Process Journal 4.5

Nov 27, 2024

4 min read

I took about 2 weeks off of working on my DIY project to make make room for equally very important things: Avant's Hell Night and Arcane season 2. Even though I was away from the digital keyboard, I was always thinking about how I would use my leftover time. I had satisfied all of my goals and then some, so quite honestly, I wasn't in a hurry to return to GarageBand while I had finals looming. Nevertheless, I didn't want the opportunity to pass me by, and I'd be kicking myself if I didn't attempt a 5th song.

Instead of doing a full-fledged song (as if I've actually made one of those), I instead became inspired by my dear friend and fellow Avanteer, Steven Flickinger. Since he's working on a song for his DIY project, specifically a jingle, I wanted to take a stab at one myself. We'd been joking that whatever he came up with we'd use for the new intro to our podcast that we run out of Avant, "All Killer, No Filler." I'm looking forward to whatever he makes, but in the meantime, I got cracking on what I think would be a good replacement for the pod's current intro.

I procured the intro from a royalty free music site last Spring, and for the life of me, I cannot recall where. "Titanium" is the track's name, and its a perfectly serviceable song. The name is apt since it rides the line between bright and cold. It serves as both the intro and outro track for each episode of the podcast, and despite using it for all 10 episodes (even more if you count all the recordings we've tragically lost), I'm not that beholden to it.

Finding a practical purpose for all of this music-making was never on the docket, so this was an interesting opportunity to make a track that wasn't for my own niche, artist purposes. Now that the Resonance Hotel project was complete, I found it liberating to pursue sounds that didn't rely on being dark or glitchy. I could go full synth pop without irony. Between now and my last process journal, I have since fallen hopelessly in love with Imogen Heap's discography, specifically her 2005 album "Speak For Yourself." Initially, I wanted to create something that sounded like "Headlock," one of my favorites off the album, after showing some friends my Res Hotel tracks, they said that they were similar to video games music, so I leaned into that here.

The sound of the main theme for the game Balatro served as a inspiration for the lead synth melody. "All Killer, No Filler" is a fun show based in lighthearted discussion, so leaning into a bright, funky vibe felt the right way to go. I once agin attempted to conquer the drums, this time by emulating, by ear, the drums to Imogen Heap's "Have You Got It In You?" and failing horribly. I came upon Imogen Heap after I had finished the Res Hotel, which is a shame, since I think my favorite tracks of hers could have served as wonderful inspirations for the sound of the project, as they too incorporate the elements of industrial and electronic that I love to work with. Since the drums fell through, I once again relied on loops, but this time, I made sure to put my won spin on them by adding original elements to emphasize the sounds that stuck out to me.

The creation of the jingle was quick one since I prioritized a simple, easy to recognize loop. Even though I made the song semi-complete, but only a portion of it will actually appear in episodes. I re-used the chord progression in "Club Luna," (which is also "Never Gonna Give You Up'") firstly because its easy for me to play, and secondly, it sounds amazing. Its crack for the ears. I'm happy with it how it is, but since this is intended to be a collaboration of sorts with Steven later down the road, I accept that its in a state of limbo in terms of completeness. Regardless, I'm satisfied with how it sounds and might consider it the real bonus track of the Resonance Hotel EP if I can find a decent way to contextualize it within the narrative confines of that project, although I don't really see a way.

Links to Tutorials: Updated