Sunday 10 August 2014

Megan Davies


Thank God for the wonderful thing that is YouTube! Without this, I probably wouldn't have found the amazingly talented Megan Davies.


Megan is a singer/songwriter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who recently graduated from Belmont University in Nashville after studying song writing and classical guitar. She has recorded a number of EP's - “Writing On The Walls” in 2008 which is a collection of original acoustic tracks and “Apartment Sessions” in 2011; a collection of demos recorded in her uni dorm room. 2013 is when Megan began using YouTube and uploading covers where she has collaborated with her younger sister Jaclyn and other singer/songwriter friends in Nashville. Her YouTube channel has over 84,000 subscribers and more than 6.5million views overall - this is pretty good going for an unsigned artist!

After finding these song covers, I spoke to Megan to see if she would like me to do a review of these - to which she very kindly agreed - and one thing I wanted to find out about was what she loves about music and what her influences are when song writing.

" What I love about music is it's ability to communicate with people. When I
 first started playing music, I felt this instant connection with those I
 was playing with and also to the people who were listening. I couldn't get enough of it. I was kind of a shy kid too, so I found it all quite intoxicating."
 
 
I was also interested to know where Megan gets her inspiration from for her original material.
 
" I read a lot and watch more television than is probably good for me, so a lot comes from my imagination or will come from a guitar part and melody that will just spark an emotion in me. Though my favourite moments as a songwriter are when I think I'm telling this story that has nothing to do with me, then I finish and I'm like "oh wow, this was really about me the whole time." I guess those songs come from more of my subconscious than anything else."
 
 
This is such an amazing way to get inspiration and I agree that books and TV are great places for this, as there is so much choice that can spark different emotions. Also, I think the best things come from the subconscious!
 
I love Megan's music and can't wait to hear more from her! I also love an artist who can write their own music, but who can also play it themselves - both of these boxes can defiantly be ticked. (Megan, if you are ever in the UK, let me know!!) Below is a link to one of my personal favourite covers which is Katy Perry - Dark Horse.
 
 
Also, don't forget to follow Megan on Twitter - https://twitter.com/meganadavies
 
Thank you also to Megan for allowing this on my blog and answering all my questions!
 
 
Flame x
 


Saturday 2 August 2014

Studio Recorded Music



We all hear music that has been recorded in a studio, yet some people look down their noses at it or, in extreme cases, refuse to listen to it at all. Personally, I think this is completely stupid and maybe slightly childish. After all, a studio atmosphere is where pretty much all the music you hear will have originally come from. Yes, it may not quite be good as seeing that singer/band live, but at least you can hear the track without all the screaming! Oh and you also don't get deafened by said screams either!
Of course, artists record music as a way of distributing their sound to a VERY wide audience so many people will hear it in a lot of different countries. This also so easily done now with things such as iTunes and Soundcloud and not just relying on actual CD's. Doing recorded music is also easier for non-record label signed artists, as more people are likely to hear them and it is easier and cheaper than organising live music.
Most obviously, recorded music can be played and replayed as many times as you wish any time you want. Whereas in a live music venue, the sound can vary in each place, with tracks that have been recorded in a studio, they have been perfected and approved by the artist and sound exactly how they are intended to be.

One thing I love about recorded music is the intimacy it gives, as it is just you and the sound. It can make you feel so much and so many different emotions that you may not get when seeing the artist(s) live, as there may be too many distractions or the sound quality may not be brilliant.


One of the best things with studio recorded music is that we can still hear the music from artists who are no longer with us...their music lives on though recordings.


Flame x