Our comeback album, which we’ve managed to get permission for, is once again a single album.
This means we need two tracks.
There was no need to think about the inclusion of songs.
We could just include the high-tempo song we showcased at the concert.
And a fan song for good measure.
But the most important thing about the album is the title track.
So, the A&R team, led by me and Gong Chae-rin Unni, has been endlessly listening to demo tracks, doing blind tests over and over.
The sound room was just bass thumping from the speakers.
Sara Unni was the first to show signs of fatigue.
She collapsed on the sofa, plugging her ears.
“Guys, my ears really hurt now…”
As the main vocalist of Seven, Sara Unni had been helping us out, singing along and covering the demo tracks until the early hours, so it was no wonder she was exhausted.
“Shall we start choosing now?”
Honestly, I was starting to wonder if all this repetitive listening was really worth it.
I had already made my pick long ago.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Gong Chae-rin Unni seemed tired too; she immediately played her chosen track.
The two songs coming from the speakers were number 8 and number 12.
Unni opened her mouth with an unsatisfied expression.
“Well, I think these two are the best choices left.”
Sure enough, as she said, those tracks weren’t of high quality.
The good songs had already been included in Inner’s regular album.
However, Unni’s picks had their advantages.
“Yeah, I see what you mean. It’s more about boosting the album’s overall quality rather than the individual song’s quality, right?”
Since both tracks were lyrical medium tempos, they would provide diversity to the album by contrasting with the high-tempo fan song, which represented dawn, fitting the theme of the album.
“True, but…”
Still, it didn’t feel like the best option.
“It’s a bit disappointing. Maybe it would be better not to come back at all.”
Since a single album with just two tracks means the overall quality is lacking.
Most importantly, the title track has to be good.
“So, Do-hee, what about you?”
So, I chose the complete opposite of Unni.
“Number 2. How about number 2?”
Gong Chae-rin Unni dragged the list down.
“What was number 2 again…”
As she clicked the mouse, a lively rhythm flowed through the speakers.
“This? It’s EDM?”
Suddenly, Sara Unni, who had been sprawled on the sofa, jumped at the sound.
“Do-hee likes EDM!?”
What. Why.
“EDM… club… club girl… booking…?”
“What are you saying?”
“And rubbing…?! No! Do-hee, protect yourself!”
“Ah, why is this happening?”
Anyway, what I chose was EDM.
“Ah, don’t touch. It’s hot.”
“Protect!”
To be exact, it was house genre with a disco vibe.
Gong Chae-rin Unni looked confused by my choice.
And rightly so.
“Do-hee, regarding EDM, let’s set the completeness of the album aside; the quality of the track… it’s just too much.”
The second track was likely made by a rookie composer just like us, and the song’s quality was seriously subpar.
I sat in front of the MIDI and clicked on some parts.
Out of nowhere, a random trot beat popped up.
Melodies that subtly misaligned here and there.
Sessions that were awkwardly stuffed in to express cheerfulness.
All these bits that were strangely ruining the song’s quality.
“Don’t you think we should refine this?”
Removing the unnecessary.
If I can match my thoughts to this somewhat dull space.
And if we can add sessions that provide a dawn vibe to elevate the completeness of the album.
Seems like this is the kind of moment when inspirations strike.
“Let’s arrange this ourselves.”
*
In today’s world, group composing isn’t weird at all.
Ranging from two to three people.
To more than ten individuals clinging together on a single song, splitting parts, lines, and beats is quite common.
Doing this not only creates original work but prevents falling into the monotony of producing the same song over and over again, which most composers adopt as a method.
Of course, there are still those who prefer to work alone.
Regardless, joining in on composing and arranging an already created song isn’t strange at all.
As long as permission is granted from the original creator.
And the A&R team has already secured that permission.
The original creator was thrilled to see their song recognized.
‘Well, the quality of the original song wasn’t that great anyway…’
For now, there’s no need to meet the original creator separately.
We can exchange opinions through video conferencing.
What we need right now is a skilled person to help us with the arrangement.
Someone who can quickly transfer the directing and ideas in my head into MIDI and help us tune it.
And one person immediately comes to mind.
‘This person should be good at it…’
After some hesitation, I took out my phone.
[Coral Blue Lira: Is it feasible to tour?] +2 – 8:31 PM
A cold message from two hours ago.
‘What should I send…’
I decided to send it politely as usual.
[Me: Yes, Senior. Thanks to your concern!]
[Me: How have you been lately?]
And five minutes later, the reply arrived.
[Coral Blue Lira: Yes, I’m fine too.]
[Me: Yes, I like it too!]
[Coral Blue Lira: But today, your tone sounds really nice?]
That’s just how I usually am.
[Me: Oh, I see.]
[Me: Then, if you don’t mind, can I ask if you have some free time?]
[Me: I need some help ㅠ]
[Coral Blue Lira: Suddenly?]
[Me: Yes!]
[Coral Blue Lira: I don’t know what it is, but I don’t want to ㅎ]
Ugh…
[Me: Why…]
[Me: (pitiful bunny emoticon)]
[Coral Blue Lira: Check the chat window]
I dragged the screen up to see the chat.
[Coral Blue Lira: (file) How about this song? It’s not made by me, but by our company’s junior.]
[Me: (sleeping bunny emoticon)]
…Hmm.
[Me: But it was my junior’s cute charm ㅎ.ㅎ…]
Still, we ended up playing around for 5 minutes and then I gave them serious feedback.
Especially since we’re rivals. Huh?
[Me: Next time, I’ll make sure to give feedback without bouncing out, and if I have time, I’ll rush over anytime!]
[Coral Blue Lira: Really?]
[Me: Yup!]
[Coral Blue Lira: Oki Doki]
[Me: So where should I go?]
[Coral Blue Lira: But I’m in the U.S. right now ㅎ]
[Coral Blue Lira: I might come back next week.]
Oh.
Really.
*
“So, you came to me, huh?”
Do-hee showed up late in the evening, all alone.
“Yes!”
Seeing Do-hee still shining bright, Jung So-hyun, the head of the A&R team at Topist, let out a sigh internally.
‘Hoo…’
It wasn’t really because Do-hee came at a time when everyone else had clocked out.
Jung So-hyun already worked late.
The cause of the sigh was Shock Entertainment.
‘Is LE the problem?’
Of course, Inners also has two trainees from Topist, so I hope they do well.
But there’s no staff to spare for the Seven members.
Jung So-hyun decided to leave a message with the management team.
Unless absolutely necessary, let’s try to assign a manager to Do-hee and Seo-yoon aside from their personal schedules.
Beyond that, further action seems meaningless.
Do-hee herself doesn’t seem to care much since the contract isn’t long either.
“Alright, let’s listen to it first.”
Jung So-hyun took Do-hee to the MIDI room.
Do-hee pulled out the USB and connected the song.
And the song that flowed out was still not very polished.
“So, how do you want to arrange it?”
“Um… I guess I’ll try to remove what needs to be removed?”
Do-hee sat in front of the laptop and started clumsily jotting in the MIDI sessions.
It seemed she had been studying alone.
Do-hee didn’t have plans to teach composing back when she was a trainee.
But with school grades, piano competitions, and basic trainee training, it seemed too much of a strain to add composing on top of that.
Looking back now, it seems she could have received that teaching after all.
She’s just that hardworking.
I thought I should probably get her a proper composition teacher once the activities are over.
I’m not sure if there’s time to learn because of the schedule, though.
“Team Leader, should I play it again now?”
It seems Do-hee got rid of it quickly in the meantime.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
The track that played again definitely got rid of the dissonance, but it turned into a smooth and boring song.
On the bright side, there was a charm point that could hint at what Do-hee was talking about.
The important thing is how to make it come alive from here.
“So, what do you want to add here?”
“Um… I want to put in some kind of bam bam bam sound at first.”
Do-hee started to seriously unleash her musical ideas.
“It’s kind of like a trumpet, but if you sing it weakly without a note, it goes purr purr, right?”
A purr sound?
“Instead, let’s raise the pitch and add some notes. Then at the end, let’s put some distortion to make it rough and torn… Ah, what’s that? It also seems a bit accordion-like. Ah! If we cut it and repeat it in 4/4, I think it would get that vibe. But even if it sounds accordion-like, we need to strip away the tanga feel quite a bit since it’s already in the original piece. But how do we get rid of that feel? Should I add something new?”
Since Jung So-hyun was closer to a director than a producer, it was hard to grasp what she was saying.
“…Can you try saying that again? Slowly.”
So, they called the arranger Jeon Yo-seob, who usually works with Topist, to help.
“…Um, can you say it slowly?”
Even the arriving arranger Jeon Yo-seob took a while to understand Do-hee’s words.
“Is this the vibe?”
“Um… Ah! It feels like an ending ceremony!”
“Ending ceremony vibe, huh…”
She laid out her impressions in such a messy way.
“Ah, but it’s not a sad goodbye, it’s exciting… to a certain degree of that tanga feel?”
“…Finding a sample would be quicker.”
In the end, they rummaged through samples and dashboards, comparing each one.
“Does this sample feel right? It seems similar to what you described.”
“Um… a bit rougher.”
“How about this?”
“Um… now that you brought it up, I feel like it’s not that vibe.”
“Ah… Okay.”
Somehow, while fiddling with the MIDI, Do-hee managed to create the samples she wanted.
“Oh, this is it! Wow, you’re a genius, composer! Jackpot!”
“…Thank you. But I think Do-hee, who has all this in her head, is a genius too.”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
The work speed was very slow, considering how she had all the ideas in her head.
But Do-hee was happy that they were working dozens of times faster than usual, so it should be fine.
However, she realized just how slow Do-hee’s speed was since she hadn’t learned composition properly.
Jung So-hyun was determined to teach her composition so she could do it independently.
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