Want professional advice for your music?

[Kim Lajoie]

Hi!

My name's Kim Lajoie - author of http://kimlajoie.wordpress.com. Some of you are readers and subscribers. Glad you find it useful!

I'm just dropping in to let you know that I also provide specialised one-on-one advice. I have a private forum called 'The Kitchen' where I provide specific detailed advice to members.

If you:
- sometimes get confused about issues relating to songwriting or engineering
- can't seem to break through to the next level
- are frustrated with conflicting (or vague) tips and tricks that don't have the effect you're after

... you should join the Kitchen. In the Kitchen you get my professional advice and guidance for your songs and musical goals.

The Kitchen costs money. Professional one-on-one advice doesn't come free. If you want free advice, this is not for you. On the other hand, if you believe you get what you pay for, and you're serious about your music, send me an email to:

kitchen at kimlajoie dot com

As always, my blog will always remain free - so if you want some general advice on a particular topic, I can't think of a better place to go:

http://kimlajoie.wordpress.com

I'll be hanging around here, so reply in this thread if you have any questions.

-Kim.

[Echoi]

So you're like an agony aunt, for producers?

[Kim Lajoie]

So you're like an agony aunt, for producers?

Yeah, except this agony aunt is a psychologist and designer fragrance marketer.

-Kim.

[deadly_habit]

no offense, but credentials/discography?

[gnome]

What deadly habit said!

Also whats stopping me creating a thread on any music related forum and getting a wide variety of answers from people with a wide variety of backgrounds and skills.

However if you can show some success stories that would be nice

[ogunslinger]

no offense, but credentials/discography?

+1

[paravrais]

no offense, but credentials/discography?

Exactly what I was going to say.

[topmo3]

the problem with stuff like this is that theres no guarantee that you get your moneys worth. and a psychologist giving producing tips? sounds like an episode of frasier out of mere interest, would love to hear your comments on my track but my financial situation is pretty poor. good luck, seriously

[slothrop]

I'm not personally vouching for Kim or recommending his service, but I've read a lot of his posts on KvR and he seems to be sensible, knowledgeable and generally sound.

As I say, I'm not recommending the service but it isn't just a random with a "twelve pounds, get me though?" type operation...

[deadly_habit]

I'm not personally vouching for Kim or recommending his service, but I've read a lot of his posts on KvR and he seems to be sensible, knowledgeable and generally sound.

As I say, I'm not recommending the service but it isn't just a random with a "twelve pounds, get me though?" type operation...

just curious as to what benefits etc vs my usual network of peeps i chat with

[Echoi]

At the end of the day, theres a whole bunch of friendly and highly knowledgeable people here, all willing to share that knowlegde for free. Cant see many wanting to shell out.

[Kim Lajoie]

no offense, but credentials/discography?

None taken.

My latest release isn't trance, but it can give you an idea of my chops: http://kimlajoie.bandcamp.com/

It was released in May this year. I've got a few projects that are more electronic, but they won't be released until next year. You can get a bit of an overview of what I'm working on here: http://obsessive-music.com

I'm also helping a few people in the Kitchen who are working on electronic music. They've found my advice valuable.

Of course, you can also get a sense of how well I can explain concepts and techniques by reading my blog: http://kimlajoie.wordpress.com/

I realise my recent releases aren't primarily electronic - but the reason I'm here is because *other people* on this forum have been linking to my blog. Seems to me there are people here who'd like my help.

-Kim.

[drokkr]

How many forums have you posted this on?

Change a few key words and a lot of this could just as easily be applied to sports psychology...

[DZA]

How many forums have you posted this on?

Change a few key words and a lot of this could just as easily be applied to sports psychology...

only 5

[drokkr]

How many forums have you posted this on?

Change a few key words and a lot of this could just as easily be applied to sports psychology...

only 5

I'd like to bet it's a few more then that

[Kim Lajoie]

At the end of the day, theres a whole bunch of friendly and highly knowledgeable people here, all willing to share that knowlegde for free.

You're absolutely right - forums are great! Seriously. I've been contributing to forums for years. In fact, that's how my blog was born - because I wanted to write more than a few sentences when responding to people, and a lot of questions were being asked over and over again. And it's proven to be useful (like I said, people on this forum are linking to it).

However, the blog isn't the end of the road. People have been asking for my help, and I want to provide that help - above and beyond the generic advice on my blog. Forums can *sometimes* also be less than ideal - advice is sometimes confusing, and usually anonymous.

Here's something I often come across - someone will ask a question, something like "I heard I have to high pass everything except kick and bass at 80Hz. Is that right?". And responses will come:
- One person says "That's a great starting point"
- One person says "80Hz is too low, I usually HP at 150Hz"
- One person says "Use your ears. No one size fits all"
- One person says "You should definitely use a spectrum analyser. You can *see* your frequencies!"
- One person says "Synth don't have any rumble below their fundamental anyway"
- One person says "I highpass my kicks too, but I layer them with a subbass thud"
- One person says "Producer XYZ uses low shelf EQ instead of HP filters"

And who can tell who's been making beats in their bedroom on and off, and who's been at it solidly for over a decade? Which responses can be trusted? Which approach is best for the original poster's music (which we usually haven't heard yet!)?

... and in all that, the original poster spent more time asking the question and sifting through the responses than actually making music.

Like I said, forums are great. But they're not perfect. Of course, the Kitchen isn't perfect either. But I think it fills a gap for those who aren't 100% satisfied with forums and other free resources. And the Kitchen's been running successfully since June. People do find it valuable.

-Kim.

[qwaycee_]

How many forums have you posted this on?

Change a few key words and a lot of this could just as easily be applied to sports psychology...

lmao.....thats really funny...even if you didnt intend it to be lol

fuck thats funny

[drokkr]

How many forums have you posted this on?

Change a few key words and a lot of this could just as easily be applied to sports psychology...

lmao.....thats really funny...even if you didnt intend it to be lol

fuck thats funny

Don't worry, I did

[grooki]

Rob Sparx also had a thread similar to this recenlty, though more a stem processing service than a consultancy sort of thing. And Depone started his thing recently too... Is everyone skint or something?








I read some of the blog, and I liked the entries, I liked the more "philosophical" approach to talking about sound.

[ketamine]

God this thread is jokes... OP is too if he thinks we're going to pay for his opinion...

Hey Kim... for starters, do you like my wig?