MISSION
ACHIEVE YOUR MUSIC GOALS
Imagine you have the skills to express yourself through music. How does it sound?
Picture yourself a couple years in the future. What would you like to achieve with music?
Producing every day is key to reaching your goals.
BAEM weekly mentorship makes it happen.
Read on to find out how.
DEVELOP YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS
- Discover your personal sound
- Understand how music works
- Translate your ideas into music
IMPROVE YOUR WORKFLOW
- Finish tracks and albums
- Identify the next steps
- Use time efficiently
ENJOY THE RESULTS
- See people react to your music
- Release records and work with labels
- Connect with peers and professionals
MENTORSHIP PROCESS
Mentorship consists of weekly sessions and ongoing contact. Sessions are held online via Zoom and Listento. Semesters last three months each. Your commitment to daily work is an essential part of the process.
APPLICATION PROCESS
If you would like to apply for mentorship, send an email with the subject line “Music goals”. Write about your music background and your music goals. Make sure to include a link to your latest work. A full track, a work-in-progress or even just a loop is fine. You will receive a reply within a week. If you are committed and passionate, you can get where you want to be.
Theory
BAEM mentoring gives students clarity about what they are trying to do and how to do it.
Music production techniques — sound design, drum and pattern programming, arrangement, mixdown and mastering — are fundamentally intertwined. For example, what may appear to be a mixdown problem is in reality a sound design issue.
The five basic parameters of music composition — harmony, melody, rhythm, timbre and form — require different lengths of time to be perceived, from milliseconds to minutes. The short ones are exciting and easy to grasp, but the longer ones give your audience the deep payoff.
Everything about music production, from drum transients to a release tracklist, should stem from a personal artistic vision.
Practice
Sessions focus on the practical essence of each topic:
- eliminating mental blocks to productivity
- defining a concept
- shaping musical style
- creating a balance between repetition and variation
- developing expressive sound design
- choosing hardware and software tools
- refining mixdown and mastering techniques
“Nicolas has provided me with a musical toolkit that perfectly compliments my university education. He’s compelled me to re-examine every aspect of my approach to electronic music composition.”
Martin Rowe, BMus Tonmeister (Surrey University)
Staff
Dr Nicolas Bougaïeff is an artist based in Berlin. His latest album The Upward Spiral has been described as “exhilarating and unpredictable from start to finish” and “a fresh, fearless perspective on techno”. Bougaïeff has performed at Berghain, Fabric and many other clubs across Europe and North America.
Bougaïeff’s Cognitive Resonance 12″ marked the 2017 relaunch of legendary British label NovaMute. He has remixed Chris Liebing, Nicole Moudaber, Alex Banks, Noir, Dusty Kid and Brecon. His discography includes releases on Gradient, Trapez, Ellum, Mood, Mesh, Dirtybird, Manual Music, Tusk Wax, Armada, Wall of Sound, International Feel, as well as on his own imprint Editions Denkfabrik. Collaborations include EPs with Max Cooper, Marcus C. Maichel, and with Daniel Miller as Populist.
Bougaïeff designed the controllers for Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman Live tour and co-founded Liine, the company behind the Lemur music app.
Bougaïeff completed a PhD on minimal techno at the University of Huddersfield and holds a degree in electroacoustic composition from the Montreal Conservatory of Music. He is regularly invited to speak at universities and industry events.
“His compositional and production skills are extraordinarily highly developed, and his development of new electronic music curriculum is very timely. Students loved working with him, and the mixture he has of the kudos of a well connected signed artist, and a highly trained and qualified musician, is the perfect background for his expanding work as a tutor and lecturer. I can recommend his classes very highly and unreservedly.”
Prof. Rupert Till PhD FHEA CMgr MCMI (University of Huddersfield)