My Project by

Genres

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:16:42 UTC

Genres - pop, country, shoegaze, indie

Artists

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:17:30 UTC

Fletcher, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Beth McCarthy, Sir Chloe, Holly Humberstone, Lennon Stella, Noah Cyrus, Andrea Russett

Inspirations/influences

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:17:51 UTC

Artists, genres, or experiences that inspire your project

Thank You by Lennon Stella

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:25:52 UTC

I love the sound to this song - it's very raw - emotional - minimilistic - brings out more emotion.
I'd like to get my songs to sound like that - to have the same kind of sound and feel to it

Ideas

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:29:05 UTC

Creative concepts and thoughts you have in mind

Release an EP

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:30:02 UTC

5 songs

Songs

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:31:15 UTC

Songs I've been recently working on - 'I'm Tired' & 'I just wanna feel happy' (rough title) - kind of fit well together so I would put them next to each other in the order of the songs of the EP

I just wanna feel happy - Lyrics

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:34:25 UTC

Verse:

I was just a small girl

Living in my own world

Until it came down

It came crumbling down

Wrapped up in my own head

Erasing all that they said

Trying not to drown

Oh my thoughts were so loud

Pre-chorus:

And I

Have tried so hard

To fix myself

But I can't

Chorus:

I just wanna feel happy

Where I can live a day

And truly say that I'm okay

I just wanna feel happy

Don't wanna live another day

That's so full of fucking pain

I just wanna feel happy

Verse:

My heart got ripped, kicked, and torn apart

Was their daily entertainment

But dunno what for

Now left with a jigsaw heart

Missing half of the pieces

I can't take no more

Pre-chorus:

And I

Try so hard

To fix myself

But I can't

Chorus:

I just wanna feel happy

Where I can live a day

And truly say that I'm okay

I just wanna fell happy

Don't wanna live another day

That's so full of fucking pain

I just wanna fell happy

Bridge/going back to 1st verse:

I was just a small girl

Living in my own world

Until it came down

Chorus:

I just wanna feel happy

Where I can live a day

And truly say that I'm okay

I just wanna fell happy

Don't wanna live another day

That's so full of fucking pain

I just wanna feel happy

oohhh,

I just wanna feel happy

I just wanna fell happy

Music Videos

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:37:48 UTC

I know some people who would like to help film/make music videos - film students.
Want to make at least 2 music videos for 2 songs in my EP

Experimentation in songwriting

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:38:48 UTC

Make multiple versions of 1 song

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:40:32 UTC

Make multiple different versions of 1 song - each one being in a different style/genre - reaching a wider audience - also just experimentation - challenge myself to do genres I'm not used to doing or ones I don't feel comfortable with

Recording sounds & manipulating them

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:43:31 UTC

Record sounds to add in songs where maybe relevant - makes the listener picture the song/story more (FINNEAS does a lot of this)

Record sounds to manipulate - add in songs or make a song out of just sounds I've collected together

Try different instruments

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:47:14 UTC

Try using or even learning new instruments - don't want to use the same instruments in every song - really want to experiment with different things

Break my heart again - FINNEAS

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:50:40 UTC

In this song, he uses sounds like the sound of typing on a phone and messages being sent - even has a girl speaking when he's referring to the girl he's singing about - "I'm fine"

Would like to include these kind of sounds as I believe it helps people picture the story behind the song more

Watch a film/series & make a song/songs on it

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:58:28 UTC

Try to put myself in the character's mind and write about the things that they're going through

Collaborations

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:58:56 UTC

To make music

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 11:59:59 UTC

Ayisha

Music videos

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 12:00:28 UTC

Shaun, Hannah, next door (3rd & 2nd year film students), Aeddan (2nd year graphic design student)

Artwork

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 12:03:11 UTC

Aeddan - graphic design student - Also plays electric guitar

Mona Lisa - FINNEAS

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-11 12:06:52 UTC

I love this song - been on repeat for a lot of months - cute video - love the sound. Video goes really well with the song - makes it more emotional.

Love how everything builds up and the song gets more fuller sounding as it goes on - love the guitar part

No lyrics - no singing

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 09:50:48 UTC

Create a song that has no lyrics. Focuses on sounds representing emotions. The story is told through sound - would be nice to have visuals to go with. Record in one place - use the things around that fit in the context of the story or things that represent a specific emotion. Like how FINNEAS uses sounds - he uses sounds which (for me at least) helps you really picture the story behind the song - I thought it'd be interesting to have the sounds tell the story, rather than the lyrics

Sounds song

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 09:53:05 UTC

Gary's lecture - made a pack of sounds - 'kitchen sounds' - I am starting to create a beat using the sounds that I recorded for this pack - may add instruments to add melody

I'm Tired - lyrics

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 09:54:07 UTC

Verse:
I'm tired
Of feeling this way
I feel expired
And I've passed my date

Chorus 1:
I shouldn't be here
'Cause I can't give you nothing but tears
I'm just a waste
A waste of space

Verse 2:
I'm so sick of
Letting myself down
Need more self love
To turn this around

Chorus 2:
'Cause I wanna be myself again
But I don't know who that is with all this pain
That's not going away
It's here to stay

Music Video Idea

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:00:59 UTC

Film the music video in the house - in different rooms - tells a different part of the story in each room maybe

Audiences

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:01:43 UTC

Platforms

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:03:39 UTC

YouTube - for the music videos - important to have on YouTube as most music videos are watched on YouTube - could also release audio versions onto YouTube with artwork - Could see about making lyric videos

Possibly Spotify - have artwork - could think about moving artwork that loops on Spotify

Bandcamp

SoundCloud

Social media

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:06:30 UTC

Want to create artist profiles that look professional that I can post about my project and try promote it

Want to create a behind the scenes footage to document my whole process - so I can look back but also so people can see the process of it all

Platforms:
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok

Timeline

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:11:17 UTC

Start of December

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:13:30 UTC

All songs are ready to record - finished writing

End of January

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:17:21 UTC

31st of January All songs recorded

End of March/ Start of April

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 10:55:18 UTC

31st of March/4th of April Release Music - hope cover art will be finished by then but release of music will depend on it.

Behind the scenes

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:09:45 UTC

I want to film little clips/videos of me making the songs, recording, mixing, mastering, rehearsing

I want to film the process of making this EP, not necessarily for the uni work but mainly for myself, so I have something to look back on and so other people and my audience can have an insight of what it's like to create an EP and do a project like this. I like to see other peoples process of stuff and I'd like to be able to show that myself for others. - Almost like little vlogs and behind the scenes footage. - videos of this will probably be posted on YouTube after the songs have released - have to be careful about YouTube spam

Pictures of lyrics, notes (song notes, music video notes, chords, etc.) artwork

April

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:12:29 UTC

Music videos released, any performances

February

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:13:05 UTC

25th February mixes finished

Mid March

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:13:43 UTC

17th of March Masters completed

May

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:14:03 UTC

Hand in date

20 Something - FLETCHER

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:24:24 UTC

More pop style but still emotional and talks about something that is relatable

Sex (With My Ex) - FLETCHER

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:25:43 UTC

I love this song because it tells a story, takes you on a journey and pulls at the heart strings.

The song and music video is very personal and makes me want to cry

I like that at the beginning and end of the song you can hear the train - fits with the song well and makes you feel like you were there

Forever (Stripped) - FLETCHER

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:26:39 UTC

This song is very raw, stripped back and compared to the original version, it's a lot more emotional and hits the heart more

Golf On TV feat. JP Saxe

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:28:00 UTC

Love the sound - emotion comes through well

Lyric video - might be a good idea to make a lyric video with good visuals that go with the song - gives something more to go with the song than just the audio - though might want to release some with just the artwork for the EP - or could do both

Birthday Girl - FLETCHER

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:29:04 UTC

This song is very raw and emotional - something very personal that brings out the emotions but also talks about something people wouldn't normally admit to feeling or thinking - creates a space that makes people feel like they're not crazy for feeling this way

Partners in Crime - FINNEAS

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:30:17 UTC

I really like this song as it tells a story - takes you on a journey - I'd like at least on of my songs to be like this.

Warm sounding

Love the guitar

Set For Life - Noah Cyrus

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:31:16 UTC

This song has a kind of country feel to it - kind of like my song 'I just wanna feel happy'.
I really like the kind of country feel that's not quite full blown country but just has that little element to it

Butterfly Wings - Andrea Russett

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:32:09 UTC

This song is raw - emotion comes through really well
It has a happy song but is singing about something sad which I quite like

Music video is quite a simple idea and wouldn't cost a lot to make - would just need a location and a camera

Play - Jesse

daisypollard24 — 2023-10-18 11:33:02 UTC

I love the guitar which is picked but changes chords quite fast

Love the vocal melodies - has like multiple different melodies in 2 sections that repeat -
'Outside of the window...' (1 section) - I really like that melody but also in the same section there's another kind of melody that I really love 'I just wanna play...'

& 'Oh and I love you and I love you...' (2nd section) - I like that melody line but also in the same section there's 'I'd like to be by your side...'

They're all quite catchy melodies while still keeping it quite raw and emotional

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 14:37:27 UTC

Have rough demo coming together - vocals need rerecording as I can't hit high note since I was ill

Guitar has a picking pattern

Hoping to add drums

Maybe keyboard/piano

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 14:40:03 UTC

Have rough demo coming together

Need to make a 2nd verse - maybe a bridge

Guitar

would like to add:

Piano

Egg shaker percussion

Would like it to have a bit of a country feel to it but not enough to make it a country song - like Noah Cyrus does with 'Set for life'

Song I made from film

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 14:44:28 UTC

I watched 'The Boogeyman' which is a horror film about a creature/demon that comes after a family, but it can only appear in the dark, you're safe if you're in the light.

I decided to write a song based off of that idea with staying in the light to be safe from the creature/demon. This can also be linked to depression and fighting your own demons, staying in the light and not letting yourself be surrounded by darkness and negative thoughts.

Stay in the light - Lyrics

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 14:49:23 UTC

Chorus:

Stay in the light

Where I can see you're face

Stay in the light

Where I can keep you safe

Get ready to fight

All your demons awaayyyyyy

So when it's night

They won't come out and play

Stay in the light

Ideas for song

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 21:00:59 UTC

Have whispers throughout the song - layer the whispers and pan them different directions to show it's multiple voices and to feel like you're surrounded by them - like the thoughts are in the listeners head

These whispers will say negative thoughts - starts with a lot of voices, as the song goes on, the whispering becomes less and less - as if the person is going getting more and more surrounded by light rather than dark and by the end of the song, can no longer hear the negative thoughts

Could have a bridge where I argue with the negative thoughts and not listen to them, I start to instead have more positive thoughts.

Whispers:

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 21:04:43 UTC

Death

Die, Go die, jump, jump off, etc.

Kill yourself

You're stupid

You're an embarrassment - embarrassing

You don't deserve anything

No one likes you

You're worthless

You'll never be good enough

What's the point in even trying?

Don't trust them

You can't be trusted

They'll leave you

You'll never be liked

You're a failure

You can't do it - you can't do anything

You'll never be enough

No one loves you - no one will ever love you

You're nothing

You'll never make it

Stop talking

No one cares - Who asked?

You're disgusting

Little girl

Who are you? - Who even is she?

What are you doing? - Why are you still here?

Instruments I may include:

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-14 21:05:32 UTC

Electric guitar

Bass

Drum kit

Talking/whispering - layered

Social Media presence & content

daisypollard24 — 2023-11-18 15:15:55 UTC

I want to be able to show who I am to my audience and to whoever wants to know

I want to use my space to share my ideas and songs but also to share my struggles

I would like to make a podcast (in the future), where I talk about the issues I've faced/am facing and discuss things. I know this is separate to my EP and the whole project but I'd like my social media to be a space that I can continue using for future projects that I'd like to do, like making a podcast. I want to be open and share who I really am, rather than create an image that'll be likeable and get views - I just want to be a natural artist that isn't shaped into something I'm not. I also want to share my struggles in hope that it can help someone else who may be going through something similar

I don't really ever wear makeup - I don't think I should for any social media presence or posts or music videos - not unless it's for a particular reason or look that I'm going for

I want to make posts at least like once every two weeks about my project - when closer to release date I should post more often - post when I want to and when I feel it's necessary - don't want to over post

Need to set up an email that's not my personal email, so that it's easier to check my inbox. This way, I can use this email for my artist social media accounts as well to keep personal things separate.

EP cover art

daisypollard24 — 2024-01-31 10:30:15 UTC

Aeddan and I have discussed ideas on the cover art of my EP. As my EP is going to be called 'Daisy', we decided to have the flower, daisy, with the text of my name in front of it. Aeddan has already done a rough sketch on paper and is in the process of drawing it out in their software.

daisypollard24 — 2024-01-31 11:41:11 UTC

Have now made a 2nd verse and figured out how I want the end of the song to go. I want a bridge kind of section but it's the 1st part of the 1st verse repeated but with some changes to it

daisypollard24 — 2024-01-31 11:44:18 UTC

Have recorded vocals - might rerecord some

Want to rerecord guitar due to a knock kind of sound that's annoying, and there's the click track that was playing in the headphones.

Chosen Songs

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:36:32 UTC

I Just Wanna Feel Happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:37:23 UTC

Stay in the Light

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:39:24 UTC

Final Lyrics:

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:44:37 UTC

Verse:

I was just a small girl

Living in my own world

Until it came down

It came crumbling down

Wrapped up in my own head

Erasing all that they said

Trying not to drown

All my thoughts are so loud

Pre chorus:

And I

Have tried to hard

To fix myself

But I can't

Chorus:

I just wanna feel happy

Where I can live a day

And truly say that I'm okay

I just wanna feel happy

Don't wanna live another day

That's so full of fucking pain

I just wanna feel happy

Verse 2:

My heart got ripped, kicked and torn apart

Was their daily entertainment

But dunno what for

Now left with a jigsaw heart

Missing half of the pieces

Can't take no more

Pre chorus:

And I

Try so hard

To fix myself

But I can't

Chorus:

I just wanna feel happy

Where I can live a day

And truly say that I'm okay

I just wanna feel happy

Don't wanna live another day

That's so full of fucking pain

I just wanna feel happy

Ooohhhhh

I just wanna feel happy

Mmmmmm

I just wanna feel happy

Final lyrics:

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:48:21 UTC

Chorus:

Stay in the light

Where I can see your face

Stay I the light

Where I can keep you safe

Get ready to fight

All your demons away

So when it's night

They won't come out and play

Stay in the light

Verse:

I'm trying to get through today

But I keep hearing these voices in my brain

And I can't seem to escape

I just wanna fade away

But you say

Chorus:

Stay in the light

Where I can see your face

Stay I the light

Where I can keep you safe

Get ready to fight

All your demons away

So when it's night

They won't come out and play

Stay in the light

Verse 2:

You haven't been smiling when you smile

There's pain in your eyes that sends you far away

You think it's best to push everyone away

You feel you need to escape

So I say

Chorus:

Stay in the light

Where I can see your face

Stay I the light

Where I can keep you safe

Get ready to fight

All your demons away

So when it's night

They won't come out and play

Stay in the light

I'll Always Love You

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:49:14 UTC

I'm Tired

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-14 21:49:46 UTC

Final Lyrics:

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 06:57:27 UTC

Verse:

I'm tired

Of feeling this way

I feel expired

And I've passed my date

Chorus 1:

I shouldn't be here

'Cause I can't give you nothing but tears

I'm just a waste

A waste of space

Verse 2:

I'm so sick of

Letting myself down

Need more self love

To turn this around

Chorus 2:

'Cause I wanna be myself again

But I don't know who that is with all this pain

That's not going away

It's here to stay

Final Lyrics:

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:05:46 UTC

Verse:

I wanna be mad at you

But you're not in the wrong

I'm only sad that I

Didn't get you for as long

As I wanted to

Pre chorus:

I know you can't make yourself

Feel something that you don't

So I'll change what I feel to felt

And try to let go of you

Chorus:

But I'll always love you ooo

I'll still support everything that you do

And when I'm not in love with you ooo

Maybe we could try this again

But just as friends

Verse 2:

I've just got used to you being in my life

I'm addicted now

This feeling I have is new but must grow old

I have to be sober somehow

It all has to end before it's even really started

Pre chorus:

I know you can't make yourself

Feel something that you don't

So I'll change what I feel to felt

And try to let go of you

Chorus:

But I'll always love you ooo

I'll still support everything that you do

And when I'm not in love with you ooo

Maybe we could try this again

But just as friends

Bridge:

I'm trying to act cool

But I feel like such a fool

'Cause I've fallen on my own

Thinking that you was my home

You like what you see

But that's all it'll ever be

You wanted to feel love

But I guess I'm the only one

Chorus:

But I'll always love you ooo

I'll still support everything that you do

And when I'm not in love with you ooo

Maybe we could try this again

But just as friends

Mmmmmmmmm

Just as friends

Mmmm

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:26:16 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:26:50 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:26:57 UTC

Music Video

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:36:40 UTC

Unfortunately, the music video that was meant to be made in December wasn't made due to the film students not having enough time and not being organised. However, these are the storyboards we made with certain ideas for the music video. As film students have also got a lot of workload with assignments, I thought it'd be best to leave the music videos for the near future (most likely in the summer) when university has finished and people have more time to create this music video. I have a second group of film students in mind that are very interested, that are in their 2nd year, but I do also have contacts with 3rd year students. I would really love for a music video to be made for 'Stay in the Light' as I can picture the music video in my head and I want it to be an actual thing, rather than just in my head.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:43:10 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:43:20 UTC

Recording

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:44:09 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:50:56 UTC

I wanted to have some sort of sound barriers to help cut out white noise/unwanted noise, to help with the sound quality. For this I had to use what was around me which was my clotheshorse with washing on, blankets with pegs attached to keep them up, and my chair with things on it to get the blankets high enough for me to get inside. It took a while to set up, but after a few times of doing this I got quicker. It did help but unfortunately I have a little crack in my window where there's a little hole. This tiny hole, or just the old window itself, lets in a bit of noise from outside. This was clear in my song 'I'm Tired', where near the end of the song you can hear birds, but I kept it in as it fit with the song and adds to it.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:54:27 UTC

Notes

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:55:08 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:55:51 UTC

Documenting

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 07:59:24 UTC

I wanted to film little clips of me explaining things or just showing how I'm doing something, parts of the process of making this EP. I wanted to use my phone but my storage is full and didn't want to clog my photos/videos with all of this. I thought about buying a camera but don't have the money yet to buy one. These kind of cameras are the ones I'm looking at as they're small and can go underwater with a case, which could be useful for music videos. Definitely something I will purchase in the future to continue to document my processes and journeys that I will edit and post onto YouTube

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:00:31 UTC

My gmail account I made for my music kept getting disabled. I thought I'd make a new email so it's separate from my personal things, makes things easier to see. However, the account got disabled (even though I had only used it to make a TikTok account), which I appealed and eventually got my account back, but in the same week it got disabled again. I tried to appeal again but it didn't work so I had to make a new account which I'm hoping doesn't get disabled

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:00:49 UTC

This is my stage set up and set list for my final performance (performance module) where I will be playing 3 of the 4 songs from my EP. It's my first performance of the songs and I'm hoping in the summer, I can perform at a few open mic nights or pubs. Brewdog does an open mic night every now and then, there's Frog and Fiddle that always has something going on from time to time, as well as places like Smokey Joes, Two pigs, Moo Moos, etc. that have performances every now and then.

Other things

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:02:14 UTC

Mindmap of ideas/notes

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:17:34 UTC

Recording notes

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:18:51 UTC

Needed to not sing directly into the microphone as there were too many plosives, so had to sing at an angle so that the plosives didn't hit the microphone straight on (makes plosives less loud). I did have a pop shield on but plosives were still coming through. Had to EQ some out as well by rolling off dB at the frequencies the plosives laid at.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:26:15 UTC

Notes

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:27:21 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:28:20 UTC

Strings sound too fake - need a real violin. Wooden fish Tamborine doesn't sound too good, even after editing/manipulating. Harmonica needs more practice if I'm to add it to song later. Adding old videos of me as a child would fit the song and would be nice to try out as a music video - would have to do in the summer.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:33:17 UTC

Repeating ending guitar I didn't like so kept it to play just once.

I do need more harmonies but that would have to be done at a later date as I have ran out of time and I really struggle finding harmonies. - I need to practice finding harmonies. I did search and found that people find it easier when they've listened to songs and sang along to the harmonies, which then helps them find harmonies in their own songs so this is something I am definitely going to practice so I can get better and quicker at finding harmonies. It is actually quite a big problem for me as this is not the only trouble I have with harmonies. I tend to mess up when singing/performing if there are harmonies being sung as I end up singing the harmony instead or a mix between the normal version and the harmonies.

Tried to do a build up a little but was quite difficult to do as want certain parts where they are so I don't really want to move things around too much.

I think I've made the transition more smooth, as smooth as I can get it anyway, would really love to get someone to help me mix and master it as I'm not the best and it takes longer for me to do it as it's just me, a lot of the time having to look up how to get a certain sound or how to do something on YouTube.

I've edited the levels - the whispering were the hardest as they're all different volumes so I had to separate them on different channels to get the volumes needed. Was also a struggle to know how loud is good and not too annoying or distracting from the lyrics, but not too quiet you can't hear what they're saying.

I changed the panning so that the whispering comes at lots of different directions.

I tried adding percussion but I haven't got the right percussion instruments to get the sounds I want, nothing I've tried seems to work.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:45:16 UTC

It took quite a few takes to get it right and in time. Had to draw out the tempo and time signature change in Logic. I did end up doing it in many sections, rather than one take, as it was easier to do so. I just had to make sure it ran smoothly as I didn't want to make it known/obvious that I did it in sections

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:49:59 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:51:24 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:51:33 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:54:52 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:55:01 UTC

What went wrong

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 08:58:02 UTC

I'm releasing the EP as a Demo EP as it took way too long to do everything I wanted and needed to do, as I'm the only one doing everything. I've only had a little bit of help (the cover art and electric guitar in 'Stay in the Light') so it's been really hard to do all of it. I've struggled with timing, I didn't think it would take so long to write the songs as I didn't finish writing the songs until around February/March, but that wasn't too bad as I had already recorded most of the songs so when I finished writing I only needed to add them parts in. The mixing has took the longest. I'm not that skilled on mixing, I'm still learning a lot, but I realised I really enjoy mixing and I don't really want to get someone else to mix my songs for me, though I do think it would be better if I had someone to help, so things can be done quicker and easier. I've watched a lot of tutorials on how to do things and how to get certain sounds, which has really helped in my mixing. I am getting better at doing things with the more I do mix, but I want to get so good at mixing that I feel confident with what I'm doing, but I'm just not at that stage yet, which is why the songs haven't got to the quality I want them to be at.

I've really enjoyed the whole process of making this EP and am going to continue with it so I can get it to the standard I want it. This demo EP is being released on SoundCloud and YouTube (YouTube at a later date - 20th May) so that I can start to get a audience and have my songs out there, there are also many artists that do make demo songs or demo EPs and release them before releasing their final produced work.

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 09:00:53 UTC

This is a link to the cover art, where there are different versions. There's 2 front EP covers (1 with a gold/yellow outline around my name and another with a silver outliine), 2 different back of the EP cover art (again 1 gold/yellow outline and the other silver), and one I can use as a sticker (just the flower).

EP cover art

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 09:01:22 UTC

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 09:11:10 UTC

I have been in contact with a graphic design student, Aeddan, who has made my cover art. We discussed what the design should be, we started with the idea of my name with a daisy flower behind it. He tried this and ended up making a different version with just my name as well. He then talked to me about adding clouds, I agreed and said it'd make a nice background but I didn't want to leave the flower out so I suggested to put the flower as the dot of the 'i' in my name. He did this and had 3 different colours for me to choose from, with this he added more clouds than previously which we both really liked. I decided on the purple as it seemed to fit my sound and songs more as they're all quite sad songs so I wanted a cold colour rather than warm. We're both really happy with the end result

1st idea - the daisy flower

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:46:59 UTC

Flower with white outline

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:47:27 UTC

Pink

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:48:01 UTC

Red

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:48:29 UTC

Purple

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:48:54 UTC

White outline

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:49:17 UTC

Silver outline

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:49:33 UTC

Gold/yellow outline and final/chosen cover art

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:50:07 UTC

I chosen this design because I think the outline colour adds more colour and matches the middle/yellow of the daisy flower

The Future

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 11:59:38 UTC

Moving forward with this, we've discussed that if I were to ever release the EP as a physical CD or format, then I have both the front design and the back design, and he would help design the inside. With the sticker, it means I can print that and make it into different forms of merchandise if I ever wanted, which I would like to think about later on, maybe a few t-shirts with the flower on, or just stickers, etc.. I will be using this cover art for my performance for my performance module. As much as out is cover art for the EP, I also would like to use it as just for me, as an artist, like a logo.

Mixing

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:39:11 UTC

Modulation - I Just Wanna Feel Happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:40:45 UTC

I had to use modulation to turn the volume down for a certain part as I found that there were notes clashing and it didn't sound good, this solved the problem and still sounded natural

Modulation - I'm Tired

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:43:28 UTC

Had to use modulation for the volume to slowly fade it out to end the song as there were noises I didn't want at the end and it didn't ring out long enough

Panning - I just wanna feel happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:45:13 UTC

I decided to double the track of the guitar tune so that it sounded more fuller, with this I then panned them so they came through right and left. This really added to the sound overall. I did this for a few of my songs so that certain instruments sound more full

Percussion Reverb - I just wanna feel happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:47:56 UTC

Compressor on guitar - I just wanna feel happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 12:50:51 UTC

I added a compressor on all the songs for certain audio, like guitar and vocals as there are parts where I sing louder than other or play the guitar louder than other times. Adding compression helps equal out the levels so that there's not big peaks that spike out and makes it more smooth. The photo attached is the compressor I used for 'I Just Wanna Feel Happy' on the guitar

EQ vocals - I just wanna feel happy

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:01:12 UTC

This is the EQ for the vocals in 'I Just Wanna Feel Happy'. I did similar to this in my other songs. I used EQ for every instrument and audio on my songs as this helps cut out things we don't want and boosts the sounds we want to hear, creating room for volume for all audio. I roll off 48dB at about 30Hz usually, but will go further up the frequencies if needed (if there's no sound I want/need from these frequencies). For this one, I had to roll more off than at 30Hz as there were a few plosives in which I realised I can cut them out by rolling 48dB off at the frequencies that the plosives were at. I did this for a few of my songs

Reverb - I'm Tired

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:02:10 UTC

This is the reverb I used for the guitar in 'I'm Tired'. Didn't really need to touch the usual setting as when I went to play around, it just didn't sound as good, so I went to the standard setting, but I did choose 'Bloomy' when choosing what kind of room/space, as bloomy sounded better and added more to the sound

Whispering - stay in the light

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:07:50 UTC

I had to use a lot of different channels for the whispering as I found this the easier way, rather than adding modulation to change the volume, but it did mean things looked a bit messy and I have a lot of channels. I had to do this though as each time I recorded a whisper it was at a different volume at times due to it being whispering and different rhythms of saying things.

Electric guitar delay

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:09:39 UTC

I used delay on the electric guitar which really adds to the song as well as it sounding really cool when the song ends as you just hear the delay of the guitar, which I really like and it works well with the song. I used delay on a few other things in my songs

Modulation - stay in the light

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:12:48 UTC

This knife sharpening sound was my favourite thing to make. I added overdrive, EQ, reverb, compression, etc. And then I panned the audio with modulation so that it changes from left to right and right to left, continuously, so that you can hear the change as it plays. I find it really satisfying to the ears and I think it really adds to the song, especially with stereo and it changing directions

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:22:50 UTC

I decided to have a Live version of this song as I really wanted to include it in the EP, but it's one of my favourite songs that I'm scared to try and release as I don't think I'm at the skills I need to be to get it to the standard I'll be happy with but I knew I could do at least a live version. I had recorded this last year but at the time I wasn't sure whether I'd use it for the EP. I set up 3 mics for the guitar (near the hole, near the frets, and room mic) and 4 mics for the piano (left, right, middle and room mic). With this song I had Ayisha (a friend and student on the same course) play the piano for this song, which I really like the sound of the piano. I do think that the vocals are a little annoying as I do it in 2 takes and there's not a lot of room to cut into the audio. As I have a quiet and soft voice, the gain has to be turn up quite a lot, which means there's a lot of white noise in the audio. I found with my other songs that I can cut in-between breathes and words to cut out a lot of the white noise (a technique I found from FINNEAS who helps write and mix Billie Eilish's songs, who has the same problem), but since this was a live version and I couldn't really cut it as it'd be obvious, I had to leave it. This also meant that there are a lot of mouth noises (me breathing, swallowing spit, etc.) that can be heard in the vocals. But apart from that, I'm really happy with it. I didn't do much for the mixing of this song. Just added EQ and compression, as I wanted it to sound as natural as possible

Videos

daisypollard24 — 2024-05-15 13:26:01 UTC

I have some videos of me talking about my process that I would like to edit and put onto YouTube but I have not got the software as of yet, and have not got the time yet, to get this done. I've used DaVinci before which is pretty good, but I used it on my boyfriend's computer, so I would like to find a software I can use on my Mac, but will have to look into what software works with my Mac. I hope to have this done in the summer