Tag: monstercat

Dancing Astronaut

Koven talks working with 100 fan-submitted vocal samples for ‘Voices’ [Q&A]

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At the end of July, UK duo Koven debuted their third Monstercat single of 2018, “Voices.”

“Voices” had been in the works for some time. In mid-May, Koven’s Katie Boyle popped up on Monstercat’s social media in a video, asking fans to submit vocal samples for a forthcoming song. She gave an example of the kind of material the duo was looking for, and the submission process began. Boyle and her Koven partner Max Rowat ended up with dozens of submissions and used them to create the intensely emotive track, which came out July 27.

We caught up with Boyle to hear about the process of creating “Voices” and what’s next for the duo in 2018.

Where did the idea come from to get the fans involved in the making of “Voices”?

I had noticed before that a few artists had done something similar, but their fans would send in samples they had created, and then the artist would make a track out of that, so I just thought, why couldn’t we do this with but people can send in their vocals. Instantly I thought, “but a lot of people might not have access to a microphone or recording equipment” but then I remembered back to recording my first single around 7 years ago, and the vocals were just recorded on a built in iMac microphone, and of course it didn’t sound amazing but I think it actually added something different to the track. Nobody noticed it. So as well as getting people involved in something they may of not thought they would/could do, it was also an interesting idea to see what would happen if people recorded on what they have available to them, whether it’s a mic/phone or a webcam.

How many vocal samples are featured in the track? What was the process like for working with them?

We had around 100ish vocal submissions. Firstly I spent some time going through each submitted track and just listening to it by itself, and then the idea was to just import them into a project and just press play and see what it sounded they all sounded like together without any editing. I remember feeling quite nervous before pressing play as I had no idea whether this would work or not, but thankfully everyone sounded amazing together. I didn’t want to do too much editing to them as I didn’t want just 60-70 auto-tuned vocals. I then just put them all through a reverb and imported into the main ‘Voices’ Project.

Are you interested in using more fan-submitted material in some capacity in the future?

Yes it was an awesome process and the feedback has been great. I’d be keen to try it again, but this time with lyrics.

What does “Voices” mean to you?

I think for us, the experience of making the track was really special as we were so overwhelmed with how many people wanted to get involved. There were those who sent us their vocals and those who contacted us to let us know they were too nervous or scared to submit but they really appreciated the opportunity all the same. So for us the track will always be a representation of the fans and how much everybody cared. It was very special for us to learn this.

What’s next for you in 2018?

We are super close to releasing our new ep ‘Reality Reach’, once that’s out we will be fully focused on our first album! We’ve got some great ideas already in the making for the album and we are so excited to get that finished up and released, it’s been along time coming, we can’t wait!

How do you see your sound evolving in the future?

We are just a few weeks away from releasing our next ep. I feel like we are at a really good place musically at the moment, where we feel confident with what we are making – which hasn’t always been the case. Every time we release a track and the feedback is positive it takes you forward a few steps with being able to try new things, as well as taking note of what has worked well in the past. We’ve got some great ideas already down for the next process which will be our first album.

This story was originally published at dancingastronaut.com. Read it in full on DA’s website here.

Other Freelance Work

Monstercat Blog July Feature: MYRNE & Grant

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After months of swirling rumours, speculation, and memes, MYRNE and Grant’s long-awaited “Fault” is finally here!

We’ve enjoyed seeing these two become fast friends, and were thrilled when they told us that a collab was on the horizon. The duo have delivered a feisty collaboration called “Fault” on Monstercat Uncaged, featuring the vocal talents of songstress McCall. The sheer complexity of this track stands out from the get-go: it’s layered with twinkling synths and sinister builds that are a perfect blend of the two artists’ styles.

“Fault” is many months in the making, starting when MYRNE came to the United States from his home country of Singapore for the first time in early 2017. The two producers got together at Grant’s dorm room at the University of Southern California, cramming into the tiny space to make music. Nearly a year later, MYRNE came back to the States for a few shows with KRANE, and he and Grant met up again.

“We rented out one of the USC recording studios for a couple hours, and that’s when work on ‘Fault’ really began,” Grant recalls.

It was a short session – only about three hours – before Grant had to go to class. But the two continued working on the song separately after MYRNE went back to Singapore.

“The time difference was pretty challenging, and we’re both perfectionists,” Grant says. “If we were to work on the same part [of a song] together, we’d have way too many ideas and too many tweaks.”

MYRNE worked heavily on the drops and builds for “Fault,” and Grant focused on many of the chord progressions.
“We didn’t reference anything for this song and didn’t have the end product in mind when we started working on it,” MYRNE says. “We were both just having fun trying out some crazy techniques.”

With a mutual respect of each others’ skill sets established, the song came together organically. They each found ways to put their own stamp on the other person’s section, leading to a four-minute venture showcasing Grant and MYRNE at their finest.

On Friday, July 20, both artists have performances at the Monstercat stage at Tomorrowland. But who gets to play the collab?

“MYRNE’s going to play it during his set, and I’m going to come out for that group moment,” Grant says.

The appreciation these two show for each other is immediately apparent, and they’re quick to acknowledge each others’ strong suits.

“I really respect the amount of musical talent Grant puts into his work,” MYRNE says. “It’s so evident in the studio.”

Grant echoes the sentiments back to his collaborator.

“He knows exactly what to layer and when,” he says of MYRNE. “All of his mixes sound so punchy, and he’s just a badass producer in general. This collaboration was two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together.”

This blog post was originally published at monstercat.com. Read it on their website here.

Dancing Astronaut

Dancing Astronaut proudly presents the 2017 label of the year

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Monstercat

Breaking barriers and pushing the dance music envelope since its inception in 2011, Canadian independent label Monstercat is Dancing Astronaut’s Label of the Year. For the past six years, Monstercat has paved the way for listeners to discover dozens of new artists, garnering a massive following along the way. Led by a boundary-pushing team, 2017 proved to be the label’s best year yet. They brought on more than a dozen new artists, including Modestep, Kill The Noise, Bassnectar, Ragga Twins, Dirtyphonics, Gammer, Kayzo, Lookas, Ookay, Fox Stevenson, Slander, Sullivan King, and Gareth Emery.

Monstercat started 2017 strong with the launch of a massive anti-bullying campaign in accordance with the release of Gareth Emery and Standerwick’s “Saving Light,” raising thousands of dollars for an anti-bullying foundation called Ditch The Label.

February brought the label’s first-ever platinum record recognition for marshmello’s 2016 release, “Alone,” which has garnered millions of streams across platforms to date.

As festival season approached, the Monstercat team ramped up their efforts for shows at Amsterdam Music Event, EDC Las Vegas, Tomorrowland, E3, PAX East and Miami Music Week.

In the midst of festival season, Monstercat announced a partnership with Rocket League that resulted in the label releasing an album for the video game. The 18-song compilation featured songs from Slushii, Notaker, Tristam, WRLD, and more, and was released in accordance with the game’s two-year anniversary.

They capped off a successful summer by opening their headquarter doors in Vancouver for a Monstercat Compound event. The street party served as an opportunity for the label to recognize the community that has supported them over the years with free performances by Robotaki, Conro, Going Quantum and Grant.

In November, the team continued their worldwide reach with multiple shows in China, including a residency at Asgard Nightclub in Beijing that featured performances by JOYRYDE, Delta Heavy, Pegboard Nerds and Lookas.

As 2017 draws to a close, recognition for the label is coming in from all sides of the music industry. SoundCloud recognized Unlike Pluto‘s “Everything Black” as their Top Electronic Track of 2017, and the track was also Monstercat’s most-streamed on Spotify, amassing more than 10 million streams on the platform. Two weeks ago, the label turned the power over to the fans and asked them to vote on their top Monstercat tracks of the year. After a short voting period, listeners selected label OGs Pegboard Nerds’ track “Heaven Let Us Down” as their favorite release of 2017.

As years go by and music trends shift faster than most can keep up with, the Canadian label proves time and time again that they have finger on the pulse of the next best thing in electronic and dance music. By exposing their listeners to an unimaginable range of music from some of the industry’s most talented innovators, the Monstercat team has established themselves as fearless trailblazers in an unpredictable industry.

To celebrate their incredible year, Monstercat called on Dan Scarcelli, Head of Programming for the label’s weekly Call of The Wild show, to whip up this vicious mix packed with some of their hottest releases to date. Appropriately, the mix serves as the 200th edition of our long-standing AXIS mix series.

This story was originally published at dancingastronaut.com. Read it in full, including runners-up, on DA’s website here.

Uncategorized

Top 50 Tracks of 2015

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Last year, I made a list of my favorite music moments of 2014: the EPs, the full-length albums, the songs. (You can find that here). This year, I started keeping track of my favorite songs of 2015 on the very first day of January. I refined it a bit as the year went on, but this is the final product.

My music tastes have shifted and morphed quite a bit in the past year, but my passion for electronic music in a variety of forms remains strong. In 2015, many of my favorite artists have branched out and tried new things. It’s been fun to see their growth as artists and see their fans (myself included) embrace music they otherwise wouldn’t have sought out.

Some of my favorite artists to watch this year have been Illenium, Didrick, Laetho, Said The Sky, Grabbitz, Lost Kings, marshmello, Fareoh, Pusher, Heavy Mellow, ATTLAS, Halogen, Summer Was Fun, Gryffin, Lenno, StéLouse, Young Bombs and Stephen. These guys have consistently put out absolute gold, and I look forward to each new release. 2016 is full of promise for them, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

I spent my concerts of 2015 with a pretty wide variety of people – as varied as my concert choices were (everything from A Skylit Drive to String Cheese Incident to Arty to Sublime with Rome). Shout-out to all of you for making the concerts even better. You know who you are.

2016 looks bright. While many people only see the bad in electronic music and the industry that surrounds it, there’s so much passion and innovation if you know where to look. Stay humble. Spread good vibes. Here’s to a great 2015 and an even greater 2016!

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