Final Track:

Aesthetic, Context & Influences:

The aesthetic for my track was the bright, harsh sounds of the PC Music genre. This is reinforced with the use of bright saw wave synths and pitched-up, ‘chipmunk’-like vocals. In terms of groove and structure, I opted to go with a dance, pop groove with lots of builds and a hard hitting drop.

I chose PC Music as I quite liked Charlie xcx’s ‘BRAT’ album, but never considered producing PC Music or ‘hyperpop’ before. One of the in-class exercises that helped me, besides the PC Music seminar, was from last semester where we practiced vocal chopping which helped me in this assignment.

Since it was my first time making PC Music, I had to do some extra independent listening and research. The first attempt I made was successful in achieving the sound and received good feedback in class from Rob and said I was heading in the right direction. However, I found it hard to find vocals to match my initial track. I could not use the singer I work with because I was prioritising studio time for the SS3 module. So I decided to use this acapella I got from the k-pop ‘NewJeans’ since their track ‘ASAP’ (See appendix 1) had an addicting vocal line (‘Tick-tock-tick’) that repeated through out.

Another track that inspired the sound of the track was this remix of ‘Primadonna’ by MARINA. I found it on Soundcloud, and it was done by GhostHaus (See appendix 2). Since the PC Music tracks showed in class had dedicated vocals for their songs, I wanted to see how other producers would flip already existing vocals to accompany a PC Music beat. There were some things that I picked up from the remix that influenced my decisions. For example, the remix has a pluck that played for the build up to the verse. They automated the cutoff filter which would open up the sound and slowly turn the pluck into a bright loud saw pad. Another thing that inspired me was the 808 groove and clap rhythm that happened during the verse which I then implemented in this track for the verse. ‘360’ by Charlie xcx also inspired the use of the pluck arpeggio I included in the track. (See appendix 3 and 4)

Appendix 1: ‘ASAP’ by NewJeans

Appendix 2: ‘Primadonna PC Music Remix‘ by GhostHaus

Appendix 3: ‘360‘ by Charlie xcx

Appendix 4: Pluck Pattern Inspired by ‘360’

Creative Process:

I started with pitching up the acapella 2 semitones. Then I came up with this chord progression Bb→C→F/A→Dm which is used in the intro, buildup and drop. I then used chord extensions 2nd time through to beef up the chords (Bbmaj9→C6/9→Fmaj7/A→Dm9). Although chord extensions like this are not common in PC Music, I added it in just for some harmonic color and depth. The voicings used do not sound too jazzy so I felt like I got away with it quite well. (See appendix 5 & 6 for comparison). Then for the verse I just used the chord progression from the actual song for variation.

Appendix 5: Chord Progression Triad

Appendix 6: Chord Extension 2nd time through

For the plucked chords synth, I used a Serum preset I made a while ago and automated the cutoff filter (see appendix 7), this makes the pluck turn into a saw synth and was effective for the build up. Then layered this with another saw pad from Serum an octave below for width and big sound for the drop. The lead synth was a combination of a Purity preset called ‘Desolate solo’ and a lead synth from Analog Lab V. The Purity synth had that cheap FM lead sound which suited the PC Music genre and the Analog Lab V lead was a de-tuned saw lead put an octave down for width.

The drums where stock sounds from FL Studio. There was not much processing since the drums already sounded great just some compression on the kick as well as claps/snares. For the FX, I used some generic white noise risers and impacts, and the crash was a sound from a UKG drum pack. It had that cute sparkle in the crash which I thought went well with the bright, Hyper Pop vibe.

In terms of processing, I added a multi-band compressor and EQ for the bass. Then added some saturation on the bass for color (see appendix 8). On the big saw pads, I used a limiter since automating the cutoff filter made the synth sound really loud which ruined the balance. I also added some EQ to make it sound a bit brighter, then a stereo imager plugin to make the saw pad’s sound big and wide. For the lead synths I just added some saturation to make it slightly distorted which made it more brighter and colorful. For mastering, I used a glue compressor and EQ to emphasise low-end and make the overall track a bit brighter.

Overall, I think the track turned out great. I showed Rob the first half of the track for feedback and they said it sounded good and that I was heading in the right direction for submission.

Appendix 7: Serum automation

Appendix 8: Bass Processing

Bibliography:

GhostHaus (2018) Primadonna PC Music Remix. GhostHaus. Available online: https://soundcloud.com/ghosthausofficial/primadonna-pc-music-remix.

NewJeans (2023) ASAP. 250, Henriette Motzfeldt, Catharina Stoltenberg. Available online: https://open.spotify.com/track/5fpyAakgFOm4YTXkgfPzvV?si=1e315775f0fe4a96.

xcx, C. (2024) 360. A.G. Cook, Finn Keane, Cirkut. Available online: https://open.spotify.com/track/4w2GLmK2wnioVnb5CPQeex?si=220f2c70b33c473e.