New Music, New Brand and New Ideas! (Part 2) - The Alias

In a way, I have taken the last couple of weeks for granted, having a clear vision for my project(s) and knowing EXACTLY what I need to do to reach the final deliverables I set out to produce. I find it ironic that even though I'm able to envision all of the steps needed for the final product, I have been less proactive than what is required to actually produce the content to my personal standard. Not saying that I haven't been doing any work, my attention has just been focused towards my own original production. I think that because I'm less stressed about the workload of my sound replacement project, I have put it into my own hands to increase the amount of work that is being done (without overloading myself haha).

As I briefly mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series, New Music, New Brand and New Ideas! I have been working on a selection of tracks for a new alias, which is to be named, "Bacement". I've had the idea in my thoughts for a while now, and it's become time to put my plan into action. I know the genre and fan base I want to target (Techno, House & Garage), I have the social media page up and running which is currently sitting on 2000+ followers (what a promotional dream) and I have a couple of "radio ready" singles, plus a huge backlog of projects to continue working on. Before any of the promotion and releases can happen, I need a logo! Fortunately though, I am involved in an interdisciplinary group on social media which allows me to reach out to other creative individuals for assistance in my projects (and vice-versa). One quick post on the page, and a short time later I got in contact with an Animator called Cayden Finn. (Appendix A)

Appendix A - Social media post

Cayden and I started talking back and forth about concept and visual aesthetic for the design itself, and it was very easy to communicate my ideas across to him as our project planning strategies were very similar. Starting with a concept we then conversed about colourway, perspective, mood and lighting. I understand that these things might not directly relate to strategic planning in music, but they definitely correlate to aspects of musical composition; Music may be slightly more metaphorical compared to visual design, but the same idea can definitely be interpreted through a multitude of different platforms.

Because the alias is a Tech/House brand, I felt like the logo should resemble something of a vinyl record. I rummaged through Googles image search and came across a number of interesting reference logos to give to Cayden. The images below are the three designs that stood out the most to the both of us. (Appendix B)

Appendix B - references images for design

Ultimately the "Censor" logo became the focal point of reference. Cayden told me to leave it with him and that he would get a 3D prototype to me as soon as possible... 3 hours later (3 HOURS LATER!) he sent me, and I quote, "a rough design" of the logo (Appendix C) and I couldn't believe his work rate. It was impeccable.

Appendix C - 3D render of Bacement logo

I'm not the most educated person on the graphic design or 3D rendering programs Cayden used (3DS Max to create 3D modelling and Substance to texturise), but for a 3 hour turn around I think he did an excellent job. In my eyes, this is perfect, it's exactly what I want and it reflects the genre and style perfectly. But I felt it had to be refined slightly to use as a profile image. I used the 'Sandwich Feedback Technique' to express my thoughts and gratitude of his work (give praise, then criticism and finish with more praise) before giving Cayden the suggestion of a 2D version of the image as well (Appendix D). This was because most (if not all) social media sites require its users to submit a circular image or a circular cropped version of an image to be used as the profile cover. Cayden credited the thought and noted it was a smart idea. The logo design was perfect! But the 3D render of the logo is an oval and not a circle, meaning that it would not be a clean fit in the profile picture window. Needless to say that the 3D version will make a perfect album cover in the future.

Appendix D - 2D render of Bacement logo

At this point I had everything I requested from Cayden, but he reached out and offered to help me with anything I needed in the design/animation world. But before anything, I stopped him there and offered my audio services; If he needed any sound design or foley done for his projects. He thanked me and mentioned that there may be an opportunity for an audio producer to come on board with a big project he is working on (more TBA).

I asked Cayden if it was possible to animate the 3D design he made for me (knowing that it might not be an easy task to do), and he was more than happy to help. Not only did he animate it, he presented three different designs of the animation, which I created my own names for relevant to the imagery. (View below)

Design 1 - Club Vibe

Design 2 - Underground

Design 3 - Jungle Love

This guys work is outstanding!

The animations itself and different atmosphere/vibe of each video went over and above the expectations I had, but from a promotional standpoint I thought that the brand name "Bacement" was moving a little too fast for the viewers to easily read. For the track I plan to promote and release first, I thought that Design 1 would best fit the brief. So after a quick repeat of the sandwich feedback technique that was mentioned earlier in this post, I simply asked if he could create one loop-able animation of Design 1, making the vinyl rotating at a slower rate for the viewers. This was sent back to me in no time and I am now ready to release my first piece of promotional content for my new alias Bacement. (Appendix E)

Appendix E - Promotional video for single release under Bacement

I am stoked to have all of the material I need to officially get the ball rolling with this alias. Cayden is wonderful to work with and I will definitely keep him in mind when outsourcing artists for collaborative work in the future. Not to mention the invitation from Cayden and his team for an ongoing project collaboration that I have since become embedded into. I am so excited to announce what it is (but you have to wait) in my next blog post. Once again, huge shout out to Cayden Finn for his outstanding communication and time management skills, for being open to suggestions and more importantly, being very easy to get along with.

Jordan.