'Super Munch Time' released - featuring Amy's original music!

I am excited to announce that 'Super Munch Time' (Slipstream Studios) has been released for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch!

Earlier this year, I composed the music for this fun, colourful and addictive game. It was a learning experience to immerse myself in a large project and be able to keep coming up with fresh ideas over the course of a few months. I composed 16 1-minute pieces of music, each to suit a different level - beach, jungle, volcano, waterfall, snow etc, in addition to the theme song. I have tried to encompass many different styles to complement the scenes - for instance, the desert level music was inspired by an old B52's track, the volcano level feels like a cross between Peter Gabriel and Led Zeppelin, and the beach level inspired a reggae feel with steel drums rattling a tune throughout.

If you have some spare time for gaming I recommend this one for eye-candy fun and a bit of a challenge - with cute graphics, easy gameplay and of course my music! Don't expect to finish it in one day though, as you progress it gets harder and harder and you have to hone your dinosaur-munching skills and re-think your strategy, lest be stuck playing the same levels over and over again. I personally are looking forward to unlocking the 5 bonus levels that are currently hidden from me....

You can download the game for 99c in the App Store, or visit the Super Munch Time website for more info. By purchasing this game and spreading the word to your friends and family, you are helping to support my music in the game audio world. Thanks!

Crawling out of the songwriting rut - how to stop writing the same thing over and over (Part II)

Part II - Find new songs to get inspired by

It may seem really obvious, but when it came to finding a new direction for my songwriting, listening to new music was (and still is) a great inspiration to me. When I first began writing songs back in the mid 90's, I held the naive notion that I should only write truly 'original' music that wasn't influenced by anyone else. It took me years to realise (I may have been a little thick) that of course I was being influenced, all the time, by music I loved and listened to (at the time, songwriters such as Neil Finn) - and rather than ignoring this fact, I would benefit from actively listening to what they were doing. If someone writes a great song, we should be listening hard and taking notes on what it is they have done that works so well! It's about building up an arsenal, or a toolbox, of tricks, techniques and ideas, which give us a great starting point for our own songwriting. Then, with the greats behind us, our individual style and originality can shine through.

When it comes to getting out of the 'songwriting rut', inspiration from your new favourite artist (or an old one you're revisiting) can be gold. Is there a danger that we may copy what we're hearing, either intentionally or unintentionally? Sure. But even if that is the case some of the time, inevitably we are propelled forward into something that we can truly call our own. Ride on the backs of the greats - they are great for a reason, and we should learn all we can from them.

I'll leave you with a few of my favourite songwriters in the noughties, that have helped me out of many a songwriting rut. Happy listening!

Amy :)

Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields

E from the Eels

Jason Lytle from Grandaddy

Kathryn Williams
Bachelorette

Crawling out of the songwriting rut - how to stop writing the same thing over and over (Part I)

Part I - Using a different instrument to write songs

In my previous post I talked about my new single release, Too Drunk To Kiss. I'm not lying when I say I love writing these kind of songs - upbeat melodic alt pop with a kooky edge. The kind of stuff made famous by Stephin Merritt and his Magnetic Fields - possibly my favourite band of all time, and a great influence musically and lyrically. There comes a point though when you realise that you love writing a certain type of song so much, that you're writing pretty much the same thing over and over...........

What can you do to steer your songwriting into a new direction? In this post I'm going to talk about my number-one trick - begin to write a song using a different instrument to what you would normally use.

If you're fortunate enough to be able to play more than one instrument - this can be the most valuable skill to help you come up with something new. For years I wrote all my songs with my trusty ukulele, starting with some chords and letting the melody and lyrics come after. This worked well for a time, until I realised that my limited knowledge of the ukulele meant that I was using the same chords for most songs. And, let's be honest, the uke is a great instrument but it will always produce a similar sound, and is limited to what it can do.

So.....getting back to my piano roots, I sat down and started to play around with some new ideas. I was a little scared at first, as I hadn't used the piano to write songs for about 10 years. But after relaxing into it, I was amazed at how quickly the ideas came - and what followed was a new sound and style for me that added much-needed versatility into my songwriting hoard.

The resulting song, Broken Down Dumping Ground became a good example of how changing instruments can give you inspiration. With piano, 4 vocal parts, cello, violin and synth effects, plus a slower tempo (and no ukulele of course), the song turned out to be completely different to the uke-pop songs I'd been churning out for years, and I was very excited to discover this relatively simple and obvious trick that had been eluding me.

Since then, I have spawned a new set of songs that complement each other without all sounding the same. I urge you to give it a try if you are stuck......do not fear! There is always a way dig yourself out of the songwriting rut.

I will be posting some more tips and tricks in the coming weeks....so stayed tuned...........and if you would like to follow the progress of my EP trilogy Spare Parts, the first installment due out in June 2011 - be sure to sign up to the email list on the right! 

Too Drunk To Kiss - debut single released!

Well this is my first post here - and an overly excited one at that! I will try not to use too many exclamation marks....but I have finally released my debut single Too Drunk To Kiss, from my upcoming EP trilogy Spare Parts! 

This song was first begun in my head as I walked to my composition class at Box Hill Institute last year....the 10 minute walk proved to be a great way to spawn new ideas. So the chorus popped into my head, and a couple of hour long train journeys after that secured the rest of the lyrics. Then the tune, the music? Easy, at least for the chorus. The verses/bridges always prove more difficult....and there was no exception in this case. Nevertheless, the song was completed in about a week with the help of my little ukulele friend, as always.

First performance of the ditty was at the Community of Art & Music's first event - CAM IT UP at the Northcote Town Hall in September 2010, during the Darebin Music Feast - complete with cello, violin, uke, acoustic guitar and backing vocals. I was over the moon to share the stage with four wonderful musicians - Colin Huggins, Sarah Nagorcka, Daniel Tedford and Phil Kismartoni.

Ideas for the single recording brewed in my head as I finished my degree, and then travelled in India for 6 weeks (the music of such I will save for another post!). Upon my return, I enlisted the help of my long-time friend Colin Huggins (Ergo Alt) to record and produce what turned out, to my delight, to be a synth pop gem, winning 100 free extra credits on Jango in the first week (it's the little things that sometimes count the most).

Now for the time-consuming task of the independent musician - promote promote promote! It's a never-ending task, but ultimately worth it - otherwise the only people who would hear my music would be my partner John, close friends, Facebook acquaintances and the cat next door...........and I want the world to enjoy it..............

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.......hope you enjoy the video clip to the right, recorded in the madness of a full moon - and please spread the love!! Until next time, Amy x