Kimberley George is a singer-songwriter and topliner for DJs. She joins Alexa today on Singing Teachers Talk to tell you everything you need to know about songwriting for electronic music styles. Listen in to find out what happens when a DJ contacts a vocalist, the problems in communicating creative ideas, the advantages of doing your own production, and what you, as a singing teacher, can do for a student wanting to get into that industry.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- When it comes to collaborating with DJs, Kimberley always looks at the music from a perspective of no ego. She looks at what kind of vocals the song actually needs, not necessarily how her own vocals would be best for that specific track.
- Some DJs want to create a track around an existing vocal, which Kimberley has already recorded lots of different versions of with a basic background loop. The background loop is usually just used as a reference and not used on the final track.
- Other DJs send her instrumentals for which she writes vocal tracks. When Kimberley does this, she asks for reference tracks with notes about why this track has been chosen as a reference. The notes on the references are very important because sometimes they might like the style or maybe just the placement.
- There is no common language between vocalists, DJs and producers. The producers might not know how to ask for what they want, and the vocalist is left guessing what they might mean.
- As a voice teacher working with someone who wants to go into this industry, you might want to invest in a good laptop, a DAW (digital audio workstation), an interface, mic and reflection filter. This would just be for recording demos etc.
- On a vocal level, as a teacher, you should be very versatile and able to teach students to sing in multiple different styles for different types of electronic music. These have their roots in varied genres over multiple decades.
BEST MOMENTS
‘By being versatile, I can adapt to what people need and create the best vocal that I can’
‘It’s a massive advantage doing your own production and not having to go to a studio’
‘A DAW is like your kitchen cupboard; the one that works for you is the one where you can find the cups’
EPISODE RESOURCES
Guest Website:
Social Media:
- Instagram: @kimberleygeorgemusic
Relevant Links & Mentions:
- Artists Mentioned: Fleetwood Mac; Ellie Goulding; Avicii; Jax Jones & Becky Hill
- Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep. 105 How to Teach Popular Music Styles to Singers with Jo Sear: linktr.ee/basttraining?utm_source
- Equipment: DAW (Kim uses Logic); interface; SM58 microphone; reflection filter (Kim uses Aston Halo)
- Tommy Ludgate: @tommyludgatecoach
- Singing Teachers Talk Podcast: Ep. 49 – Unlocking Your Creative Potential with Tommy Ludgate: linktr.ee/basttraining?utm_source
- Chad Kowal: @chadkowal
Link to podcast presenter’s bios
