RPM
Challenge.

Remote Jam Sessions

A few songs by a small ensemble

15 of us at Manuel Zeitlin Architects and Zeitgeist gallery collaborated for the sixth time on our RPM Challenge album!

Made on the dirtywave M8, (except the last 2 tracks) document of recent mental health shenanigans

This year I didn't have a piano at home, which is usually my go-to when it's time for music. "Sans marteau" means without any hammer, that usually would knock on the strings of a piano. So this year, I challenged myself to try to write in French, and also to produce songs with only cello and guitar, which are less fluent mediums to me (thanks to Kathleen P for landing me your guitar!!) It is also my first time recording and mixing audio, without throwing all the swear word possible both in French and English. Recorded with an Android phone and mixed with average headphones, these tracks have a “rustic” vibe, let's say. Hope you enjoy the tiny bits of Quebec's 90s show samples.

I made it for people chillin and relaxing

piano solo pieces

A mix of guitars, beats, bass, my crash, and various synthesizers. Made it in my basement studio surrounded by too many instruments and possibilities! It was a blast to make.

I made this album for myself, inspired by musique concrete (namely Zappa's Lumpy Gravy), I began by finding random improvised voice memos on my iphone, placing them all in a single session file, and then overdubbing random improvisations over the music using guitars, a Moog synth kit, a Juno 106 and a Roland SPD-11. It was fun to make such an intentionally disorienting or disjointed pastiche of music, and fun to explore ideas I came up with on the spot but mostly forgot I ever wrote.

5 track EP recorded on GarageBand for the 2021 RPM Challenge

Healing, always healing

A collection of songs about life stories. Two old friends reconnected to collaborate. Recorded on Tascam Model 24. Mixed using Audacity on PC.

I said “yes” to each musical impulse without upfront editorial thinking. It was really fun and freeing!

Punk rock girlfriend is a true story with some literary licience. It never seemed to fit in other bands or projects, but always had special meaning to me. It was recorded and mixed online over 2 continents. The UK and USA. It is completely a DIY recording which gives it the rawness that the song tries to convey.

A long overdue reunion of the mighty McFadden (via file sharing over the internet)

I intended on creating 7 songs spanning an album length. However, due to personal struggles, I lost out on long chunks of time that I could have workedon it. I kept at it and each song comes from a feeling that I was having the day of. Each song has words as well however I opted to not attempt recording vocals. All of it was recording in my home stone studio with guidance from friends. The artwork was designed by me.

The record consists of fhree improvised Berlin School/Kosmische Musik live jams.

Collaboration between Phanomium and Nodal Nim

Guitars Vocals Violins Drums Bass ... Emotions and themes from the last year

Wherever You Wander is my first ever EP. These six original tunes are about journeys, both literal and introspective. While I generally write solo with my Taylor acoustic, the making of this EP allowed me to push myself by focusing on harmonies, trying my Fender Telecaster, and experimenting with percussion for the first time (everything from shaker to Irish bodhran to the top of the dresser in my bedroom. Huge thanks to my friend and bandmate, Julie Alexander, who provided some background vocals! I learned a lot about recording by using my Scarlett 212 and Garageband. I still need to work on mixing and balance, but for my first foray into recording, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Experimental orchestral noise rock. Made it for RPM bc in 08 I wasn't able to mail in my submission.

Life took over this month so we only recorded one song. We wanted to do something a bit different and had some humor. We started with the title and went from there.

An experimental musician friend in Canada told us about the RPM Challenge, it struck immediately as a noble and inspirational idea, simply to make music (or elsewhere) for the sake of making music (or elsewhere), and to be one of many doing the same. So, February 8th, having decided we would very much like to be a part of it, we sat down and thought about what we should do. It’s lockdown #2 here in England, schools are closed, free time and space is minimal, and it’s winter, short days and icy cold. We wanted to do something that reflected the hopeless depressive monotony many of us feel at the moment, being unable to leave our homes for anything other than essential shopping and exercise, so we came up with “R.F.A.”, which we hope will be as much a challenge to get through as this pandemic is. Can you survive all 35 minutes? Good luck…

A little 2 song single that my twin brother and I made, making music by ourselves, and for ourselves. Sadly couldn't get a full album, but I think we nailed the vibes of what we want to do together here.

A few years ago I did a black metal album themed around The Elder Scrolls for RPM. I figured this year I'd make an album about the lore of another video game universe that I love dearly, Fallout. What better genre choice to pick for a game about a post-nuclear apocalyptic world than thrash metal?

I was happy and productive one day uwu

Stations of Light is Sound Symposium's contribution to RPM Challenge 2021. This collaborative record making experience welcomed friends from around the globe. Despite the isolation that so many of us feel this season, we are connected in so many ways – how good to be able to make some music together.

An assortment of low-fidelity solo piano compositions.

These are 5 tracks from my upcoming album. I am going for a concept album made up of songs shorter than 4 minutes. I recorded on a Yamaha AW 1600 in the house on the cover. I had some of my ex-bandmates and friends play on some tracks. It is an exploration of my life and the events that lead me to where I am now. I made it for me and anyone else that cares to listen.

FANTASTICAL KUNG FU TACTICAL SCENARIOS AND DRILLS WOVEN WITH HIP HOP STYLE GROOVES

This is a classic A side/B side honky tonk country single. The A side, Ballad of Big Slaps is autobiographical telling of my musical upbringing & infatuation with honky tonk country music. The B side, Shittin' on Company Time, sympathizes with those experiencing the working class struggle & brings forth a method of coping with the day to day grind while keeping the upper hand on the big-suit-higher-ups.

I made a pretty sad record. I made it very simply in my bedroom. I made it for whoever finds meaning in it.

This was my first RPM so I decided to make some "meme" songs. In other words, the songs are meant to be funny and lighthearted.

the album is called "Thirty" ~ for the number of songs ~ created using Logic Pro X ~ my goal was to see if I could do it within the parameters ~ I did it for myself ~ a test ~ for my catalog of ideas ~ deadlines force creativity

In "Moons of Inari", a group of human colonists establish a settlement on a distant planet, but soon realize that they are not alone. An ancient race of intelligent aliens communicate their deadly intentions through mysterious ruins and artifacts, leaving the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. As the colonists work to unravel the aliens' secrets and build a portal technology to bring the remaining humans through to the new planet, they must also confront the possibility that their own actions may have unforeseen consequences for the future of Inari.

A few folks had some song ideas kicking around at the beginning of February, so just shy of a dozen of us got together in the studio (the lovely room in the cover image, where our band rehearses) each Saturday and a couple of other nights throughout the month and fleshed out the ideas into this collection. Ended up with a country song, some rock, a couple of ballads, and a couple of endearing oddities.

Created this release while learning new hardware.

We made our first album, using soundtrap and working entirely online because ... COVID.

21 minutes of sludge and metal

An experimental funk-based arrangement with featured artist collaboration, recorded and produced through BandLab

I really had no expectations coming into this project. No theme, no grand plans - just write some songs. I did decide this time to make a conscious effort to mostly write for the lower end of my range, which actually made cutting vocals a lot easier - as well as reducing vocal fatigue it gave me fewer takes and more time to work. I also spent more time trying to subtly break other songwriting ruts - an 18-bar phrase instead of a 16, writing a country tune and a Latin number. It's been a really fun record to work on.

I took one of the short loops I made in Endlesss for Jamuary 2023 and extended it. First time I've tried to pull a short segment apart and reconstruct a short loop into something longer. I had roughly 8 stems that I worked with in Ableton. I've put a few things online before but I feel like this is really my first public release so it feels like a big step for me. I'm thankful for the RPM challenge and everyone who put it on and participated :-)

A number of songs, set up microphones and recorded it through my own lap top computer, I made this recording for me.

An album of mixed solo acoustic and full band songs all recorded by me at home and all instruments and vocals by me.

Tossed it together in an afternoon because I was bored.

Created a Live EP at Home as a duo.