It’s no secret that we, as a generation, are increasingly fond of utilising modern-day technology to make our everyday lives easier. Be this through ordering our morning coffee via an app, getting our groceries delivered to our door, or leaving our hefty Nikons at home whilst we revel in the quality of our iPhone cameras.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that our generation’s artists and musicians are becoming prone to the same habits. So much of the artistry that comes with being a musician involves letting other people take the reigns in order to produce, record or essentially ‘create’, your music. However, with the ever-changing advances in today’s technology, artists are able to combine these processes in order to ensure their music is fully their own.
One artist taking the plunge with this self-producing movement is Putney born Richard Maule – a singer/songwriter from South West London. Richard was previously featured on BBC Radio 2 with Dermot O’Leary in the midst of his EP release for ‘Esoteric Groove‘. He has also played at Wilderness festival and been shortlisted for Shure‘s songwriting award.
Richard’s latest EP – Siren’s Call – was released on May 5th and includes the current single, For You. The EP was recorded solely through the use of Richard’s iPad; including the instruments, the recording and the vocals. He stated that “in a modern age of ‘DIY Musicians’, the iPad is becoming the next step as it allows full creative control on the move.” The iPad provides musicians such as Richard with a plethora of instruments and sounds at the touch of a button – not to mention at a fraction of the price. He revealed that, as well as having a ‘portable studio’, the iPad has helped him massively in terms of promotion, communication and organisation. So much so, that his previous EP – Esoteric Groove – also had elements of iPad production – paving the way for a number of independent artists who may not have access to ample recording studio space or the budget for a production team.
In terms of DIY artistry, similar trends have emerged within companies such as Apple and Sony, with Apple especially pioneering the use of their ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign- plastering their print adverts around every tube station in sight.
So for today’s musicians – the future is bright. Gone are the days of dishing out your weekend job wages on hefty recording equipment, as the logistics of modern artistry are forever being developed, advanced and challenged in ways that we never saw coming.
Richard’s latest release, Siren’s Call, is available to stream via Spotify and iTunes.
