I’ve recently finished a new track for Topline Music Library. It’s called Philanthropic Canopies. Goodness knows why it’s called that. Part of the creative conundrum of running a music library isn’t just creating the music. That seems to be a relatively straight forward process: the muse, inspiration, necessity, frustration, all seem to produce something eventually. It’s the names that often become the biggest problem. Listening to the finished track, trying to work out what it sounds like and how it can be described is a tricky process. I will add notes, descriptions, instrumentations and as many categories as allowed within Topline, but so often the actual name can often take me to places I’ve never been before.
The strange thing is that as soon as you have a name to a new incarnation, it often takes on that form one way or the other. So, our newly named Philanthropic Canopies may well present some interesting images sometime in the future.
This specific track started with the lovely Terl Bryant sending me a completed drum track in stereo. Individual stems being far too tricky and time consuming. A stereo track either sounds right or it doesn’t.
I set about simply playing along to the existing drums and very quickly a new idea emerged pretty much as you hear it. With a few guitars, brass bits, keys, bass and moving jittery things we got the track. I think it works, others may disagree, I don’t really care. It exists and forms part of our valued and lovely creative partnership. There are others and if you can be bothered, check out one of our great Collection called Drumology featuring more tracks by Terl and myself, all created in similar fashion and completed for the library. Obviously, we hope for someone out there to use these tracks for some sync license so we can get in a few shillings. But at the time and despite any tangible budget, they exist in a creative sphere that has a meaning, a reason to be, and a positive place in our musical journey.
I have asked several other special people to share more tracks that we’ve featured on Topline, with more to follow as we consider opening the platform to any and all musical creatives. Eventually we hope to invite as many as would like to contribute. In fact, many people have already asked if they can throw some material our way and we are flattered that there is already great interest and enthusiasm to build further on our Topline library.
Meanwhile here are a few others that feature new collaborations.
Guitar Road Trip. a fine collection of tracks written for Topline by plectrometer genius Robbie Calvo.
Perfect 5th Strings. Some lovely and inspiring strings by the effervescent Graham Preskett.
Trash Blues. Tracks ferociously attacked by the disrespectful Matty Hay.
Papa Jem Songs 1. One of four collections with songs sung by the absolutely marvellous Jem Cooke and remixed from the original versions.
Check out all of the other Collections some of which are collaborations and others simply put together as nice related tracks.
The shop is open for New Collaborations.
