Munchies

How To Optimize Your Songwriting For Sync

Your song might sound awesome, but it sucks for sync. Sorry, but it’s true. Songwriters rarely consider how their song might be used to help tell someone else’s story. They’re often preoccupied with telling their own story, emulating songs they admire or maybe just trying to make something their fans will think is cool. And that’s totally fine, but it’s not going to get you far with sync. To help you out, here are some tips to help you write more universally appealing, sync-friendly songs. How To Optimize Your Songwriting For Sync Support The Narrative If you really want your music to stand out, it’s important to understand that songs are used in sync to support a narrative, not to tell one. If there’s a sad montage where someone dies, you’re not going to hear a song with lyrics about someone literally dying. The music supervisor will want a song […]

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The Kickdrums – “The Ghost Tapes”

The Kickdrums have been killin’ it for over a decade, and won’t stop any time soon. Back with a new full length album, The Ghost Tapes is an all-encompassing project with a wave of songs passing through a wide array of sonic textures. The album kicks off with a cool, laid-back instrumental called “She Killed Me With Her Eyes”, then begins pushing off into darker territory. “Love Buzz”, a meta-cover based on the Nirvana version of the 1969 original, features the fuzziest of fuzz guitars and filtered delay vocal treatments. Fitts manages to take this song into psychedelic depths, all while preserving Nirvana’s snarky tone and catchy hook. The album closes with “Hum”, a hard-hitting indie rock track with electronic and dub overtones. All in all, quite a trip! The Kickdrums is the recording alias of producer/songwriter Alex Fitts. Well known in the industry for his signature style, Fitts effortlessly blends together elements of trip-hop, dub and indie-rock into all […]

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K. Roosevelt – “The Voodoo”

Los Angeles-based artist/producer K. Roosevelt hits us with “The Voodoo” on the lead single from his upcoming full-length album “Day Glow”. Reminiscent of modern jazz-adjacent R&B artists like Thundercat, Kamasi Washington and Anderson .Paak, the track features K’s signature sparse, soulful vocals nestled perfectly between a laid-back beat and mellow slap-bassline. The son of acclaimed blues artists Keb’ Mo, it’s no wonder K. Roosevelt is one Cool M.F. First cutting his teeth as a drummer and then moving on to guitar, piano, vocals and beat production, K has evolved from an instrumentalist into a multifaceted artist, writer and producer. His first break as an artist came in 2012 with a feature on The Game’s “Can’t Get Right”, followed by a string of successful collabs with Jhené Aiko, Hit-Boy, Rapsody and Mahalia. K continued writing, producing and featuring on records up until 2018 when he released his eponymous debut EP on […]

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YONAS – “Skyfall”

After the prodigious release of four full-length albums, three EPs, as well as numerous singles and features, YONAS is back once again with his newest EP Skyfall. The overall tone of the record is hopeful; a testament to his newfound conviction in response to a multitude of personal challenges. Through his signature thought-provoking lyrics, YONAS illustrates how music has helped him rediscover faith and his true self. Skyfall opens with the rugged lead single “Fuego”, gradually moves through a more melodic soundscape, and then culminates with the inspirational anthem “Glory” featuring the soulful vocals of John Splithoff. YONAS has enjoyed plenty of syncs throughout his successful career, including recent brand partnerships with Ralph Lauren, Target, and Citibank. He’s shared the stage and collaborated with industry power players like Kendrick Lamar, Logic, B.o.B and Macklemore and has charted on both the Billboard and iTunes charts. With more than half a billion streams and sales worldwide, there’s no denying that YONAS is a major […]

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Chewii – “Soul Holiday”

Have you ever felt so consumed by love that it feels like your soul is on holiday? In “Soul Holiday”, the first single off of Chewii’s highly anticipated full-length album Fragments of Me, the Quebecois songstress dives deep into the overwhelming and all-consuming effects of love. The sultry, dreamy, yet melancholic song imagines the idea of the perfect holiday one would never want to end. You grant my dreams And make my life complete A text from you Can turn my day so sweet Time seems to stop And us is all I need Collecting all these treasured memories Following Chewii’s debut EP entitled Black Skin Lullaby which dealt with themes of social justice and racism, her new album pivots to a modern take on love. With a wide range of influences including Aretha Franklin, Alanis Morisette and Erykah Badu, the Montreal-born soul singer, producer and songwriter is creating her own lane in contemporary R&B. Fragments of Me was co-produced by her […]

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Featured Placement: “New Whip, Who Dis?” by Daz Rinko

“New Whip, Who Dis?” by Daz Rinko is featured in Episode 603 of the CBS series Bull. Entitled “Bull Undone”, it first aired on October 21st and is now available on-demand. About Daz Rinko Daz Rinko is a Hip-Hop artist from Memphis, best known for his upbeat, positive jams, and genre-blending style. This placement follows another one earlier this summer with his song “The Way (feat. Rahel)” appearing on the HBO dating series FBoy Island. About “Bull” on CBS Inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, the founder of one of the most prolific trial-consulting firms of all time, Bull stars Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull representing the ultimate puppet master. He combines psychology, human intuition, and high-tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses, and the accused tick for creating winning strategies for his clients. His personal life proves harder to manage, though, learning he is […]

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Featured Placement: “Where We Started” by PRXZM

“Where We Started” by PRXZM is being featured in the soundtrack to Forza Horizon 5, the fifth installment of the highly successful XBox gaming series. The game will be officially released on November 9th. About PRXZM PRXZM is an Electropop duo consisting of Nick Ortega & Emma Maidenberg. Based in Los Angeles, their modern take on 80’s Synth Pop has earned them 175k+ monthly listeners on Spotify and collaborations with artists like Virtual Riot and Crystal Skies. About Forza Horizon 5 The fifth installment in the hit gaming series, Forza Horizon 5 is an XBox racing video game set in an open-world environment based in Mexico. The map is one of the most diverse the Forza team has ever built, containing areas like an active caldera volcano, jungles and beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and cities such as Guanajuato. Players can explore the open world freely, though they can also compete […]

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Daz Rinko – “Sweet Jeezy”

Daz Rinko’s exceptional new EP “Sweet Jeezy” smoothly blends together elements of jazz, future-house, disco, soul and hip hop. Daz’s endearing Memphis drawl sits so perfectly in the pocket atop slick the dance grooves that you might completely miss the message. Coming from a somewhat dark place lyrically, themes of poverty, heartbreak, family drama and general disillusionment are a throughline throughout the album. “The paranoia of struggling, living paycheck to paycheck my entire life, the struggles of having a child without being able to support them emotionally, and the feeling of being alone in the present because I’m always working to be stable are things I touch on and continue to think about.” As a counterpoint to the heavy subject matter, the music is upbeat and joyful, even celebratory in tone. The infectiously hooky “When You Call Me” is a gorgeously produced throwback featuring jangly guitars, DX7 jazz chords and […]

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Featured Placement: “Heavy” by Sam Smyers

“Heavy” by Sam Smyers is being featured in this week’s episode of the NBC series “Ordinary Joe”. The song was featured in Episode 4 which aired on October 11th, and is now available on-demand. About Sam Smyers Sam Smyers is an L.A. based artist, songwriter, and music producer who makes tropical house, dance pop, latin pop, and house. Sam’s single “Motion” reached #11 in the Taiwan Viral 50 Spotify Chart, and his songs have been featured on official Spotify playlists including New Music Friday Latin, Pop Remix, Club Sommer, Fresh Finds: Poptronix, and Tropical Vibes, racking up millions of streams worldwide. About “Ordinary Joe” on NBC This new heartfelt, life-affirming drama follows Joe Kimbreau, who faces one of these decisions at his college graduation. The three parallel stories that diverge from that night find Joe and the people around him with different careers, relationships and family lives, showing the unexpected […]

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DJ Nu-Mark – “Run For Cover”

Most cover albums are predictable and boring, which is why we’re generally not overly interested in taking them on for representation. In order for one to be worthwhile, it needs to be a completely original take on music that hasn’t been covered too many times before. Which is why when DJ Nu-Mark asked if we’d like to take on his album “Run For Cover” we just couldn’t resist! Oddly enough, as far as covers go hip hop and R&B from the late 90’s and early aughts is kind of uncharted territory. But for a member of the acclaimed hip hop band Jurassic Five, this era is all but too familiar. I mean, Nu-Mark was THERE! You’d also expect a turntablist to approach covers as sample-driven remixes, but again you’d be wrong there. Instead, DJ Nu-Mark brought in live musicians to reinterpret these songs and give them a completely new spin […]

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