"It's Been Unreal"...
...were words I mentioned in last night's "Spotlight on the Artist - EMA Special" radio show on @msp-waves, and I stand by them as I write this blog now. Bufinjer, DaveyHub and myself first met in @atomcollector then subsequently formed the Electronic Music Alliance but we really had no expectation that it would get to the stage we are at now!
All we wanted to do was create a place for electronic musicians of varying backgrounds and genres to come together, share ideas, collabs, have some fun and push the boundaries of their own production skills to the next level. On top of that, we wanted to be able to create playlists for the most part and showcase all these wonderful styles for listeners to get involved with and enjoy the music.
The Community
And wow! This really took off in a BIG way as we have over 130 producers (EMAliens) in our Discord, over 5,000 Twitter followers on our EMA community and record label (EAR) profiles with over 60 playlists and over 110 releases... those are "unreal" numbers but it's the family feel of the EMAliens that make it a great place to be.
Straightaway, as soon as a new member is abducted to the Mothership, there's a swarm of EMAliens welcoming them in and being really supportive to help them get to grips with the city. There's loads of producer tips, ideas and suggestions for future endeavours and we love how it's evolved but last night on air, it really was epic how many tuned in!
"Spotlight On The EMAliens"
So the wonderful co-hosts of @d-vine and @onemedia had myself and 5 other EMAliens on the show to celebrate this special occasion and talk about some of the exclusive tracks that were released as part of our "Future Sounds Anthology Vol 1" starting off with:
TygerTyger - Gabriel (Nicky Havey remix)
The original production from @tygertyger (aka Her Royal Pieness) was initially about capturing some of the dreams she was having at the time. A soundscape with a vocals that floated back in the distance of the track gave an eerie, spaced out feel like one would expect when trying to depict their dreams in music format!
So of course, me, with my heart beating at a steady 174BPM, asked TygerTyger if she'd be cool with me creating a Drum & Bass twist to this one and she said "go for it choir boy"! So I replied with "Hallelujah!" and got to work! Of course, travelling kinda got in the way and my timeline is a little bit slower than most others (that's why I'm Mr Snail lol) BUT I managed to finish the track off in time for the 1 year compilation... in true spirit of the track, it really was a miracle haha! You can listen to it here.
Jerdie - Counter-Clockwise
Next up was California-based, female producer Jerdie who shared with us her background and how she moved to producing electronic music after a medical condition stopped her playing physical instruments for the most part. It's safe to say she has picked up life in the electronic music world pretty quickly though as her talent shines through with her track "Counter-Clockwise":
"Over the summer I spent some time doing Mr. Bill’s Abletoneer class, and I started making drums in audio instead of MIDI, and I’m finding that my patterns are more interesting. I really like bass music and played around with a Hardware store Foley pack to get a clanky sound. Output Movement gave my bass MIDI some interesting patterns. When I listen back to it I imagine it being a fitting song for a boss level in a video game"
Letters From Mouse - That Popular Kid
After Jerdie, we had the boy from Edinburgh on called "Letters From Mouse" aka Steven, aka "Mr Mouse" (as the names came flooding in on the show haha)! After a long hiatus, before which he was mostly a Drum & Bass Producer, Mr Mouse has, by his own admission, slowed things down a bit and we can see how with his lovely track called "That Popular Kid":
"This tune has quite a laid back groove covered with retro synth sounds and glitchy effects. There is a vocal sample in the tune which is quite unusual for me but it flows quite well with the feel of the tune."
Eonlake - Shatter
Once Mr Mouse's track had finished, it was time to have a chat with North London based producer "eonlake" aka Mr. Lake! After his early days of being a drummer, Mr. Lake jokingly said he decided to try his hand at making real music (the old ones are the best ones)! His sounds are influenced from a variety of ambient, psytrance and house, which come across beautifully in his track "Shatter":
"This song was a deliberate exploration of some influences that I’ve not really explored too much as Eonlake yet. I wanted to do something faster and more beat heavy with some more jarring, choppy elements to counter my typical layered ambiences, and to also add some different voices to set it apart as an exclusive track. I love synced oscillator leads and acid sounds so some crept in on this one, partly inspired by my EMA friends and their tracks- they are a regular inspiration to me to both produce more music and stylistic choices. I think the result is still very “me” but at the same time something slightly different."
Skyline Tigers - Don't Tell
Unfortunately, despite all of our best efforts on the night, we just couldn't get "Skyline Tigers" aka Llama Lady on the air to chat about her musical prowess but we will definitely be trying again! However, I did manage to catch up with her before the show to get a little bit of info about her deep track called "Don't Tell":
"A difficult track to make really. I wear my heart on my sleeve with my lyrics sometimes and it can get me into trouble. But if you don't tackle difficult subjects in your writing, particularly for therapeutic purposes, then what are you doing it for really? Some tracks I do make just for fun, some I make for cathartic reasons. This fell into the latter."
Just A Taster
So last night's show was just a taster really of what the 20 track compilation has in store for you. As you can see, there's Ambient, Breakbeat, Drum & Bass... you name it, there'll be something for everyone who loves some form of electronic music! To catch all the tracks, you can listen in to them here or check the Spotify player below but the release is literally out on every platform so you'll do well to miss it!
Thank You!
All that leaves me to say is, "Thank you!" to everyone who's supported us over the last year, to the Daves, it's been amazing working with you guys, here's to the next year and to the EMAliens for giving this snail motivation and inspiration to carry on with making music - the rocket booster pack is on my snail shell for releases this year that's for sure!
Until the next one, take it easy
Nicky
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Original article: https://nickyhavey.co.uk/2020/01/emas-1-year-celebration-20-track-compilation-release/