DRAXX ReBorn Post Mortem

Drax

King Drac - Image from animation.

For Project 2 we created 2 new songs to build our catalog to 3 songs in total. DRAXX was aiming to create a small EP by the end of the trimester, so we could have a record of our time in trimester 3 and have evidence for our own portfolios.

We had a new member come on board for project 2 and they bought in a different perspective to the DRAXX team.

With project 2, the challenge was to write a couple more songs for the team, and make scratch demo's so we could get into it as fast as possible. The time frame was really tight, so the quicker we could get the tracks down, the better.

The first song was titled - King Drac's Lullaby (Oh Now l Can Feel)

The second song was titled - Burn Your Cross

The theme stayed the same as project 1. Which we coined Theatrical Heavy EDM. Even though we had a couple of problems, we still wanted to try and make a little EP for our portfolio's and keep the genre the same.

Breakdown on what l contributed to each song.

Song 1 - King Drac's Lullaby (Oh Now l Can Feel)

• Lyrics and Composition

• All guitar work

• Bass guitar

• Vocals

Song 2 - Burn Your Cross

• Lyrics and Composition

• All guitar work

• Bass guitar

• vocals

All my parts were done as quick as possible, so some areas of the songs could do with more guitar parts added in, (from my perspective). I would have liked to have more time to enhance the songs some more, but we needed to get the other members parts recorded and into the songs as quickly as possible. Nym's (Tom) needed time to do his EDM as well. In hindsight, my 2 songs were probably a little to ambitious to do in the time frame we had.

What did l learn from this experience!

The DAW ain't it all.

I just loved only using the DAW, as it made it easier to get the tracks down quickly, but after learning how you can add distortion and use the console as an effect pedal, l think l will be buying a small console that will allow me to experiment with this idea in mind and create more sounds.

This lesson was a big wake up call.

Since l wrote the songs, l should have provided scores to go along with the demos. This would have cut down on the time and everyone would know what was going on. Tegan asked me a question about which minor key l was using, was it natural, melodic or harmonic and l really didn't know, I knew the key, but not the melodic structure, so l had to do some research quickly to give her the right information and emailed her just a general rundown of the chord structure for each song. Tegan also said that the chords in the solo of Burn Your Cross were indistinguishable. All of these problems would not have occurred if l had've provided a professional score for each song. Time to move from amateur hour in Dixieland and start adopting a real professional attitude, and making sure that everyone that l do sessions with are on the same page. I needed to have written a couple of professional scores and hand out some good quality demo's. Time to step up to the plate and get ready for the real environment.

The lessons from the masters and lecturers.

l learnt there are different ways on how to mix songs and different approaches towards the mixing of a song. by planning the tracks and making sure recordings are spot on, will cut down on mixing time, and at the same time make recording quicker and simpler to mix.

I also learnt how people hear with their eyes from the master session with Guy Gray. It's just amazing how a video directs your ears by viewing an image on the screen. We all watch movies, video clips of songs, but the power of the eyes in how they can direct your hearing, is totally amazing.

EDM past haunting DRAXX ReBorn.

The EDM is still a problem, but l think it is due to not having enough time to get the stems ready in time. By the time we get the tracks ready to send to Nym for EDM, we are already mixing the songs down as Nym is trying to get the EDM tracks ready as quickly as he can, (so l'm not sure if the songs will have EDM on them because of the times frame).

What did we achieve in DRAXX ReBorn.

DRAXX Logo

• We recorded 2 more songs for our EP. Which will be under the name DRAXX

• We have a Logo now. (Thanks Egor)

• I'm not sure if we have another animation clip yet. (really hoping it comes through, because that would make it 2 clips for DRAXX promotional arm)

My Conclusion on Project 2

I think over all, it's been a great learning curve for me. I'm learning age old habits have to be reevaluated and modified, or even dropped if l want to progress further in the industry. I need to be more time conscious and generally get quicker at what I do along with a professional attitude. My preparation for projects from this time on will be changed. I will make sure l'm properly prepared for any sessions, through time management, so sessions can run as smooth as possible.

Focus on these areas to start becoming a professional.

• Learn to write professional music scores for sessions.

• Make sure copies of the lyrics are available to use for quick references or alterations

• Set ProTools up with more markers for punching into quicker.

• Setup a template that will make it easier for me to use on ProTools for sessions.

• Learn to get the right sounds by spending a little more time with setting up the microphones along with doing more research.

• Ask lecturers for advice when a problems presents itself, so l can resolve it straight away.

Just a personal note, l always try to turn a negative into a positive and learn from it.

I feel very privileged to be learning at SAE