It’s only May, but we’re already pretty sure that 2017 is going to be our favorite year ever! This year, Soundfly has nearly doubled our repertoire of available courses and partnered with some of the world’s best instructors. But best of all, we’ve been continually inspired and excited by the work that student artists have shared with us. Week after week, the Soundfly HQ in Brooklyn is bumping with the beats, notes, and skwronks of both current students and alumni, so it’s only fair that we share some of that goodness with the world from time to time.
Please enjoy six more rising artists on Soundfly, or head back to the other articles in our Rising Artists series to discover more music we’ve shared. Sign up for any paid course on Soundfly this week and get 10% off with code: STAYFLY17
DJ Neko Sensei
DJ Neko Sensei is an electronic producer hailing from Michigan, and he’s been very active in our free Theory for Producers course series. So active, in fact, that his latest goofily titled release, Enter the Space Cat, features some tracks written and produced specifically for the course lessons and others inspired by them!
Below, we’re going to hear his “Mixolydian Adventure in B,” which, as you might suspect, is in the B mixolydian mode. Very ambient-Aphex Twin sounding, well done!
I guess since we’ve brought it up, we might as well go full nerd and show you what this strange mixolydian universe is all about. In order to play a scale in the mixolydian mode, you simply take any old major scale, lower the 7th degree by a half step, and there you have it!
Here’s instructor Ethan Hein on Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and its mixolydian feel, courtesy of The White Keys and Major Modes.
Justin S. Barrett
Justin Barrett is an insanely talented voiceover actor and comedian who dabbles in sound design as an extension of such talents, along with electronic production. We couldn’t be happier that he decided to join our Any Sound Will Do course series, which focuses on the experimental side of beat production and making use of found sounds, because he’s shared his track, “Dark Print,” made entirely from this free-use sample of an old, broken Epson Stylus printer!
Undivided
Mark-Anthony Pierre is the bandleader and lead producer of his electronic and hip-hop/spoken word band Undivided, based in beautiful Trinidad and Tobago! Mark-Anthony is enrolled in Building a Better Band with intentions on tightening up this group’s operations and scaling up to seek out bigger opportunities. We seriously hope they’re able to come tour North America one day!
Hear “Don’t Let Go” off their emotive Yin EP.
April
Bassist Lloyd Perry, from the London-based band April, is currently cruising through Synth Bass for Bass Players. We love this track and have grooved to it at our HQ a few times (thanks to Lloyd posting in the comments), but sadly, it features no synth bass. According to Lloyd, who owns a MicroKorg XL, he’s looking to start alternating between his bass and bass synth when they play live. Hope we can help!
For now, here’s “Under His Thumb.”
Lisa Reshkus
We couldn’t make this, or any Soundfly student-related list, without Lisa Reshkus. Lisa is a talented beatmaker and electronic producer who’s soaked up a ton of what we have to offer and returned it in the form of so many new musical experiments, it’s hard to keep up! She’s currently speeding through our newest Mainstage course on harmonic theory, Unlocking the Emotional Power of Chords, but here’s a track that, to us, sounds kind of like a Donna Summer B-side, created for Beat Making in Ableton Live.
Impulse Control
The “slightly ironic, mostly loud, kinda quiet, a little awkward, fun at times” Impulse Control hails from Ashland, Oregon, and their vocalist/guitarist Tim Duryea is looking to get them on the road as soon as possible. That’s his mission and the reason he joined Touring On a Shoestring.
According to Tim, Southern Oregon is a bit dry with live opportunities for their band, so their sights are set on the national circuit. Hit them up if you dig their sound, and help bring them to your city!
Got something you’d like to learn? Head over to Soundfly’s growing collection of free and Mainstage courses to see if we have what you’re looking for. If not, let us know! Sign up for any paid course on Soundfly this week and get 10% off with code: STAYFLY17
