Acoustic Track
Inspirations and reference tracks
For the acoustic song, we worked with a singer/ sing writer called Gracie De Wolfe on a song called I might just fall. The inspiration for this song was artists like Lizzie McApline, Lorde, Gigi Perez and more. We then listened to the ‘morning coffee’ Spotify playlist for more inspiration into the indie pop genre. We also checked to see what artist have featured on the BBC radio 6 – ‘Indie Forever’ segment.
We then spoke to Gracie in one of the lessons and she highlighted she wanted Billie Eilish style vocals, Phoebe Bridges textures, Sam Smith piano, Andy Shauff woodwind and to be sonically similar to Searows and Gigi Perez.
Planning
We then found that a lot of the reference tracks include the lots of electronic sounds which we would have to recreate using acoustic textures. As we were allowed to use analogue and digital processing we thought to try and manipulate songs sounds this way, for example putting an acoustic guitar through a distressor.
We planned to record something new for the song each week starting with Drums and Bass as we had sessions players coming in the following week.
Recording
When recording Bass, he gave us the option between using a double bass or an acoustic bass, as we had Gracie with us, we asked him to play both quickly to decide which to choose. We gave simple directions and allowed him to improvise parts. We explained the songs structure to him as it was very simple.
For drums, we had a simple setup already there to which we got a few extra mics to get a more complete sound. In the project, we had sampled + MIDI drums which had a similar groove to what we wanted. For both the drums and bass, we only had an hour, so we needed to work quickly and efficiently. Jobs were divided as I gain staged and set up headphone mixes while other setup mics.
The following week, we were in studio 115 and our guitar player had cancelled so we experimented with some flute on the track as it was an idea that had been mentioned in a previous conversation with Gracie. In this session I gain staged and used Ableton to record as the others in the group didn’t know how, and Nate was playing the flute.
The next session was guitar, which only I and Nate were able to attend. I setup microphones as Nate explained the song structure to the guitarist. The original guitar part was constructed of a splice loop. There was a section with harmonics that took a lot of time for the guitarist to work out. Looking back the song should have been sent in advance to not take up as much time in the studio.
We then recorded piano, using a variety of techniques to achieve a bright sound. The improvised parts to a while to solidify as we did not want them to come across as bring ‘too poppy’. In this session, I assisted with Mic setup, gain staged and helped to record some sound effect parts to later be manipulated.
We Recorded some FX on piano. This was reversed and turned into a rising effect.
The following session was Vocals, where only Nate attended. We decided that it would be best if only one of us does the vocal session to ensure the artist is comfortable and doesn’t feel the pressure of too many engineers.
We wanted saxophone to be recorded but the session players cancelled so we had to delay recording which was unfortunate. The technique used was an overhead and close mic for an 80s sound.
Mixing
When mixing this track, I listened to the artists named and found that the vocals felt close, intimate and emotional. A lot of heavy reverbs and delays. This helped me to understand how to approach mixing this song. I had to sidechain the BVs to the lead Vocals to make sure they didn’t overpower them in some sections of the song.
It was important to make sure that track grew and felt as if there were emotional release when you get to the end of the final chorus.
Evaluation
Recording was overall very organised besides a few session players cancelling. The quality of recording was very good and matched the vibe very well. Gracie was happy with the outcome. It would have been nice to have Gracie present at more sessions as she could have helped with decision making when we were unsure or struggling to decide. It was difficult to think of ways to recreate electronic sounds acoustically and some could have been better.
Folk Jam Recording
Planning
For the location recording, we decided to record a folk jam at the Chemic Tavern. We notified some of the members of the folk jam and asked if they were happy to record to which they agreed. We bought snacks as a thank you.
We hadn’t been to venue to see what the space was like and were unsure of the instruments that would be there as they often vary depending on who comes each week. This meant that we had to bring a variety of microphones that would suit lots of different instruments to ensure that we could achieve a good sound regardless.
We also got out an 8 input focusrite along with an 8-input extender to we could have more inputs. We ensured to book more XLRs than needed in case any didn’t work. Me, Nate and Nat collected the equipment around 3 hours before so we could go setup early and be ready for when the players arrive.
Recording
We arrived early and was given access to the room by the owner of the pub which allowed us to set up in advance. We were unsure of how the players sat and where so we placed mics on stands and attached cables but left them in the centre of the room and arrange the chairs to be around the microphones meaning the mics would be easy to move and wouldn’t get too in the way of the players.
We made sure to set up a room mic too, to make sure that we got some ambience from the rest of the pub as we thought it would add to the performance. Before the players arrived, we did a mic check by clicking into the mics and found that the 8-track extender didn’t work and we were unsure why. We decided to remove some the of dynamic microphones we had selected as were unsure as to how good they would sound and felt the other mic choices would off a better sound. This meant that we were unable to isolate each player and some mics were used for 2 people giving us less control when it came to mixing.
When the players arrived, we adjusted the microphones to ensure they were positioned well for each instrument and then recorded roughly an hour and half of the jam to give us a variety of songs to submit for the project.
Mixing
When mixing this song, I had to try to ensure everything was balanced well and left the banjo as the leading instrument as he led this song and help the melody throughout the majority. I also ensured that the violin was heard as it often had a leading melody too. The guitars and other rhythmic folk instruments needed to sit further back to allow the melodic instruments to shine. I added a small room reverb to imitate a pubs ambience while mixing in the room mic which included pub ambiance.
Pop Song
Pop song
While deciding what to create for the pop song, we listened to a variety of music that is high in the charts now. We found it was a mix of soulful songs, along with upbeat electronic songs. We liked pink pantheress and listened to the ‘pop mix’ playlist on Spotify. We opted to create an upbeat song with a singer named Toni. The electronic songs in the charts included lots of layered synths, catchy, in your face vocals and a driving bass line.
Recording
The drums in this song are sampled from Micheal Jacksons ‘Billie Jean’ and are layered with a sampled kit. The synths were recorded by Nate, and the vocals were also recorded by Nate due to scheduling differences.
Mixing
When mixing this song, I wanted to have tight, compressed drums. The goal was for the drums to sound processed as for the genre they didn’t need to sound humanised. I took inspiration from ‘Telephone’ by Lady Gaga (Feat Beyonce) as it felt similar in sound to out pop track. I side chained the bass to the kick to help create space and make sure the low end didn’t feel muddy.
I used panning on some of the BVs and EQ’d some of the low end to make them sound airy and spacious.
Evaluation
This is a good pop track and meets the brief very well. It fits in the genre of electronic pop, with a catchy vocal hook, a hard-hitting chorus and layers on synths.
Bibliography
Spotify.com. (2026a). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1iCnM8foFssWlPRLfAbIwo?si=LBoBnn1BRxeqP6Mv6ayyZg [Accessed 6 May 2026].
Spotify.com. (2026b). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GmsPCcpKgF9OhlNXjOsbS?si=MpJsnNAjTryDq43COAoCkw [Accessed 6 May 2026].
Spotify.com. (2026c). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXcgZcN2HVMoe?si=eTIwoOvaToSAnUk2TQAVRQ [Accessed 6 May 2026].
Spotify.com. (2026d). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/78rUTD7y6Cy67W1RVzYs7t?si=n3BwMdEHSumfrYkmqkCXew [Accessed 6 May 2026].
Spotify.com. (2026e). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/78rUTD7y6Cy67W1RVzYs7t?si=n3BwMdEHSumfrYkmqkCXew [Accessed 6 May 2026].
Spotify.com. (2026f). Spotify. [online] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/6nCDnzErqalOaIY3EJM8NK?si=7c0723c0f606498b [Accessed 6 May 2026].
