Studio Demos

 For the first one I want a real bass rather than the logic drums. The drums I want to record in the studio for both tracks, The logic synths for the first and second track I want recorded using the synth in the recording studio for a different sound, I want 2 natural claps recorded using a sm57.

For the second one I'd like to make the drums live as I feel like they would have a lot more impact if they were real as well having a real drummer doing the snare rolls would be interesting. I want to add a clean electric guitar over it performing a simple riff to add more layers to the track possibly replacing the piano. Then instead of having the piano on logic play the riff I'll record a grand piano doing the chords to the song instead.

My plan with the third track is to make it reminiscent of The War On Drugs' long synth intros with the songs lasting at least 6 or 7 minutes. I want this song to be a similar time length as I feel like it makes the song more a journey if you have the patience to listen to something like that.

Mixing for Farz

Gain Staging: Gain staging the process of managing the levels of your track attempting to keep it a balanced mix.

EQ is essentially filtering certain frequencies out of the stems of your mix.

Bell Curve -  This allows you to pin point certain frequencies and cut them out.

High Cut - This allows you to take

Low Cut

High Shelf -

Low Shelf

UCAS - Personal Statement

Music, to me gives me a platform to explore and be inventive in all aspects of life. It lets me express myself in an art form and hopefully one day to an audience. By taking this course I'll be able to explore and delve deeper into my knowledge with music, hopefully leading to success in the music industry.
During my time at college doing a L3 music production course I have gained a good insight as to how to use Logic Pro x and use a recording studio effectively. Different tasks involved researching an abundant amount of different genres from all times in history. I already had a good amount of knowledge in certain genres from the 60s through to the 90s but this course let me explore these genres and many more on a more intense level. Researching these genres allowed me to have a good understanding of music techniques, whether that be in the studio using a mixer or the sort of guitar effects I should use for certain songs.
During a lot of the tasks we also used audio effects in logic such as EQ,  reverb, delays and a lot of modulation effects. These have helped me add a lot to my music allowing me to manipulate audio and make it suit the sound I want for my tracks.
We have also done a lot of work on mics understanding the different polar patterns that are suited for different situations. As well as how to set them up and look after them and all the equipment that comes with them such as (cables, speakers and amps).
Eventually I'd like to be able to perform live for my audience, so being able to participate in performances at my college allows me to build up more confidence in being able to pull off a live show. This has also helped my guitar playing being able to rehearse songs, learning how to play properly with live musicians(being used to playing by myself).
Hopefully going to university will help me explore all of these techniques on a more in-depth and challenging level.
Outside of music I have also been learning to cook and have been sorting out a course to do outside of my time dedicated towards music. This has helped me understand that I need to have a plan before going into something and to be able to deal with deadlines. I have also done some work with Chickenshed theatre doing work experience there, helping out during and before live performances with the sound and set up of the audio, also I was tasked with having to deal with changing the mic stands when different people and instruments are needed.
I plan to be a versatile musician who's able to work with creative and interesting artists. Hopefully university is the beginning of that journey.

Song Analysis

Week 1 Supersonic - Oasis

The guitar and vocals like most Oasis tracks are the main focus of this tracks mix, the first guitar riff being the introduction of Oasis' britpop sound to listeners in the 90s(this being the first single they released) had to be loud and have impact. It has a distorted and crunchy sound which I'm assuming was created by Noel Gallagher using the Ibanez Tubescreamer guitar pedal which he has used often throughout his career during studio sessions and live performances. During the verse, the rhythm guitar becomes the main focus along with the singers vocals, the guitar still being very heavy and distorted now playing power chords compliment Liam Gallagher's sneery, tenor vocals. Liam is mainly covering the high end of the mix along with a couple guitar riffs as well as the obvious drum pieces(hats, cymbals) making the track sound very simple yet powerful at the same time due to the guitar being amped up. The bass guitar in my opinion could've been more present in the track as it doesn't really seem to be there at all being very low, but I understand the producers choice in doing this as it could've given the mix too much low end making the track sound off balanced as it was already inching towards that.

Week 2 Atmosphere - Joy Divison

The intro of the song consists of punchy drums and a mellow bass which for the most part drives the song. Then Ian Curtis' vocals come in which matches with the the drums and bass to create an eerie and memorable sound which is what Joy Division were known for.  The song quickly changes its atmosphere after about a minute with the introduction of the high end of the track which consists of some chimes with a lot of reverb making them shimmer even more as well as a synth. Both of these are fairly present on the mix of the track and this is probably because it has been completely leaning towards the lower end of the mix during the build up, which means when the chimes and synth come in it has much more impact creating a large sound. Joy Division were known for their simplicity creating an album like Unknown Pleasures which manages to create a very dark and depressing world with nothing but Ian Curtis' lyrics, a guitar, a bass and drums, as well as a great producer. This song follows the same simplicity as all of the others, but maybe this one was treated with a bit more time as it was the last song to be released by the band as the lead singer had killed himself before they could go on a planned American tour leaving the remaining band members to start anew. I think the producer wanted to make it slightly different so it would be remembered and continue to get Ian Curtis' world across.

Unit 11 - Ethnography

Roots Reggae

I have chosen Roots Reggae as my genre of choice for this task as it is a genre I am not very knowledgable in and I just think it's important(especially for tasks like this)to explore something that is out of my comfort zone so I learn something new. I've always known about reggae but I don't have any knowledge about it outside of the most popular artists and even then its still very little.

The Jamaican accent is a key part to all most any genre of reggae and this is definitely evident in roots reggaes most popular artists such as Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Roots reggae also incorporates a lot of off beats into its music giving it an instantly recognisable feel as you can instantly tell a reggae song from any other type of music. A piano or clean guitar is generally used for this off beat giving the music a jumpy feel. The bass of reggae songs is generally just a repeating riff that drives the song whilst the percussion and guitar/keys will fill in the gaps.

Reggae performers generally didn't really dress up for a show meaning they were generally quite casual sporting simple day to day outfits or the classic black, yellow, green and red colour scheme which Rastafarians have become known for. This all gave a very laid back feel to the artists which goes along quite well with the relaxed nature of the music and vibe at a reggae concert. The audience I imagine would've been wearing similar outfits to the performers wearing baggy shirts and trousers. One of the most iconic items associated with reggae is probably the rastacap or tam which if you watch any of the old 70s reggae performances, you could probably guarantee to see at least one.


Reggae used standard band instruments such as guitars, drums and keys but all of the experimenting either came from having a completely different rhythm to the music of the 70s and 80s or the effects they were using differently from rock artists to add to their songs. A lot of big spring reverb sounds were used to create even more bounce to the already syncopated music as well as delays playing at different rhythms to create layers. Synths were also incorporated into the genre at first being there for melodies in the 70s but then by the 80s synths had basically replaced the piano as the guitars partner.


A lot of reggae artists stuck to their roots and didn't really attempt to enter the mainstream, whereas someone like Bob Marley promoted and presented his albums and image how a rock group would have. He was the person who brought reggae to light in western countries and this is largely because he made himself as accessible to everyone in a time where black people weren't necessarily getting the attention they deserved in the media, using the aesthetic of a normal rock band to make the people more comfortable with their reggae sound which was new to a lot of countries Bob Marley was popular in. Despite this a lot of other reggae artists would consider someone like Bob Marley to be going against his music and culture almost, branching out from its Jamaican roots and distorting what reggae stood for.

Reggae was well known for its connotations with cannabis and Rastafarianism and with cannabis being illegal in Jamaica and America in the 70s certain members of the public would've disliked its popularity as they probably felt like it would've been influencing listeners.

As I said before reggae was well known for its links to cannabis and it wasn't uncommon to find audience members smoking at concerts as well performers. This linked with reggaes slow dancing and relaxed vibe created an atmosphere that was probably quite a unique and memorable experience. The off beat guitars mixed with the repetitive bass lines would either get you swaying to the music or dancing and I feel like the influence of marijuana would've made this sort of rhythm even more encapsulating.

A lot of Bob Marley's popular Reggae songs were 4 minutes long or under but this is probably to make them more radio friendly as many other reggae songs would go on for 7 minutes and more including solos and some bands would release remixes. Live performances were similar going on for a while allowing the audience to appreciate the unique sound of reggae.

Portfolio of artists

David Bowie

David Robert Jones professionally known as David Bowie was from London, Brixton and 
had a long and prosperous career, making music commercially since 1963 releasing albums 
consistently even going to the length of releasing an album 2 days before he unfortunately 
passed away from liver cancer. Known for constantly changing his musical sound and 
image together, often being extremely fluid with his sexuality causing controversy and 
those in the younger generation during the 70s to flock to his obscureness as he was an
 outlier and pioneer in his craft and fashion at the time. This was all unfortunately cut 
short when he died at age 69 on the 10th of January 2016.

Bowie was mainly a rock artist but he was always experimenting with other genres such as soul, funk and a lot of experimental stuff. Bowie was considered an eccentric performer singing and writing his own songs and in the early days of his career you could see him playing guitar live. He worked on stage and in the studio mainly but he was known for his work in acting as well with films his most iconic being Labyrinth in which he played the Goblin King. Bowie's last project to be released was the jazzy and experimental Blackstar being his only album to ever top the billboard 200 and being the No.1 album in the uk for 3 weeks consecutively.

Bowie had an interest in music as a child and started making music in 1963 but he didn't reach any level of fame until he released his single Space Oddity in 1969 which has gone down as one of his classics. He released a couple albums before this single and then came out with Hunky Dory which was definitely one of the stepping stones that led him to becoming a rock album. But it was the album that followed this that propelled him into becoming a British rock icon, this album was called Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The album was released and Bowie had a 6 month tour of the uk which involved him dressed in striking jumpsuits and costumes along with dyed red hair. This tour caused his popularity in England to snowball and he became the androgynous Man Who Fell to Earth.

One of Bowie's most famous tracks was Heroes. The song was produced by Tony Visconti when him and Bowie were in Berlin back when the wall was still dividing the city. This was a driving force and theme for the same titled album Heroes which the song was featured on. One of my favourite concerts of his is one where he was performing in Berlin in 2002 and he performed a great version of Heroes, which holds significance to him and the audience it being the city he recorded the song in and spent years of his life in during a divided time. He seemed much more energetic and normal than in his younger years becoming less of a character as he got older. When he'd perform in the 70s he was always shielded by a character whether it be Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane or The Thin White Duke but later on in his career after breaking America and settling down he had just become David Bowie.

I believe Bowie's ability to change his persona in the media so frequently and release albums working with very different people in the music industry so consistently pushed him to becoming a success. He wore make up and often chose to favour a more feminine look during his performances making him different and something the people of the 70s found interesting and could look too for some sort of insight to another world in music and life in general. 


The main thing I have taken from Bowie is too never limit yourself in music style and look as well as being able to work with many different people from all different areas 0f life.

George Harrison

George Harrison most well known for being a member of The Beatles.