production

Neel, Alex, Micah, Michael, and Phil

Bridging classical and pop music with Alex Whorms

This week singer-songwriter and Hamilton Arts Award for Emerging Artist winner (2019) Alex Whorms joined us to talk about her sophomore EP, Burgundy, and two of the songs.

We talked about:

  • FACTOR grants and Canada’s Music Incubator (check out our episodes on grants and music royalties)
  • how long to take to get to the chorus
  • finding the right amount of instrumental activity when you’re singing
  • how Alex always gets through the skeleton of a song right away when writing

Listen to the show

Download the lyrics to follow along:

Too Many Love Songs

Birds

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Vanessa, Michael, Ritha, Taylor, Phil, Micah, and Neel

Making the most of your voice with Taylor Abrahamse

This week, professional singer/songwriter, voice actor & co-founder of Silverthorn Studios recording, Taylor Abrahamse joined us in the studio at SongTalk World Headquarters.  Taylor was a Top 40 finalist on Canadian Idol, has performed on stages across Ontario, has also written & produced musicals, and music for animated series and viral internet music through Corus, DHX & Super Planet Dolan.… Read the rest

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Phil, Micah, Jeff, Ritah, Michael, and Neel

Creating Soundtracks with Jeff Alan Greenway

This week SongTalk welcomed Jeff Alan Greenway to our studio.

Greenway is a film composer, singer/songwriter and pianist from Pickering, Ontario. He has written music for film, worked as a session player, orchestrator and arranger, released his own original album “Great Expectations” and wrote the score to the international documentary The Secret Life Of Frogs, which won a Nature award at the Cannes Media and TV festival.… Read the rest

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Neel, Ritah, Robert, Michael, and Micah

Robert Cross: Leading With Lyrics

This week SongTalk welcomed Robert Cross to our studio.

Robert Cross was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He started playing guitar at 14, just so he could learn how to write songs. Cross is the singer and guitarist of the original rock band Satin, who released their first album Drop Dead Gorgeous in 2019.… Read the rest

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Michael, Ritah, Robert, Phil, Micah, and Neel

Robert Ball: Giving Voice To The Personal

This week SongTalk welcomed Robert Ball to our studio.

A native Torontonian, Robert Ball is a multi-faceted singer who has traveled to and performed in over 60 countries around the world.
His sound has been described as soulful, jazzy, Neo-soul and he is a much in-demand session singer.… Read the rest

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Matthew Reid: Music Composition – Live, recorded and improvisational

This week SongTalk welcomed Matthew Reid to our studio. Matthew is a critically acclaimed, award winning composer for film, television, games and theatre. His funny songs have delighted almost a million people during his tenure as composer for Toronto’s world famous Second City comedy theatre.… Read the rest

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College Radio: How Do I Get My Music Played?

This week SongTalk welcomed Adriel Smiley to our studio. Adriel is the Music Director of CJRU – Ryerson’s Radio station – and Adriel brought a wealth of information about college radio and the best way musicians can get their music played on these stations.… Read the rest

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Back row: Michael, Alon, Ivan, Neel, and Phil. Front row: Ritah and Micah.

Audio Insurgency on video game music, pop music, and well, everything music

Audio Insurgency returned to the show to talk about a boat load of music stuff, as well as showcasing two of their pop songs. We talked about:

  • Vox’s Earworm videos, in particular the one in support of fade-outs in recordings
  • Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast episode about country music, The King of Tears
  • writing and placing music for video games
  • getting your songs into placement for TV or movies
  • the role of the producer in the creation of songs for maximum impact
  • writing a song completely in the digital realm (Abelton Live, in this case)
  • why deadlines are a good thing

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