Sound Inspiration

Everything Everything – My Kz, Ur Bf (Clock Opera Remix)

WMP-Studios — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:12:19 +0000

For us, this is one of those remixes… one that feels like a song in its own right. And I dare you not to groove along with that opening beat. You might as well download it… it’s free. And be sure to look out for Clock Opera this year. Be very sure. - KAMAL

P.S. You can check out the original here.

Albums Of 2011

WMP-Studios — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:59:27 +0000

And so and so, here comes a new year. And we’re surprised to find some people writing off 2011 as ‘the year of boring music’. We’re convinced that such haters as these must have been living in an alternate reality to the one we’ve been bouncing around in. It’s easy to look back on previous years and see gold, but we’re certain that our ears haven’t been lying to us about the strength of some of the music that’s coming out right now.

And so to stand tall and celebrate the music we love, here follows (after the jump) a brief list of some of our favourites from this year, all of which have heavily inspired us and are still on regular rotation. Try these out for size, and drop us a comment to add your favourites to the mix.

Here’s to 2012…

Jamie Woon Mirrorwriting	Clock Opera Lesson No. 7 EP	James Blake Lesson No. 7 EP
Joseph & David Rise Up The Sun EP	Beyoncé 4	Bon Iver Bon Iver
Elzhi & Will Sessions Elmatic	Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues	Ghostpoet Peanut Butter Blues…
The Roots undun	MuteMath Odd Soul	Eric Lau Quadrivium

The Nokia Tune Remake Contest

WMP-Studios — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:05:32 +0000

If you’ve been out in public at all since 1994, you’ve probably heard the Nokia tune, since it’s apparently heard an estimated 1.8 billion times per day (about 20,000 times per second) worldwide. The tune (shown below) is actually a phrase from a piece called Gran Vals, written in 1902 by Francisco Tárrega, a Spanish classical guitarist.

In September, Nokia launched a competition on AudioDraft to find a ‘fresh’ version of the tune, with a $10,000 prize for the winner, who will also have their version included in over 100 million Nokia devices in 2012.

You can hear the winning entry (a dubstep version by Italian sound designer Valerio Alessandro Sizzi) here, but I recommend you follow this link to the competition site to listen to it alongside some of the other entries. There are versions in all kinds of different styles, all of them a far cry from the monophonic Grand Valse version which first appeared on the Nokia 2110.

http://nokiatune.audiodraft.com/

Check The Method! – Amon Tobin Creates

WMP-Studios — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:27:13 +0000

A peek at the creative process of electronic producer and prolific sampler Amon Tobin as he works on his seventh album ISAM. This is a ridiculously cool way to sample and manipulate sounds. The controller he’s using is a Haken Continuum Fingerboard. It looks like magic!
http://youtu.be/jbJwyTkCJk0

A Trip To BUG

WMP-Studios — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:02:20 +0000

So on Wednesday we went to see the first BUG show in Manchester at the Zion Arts Centre. For anyone who hasn’t come across BUG: The Evolution Of Music Video, it’s a series of events that celebrate creativity in music video, and is essentially a big-screen showing of music videos from around the world hosted by the hilarious Adam Buxton.

We can confirm that it was well worth going to, and not just for the hilarity of Adam Buxton. It’s rare that one gets to really take time to watch music videos these days – if you’re anything like us you probably mostly view them on YouTube at fairly average quality and not always on the best speakers, maybe trying to resist the urge to skip parts out. At BUG it felt like we were watching the videos as the creators intended/hoped – a high quality version from start to finish on a big screen with a large clear PA system.

The result was a really inspiring evening. Creativity in music videos really is alive and well.

So next time someone recommends a new music video to us, we’ll definitely be cranking it up to full video quality, putting it through our studio speakers, and giving it our full attention, start to finish.

Check out some footage from the BUG events at http://www.bugvideos.co.uk/.

Practice Or Preparation?

WMP-Studios — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:06:07 +0000

A great article about the importance of taking a music practice/rehearsal beyond just technical details, and focusing on actually preparing for a performance.

It is written by Amelia Ideh, who runs one of our favourite blogs, Put Me On It. She really has a point about this. I think this is the key to making music that can be shared with other people.

To read it, go here…

Creativity Is Dead…Or Is It?

WMP-Studios — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:16:38 +0000

’creativity – noun – the use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.’

Really?

So, I was thinking about the word ‘creativity’ this morning, what the hell does it actually mean? Do we even know anymore? Apparently in today’s business world, the actual word creativity can be applied to absolutely any business, of any description, of any size, of any caliber, all you need to do is just call yourself a creative. You don’t need to, as the definition suggests, use any imagination or original ideas, just do what everyone else does, in almost exactly the same way, and spread the word that you’re creative and there you go!

I happen to think this isn’t right, especially within the arts, I think that to be truly creative, you have to always push yourself to do more, to write, draw, paint, compose, create something that is better than the last thing you created, that pushes the boundaries of what is possible and what you are capable of.

Speak soon,
Ben M

A Quality Education In Music Production?

WMP-Studios — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:43:10 +0000

So here I am, thinking again (maybe too much) but thinking none the less about how everyone assumes they can do the whole music thing. Is this a good thing? I mean on the one hand I guess it is, encouraging new artists, bands, composers to ‘give it a go’ but surely in the long run it devalue and drives down the quality of especially the production side of things.

“Hello, my name is Mr Large-Scale Pro Studio.”

“Oh hello Mr Studio, my name is Mr Just-Graduated In Music Tech.”

“Hi Mr Music Tech. Listen, if you can tell me how to use a compressor properly we’ll give you a job.”

“Oh dear, erm, er, sorry Mr Studio I know I should know and I’ve spent three years studying for a degree, but I actually have no idea!”

“Oh dear, that is a shame. Well, bye!”

Music DRM, Copyright And Solving A Value And Generational Issue…

WMP-Studios — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:03:31 +0000

Hi there,

So I was working in a school in York this afternoon and talking to some of the students there about music, copyright, DRM and the debate between record labels and consumers. Something amazing happened, as we were talking he said, quite candidly, “I download all my music illegally though”, and then a heated debate ensued about whether that was OK, how the companies that set up peer-to-peer file sharing businesses could get away with it and why record companies didn’t just add a limiting software to the music it was selling.

I then explained that DRM did exist on iTunes but consumers were complaining that they didn’t have enough flexibility with the music they were buying and so it was taken off. He then said something incredibly interesting, he said “I’m sure it can’t be that hard to fix” and “I’m not going to download music illegally anymore”.

It was then that it dawned on me, we can change the issue of illegal downloading and the issue of young people valuing music to the point where they want to or even need to buy it! It will take time, and it comes down to education, for music teachers to educate young people about music as art and the work that goes into it.

It’s my opinion that the generation that use illegal downloading services will be the generation to fix it, to come up with a solution to the DRM debate and to revolutionise the way that music is listened to, valued and paid for!

Speak soon,
Ben M

Hello World!

WMP-Studios — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:27:49 +0000

Hello there…fancy meeting you here?!

So here it is, my first blog on WordPress. I thought I’d give you a bit of background to myself and how I got started in music – hopefully it won’t be too boring for you! Be nice, I’m only just starting!
So, I pretty much decided to get involved in the music industry at the age of 14! I had no idea what that would like, or how to get to where I wanted to but I knew I was up for giving it a go. I did the usual playing in bands thing, wanting to be rock stars and deciding we were going to take over the world. However, it didn’t quite work out like that. I did GCSE Music and then A Level Music and Music Technology.

I then took a gap year and recorded an EP in Studio Moliere (www.studiomoliere.com) in Brussels which was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far. I then went on to Leeds College of Music to study Music Production and graduated in 2007 with a 1st none the less! While I was still at college, in fact in my first year I decided that I wanted to run my own business and in 2006 while still in my final year I started making preperations to do this, building contacts, clients and relationships.

As soon as I graduated I registered as self-employed and got cracking on trying to run a music composition and sound design company called Wave Media Productions (www.wavemediaproductions.co.uk) and trying to get as much experience and profile as I possibly could including working in down at Pinewood Studios for a short period. The rest is history as they say…

What inspires me is good music, good composition, good production and interesting, challenging and innovative work that changes people…

Speak soon,
Ben M