EPK

 

OLI MEEHAN - BEAT MAKER & STUDIO ENGINEER

 My name is Oli Meehan and I would like to become a recording artist or producer. I would like to work in this field because producing is an important part in making music and doing such things has interested me since my mid-teens. Listening to different types of rap has inspired me to want to become a rap artist.

I have had a huge passion for music since I was a young child and have actively followed the charts since spring 2014 (at the time, I was 10 years old). Growing up, pop and rock was played around the house, as well as 70s and 80s classics my dad introduced me to. My first introduction to rap music was listening to artists like Eminem and Lil Wayne when I was a kid, but at 12 years old I became a full-time hip-hop fan after listening to “Panda” by Desiigner in the summer of 2016, as the song’s beat and Desiigner’s rapid flow blew me away. Artists who influence me include rappers Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Dave, A$AP Rocky, Kid Cudi, Juice WRLD and Polo G, as well as R&B singers SZA and Frank Ocean.

At around 15 or 16 years old I started to write rap songs and wanted to create beats for it - I have experimented with software such as Soundtrap and watched a few FL Studio tutorial videos in case I wanted to install it. Right now, I am at college to learn about becoming big in the music industry in either of the fields I want to work in, though I have no plans to go to university.

As stated in my EPK, Compton rapper, songwriter and record producer Kendrick Lamar has massively influenced me. Kendrick started rapping as a teenager under the stage name K. Dot. He released a mixtape titled "Overly Dedicated", which garnered local attention and got him signed to record label Top Dawg Entertainment (other signees for TDE include Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad and SZA) and started gaining popularity in 2010 following the release of "Overly Dedicated". Since then he has released four albums: "Section.80" (2011), "good kid, m.A.A.d city" (2012), "To Pimp A Butterfly" (2015) and "DAMN." (2017), all to critical acclaim and commercial success. He was creating professional standard music when he started due to being signed as a professional rapper. 

This is me working on one of the songs being performed by the music practise students. Before they started performing, I set the microphones up in the studio so the instruments could be heard and ran Cubase in the mixing room, to demonstrate my skills. The song performed was "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees. I also operated the mixing desk.

My target audience for my music, be it beats or raps, is in the 15-30 range and similar to Radio 1's target audience. This is because the type of rap I want to make is over trap, drill or neo-soul beats, which are popular among younger audiences.

CLIENT LIST:

• Jack L, Ash and Ritchie - These are all part of the music tech course and I could have them create beats for me, especially if I am not a fan of the beats I have made for myself. They are all good at Cubase and other beat-making software, especially the latter who has used FL Studio for some time now. The former also aspires to be a songwriter, so I could use him for lyrics as well.
• Brad - Also part of the tech course, he is good with the mixing desk. He is also a good lyricist and although we write much different styles of music, he could help me come up with some lyrics.
• Jules - They are the singer for the band, they have a very good voice and if I need a vocalist on one of my tracks, I could ask them if they want to be a feature, or vice versa (they make their own music too).
• Jack R - Could help him with his Blu Ivory project as I am good with Cubase, I could help him add effects to and mix his tracks to make them sound better.
• Ayden - Bass player for the band, he could offer a good bassline to make the rap tracks sound funkier.
• Moth - The band's lead guitarist, if I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try doing a hip-hop track with rock elements I could ask them to play a riff (I already have an idea of what this track should sound like)

Before coming to college, I found beats on YouTube as I currently have no software at home to make beats with (I don't have the money for software such as FL Studio yet).

I have, however, started to make tunes with Cubase in college and converted them into .mp3 files. What I am worried about when it comes to creating beats is my perfectionism, but I am really proud of these three tracks I made myself. This type of music is what I specialise in when making beats - trap for the first two, lofi hip hop for the third - though for my upcoming tracks, I would like to experiment with more trippy, electronic and bedroom-like styles for versatility. Check my three singles out down below:

ocelotstunes · swimming in the sky.

ocelotstunes · forget about it

ocelotstunes · lofi hours.