These days, there’s nothing that moves me more than dubstep – but, as tragedy goes, it’s the also hardest genre for me to produce. I can “hear” what I’m looking for, but creating those sounds has been an entirely different story. Everything’s been coming out thin. Clean. Rigid. Cheesy. I never got the loose-grooving, earth-shattering basslines I wanted.

So, since 10AM this morning, I’ve been sitting in front of my computer, poring over tutorials and programming the nastiest womp womps I could muster. My back’s sore, my ears are numb, and I’m starving – but I’d say it was worth it. How about you?

Start Date: February 25th, 2012
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): FLStudio 10 by Image-Line
Instruments: Massive by Native Instruments (bass synths, blip synth), Evolve by Heavyocity / Native Instruments (transitions), 3xOSC by Image-Line (transitions)
Reference Material: The Sound Tutor’s YouTube Channel (This man’s a brilliant teacher. Can’t believe I learned to program Massive in a couple of hours. Be sure to visit and donate!)

Hear more from Jeremy Lim Music on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Sunshine. If I had to describe Bonnie Phan in one word, that’d be it. Easy-going, free, and always positive, Bonnie is a gem and I’m so lucky to have met her. Plus, she has wonderful taste in fashion – but that goes without saying.

It’s no secret I’ve been on a photography hiatus in the interest of music, but working on this week’s creative with Bonnie reminded me how much I love (and missed) my career. Thanks for bringing me back. Expect more photography updates here and on jeremylim.ca from here on out.

Camera(s): Canon 5D Mark II
Lens(es): Canon 35mm f/1.4 L, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 85mm f/1.8
Lighting: Natural light
Model(s): Bonnie Phan
Stylist: Bonnie Phan
Makeup & Hair: Bonnie Phan
Reference Material: N/A

See more from Jeremy Lim Photography on Facebook, on Twitter, and at jeremylim.ca. See more from Bonnie Phan on Twitter and at itsstrangelyme.com.

My first non-music week ends up featuring a synthesizer. Go figure. The Virus TI is the 2005 continuation of the venerable line of Virus virtual analog synthesizers. While it’s been a long-time fixture in my studio, its instability with FL Studio has stopped it from getting much use. Time for that to change. I’ll learn Ableton Live if I have to.

With thirty-two controls and nearly twice as many LEDs, the Virus TI Keyboard resembles a spaceship cockpit more than an instrument. Even after owning it for several years, I’m still not sure where everything is.

The first-generation Virus TIs come in several flavours. The Virus TI Keyboard (shown above) features a 61-key, semi-weighted keyboard that doubles its length. That said, the added heft is well worth the price as it makes the Virus TI Keyboard performance-ready all on its own.

Camera(s): Canon 5D Mark II
Lens(es): Canon 35mm f/1.4 L, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Lighting: Natural light (window)
Reference Material: N/A

See more from Jeremy Lim Photography on Facebook, on Twitter, and at jeremylim.ca.

Boy do I feel naked.

Of all things creative, I don’t think there’s anything more revealing than lyrics. They’re all stories, often times your own. They’re always emotional, showing someone’s highs and lows, successes and failures. Everything. Everything is on display.

But that’s what makes a song great. They’re relatable. Soundtracks mean something to the moment, but songs mean something to our pasts. We carry them with us just as we carry our memories.

So here – my first lyrics in nearly four years. Take them as you will.

You told me I would be perfect
You told me that I’d be strong
The truth is a far cry from promise
There isn’t much to go on

Why can’t you hear me calling
Save me from my own mess
Why don’t you see me falling
You leave me a little bit less

No goodbyes and no tomorrows
I’ll go and fade with time
All that’s left’ll be dust and shadows
There isn’t much that you’ll find

Why can’t you hear me calling
Save me from my own mess
Why don’t you see me falling
You leave me a little bit less

No goodbyes, there’s still tomorrow
All things will heal with time
Let go of all your sorrow
Free those thoughts from your mind

I’m here to hear you calling
Help you through this whole mess
I’ll catch you when you’re falling
You’ll hurt a little bit less

Start Date: February 2nd, 2012
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): FLStudio 10 by Image-Line
Instruments: FM8 by Native Instruments (transitions), Nexus by ReFX (piano), Addictive Drums by XLN Audio (transitions)
Collaborator(s): TBA (vocalist)
Reference Material: N/A
Notes: February 2nd, 2012 – Soundcloud’s introducing artifacts during the transitions. Not sure why. May need to replace the file.

Hear more from Jeremy Lim Music on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Talk about cutting it close. Time of today’s upload: 11:56PM. (And subsequent reupload at 1:30PM on January 29th, 2012 to fix a rendering error.)

There’s a lot to say about “run”, but at this point, my mind (and hearing) are dull from spending all day with it. There’s one thing for sure though: Kristie Yung, my partner on this track, is awesome. Kristie – thank you so much for all of your patience, your feedback, and for pushing me towards a dubstep track. I’ve been wanting to learn the genre forever and I’m really grateful we got there.

A proper track breakdown and a vocal mix featuring Kristie are in the works! For now – time to go find dinner.

Start Date: January 13th, 2012
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): FLStudio 10 by Image-Line
Instruments: Massive by Native Instruments (basslines), Nexus by ReFX (electric piano, synths, pads, piano), Vengeance Essential Club Sounds Vol 2 (percussion, transitions), 3xOSC by Image-Line (transitions)
Collaborator(s): Kristie Yung
Reference Material: N/A
Notes: Not sure how it happened, but the project tempo dropped to 131BPM in the export process. Need to re-render the final version at 140BPM.

Hear more from Jeremy Lim Music on Facebook and Soundcloud.

“If it’s not working, let it go.” One of my favourite lessons in recent years, and as a perfectionist, one I face on a regular basis.

This week started with a ballad, but programming it did it no justice. It felt stiff. Mechanical. I toiled for several hours, writing new parts, adjusting velocities, swapping instruments, even changing genres – anything to humanize the piece – but in the end, nothing I did gave it the life I wanted it to have, so I let it go, leaving me with only a few short hours to get a new project done.

Enter Evolve Mutations 1 & 2.

Over Christmas, I picked up the NI / Heavyocity collaboration, and it’s been game-changing. To date, I’ve been working with sound collections for generalists and dance producers. Expanding that palette to include a cinematic library made turning this around a breeze.

Unlike “The Landing“, “time bomb” was born from experimentation. Grooves were the centre of my focus, but as they developed, I started plotting out a story (the name tells all), added an intro, and arranged the track accordingly.

Start Date: January 20th, 2012
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): FLStudio 10 by Image-Line
Instruments: Evolve Mutations 1 & 2 by Native Instruments / Heavyocity (percussion), Nexus by ReFX (pads), Vengeance Essential Club Sounds Vol 1 (sweep)
Reference Material: N/A

Hear more from Jeremy Lim Music on Facebook and Soundcloud.

I don’t talk about it enough, but I’ve always dreamt of scoring for games and films, so I can’t think of a better way to start off music in 2012 than with a soundtrack.

Creatively, I wanted a piece that would fit the start of a journey. The bowed strings and the woodwind parts were the first to be finished, followed shortly by the marching snares to help give the piece momentum. Without a proper background in orchestration, a lot of experimentation had to be done before the harps settled into the mix. Even now, I’m still a little shaky on their placement, but they were necessary in keeping the energy through the breakdown. Once the harps were set, the rest of the supporting elements fell easily into place, and “The Landing” was complete.

Start Date: January 9th, 2012
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): FLStudio 10 by Image-Line
Instruments: Nexus by ReFX (strings, woodwinds, harps), Kontakt 4 by Native Instruments (percussion, horns)
Reference Material: N/A

Hear more from Jeremy Lim Music on Facebook and Soundcloud.

For as long as I can remember, creativity has been a part of my life – one that continues to grow every day. As far as the stories go, from the day I could speak, I was singing. As a toddler, I would turn whenever a song would play. No matter where I went, my tape recorder came with me. Music opened up a world to me that now includes writing, design, photography – and soon, hopefully more.

In 2010, I completed a project titled “365 Days”; I tasked myself with taking one unique photo – every – single – day – for – a – year. Being a perfectionist, it was one of the most gut-wrenchingly, frustrating things I’ve ever done. Some days, I would wander for hours just to find a shot. It was harrowing. But, in spite of all the sleep lost, meals missed, and friends unseen, I pushed through – and came out evolved. I learned more during that time than I have during the rest of my career. I look back on that year with pride because of all the things I did and saw in search of those photos. Freedom leads to complacency. Restrictions lead to creativity.

So, here I am again, but this time, everyone’s along for the ride. For the next fifty-two weeks, I will be posting one unique creative project every Sunday, here on this blog.

The Rules

• All forms of creativity are acceptable. (I probably won’t dance for you, but you may see me cook.)
• Projects may span multiple weeks, but must be completed during the same week they are posted.
• Eligible projects must have had the majority of its work completed in 2012. (e.g. a riff created in 2011 developing into a full song in 2012)
• Projects must be uploaded by 11:59:59 PM each Saturday of the year.

Where You Come In

My greatest failing as a creative is that I don’t collaborate enough. If you’re a big dreamer who’s great with deadlines, I want you to write me. Actors, musicians, models, poets, dancers, designers – all creatives are welcome. For those unfamiliar with what I do, here’s a look at my recent photo and music work. If your schedule’s full, but you’ve got a great idea, please get in touch all the same; I’d love to give it a go.

And there it is. Game on, guys. Game on.