A Chon Buri songwriting camp aims to bring authenticity back to pop music.
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Read the following story by Gary Boyle from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
A Chon Buri songwriting camp aims to bring authenticity back to pop music.
POP SUCKS
If you like to argue that modern pop music sucks, here's some ammunition. Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade had no less than 72 writers involved, and her single “Hold Up” had 15 alone. Nobody cares if artists write their own songs any more. Increasingly, the writers of pop hits are coming from the independent scene, with Bon Iver and Tame Impala singers writing for Kanye West and Rihanna. Indie darling Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, wrote for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga to, in his words, find out how sausages are made.
Publishing companies send out briefs every month, hoping that somewhere in the world a writer will create the next smash for Jessie J, Zara Larsson or Zayn Malik. Songwriting camps -- collaborative retreats that bring together professional writers -- can write hits to order.
KARMA CLASS
Karma Sound Studios, the world-class recording facility in Chon Buri's Bang Saray, is addressing the problem. Owner Chris Craker knows enough about the music business and cares enough about the development of new talent that he came up with a different kind of camp.
"We've done traditional songwriting camps and have been successful, but I understand the negativity around them," Craker explains. The music industry had also changed. "In the past, major labels used to develop artists, but now you have to go in with a body of work and a fan base. The artist needs a manager or a support network. What we're doing here is fulfilling that role. When people used to get signed, they could have one or two failure records and still be in their seven-album deal. Those days are gone."
Karma invited us to its first Artist Development Retreat. The deal is simple -- fly to Thailand to write and record your music in a world-class studio with world-class producers. Go home with increased songwriting confidence, a bit of sunburn and a couple of radio-ready songs. And the cost? Future camps will cost around 40,000 baht per week.
The camp is curated by 33-year-old Londoner Conan Avery, a music producer and consultant on the UK X Factor talent show. Growing unhappy with the show's treatment of artists, he decided to help new talent himself. He's collected a group of 10 artists who've flown in to Karma for a week or two.
LOVE OR NO LOVE
Writing sessions with Mark Smith -- a German producer who has been involved with 10 No.1 singles -- are psychological first, musical second. His warm and friendly approach has songwriters opening up, and there are tears as heartbreak and even rehab struggles are shared. Fast-forward 12 hours and these raw emotions are now the hook in a dance track that sounds ready to blast out in a nail salon near you.
Apart from the daily song writing, each artist is pulled aside for a photo shoot -- giving them "visual assets" for Instagram -- and also some advice from Avery. He sees the artists as entrepreneurs; small-business owners whose product is themselves. Showcase gigs will be arranged in London and filled with Avery's music business contacts, but it's up to the artist to promote themselves.
"It's about getting people from A to B, not A to Z," Avery says. "We'll work out a strategy to move them forward. I'm not guaranteeing a hit record. I'm guaranteeing these people that I can get them to the next step."
The Karma atmosphere is relentlessly positive, and the constant encouragement makes the camp a safe space. Karma is well known for its relaxed but productive vibe -- any ego is carefully managed, and the producers are friendly music obsessives who relax after 12 hours in the studio by playing each other songs for another six hours. At this retreat, their enthusiasm goes viral.
All the participants talk of increased confidence in their writing and performing after only a couple of days at Karma. Young soul singer Alvin says: "It's helped me express myself effectively," while Londoner Sophie sums up the camp experience by saying: "I've found a voice I didn't know I had."
Section 1
Read through the story and answer the following questions.
1. How many songwriters worked on Lemonade? …………….
2. What is Josh Tillman also known as? …………….
3. Where is Karma Studios located? …………….
4. What country is Conan Avery from? …………….
5. What TV show did Conan work on? ………….....
6. What is Mark Smith’s job?
a. Musician. b. Producer. c. Psychologist.
7. Does Conan guarantee that artists will have a hit record?
a. Yes. b. No. c. The story doesn’t say.
8. How is the atmosphere at Karma?
a. Relaxed. b. Productive. c. Both a and b.
Section 2
Underline one grammatically incorrect word in each of the following sentences. Then, write down the grammatically correct word in the space given.
9. The camp is open to nobody who wants to writes songs. ……………
10. Artists must to write one song per day. ……………
11. Each producer has a different techniques. ……………
12. The artists listen for the songs every evening. ……………
13. The artists enjoyed attendance the camp. ……………
Section 3
Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
At Karma, everyone is ….14…. at their phones. Every day begins with an empty note on ….15….phone. Each artist is paired with a ….16…., and each producer has different techniques to get the artists tapping lyrics into iPhones. Because ….17…. hits -- the big ones, the ones you hear in bars and clubs and nail salons across the globe -- deal with either love or the ….18…. of love, the artists are asked questions ….19….remember emotions and inspire lyrics.
14. a. staring b. stare c. stared
15. a. its b. our c. a
16. a. produce b. production c. producer
17. a. most b. any c. no
18. a. lacking b. lack c. lacked
19. a. for b. because c. in order to
Section 4
Write down the noun forms of the following words used in the story in the space given.
20. argue …………………………
21. increasingly …………………………
22. collaborative …………………………
23. different …………………………
24. invited …………………………
Answers:
1. 72. 2. Father John Misty. 3. Chon Buri/Bang Saray. 4. England. 5. X Factor. 6. b. 7. b. 8. c.
9. nobody; anybody 10. must; have 11. techniques; technique 12. for; to 13. attendance; attending
14. a. 15. c. 16. c. 17. a. 18. b. 19. c.
20. Argument. 21. Increase. 22. Collaboration. 23. Difference. 24. Invitation.
SCORE
21-24: Excellent! 17-20: Good. 13-16: Fair. 12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!
