By: Jen Hodges, Education and Outreach Specialist, Notes for Notes
This summer we took a group of teens to Astro Studio. Astro boasts recording such legends as Elton John, Mariah Carey, Outkast, Whitney Houston, and many more. The teens got to record in their largest space where these legends cut so many hit records. It was very inspiring. We learned about the proper way to network, get the most from your artists as an engineer, how to apply to internships, what to start learning about to become a producer, and about room acoustics. In the back, they had an old tape machine. I asked the group what they thought it was. A few people said a turntable and one said an old Xbox!
After a complete tour, Miles and Isaiah played a few beats and the rest of our artists wrote melodies and lyrics to them. We watched as our session was guided and executed as they would an A list artist. We also got a tour of the smaller spaces and learned a bit about mastering.
The teens came back to the studio that afternoon and immediately went to work on their projects. Miles is set to release his first EP by the end of the summer. DeMario has decided he is a dot connector and wants to bring talent together in the form of an entertainment group. Emoni wrote another song that afternoon, this will be her 3rd.
Isaiah has decided he wants to take a more active roll when engineering to bring out the best in the artists. Zakia gained confidence in his voice and has started rapping all his poetry. Lila is in the process of setting up her socials and announce her arrival in the music scene. Major shout out to Astro Studio, Isaiah Brown, and Boys and Girls Club for this one!
