Talking Tunes
What is it?
The Best Interview
A Great "interview" is an open-ended free flowing conversation.
It should be fun for both of us. It's not a performance, there is no right or wrong answers.
15 tunes
Pick 15 tunes you think are worth talking about. It's near impossible to pick 15 greatest tunes of all time.
How does it work?
Here is the production process. Like most things, it's flexible and we can figure out what works.
Step 1. YOU
The guest produces a list of 15 Tunes which you think are worth talking about.
(see below)
Step 2. ME
I produce a backing track from this list. The Backing Track is just over an hour, and is a SoundCloud private.
Example Backing TrackWe agree a time, and I'll call you via Facebook Voice Chat, or Skype, or Whatsapp or any "talk over the internet via computer" application you like.
For your set-up, it would be great if you have Headphones and then listen to the Backing Track on your computer at the same time as me, while we talk. If you have a microphone, that's great. Or a headset, if that works for you.
Here's the technical set-up for when we record the interview.
I spend 4 to 6 hours editing every erm, umm, double talk, misspeak, off-record and gibberish from the voice recording.
Watch this editing example and you'll see a the huge difference editing makes.
After the chat, I bring backing track, my voice and your voice into my DAW. Something magic happens and we have our Talking Tunes podcast.
15 Tunes ... is an hour and a bit
We're aiming for something between an hour to an hour and thirty minutes, which is typically 15 tunes.
If all your are short and add up to less than an hour, feel free to add more.
If your tunes add up to more than 90 minutes, either cut them down yourself, or I will do that.
Selection
Aim for 80% Rave/Electronic tunes and if you want throw in some curveballs, jazz, classical, metal, folk, whatever, go for it.
Max Two
Maximum two tracks "playing this one for someone else" or "reminds me of person" tunes.
Max Two
Maximum two tracks "first track I played as a DJ" or "first tune I remember as a kid" or "when I was in a phase of my life"
Random
Pick some tracks that are; under-rated, best song ever, genre changing.
You Like It
Select tunes YOU like, and be prepared to discuss the artistic merit of them. Why did you pick this one? Some people say to me "I know you don't like xyz so I didn't pick that". Pick what you like.
Send MP3Z
Helpful, but not essential! If you can send me the digital files for your selection, that would be super helpful! Use WeTransfer.com for example. If you don't have the digital files for the track, I will source them.
Notes
Do a little background research. People love hearing nuggets of information. I'll do the same and share my notes.
33:10 Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43 Variation XVIII (1934) Russian [1873 - 1943] Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia. They settled in New York City in 1918. Rachmaninoff wrote the work at his summer home, in Switzerland
How to Talk
From a very early age, you probably started talking and never really gave it much thought. Which is normal. This section isn't important, but it's helpful to some people and I've built up this 'hints' guide over time
Shy?
If you're feeling shy or nervous, I have years of experience helping people to sound their very best.
Not a performance
The interview part is NOT a performance! Be yourself. You do not have to prove anything, or pretend you know more than you do. I want to hear what uyou think about music. Thatapos;s it.
Edit
I edit the chat. I cut out all the erms, yeah, you know what I mean, "it's like, it's like" type stuff to make it sound sharp.
Don't Panic
We can pause, rewind and do whatever. If you want to stop to get a drink, look up some info, internet stopped or someone interrupted you. That's no problem at all.
Casual
Imagine we are in the pub, having a drink and one of these tunes comes on. The conversation goes "oh this tune, I love it because... " or "did you know that". This is what talking tunes is about.
Notes
Take notes on yourself. When did you start DJing, producing, doing your thing. Who are your influences, who do you look up to. Any interesting anecdotes from going to raves? We will go into 'interview' mode.
No Script
There is NO script. If you want to talk about something specific, just be blunt with me and say "I want to talk about my new book" before or during recording. I'll work that in naturally and edit it
Pre-Chat
Pre-chat, and Pre-Chat-chat. I can call you a day or two before we talk, just to talk and say hello (Pre-chat-chat). When I call you on the day, we'll Pre-chat just to go over stuff, check sound levels etc.
Structured
Normal chat is back and forth. However, in this format, it's you we want to hear so I let you talk and talk... and rarely interrupt. I might use "false ignorance" and ask a stupid question for the sake of conversation "so, what is Drum and Bass?". If we talked about something 'off air' avoid saying "like we talked about before" or "like I said earlier"