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Songwriters and Producers - 3 step program

teru
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permalink   Mon, Apr 2, 2007 @ 4:01 PM
I was thinking. While the contest is on it would be a good time to try something new. Here’s my idea:

1.Team into pairs of Producer & Songwriter. It would be good chance to get to know each other. e.g. I email Tacet.

teru- “Hey Tacet want to make song?”
tacet-“you’re nuts”
teru-“please”
tacet-“OK”

2.Make a new track together by the end of the month.

3.Release a ccMixter collaboration album full of great new music.

I also think it would be great if everyone involved could proof-listen to each other before releasing.

Just an idea. What do you think? Please reply. : )
ASHWAN
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 11:01 AM
count me in…sound interesting. I may be able to talk curious, ronan tyrell and/or john van buren into submitting something too.
 
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permalink   Project 1 Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 11:33 AM
Thanks Ash. That is awesome to the infinite degree. : )
teru
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permalink   Mon, Apr 2, 2007 @ 6:53 PM
OK. I put a little more thought into this. I’m going to list some ideas here. Once things get settled we’ll start up a new thread.

Idea#1 - I’m thinking of setting up a common account. Something like “Project_M”. That way everybody involved can upload and “unpublish” in order to bump ideas back and forth without files being viewed publicly. Then on the release date all songs would be published all at once.

Idea#2 - I’d like to see this as a full-on sharing project. With the song, samples, pellas and “How I did it” all on one file.

Everybody is invited. Don’t be shy.
I just see this as an opportunity to try something new. I’m making this up on-the-fly. So feedback and ideas are appreciated. Let’s do this together. : )

*Here is the proposed common account profile.
Luke Tripp
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permalink   Mon, Apr 2, 2007 @ 9:41 PM
This is similar to what the folks at Growtree are doing, except they’re using just one sound and it’s more for practice and honing their skills in processing. It’s insane what those guys are coming up with, out of one sound.

I like the idea, even if I don’t end up participating, I’d still love to hear the results.
 
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permalink   Project 1 Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 11:52 AM
Thanks for the tip Luke. Still hoping you’ll participate. : )
narva9
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 11:54 AM
Narva9 is in too. : )
cdk
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 12:13 PM
original colaboration, done that! lol, but i’ll do it again, just keep in mind, some people that say they are up for a colab, aren’t usually sure how to go about it, and soon enough, you never hear from them again!! and also, some people like to take time for a mix
so this could be a very loooong project, (remember mega colab)

anyway.. yeah i’m up for it, but i need more details

who mixes with who?
 
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permalink   Project 1 Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 12:23 PM
Well… you’re actually my go to guy for this sort of project. lol.

You’ve done lots of collabs with some awesome results so I’ll be emailing you for help along the way no doubt.

The first task is to round up as many people as I can. The selection process of who mixes who, I would like to leave in the hands of participants as much as possible. But of course we have to know who is interested first. : )
 
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permalink   cdk Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 12:58 PM
of course, i can bring a little attention to this if you like!!
 
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permalink   ASHWAN Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 1:15 PM
Quote: Project 1 The selection process of who mixes who, I would like to leave in the hands of participants as much as possible. But of course we have to know who is interested first. : )
i think it would be useful to have artists state what they would like their role to be, for clarity, in the process of this. ie. either producer or songwriter (ok, lets not get bogged down in semantics here).
then just bring the two groups together. this could be random pairing or a choice thing. random would be more interesting as a one off project as far as I am concerned, but will go with the flow.
 
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permalink   cdk Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 1:38 PM
thats what i am talking about, most of us are “producers” and “writers” if you are talking about lyrics and songs, there aren’t many singers/rappers on mixter. and style is also a big thing for some people… you got a true ambience fan mixing with a rapper (which dosen’t sound bad)
but there may be a style clash..
but i as well will go with the flow! i love a challenge..
 
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permalink   tacet Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 5:50 PM
If we make it so each person has specialisms, there shouldn’t be a problem with singers and wrappers….urm rappers ;) ..contributing to one/all projects in some way. Lyrics, ideas, vocals. etc.

There’s a number of great writers on here, Gurdonark, the Narva9 folks, randomdots, cgirl, Colin Mutchler, the girl who did the cool Japanese vocals….. how many would you like?

Same for singers. They’re here, they just need to be asked or encouraged.

;)
 
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permalink   cdk Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 1:40 PM
ps. whats up ash… lol.
victor
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 2:22 PM
you know, if you guys can give me a week (or maybe a little more) I can throw together some code that makes this process a lot easier to deal with, I’ll treat this thread like a spec proposal so pile on the feature here and I’ll do whatever is easiest, er, makes most sense.
tacet
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 5:12 PM
I have a lot to say about this, and I got here late in the evening so I’ll post some stuff tomorrow.

In the meantime some quick thoughts :

1) in most of the stages of this process we will require a “pool”

A text/lyrics pool or wiki
A sample/sound/fx pool
A MIDI/music scratch pool

2) I personally would like to see teams, with a couple of team leaders and infinite contributors.

3) No demands and no restrictions, do what you like when you like but maybe pick a theme as CDK suggests.

4) Attribution at all times must be collated for all who contribute.

5) Specialist contributors - lets do some searching and emailing, lets find the people we need….they’re all already here!

6) Lets set a realistic time scale for each of the stages to allow Victor to do what’s needed.

Victor, why not setup a wiki for the lyrics? It’d be a quick and easy starting point.

7) Lets have a plan for promotion. Victor, we may have to demand half the space on the home page ;)

Lets promote the community project as much as possible. We need youtubers using the music, lets get it on Bebo, myspace etc.

Lets wear the t-shirt and get those moo cards I mentioned in the OT thread ;)

8) We need to therefore make SURE there are no licensing issues.

This is a cool idea, thanks teru ;)
 
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permalink   J.Lang Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 6:32 PM
Count me in, Just tell me what you need and point me in the right direction. I’m sure i can talk Geoff into helping out with a track. I don’t consider myself a writer but would love to do whatever i can do to help out. I’m looking forward to working with any and everyone.
 
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permalink   Project 1 Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 7:49 PM
Cool. Thanks J.
 
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permalink   J.Lang Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 8:19 PM
Geoff is down….let us know what you need.
Ran Dumb Dots...... .. .
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 7:29 PM
I saw the post on the blog, and posted this idea (didn’t know about this thread).
Project 1
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 7:51 PM
Keep it coming. It’s looking good.
shockshadow
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 8:27 PM
This is a cool idea. A CCMixter compilation album with each song being the creation of a seperate 2-man team. Very cool. If I can get my system back up and running in time, count me in.
:)
 
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permalink   Project 1 Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 10:33 PM
Nice. I hope you get your system up too. :)
plurgid
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permalink   Tue, Apr 3, 2007 @ 11:28 PM
Yeah, I’m definitely interested.
One thing, make sure the time period we’re talking about here is fairly long.

Like cdk said, lots of us work at different paces. For instance, usually I work pretty slow, compared to some people who seemingly turn out gold overnight ;-)
 
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permalink   teru Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 12:59 AM
OK. Well according to a recent scientific study. It takes the average person 8-10 hrs to remix. (or in CDK’s case 12 minutes).

So let’s see… 8 multiplied by the atomic weight of gold, divide by 12, carry the 1….hmmm…. = 1 month. Yeah 1 month.

Which makes the release date sometime in May. Just in time for summer. How does that sound? (really, I’m asking, not joking)

Glad you can join us. : )
 
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permalink   cdk Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 12:49 PM
lol, a month sounds good, but when, cause this month is raining “requesets” for me!! lol.
but a month should be good.

12 minutes?? lol.
DJ BLUE
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 12:51 AM
Very cool idea. I’m down.

-Like the idea of a theme or style to give each collaboration some focus and direction.

-Pairing people up could be tricky. Random selection could be interesting.

-Deadlines may help move the work along.

Looking forward to hearing more. Thanks for throwing the idea out there, Teru!
oldDog
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 4:45 AM
I’d be up for this, though I agree it could be difficult to sort out who does what…

I can write (music, not lyrics), arrange, mix a bit, can’t sing to save my life.
Budapest BluesBoy
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 5:40 AM
I’m ready for the collab
tacet
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 5:55 PM
Just a quick note because it’s quite late (I’m BST) :)

How about we think a little beyond the idea of A will team up with B and make a song? If that’s all we’re doing then we’ve all been there and done that already, as CDK said.

However, if A & B are merely “team leaders” then EVERYONE can contribute until ideas deadline. At which point the producer takes over (teru for instance - Mr B) and pulls everything together with agreement from me (Mr A).

Think more of the wikipedia model where multiple people can contribute to an article, over time it grows until finally someone says “enough” and rationalises it.

This means talented folks who don’t fit the hat size of lyricist, singer or producer can still contribute in a big way to one or all of the projects. So it shouldn’t matter that we have a number of contributors, the more the merrier! Nobody excluded, anyone can contribute …and maybe we don’t really have to pair up in the writer+producer rigid form.

Maybe one track can be instrumental and the work of three producers? Who knows….

To begin with we need a theme idea for this CD/project. Then the writing team can set about the writing process. We already have some great writers interested. All can contribute to one or all of the songs.

Meantime the producers and composers can throw around some ideas for tunes, sound effects etc.

A “future” theme is an obvious one, or maybe we work on the (c) issue theme, or a combination of the two.

The skill of the writers will result in interesting takes, it doesn’t need to be boring or preachy but it can be atmospheric and dark….

Any thoughts folks?

I’m thinking a wiki for the lyrics, if Victor can’t provide something like that I’ll set it up myself and we’ll see how it goes….money where my mouth is ;)

Exciting eh? :D
 
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permalink   shockshadow Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 9:34 PM
I like the ‘future’ theme. This leaves the creativity plug open to interpretation. Some people envision a utopian future, others a dystopian future. Either way, this could turn out to be a real trip.
I don’t think it should require singing though. Even though there is a great deal of vocal and lyrical talent here, some producers/composers simply feel more comfortable working with instrumentals alone. I think the singers/lyricists should team up with each other, and submit accapella’s in duets, as material to be used by the 2-man producer/composer teams.
Here’s an idea for randomly pairing up the producer/composer teams:
1. Victor comes up with a random number.
2. Each of the producer/composer participants emails a number of their choosing to Victor.
3. The two participants that guess closest to the originally selected number are paired up first, then the next closest two, and so on.

Same can be done with the singers/lyricists.
:)
 
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permalink   tacet Thu, Apr 5, 2007 @ 3:13 AM
I think the “theme” should just be a wide brush three paragraph concept. Like Future Dystopia for instance (or what about a Dystopia/Utopia double CD? wow - that’d be cool!), but with a number of workable sub-themes like “the language barrier”, “information rich/poor”, even things like “net neutrality”.

Tracks/songs don’t all have to be vocal, which is why I was uneasy about the vocalist+producer formula. We won’t make you sing mate ;)

However, I’d imagine the bulk of the tracks/songs to be structured and vocal to carry the theme, though I’m not pushing for that. If folks don’t want a vocal track then they just start an instrumental, easy :)

I think we should fuss less over this pairing issue, I don’t think it’ll matter that much in the end.
KCentric
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 9:57 AM
I knew this would happen one day, but I just didn’t know when (using my best Mr. Miyagi voice)

Count me in mixters!!!!

Contribution:

(Rap, Spoken Word, Lyrics, Production, etc.
)

-k
 
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permalink   cdk Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 12:51 PM
i wanna work with kc again!!!
can I? can I? lol.
calendargirl
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 9:58 AM
i love it. choosing a theme for the project or each song is a nice way in and having everybody with the same time restriction gives the whole project a story. has anyone been listening to sir bob dylan’s theme time radio hour?
 
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permalink   teru Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 2:46 PM
“has anyone been listening to sir bob dylan’s theme time radio hour?”

Read about it. Haven’t heard it. I love this one. : )
Project 1
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 11:21 AM
Wow it’s really looking good!!!
Remember everyone is invited but the production side is filling up quick!!! So don’t delay.

Let’s see, so far:

People

Narva9
G.Wills
Calendar Girl
Tacet
KCentric*


Ashwan
CDK
J. Lang
Shockshadow
Plurgrid
DJ Blue
OldDog
Hepepe
Etherdust
Tomas Phusion
_ghost
Dr. Concoction
KCentric*
teru


Questions to be answered.

How do we pair up?
What is the timeline?
What is the theme?

Judging from the list above, there a are more people on the production end of things. Hopefully we’ll get some more singers/ rappers to volunteer. But the fact of the matter is remixers visit the site more regularly, looking for stuff to remix. Singers and rappers visit when they get notified when they’re remixed. So we might have to start emailing. I may ask for your help. For now we’ll just wait and see.
 
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permalink   J.Lang Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 12:52 PM
I have a friend ( not very close) that sings and i’m trying to reach her to see if she would be up to do something like this. She has a great voice. Check her out at myspace.com/dawntallman. Or you can hear some of her stuff on iTunes under the name Dawn Tallman. I think we should ask Songboy, Lisa D, MsVybe, Tru-Ski, Jeremy Carr and anyone else who has ever been on this site. No harm in asking.
Project 1
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 11:37 AM
Victor - the idea I have is to upload to the common profile.

This way if we “unpublish” we can upload and listen to each other before going public. Is this cool? Can you think of another way? Is there a way to cross profiles so participants can log-in with their existing accounts to the common profile? Is there a way to set up email notifications on the common profile to multiple people?

I know you’ll need time. If you can’t I’m sure we can work around it.

Oh and could we coax you into singing? ; )
oldDog
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 1:06 PM
I don’t want to shock anyone - but what about THREESOMES?? - could it help with the imbalance of songwriters/producers if some people (me for instance) would like to offer, say, some accompanying parts, but would be happy not to take on the whole of the mix if there weren’t enough songs to “go round”?
I suppose co-producing is what I’m suggesting.
 
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permalink   Project 1 Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 1:37 PM
: )

One option off the top of my head is to pair you up with KCentric or Tacet. Again we’ll wait and see what our numbers look like before splitting up.
Tomas PhUsIoN
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 1:11 PM
wow this is great im in if thats cool.once the message gets across to the singers im sure you will have more vocalists/song writers.good luck everyone.
_ghost
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 1:47 PM
It would be cool to join this crossmixter project…
Project 1
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permalink   Wed, Apr 4, 2007 @ 8:58 PM
How cool is this? I’m loving the response.

Many of you are emailing people to spread the word. Thank you, you’re so awesome.

I’d like to leave it open for a couple more days. At which point, I think we should start a new thread to discuss things like the timeline, theme and of course how we’ll split up (or not). Just to make it a bit more organized. This thread is getting kind of crazy (good).

I’d really appreciate your input at that time. I hope that sounds reasonable. : )

Or should we start one now and keep things rolling?
 
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permalink   tacet Thu, Apr 5, 2007 @ 4:22 AM
Would be cool if Victor could give us a “community projects” topic to thread from.

Lets just keep talking anyway, we can boil it all down later into a summary in the new topic, and Victor can just clear this slate :)
Project 1
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permalink   Thu, Apr 5, 2007 @ 1:54 PM
Please continue here.
Sawtooth
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permalink   Fri, Apr 27, 2007 @ 2:24 PM
I’d love to do it, but I’m still hazy on the details.