Who is Nik?: Writing music for a podcast
From epic wartime space themes to affronting punk, Oblivity music composer (and voice of Cybergerbil) Tom Ashton explains how it’s all about the layers…
Before his foray into the world of comedy podcast writing and directing, Oblivity creator Rob was more likely to be found playing in a band with me called, Auctioneers (shameless plug - please stop reading this right now, go and watch some Auctioneers music videos, and then come back).
I am the self-elected music producer for the band, so I jumped at the opportunity to record the theme tune and ambient music for Oblivity. Our initial conversation about the project went as follows:
Rob: I’ve had this melody in my head for the theme tune, which goes a bit like la, la, la, laaa. La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, laaaa…
Tom: Er, ok. So what key is it in?
Rob: Don’t know. And there should be drums like, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, baam! Or something like that. A war march!
Tom: Uh, yes. So what speed should it be?
Rob: Not sure. And there should be a space theme! Or maybe a war theme? Lasers, or spitfires!
Tom: Sounds… different. What instruments should we record?
Rob: Just make it sound epic! Ok, see you next week!
I think that this interaction describes our musical dynamic quite well! Rob, the big ideas man, the writer, the dreamer. Tom, ever practical, logical and sensible.
Layer up
Over the next few weeks the theme tune was born. Layers of drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, synth, brass and strings were added one by one.
Layering up a song in this manner is undoubtedly the route to creating something EPIC, but the real danger is ending up with a muddy mess where the instruments can’t be distinguished from one another in the mix, or end up competing rather than complementing.
The trick for me is to build up layers slowly, to be reflective, and not to be too precious about any of them. I have a daily internal battle about this:
Yesterday Tom: ”This new synth layer I’ve added is totally amazing and is now actually the highlight of the song! Rob is going to love it, and Oblivity fans will have that part buzzing around their heads for days after listening to each episode!”
Today Tom: “This new synth layer is literally the worst thing I’ve ever heard, and totally conflicts with the rest of the song :(. I’m deleting it immediately.”
Music mastery
Once happy with the music, it was time to add a sprinkle of soundbites to evoke a war theme, including low flying aircraft panning from left to right and morse code. The job was finished off with final mixing and mastering (sound producer speak for making lots of subtle tweaks to make it all sound shiny).
The best bit is that the theme tune won’t change between seasons*, so now I can just sit back and enjoy Oblivity whilst still taking some of the credit. Forever!
Rawwwwwwwk!
Oblivity fans will also be well aware of Nik and the Sputs, the punk band played erroneously by the station computer, Orpheus. Nik and the Sputs is of course the alter ego of our previously mentioned band, Auctioneers. (Did you watch those music videos yet?)
The approach we took to recording these punk songs was the polar opposite to that of the theme tune recording. Punk should be raw, direct and affronting rather than detailed and carefully considered. Especially the punk parody that we were aiming for with Nik and the Sputs.
Therefore we strapped on our guitars, set our usual desire for careful self-editing to one side, and literally recorded the first songs that came into our heads in one take.
It was liberating! It would usually take us days to record 5 songs, but we managed it in 2 hours!
So…
Only one question remains. Who is Nik, and who are the Sputs?
Rob: So I’ll be Nik.
Tom: You don’t look like a Nik. I’ll be Nik.
Rob: But I came up with the band name, so I’ll be Nik.
Tom: And I’m producing the music, so I’ll be Nik.
Rob: But I wrote the podcast, so I’ll be Nik.
Tom: I’m Nik.
Rob: No, you’re not, you filthy Sput.
Tom: Who are you calling a Sput, you mashed potato?!
[The argument trails into the distance, and the true identity of Nik remains a mystery…]
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*(Rob: Er… Yeah, sure Tom. *cough*)