I often find myself looking though the deviantart website looking for pics that match the theme of the song I am making. Anyone have any similar habits?
I don't. I'm interested to hear how you translate visual inspiration into sound. How do you find your work changing as you browse?
Its not that I create the song based off of the art. What usually happens is I will get somewhere to the mid point of the song and then I start looking at art searching for a picture that fits the theme I created. How the art influences me after that point I am unsure of. I probably do this to validate the song. If I take a quality picture and play my music with it, I ask my self if the music fits the level of epicness of the art. I think this also can help motivate me to finish.
I also have a fascination with the cinematic process. I love when various art forms come together to form a universe.
I have thought about strictly making a song based off of an art piece. I might try it soon.
The closest I ever came to making a song based off of art was when I tried to channel a bit of Yoko Kanno. I stared a lot at Ghost in the Shell Fan Art trying to create that Cinematic Vibe of a chase seen in a futuristic city, and the chase goes through a cultural market so I tried using some metallic and Indian type of drums to convey that marketplace. This scene was in my mind, not sure how it really played out in the movie. I kinda mashed ideas in my head and created a scene. And the art I used was more used as a hypothetical cover art for the song I was making, once again to try and validate the quality and what I wanted to convey in the music.
No judgement here. Everyone's process is different, but for myself that kinda stuff ends up being more an interent rabbit hole distraction. That being said I have a lot of local art that rotate in my studio...so I do have some inspiring visuals around when I music.
No judgement here. Everyone's process is different, but for myself that kinda stuff ends up being more an interent rabbit hole distraction. That being said I have a lot of local art that rotate in my studio...so I do have some inspiring visuals around when I music.
Yeah, I hear ya. Sometimes I think it would be best just to have your music software be on a dedicated PC with no games or internet. My productivity would probably increase.
All joking aside..I don't think going out of my way to find a piece of art would make a difference anyway, as it's the feeling induced by my mood at any given time that inspires me and fuels any composition / production..and all I need for that is my imagination to relate to my feeling or mood at the time and I'm up and running.
I can't say I've ever gone out of my way to find art to do this, though..I've never felt the need.
Always. Particularly when listening back to my mixes. I often think of my music as snippets from a larger story, it's only ever a vague outline of a story but I have been known to save related pics I find suitable on my laptop to stare and ponder at when making music. I spend quite a bit of time making the artwork for my releases as well, and they are always done in conjunction with the music creation.
Yeah, I hear ya. Sometimes I think it would be best just to have your music software be on a dedicated PC with no games or internet. My productivity would probably increase.
The WIFI on my studio desktop doesn't default to auto connect. :p
Its not that I create the song based off of the art. What usually happens is I will get somewhere to the mid point of the song and then I start looking at art searching for a picture that fits the theme I created. How the art influences me after that point I am unsure of. I probably do this to validate the song. If I take a quality picture and play my music with it, I ask my self if the music fits the level of epicness of the art. I think this also can help motivate me to finish.
I also have a fascination with the cinematic process. I love when various art forms come together to form a universe.
I have thought about strictly making a song based off of an art piece. I might try it soon.
That's interesting that you use the visual art as indirect inspiration and validation. I would have figured it was more 'making the song sound like the art looks' or similar.
Anyway, thanks for the insight into your process. It's always interesting to see how other people go about it.
Its hard being a porn composer. When people walk in on you doing your process, they think your a pervert. I mean you would think that people never seen midi triggers on private parts before.
Then I thought a bit longer. Came up with that again. Ok I admit I looped on that for a while.
On my quest to come up with a less dick-ish answer I came up with...
"Still no."
But sometimes when I'm listening to a track I've been working on, when its in the closing stages, close to being upload-ready I putter around the internet looking for images that might match potential titles, based on word associations.
Definitely don't look at art sites for inspiration. If art inspires the music I don't need to look any further. If I'm rocketing towards the closing stages of a track I'm looking for something that matches my ideas.
Remember art is only porn when the creators don't put halos on the owners of the erection.
------------------
IDMf: Outside of porn, best cunts on the internet.
I like Pushwagners Jobkill. Sometimes I'll look at that while I'm producing. It sort of articulates the mood and feel of the sound I'm trying to get to.
All the time. I have a lot of prints in my studio, many of landscapes, some from anime... It's not just to make the space look nice, it really does help with creative block as I'll imagine what music would fit with what I'm looking at.
