Electric Lecture - The Story of a Song

In this episode Bronson and Greg hand the tracks over to Anthony and Karyadi to mix.

In this episode Bronson and Greg finalize the new song before sending it off to Anthony and Karyadi to mix.

In this episode Bronson and Greg continue work on the new song. They tackle writing the words for the first verse.

In this episode Bronson, Greg and Jeff work on the new song. They write the chorus and eat a lot of candy.

Welcome to season two of our podcast, Electric Lecture: The Story of a Song. For episode one, we’re here commentating with our good friend and co-writer of our next song, Jeff Gray. Jeff Gray is somewhat of a riffmaster; in these first clips you’ll hear how we got this song started and how we managed to harness his riffs for the greater good. We listen through the first demo of our new track, but first, we briefly touch on the importance of being “always in record”, and how synthesizers (specifically mentioning the Roland JP-8000) can morph into unexpected new sound if left on for long stretches of time. This ends episode #7 of our podcast, Electric Lecture: Story of a Song.Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:Martin 000X1AE - https://www.martinguitar.com/search?q=000X1AE&search-button=&lang=defaultAbleton - https://www.ableton.com/en/shop/Music Man Bass - https://www.music-man.com/instruments/bassesGuild - https://guildguitars.comElektron Digitone Keys - https://www.elektron.se/products/digitone-keys/Roland JP-8000 - https://www.roland.com/us/products/jp-8000/

Episode 6 is the season one finale. Here we listen through the stems of our completed song, “Street Caviar” and get right into the drums. They sound incredible and much is added to our iOptigan and room mic’d drum kit. Yet somehow Anthony and Karyadi managed to make use of several (five plus) distinct drum sounds and they all flow fluently together while also using contrasting rhythms to define sections and help them build. The auxiliary percussion itself is impressive in how hard it all grooves. How well the entire track grooves together is a strong testament to Karyadi and Anthony’s ears and time spent. Thank you for listening to season one of our podcast, Electric Lecture: The Story of a Song. The process of making this first season taught us so much and we hope it left you inspired to create. In the coming episodes and seasons, you’ll hear how much this adventure of creating and finishing a song can change track to track. Please feel free to reach out to us regarding all things musical. Questions and comments from our listeners are important to us developing and guiding the show. Thank you and rock on!Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:iOptigan - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ioptigan/id1143470101Kurzweil PC3LE6 - https://kurzweil.com/pc3le6/Chordion - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chordion-musical-instrument-midi-controller/id552182095

Greg and Bronson give a overview of the first song in their podcast.

We’re here again at Bopnique Studios for episode #5 of the Electric Lecture Podcast. Right away we get a glimpse into the floor tom overdubs on our pre-chorus. Anthony tries a couple variations before finding his groove and it culminates in a dramatic build for our fun and playful chorus to respond to. We love these contrasting transitions and they set up each section perfectly. Anthony adds a lot to the groove of the song with auxiliary percussion like shakers, claps, tambourines, and a clave pattern on the cowbell that really brings the party to the bridge.Before wrapping up this episode, we take a minute to praise two incredible modern rock bass players, Tom Commerford of Rage Against The Machine and Chris Wolstenholme of Muse. Lastly, we listen to the final mix, talk a little about where the title “Street Caviar” came from, and turning negatives into positives through song.Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:Crash of Doom - https://zildjian.com/fx-crashes-of-doom.htmlBanjo Ukulele - https://kalabrand.com/collections/banjo-ukuleleBrainworx Vertigo VSM Saturation - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/vertigo_vsm-3.htmlFabFilter Saturn Saturation - https://www.fabfilter.com/products/saturn-2-multiband-distortion-saturation-plug-in

Welcome to Episode #4 of the Electric Lecture podcast. When we left you last, Anthony and Karyadi of Bopnique Studios were deep into the mix of “Street Caviar.” In this episode, we hear them start their day by sharing some files anthony had worked on staying late the night before. Next, we get a pro mixing tip from Karyadi. He explains a cool trick to help our snare drum and acoustic guitar (two very prominent instruments in this song) both stay prominent without becoming overwhelming. He does this by sidechaining a gate on the acoustic guitar, keyed by the snare drum. This causes the acoustic guitar to duck out when triggered by the snare drum accents. We also hear a really cool phaser sound on the harmonising guitar break, which Karyadi explains is actually the Valhalla Delay set very short and modulating for the phaser sound. Karyadi says, “Sounds like a Mu-Tron only more 3D.” Anthony says he also loves Arturia’s Phaser Bi-Tron saying it sounds “Just like the real thing”When giving this song to Anthony and Karyadi, we left it completely open ended for Anthony to compose something of his own. We get to hear them put together something very special for this song. “I wanted to go off into the sunset with a celebration…. It seemed like a part of the story that needed to be there.” Anthony says before getting to work on a massively inspired NOLA breakdown section. We get to hear him and Karyadi make decisions in the mix on what to leave and where to leave it. This is a very cool part of the process because where it ends up is seamless and we get great insight on some of the steps that got it there. Followed by a conversation on how bands like Yes and The Beatles spliced different recordings together to build songs. Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:Valhalla Delay - https://valhalladsp.com/shop/delay/valhalladelay/Arturia - https://www.arturia.comMu-Tron - https://mu-tron.com/vintage-musitronics/mu-tron-bi-phase/Phaser Bi-Tron - https://www.arturia.com/products/software-effects/modulations-bundle/phaserbi-tron

Episode 3 takes place at Bopnique Studios in Laurel Canyon. This is the beginning of our collaboration with producer Anthony Resta and engineer Karyadi Sutedja on “Street Caviar”. As you will hear throughout this episode, sometimes their moves are subtle and sometimes they’re dramatic, but the sum equals magic. They start by labeling sections of the song. Next, they listen to the “meat and potatoes” elements such as: vocals, drums, bass, and guitar. Muting and unmuting these instruments and others throughout this initial process helps them understand the format and basic landscape for the song. They then like to establish an understanding with the artist about which direction they’d like the song developed in, and what artists and songs they personally love. This is an important step in the process; To understand the artist’s ultimate goal so they can provide the right experience. “A lot of that happens even before recording. I’ll talk to the artist and find out what their favorite records are. What's really big out there now that you’re jealous of?” answers Anthony. Greg and Anthony have worked together for 20+ years so in the case of Electric Lecture, most of these influences and sonic goals are mutual from the beginning. “We’ve been doing this so long, we can impress ourselves all day.” laughs Anthony and Karyadi. “But it’s not about us.” Says Anthony. “It’s about getting the artist to that next level that they’re trying to get to.”Below are links to products mentioned in the episode:iOptigan - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ioptigan/id1143470101AKG 414 - https://www.akg.com/support/C414+B-ULS_.htmlReason - https://www.reasonstudios.comMPC 3000 - https://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/mpc3000.php