What reviewing other peoples' music can tell you

I just spent a couple of days at www.GarageBand.com writing reviews for electronica music. And it was an eye-opening experience. Here's how it works, you can have 1 of your songs reviewed if you review 30 songs or 15 pairs. The higher a song rates, the higher it ranks. So I write up reviews of 30 electronica and ambient songs. And the range of quality between the top and bottom is staggering. At the bottom, people are learning fruity loops, don't have a handle on what a good melody is, and what a good mix sounds like. As you move up the ranks, you start to hear songs that have better sounds, but the melody is still bad. Later you hear that the mix is better, and the melody is a little better, but still bad. The most highly ranked songs *have a good melody*. So for all you experiemental electronica artists out there, listen up! If you want to have popular songs, you need to work on your melody most of all. Upbeat songs are generally better received than dirges, with one exception: if the song is not upbeat, and is emotional or compelling, then that song will reach the top of the chart. You can still experiment and be interesting to listen to at the same time.

I have to say, that by the end of a day ranking atonal random and emotionally meaningless pieces, I was so fed up, I clicked on "Surprise me" and reviewed a dance track. I was *so* relieved to get a song with a melody.

As you go even further up the charts to the top, you start to notice the seemingly obvious things being done right: singing with passion. Having a melody worth remembering. Having a decent mic and a good room to record in. Having a good mix. Having the right instruments, and not too many. Mastering the song. Apparently, it's hard for an indie to do all these things right at once.

Incidentally, the news isn't all bad. I listened to a hollywood produced pop track too. It was radio ready and everything was perfect - the singer, the mix, the players, even the song seem polished. And yet it was not compelling. And it was a little too plastic and sounded like other work already on the market. Editorially speaking, it was not new. There's a limit to what the best studio can do to a song. Making a compelling song is truly rare.
So don't give up!
Good luck and happy songwriting!

new hampshire music reviews

12 Steps to advancing your Electronica Music Career

Well, most electronica artists don’t have a career in mind when they write their music, at least according to my studies

Here are ways to advance in the electronica world:

1. If you don’t have material, write enough for an EP. Then make some CDs and tell people about it.
2. If you have material, make a CD and tell people about it.
3. Make some songs your friends like. If your friends hate your music, they won’t buy your CDs or go to your gigs. And they are the start of any musical career.
4. Try to gig, even if it’s just at a friends apartment. And tell people both when its going to be and after it happened. I found out people gigged after people mention it even though the artist does not say anything directly. Very poor marketing.
5. Try to get on your local college radio with your best work.
6. Upgrade your sounds. There is a huge difference in sound between amateurs and pro level music, even in experimental/electronica.
7. Have your CD professionally mastered. Again, there’s a huge difference in sound.
8. If you’re going to record live sounds (instruments or vocals), be careful of the room acoustics.
9. People like a good beat. Make sure there are some tracks on your CD that are club worthy in addition to your experimental stuff.
10. Don’t give up. Many artists don’t give their sound a chance to develop and quit too early.
11. Remember that music is a service to the listener, not just yourself. If you want to sell your music, you need to understand what your music sells and make sure that your webpage clearly says what it is.
12. Put some melody in it. Electronica music that is more melodic is easier to recall, easier to relate to and easier to dance to, and thus more likely to get played more than once.

new hampshire music electronica tips

New Hampshire's Electronica Artist Statistics

The electronica artists of New Hampshire are a creative bunch, and the musical styles varied widely, from rock to experimental, from folk to metal, to ambient and new age, from chaotic to melodic. Electronica lends itself to creative and non-conformist music and most works fell into a formless category where one never knows what the next passage will contain and so you have to just keep on listening to see where you end up.

As such, most composers and producers seem content to play with the nature of sound, and the statistics bear this out:

I covered some 140 bands in the Electronica genre. Of these 34 (24%) were not real artists (fan sites and the like). Incidentally, you could easily tell a fan site from a local artist even if you weren't familiar with the original, because fan sites always had better quality sounds and mastering than the locals. And this held true except for perhaps the very best of the artists.

Of the remaining artists, 90 turned out to be electronica artists. The remaining artists were really from other genres with electronica influences. Of those 90 artists, 68 (76%) were just having fun making songs and did not gig, appear on Radio/TV/Film and did not produce a CD of their work and mention it. There may be artists who have mix tapes or demo CDs for sale, but they did not mention it and weren't counted. A number of artists put their songs up and then lose interest; a fair number of myspace pages are untended a year after being updated.

In sharp contrast with the bluegrass groups I studied earlier, electronica artists are a shy bunch and only 13 (14%) actually have gigs and mention it. TV, Film, and Radio elude electronica artists, with only Didge Therepy and Amethyste (%2) making inroads on TV or Film. No Artist (0%) mentioned radio play of any kind. Perhaps it's because so few, only 16 (18%), get as far as making a CD. A mere 6 (7%) sell CDs AND Gig and mention it.

new hampshire music electronica statistics

The Flavors of Electronic Music in New Hampshire, part 3

We know bring our attention to the last of the electronica artists of New Hampshire.

Améthyste (myspace) is New Hampshire's most prominent "new age" artist. Her distinctive vocal style is very ambient and laid back, great for the romantic setting. She has several CDs and is currently working on a movie.

Old School House (myspace) has a style suitable for the dance floor. He calls it "classic", and it has flavors of house, electronica and trance.

Brendan Carey Block (myspace) is an electronica artist with an upbeat ambient style combined with virtuoso volin work. The result combines flavors of modern rock with folk. Definitely worth a listen.

Justin Dyer Project (myspace) tries hard to be invisible (at least his web page is), but his brand of electronica has more of a progressive rock style, and it's really well done. You can really read his page, but his music is worth a listen.


KID SOL-UM (myspace) is an industrial electronica artist. He's still working on his material.

Plymouth Murder Squad (myspace) is a rap artist with small electronica influences and quite a story teller.


ATROA (myspace) is a hardcore electronica artist. Driving beats mixed with interesting riffs, definitely worth a listen.

Hardcore Ravers (myspace) produces a trance like dance music. And it's electronica. It's worth a listen, one of the better electronica artists in New Hampshire.

If that's not your cup of tea, try HARDHOUSE GENERATION 2 (myspace), another pair of DJs making driving beats. It's got an industrial feel, with lots of samples. Also worth a listen. Quite possibly the only Electronica artist who understands marketing.

Atlantique (myspace) is one of several bands sung with Amethyste. This particular band plays healing ambient themes against melodic synthesized backdrops. If you like beautiful Electronica music, give this band a listen.

Joe Hemp / Didge Therapy ("myspace), I've already covered once, but since it is one of the most popular New Hampshire electronica bands, I'll mention it again. And as one of the few gigging electronica acts, you can go see them on June 9th, 2007 at 1:00P at
The Eye of the Hawk in Rye, New Hampshire. Their sound is exotic and unique. Definitely worth hearing.

Sublinear (myspace) layers choral and experimental sounds over lush soundscapes. It has a very ambient feel to it, though it is not as melodic as some other artists. Worth a Listen. I couldn't find a CD mention, though.

holymoses3000 (myspace) is an alternative band with indie and electronica influences. He's still working on his material.

Tim from Office Supply (myspace is part of a rock band with some electronica influences. Apparently, Tim learned how to use the keyboard at Best Buy. You'll have to read his bio to get the whole story. They have a new album coming out soon.

Josh Harris (myspace) is a DJ who can mix like the best of them. His work is great for the dance floor.

Kelley Polar (myspace) is a band who plays euro 80's style pop music with electronica synth backdrops. He is the most popular band with electronia influences in New Hampshire, and it's not hard to hear why. Definitely worth listening to.

Cyndi Looper (myspace ) make more classic electronica/Trance music. And people like it.

Picnic Casket (myspace) is a one man electronica band with rock style. AJ's self-described style is "catchy and epic". It's got a great sound, you can hear live or just buy his CD.

And that's all the mentionable electronica style artists on myspace. There were others, but most of the others were pirated fan sites of artists from other states.

The Flavors of Electronic in New Hampshire, part 2

I now move on to the next tier of electronica style artists on myspace.

Graphite Placenta (myspace) is an artist with ideas in need of a band. If you like to play industrial rock, this could be for you.

RhVibe (myspace) is an indie label rock band. I didn't catch any electronica influences in their work. They have a great vibe though. No word on where they gig.

Chondrule (myspace) produces trancelike music.

TBD (myspace) produces electronica music with a lot of sound experimentation and not a lot of melodic content.

The Frowzy (myspace) is a DJ who remixes content and also does a lot of experimentation with samples.

Hazelnut Huckleberry (myspace) does a lot of experimentation with different sounds. Some of it is more metal in flavor. Most of it is just strange.

Temporarily Insane (myspace) is among the rare women that produce electronica music and admit it. Her sound is a refreshing combination of soul, hip hop and dance with electronica influences.

This Doctors Doctor (myspace) produces electronica music with an ambient style. He's still working on his material.

Deep Thought (myspace) produces ambient electronica music. This is what I think of when I think of traditional electronica, combining elements of trance with ambient melodies against a compelling beat. Worth a listen.

Techono Reformers (myspace is an electronica artist who combines experimental sounds with orchestral.

Graham Miller (myspace) is an electronica artist with a heart. He is currently using his album as a means to raise money for www.stopglobalwarming.org. His sound combines rock, hip hop with orchestral touches here and there. Worth a listen.

miSogynoId (myspace) is a rock/metal electronica artist who does a lot of experimentation. His music has an industrial feel to it.

Carmen Caruso (myspace) is an artist who combines vocals with ambient melodic sounds and experimentation. She's still working on her material.

Brian Parnham (myspace) is an electronica artist who creates atmospheric textures and exotic sounds. Definitely worth listening to.

THC-- Trashua Heights Crew (myspace) produces breakbeat style electronica with elements of Super NES and orchestral sounds thrown in for good measure, THC is more melodic and compelling than most electronica beats. Worth a listen.

Iw (myspace) is relatively prolific as far as electronica artists go. He has made several ambient albums that you can download from his myspace page. His style is very ambient.

Code Name Condor (myspace) is a punk rock band with electronica influences.

Open Mic Night Music Foundry (myspace) is an electronica band with rock and super NES influences. It's more melodic than most electronica. They are still working on their material.

X3N0 (myspace) is an electronia/trance band. There is lots of movie quotes mixed into a trance beat.

The Twombley Spiders (myspace) is an electronica artist who combines vocals with a "Yes" type sound along with experimental sounds and melodies.

italian ice (myspace) is an electronica artist who produces great beats backed by thin synth melodies.

East (myspace) is an electronica breakbeat DJ, best I can tell, and his music is fore the dance floor. Worth a listen, if you can find it on his page. If not, go see him live. Couldn't find his schedule though.

Los Border Coyotes (myspace">myspace) is a hard to classify band, combining elements of rock, pop, R&B and the Love Boat. It's not really an electronica band.

GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD! (myspace) is a grindcore band with no discernable electronica influences as far as I could tell.

Anthony from 7th Street Garage (myspace) is part of a dance electronica duo. It's not clear where they DJ, but they have a sound you can definitely dance to.

Manus Obscura (myspace) is a trance rock band with Euro flavors. They are currently practicing for their live venues. It should be worth seeing.

Habitat (myspace) is an electronica artist who combines rock with the pleasing sounds of Ryan Farish. Definitely worth a listen.

E-603 (myspace is a DJ who knows how to mix. He starts with great material and switches it up for a fresh new take on new old favorites, often combined. Worth a listen, definitely dance floor worthy. He doesn't say where he shows, though.

DJ Kreation (myspace does music as a hobby, but he's one of the best electronica musicians in New Hampshire. He has a great understanding of dance beats and instrumentation and has a talent for changing the music at the right point. Definitely worth a listen.

Just DerekJames. (myspace is a beat producer. He's got a great beat and interesting use of electronica-type sounds.

Great Romances Of The 18th Century (myspace) is a new electronica band with potential. They are still working on their material.

Binary Star(myspace) is an electronica artist who combines rock beats with and indie melodic sound.

Electric Aneurysm (myspace is an electronic artist whose sound include simple melodies against prominent beats.

Club Axxs (myspace) is a club, not an artist, but you can see your favorites there. It's in Manchester, New Hampshire.


Nocturnal Vybz (myspace) is an electronica band that plays driving beats with trance influences. It's great for the dance club scene.