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TASK FOUR: ALBUM REVIEW

Donny Benét’s fourth studio album entitled ‘The Don’ is an exploration in 80’s new wave synth, funky bass lines and hook laden melodies about romance, sport & The USA just to name a few things. The Don was released on the 6th April, 2018 via Dot Dash Records and contains eight tracks of absolute synth glory! Donny’s unique style of song writing on this album relies on strong hits of nostalgia and humour, which comes together to create a cohesive and catchy bunch of songs.

When I first sat down and listened to this album in its entirety I couldn’t help but feel like I had been transported to a different time or era, which instantly served as a form of escapism. I’ve found that if an album can take you out of your seat or bed or wherever you are listening to it and lead you on a journey, then it’s a great album. The Don had this effect on me and it’s still on repeat. His trademark humorous undertones are all over this album and you can’t help but giggle every time you listen.

Stand out tracks like Konichiwa & Work Out could be easily misconstrued as joke tracks but the quality of production and musicianship reminds us to take Donny seriously. The bass line alone in Konichiwa makes the entire track stand out as the lead single on the album, along with a well laid out chorus hook which left me continually wanting more.

Overall, ‘The Don’ is a well-written foray into nostalgia 80’s pop, with themes borrowed from modern day. I would easily compare it to other stand out albums from fellow Australian artists such as Alex Cameron, Cut Copy & Miami Horror. One of my only criticisms of this album would be that it can sometimes feel monotone and repetitive with its continual drum machine, orientated beats and minimalistic approach. My final score for The Don = 4.5/5 Benét’s.

You can check out the full review video below!

https://youtu.be/vFhfxPlcNEE

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TASK THREE: Four hours of music industry service.

This photo was taken by myself in the 4zzz studio’s located in Fortitude Valley. My business partner & I were promoting our music festival, Arcadia, and were given the opportunity to pitch our event to the listeners which was extremely exciting! We also chose to play a track from one of the artists on the bill. Here is the link the show! http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/program/boogie-board/2018-02-28 (we come on between Cub Sport and Future Jr.)

The above two images show some of the correspondence between myself and an artists booking agent. As I explain in my reflection, this process can sometimes be a bit tricky, especially when trying to agree on a fee for the artist! This is just one of many emails I sent out to confirm all of the live artists on the Arcadia line up. Below is the poster, where you can see all of the finalized acts. Instead of showing you the email I thought It would be better to show you the line up to help give you an understanding of how long this process took :) 

Above you will see a few images indicating my work as the digital marketing strategist and social media planner for Arcadia 2018. Image 1 is the artist spotlight we run on our artists. Image 2 was a post informing everyone that we had partnered up with another event crew which would maximise our exposure. Image 3 is an article we organised through the music blog Purple Sneakers. Here is the link to the article: http://www.purplesneakers.com.au/2018/04/feature-arcadia-festival/

Below is the link to my reflection on the four hours of music industry experience i have complete :) 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rLtpKP-b4zGkFboaENuOJ3XXAoBCYs-J

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These photos are from Arcadia 2017, the festival I organise with two other friends. Its held out at Goomburra Valley and promotes local electronic music in a community-based environment. 

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TASK TWO: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

This task was based on the idea of how boutique music festivals are becoming more popular than big commercial festivals such as Soundwave and Future Music. 

I Hope you find this as interesting to read as I did to research it!

LINK -  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sLx0QJSiOvB8KqeIIAcS-Bj7B34omWl1

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Hanging out at 4zzz, about to go live on the radio and announce Arcadia 2018 details! Listen below :) 

http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/program/boogie-board/2018-02-28

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TASK ONE: Interview with Royal & The Southern Echo (band).

I had the opportunity to sit down with Bryce from Royal & The Southern Echo, a local Brisbane band, and discuss the writing and releasing process when it comes to your own music. I found some of the information Bryce gave was very informative and helped me in understanding the long-winded process behind writing and releasing original music. Being a musician myself I can relate to the creative process of writing music and how unpredictable it can be. Something that really stuck with me was when Bryce spoke about the power of reading and vocabulary. Especially if you are a lyricist and you want to get your message across, it’s extremely important to use the right words. I know when I think about a particular song I use to love years ago I can still remember the lyrics, which is pretty crazy to think. If you can make those connections with your fans or audience I feel like your music will last much longer than your average independent release. 

This interview gave me extremely valuable insight into the world of the music industry and how one operates within that industry. 

INTERVIEW LINK: https://soundcloud.com/zaped/interview-with-royal-the-southern-echo/s-dS8Iy

ARTIST LINK: https://www.thesouthernecho.com/

Questions from Interview:

Q1: How long have you been writing music for?

 Q2: What inspired you to become a songwriter?

 Q3: How does an idea or song come about/form for you?

 Q4: Once the song is completed and you are happy with it, what’s the next step?

 Q5: How important is getting a PR company on board when releasing music? What is your experience of releasing music with a campaign and without?

 Q6: What advice would you give to other aspiring songwriters who are trying to release music and breakthrough?

 Q7: If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one tip for songwriting that you’ve learned over the years,  what would it be? And would you change anything?