EP Evaluation

1. What is your EP called? -  My Ep is called 'Beginning' as it is my first one. 

2.  What styles of music are on the EP? - There are 3 tracks that I have recorded to use for my ep. Their genres being rap, hip hop and house. 

3. What genre would you categorise the EP as?  It can be more than one - The genre I would categorise my EP as would be Indie Fusion as there are a mash of different genres which are independent to myself.

4. In terms of the style/artistic content - are you happy with the EP? Tell me about the strengths and weaknesses of your music - I am really pleased with the styles I have gone with in my music. They are all very different and have fusion within them. For example, my house track has blues influences mixed with chill house and a deep house drop. My hip hop track is very different as you can feel the hip hop beat however it is without a drum beat and is just a piano and bass. However, I would like to have another version which features a drum section in order to keep the rap/ hip hop idea present. The artistic content in my acoustic and hip hop track could have been more - however, I didn't have the time or resources to get a lot of different instruments together to make my tracks more musical. 

5. Musically - How well does your EP fit into the genre you work in? Compare your work to your favourite artists…

My house track goes to show all of my pre dominant influences being house, bass, blues and general ambience. I love ambience in tracks, whether that be a distant guitar or wind etc. I love Young the Giant  - Islands as it goes from one extreme to another and the build up is slow and melodical. Overall, I think my EPs genres shows exactly what I am about as an artist and shows my diversity a lot. 

6. In terms of technical standard (recording/mix downs) - are you happy with the EP? Tell me about the strengths and weaknesses of your music. - The recording could have been better as my mic technique is not at a very high standard. However, the mix downs compliment this to an extent. I wish i had recorded a lot more instruments and got a lot more done in my tracks as they still not entirely finished however I do intent to fix them up. My house track is the one I am most proud of - as all it needs is a good master. 

7. Technically - How well does your EP fit into the genre? Compare your work to your favourite artists..

Technically my EP is mixed to a decent standard and replicates the mixes of other genres. For example, my acoustic track is guitar based and the main guitar is in the frontline of the mix and the riffs are panned far left or right - however they are not turned down to compliment the main guitar - they are just as loud - which, in my opinion is the main mix idea for acoustic tracks as it meant to highlight the acoustic features. 

8. Did you collaborate with other musicians/artists on your EP? No I didnt, although I was planning to have a few rappers feature on a few tracks. 

9. Who did you work with in the studio? What roles did they fill? How did this help you complete your EP? I had a pianist feature on one of my tracks as I can't play the piano well enough to improvise - on that day I also had an engineer who helped me record vocals. I also had an engineer help me record guitar which helped me save time and get a lot more out of my recording session as I just had to focus on playing guitar and didn't have to run into the main room to press record etc. 

10. What was the most important piece of equipment you used when making your EP? How did you use it? Why was this the most important? The most important piece of equipment I used when making my ep was logic. Although it is not your generic piece of equipment which is physical - it is the main tool I used to make my music. It is way more important than any other thing I have used as it determined the value and quality of my music as a whole. I used it to record my recordings and to mix them with the others. I used it make a full track (Smoky Blues). 

11. Give me an example of a studio session that went really well. What was good about the session? Why?

The best example I can give is when I had keiran and lamar help me in the studio. It felt like I could have recorded the whole track in that hour as I had a pianist and engineer to help me record. We worked well together and efficiently got a lot of good vocal and piano takes. 

12. What is your favourite track on your EP? Why is it your favourite? 

My favourite track on my ep is Smoky Blues as it is the most up tempo. It also the only fully finished track.  I like it a lot because I spent a lot of time making sure that I got down every single idea I had and it showed that my house influences had had a good effect on me as I believe I just contributed to house. I loved my own ideas - however I do think I could spend another few months adding more melodies and bass' on it. 

13. What are you going to do with your completed EP? Send to labels? Post online for free? What are your plans for the future? 

With my EP - I want to use the best tracks to showcase myself as an artist and producer so i can entice people into my own label. Therefore, one will be able to find it online however I dont plan on selling it but I may consider it at a later date.

14. What is the most important thing you have learnt when creating your EP? 

The most important thing I have learnt is to get an engineer in with you when you want to record otherwise you will waste a lot of time and not get many decent takes. you will also have to spend even more time afterwards going through all of them. 

15. What was your most recent music purchase?

Kaasi - heartbeats

16. How much money do you spend on music every month?

 Practically nothing

17. How much money do you spend going to gigs/clubs?

 Nothing

18. How do you plan to make a career in the music industry? What are your future plans?

I plan to start my own label and make other people successful.

Planning an event evaluation

The planning that takes place when helping out with an event is rigourous. When I was helping chrome with hooves - I had to be there by soundcheck, and even before some of the artists had turned up in order to show a sense of respect and loyalty that I am there to get the job done; as this was our first meeting. I met with the manager to discuss what was needed to be done and to get a general rapport with him. I would be working for him, for the next few hours, to sell his products and have to talk to fans of the band as well - so maybe i could get a few anecdotes to share to get a rapport with the customers.

We then discussed the prices of the products and I tried to make sure I could remember at least a few so I wouldn't seem clueless when someone asks me how much something is; although I did have a piece of paper with all of them information on. I did this with the purpose of seeming professional and committed to the band.

As I was not working alone, I had to set roles between me and my accomplice to determine break times etc. This was very important - as we could not leave the merch corner alone as someone could have stolen something.

We then started to setup and discussed between us what would look aesthetically appealing and practical at the same time.
We decided to hang some clothes on the wall in order to show the choice and the rest of the T's were in a box under the table, as there was not enough space, and was impractical, to show all of the sizes. We did the same with the layout of the CD's and vinyl so people could see what they were buying before hand. We even had two vinylls, one ontop of the other in order to show both sides of the art.

We stayed vigilant and on the ball and got involved in general conversation with people walking by in order to entice them to check out our stuff in the hopes they would come back before they left to buy something. This is an important role when selling products to the general public, as it does seem to install some sort of trust; although everyone knows that they're being a bit false.

We had to keep a tally of what we had sold and the total of the float at the beginning in order to justify that we had sold products and no money was unaccounted for.

Overall, we were very organised and efficient in selling the merch and made a substantial profit for the band. There were no mishaps (money or merch going missing). The signs on the wall for the prices of products were used well and were legible which was a great help as it stopped customers asking unnecessary questions and they could browse freely.

A legal performance?

Organisational and legal considerations


When putting on an event there a lot of things to consider. Legal obligations being one of the most important - and then organisational roles need to be distributed to make sure the event runs smoothly.

An example of the most common legal obligation would be to have the venue completely PAT tested as electrical appliances are going to be used throughout. If one does not have this, they may be forced to shut down as a lot of fire hazards are imminent and electrocutions. If the customers and/or performers know that the venue isn't PAT tested they may feel it is not secure and wont participate in any events which will lead to the venue going out of business as there will be no business. Therefore, it is imperative to have the venue you use checked out in order to halt any random electrical difficulties during a set or performance. During the show - sound levels need to be in check as high SPL's can be extremely damaging and not everyone carries ear plugs to prevent that. Having a good engineer can make sure that all the levels are good and that loud sounds such as feedback are kept to a minimum. After the show, having qualified people who know what they are doing (packing up) is worth the pay as they could evidently break a £500 piece of kit by simply not unplugging it before lifting it etc. They will also make sure of small things, such as the power being off before unplugging and in the correct order too.

PPL is a licence which venues need to have in order to play music which is licensed - as if they do not have this licence they wont be able to have music playing which could lose them profit as many people go out to listen to music - whether that be live or through a speaker. So if one is simply running a night just to make some extra cash - they need a licence to play other peoples copyrighted music. It may be beneficial to check if the company is signed up for PRS - so if one plays a set live they can get money from it. Another licence which will be beneficial will be a 24hour licence for live music so that the event can go on for however long one would want. However, it depends on what type of event on is planning on hosting - therefore is a pub doesn't have that licence but you want to perform an acoustic set - that should be fine as the type of music isn't generically one that one will stay out until 2am to listen to.

If one is hosting a club type of event and want strobe lighting and smoke machines and any other extremities - they need to check health and safety regulations and get clearance for such things as some may not allow it as they can be extremely hazardous for whatever reason. Strobe lighting is one of the ones that you need to definitely get clearance for because some people are epileptic and could have a seizure at the event. Making sure that the venue has a fire exit is also another standard procedure as in case of such an event happening - people need to leave the building ASAP and if there are hordes at one door a lot of unfortunate mishaps could happen.

Roles that need to be covered would be; engineers, people on the door, hosts, stage manager, people to rig up the stage and possibly security.

People on the door make sure that people have ID so if police show up they don't see underage people drinking and/or in a pub past nine. This will make sure that the event is legal and runs smoothly - as having police attention wont give the venue/event a good reputation which will make it harder for the venue/promoter or host to continue running gigs.
Having hosts will make the event seem more professional as there is someone to fill in the quiet spaces between performers. However, some events wont need a host as there may be DJS and/or multiple stages - although it is a professional touch to have one.
Having a stage manager is a must have as their whole focus will be on making sure everyone is promptly on stage and they know when and where they need to be. If a show is unorganised - then people will probably leave and/or, even worse, ask for a refund.
The host and stage manager work closely together as the host will be able to cover for the stage manager is someone goes missing and will be able to buy some time before the next act. Having a stage manager and host, will probably mean that your event is acoustic and live music on a main stage rather than a DJ in a booth. However, even a DJ and MC may need a host to call the next act up and get the crowd pumped.
People to rig up and unpack the stage is very important in running an event as you want people who have a touch of creativity and will position things in the best suited place which will emphasise the atmosphere and performances. Having a PA facing the wrong way wont help at all - so to get people who are qualified is a must have for your event to run smoothly.