-game-like melodies, combined with crisp house-inspired drums, and hefty, deep basslines provide for the perfect backdrop to a festival, rave, nightclub, etc. In this record, Kyle utilizes lengthy, 16-bar build-ups to create extremely gratifying and energetic drop sections. These drop sections, inspired by house, trance, jersey bounce, and hip-hop music respectively create a fun contrast to the more downbeat and mellow verse/break sections. The second drop/chorus section specifically, inspired by jersey bounce music, creates an unexpected moment for those expecting another four-on-the-floor house-esque drop like the first drop/chorus section. 'STUCK IN A TRANCE' provides a spectacle into Kyle’s current production style, and gives hints towards his possible future musical directions."

STUCK IN A TRANCE

From the composer: "Impossibell was my final project in Electronic Composition. The premise was to create a piece for bell choir, but use electronics to do obviously-impossible things to the bells. The whole piece is constructed from five free samples, which I use to build two distinct grooves, with a free-meter 'dialogue' in between. One of the samples is from Indonesian Gamelan music, which is a major inspiration of this piece. Other inspirations include Steve Reich, chiptune, and YTPMV. My original inspiration also included the use of synthesized bell tones for further manipulation, but in the end I decided it would be best to work purely with samples. I think this piece is a lot of fun!"

IMPOSSIBELL

From the composer: "Having approached this from my usual medium of acoustic composition, being able to compose electronically has been an interesting experience. For one, at least to me, it provided more difficulty in choosing what instrumentation to work with, as there’s a much wider range of sounds. What helped the most was having a genre to work in. By providing myself some parameters, I had a stronger idea as to what sounds I’d want to utilize. That being said, a large influence on it was the ambient tracks used in film and video game soundtracks in Japan from the mid to late-twentieth century. Three composers of note are Koichi Sugiyama (Dragon Quest), Toshifumi Hinata (Tokyo Love Story), and Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts). An element that specifically belongs to Hinata would be the extended piano intro. I wanted to create a calm, reflective, and atmospheric ambiance. To that end, the timbres I utilized were that of synthesized pads, pianos, and synth plucks."

Electronic Piece No. 1

From the composer: "1st day at the Rave is a piece created to capture the moments of peace, rush of emotion, sound, and movement experienced at a first rave. Rooted in the house/EDM genre, the track is built on chill begins and transitions into pulsing beats, layered synths and evolving textures to simulate the energy of the crowded mosh pits. Not just a party anthem, this piece is composed to encapsulate my personal interpretation of that overwhelming first experience with rave culture. A feeling of being completely lost in the sound. As the track continues it shifts from intense beats to a calming surrounding, reflecting how time stretches and blurs throughout the night. Whether you hear this on the dance floor or through your headphones, this track invites you to relive that euphoric, albeit it sweaty and tiring, night of stepping into a world of rhythm."

1st Day at the Rave

From the composer: "This piece is an emotional soundtrack of a semester abroad, capturing emotions ranging from excitement to nostalgia. The music begins with an energetic buildup, reflecting the thrill of arriving in the United States, and transitions into a steady, joyful section. A calmer, reflective part follows, enriched with samples from daily life-library sounds, the iconic 'wait' signal at pedestrian crossings, and the Windows error sound-each representing a unique memory. After a danceable section inspired by Puerto Rico musics, the piece circles back to its initial melody, serving as a chorus. It then dives into a tense, stressful section symbolizing finals, before concluding with a bittersweet, nostalgic ending. Drawing inspiration from the styles of European DJ, this piece blends vibrant electronic beats with personal audio samples, transforming memories into music and emotions into sound."

US Spring

From the composer: "The 90s were a time to be alive, and music played a significant role in building this narrative It birthed one of the greatest producers of all time in one of the most prominent categories of all time, Dr. Dre in Hip Hop, who decided to leave NWA and have a solo career as a rapper and producer at the dawn of the decade; he created a timeless album, 'The Chronic,' and Snoop Dogg's 'Doggystyle,' which changed the face of Hip Hop forever. In this process, Dr. Dree famously came up with the West Coast Whistle, which is associated with the G-Funk style you hear in 90s West Coast music. In this piece, I attempt to recreate the G-Funk style throughout, along with interpolations of 'Nuthin' but a "G" Thang' by Dr. Dre and 'Who Am I (What's my Name)?' by Snoop Dogg of the above mentioned albums. As you listen to the piece...it is essential to think not only about the West Coast Whistle but other individual elements, such as the constantly changing bass or the rattling of keys-all of the adjustments that nowadays seem to be unsettlingly a lost art."

S25 MUSI 3341 - Final Projects

A 90's West Coast Tribute

University of Connecticut Electronic Music Studio (MLib007)

UConn EMS

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