Vintage Compressors

Vintage Compressors

I am a huge fan of Soul, Motown and Funk music of the 1960's and 1970's and have tried my best to emulate some of the sonic characteristics of these recordings in my own work. While researching methods of emulating these characteristics, the role of dynamic range compressors cropped up again and again as a large player in the 'vintage' aesthetic. Phil Spector's wall of sound technique is famously recognisable as a thick, lively sound crafted through the use of layering and analogue compression.

The Vulf Compressor

A band I follow and admire is funk-rhythm group Vulfpeck, of whom I'd been hugely impressed by how good their drums and bass timbres sound, particularly on tracks such as It Gets Funkier. I'd trawled through forums and interviews they'd done trying to find out how they'd achieved this sound. When I saw that Vulfpeck were releasing a software compression plug-in in late 2014, I was curious to get my hands on and analyse the effectiveness of it on my own mixes.

After receiving an assignment brief to write an essay on a piece of 'cutting-edge' technology I find interesting, I chose to use this opportunity to write about the Vulf Compressor; it's features, mechanics, inspirations and uses. I'd downloaded a free trial and compared it with other compressors, such as the Logic Pro Compressor (with Vintage Circuit emulation) and the outboard hardware compressor the Drawmer Mercenary 1968, drawing my own comparisons and conclusions. In the end, I found the Vulf Compressors approach to compression to be fairly intuitive, although applying it's own distinct colour to the sound. While this is useful as an extreme effect, I found the Vulf Compressor to lack in the subtlety of the alternative vintage compressors, working more effectively when used in consideration.

Bibliography

Vulfpeck (2011) It Gets Funkier [CD]. Vulf Records.

Stratton J. (2014) VULF COMPRESSOR /// DEMO 001 [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6D9WvwMNr8[Accessed on 1/12/2015]

The Recurrence of 60's/70's Influences in Top 10 Pop Chart Music

The Recurrence of 60's/70's Influences in Top 10 Pop Chart Music

One of the things I've reflected on when I've listened to the radio is the strong influence of music from other generations. As I've mentioned previously, I'm a big fan of music from the 60's and 70's, and it's been refreshing to see elements drawn from this era heard on music reaching the Top 10.

To name only a few recent examples;

• Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass [2014] (50's Rock 'n Roll instrumentation and guitar riffs)
• Pharrell Williams - Happy [2013] (Strong 60's Northern Soul influence)
• Bruno Mars - Treasure/Uptown Funk [2014] (Bass driven 70's Disco & Funk style)

I believe these influences come from a period where the majority of music is remembered in a positive, nostalgic light. Even artists which may once have been viewed in a less credible light - perhaps as one would view as a 'sell out' pop band, are now gaining integrity through respectable sonic referencing. It feels like emulating period/genre tropes and production aesthetics inspired by music from this era gains instant respect - even a track such as Pharell's Blurred Lines, with it's controversial subject matter and Motown inspired beat earned a hugely popular radio spot.

This trend is one that I've found really interesting, and has inspired me to research further into, co-inciding well with my appointed coursework task of analysing 10 bibliographic sources. I've taken this opportunity to dig deeper, exploring this observation from a psychological, social and economical stance - ultimately concluding the idea of 'nostalgia' as the driving force behind the instant esteem of these records.

Locating sources for this task proved to be a bit of a challenge at first. Through trial and error of different keywords combinations using services such as Google Scholar and Athens, I was still not finding many texts which confronted the trend of older influences in the charts. At this point I decided to narrow my search down to the subject of nostalgia in music, which brought me to more texts, which addressed this idea from several stances at different levels of context and professionalism.

Bibliography

Trainor M. (2013) All About That Bass [CD]. Epic Records.

Williams P. (2014) IHappy [CD]. Back Lot Music Records/i Am Other Records/Capitol Records.

Mars B. (2014) Treasure [CD]. Atlantic Records.

Ronson M., Mars B. (2014) Uptown Funk [CD]. RCA Records.

Thicke R., Harris C. J., Williams P., Gaye M.,  (2013) Blurred Lines [CD]. Star Trak Records/Interscope Records.

The Potential of Social Media as a Freelance Musician.

The Potential of Social Media as a Freelance Musician.

Over the 10 years I have been learning to play the bass guitar, I have frequently used YouTube as a valuable educational resource. Where I began to develop as a freelance musician, I begun to see YouTube as a promotional resource and closely monitored the activities of other musicians who have achieved a successful reach through YouTube. Two examples are Miki Santamaria and Davie504. As their following grew, they both developed enormous influence in bass guitarist communities which is doubtlessly beneficial towards their reputation and integrity.

Since November 2014 I've been uploading YouTube videos of myself performing 'covers' and original tracks on the bass guitar. Around the same time I also organised a photo shoot and designed a logo in an effort to label myself as a kind of brand that helps me appeal as a 'product', which other artists and musical directors would want to work with. I'd seen a lot of musician job applications online which required footage of the applicant playing. By making these videos, I am able to show my appearance, ability and standard across a variety of genres. In addition, I also put together a portfolio showreel of videos uploaded by myself and other people in different environments and contexts, showing my versatility as a musician.

I aim to continue making videos where I have time, maintaining my quality improvement ethic. While my view count is not huge, I still find YouTube a valuable tool that crosses the the border between hobby and promotional device.

Bibliography

Santamaria, M. (2015) Miki Santamaria Bass Guitarist [Online] Available at: http://www.mikisantamaria.com/ [Accessed on 25/11/2015]

Davie 504 (2015) Davie504 Facebook Page [Online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/Davie504/ [Accessed on 25/11/2015]

My Links:
Facebook www.facebook.com/c.parkerbass
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPd3KlyW2mYzjgj6eloBWnA
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cparkerpark/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Cparkerpark

Designing an Effective Musician Portfolio

Designing an Effective Musician Portfolio

Back in February 2014 I made a portfolio of my bass playing credentials to share on my social media platforms as a promotional tool for anyone who looks through my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages. I also considered it important to have a portfolio ready in case any potential employer wants to see it, perhaps in a time sensitive case. A colleague recently got in touch with me about the manager of a function orchestral group he is in touch with, and asked me to send over a portfolio in the coming days. I decided this point is a good opportunity to update my portfolio.

Below is my original portfolio (Feb 2014)...

... and here is my updated portfolio (Nov 2015).

I imagine Musical Directors may look through a lot of potential application portfolios in a day, and I felt my previous portfolio to be too cluttered. I decided to simplify the information down into small chunks of text that describe myself and my credentials. I found it challenging locating relevant information on portfolio design in my context - I researched guides on musician portfolios, but found the information to be directed more towards those who are classically trained and attended music schools.

I found the greatest inspiration to be through other peoples portfolios, which is where I came across the QR code idea. I used an online service to create my QR code, which one can scan to take you to a showreel playlist of videos of my bass playing in different environments. I think this is a great idea, I imagine a person of interest would be more likely to view my work through this, as it is a little different from the norm. Most of my session bass work has been through word of mouth, but I believe it to be important to have an updated portfolio ready to send to persons of interest, as is commonplace in the industry.

The QR Code Link:

Chris Parker Bass Portfolio Showreel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5OMsnSfUUw&list=PL8joqBtMZjC6qHOwTOMO5FEHo6RxkgBvs