Task 1: Three Minute Song Production (70%)
Task 2: 1000 Word Write-Up (30%)
Recording Methods and Process:
For my track, it was particularly important to me to explore the emotional experience of someone going through a breakup, more specifically, someone going from being trapped in a toxic relationship, to discovering unhealthy independence through isolation and solitude. As a result, I prioritized emotional authenticity over musical perfection when recording, and used many different unconventional recording techniques, sounds, as well as deliberate imperfection when singing and playing my instruments to emphasize this.
This way of recording was inspired by recording techniques used by Liam McCay, who under many different aliases, records his songs through unique means, using raw, unedited and unprofessional vocal styles with minimal production techniques to convey his strong emotions. Specifically, songs such as ‘Bleed’ and ‘Turn Around’, from his alias, ‘Dead Calm” use numerous vocal layers of the same melody, sung many times in different ways, giving a distinctive emotional texture to his vocal performances.
Because of this, I made the decision to consciously embrace certain mistakes that worked within the context of my track, for example, the metronome which can be subtly heard at the beginning. While this is a feature that could easily have been cut out, I chose to keep it, as I think it accentuates the tracks homemade aesthetic, and allows the listener to feel present within the recording environment. This way of music creation relates with how contemporary music producers resonate with people, often because they put their own personality and unique choices into their work, instead of following a strict list of what can and cannot be done when recording. As a result, this helps many producers find commercial success within both their own music, and whoever they record. (JoeySturgisTones, 2021)
The instrumentation of my track took many forms, and as a result, is unconventional in certain ways. For example, I chose not to record a designated bassline, as the guitars I layered already overpowered the mid – low frequencies, and adding a bassline would have made the process of balancing the track a lot more challenging.
Inspired by Liam McCay, I recorded 5 different vocal takes using an SM57 microphone, as it is both reliable and captures the indie vibe of the track, and layered them together with each layer representing a different point in an emotional healing cycle. For example, a sad vocal, an angry vocal, a content vocal, a frightened vocal, and a broken vocal, to create a uniquely full texture. This was done intentionally during the recording process, to highlight how someone can often revisit the same scenarios and situations with different, and often contradictory emotions. Furthermore, panning these vocals in different spaces in the mix creates a nice sense of space, and as a result, a satisfying stereo image. This helped ground an otherwise unconventionally recorded track, and would help it tap in to a commercially recognizable market.
After finishing recording the vocals, I chose to not correct or edit many parts that would normally need it. Specifically, voice cracks and breathiness were, not only left in, but even subtly enhanced, to retain the vibe of authenticity, aligning with the idea that people often connect more with imperfect performances, as they feel more relatable and even ‘more human’, a phrase that has recently gained more weight with the slow rise of AI. (The Guardian, 2025)
I recorded the acoustic guitar two times, both with the same chord progression, and panned each one left and right, to create a widened stereo sound, however, instead of quantizing the two recordings to perfectly match, I made one around 8 milliseconds slower, to emphasize all of the different intricacies of each performance, again highlighting the idea of authenticity when recording. The main guitar riff was also recorded twice for this same reason, however, I used an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar for each recording, to create a more interesting guitar tone and timbre.
The sound of the indie rock drum kit was created using a combination of 2 MIDI drum kit sounds available in the Logic Pro X library. Using a plugin, I ran the signal of the first drum track through a stock Logic amp, giving the cymbals a subtle, dirty, high pitched tone. I then panned them both left and right and decreased the volume of them, to not overpower the rest of the track. (Reddit, 2021)
In terms of the lyrics, they further highlight the idea of isolation and emotional turmoil that the track represents. The first line, ‘Your nine lives are up, go and find yourself’, accentuates the impact of the toxic relationship metaphorically, and how a negative experience like this can slowly kill someone, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, metaphorically comparing someone to a cat emphasizes how they may feel isolated, withdrawn, and as if no one loves them, despite the contrary truth. The use of the metaphor layered in the lyric opens the song up to multiple interpretations, giving the song a deeper meaning, and as a result, would increase the engagement and commercial success of the track. (ResearchGate, 2002)
Lastly, the repetition of the lyric, “It’s not fair”, signifies the importance of the emotional message of the song, and reflects the way people fixate on certain ideas and emotions when in distress, relating back to the realism of the song, and how it would be successful in the context of a commercial market.
Finding the Sample:
I was originally struggling to find a sample that fit the track in the way I wanted. During the recording process of the acoustic guitar however, an unwanted frequency artefact occured when I played the guitar incorrectly. Instead of getting rid of it, I isolated and amplified it, and using Logics sampler, played it in the parts of my track where it fit, specifically at the 00:12 second mark and the 00:15 second mark, as well as later on at the 01:58 mark, which created an eerie but somehow fitting sound effect for this track.
Evidencing:
Recording different vocal parts: (copy URL if not working)
Evidence and walkthrough of sampling: (copy URL if not working)
Bibliography:
Sturgis, J. (2021). Embracing Weird Sounds As A Music Producer. [online] Joey Sturgis Tones. Available at: https://joeysturgistones.com/blogs/learn/embracing-weird-sounds-as-a-music-producer?srsltid=AfmBOopyxPvHSN5uEtzTYBSWbVZsxSL0CwZc1QlkgdNZH2mdPCWAIeBA [Accessed 23 April 2026].
Forde, E. (2025). Musicians are deeply concerned about AI. So why are the major labels embracing it? [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/dec/16/musicians-are-deeply-concerned-about-ai-so-why-are-the-major-labels-embracing-it. [Accessed 26 April 2026].
Reddit.com. (2026). Reddit – [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/Logic_Studio/comments/ljln2l/comment/gndtdip/ [Accessed 1 May 2026].
Davies, S. (2002). The Multiple Interpretability of Musical Works. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.5325/j.ctv14gp0qq.15. [Accessed 1 May 2026]
Liam McCay. Instagram.com. (2020). Login • Instagram. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/signcrushesmotorist48/. [Accessed 2 May 2026]
