https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o made with en-us 2023-09-22 03:26:02 UTC 2023-10-05 03:27:09 UTC hello@padlet.com 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715676892 Swans formation and 'bleak, brutal-noise rock... and ambient' sound has been an essential inspiration to the music I hope to create in my oncoming career as a musician/music therapist (Jurek, n.d). I am influenced by the arrangement of instruments, to lyrics, the music produced by the lead singer Michael Gira, creates an atmosphere that encapsulates his pain through the use of specific technology; 'cavernous reverb, enormous drums...' etc. (Idov, 2005). The non-syncapational approach to Swans music sets a consistent tone, however allows him to embellish instrumental sections to vocalise symbolism without altering the time signature, epitomising one of the musical directions I attempt to emulate. The way Gira conveys emotion through his lyricism as well as a predominant use of acoustic guitars to create a prevalent sound, in songs such as 'Just a Little Boy', motivates me to structure my music in a way that my message is properly stipulated. Gira is known for his single riff played repeatedly, creating a hypnotic effect]]> 2023-09-22 03:32:12 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715676892 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715772115 Thom Yorke's solo career as well as his quintessence in bands such as Radiohead, Atoms For piece and so on, I am inspired fascination with syncopation in his music and indulgence in differing genres across his albums; 'Suspiria's' ethereal sound compared to 'In Rainbows' which emulates a more futuristic sound. Yorke has stated the song "All I need", attempted to mimmic the sound of white noise that consumes a room, which relates heavily to the way I like to experiment with my music (N.N., 2007). His participation in the film making industry and supplying soundtracks for nominating films such as 'Children of men', shows his versatility in his ability to create different projects, motivating me to explore outside the realm of just albums and research soundtracks for films, games and so on. Utilising the electro-harmonix loop recorder, it allowed him to layer guitar licks and harmonisations to embellish his music which I envision to incorporate heavily into my future music]]> 2023-09-22 05:04:47 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715772115 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715778382 Norah Jones was declared one of the first to create a fusion between 'Jazz, country and pop music', emphasising the creative beauty in merging different genres that stand well on their own (Augustyn, N.D). The exploration of acoustic jazz, especially in her first album "Come away with me", is inspiring purely because of the melodic accents and spotlight of guitar and/or piano. Norah Jones as well as Yorke, experiments syncopation and odd BPM's such as "Don't know why" being played in 176 BPM. The arrangement of her songs feel soulful, delivering a warm atmosphere, one of the atmospherical feelings I would like to emulate in my future career.]]> 2023-09-22 05:09:37 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2715778382 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2723976342 Howlin Wolf, originally Chester Arthur Burnett, inspired the lead singer of Swans Michael Gira through his melancholy blues production, as well as his "roots of punk" (Luke Turner, 2014). Wolf was renowned for his Chicago blues style, implementing soul and rhythm, which Gira gravitated towards as Wolf emulated the music of his region growing up in a cottage plantation. Having a "guttural and emotionally suggestive voice" as well as experimenting with different instruments such as the harmonica, Wolf captivated Gira to incorporate the emotional display through his voice into his music. The song 'Just a Little Boy', was written with Wolf in mind, stating Gira attempted to reach into his "unbridled ID", stipulating that this is precisely what Wolf conveyed through his blues articulations (song facts, 2014).]]> 2023-09-28 01:56:10 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2723976342 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2726746276 J.G Ballard had an unusual influence on Swans' lead singer, appealing him due to his way with words. J.G Ballard wrote short stories depicting the reality of war and societal technology, in which Gira found intriguing, carrying a copy of Ballard's books for inspiration. Ballards use of dystopian themes, inspired Gira to communicate avangard messages through his eery style music (Sterling, 2023). Often drawing inspiration from books or movies, Gira became inspired by Ballard's stoic writing and attempted to incorporate that into his works. ]]> 2023-09-30 06:44:50 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2726746276 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2726746452 2023-09-30 06:45:33 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2726746452 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727985840 Jorge Luis Borges, most renowned for being an argentine author and essay analyst, Gira frequently carried his books around as an inspiration behind his lyricism. Lyricism was an integral strong point in Swans' music, and prioritised when coming to the production side of the matter, as conveying emotion and story telling was a key factor that went into each album. Borge's became a member of the ultraist movement, a group that rebelled against the established writers of the generation of 1898 (Monegal, 2023). Borge's participation in a rebellious movement and passion for writing, inspired Gira to create 'The Beggar', depicting a "sprawling, sonically dizzying..." work of art (Shields, 2023).
Gira is a musician that doesn't simply use other genres of music for inspiration, but also all other aspects of creativity such as writing, art etc. Communicating beauty and emotion through poems, Borge's created a foundation for which Gira utilised and worked on throughout his career. ]]> 2023-10-02 04:52:48 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727985840 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727986661 Neil young was the soul reason Yorke relinquished his fear of having a higher pitched voice, and encouraged him to embrace it, which would become a large trademark of his artistry. During the very early stages of his career, Yorke sent off a demo to a free music magazine, and was reported to sound exactly like Young (Gordon, N.D). Typically, Yorke attempted to reproduce voices like Michael Stipe, although he felt the register was too high and uncomfortable for him as he felt quite shameful of his naturally high register. However, getting compared to Neil Young assisted Yorke in accepting his high register and going on to feature that in his music, prevalent in 'Nude'. Young was described as both 'Folkie and rocker', known for baring 'his emotional world musically', depicting a similar trait Yorke showcased when creating the atmosphere for his music (Santoro, 2023). Although Young was not Yorke's biggest inspiration, an integral part of Yorke's career being his high tuned voice can be attributed to Young's accidental influence.]]> 2023-10-02 04:53:53 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727986661 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727987316 Miles davis was a key influence to the career of Radiohead, specifically Godrich and Yorke who also formed 'Atoms for peace', the band before the beginning of Radiohead. Stating Davis was their 'one trusty source of inspiration', 'Bitches Brew' was an album used even 20 years on, to motivate them when assembling 'Atoms for Peace' (Taysom, 2021). Miles Davis was reportedly the main inspiration for their 'seminal masterpiece', 'OK! Computer' (Taysom, 2021). Not only did Davis' music have an influence on the music that Yorke would create, but also an influence on his out look on music itself and life in the process. Stating music "...can only try to bear witness somehow", alluding to the fact that Davis is one of the many inspirations that allowed Yorke to communicate the "horror... and violence" of life through symbolism and instrumental arrangement (Daly, 2022). Although Miles Davis' music isn't necessarily similar to the music Radiohead released, the aura of Davis is something that has stuck with them throughout their career. ]]> 2023-10-02 04:54:46 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727987316 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727987656 It has been stated that Radiohead would not be 'the band we know and love' without the existence and influence of the pixies, as Yorke exhibited an obsession with their musical arrangements (Ferrier, 2023). The pixies' hook, specifically the one that Thom Yorke imitated, was the fade in and out of songs, creating large intros, and taking apart the song musically by fading out an instrument one by one. The hard to soft, loud to quiet dynamic is what allured Radiohead, not to mention many other bands such as Nirvana. Taking the song 'Bone machine' by the Pixies, the intro to the song begins by layering the instruments, first the drums, then the bass. Yorke was drawn to the slow and suggestive introductions (fade ins and outs) of the Pixies, and elongated that element within Radiohead's music. The song 'Body snatchers' by Radiohead, the intense guitar duos and rhythm mirrors some of the work of the Pixies, the core influence is audible in their music, predominantly in Radiohead's earlier albums. ]]> 2023-10-02 04:55:12 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727987656 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727988341 Aretha Franklin served as an influence to many, namely miss Norah Jones. Having discovered Franklin through her mother's record collections, Jones' discovered Aretha's talent in blending gospel, with blues, R&B, and jazz. A key element of Norah's music was the combination of Jazz, blues and country/pop, which is audibly similar however slower paced when comparing to Franklin's music. Franklin's piano playing was an enormous influence on Jones', as a young child she learnt alto Saxophone, and piano in honour of her many inspirations, one being Franklin (Powers, 2007). Growing up and imitating the works of her favourite singers, Jones imitated Franklin's work into a career of her own, debuting with her 2002 album "Come away with me", a slower version and slightly similar to Franklin's album "Amazing grace".]]> 2023-10-02 04:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727988341 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727989393 Etta James, a jazz pop singer, debuted at the age of 14, showcasing her magnetising voice and swing essence music. Jones was recorded singing James' rendition of a Billie Holiday favourite, 'i'll be seeing you', at her 16th birthday, admitting her love for James' work and articulation of music (N.A, 2022). Etta James' was renowned for her rhythm and blues, being quoted as difficult to 'pin point' genre wise, the similarities between their music is notable, especially in Jones' song 'Turn me on', and James' song 'i just wanna make love to you'. Etta James did renditions of Billie Holiday favourites, another one of Jones' musical influences, stylistically appealing to Jones' when she began writing her album 'Come away with me'. Jones' felt 'heavily affected' by the works of Etta James, as well as James' participation in the church choir, where Jones was found to have also been apart of the church choir (N.A, 2018). Specifically the genre of music she frequented and the power in her voice, James paved the way for young artists like Jones to feature and remind society of the genre that fazed out for some time, which is the R&B, pop and jazz fusion. ]]> 2023-10-02 04:57:23 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727989393 10321103 https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727991269 Billie Holiday, nicknamed 'Lady Day', was a well renowned American Jazz singer, fusing jazz music and pop singing, similar to the ideals and works of Norah Jones' and the genres she would frequent. Having no formal music training, Holiday debuted in a music club in Harlem, inspiring Jones to gig part time in a local restaurant whilst in college, to 'practice... mostly background music' (Powers, 2007). Touring closely with the Saxophonist Lester Young, their powerful combination of Piano and Saxophone lured Jones to practicing similar music, as well as frequently listening to their music as influences and attempting to imitate them. The slow arrangement of Holiday's music, prevalent in 'Holiday Blues', is similar to Norah's jazz pop music, again combining Jazz singing with jazz/pop esc music. ]]> 2023-10-02 04:59:03 UTC https://padlet.com/10321103/ofkf6mhzthncnm6o/wish/2727991269