The Sonic Storytelling of Song ‘The Rise’
Divine Affliction: Perception Through A Feminine Lens Part 11
Divine Affliction: Perception Through a Feminine Lens Blog Series presents an expansive view behind the music production of album Divine Affliction. An expression of the feminine aesthetics in music. A sonic portrayal of the duality of divinity and affliction, a journey through the female experience. The album is a shorter album consisting of seven songs and would be defined as experimental electronica with raw, introspective, brooding, emotive music. This album presents an aural representation of the female processes and application to music production. The musical compositions are inspired by my own experience of the intersectionality of gender and music production along with the preliminary research uncovered in the 1st four theoretical blogs of this series. This blog dissects my creative process, with visceral accounts on the sonic storytelling of song — ‘The Rise’, narrating my music-making processes. Highlighting how I implement the song concepts into the musical composition, audio processing, and lyrics. Observe the creative experience through the lens of a female producer.
‘The Rise’ Sonic Storytale
The Song Concept
This song, ‘The Rise’ expresses the ascend of the female gender. Throughout history, the female has suffered many afflictions. She has been suppressed, marginalized, misrepresented, underrepresented, censored and condemned. She has been demonized for her sexuality, regarded as sinful. Though she has been waiting for this time in solitude, patiently and calmly. Waiting for her fate to arrive. She submits to the providence of her karma, the providence of rising from the afflictions, rising from the perpetual patriarchal suppression. Her melancholic emanation subsides as she awakens to her power and embodies the energy of her divine feminine.
“They are scared of women like you. Women with big heats big enough to house suitcases full of pain. Women with laughs so therapeutic they can heal wounds. Women with passion fierce enough to start wildfires. They are scared of what they can’t tame or understand” (Bill Chapala).
This song concept of the rise of the feminine is a metaphorical portrayal that can be interpreted as the rise of the female producer. Females represent 2–5% of music producers and suffer many afflictions due to their under-representation in the field, as discussed in the previous blog to the series. This song is about establishing the subjectivity of my gender within my practice and celebrating the divinity of my sexuality in a way to free myself from the afflictions I encounter with music production.
The Musical Composition and Audio Production
‘The Rise’ is a down-tempo song with a 4/4 tempo at 80BPM. This song has an upbeat rhythm to depict the celebration and joy of the rise of the feminine. I composed it in the key of B minor, choosing a minor key as theories on aesthetics in music correspond the feminine with minor scales. Stoltzfus explains that “musical expression can provide orientation for the entirety of the inner life” including the characteristics of gender, heard in the metaphors of the masculine and feminine in the major and minor keys (Stoltzfus, 2006, p. 81). This was explained further in earlier blog https://medium.com/orthentix/the-sonic-storytale-of-song-the-phenomenological-ecriture-of-motherhood-5768d9e10346. Hobbs describes in blog Musical key characteristics & emotions that the key of B minor expresses; solitary, melancholic, and patience (Hobbs, 2018).
“The key of patience, calmly waiting for fate, destiny, and the submission to providence and karma” (Hobbs, 2018).
Therefore I thought that this key would be perfect for the concept of this song. The female has been patiently waiting for her destiny to arrive, submitting to the providence of rising from her afflictions. The B minor scale uses the notes of B — C# — D — E — F# — G — A — B depicted in the following image on the keys of a piano.
The Arrangement
The repetitive cyclic arrangement of this song with the intro — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — breakdown — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — outro was used to represent the cyclic nature of feminine sexuality. “The continuity and openness of feminine writing also reflect women’s sexual experiences [as] indefinite, cyclic, without set beginnings and endings”(Macarthur, 2002, p. 113). ‘The Rise’ was composed of a simple single movement structure that was repeated throughout the arrangement. This repetition added to the cyclic nature of the arrangement and expressed the melancholic patience that the female has endured in wait for the time to rise. The infinite repetitive nature of the song portrays that the rise of the female cannot be halted. This song uses the compositional traits of counterpoint and tension to aid in expressing the solitary and melancholic emotion. The counterpoint is heard between the melodic and the bass and lead synth instruments. The tension is felt with the counterpoint and repetitive cycles of these rising melodies, which continues and builds during the entire song, only to be released in the breakdown and outro sections of the song. This release depicts the female gender has risen.
The eight and a half bar intro starts with an atmospheric pad and a Japanese shakuhachi flute. This follows into a sixteen bar build starting with snares, claps and an ethereal sounding pad, then repetitive rising main melody is introduced. Halfway through the build, the accompanying rising harmonies come in along with a piano motif. The final four bars of the build increase in intensity, with the other melodic instruments and sound FX coming in along with the snare/clap rhythm intensifying in timing. This build leads into the 6-bar 1st drop/chorus section. This 1st chorus/drop and build sections do not have the main synth playing, giving this song a staggard introduction feel. This leads into a 2-bar build and following is the 2nd 6-bar drop/chorus, with skank chords stabs introduced on every 2nd and 4th beat. This leads into a 2-bar build which leads into the 3rd 8-bar drop/chorus, with the main synth coming in. This same arrangement follows for the 6-bar 4th chorus/drop and 2-bar build sections, which lead into the 6-bar 5th chorus/drop and 2-bar build sections. This section is where the melody accompaniments are introduced with appegiated marimbas. This arrangement continues for an 8-bar 6th chorus/drop section, leading into a 4-bar breakdown. The breakdown has only melodic instruments playing along with claps, the basses, other drums, and main synth are silent during this section. This follows into a 4-bar build leading into a 6-bar chorus/drop and 2-bar build with all instruments playing and another bass instrument is introduced for the intensity of these final chorus/drop sections. This arrangement of a 6-bar chorus/drop and 2-bar build is repeated, following into the delicate outro with only the snare/claps and melodic instruments playing, fading out into reverb swirls of the either, ending delicately and softly. She has risen.
Here is an instrumental version of the song ‘The Rise’ for an aural representation of the discussed arrangement.
Here is an image of the arrangement from the Logic Pro X project file of ‘The Rise’. Notice the staggered introduction of elements and indefinite cycles of the intro — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — breakdown — build — chorus/drop — build — chorus/drop — build — outro sections.
Drums
It is my common practice to use Trap and Hip-hop drum samples, this forms my core sound or sonic identity. The drums were written with a 4/4 tempo at 80BPM. The drums were created with a layer of samples to create a particular sound. A kick drum, two different sounding snares, two different sounding claps, and a tom drum formed the main drum pattern. The kick had a shorted hip-hop kick layered with a booming bassier kick to create the desired sound. In the chorus/drop sections an 808 kick melody was layered over the regular kicks to give more texture to the drums and make them bigger and more dynamic. A reversed cymbal with a crash introduces some of the chorus/drop sections while arpeggiated hi-hats play during every chorus/drop section. The final chorus drop section has cymbals on every kick, to really build this final section. There were other layers of percussion in the chorus/drop sections including trap snares, delayed rims, and gun clicks. The build sections featured faster kick and snare patters for intensity and to give tension to the composition. Following is an image of drum arrangement in Logic X, for a visual representation of this discussion.
The drums are processed with equilisation, compression, and pitch-shifted to be tuned with the key of the song, with a small amount of reverb processing to some of the drums. The reverb gives air and space to the drums. Most of the drums were sent to a drum group for further parallel compression. This was not including the 808 kicks, hi-hats, or cymbals. To do parallel compression, the drums are sent to a stereo bus as a group. This stereo bus is processed with equilisation, saturation, transient shaping, and bus compression, and then mixed in with the dry drums. I then did this again with only with the main kicks, snares and claps and side-chained the compressor on this kick and snare group to the drum group, to add air to the drums. The drums were all mono samples and panned to the center, except the high-hats and crashes, which are stereo and panned both left and right. Following is an image of drum processing in the mix view in Logic X, for a visual representation of this discussion.
Following is a video of the drums of the song ‘The Rise’ for a sonic representation of the above explanation. With footage and audio of the breakdown, build and 7th chorus/drop sections.
Bass
There are two different basslines playing throughout this song to give texture and counterpoint to the bass section. The basses only play during the chorus/drop sections and are silent in the intro, breakdown and outro sections. The main bass of the song is a Bamboo bass made with Native Instruments synthesizer Absynth, layered with BA DnB Roller bass, made with the Serum synth and processed with an LFO triggered to a full bar timing to the BPM of the song. This bass gave this bassline a wobbly dubstep feel. These played the rhythm line of BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB, or,
BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBBBBD — BBBB over 8 bars. The second bassline played a simpler rhythm of B — F# — B — B — B — F# — B — F# over 8 bars and was written on a Blow Bass instrument, created with Native Instruments synthesizer Absynth. The Blown Bass is a warm soft bass while the main bass in harder. In the final two drops/choruses, this bassline was layered onto a grimy bass called the Sinister Exaggerator, made with the Native Instruments Absynth. Following is an image of the bass instruments in the arrange view in Logic X, for a visual representation of this discussion.
The audio processing on the bass instruments as discussed in the following is depicted in the image to the left. The bass instruments were heavily processed with EQ, so the different bass instruments and 808’s didn’t clash while all playing together. As these had similar frequencies, without EQ the bass end would sound muddy with possible comb filtering. The Blown, BA DnB Roller, and Liquid Bamboo basses were all processed with compression. The Blown and BA DnB Roller basses were further processed with saturation for textured, grit and warmth. The Fab Filter Saturn was used for the saturation with a warm tube emulation. The bass instruments are all panned to the center.
Lead Synth
The Lead Synth is made with the Serum LD Ring Scream and BA Complextro 1 instruments with LFO settings, giving an intense Dubstep sound. These play the hook line of BDEF#DBDBDBDEF# — BDEF#DBDBDBDEEF# — BDEF#DBDF#DBDEEF# — BDEF#DBDBDBDEF#F# — BDEF#DBDBDBDEF# — BDEF#DBDBDBDEEF# — BDEF#DBDF#DBDEEF# — BDEF#DBDF#DBDEF#B
over 8 bars. These play from the 3rd chorus drop until the final chorus/drop sections, though are silent in the breakdown section. The Lead Synth was processed with EQ, compression, and saturation. The Lead Synth had a flute accompaniment playing the same melody but on a higher octave. This was made on the Logic native synth Sculpture and was processed with EQ. Following is an image of the Lead Synth and Flute accompaniment MIDI notation in the Logic X arrangement window.
Following is a video of the drums, basses and lead synth instruments of the song ‘The Rise’ for a sonic representation of the above explanation. With footage and audio of the breakdown, build and 7th chorus/drop sections.
Melodies
The melodies were composed with a lead or top line, rhythm, and chord stab lines, composed on piano, marimba, synth, and guitar software instruments. The melodies were written with a cyclic nature to keep with the theme of composing from the feminine. “The continuity and openness of feminine writing also reflect women’s sexual experiences [as] indefinite, cyclic, without set beginnings and endings”(Macarthur, 2002, p. 113).
Rhythm
The rhythm line was composed on a Marimba, made with the Logic native synth Sculpture, and a synth, made with Serum synth LD D_Lead 1. These played the same rhythm as the Liquid and BA DnB Roller basses of BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB, or,
BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBAB — BBAF# — BBAF# — BBBBBD — BBBB over 8 bars in higher octaves to the bass instruments. These played in the intro build section and during the chorus/drop sections.
Topline/Leadline
The topline/lead melody was composed on a Marimba, made with the Logic native synth Sculpture, and a synth, made with Serum synth LD D_Lead 2. These played the rising melody of BC#DEGAB — BC#DEGAB — BC#DEGAB — BC#DEBDF# — BC#DEGAB — BC#DEGAB — BC#DEGAB — BC#DEBDB over 8 bars, during the intro, breakdown, build, outro and chorus/drop sections. These topline melodies gave a counterpoint to the rhythm line and basslines. There is a Marimba accompaniment for the topline layered over a second arpeggiated Marimba. These play during the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th chorus/drop section to build the dynamics of the arrangments, leading up to the end of the song. The Marimba accompaniments play the melody of BEF#AC#E — F#AC#AC#E — BDF#AC#E — AC#EDBDF# — BEF#EGB — DF#AEGB — BDEEGB — EDF#AF#AF# over 8 bars. These also add variation to the repetitive nature of the song so it doesn’t get boring for the listener. The rising melodies were used to depict the rise of the feminine.
Chord Stabs
The chord stabs were composed on a Classic Piano and Vintage Strat Guitar both made with the Logic native EXS24 sampler. The chord stabs played the progression of BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmBmDBm — BmDF#mBm over 8 bars, starting in the 2nd chorus /drop section and continuing throughout all of the chorus/drop sections and outro. These skanked on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar.
The MIDI notation of the melodic instruments discussed above is depicted in the following image with the; rhythm line in pink, the topline and accompaniments in light purple, and the chord stabs in dark purple. The basses are in green to gain an understanding of what instruments play in the different sections of the song.
The audio processing of the melodic parts of ‘The Rise’ is depicted in the image to the left. The rhythm line Marimba was processed with EQ and sent to a bus, post-fader, for reverb processing and the synth was processed with EQ and saturation with a warm tube emulation. These were panned to the center. The topline Marimba was processed with EQ then also sent to a bus for further reverb processing. The topline synth was processed with EQ. The topline instruments were further processed with compression so they cut through in the mix, as the topline were the main motive or hook throughout the song. These were panned the left. The Marimba topline accompaniments were panned right and processed with EQ to fit them into the mix, then compressed and sent to a bus for further reverb processing, also post-fader. Equilisation is used to separate all the instruments for clarity in the mix. The Piano and Vintage Strat Guitar chord stabs were panned left and processed with EQ and reverb as an insert, then sent on a bus for further reverb processing pre and post-fader.
Following is a video of the drums, basses lead synth and melodic instruments of the song ‘The Rise’ for a sonic representation of the above explanation. With footage and audio of the breakdown, build and 7th chorus/drop sections.
Harmonies
The harmonies of the song were created with Pads, Cello, Unraveling Harp and a Piano motif. These give support to the melodies and basslines of the song. Following is a breakdown of the audio production and composition of these elements. Following is a discussion on the instrumental sound FX.
Pads
There are two different pad sounds, an ethereal sound, and an atmospheric sound. The ethereal pads were made with a layer of synths including; Serum’s PD Centipad, Absynth 5’s Angels Singing and Atlantis, and the Serum synth PD Emotional More. These ethereal pads played the same melody as the blown bass of B — F# — B — B — B — F# — B — F# over 8 bars, but on a higher octave. These played from their staggard introduction and continued during the intro/build, builds, breakdown and outro sections. These were processed with EQ and sent to the bus processing with the short reverb. The pads were panned mainly to the center with two of the instruments panned very slightly left and right for a little stereo width and separation. The atmospheric pads sound was made by layering Scuplture’s Bamboo Air Strings with Absynth 5’s The Empty Pond pads. These played the continuous drone tone of B during the entire song from the intro to the outro. The pad instruments MIDI notation is depicted in the following image, with the ethereal pads in pink and the atmospheric pads in blue.
Strings
There are Cello and Unraveling Harp harmonies during the intro and continuing throughout the entire song. The Cello was made on the Logic native EXS24 sampler and processed with EQ, compression and a short strings reflection reverb. The Unraveling Harp was made on Absynth 5 synth and processed with EQ. These had further bus processing with short melody reverb processing post-fader and were panned to the right. The string harmonies played the continuous rising melody of BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B — BDF#B over 8 bars. The rising melodies were used to depict the rise of the feminine. The strings MIDI notation is depicted in the following image in purple.
Piano Motif
The piano motif played a continuous melody of BBBBBBBB every bar. This was processed with a bandwidth EQ so it didn’t interfere with the bass instruments or the higher frequency instruments in the mix. As the piano has a large frequency band, it can tend to make the mix cloudy without this bandwidth EQ processing. The piano’s also had compression and a short piano reflection reverb as an insert, to aid in giving it the hammer sound and much-needed depth to depict this. The piano had further bus processing with reverb pre and post-fader. The MIDI notation of the Piano motif is portrayed in the following image.
Sound FX
The sound FX were made with layering Serum’s PD Emotional More synth with Native Instruments Absynth 5’s Sinister Exaggerator and Haiku synths. These were panned to the center and played during the build sections. The Haiku synth also played during the breakdown and outro sections. These played the drone tone of B. There was a Marimba rising scale trill FX, made with the logic native synth Sculpture. This played in the intro and breakdown sections. White noise is used as a constant underlying FX during all of the chorus/drop sections, adding texture to this dynamic part. “White noise is probably the most common type of noise used in music, especially electronic music. Because white noise has equal strength across frequencies, it can add texture and depth to your mix and interact with your instruments in interesting ways” (Kendall, 2018). These instruments are depicted in yellow in the following image.
Following is a video of the drums, basses lead synth, melodic, harmonic and FX instruments of the song ‘The Rise’ for a sonic representation of the above explanation. With footage and audio of the breakdown, build and 7th chorus/drop sections.
Vocals
The vocals were recorded with an AKG P420 condenser microphone, with a sound reflector and pop filter. These were recorded through the TC Helicon Voice Play Live and the UAD Apollo twin interphase. I used a pop filter to capture the plosives like P’s and B’s and reflection filter to encapsulate the sound acting as a vocal booth. Josie Doolan sang the vocals of this song with the TC Helicon with a plate reverb setting. Some of her backing vocals had a plate reverb setting with a double effect on the TC Helicon. The images of these settings are as follows.
I processed the vocals with EQ and compression, and sent them to a reverb chain, with a shorter reverb sent into a medium plate reverb. I made the backing vocals reverb quite wet in this song. The main vocals were panned to the center while the backing vocals were panned left and right. The last chorus also had backing vocals to really build this section and make it feel like many females were singing. The vocals had automation on the volume to control certain sections and delay sends at the end of certain words, phrases, and parts to enhance them.
Mixdown
The final mixdown is the stereo mix that you listen to out of your speakers. This is mixed to a level with peaks no higher than -3dB, and an RMS of around -10dB to -15dB, ready to be sent off for mastering. A good RMS level can really give your song energy and power. It is essential to ensure that you are 100% happy with this mix as it is the final version. It is my common practice to do the final mix with fresh ears, after a good night's sleep. Not at 3 am when I’ve just finished being in a creative mindset and composing or arranging the song. For the final mix, I like to use a technical mindset. Listening back to this with fresh ears gives you a different perspective, so you can focus the frequencies and dynamics, not the melodies and harmonies. A mixing blog from Waves audio explains this in further detail.
“Do work with fresh ears. When mixing your own records, the best thing you can do is to separate yourself from the process. Try to remove your attachment to the material from the equation. Separate the recording and mixing phases as much as possible. Make sure you leave yourself time to cleanse the palate. Most importantly, try to listen to the track with fresh ears — try to listen from the perspective of the listener. How will they hear it when it’s played for them the very first time? Listen to reference mixes, and listen often. Put yourself in the shoes of a for-hire mixer and of a fan, and you’re far less likely to make the mistakes of a musician” (Waves, 2018).
The waves blog also brings up the important point of ear fatigue when mixing, which occurs after listening and concentrating on music for continuous periods of time. This can leads to dull sounding mixes as your ears are too tired to hear the sonic quality correctly. Following is a link with tips to avoid ear fatigue in the studio.
For this blog, I am going to give you an in-depth analysis of my mixdown workflow as follows. I start with bouncing MIDI instruments to audio and doing fades on these individual files. Then listening to the whole mix at an average-to-loud level with nothing on solo, I start to balance the levels and adjust the volume of certain things until I am happy with the level of the mix. I usually mix the drum to around -8 to -10 dB and the basses to -10 to -12 dB. I then proceed to work on the stereo imaging with the panning of instruments to give width to the mix. I then work on frequency balancing with equilisation to ensure separation in the mix and clarity. This gives height to the mix depending on the difference between the pitch of the lowest and highest instruments. I solo certain things and mute others, for example, I will solo the drums and basslines to check the rhythm sections groove and look for frequency clashes in the low end. I then process with dynamic processing of compression, saturation and at times limiting to move things forward and back in the mix, then I work on the time-based processing, adding depth to the mix until I am satisfied with how it sounds. I also mute some elements in the intro’s or where they are brought in to adjust the arrangement to flow and suite the taste I am wanting. As I use the process of working on the sound design and semi mixing as I proceed the mixdown is quite straightforward. I then proceed to write in the automation to the mix.
Automation
The use of automation is what really helps with the mix. Automation is recording a change in processing or making things happen automatically, like changing the volume on things or building reverbs and echos. I use volume automation on elements; to bring them in gently; to bring down the level on sections to fade out nicely and; to bring elements to the front of the mix. I mainly used automation on volume and sends in this song, with echos and reverbs on the melodies and harmonies at the end of the outro section, so they fade out nicely to finish. Following is an image of the volume automation on the melodic instruments.
The Lyrics
The lyrics to ‘The Rise’ are cyclic also as a display of woman’s sexuality, written like a chant envisioned by the repetitiveness of chants or pagan rituals. This song communicates the rise of the female gender, liberated from the historical suppression of her sexuality. An empowering call to all females to rise.
The Rise — Lyrics
She is rising, She is rising
She is inspiring, She is inspiring
She is demolishing her walls, She is breaking free of her cage
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Sonically penetrating, from the mind of the feminine
Into the souls of a generation, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise…
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Bring on the rise of the feminine
Bring on the rise, Of the feminine
Bring on the rise of the feminine
Bring on the rise, Bring on the rise
Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Sonically penetrating from the mind of the feminine
Into the souls of a generation, Bring on the rise
Sonically penetrating from the mind of the feminine
Into the souls of a generation, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Bring on the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Feel the rise of the feminine…
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Sonically penetrating, from the mind of the feminine
Into the souls of a generation, Bring on the rise of the feminine
Feel the rise of the feminine, Bring on the rise of the feminine…
Feel the rise, Feel the rise of the feminine, For her, For her
Feel the rise of the feminine, For her, Feel the rise (Orthentix, 2018).
Here is ‘The Rise’ with the lyrics and vocals to gain an understanding of the above discussion and all the elements of the song.
A Female Music Producer in Her Realm: Reflection on My Creative Practice of Music Production
The following reflection is on the feminine aesthetics of my creative practice, music production. This leads to an understanding of how my gender affects my practice. This song ‘The Rise’ is the final song composition for the album and is the culmination of the story of Divine Affliction. She has suffered many afflictions due to her gender and has deconstructed these afflictions. She has encountered her divine feminine and has fully embodied this divinity. She is ready to ascend from the weight of her afflictions and rise from the suppression of her gender. This is the rise of the feminine.
“Sometimes we have to go down in flames, to feel the burn, to know the fire, to be the ash and then come back to life in the smoke that rises” (Stacie Martin).
This album and song are about establishing the subjectivity of my gender within my practice. During this process, I have come to understand how my embodied gender shapes and informs my practice and music. There is a distinguishable feminine aesthetic to my work. The cyclic patterns that resemble females sexual experiences with continuity and openness (Macarthur, 2002, p. 113). The feminine endings of the sections of songs and outros, feminine endings that overstep the hegemonic control of the barline (McLary, 1991, p. 11). My songs are feminist texts, not composed in a particular style or genre, set to a certain discourse. With my practice of composing music that is a fusion of genres or an amalgamation of music styles, frees the works from the patriarchal discourse of music production. Feminist texts question the premises of inherited conventions, attempting to reassemble the texts in ways that make a difference in the discourse itself. Feminist texts “broaden the range of possible music’s, as it comments both on the assumptions of more traditional procedures and on the problematic position of a woman artist attempting to create new meanings within old media” (Mclary, 2002, p. 19). My gender also shapes the way I communicate about music with these blogs as an example. I communicate with a feminine vernacular which is uncommon in the realm of music production due to the massive under-representation there is of females within this space. Females represent 2–5% of music producers and suffer many afflictions due to their under-representation in the field, as discussed in the previous blog to the series. Rodgers has found that “women make music and communicate about technologies in ways that are essentially different from men and that these differences should be validated” (Rodgers, 2010, p. 17). While I have celebrated the feminine aesthetic in my practice and validated its difference, representing a female within the domain of music production, critiqued the masculinized culture of music production and of the marginalization of females from this space. The real problem is how do we address the issue of the under-representation of female producers at large?
Many female producers don’t consider the intersection of their gender with their practice due to the masculinization of music production culture. Recently I interviewed several female producers. One remarked that “music is math and emotion” and doesn’t believe in the cultural anthropological perspectives of music theory. She thinks of herself as human and found it hard to judge the femininity in her practice (Woods, personal communication, 2019). Many want to be considered producers, not female producers. Though until the representation comes to some sort of balance I believe we have to keep identifying our gender as female producers to address the underrepresentation of females in the field. While I celebrate the term ‘female producer’, I have come to have an issue with the term ‘women in music’. This term works discursively against women. Feminist musicologist Norma Coates explains that the term “women in rock begs numerous questions: Why is it important to segregate ‘women in rock’ in this manner? Why don’t we speak of ‘men in rock’? Haven’t women always been in rock? What does ‘in’ mean? Does ‘women in rock’ refer only to musicians, or does it refer to any women involved in rock in any way (fans, listeners, music business personnel, and so on)? What does ‘woman’ mean in the context of rock? What does ‘woman’ mean?” (Whitley. Ed. Norma Coates, 1997, p. 52). Coates deconstructs the grammar of this description as the designator itself delineates hegemonic space. “Rock is separate from women. Women are only related to rock by being allowed ‘in’. The ‘in’ of ‘women in rock’ has a contingent feel about it that will never be complete or fully integrated with the whole” (Whitely. Ed. Coates, 1997, p. 61). Coates shows evidence of this deconstruction of grammar with a male reporter's question, ‘Are women still excluded from rock?’ Noting that he ultimately falls back upon discursive techniques that succeed in positioning women as other to the rock formation. (Whitely. Ed. Coates, 1997, p. 61). Therefore I feel the term women’s music is slightly more appropriate.
Representing and identifying females within the space of music production is one way to address the issue of the lack of female producers. Another is by using quotas. Music festivals worldwide have been called out for their lack of female artists on their line ups and have started using quotas to remedy the disparity in gender representation. For the last four years, Triple J’s Hack has investigated the representation of female artists within the Australian music industry. In their 2019 report, By The Numbers, they have found that “the diversity of acts represented on major Australian festival line-ups has improved significantly; for the first time in the report’s history”, with one of the six festivals analyzed achieving gender parity with 50% of acts featuring at least one woman (McCormack. 2019). “The push towards gender-balanced line-ups, or so-called 50/50 pledges, is led by the PRS Keychange initiative which calls for equal numbers of male and female performers at high profile festivals and music events by 2022” (Warren, 2019). 250 music organizations have already signed the PRS Keychange initiative and change is slowly happening. This year at Glastonbury, women made up 42% of artists on the line-up, compared with 2015 when women only occupied 14% of Glastonbury’s line up. “Primavera Sound, held in Barcelona in May 2019, was the first music festival to achieve a 50/50 gender balance” (Warren, 2019). From this, we can see the benefit of using quotas to address the under-representation of female artist on festival line ups. Though many argue that without legislation requiring organizations to appoint a set number of individuals from the minority group, the change will not happen fast enough.
Another criticism of diversity quotas is an assumption that choosing people because of their gender, means ability and talent on line-ups will suffer. If we are serious about addressing inequality, then the dominant group will necessarily lose its entrenched advantage. Though in music, like many other creative and tech industries, the talent pools are not equally sized. “A recent report from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative studied 700 popular music songs released in the US between 2012 and 2016. Women made up 21.7% of artists, 12.3% of songwriters and only a tiny 2.1% of producers, suggesting that as creative roles become more techie, already low female participation rates fall sharply” (Warren, 2019). In electronic music, estimates sit between 5% and 10% of producers released by labels are female. Warren analyzed the Beatport Top 100 in May this year and found that 91% of songs distributed on Beatport were made by men. Of the nine tracks with women listed as an artist, only five of them were written and/or produced by a woman as opposed to featuring a female vocalist. “Driven by the digital revolution in music production, writing and producing the music that you play, not just performing it, is a vital part of being a credible artist” (Warren, 2019). Mid-range festivals are the grassroots of the industry and produce the next generation of A-listers that headline the major festivals. If women are only performing and not writing and producing their own music they will lack the reputational capital they need to be taken seriously and our body of future female talent runs dry. While 50/50 line-ups provide a great opportunity for female artists, offering role models to inspire girls and women to pursue musical careers (Warren, 2019). The bigger issue is how to address the gendered stereotypes with music technology to get more females in the domain of music production?
While representation and quotas are important, women-centered organizations and initiatives are proving a viable way to breakdown gendered stereotypes with music tech and production. Initiatives like; “Toolroom’s #WeAreListening project, Hospital Records’ Women in Drum and Bass Facebook group, the SheSaid.So mentoring network and educational projects such as Women in Sound on Sound are all examples of programs that give women a leg up in music production so that they can compete for the top slots” (Warren, 2019). Within the culture of hip-hop, in 1996 Kuttin Kandi and Helixx C Armaged- don formed a twenty-member multi-racial all-female hip-hop crew called the Anomolies. They did this to connect with other women who shared a passion for hip-hop and create a support network. Many women within their culture were finding it hard to cope with the sexism and discrimination of females in the hip-hop culture. They wanted “to show that there are women out there with skills, who aren’t all about sex, greed, and violence” (Hisama, 2014, p. 4). Women centered spaces are potentially empowering and democratizing because of the possibilities it affords for the reconfiguration of identity through these technological unions (Armstrong, 2011, p. 104). Saffron, a Bristol-based record label and educational facility for women runs women-only courses called Saffron For Sound. These courses focus on music production software such as Ableton and Logic, as well as studio engineering. Spotify launched the EQL Directory in association with SoundGirls organization in 2018, providing a list of women and gender non-conforming audio professionals (Joshi, 2019). “Offering safe spaces to learn, connect with other women for support, to network and get noticed, will create sustainable change for a more inclusive music industry of the future” (Warren, 2019).
Folkways, a website focused on folk musical movements explains that women are creating their place within the folk music environment. Native American Indian women have moved to the forefront of powwow drumming inspired by the need to preserve their culture, via the means of education on traditional drumming. The Dagarti women of Ghana, censored from playing the cultural instrument of the xylophone, subvert musical barriers by mimicking play of this instrument with their clothing. Joropo vocalists of Columbia traditionally a male dominion, through today Ana Veydo a female is renown for the Joropo tradition. Jean Ritch follows the Anglo Celtic tradition by not altering the gendered pronouns in her interpretations to sound as if she were singing from a male perspective and Lucinda Williams, a female singer-songwriter whose narrative resembles masculinity with stories of bar fights and the open road. Other women stand out because they have succeeded in the music business on their own terms, often in genres traditionally dominated by men. Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard became successful bluegrass musicians at a time when men ruled the scene. Pianist Mary Lou Williams remains one of the very few female jazz composers who wrote and performed her own material. Renowned Portuguese fado vocalist Amália Rodrigues and master komuz player Samara Tokhtakunova from Kyrgyzstan are respected musicians in their cultures. Recording and performing around the world, they are role models for today’s women performers seeking careers in music (Smithsonian Folkways, 2016). It seems there is not a single solution to address the under-representation of females in music production, though the multiple solutions with; women-centered groups, quotas for gender parity, representation, and celebrating the feminine aesthetic, will impact a change with the culture of music production.
Conclusion
Undertaking this research into the afflicting and divine intersections of gender and music production has not only aided in my understandings of how gender influences my practice and the historical social-political events that have impacted the culture of music production, but it has also helped me better understand myself. Being able to share this research with others will give other females a better understanding of the social and political issues we face with gender inequality and inspire them with a sense of empowerment, whether they are a female music producer/musician, or not. This information relates to the greater population of society females, males and non-binary individuals due to the historical narrative it presents on the patriarchal conditioning to society.
As we’ve seen in the media with the #metoo movement, the conversations are happening. Many females are sharing stories and transformation is has begun. Women are calling for change and starting to rise. Divine Affliction is my way of communicating my story. Creating Divine Affliction has helped me to reach my divine, by establishing my own feminine subjectivity within my music practice. I no longer feel the affliction of my identity as a female producer. Instead, I cherish this identity with pride. And as more women start to be heard, our loneliness will demise. I’m excited about the future, yes the future will be equal….Bring on the rise.
The following blog discusses Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture and collaboration with a creative community. Stay tuned!!!
Read the previous blog: https://medium.com/orthentix/the-sonic-storytelling-of-song-mulier-taceat-in-ecclesia-292d2fd9150a
Read the following blog: https://medium.com/orthentix/the-ethos-behind-the-production-of-divine-affliction-diy-culture-and-collaboration-c1dea222bc1b
Encore
Divine Affliction, experimental electronica with raw, introspective, brooding, emotive music. A journey through the female experience. A musical expression of the divine feminine and the afflictions she faces…She finds strength in her vulnerability and turns her affliction into a virtue.
The Divine Affliction album will be released — December 2019! There will be a Divine Affliction Poetic Documentary published on Youtube — January 2020. The documentary is a lens into my intersection of gender and music production. Divine Affliction, a story of me, a female and a producer. The documentary hosts intimate footage at home with my daughter, performing live and expressing in my realm of creativity. With narration discussing the song concepts along with excerpts of songs from the album. Experience her story of music production through a feminine lens, a feminine perception of music production…Excited? I am. Stay Tuned via the following link to my Youtube channel!
Reference List:
Armstrong, Victoria. (2011). Technology and the gendering of music education. Surrey, UK: Ashgate.
Chapala, Bill. (May 16, 2018). Quote: They are scared of women like you [Website]. Retrieved from https://themindsjournal.com/scared-women-like/
Smithsonian Folkways. (February 2016). Women breaking musical barriers [Website]. Retrieved from https://music.si.edu/story/women-breaking-musical-barriers
Hisama, Ellie M. (2014). DJ Kuttin Kandi: Performing feminism [Article]. American Music Review, Vol XLIII, No 2. Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York: NY, USA.
Hobbs, Jared. (November 29, 2018). Ledgernote: Musical key characteristics & emotions [Blog]. Retrieved from https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/musical-key-characteristics-emotions/
Joshi, Tara (June 24, 2019). Digital masters: how new initiatives equalize women in sound [Website]. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2019/jun/24/digital-masters-how-new-initiatives-equalise-women-in-sound
Kendall, Jaclyn. (April 4, 2018). How to turn nasty noise into a creative mixing tool [Blog]. Retrieved from https://blog.landr.com/how-to-use-noise-mixing/
Macarthur, Sally. (2002). Feminist aesthetics in music. Greenwood Press, CT: USA. ISBN: 0–313–31320–2.
McClary, Susan. (1991.). Feminine endings. London, UK: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0- 8166-4189-5.
McCormack, Ange. (March 8, 2019.). ABC hack: By the numbers 2019: The gender gap in the Australian music industry [Research Article]. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/by-the-numbers-2019-the-gender-gap-in-australian-music-revealed/10879066
Orthentix. (2019). Blog: The Rise — Drums [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/360772200/f40f55f6db
Orthentix. (2019). Blog: The Rise — Drums, basses & lead synth [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/360775326/097dc0287d
Orthentix. (2019). Blog: The Rise — Drums, basses, lead synth & melodies [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/360776726/20cf7205ae
Orthentix. (2019). Blog: The Rise — Drums, basses, lead synth, melodies, harmonies & FX [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/360778568/9e1b3f5498
Orthentix. (2019). The Rise [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/orthentix/the-rise
Orthentix. (2019). The Rise — Instrumental [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/orthentix/the-rise-instr
Rodgers, Tara. (2010). Pink noises: women on electronic music and sound [Book]. Durham NC, USA: Duke University22 Press. ISBN: 978-0-8223-4673-9.
Solitarymorrigan. (2019). Quote: Stacie Martin [Social Media Post]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/solitarymorrigan/
Stoltzfus, Philip. (June 5, 2006). Theology as Performance: Music, Aesthetics, and God in Western Thought. New York: TT Clark. p 81 & 101
Warren, Samantha. (July 10, 2019). Music festivals: how to get more women on stage (and it’s not just 50/50 quotas) [Website]. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/music-festivals-how-to-get-more-women-on-stage-and-its-not-just-50-50-quotas-119970
Waves. (January 25, 2018). Mixing your own music: Mistakes to avoid [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.waves.com/mixing-your-own-music-mistakes-to-avoid
Whitely, Sheila. (1997). Sexing the groove: popular music and gender [Book]. Routledge: NY, USA.
Woods, Catharine. (2019). Quote [personal communication].
List of Figures:
Figure 1. The Rise — Song Offical Promotional Image. Image is taken from Divine Affliction Poetic Documentary — Director Wayne McPhee, edited by House of Pheonix Eleven. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 2. B minor scale. Retrieved from https://www.basicmusictheory.com/e-minor-pentatonic-scale
Figure 3. Arrangement of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 4. Drum arrangement of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 5. Drum processing of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 6. Bass arrangement of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 7. Bass processing of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 8. Lead synth and flute accompaniment of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 9. Melodic arrangement of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 10. Melodic processing of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 11. Pad harmonies of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 12. String harmonies of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 13. Piano motif of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 14. Sound FX instruments of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 15. Vocal recording processing of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 16. The automation of song The Rise — Logic Project File. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
Figure 17. A Female Music Producer in Her Realm. Copyright Orthentix 2019.
