This is officially my first “Walk ‘n’ Talk” episode. This is a nod to my previous podcast as I take my iPhone, walk in the nearby woods, and talk about what’s been on my mind.
This walk ‘n’ talk with my iPhone also reflects today’s focus, my love of demos and the art of capturing magic.
When you hear a demo, knowing it is a demo, do you assess the quality of the production? No, you listen to the music. That’s the magic.
I want to chase this demo feeling of capturing the magic of the song rather than the polish of a master.
Pat Flynn calls this “being happy with scrappy” and Michael Gilbride over at Mad Records Monologue calls it “Demo-itis”.
Yes, I still love a well-mastered piece of music but in my line of work (incredibly polished and well-produced trailer music) I have been hungering for more imperfection and humanity in music.
That’s exactly what these projects have been bringing me - refocusing on the joys of songwriting over and above music production.
A good example of this is when I first heard Jimmy Eat World’s demo for Authority Song. I fell in love with the song.
When the album was released I immediately bought it, I skipped straight to Authority Song and was bitterly disappointed to hear a new, polished mix of the same song. It had lost a lot of its magic.
p.s. The artists I discuss in this episode are Melody Tapes (Lofi Acoustic) and To Be Invisible (slowcore piano).
📚 Further Reading: Learn how to make Lofi music
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