The song's called Badlands and we've got two video versions: A 4:20 length quicky overview, and the full length version (1:27:35) for those that want to see how the hour/half shook down.

Listen to the mp3: (download mp3)
And check out the Video:

Want to see the full 1 hour and 27 minutes? Click Here.

I used Stylus RMX as the backbone of the beat. It's a great tool. Fast beats. Lots of control. In the chorus I used another instance of Stylus RMX in "kit" mode to lay in a thicker and kick and snare .. just for audio BEEF.

The bassline is from "Predator!!!" (not the movie), which is one of my newest favorites of soft-synths. I like Papen's "Blue", too, but Predator captures that analog synthy stuff.

I also doubled the bassline in the chorus with a patch from reFX's Vanguard. Past readers of my blog will know of my "undying love" for the Vanguard synth.

The chorus also got a leadish patch from Vanguard that helped the high transients move in the chorus. It helps give it that big "gush" that you generally want in pop choruses.

Towards the end of the hour we had lyric drama as Jesse was still putting together the second verse ... We already had the first verse cut. But, that's the fun of doing a song in an hour. It's also interesting looking at the video afterwards .. you get to hear the ideas that you forgot in the middle of the writing process!

Until next time ...

Video is copyright Teft Inc.

Badlands mp3 is licensed under:

Here's the final mp3: (download mp3)


Normally I'd talk about the whole process, but the video does a good job of summing it up. A few of my favorite tools:

• Logic Pro
• reFx Vanguard
• Stylus RMX
• Avalon 737

More 1 Hour Songs:

• Electric Core
• Delicious which was officially released!

Have a listen to Electric Core: (download mp3)

Our first 1 hour song was a success. So much of a success that we've decided to put a remastered version of "Delicious" on Mimi & Teft's upcoming EP (due out in September). The great thing about the process is that it challenges your decision making and you make choices VERY fast. You pretty much grab a melody within minutes and roll with it.

We usually start out by crafting a beat. I used two "4 to the floor" kick loops from Stylus RMX, and a kit from NI's Battery. Mimi starts building a melody within moments of hearing the kick drum. Anything that comes to mind that sounds remotely usable we cut to disk for reference (and memory!) I start establishing synths from her melodic structure and we set the key.

One of the hardest things to do is to build a chorus/hook right after building a verse. It gets risky sounding too similar to the verse if we're not careful. Production plays a huge role in "lifting" the chorus/hook. If the energy doesn't build, neither does your emotional reaction to the chorus/hook.

Judy (Mom) and Jesse had a great competition to see who could come up with the winning lyric lines. It was definitely a challenge for Jesse because he's use to thinking through the entire set of lyrics and then writing them down. Can't do that in an hour! He did a great job in collaborating on this tune.

Another interesting fact about the 1 hour song challenge is that you can't have an ego. Anytime spent arguing is time wasted, so your forced to see all options for what they really are (good or bad or almost rockin').

Here's the final set of lyrics:

Electric Core

youre moving closer makin pressure like you wanna play
You tell me secrets in your movement and we start the game
yea I can hear you - everything you tell me on the floor
it's elemental, it's essential - our electric core

Chorus
And ohhhh
You got me spinnin like a disco
go round and round into the vinyl
And every time you turn me more you turn me more ohohohoh
And ohhhh
I'll be your puppet- let's put on a show
just get behind and start to move it slow
And when you do I want you more I want you more ohohohoh

we're sinkin lower like a tower under gravity
we're moving closer to the center of our energy
You rock my body til it's shakin and I beg for more
it's elemental, it's essential - our electric core

Chorus

At the 1 hour mark, we had the song put together and some vocals cut. But, we felt the lyrics needed strengthening, so we extended it to 1 hour and 37 minutes and cut the current vocals on the mp3. I slapped an Ozone mastering plugin at the end and raised the volume with it's limiter. We could possibly re-open the song in a few weeks and do some polishing. But, we'll see what happens ...

A few of my favorite things:

• reFX Vanguard
• BLUE
• Albino 3
• NI Battery 3
• Stylus RMX
• Logic Pro

All photos copyright Teft Inc. and were taken during the 1 hour song challenge.

Electric Core mp3 is licensed under:

The song is called "Delicious" and has a very sexy Electronic/Dance vibe. All done in one hour, in Logic Pro, take a listen ...


Download Delicious Mp3
We started out by crafting a beat first. I used Stylus RMX for the core kit sound; programmed the drums; and then added a second RMX instance with a 4 to the floor loop to thicken the kick. Next, I used BLUE for the gushy bass sound. It mixed in really well in the beginning because the drums had a sharp defined cut, and the bass blended over the kicks. This helped create the effect of the instruments blending as one.

To the left is a screen shot of the final song in Logic. I'm a HUGE Logic fan ... been using it since 4.6. SIDENOTE: I hated the fact that Apple bought Logic, until I finally brokedown and bought a Mac, WOW am I glad I fully switched to Apple
I LOVE Vanguard from reFX. It's warm and analogish. I used it twice for synth stab sounds. 1 mild, and 1 dirty. Controlling the synth stabs can always be an issue ... this song led itself to be sparse stabs, whiched really complemented Mimi's vox.

Mimi is a great vocalist to work with (and that's not because she's my girl friend) ... she pours emotion into her vox. We worked directly on the melody with the beat and bass line to get something that jived quickly. Cutting vocals and writing lyrics and melody at the same time is an interesting process. Minute by minute the clock is ticking, so the faster we can cut vox that work, is obviously better. I used ArtsAcoustic Reverb on her voice. Mimi's great at coming up with melodic material on the spot, no matter what harmony or production you throw at her.

The biggest challenge tonight was assembling a melody and lyric together that worked in less than an hour. Mom (to the left), has been song writing with us for over 5 years. We've pretty muched gelled the process, so she knows what generaly works and doesn't work in the lyric world, so she can make quick decisions as the clock ticks. Her tool of choice is a MacBook Pro and Masterwriter. Lyrical prosody is always a challenge ... it can be astonishing to hear the difference between using "that" or "that's" in a lyric and hearing the vox dynamics shift. It can truly make or break a song.

Finally, I capped off the song with Ozone's limiter, which I prefer over most of the limiters available in the digital world (including Waves). Leave a reply and let us know what you think and/or if you give the 1 hour challenge a shot and post it on your blog! We'll probably make a habit of doing this every week

Tool List:

• Logic Pro
• BLUE
• Vanguard
• Stylus RMX
• ArtsAcoustic Reverb
• Ozone
• Mic and PreAmp

QUICK NOTE: Merlin was with us the whole time ... he's the muse. All photos copyright of Teft Inc. and were taken during the 1 hour song challenge.

Delicious mp3 is licensed under: