Initial Objective

In these times where the availability of a DAW, plugins, recording gear and information is better than ever before it is my personal need to learn to create on my own so that I obtain the highest possible control and freedom to express what is already there in my intuition. I want to be able to (re-)create these emotions with my own music and translate my imagination into concrete arrangements and sounds.

In order to understand how and why certain moments in the music I admire so strongly have such an emotional impact on me, I will transcribe, analyse, compare, reflect on them. Finally, I am going to make the production and arrangement techniques utilized by Jacob Collier and Jamie Cullum part of my own palette by processing them in the production of my own music.

I benefit from this research directly by acquiring these techniques as part of my artistic toolkit as well as by specialising as a teacher. But not only I will learn something from this procedure: Since the music industry has more and more changed in the last years towards DIY and independent artists there is a rising demand for information on this topic. Therefore, I think that my research can be beneficial for other musicians, producer and students and help them to increase their artistic freedom in music productions.

Research questions

As a singer and composer my focus will lie on vocal production, performance and arrangement. Furthermore, I will investigate general production aspects that play a determining role in shaping the sound of the examined examples.

It is important to mention that I will not fully depict the artists general style and use of tools. This research will be limited to a few exemplary music productions from the albums “Taller” by Jamie Cullum and “Djesse vol.3” by Jacob Collier.

In order to investigate the subject, I state the following questions:

Which vocal and production techiques are typical for the music of Jacob Collier and Jamie Cullum using the example of songs from the albums “Taller” and “Djesse vol.3” and how can they be applied to my own music?

1. Which vocal arrangement and production techniques are used in the songs “Mankind” and “Monster” from the album “Taller” and in the songs “All I Need” and “Time Alone With You” from the Album “Djesse vol.3”?
2. Why do these techniques create certain emotional responses in me and how do they achieve that?
3. What are similarities between the two artists and within/inbetween their compositions and productions?
4. How can the vocal techniques I found be applied and which difficulties do I encounter?
5. How can the production techniques I found be applied and which difficulties do I encounter?
6. What do Cullum and Collier do different in their live settings and what is different for me in a live performance of my pieces?

Expected outcome

As an expected outcome, I will gather a couple of devices and techniques used in the examined music rather than a comprehensive analysis of the artist. By means of applying the found techniques I will add my personal view and experience on my blog and assess how these tools aid my creative process in the context of producing my first album and performing it live. Another expectation is that I will be able to convey my findings in a workshop for students at the Conservatory Maastricht as well as in lessons I teach regularly.

Theoretical framework

Interview with Jesse Passenier

Jesse Passenier being a well renown composer and arranger will give me insights in arranging and composing for choir in a pop production setting and an overview of common techniques.

With his expertise I can compare the analysis of my musical examples to a broader context of composing and arranging in a studio and live setting.

Jacob Collier logic session breakdowns

In the Logic session breakdowns Jacob Collier explains what he did in his productions and provides the possibility to listen to individual parts that otherwise would be impossible to distinguish from the whole mix. This source may give me insights into his personal pallet of devices he uses frequently in his productions.

Interview with Freddy Tings

As a professional producer Freddy Tings will give me insights in commonly used contemporary production techniques.

With his expertise I can compare the analysis of my musical examples to a broader context of music production in general.

Live Recordings of Jamie Cullum and Jacob Collier

I will use live recordings of performances of Jacob Collier and Jamie Cullum to investigate their live settings.