Three Minute Song Production – “Saviour (Feat. Amelie Payne-Heneghan)” (03:12)
Write-Up
Preproduction:
Preproduction for this project began in early march of this year (2025), after the completion of the prior Contextual Studies composition:
To begin with, I felt the most crucial step would be sourcing a vocalist for the song. Without one the project would be invalid for hand in, but I also wanted acquire the talent as soon as I could so I would know what vocal ranges and tones they were comfortable with to make sure that I could create a cohesive project from the start.
I reached out to Oliver Boothright, a Year One Jazz pianist at the Conservatoire who I have worked with before, asking if they knew of any vocalists who they might be able to put me in contact with as he had been part of several Group Study groups and bands. Through him I was able to contact the profoundly talented vocalist Amelie Payne-Heneghan, who showed an interest in being part of projects which would allow her to branch out of Jazz and diversify her portfolio. Once I had this, and had discussed what she was comfortable doing, and able to contribute, I began work on the composition.
Production and Composition:
I had initially planned to create a track in the vein of electronic trance music in an attempt to move away from my usual orchestral style. To begin with, I created a suite of synth instruments appropriate to the genre.
The first element was a very simple saw pad which I used side chain compression on to create a pulse effect that is a staple of the genre.
Similarly, I created a simple bass layer to play 16th notes while also being side chain compressed to add an extra element of swing.
Next was the core bass to play on the off-beat of the kick, created across two layers to help prevent phase issues.
After that, it came to the lead. For it, I made a stabbing pluck by using Vital’s Phase Disperse spectral morph on a saw wave.
Then–when layered with a MIDI piano, and a drum machine–it came to create the following which served as foundation for the piece:
Next came the rest of the composition. Initially, the piece had meant to be purely trance and EDM but I began to want to blend elements of cinematic orchestra, mixing the initial style with something closer to my usual music, taking inspiration the music of producer who similarly blends the two genres.
To facilitate this, I had to create two more instruments:
The first was another pad. Though, this new one was to be much larger sounding and emotive, as it was not a simple layer like the prior one, serving more as a digital string section (designed to have a fleetingly similar texture) to foreshadow the tracks later transition into being more orchestrally driven.
The second (and final) synth instrument was a second plucked lead. However, unlike the over pluck lead, this one has a greater body to its sound, utilising more voices, greater effects usage, and deeper automation via the matrix (the core being LFO2, programmed to synch to the track, and sweep the spectral morph of oscillator one, distortion drive, and flanger feedback to give it a slowly shifting texture and to create a mild sonic flourish toward the end of every eighth bar).
These elements were used in conjunction with Spitfire Audio’s Autograph Grand piano, and East West’s suite of string and brass instruments to create the rest of the track.
Vocal Recording:
Once the track had been developed, I contacted the vocalist, and sat down with her and the project, plotting out where, what, and how she should sing. The harmonic, melodic, and dynamic elements were worked on together. However, she wrote the lyrics herself following tonal instructions I provided.
Once she was ready and practiced (I provided her with an instrumental version of the track) we used the facilities in 116c to record the vocals.
For the microphone, I went with the industry standard C414 as it could reliably handle the louder vocal sections, and also easily picking up the softer vocalisations while imparting little extra character to the recording so that I might change it in post.
Production wise, the core vocals and softer vocalisations were placed onto individual tracks so that they could be compressed and equalised separately.
Sample Origin:
For the sampling element of the assignment, I pulled a vocal element from bar forty-six (01:23), where Amelie sustains a clear note. The chosen section is the tonic of the key of D minor.
Sample Pass One:
The sample was placed into Sample One (Studio One’s base sampler), tuned, and then resampled playing several octave layers.
Sample Pass Two:
The played audio was then bounced out, and placed back into sample one.
Sample Envelopes:
After that, I adjusted the filter and amp envelopes to create a fitting sound.
Final Sample Instrument:
I also used the in-instrument EQ and distortion to make a pad instrument that sounds somewhere between an organ and a brass section, which was then layered in with the string pad to lead into the orchestral string and brass of the latter half of the track.
Commercial Viability and Appeal:
In regard to the commercial viability of the track, it morphed from something meant to be pure dance music into a blend of 1990s/2000s trance, electronic pop driven by airy vocals (akin to a track like “Make You Mine” by Madison Beer), and something like a Bond Theme like “Skyfall” by Adele. though, the latter may simply have been the sonic character and skill of the vocalist I chose. The music I make often falls into being largely programmatic, suited in tone and intent for synchronisation with film and animation. In a world where I am a much more experienced composer and producer–with access to live orchestra, and my choice of talent–that is where something like this piece would sit.
As it stands, “Saviour (Feat. Amelie Payne-Heneghan) is the first step along that road.
