Mahna Mahna/Tequila

Two tracks are in the process of being made. These songs are of course, "Mahna Mahna," and "Tequila." First I'll talk about "Mahna Mahna." I chose to include this song because of the fun, bright, happy feeling it has. It's a very simple tune, yet it's irresistably catchy. You can't help but tap your toes and hum along to the melody. The vocals are done by two special guests, who call themselves Sawyer Scout, and Herbert. The vocals have all been recorded, and now the music just has to be completed. While recording the vocals for this track, I found that the biggest challenge was timing. We recorded using a few different methods. Herbert tried singing along with the original video from the Muppets, Sawyer and Herbert tried singing themselves without the music, and they also tried singing with me on the piano. It's difficult to say which method worked the best, because each one had its own advantages and disadvantages. But I personally think that it was best with Sawyer and Herbert singing by themselves, just with the drum machine. The recording was the easy bit though. This track is going to require massive editing. It's going to take lots of time and effort to put this all together, but it's going to be worth it. I'm very excited to hear the final result.

The second track that has started production today is "Tequila." I chose this song because it's very upbeat and bouncy. My special guest, Herbert, does the vocals. Now the only word spoken in the entire song is "Tequila," but I wrote some lines that will be said while the music is playing. Herbert will motivate you to get up and dance throughout the song. It's going to be a lot of fun. There's a lot you can do with a song like this. It's easy to improvise on because it's so simple. Hopefully I can duplicate the energy that the original song had, while adding more to it. I'm very excited about this one. I've started recording the music to this song, and again, I've learned that timing is the most important thing with music. I've had to record parts over and over again until the timing was precise. It can be frustrating, and it requires lots of patience. I find it most effective to take little breaks every 20 minutes, just to get a chance to relax and think things through. I find once you return to hard work with a fresh mind, it's much easier to concentrate. I've never recorded with a singer before, so this was very new. Really, it was just like recording any other instrument. It was a new experience, and it was exciting. I'm also learning more about the audio editing program, Audacity. I'm getting better at aligning tracks, and removing white noise, which are two very important things.

I'm going to be working on "Tequila," alongside, "Mahna Mahna," for the next little bit. My goal is to complete these songs before the middle of November at the latest. Herbert will return to provide vocals for two more songs on "The Gramollie Experience." Everything is going very well so far. A special thank you to Herbert, and Sawyer Scout for all the hard work that was put into today's recording session.

NJ

Mustard in the Wind

Hello. I'm going to give a better explanation as to what my project is. I'm creating an album titled 'The Gramollie Experience,' that contains a variety of electronic music. Now when I say electronic music, I don't mean modern electronic music like dubstep. I mean old fashioned electronic music. My inspiration is Robert Moog. Robert Moog is a pioneer of electronic music. He created the Moog synthesizer. There are many variations of the Moog synthesizer. Throughout the 60s and 70s, and even in recent times, countless artists have used the Moog. For example, The Beatles used it for a few songs on Abbey Road including Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Because, and Here Comes the Sun. Many artists have also used the synthesizer to make instrumental electronic covers of popular songs. Claude Denjean, Hot Butter, Gershon Kingsley, and Marty Gold are a few of my favourite people who've used it. I personally don't own a Moog synthesizer, due to the high cost, but I do have a Yamaha MOX 8, which works quite well. You can create some pretty cool sounds on that thing, and you can alter the sound further on the computer. I''m using a free sound editing program called Audacity. My goal is to make the tracks on this album in the style of how synthesizers sounded during the 60s and 70s. Hopefully, when this project is at its end, the tracks on this album will sound somewhat "Moogish."

I am nearing the completion of one of the tracks called "Mustard in the Wind." This isn't a cover, it's a song of my own. A lot of people wouldn't think of it as a song though. This is avant-garde music, meaning that it is very different and experimental. It doesnt have just one straight melody, and it goes on for about five minutes. "Mustard in the Wind" is a collage of sound. To get its full effect, you have to close your eyes, and let it take you places. Just like how classical music tells a story. "Mustard in the Wind" isn't about anything in particular. There are many different ways you can interpret it. While making this track, I learned more about the emotions in music. All music has some sort of feeling behind it, and sometimes, when you're making a song, it can be a challenge to give it the feeling you want. The feeling behind this track is confusion, being helpless with no choice to turn back. It's almost like a rollercoaster ride, you're strapped in your seat and you can't get out once the ride has started. "Mustard in the Wind" can take you anywhere. You could be stuck on a boat in the middle of a raging storm, you could be in a state of unconcsiousness after being involved in a bad accident, or it could even be interpreted as what happens to you after death. I'm not 100% sure if people would enjoy this, only because they may not be used to this kind of thing, and they may not understand. The purpose of this track is to make people use their imaginations. You'll only get anything out of it if you put yourself into the music. 

This project is going very well so far. I've been learning more about my synthesizer and what it can do, as well as learning more about editing on Audacity. So far, everything is smooth sailing. I look forward to see what the outcome of my project will be like.

NJ