The nerdcore group Slice Of Life asked me to mix a track for them entitled “Every Boy In Nerdcore”, sometimes called “Nerdcore Boy”. The original was posted on some internet forums and drew such mean spirited comments that it made me angry (I’m personal friends with both Raychel and Peach), so I decided to do some work on it. As it turns out, these tracks make a perfect example between what mixing, mastering, and production is and why they cost what they do.

Here is the original track:

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Here the the mastered version. Mastering is sometimes called the ‘Black Arts’ and I’ve once heard it explained as follows; “Mastering is what happens when you think the album is done.” Basically, it aims to make the track smoother, louder, and overall better by making the parts that are good stand out and sometimes hiding the ones that aren’t. Studio 6 Mastering, one track, nerd music discount applied, $10. Here is the mastered version:

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Mixing is where the real work begins. At this point, I’m able to take the separate parts of the track, in this case, to vocals for both artists in parts (adlibs, doubles, verses, choruses) The real challenge presented by this track was that all of the vocals were recorded on a headset microphone intended for World of Warcraft in one of the artist’s father’s garage. Getting those vocals to sound like something done on a decent mic certainly adds a lot to the song. Studio 6 Mixing and Mastering, one track, nerd music discount applied, $20. Here’s the Mixed and Mastered version:

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And, now for the coup de grâce. Full on production. The vocals were ripped apart and reassembled, rearranged and auto tuned. The verse kick drum pattern was inspired by the hijacked beat they used in the original. Video game sounds (chip) and samples were used exclusively for the melodies and baseline . Then a massive, simple but catchy chorus was built and the verse vocals laid back down around it.  A massive club banger was born. Part hip hop, part pop, part nerd, part fun.
Studio 6 full production, extreme vocal timing correction, pitch, and arrangement correction. Custom beat written. $50/hr. Approximate cost to the artist: $900 (this one was on the house. take that, forum dicks). Listen below to the final product.

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MD started primary recording today on the first of two full length albums he’s selected Studio 6 to produce. The working title is ‘From The Streets’ and it’s gonna hit hard as hell if this first song is any indication.  Quick sample below:

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This is a piece I wrote for a local film company for a movie entitled “Brotherhood Of The Dead”, a zombie comedy.  The movie hasn’t been shot yet, this was written to the script.  The opening of the movie is as follows. From 00:00 to 02:00 a we’re led through a forest in black and white, bodies litter the ground.  It’s clearly the end of the world.  At 02:00 we come across what appears to be an underground bunker containing the only signs of life yet seen.  At 02:23, the title card comes up, “BROTHERHOOD OF THE DEAD”, the rest of the track is simply variations on the theme to be edited after the shoot.  Enjoy!

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Just stumbled across a remix I did years ago (about a week after this album was released), figured I’d share it. Please mind the quality, was long before Studio 6 was what it is today. Listen below:

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New HDninja available today!  This insane EP was again done inside of a week.  One of the very few primarily organic Nerdcore albums ever released, check this thing out!  Live drums, bass, Rhodes, piano, guitar, all over the place!  It’s like the 70′s…with a Nintendo DS .  Check out what a live band sounds like with a Nintendo DS instead of guitars below!  Download the full EP for free!

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How can you pass something like this up?  Rock.  Drums, bass, two guitar tracks and vocals recorded in 45 mins. hah. Hear the mp3 below.

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Awesome guys over at the Freaking Geek Show on 91.5 WPRK FM asked if I could write a chiptunes theme song for the show in the style of the upcoming 9001 album with TCP The Ninja from HDninja and the Yellow Alert Show bringing them in.  Check it out below! (please mind the abrupt ending as it’s meant to be faded out on air as needed)

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The second EP to be recorded pre-Nerdapalooza by HDninja, again, written, recorded, mixed, and mastered in one week! Madness!  Plus, this is the first album to be recorded back at Studio 6 in the new and still-under-construction Geek NASA 2.0.  Sure is nice to be back!  This album is all over the place, from the revolutionary war to an ‘unplugged’ version of the infamous ‘Sarlacc’ by RPG.  Listen to the track below, then get the full EP for free from our friends over at NerdcoreHipHop.com!

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So we’ve all lost our minds.  HDninja is releasing three separate EPs between now and Nerdapalooza.  Each one will be written, recorded, mixed, and mastered in a week.  Probably not the brightest idea, but still amazingly awesome.  The full EP can be downloaded, for free!, at NerdcoreHipHop.com.  Check out the first track from the album below!

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The infamous Hex of Nerdapalooza fame (hi hex) contacted me the other day about some music for a podcast. They’ve been using ‘A Trap’ on and off for intros and need something more fitting for radio. The album 9001 is taking shape, most songs are between 20% and 90% done, but none enough for broadcast. A new one had to be written. After a wildly successful local HDninja show where we wrote and performed a song in a single day, I figured we should try to push this technology to it’s absolutely limits. This remix was started from scratch at 9am Thursday morning. By 11pm, it was being played at Club 509 in Daytona Beach, FL. I hope Hex enjoys pop music. Full MP3 below:

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