During lockdown, a number of pupils have been recording songs using equipment at home. Here are the stories of two of them:

Vinnie (5th Form): “Christmas of 2019, I received a RØDE microphone set that allowed me to develop my singing and producing abilities. I use a software called Logic on my laptop which was initially very challenging to get the hang of, but after numerous YouTube videos and various failed recordings, I’m finally comfortable in using it. Since I’ve had my microphone, I’ve recorded songs ranging from Everything I wanted by Billie Eilish, to Chew on my Heart by James Bay. Each time I progress in my mastering know-how. Recently, Sia released an album titled Music which boasts 14 tracks. I chose to record the title track as not only did the crescendo to the chorus resonate with me but the difficult notes to sing provided an interesting challenge. I then recorded and mastered it and the result was a (by no means perfect) cover of Music by Sia.”

 

Kaylan (L4): I had been a fan of Bertuss for a while, and decided to send my track to his label’s email address, looking for feedback from his team. They then pitched the idea of releasing it on their label officially. We began the release process, and ended up with it being the 12th release on the label. The song is a hard-hitting and high-energy EDM track, which took a while to make, as I wanted it to be more unique than most EDM songs in the festival music genre. It was made in the Digital Audio Workstation, FL Studio 20, with 3rd party software synthesizers, such as Sylenth 1. The two main melodies, in the drop and middle section, were heavily inspired from existing tracks, as they both started out as remixes, which were then edited and fused into one original track.” Kaylan is known as DJ Roulette and this latest track Valkyrie has just been released commercially on Astro Recordings and can be streamed here.