When it comes to finding success in the music industry, being a multi-disciplinary artist can increase your chances of accomplishing your goals, speeding up your workflow and becoming an all-around, self-sufficient creative. There are a number of renowned artists who fall into this category, many of whom started as bedroom producers and have gone on to top the charts worldwide – and have had total creative control over their craft along the way.
If you’re interested in becoming this calibre of artist and joining the ranks of independent music makers, pointblank can help. We recently launched a brand new Music Production & Vocal Performance Degree, which is perfect for any aspiring vocalist who wants to learn the ins and outs of producing their own beats – or vice versa. Whilst studying this new pointblank course, you’ll learn first-hand how to write, produce and even perform, providing you with the tools you need to fulfil your creative vision.
If you sign up for this course, you take the first steps to joining the likes of some of the successful tastemakers below.
1. Clairo
Internet sensation, Clairo, first rose to fame back in 2017 after uploading her homemade music video for ‘Pretty Girl’ to YouTube. The lo-fi track resulted in the young artist subsequently signing a record deal with Fader Label, where she released her debut EP Diary 001 in 2018. In a tweet from the same year, the producer and vocalist detailed that she created the track using Garageband’s stock plugins and sounds with a MIDI keyboard, the drum machine from a Yamaha PSR 170, a microphone and a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. Clairo’s since released an album, played shows around the globe, been presented numerous awards, including “Pop Artist of the Year” and “Album of the Year” from Boston Music Awards in 2018/2019 and NME’s “Best New Act in the World” in 2020. ‘Pretty Girl’, the video which started it all, now sits at a comfortable 77m views on YouTube alone.
2. Tyler, The Creator
Tyler, The Creator boasts an impressive catalogue of beats, having produced numerous tracks and mixtapes for the Odd Future collective, as well as his own. Some of his production credits include Earl Sweatshirt’s mixtape, Earl, numerous tracks from Hodgey Beats’ The Dena Tape and, of course, almost the entirety of his albums Bastard, Goblin, Cherry Bomb, Flower Boy and others. Over the years, the Cali-native has used a variety of DAWs to make his beats, including Logic Pro, FL Studio, Ableton, Pro Tools, Reason and Bitwig.
3. Yaeji
Korean-American singer, DJ and producer, Yaeji, is best known for her mellow blend of house and hip hop, with her soft vocals. She produces her own beats and sings in both English and Korean over them, which you can see in her Fact Against the Clock session above. In addition to her own productions, The Brooklyn-based artist has created official remixes for the likes of Charli XCX, Thomas Barfod, Robyn, Dua Lipa, The Range & Jim-E Stack, amongst others. Since its release in 2017, her swagged out video for ‘Raingurl’ has amassed almost 14m views on YouTube alone. Check it out here.
4. Dev Hynes/Blood Orange
Dev Hynes/Blood Orange is a producer and vocalist who has collaborated and made beats for some of pop music’s biggest names, including FKA Twigs, Jessie Ware, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sky Ferreira, Solange, A$AP Rocky and others. The English singer, songwriter, record producer and director has released a wealth of albums under his alias’ Lightspeed Champion, Blood Orange and Dev Hynes and appeared on the Grammy Award-winning The Chemical Brothers’ album We Are the Night. He currently resides in New York City where he works on his solo projects as well as collaborations with other ground-breaking artists.
5. Skepta
Homegrown UK hero and pioneer of the grime scene, Joseph Junior Adenuga aka Skepta, is a London-based rapper whose beats and icy flows have resulted in worldwide success. As well as featuring on some of grime and hip-hop’s biggest anthems, he has produced tracks for Kano, A$AP Rocky, Chip and Young Adz as well as his own EPs and albums Konnichiwa, Vicious, Ignorance Is Bliss and more.
If you’re still curious about our Music Production & Vocal Performance Degree – this new program focuses deeply on developing your skills as a vocal performer and as a music producer. The brand new Music Production & Vocal Performance Degree at pointblank is certified to equip you with both the knowledge and skills any music producer needs – especially if your goal is to become a self-sufficient artist.
Want in-depth insights into music production or DJing, singing, songwriting, music business and more? Then check out our London, online and Los Angeles programmes.
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