How I Did It
The Lightby garryknight
Tools I Used
Created with Studio One DAW using mostly Dune synth for the pads and instrument sounds and Sonic Academy's Kick 2 plus a few extra samples here and there.
Samples I Used
All of the samples are royalty-free and either from packs that came free with Computer Music magazine or are from Samplephonics.
If anyone wants the stems for remixing purposes, email me at garryknight@gmail.com
Process
I listened to Emily's vocals on their own and two similar chord sequences suggested themselves immediately, one for the verses and one for the choruses. I laid down the kick then the pads and a bass and made sure they worked with the vocal layers. I added in the backing vocals and used Melodyne to retune a few notes to fit the new chords, then went back and added a couple more bass sounds, extra pads, and some plucks to fill out the main sound.
Once the structure was there, adding in a short break and a longer instrumental break, I added in some vocal chops to give it a more modern sound; I was going for EDM/Pop rather than a trance or house sound. I also added a generous sprinkling of bell sounds and some sfx reminiscent of ice and wind as I wanted to really ground the song in winter and Christmas.
The composition part was done very quickly as I had excellent material to work with, but I spent weeks mixing, listening, remixing, and relistening to make sure I got the balance right as Emily's beautiful voice is the heart and soul of the piece.
Other Notes
Previously, I never ever thought that one day I'd work on what is, essentially, a Christmas song. But now it's done I feel privileged to have been able to present Emily's wonderful poetry in a different light.
This site uses