Exoverse Shows What’s Possible with “On and On”

Five weeks from tomorrow I will fly to Anaheim, California, for the annual NAMM Show.  The massive tradeshow centers around the music products industry.  Think guitars, drums, sheet music, retailers, manufacturers, artists, and an extensive list of attendees of more than one hundred thousand.

I first started attending in January 2017 and have enjoyed walking the show floor to see the latest gear and how technology is influencing music creation.  From software to hardware and from DJs to musicians plus lots of other folks, the opportunity is there to see what is now possible compared to 30 years ago, 15 years ago, five years ago, and dare I say even last year!

It’s fitting, then, that a song should land on my virtual desk for review consideration, seemingly having taken advantage of all the latest tools, plugins, and education that’s available to music creators.  I want to be careful not to label this track as the poster child for what is possible, although you’ll see how there would be an inkling to try to make such a case.

“On and On” is by Exoverse, which is billed as a musical project from Rome (yes, Italy, not New York).  While they say that, “We combine synthpop with 80’s sounds,” that gives you an idea of what to expect in terms of your listening experience.  It’s how they get there, though, that stopped me and sent my thoughts spiraling into deep reflection of where we are and what’s possible in music making 25 years into the 21st century.

Exoverse says, “Everything is autoproduced, from songwriting, production and mastering. We combine both male and female vocals.  In most cases we processed the vocals for a styling choice.”

This takes me back to Dominick Pages from Crystal Blue Sound Studios saying that there are “95 percenters” versus “5 percenters.”  The latter are the people like him who listen to a recording an entirely different way than the former, who are the average everyday music listening audience that isn’t going to catch the same production hiccup that the five percenters will and can’t tell, for example, programmed drums from someone playing drums live in the studio for the recording.  (Side note: Pages was the guest way back on both Episode 56 and Episode 8 of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.)

Now re-read above what Exoverse says about the creation of their music.

We’re at an amazing time where – and I know you’re wanting to open the AI debate here – the possibilities are almost limitless.  Can you tell the difference between a human voice singing on a track versus something that was generated by a computer?  Furthermore, if I hadn’t shared with you Exoverse’s approach, would you have known that the songwriting, production and mastering were all autoproduced?  (Getting back to podcasting, if you aren’t familiar with it, check out Google NotebookLM, which will create a podcast with a male and female voice talking and you’d never know that it wasn’t two humans.  That’s how authentic the sound quality AND the content is!)

Let me stop here to say that the right way to write, record, and release your project is whatever suits you best, whether that be comfort/familiarity or access that you do or don’t have, or, certainly, budget.  So, analog or digital, plugins or AI, or any combination thereof, have at it.  I’m not trying to argue that the way that Exoverse did it is how you should do it.

That being said, consider what Exoverse did versus what it would cost you to go into a major recording studio in, say, Los Angeles or Nashville.  At the end of September, I visited three studios in L.A. and then last month I was in three recording studios in Nashville.  The price you’re going to pay there dwarfs what Exoverse had to invest to do “On and On” (and two other releases).

What I’m suggesting is, take a step back and look bigger picture at what’s possible.

When you factor in online learning, there is an opportunity to ultimately get yourself to the point where you are making music at home that sounds good and isn’t at the mercy of the studio not being available when you want to record or agonizing over which producer you trust to head up your project.

When I’m out west next month roaming the floors and visiting with exhibitors at the Anaheim Convention Center, I know I'm going to hear the expression, "Think of what’s possible” (or words to that affect).  I already know.

What will you create – and how will you do it – that will intrigue production enthusiasts?

For twenty years, I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners and more.  What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to?  Let’s get on a short call together so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.