Music Production, Technology, and Innovation

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  KARAKTER LIVE: AN AUDIOVISUAL PERFORMANCE

  Kerem Demirayak
  2018

  This CE is an Audivisual Live performance appealing to the audience’s sensory experience and introduce them to different characters from Karakter’s musical world. The performance is a study of abstraction that is influenced by sound design and colour inspiring thoughts and dreams; composed using a sequence of instruments, tones and tempo. The visual images showcased derives from themes of daydreaming and imagination with regard to animations mapped, performed and manipulated on stage. Reactive MIDI and motion controllers achieve innovation in live performance, also keeping in mind the limitations of having only essential devices during touring and sticking to a budget so that it is profitable. A short documentary is shot about Karakter’s journey exploring state of the art developments, discovering his vision and learning the necessary techniques for building his project throughout the year in collaboration with artists and capitalising on professional opportunities.

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  VDiVaio Presents: Form Constants

  Vittoriano Di Vaio
  2018

  Form Constants is Vittoriano Di Vaio’s first project as VDiVaio. It is a solo performance of music and video art narrated by the artist himself, a story that recalls feelings of nostalgia in the aftermath of heartbreak and his coming to terms with uncertainty on the road that lies ahead. To tell this story the way he wanted, this artist needed to explore tools that were previously unfamiliar to him. In the process, he developed a custom audiovisual performance system, a skill set in projection mapping, and most importantly, a workflow for developing music and video content in parallel. Aside from the steep learning curve associated with these tasks, this artist encountered another challenge: finding his ‘sound’ within the music, and producing something that feels both original and authentic to himself. Going forward, this artist hopes to continue performing and adapting Form Constants for different live settings, while he works on publishing and promoting his flagship singles as VDiVaio.

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  AVolution: An evolution in the solution to audiovisual execution

  Daniel Adam Dresner
  2018

  The goal of my culminating experience is to create an audio/visual synthesizer in Max for Live. My creating this tool, I will be able to create unique content as an artist that I can then use as a platform to establish my identity in the world of electronic dance music.

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  Ti’a Joyo [Spiritual Search]: A Virtual Reality Immersive Environment

  Carlos Egas
  2018

  This project is focused on a long live tradition of the Siona culture (an ethnical group of the Ecuadorian and Colombian tropical forest): The Yage ritual. Which consists of a soul searching and cleansing personal activity, that temporarily connects you with Mai Ja’que (the creator god) and the spiritual world. This is achieved by creating a virtual reality environment with an Oculus Rift (Virtual Reality headset) and B-format audio to place the user inside of a magical Ecuadorian tropical forest. The exploration inside it triggers different sounds, musical samples and imagery inspired in the different stages of the ceremony.

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  Numbers: A Visual EP Within the Lily Byrd Brand

  Liliana Gagnon
  2018

  This purpose of this project was to create a visual EP in the indie-folk electronic style that builds upon and enhances my artist persona and brand ‘Lily Byrd’. The project consists of five songs and five accompanying videos as well as a live performance with VJ content. Through the songs themes of loneliness and growth are explored through the lyrics while the music combines American traditional folk, electronic, singer-songwriter and alternative. Inspiration was also taken from genres such as drone and experimental music as well as unconventional songwriting form. The videos provide a simple backdrop enhancing the mood and world when listening to the album and have been adapted into clips one can VJ. The project was successful and made better through collaboration with other artists and mixing ears. I enhanced my music production, sound design, engineering, songwriting and video production skills during this project and I am very pleased with the result. I plan to release and promote this album and use it as a starting point for my career.

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  Sunrise: A Reflection on ZOLA’s Debut EP, Take Off

  Daniel Gazzola
  2018

  For his culminating experience, Daniel Gazzola, whose producer name is ZOLA, intends to release an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) EP on Soundcloud, and Spotify/ other streaming services through the use of Artists Without A Label (AWAL). This project is about ZOLA developing his artistic voice and style through the production of EDM. The EP will include 4 original tracks, three of which will contain collaborations with vocalists and lyricists. While the end product is a fully produced 4-track EP being released by ZOLA, some other goals include developing a powerful artist presence on social media, and posting photos to keep followers updated with his journey. This is intended to be achieved through the implementation of powerful visuals, using a common theme to tie all social media accounts together and to the released EP. Through the development and growth of his artistic voice and social media presence, ZOLA hopes to establish a strong brand. While these goals are a little more quantitative, a final qualitative goal that ZOLA intends to achieve is to produce music that he himself is proud of and enjoys listening to. He intends to do this through improving his sound design, composition and recording skills.

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  Music Production Portfolio: Showcasing a Diverse Set of Music Production Skills

  Ido Goldberg
  2018

  In this new era of technology and globalization, the competition in the international and local music scene is increasing and it is necessary to have an online presence which gives an encompassing view of one’s work and personality. In order to have a unique position in the current market, it is an advantage to have a diverse set of musical skills. This objective of this project is to create a personal music production brand by portraying and combining diverse music production and artistic skills into an online platform. The deliverable will be a website containing a portfolio of works supported by audio, video and pictures that represent music production skills and strengths in a variety of fields. The portfolio will include music produced for artists, examples of original songs, collaboration with artists, guitar work, engineering and mixing, composition for media and sound design. The challenge is to connecting the different trades into one concise website and brand that will serve as a modern day, multimedia business card.

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  Not For You: A Visual Album by Gracie Hays

  Rosemary Hays
  2018

  This visual, spoken word, three-track EP was born out of an experience that Gracie Hays had in her own personal life. She went through a manipulative and emotionally abusive relationship, and in the time after it when she came to Berklee Valencia, she decided to make an EP about it. Since many women go through the same thing, Gracie’s main goal with this project was to help and unite these people, and tell people who haven’t gone through something similar, what it’s like. Writing and composing these three songs, and three spoken word pieces was truly a challenge for her. In order to write the songs, Gracie had to relive her own past, and it proved harder than she originally thought. However, she was able to overcome her writer’s block and continue on to recording, mixing, mastering, storyboarding, filming, and editing the entire project. Gracie did 100% of the work for this entire album, from start to finish. This is what truly makes this project innovative. Gracie was able to fill every single role in the process, and create this album within a period of 9 months. She plans to release her EP second track, “Gone,” as a single on June 22, 2018, and the entire album, Not for You, with accompanying video on July 27, 2018. Gracie is extremely proud of the final product, and can’t wait to share it with the world.

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  MURALLA: Composition, recording and production of Rey Lobo’s EP

  Víctor Miguel Hernández Martínez
  2018

  Muralla is an EP of 5 songs that has been recorded and produced in Berklee College of Music. Conceptually, the EP evolve around the Arab Wall of Murcia, which plays a central role as an arch to tell a story of a character trying to tear down the wall to reach Murcia. The production is based on traditional latin singer-songwriter music, combined with elements of electronics that distance the genre towards a more authentic and unique sound. The main objective of the project is to create a new image for the Rey Lobo brand, allowing the group to evolve musically and eventually be embedded in the panorama of indie electronic folk music.

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  OOPSYN: Out of Place Synthesizer

  Tomokazu Hiroki
  2018

  OOPSYN is a Sci-Fi, steampunk virtual reality musical environment(VRMIs). It is a series of virtual sound making objects and musical instruments that a viewer interacts with to create their own sounds. Aesthetically, the virtual environment uses a Steam Punk look. The sound design will mirror the visual universe by using metallic and industrial sounds, which gives users an immersive experience in creating music. The goal of this project is to make art installation within a Virtual Realty (VR) universe where users can experience the process of making their own sound. A documentary/demonstration video of the making process and the work will be also provided. VR/Cross Reality(XR) has a lot of potential such as media, and further musical contents will be created in the future.

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  Jasmine Olinga: A Debut EP

  Jasmine Howard
  2018

  This project aims to engage listeners in a serene and cinematic soundscape filled with fluidity and depth, soulful vocals and organic compositions. By bringing together elements of multiple musical styles and genres, this body of work allows diverse influences to surface and blend together in a refreshing and accessible combination of Latin pop, indie folk, impressionism, and acoustic soul. The deliverable of this project is the artist’s self-titled debut EP, exploring themes of nature, human connection and love. The process included writing, arranging, rehearsing, workshopping, testing out six different vocal microphones, recording, re-recording, overproducing tracks and backtracking to more minimal production in Pro Tools and Ableton Live. Over months of trial and error in recording and production, with the help of three engineers and nineteen musicians, the artist was able to translate their vision into reality. Hopefully, the music can serve as a source for healing and lift people up when they most need it.

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  EP

  Jordan James
  2018

  Create a 5 Track EP with accompanying website and branding. The EP will focus on a deep house aesthetic influenced by the sounds of Disco, and New York Techno, and deep house. Ideally the EP would be premiered at a club in Valencia such as La3, Latex, or Play, and would be able to fit into the artist’s own DJ set organically.

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  Video Album: An exploration in visuals for music Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Music Production Technology and Innovation

  Elizabeth G. Kereakoglow
  2018

  This Project explores the present day's increasing visual relationship to music and to the musician/producer/artist. In Challenging myself as a solo musician I wound up exploring and incorporating new visual skills into my creative projects and process, and began to traverse a new sensory world to be explored and created in. In the end, I learned a lot about the art of video editing and how to employ different video programs for specific musical applications. The result of this project is a 39-minute visual album, 13 individual music videos and a 45 minute resolume VJ set. I hope by realizing this project I inspire other solo artists and writers to gain the new skills and experiences that will help them create new dimensions to their art.

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  The Chariot: A Narrative Exploration in the Digital World

  Samuel D. Kittinger
  2018

  With music now being consumed almost entirely in a digital realm, musicians today are tasked with not only creating compelling work, but distributing it with a unique approach that gives listeners another dimension to enjoy the music. Using the web is the most obvious route nowadays for music delivery, but this is rarely executed in an elegant way. Utilizing the web as a medium of artful expression, the Culminating Experience by Sam Kittinger, titled The Chariot, implements web design and development to create an online experience that showcases the conceptual narrative of a five-track original EP with an accompanying music video and interactive ancillary graphics.

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  GRAVITY DUO: A BRAND OF AUDIO VISUAL EXPERIENCE

  Phui Kuan Kok
  2018

  This Culminating Experience (CE) is Gravity Duo: a project to create a brand of audio visual experience through chill/ ambient electronic music. This project is a combined CE between Phui Kuan Kok and Diego Demarco to design and generate live performance experience that is a cross breed between a Tomorrowland (an electronic music festival concert experience) and an Adele concert (challenging live vocals). Through this project, we have produced and recorded 8 original electro acoustic music, along with original visuals that is incorporated into the live performance. Inspired by the high energy scene from the electronic music festival and the captivating experience from a power house concert, this project was started to capture the best elements of both through an audio visual experience. The goal of this project is to challenge creating and curating an experience that pairs the usage of both electronic and acoustic sounds with luscious visuals that indulge both senses.

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  Chasing Trance: The Initial Tracks

  Graham A. Larson
  2018

  The purpose of Chasing Trance is to experientially explore trance production by creating three tracks. New and essential tools include Ableton Live 9 Suite and Xfer Records’ Serum. The primary challenge this project aims to address is learning to generate imagined musical ideas accurately and professionally. Smaller challenges encountered on the way include organization, sound design, and track arrangement. Through this project progress has been made, but the three tracks do not meet the author’s standards. More time practicing with Ableton and all it includes is required.

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  Cultural Intersection: The Exploration of YLOH’s Artistic Identity

  Andres Llano
  2018

  Andres Llano, known as “YLOH”, is currently in search for a specific identity as an artist. For this reason, as his culminating experience at the Music Production, Technology, and Innovation program at Berklee College of Music, he decided to create a 2 EP project titled Cultural Intersection. The whole project aims to combine audio and visuals of what inspires him the most – his Latin roots, and electronic music. To better promote his art, every track is accompanied by its own unique music video. Cultural Intersection begins with his first EP, Accentus, which consists of 3 experimental tracks drawing inspiration from his time living in Europe; it then follows with his second EP Spirit of the Desert, which is a 3 track Latin/House EP that aims to showcase his beautiful hometown in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. The musical exploration behind this project will reflect YLOH’s inspiration, and growth as an electronic music producer. He now faces the challenge of building his brand and creating traction with his audience. He hopes this project will assist in his development of additional tools for his music and live sound, while giving a cohesive point of view towards his position as an artist in an ever-changing music scene.

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  ‘Chroma’: A Multimedia Immersive Experience

  Eduardo Antonio Mariné Martínez
  2018

  An EP of original music was written, produced and recorded; which was accompanied live by a full audiovisual setup that was constructed under the idea of combining sound, light and visuals to create an immersive experience that aimed to give the audience a synesthetic experience and that served as a strong artistic statement of linking what we see with what we hear. Lights were controlled real-time by using both MIDI and audio sources and the visuals responded to the same principle and were projected onto screens on the stage. This served as the groundwork for an ambitious stage setup that will enable the synchronized performance of music, light and visuals as a unity without the need of an incredibly expensive configuration.

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  A Mixing Engineer’s Portfolio

  Srikar MN
  2018

  The project is a cooperation of engineering and mixing skills with the talents of student artists on Berklee Valencia campus. Collaborations with student musicians of various genres and musical backgrounds is the main course of the project. The goal is to enhance mixing skillsets to be able to deliver world-class sounding music of various styles and genres in terms of the soul of the music and the sound of it. The approach for mixing music is totally dependent on the creative and technical aspects of the music, the purpose and also the market it is focused to cater to. To be able to capture the essence of the artist’s creative vision with the state-of-the-art methods and technology has been the main focus of the project. Innovative techniques, based on the old tried-and-tested methods to record and mix have been explored for future prospects. A variety of mixes of varied genres have been accomplished throughout the course of the project.

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  PMP: The Creation of a New and Solid Artist

  Pedro Modrego Perelló
  2018

  This culminating experience is about creating a body of work with songs composed, produced, mixed and mastered by Pedro Modrego Perelló under his stage name PMP in the time he is at Berklee College of Music - Valencia Campus. By doing this, PMP is going to establish himself as an artist, as this will make him develop his own and distinctive sound, discover the direction of his music and have a catalogue of different songs that will be scheduled to be released after Berklee, in order to build a fanbase by putting music out on a monthly basis. By working this way, PMP is going to grow himself and help his own label SUPRMODE grow with him. The final deliverables are five single tracks which focus on two main musical genres: Bass Music (Electronic Dance Music) and Urban Music (Hip-Hop/RnB). During this process, special emphasis has been put on sound design and originality, and new musical challenges have been pursued.

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  PROTEA: The Journey

  Chavez C. Parker
  2018

  The purpose of this project is to create an E.P with instrumentals that combine ethnic musical elements with modern electronic music, accompanied by a virtual reality experience. The music of this E.P is inspired by African traditional rhythms, Arabic chants, Indian and Asian traditional instruments combined with Trap, Hip-Hop, House, and Ambient music. The motivation behind this entire concept came as a result of being in a diverse environment and believing that if we can combine the different regions together, something great can come to life. After spending hours of studying ancient music, it was time to get inspiration from other sources like movies, television shows and having old fashion conversations. The visual aspect of this project initially started as a challenge but later it became a new acquired skill. During the process, multiple programs had to be learnt in order to successfully create the virtual environments. Ultimately, the plan is for music to be experienced in a new way along with new textures that might not be familiar to your everyday music lover and we hope to spark the flame of a new trailblazer.

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  Casper Jones: A Foundation For The Future

  Mason Paul
  2018

  This project aims to develop a professional music portfolio for Casper Jones while simultaneously constructing and executing a unique and memorable brand. In today’s digital age, an artist’s image and online presence is arguably just as important as the music they make. By tackling these two problems concurrently, this culminating experience builds a foundation for the music to live upon. Overall, it will be a showcase for record labels, managers and the music industry alike. The six songs that have been created are meant to live alone as singles. While they all are a little different in sonic idea and execution, they are an example of Casper’s progression and evolution as an artist. Casper’s brand is built to engage with fans while also creating an aura of mystery. The biggest takeaway for Casper after this year at Berklee is that the only formula for success is time, practice, and most importantly, failure. Hopefully this project will inspire other emerging artists to take a wholistic approach for their growth, and make choices with future endeavors and dreams in mind.

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  TACTO: Textural Music Box

  Francesca Pavesi
  2018

  TACTO - Textural Music Box, is an experimental instrument developed by Beatswin that uses commonly found materials to develop a type of organic sound design which adds a new dimension to the Artist’s sound. In essence, TACTO is a wooden box with a motor and electronics controlled by a laptop to create motion that will generate sounds which are then amplified using contact microphones. The sounds are then sent through Ableton Live and modified with real time effects to create rhythmic textures, noises and drones.

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  Paradigm Shift

  James Rigney
  2018

  Paradigm Shift is a short narrative film with audio-visual interaction centered thematically around two quotations: “And those seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.”—Friedrich Nietzsche. “I became insane—with long intervals of horrible sanity.” —Edgar Allan Poe. The dichotomy presented here is one that is explored through the cinematography, audio-visual interaction, and the compositional methodology.

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  It’s All Faded: Five Songs of Life, Lessons, and Learnings

  McKinley Short
  2018

  For her Culminating Experience project, McKinley wrote, recorded, and produced a 5- track EP exhibiting her original artistic voice, reflecting the elements of her past and present influences. Additionally, McKinley developed and performed an interesting and engaging live set which showcased her new music. During the creation of her EP, McKinley drew from her influences to create an original sound that combines acoustic elements, soulful melodies and harmonies, original sound design, feel-good chord progressions, and electronic beats. The main influences for McKinley’s EP include Norah Jones, India.Arie, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sza, Frank Ocean, FKJ, and Noname. McKinley was able to develop a unique artistic voice by combining acoustic elements, soulful melodies and harmonies, feel-good chord progressions, and hip-hop beats with original sound design, sample manipulation, and a wide range of percussive and melodic timbres. The inclusion of jazz and classically influenced instrumental solos served to supplement this original sound.