Music Production, Technology, and Innovation

On this page, you can find the Culminating Experience (CE) Projects for all graduate students from the Berklee College of Music master’s program Music Production, Technology, and Innovation (MPTI) from 2015 – present. Click on any title for more information and access to the full paper and other deliverables (if available).

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Electronic Music Performance and the Drumset: Combining and Extending Approaches for Innovation

Jonty Czuchwicki
2023

For this project the author researched, prepared, and performed a 30-minute audio-visual performance of original electronic music using Ableton Live, external controllers, live percussion, and Max. The purpose was to deliver a project is applicable for commercial touring while documenting the artist’s processes and performances throughout its development. The final performance featured six songs of experimental, left-field electronica and was performed and videotaped at a music venue in front of a live audience. The artist delivered their Ableton Live Session file, Max Patch file, two prototype performance videos and a pro-shot multi-camera video of the final performance. The author developed new skills in post-production, live set preparation, performance, and visual programming while navigating the physical and technical challenges of designing a multi-faceted live performance for the drum set. The author has contributed a unique and innovative approach to electronic music performance for the drum set with prospects for commercial touring, additional development, and the education of others.
Electronic Experimentation within Pop Music

John de la Prida
2023

The aim of this project is to create an Extended Play (EP) and a live performance centered in the genre of pop, with an additional goal of testing different techniques for vocal manipulation. The EP will focus especially on using electronic/experimental sounds and vocal processing and resampling while maintaining a pop song structure. The live performance will focus on creating a live performance setup with Ableton using the songs from the EP, electronic/digital instruments, and live vocals/vocal processing. It will offer viewers/listeners alternate versions of the songs from the EP, with cohesive transitions between each song for a unique, entertaining performance. The delivery of this project will include the 6 completed songs and a recorded live performance incorporating the songs from the EP.
Convention From the Unconventional: The Intersection of Academic Music and Pop Music

Michael Delgado
2023

This project explores the incorporation of unconventional techniques derived from academic music into pop music while aiming to create a conventional and accessible sound for a broad audience. While many pop artists have introduced academic or experimental music into the pop realm, the result often sounds intentionally unconventional. This five-track EP serves as the illustration of integrating rarely-used scales such as the Chromatic, Octatonic, Locrian, Augmented, and Enigmatic scales into pop music while maintaining simple and familiar song structure, arrangement, and musical phrases to sound conventional. Each track required unique approaches, such as utilizing the full range of 12 notes and overcoming limitations of the aforementioned scales. By exploring the intersection of academic music and popular music, this project expands the possibilities for pop musicians and listeners, providing a framework to enhance creativity and broaden the world of contemporary pop music for artists and audiences.
Wasting Time EP: A Debut Release as a Solo Artist

Theodore Dumont
2023

In a changing world, people are often drawn to things that feel familiar and nostalgic. Perhaps this explains the persistent trend of recycling old sounds into new music. The current popular music always reflects new advances in production technology as well as elements adapted from previous generations of music. This culminating experience project centered around the creation of an EP containing 6 songs, with the stylistic goal of pushing musical boundaries while retaining an atmosphere of nostalgia. This involved writing, producing, recording, mixing, and mastering the material. The production drew from the genres of indie pop, synth pop, and hyper-pop. Rock, hip-hop, disco, and EDM served as secondary sources of influence. The sonic palate of the music included processed vocals, electric guitar, “retro” sound design featuring analog synthesizers, and “glitchy” resampled textures. The EP will be released on streaming services and promoted to reach a larger audience. This will necessitate building a team to develop promotional materials, including social media content and music videos. As a whole, this project developed and premiered an artistic voice for a solo musical project.
An EDM Revolution: The introduction of odd metres and rhythmic experiments in modern day electronic dance music

Rares Florea
2023

4/4 has been the dominant measure for EDM due to its even, intuitive cyclical nature and high danceability. However, throughout history, 4/4 was only one of the many time signatures used by composers to make danceable music. Odd metres such as 3/4, 5/4, 7/8, are also all time signatures that have been used throughout the history of music seem to have fallen out of favour as it progressed. Therefore, the goal of this project is to create a collection of tracks that explore the possibilities of tuple and odd metres in combination with modern electronic music elements while also exploring the reason these metres have disappeared from the popular scene as music evolved. The creative work will feature key limitations i.e. the resulting songs will have to present a clear sense of musicality and danceability and be aimed for the general public. Moreover, the project will also aim to solve relevant issues in terms of music distribution through DJ sets by exploring concepts such as metric modulation. Additionally, to provide better support for the academic work, interviews with musicians who have attempted composition in this direction will be conducted in order to provide more insight and different views on the matter.
Evie: A Max for Live Device

Lars Gardner
2023

This CE project investigates how an instrument can react to the live musician by adding to a performance or studio recording through technological means. The desired outcome is finding a balance between improvisation and controlled musical elements during a performance using technology. Through the programs Max MSP and Ableton, the student created a Max for Live Device that reacts to the input of a microphone. Based on the incoming information, the patch enables FX processing and algorithms that adhere to frequency, velocity, and range parameters. The device, named Evie, works in exclusively in Ableton and will be potentially available to those with Ableton Suite. Knowledge of Max to use the device will not be required to operate it, as an intuitive interface accompanies it. The device aims to push the live performer to engage with technology to explore the new ways the musician can perform.
MultiVerb

Darryl Gay
2023

Imagine a productive audio workflow where creating is simplified with just a few clicks of a button. Something minimal but yet so powerful. Essentially, the idea is to work smarter and not harder. With that being said, the basis of this project is to create an audio effect plugin that will simplify the overall production and engineering process in order to increase the productivity in anyone's workflow. In addition, this project intends to give users a complete hands-on creative experience as well as the flexibility to engineer and produce in any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The author caters to bedroom producers as well as home studio engineers. With this in mind, the author understands the limitations that are present when it comes to creating in a compromising environment. From untreated rooms that may not be suitable for recording to housemates or neighbors that may not be a fan of music being played after a certain time, these are common issues known within the community and this audio effect plugin will provide solutions to all of these issues with the help of groundbreaking technology in order to use more of an creative and innovative approach rather than a straightforward one.
Creating Space: Discovering Maestra Chameleon through Classical Music Sampling

Maya Giles
2023

The rapid development of technology over the last 20 years, significantly the internet, has given Gen Z exposure to all the music of the world within one click. With it, the next generation of artists have disregarded the boundaries of genres and their musical ear has become the defining factor of their artistry. Through Maestra Chameleon, one of the musical identities within AYAM, this project seeks to experiment with classical music and film score samples in the dance music scene to present a new perspective on classical music. An EP collection of 6 instrumental tracks, each sample was chosen with a loose connection to the theme of water in honor of the Nigerian goddess Yemaya. The intention of the project is twofold: innovating how classical music can be sampled in live contexts and used in modern day productions and to open up new ways of listening to classical music.
The Expanded Electric Guitar

Pedro Herrera Delgado
2023

The expanded instruments have gone through different variants but electronic-digital technology has given them sufficient expansion and sound production. An Expanded Electric Guitar is an hybrid electric-digital instrument, equipped with a joystick and foot switches. This components allow the instrument to create alternative forms of controlling 3D shapes and audio effects in real time; making a representation that go beyond the traditional use of the guitar as a musical instrument. This instrument was developed for interacting as a MIDI controller with diverse audio and video softwares to generate an audiovisual experience. This tool facilitates the modification of the parameters of the visuals as the color, the position, dimensions and modified them according to the sound effects you choose.
The Interactive DJ: Audience Participation in a Live DJ Performance Setting

Nicholas Iacono
2023

The goal of this project was to develop a live audience engagement tool for DJs. At the project’s inception in the fall of 2022, there were already a number of tools available to provide audiences with an opportunity to give musical input - namely Festify, LimeDJ, and RequestNow. After critically analyzing the aforementioned tools, the author designed and held a DJ set wherein the audience voted for styles of music and he created mashups of the two most-voted-for styles. Having a DJ act as both programmer and performer led to some significant obstacles in the performance not limited to heavy computer CPU load; nevertheless, the project became a use-case for quickly evolving AI stem generators (particularly Serato Stems1) and the author intends to recreate the project as a game for DJs to test their transition and mixing skills.
Gisovān: Voicing a Revolution

Shabnam Jafarinasab Kermani
2023

Gisovān: Voicing a Revolution was an artistic reaction, reflection, and protest in response to the women-led revolution in Iran, beginning in 2022. The aim of this project was to bring the elements of sound, structure, and visuals together in an interactive sound installation that focused on and raised awareness of the 2022 women’s rights movement in Iran. With a touch-triggered mechanism, interaction was an essential feature of this installation as it encouraged audience participation, and invited the listener to gain awareness of the background and relevant on-going information behind the global “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, and raise the voice of the Iranian people. Primarily, this project featured melodic and harmonic vocal lines - originally composed by the artist - and exclusively sung by female singers. The audience could trigger the playback of these lines, and create their unique anthems; thus, joining the movement in support of the people of Iran in their own way.
Syncope - An Aural Experience for Sonible Emotions

Ishaan Jagyasi
2023

This project aims to create an immersive audio experience through an extended play (EP), focusing on combining electronic music with sonic experience. This EP is inspired by genres like Electronica and IDM, which use sound design tools and techniques like analog synthesis, granular synthesis and foley recordings, along with intricate arrangements and micro-editing, in order to create a dense and evolving soundscape. To elevate the listening experience, the EP is mixed using different tools available in the domain of immersive audio, like ambisonics, binaural audio and Dolby Atmos.
Proper Techno

Ishan Kharche
2023

The idea behind the culminating experience by Ishan Kharche a.k.a. I5HAN revolves around creating a live electronic music act, with interactive audio-visual experience with the use of various Sound Design techniques. The project aims to push the boundaries of techno music and explore various sub genres in this style of music. This consists of three experiences, the first is the musical part where the artist plans on producing a multi sub-genre Techno album with creative use of self-recorded samples, hardware and software synthesizers, The second part is the visual segment, the visuals for the show will be reactive to the audio with the use of Max MSP and Resolume, The third part is the live performance of the album.
Frantic-A: Creating music world that empowers, embraces people's unique identities, and cures their traumas. EP and Live Performance.

Arina Koreniushkina
2023

The basis of the author’s (aka Frantic A) project was to finalize an EP of 4 songs, combining art-pop with trip-hop and alternative electronics and to present it as an audiovisual live show. The author used Ableton Live for both purposes: exploring new production techniques and live performance. She mixed rich arrangements with heartfelt vocals, disruptive sound design and drumbeats, trying to create a music world that empowers, embraces people's unique identities, and cures their traumas. During the process, one of the biggest challenges was technical limitation, associated with CPU of the old computer. The new computer should allow her to mix EP further in Dolby Atmos, make spatial audio performances using Max for Live devices in Ableton and control visuals in Resolume from Ableton. Although the project is rather unusual for the pop scene, the author hopes that it takes a step toward a bridge between avant- guard and mainstream.
Experimental Vocal Production in Alternative Pop Music

Martyna Kubicz
2023

This document outlines the proposal for the Culminating Experience by Martyna Kubicz, also known as MIN t. The project will revolve around creating an EP, involving songwriting, sound engineering, production, sound designing, and performance. The EP will consist of 6 tracks, focusing on experimental and Innovative vocal production techniques. The author will use tools like Ableton, Simpler, Sampler, Antares Studio, and Melodyne to focus on voice experimentation as an instrument and primary production element. The aim is to create a genre-expanding composition pushing the boundaries of the new electro-pop music while remaining accessible to wider audiences. The music direction of the pieces will shift around the UK- garage, R&B, leftfield, electronica, neo-soul, pop, and IDM. The project aims to release a new MIN t's EP, promote it, and perform it all over Europe.
A Journey of Spiritual Healing

Zilan Li
2023

The healing power of music on people is obvious, especially in mental health, and many studies today have proven this to be true. Many western music pieces have themes related to mental illness, and their healing effect on people cannot be ignored. But in China, mental illness is still a topic that people avoid talking about, and even fewer literary works are based on the theme of it. When it comes to mental health, musicians are a high-risk group for mental illness, but putting emotions into music for musical composition is a great way to maintain mental health. This project will feature lyrics in Chinese, describing the lives and feelings of people with bipolar disorder through their first perspective, in hopes that it will have some positive impact on the mental health environment in China, bringing more attention to the impact of mental illness on people, and informing that it will also heal those with the same illness.
Nostalgera

Dylan Madru
2023

The 1990’s gave birth to many new genres of music. This was due to the advancements of music technology at the time and the availability of said equipment. Some of the most notable are the genres “Boom Bap”, “Trip Hop”, and “Drum and Bass”.

These genres all hold a similar origin but they each have their own unique characteristics. “Boom Bap” holds its ties to Hip Hop of that era and is characterized by its use of sampling. The drums usually have a laid back feel that would allow a vocalist to rap over it fairly easily. “Trip Hop” is an evolution of this use of sampling and can be “defined as the merging of hip-hop and electronica until neither genre is recognizable.”1 “Drum and Bass” also extensively utilizes sampling, utilizing sped up breakbeats and is the offshoot of the “Jungle” movement.

This project will pay homage to the listed distinct genres by combining the three separately into a cohesive mix in an album form. The title of this project stems from the content rooted in its influence from the 1990s and combines the words nostalgia and era to denote the composition.
Production and Sampling: The One-Man Producer

Filip Manzac
2023

The project is about the use of original material to create an entirely new project (EP) to base itself from. It explores the limits of how to use one single song to create a whole new album from it. Focusing on the sonic image of the track.
Prioritization of Music in Narrative Film

Cade Margus
2023

For his Culminating Experience, Cade Margus sought to utilize both video and audio as equally influential storytelling devices by directing and creating original background music for a narrative short film with a personal subject. The film was set in and required partnership with an active music festival. In the film, the music initially exists as a diegetic electronic performance occurring off-screen, then evolves strategically over time as a means of contributing tension and emotional complexity to the story. The author completed the script, creatively managed pre-production, and produced the background music simultaneously, defying the standard workflow of today’s film industry. By doing so, music informed more decisions and shaped the final film more deeply than if it had been composed after shooting.
The Future Is Dark: An Exploration of Contemporary Underground Dance Music Styles

Matthew Martinez
2023

This work is essentially a practicum in contemporary electronic dance music production. The primary objective is to compose original music, utilizing innovative production and sound design techniques, and combining compositional devices and structures from throughout the entire spectrum of dark electronic music. The stylistic goal of this music is to synergize components of dark psychedelic trance (darkpsy) and hard techno in an effort to illustrate the shared ethos at the core of each genre.
Reactive Mixes

Jesus Martinez Retamal
2023

The present project is an interactive and immersive experience with the objective of placing the audience in the different perspectives of a live performance in the recording studio. The song used on this project is called “Love Line”, composed by Beti Strgar, and produced by Jesus Martinez. To achieve the visual perspective feeling, each musician and the mixer had an action camera attached to their point of view. In addition, to achieve the listening perspective feeling, there is one Dolby Atmos mix for each point, generating a complex mix based on the visual representation of the cameras. Furthermore, the experience is an application created with Unity due to the friendly interface and its building capabilities.
CR.A.FT - Deviant (Album): A Rethinking of Minimal House & Dub Techno Through Jazz and Live Production.

Juan Moreno
2023

This C.E. project represented the author's (CR.A.FT) exploration of his creative manifestations through the production of a new album and live performance. It comprised the processes of thought used during the creation and production of both at Berklee Valencia's Studios.

Its objective was to intertwine the different possibilities for creation learned through the MPTI Master's program incorporating the acquired experience in recording, production, sound design, and live performance. This project allowed for the author to approach the roles of composer, producer, recording, mixing, and mastering engineer to obtain a self- produced professional album and artistic concept to support it. The album explored minimal house and dub techno by rethinking how those were being produced and performed. It combined harmonic and improvisational elements from electronic-based jazz subgenres. It explored the composition and arrangement tools that new performance devices and technologies provided, the use of MIDI production controllers such as Native Instruments Maschine or Ableton Push 2, and how these digital tools merged with the electro-acoustic world. This exploration looked to harness the possibilities of the author as a multi- instrumentalist, by using instruments like the electric guitar, bass, and drums in an electronic music context to widen and stretch the palette of sounds found in minimal house and techno.

The concept of the album and performance revolved around the chaotic essence of art and music creation, the confrontation of theoretical knowledge (or preconceptions), and the creative freedom to manifest art and communicate experiences and moments through sounds and songs.
The Inter-Compatibility of Romani Music

Tudor Nacu
2023

This Culminating Experience Project has orbited around the topic of Romani traditional music with a focus on the technical similarities which can be noticed when examining the musical genres and sub-genres derived from the native sound of the Romani community. This comes as a continuation to my previously written academic paper exploring the evolution of the community’s music as a result of the systemic oppression that they have been subjected to throughout Europe and how the traditional sound has merged with the styles already present in the countries in which they have settled from the 14th century to present day. The project consisted of a short album featuring tracks from multiple Romani-influenced genre which stand as proof of both the inter-compatibility of these musical styles as well as their fusion potential with other, more common and popular genres (e.g. Funk, Lo-Fi). The short album was created in collaboration with Mirza Redzepagic, a musician from the CPPD course as well as a number of other musicians from around the world. The overall project comes as an attempted solution to the limited amount of awareness on the topic as well as to the very drastic delimitations between the genres (e.g. Flamenco and Jazz Manouche) despite the strong relationship they have based on their common roots.
Tropical Sensations Sound Bundle

Emmanuel Orlando Navarro Huertas
2023

Since technology is continuously developing, now a days is beyond accessible to have a home studio thanks to the amount of affordable equipment. Some producers prefer to work in the box and overlook the sound quality achievable inside a recording environment. The author Emanuel Navarro Huertas, being a percussionist and a producer perceived the same drawback that whichever in a low budget recording or an in the box production percussion instruments depend on the environment that they’re being played and not everyone has the money or the time to hire a musician and book studio hours to record high-fidelity percussion tracks. Aside of the cost-effective circumstance of the recording industry, many producers are always in the exploration of new grooves and attractive rhythms to add curiosity to their productions. Tackling the concerns of both recording engineers and producers, Emanuel Navarro Huertas created the Tropical Sensations Sound Bundle. To encourage the use of traditional and cultural rhythms as tools for creation, sound design, or just forwarding the recording process, the author assembled and completed an original percussion library that unified 5 countries and merged ancient cultures with present ones. Emanuel provides samples and one shots to the need of the genre with a wide range of percussion sounds and grooves. The author, being a percussionist, has the ability to ¬play and catalog some of the most interesting and exotic percussion/drum sounds of historical cultures around South America & the Caribbean.
Berklee meets Indian classical music

Harshill Nichani
2023

My CE is about creating six fusion tracks of different with six different artists under the common thread of Indian classical music. In my songs, I combined the patterns and instruments of Indian classical music with six different genres including techno, hiphop, house, afro, metal and pop.