Contemporary??? Whats is it really??

[thokus]

Ok any body .. Just what the hell does contempoary really mean .. it's so catch all. i'm confused.
Tom

[cardell]

Ok any body .. Just what the hell does contempoary really mean .. it's so catch all. i'm confused.
Tom

I know what you mean...I find this confusing too.

But, I guess it just means: does it sound like everything else that is currently being done?
Kind of stupid isn't it?

Stuart

[jakito]

Mike Laskow gave an excellent example in one of the recent videos: gated snare drums a la Phil Collins are not contemporary even though they sound absolutely fantastic (but so 80's)...

[thokus]

I just got an expaination from Magne on another post

Good Q, Tom! I'm no authority on that, as I really struggle to get my stuff to sound contemporary.

But it seems:
- Sometimes it's a production value, where songs that would sound classic are produced in a way, that they does not sound classic.
- Sometimes it's in the writing as well, like when Robin Frederick suggests there's a different punctuation in contemporary songs, where melodies come in and out in a more surprising way, more often starting on 2, 3 and 4, than on the first beat.
- Sometimes it seems it's a tempo, or a particular way to arrange elements in songs, like Jay Frank suggests.
- In some genres, like country, contemporary means pop/rock influences, as no matter how old they are, they are new to country, so then contemporary means sort of a fusion of genres.
- Sometimes it means a lyric tone, that are more in sync with todays language and values of the youth.
- Sometimes it seems like plain good timing can be contemporary, if that classic tone hits a popular trend in the particular genre.

Much more can be added.

But I think, if you naturally write 60ies and 70ies, you can haul a lot out of producing your stuff differently. Like:
- using parrallel compression, and compress a little in more stages,
- doubling instruments, by recording them twice and pan them hard
- use an etheric synth (very) low in the mix to provide a dimension of space and depth, even on more traditional material,
- use radical effects on traditional sounding instruments,
- sing with lots of "air" ect.
- use repetition more in conjunction with simpler arrangements

Much more can be added. In general the music should aim to sound "fresh", not too "clean cut", and surprise in a ratio of max 20% (80% known, 20% "new"), I think.

It helps a lot to listen to music that's released today, and try to cop some of the things you hear. A lot of tricks are utilized, and practice makes perfect..

My 2c

[Casey H]

Does it sound like artists currently on the charts?

One of the easiest ways to get a feeling for it is to make a list of the 'a la' acts in Taxi listings for your genre(s). Listen to the writing style, lyrics, arrangements, production, etc. Although all of it matters, the drums and bass are a good start.

Although I haven't done a great job at this myself I can tell you the advice that I always read and those successful in film/TV placement will back it up... Contemporary or not, write so your tracks are as "taggable" as possible in sounding like a particular artist, era, genre, etc. It's not as important what the sound is as much as can it be easily classifed as "a la" in a music library database. Movies and TV shows can take place in any era. So there always will be a call for songs that sound like they could have been on the radio 'back then' for a scene in a show. An acoustic that sounds like James Taylor in 1971, pop that sounds like Duran Duran in the early 80's, psychedelic from the 60's, etc, etc.

Casey

[ernstinen]

Personally, I dislike that label when it means "Sounding like other acts or recording artists etc." My jaw gets grinding and I can't sleep thinking about that!

My image of "Contemporary" is pushing the envelope, whatever style you write in. I feel it's a lot easier, better, and more musical to be yourself than to copy someone else. THAT, to me, is contemporary!

Best Wishes,

Ern

[Casey H]

Personally, I dislike that label when it means "Sounding like other acts or recording artists etc." My jaw gets grinding and I can't sleep thinking about that!

My image of "Contemporary" is pushing the envelope, whatever style you write in. I feel it's a lot easier, better, and more musical to be yourself than to copy someone else. THAT, to me, is contemporary!

Best Wishes,

Ern

But the truth is, like it or not, a big part of the film/TV music game is about imitation. TV shows can't afford the licensing fees for tracks by known artists. They will temporarily put in a known artist track in initial editing and then seek out "replacement tracks" from unknown artists to swap in and save the money.

New artists seeking label deals have more leeway to sound fresh and unique. But as part of that they can't sound like acts from years back, especially in production style.

Casey

[mazz]

It seems to me popular culture is about fashion. And I don't mean just clothing, but the aesthetic of whatever the tastemakers and the general public determine is in fashion at that moment. In music a lot of the fashion seems to be in the production styles and the sounds used in those productions. There also seems to be a distinctive phrasing style in some contemporary music that is different from the styles of days past. Of course, it's a moving target and it's tough to keep up with it, particularly if one is past some age where pop culture doesn't mean as much as it used to (i.e., not relevant to that person).

For me, when listening to current music, I have to put aside my preconceptions and the stylistic "baggage" I carry with me from my formative, influential years, otherwise I've just put filters over my perception and I won't be hearing it for what it is. Of course, these can't really ever be put completely aside, but in order to really analyze and understand something, it helps to approach it with an open mind. This continues to be a challenge for me because I'm just not overly attracted to modern pop music, at least a large percentage of it. But if I want to compete as a composer in the modern world, I have to just "get over it" and learn how to hear contemporary music for what it is so I can more accurately compose it. If I don't want to be a successful composer, then I can ignore it completely, but most music these days has at least a little something from pop culture leaking into it, witness the influence of hip hop and it's production aesthetic and how it's crept into just about every type of music out there.

But I find that understanding production techniques really helps me understand fairly quickly what, beyond the songwriting and arrangement (which is huge, of course), makes it sound "contemporary". To be able to discern types of compression, guitar sounds and vocal sounds, etc., and to be able to articulate those sounds and know how to approach them on one's own gear is invaluable. It takes a lot of focused listening and study (at least it did for me) to hear those things, basically it's ear training of a certain type.

For instance, knowing that the laws of physics limited the amount of bass that could be put on a vinyl record (unless one wanted a record to be 10 minutes per side!), would explain why certain recordings from the 70s don't have as much bass as a CD from the 90s or 2000s. The ability to put huge amounts of bass on a digital recording changed production aesthetics forever. If one mixes with 70s ears, they may not make a mix that sounds right to the contemporary listener. If the client wants authentic 70s, that's great, but some modicum of modern-ness may need to be there to make it "pop" in today's world.

Just my 2c.

[matto]

Ern is correct Of course that as individuals, we can each have our own definition of what contemporary means to us.
If however we are talking about the music industry's definition of the word, which I think Tom is inquiring about here, it means:

For songs:
Songs that sound, in all their musical elements (melody, lyric, chord progression, arrangement, production, vocal style, mix etc) like songs that are on the corresponding musical style's charts now.
This latter qualifier is important since obviously e.g. contemporary country sounds very different from contemporary hip hop.

For instrumental music:
Music that sounds like the music you hear on the currently popular tv shows or in current hit movies. Again you'll hear a wide variety of styles in these productions so you'll need to compare your cue to music that's in a similar genre.

I would also submit that it is very much possible to be original and creative while at the same time fitting within the parameters of 'contemporary'. It takes a certain mindset to be able to do this though, and it's not one everybody possesses, so you'll have to figure out yourself if writing
'contemporary music' is for you or not.

HTH,

matto

[crs7string]

I believe one can NOT be contemporary and still sign a lot of music. One of the libraries I'm do business with is looking for authenic 1920's styles. Hardly contemporary!

Every style from every era is used in media. If one can do nearly any style with authenticity, whether it be surf guitar, big band, or Mongolian choir music, it can find a home. It may not be used as much as contemporary styles (ie. hip hop) but potentially can have a longer shelf life. And, in the case of Mongolian choir music, one may actually have the corner on the market.


Chuck