Planning Side Projects Already??

Well, it's only been the second week and I'm VERY surprised to say I've got 3 new side projects briefly planned. They are all different in how I'm going to work with audio but all these projects sound fun as hell and I'm keen to work on the foundations to get these projects started! (I am both scared and excited).

How am I going to cope with 3 side projects alongside working on a main project?

...

I have no idea.

But the one thing that is pushing me to pursue in these projects is that they all sound like fun projects to work on and I know they'll keep my creative juices flowing because it's what I want to do. This sort of "push" helps me be productive and get stuff done, which is what I need. I also get to work with great people in these side projects who I've learnt a lot from (and will continue to learn from) and I just know it'll be an enjoyable and creative experience.

Anyway, here are the side projects are in detail.

SIDE PROJECT 1: CREATING A SMALL EP INSPIRED BY THE "BRAINFEEDER" SOUND

So throughout this course, I met a student in my class who has similar music taste to me and we are big fans of the Brainfeeder label and the productions that come out of it. Brainfeeder is an independent label owned by Flying Lotus A.K.A Steven Ellison (CMU Editorial, 2010), and artists signed on that label include Thundercat, TOKiMONSTA, Taylor McFerrin , and many other artists.

I find the music produced out of this label to be experimental crossed with electronic and hip hop music elements. The project will be to closely study the "Brainfeeder sound" to understand what makes a Brainfeeder track, to then produce a small EP, inspired by the label. It'll be a great chance for me to start producing music seriously and to actually finish songs as I habitually record small loops and never work on them again. I'm also keen to work on this project with another person as we'd motivate each other and learn things from one another, and this is where new ideas will develop. We haven't really gone through a proper plan yet, as we both have our main projects to focus on at the moment, but I'm excited to start this project soon!

SIDE PROJECT 2: RECORD & MIX A BAND AND FILM ENTIRE PROCESS

I've always wanted to get my friend's band, Guava Lava, in the studio to record as it'd be good to have on my portfolio and it'd be useful to experience recording and mixing with the punk genre: a genre I'm not familiar with mixing nor recording. In a conversation with some friends discussing side projects we'd hope to work on, I talked about how I wanted to record and mix a friend's band. A friend then talked about how he was interested in recording a band and to also film the process, kind of like as a series, but all he needed was a band. I said I'll be happy to work with him and he told me he discussed this plan with some other film students to help him film the process so this project will also involve cross-disciplinary work, which is great! I'm glad that I'll be working with this particular friend as he has far more experience in recording and mixing than I do, and I've always wanted to learn the different techniques to get the best quality recording, so this will be a huge learning experience for me. I've met one of the film students from previous classes and I'm keen to see what he brings to the table as well.

With the filming side of the project, my friend wanted to record the project to explain to the audience our process with recording and mixing. This would be a great idea as I can see this to be a great source to many beginner sound engineers wanting to record and mix a band.

Like the other side project, we haven't gone into details into the planning for this project but, I'm glad that I can finally bring Guava Lava in, and soon spend a lot of time in the studios (especially in the big boy Neve), learning new techniques of recording/mixing.

SIDE PROJECT 3: MANSPLAINING AUDIO PODCAST

This side project idea was birthed during a conversation between 3 of my friends at the canteen while eating Peckish Crackers and hummus on a Wednesday arvo. I don't remember the particular topics that were discussed during our conversation but we somehow ended up talking about podcasts and how it'd be funny to create one as a side project; where we all just talked about anything audio related. This is the only side project where we are currently making some progress on, as it's easier project to work on as we're only working with recordings and just basically having a chat amongst ourselves. Our first recording session is net Wednesday and I actually can't wait as I know they'd be a lot of laughs as well as a lot of things to learn from each other's opinions. I'm not really good with discussions as I never have the right words to say and I normally listen more than I speak so a few notes on the side will be handy for me. But besides that, I'm eager to get these podcasts going!

Now that I look at it, I'm starting to realise that these side projects are going to take A LOT of work, time, and organisation to be able to complete these projects successfully. Combine these with being the worst procrastinator in Brisbane, I really hope I don't die by the end of this.

God help me.

References

CMU Editorial, (2010). Brainfeeder partner with Ninja Tune. Retrieved from http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/brainfeeder-partner-with-ninja-tune/

Hyperlinks

Brainfeeder Website: http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/brainfeeder-partner-with-ninja-tune/

Guava Lava SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/uavaava

Peckish Crackers: https://shop.coles.com.au/a/a-national/product/peckish-rice-crackers-original