Aug 7, 2020
Today’s show is going to be a little different as I focus on the process that goes into producing my songs. It is my hope that you will all find the episode very insightful and entertaining, more so if you are an artist.
The song I’ll
be analyzing is Drill Down.
Drill Down is a song featured in my Geography of the Soul album,
which I released in 2014.
How I draft my
songs.
Having been blessed with creative songwriting skills, I usually try
to focus on including at least 10-15 songs per album.
The album featured songs are as a result of more incomplete songs
that I draft over a long period of time.
I love the process of not trying to finish a song on the first
go.
Songs featured in the Geography of the soul album, for example, are
a result of 50-70 mostly incomplete riffs, ideas, poetry, titles,
and ideas.
I feel that it’s important to grace the music writing process with
time. The more time you give yourself to draft a song, the better
the final version.
I go over the rough version of my songs over and over again, up
until I feel that the final content is mature enough to be
produced.
Titles are very important at the start of the writing process. You
can start off from a great title and build your song around it.
For example, the title Drill Down inspired my chorus in the
song.
The pre-chorus and chorus are about building a relationship based
on genuine and open communication about who you are trying to
uncover.
Demos are also very vital when producing. Personally, I love
seeking help through honest communication with my colleagues and
producers. I trust them to provide me with authentic and
trustworthy comments about what they think of my lyrics and
performance.
Even more important when performing your demos, remember to give it
your very best in the studio. As a matter of fact, don’t ever
produce a demo unless you’re on your A-game on that particular day.
Because once you’ve produced a great demo, then you’ll most
definitely produce an even better song.
Timestamps
01:20 Working with Libsyn and Amazon
03:03 How I draft my album songs
06:12 Song titles
07:35 Analysing the Drill Down chorus
08:43 How I perform my demos
12:21 Listen to the demo version of Drill Down.
17:07 Preparing your files for the producer.
18:33 Comments about “Drill Down”.
21:53 Teamwork during production
22:36 Why .wav files are better than .mp3 files
26:06 Listen to Drill Down
Selected links
and mentions.
Libsyn
Amazon
Reverbnation
Kim
Copeland
Mike White
Presents
Steven
Tyler
Drill
Down by James Kevin O’Connor