SHR4C004M-003 Song Prod. & Write Up Template
Task 1: Three Minute Song Production (70%)
Task 2: 1000 Word Write-Up (30%)
Commercial Potential
All songs referenced can be found linked at the bottom of the page.
This track was greatly inspired by the recent rise of grunge influenced alternative rock bands in the UK touring scene. These include the likes of Wunderhorse, Fontaines D.C., Keo and Been Stellar, whose numbers are rapidly growing both on streaming and in ticket sales. Fontaines D.C. have played the main stage at Reading & Leeds Festival twice in the last three years, as well as Glastonbury Park Stage in 2024, while Wunderhorse have been playing consistently sold out tours around the the U.K. and North America since 2020. Their growth has been unprecedented, moving from playing to crowds of 200 in Lexington in 2022 to headlining Alexandra Palace in 2024 with an audience of 5,000. Additionally, Keo have received over 360,000 Spotify streams on their debut single since its release just three months ago.
The demand for guitar driven alternative and indie rock music with festival-ready hooks is at a peak, something I emulated with the simple repetitive structure that builds throughout the track, and the “crazy” refrain at the end. It has a clear journey and climax point that suits the energetic versatility needed for large scale gigs at festivals, arenas or stadiums. The success of this genre of repetitive, gradually building rock music with an anthemic outro is epitomised in the music of Sam Fender. He went from indie sensation to global star with his track ‘Seventeen Going Under’, the wordless hook becoming a staple of audience participation at his performances. The track is currently sitting at 275 million streams on Spotify alone, and has been performed in front of 52,00 people in St James’ Park (with Wunderhorse as support). It was also the highlight of his Glastonbury show on the Pyramid stage in 2022. I aimed to create a similar structure through repetition of a single chord pattern with a story gradually forming throughout as more textures are added. There is also lyrical commercial appeal: the track reflects the devastating consequences of being in a relationship with an unstable person, expressing an angst that has historically appealed to young people needing a voice – the basis of grunge music’s beginnings.
Creation Process
Initially, I made a demo using MIDI drums and entirely DI instruments to capture the essence of the track and provide the drummer with contextual information during recording. We spent four hours in the studio discussing the feel of the track and trying different fills and grooves until we had captured a take that fit the essence of the song and matched my inspirations. Despite opting for a live room sound with the guitars, I wanted the drums to sound huge and stadium-ready; for mics I set up a kick, snare, two overheads, hi hat, each individual tom and the room (we recorded in 113). I then applied a 3sec hall reverb to a bus and used sends to place each element of the kit in the space. This sonic choice was informed by tracks such as ‘That Sound’ – Sam Fender, ‘My Hero’ – Foo Fighters and ‘Alive’ – Pearl Jam. For additional texture I added a tambourine with a harsh high pass EQ and a long shimmering reverb that highlights certain beats. I took inspiration from Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Bug’ and The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Just Like Honey’, which both use a bright tambourine with reverb to cut through the muddier textures.
In terms of guitars, I was greatly inspired by the sound of Wunderhorse’s second album ‘Midas’, especially the title track and ‘Rain’. The overdriven feel of a live amp in a real space is essential to the rough charm of this genre, which I created by running my Stratocaster through a Joyo Vintage Overdrive pedal and a small room reverb. I panned it left to help create the feel of a live band room. I then added a lead guitar doubling the chords in a higher inversion to thicken the sound, and panned it to the right. It has a HI-Drive Treble Boost digital pedal on it to match the feel of the other guitar without using the exact same tones and losing clarity. I also added a touch of stereo delay synced to the project tempo to create a sense of space. This lead guitar also takes two solos, at which point I automated a shift from right to centre and a slight volume increase to allow it to be the main focus. I also increased the wet signal on the stereo delay as it reached the final solo to add to the wall of sound.
I used a similar technique for the vocals, as they feature a 1/4 note delay with low feedback and a hall reverb throughout the majority of the song, both of which are increased in the bridge at the climactic question “what was I supposed to do?”. They are then completely removed for the following lines as the texture drops to just one exposed and vocals before building back up again. It helps draw attention to the vulnerability of the moment in an otherwise loud and busy song. The main vocal track has a touch of distortion (to emphasise the loud garage rock approach) and is closely doubled tracked with an alternate highly compressed take mixed much lower ( a trick used in many Foo Fighters tracks). This helps it remain present and sharp in the full mix. I also scattered harmonies onto specific words and phrases at various points, such as the major third at “don’t come back” at 1:40. Fuller harmonies can be heard layering a major triad shape after each chord turnaround, with the third and fifth panned hard left and right over the main central vocal. I added heavy chorus and very wet, low cut reverb to make them sound ethereal and spacey rather than two more voices in the track.
Sampling
I used two third party samples in this track:
Within the sampler I manipulated the samples to match their original notes on MIDI and then selected them to loop a specific section in reverse. This allowed me to play them as sustained chords over my outro guitar chords. The inspiration for the Motown vocal (which I repurposed into more of a gospel choir) was mostly from Primal Scream’s album 1991 ‘Screamadelica’ where large female gospel choirs back up a single thinner male vocal. For the saxophone, I created a melody line in both of the guitar solo sections. Once I had added reverb and a small delay, the choir became more of a textural feature to fill the sound and create a rich atmosphere over the outro section. I also added some trumpet lines using logics resampled MIDI trumpets.
1098 Words
Songs Referenced
| Name | Artist | Year |
| I Lied, Amber | Keo | 2025 |
| Seventeen Going Under | Sam Fender | 2021 |
| That Sound | Sam Fender | 2019 |
| My Hero | Foo Fighters | 1997 |
| Alive | Pearl Jam | 1991 |
| Bug | Fontaines D.C. | 2024 |
| Just Like Honey | Jesus and Mary Chain | 1985 |
| Midas | Wunderhorse | 2024 |
| Rain | Wunderhorse | 2024 |
| Songs from Screamedelica e.g. Loaded | Primal Scream | 1991 |
https://manabouttown.tv/blogs/words-and-images/wunderhorse-interview
