Felix Clarke
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Major Project
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Felix Clarke ~ // ~ Major Project ~ // ~
BACKGROUND
Initially I had set out to write and produce my own album, a vaguely conceptual project across which I intended to feature numerous guest vocalists and collaborators. But my Major Project was forced to take a major pivot, when my longtime girlfriend and musical collaborator, Pam From Admin, received an e-mail from Eric Deines (Director of A&R, Secretly Group).
I produce all of Pam’s music and some of our releases had ended up on a Ninja Tune Staff Picks playlist. Eric had discovered our music there and went through our back catalogue of self-releases (two EPs and four singles). I’m typically skeptical when an industry approach feels too good to be true, but Eric’s credentials checked out and he seemed to really know our songs. Pam took a meeting and part way through he asked “Do you have an album?”
We didn’t have an album. We had demos, half finished songs and a heap of ideas that will never see release. In fact it was going to be hard to find the time to work on new material, between me starting work on my own album and our busy day jobs - so I had a choice to make. I think part of a music producer’s journey is learning to be selective about what projects you can or should give your energy to. This felt like a genuine industry opportunity to get traction on a project, so I decided to shelve my concept tape (for now) and commit to delivering Pam From Admin’s debut album.
THE ALBUM
PROCESS
I’m lucky to spend my day job running a recording studio (Qube), so was able to use the space and tech for the entirety of the recording/mixing process. I typically produce at home - beats, ideas, loops - then throw ideas past Pam and see what sticks. Once settled on a beat she’ll visit the studio and lay a scratch then pass it back to me to flesh out and develop.
We used a Neumann TLM-103 microphone throughout for consistency across the project. With a bit of genre-swinging, it was important that elements like the vocal recording/mix are consistent throughout so songs don’t sound like they’ve been plucked from different projects. I also factored this into the mix, creating template vocal chains that I would then adapt and shape to the sound of each track.
We worked in a fairly non-linear way - Pam may hit the studio and lay a hook on one track, a second verse on another or start writing something else. Typically I would rather plan, regiment and forecast our sessions but Pam simply doesn’t work this way. Every producer knows they can try to organise and steer their artist, but ultimately you have to adapt to their creative approach to build momentum and get the best out of them.
PAM FROM ADMIN - BRING IT TO THE TABLE
All songs written by Sophia McCormack (Pam From Admin)
All music produced and mixed by Felix Clarke (Ant Lavelle)
Additional writing credits:
Kieran Martin (on “Ambient Lighting”)
Felix Clarke (on “Dawn Chorus”)
Note: these are the final mixes but the album is yet to be mastered. Ideally we would look for the label to front this cost and they may have an in-house mastering engineer they would prefer we work with.
This album is a love note to mine and Pam’s various musical influences and inspirations. We were keen to show off classic UK sounds in garage (“Glitz”) and house (“Ask The Dolls”) but you’ll also hear Detroit trap drums (“Thug Like You”), Reggaeton rhythms (“Siren Song”) or Badu-esque neo-soul (“Pressure”). I think our chemistry allows us to make varied music that still sounds like us - I tried to use recurring sounds and samples across quite different tracks, adding a sonic coherency that works with Pam’s vocals to bring the project together.
FEATURES
There are two features we were unable to secure in time for this submission, but will find their way onto the final draft before we pitch to labels.
These are:
- Kam-BU (London-based rapper) on '“Pressure.” Kam-BU is a talented rapper who gravitates toward left field and electronic production. The last section of “Pressure” is currently left open for his verse. He has confirmed that he will contribute the feature, but hasn’t found studio time yet between a busy touring/festival summer.
- Bimini Bon-Boulash (notable drag queen who appeared on Series 2 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK) on “Ask The Dolls.” This track is specifically a nod to drag and New York ball culture, a celebration of everyone and their gender/sexuality - indeed “doll” is affectionate ballroom slang for a trans-woman. Pam went to college with Bimini and they have confirmed they will be happy to re-record the second verse (currently rapped by Pam in the Major Prokect submission). The verse was written with Bimini in mind and exhibits their punk rock aesthetic and more shouty delivery.
The two features currently found on the project are Kieran, a long-time friend and collaborator who sings on “Ambient Lighting” and myself, playing the useless boyfriend on “Dawn Chorus.”
LYRIC ZINE
Pam writes all of her lyrics by hand and our flat is full of notebooks bursting with songs. I thought we could nod to this in the roll-out, so I scanned in her notebooks page by page and designed an accompanying lyric zine on Photoshop.
I worked the pages into a digital collage, adding elements that reference the songs or hint to Pam’s life and experiences. A wine glass ring is splashed over “Glitz” while a betting slip sits by “Thug Like You.” Meanwhile the sexier “Cat Boots” begins with a lace strip and ends with cuttings from Zan-e Rooz [Women of Today] a popular women’s fashion magazine from pre-evolution Iran (Pam is of Iranian heritage on her father’s side).
I intentionally designed the booklet in black and white, since B&W zine printing can run very cheap. It was important to me that we developed materials around the project and not just the music. This can go a long way when pitching to a label as they can understand your more realised vision and a full-package submission may be more desirable for distribution. By adding an ISRC barcode and a download code these zines can be sold and counted as physical sales.
A digital mock-up using an excerpt from the Lyric Zine. The printed version sees the image run to the full page bleed, creating an uninterrupted notebook effect.
VISUAL STYLE
We wanted to build a strong visual style for the project without going too far down the road of shooting the cover and music videos. These can be expensive outlays and are (ideally) the sort of thing a label will advance for. Depending who we find to put out the project, we would look to secure funding to employ proper talent to fulfil our vision. Furthermore, labels may have their own preferred network of creatives and access to such networks can be very beneficial in finding lasting creative collaborators.
Pam put together this mood board (below) - the office setting is a nod to her artist name (and indeed the album title, “Bring It To The Table”). These images are deadpan and self-aware, a colour palette of washed corporate shades brought to life through careful framing and artful choices to disrupt the mundane. Pam (and I) hope this album will move her out of the day job drudgery and closer to the life of a self-sufficient artist - I think these images reflect that journey and further define Pam From Admin’s visual band.
We have plans to shoot a lot of short form content in this style and the wider theme opens up some really creative routes for marketing - floppy disc physicals, company telephone, office party - all are routes to expand the brand and engage an audience.
AUDIENCE BUILDING
As much as making the music was important, we also had to focus on building an audience and creating some momentum. We had label interest and our own growing fanbase with whom we had to maintain engagement. Pam was reached out to by London-based promoters Hot Vox, who wanted to add her to their bookings roster for upcoming gigs and opportunities. They requested a performance video to circulate for offers, so we assembled a band and shot a live rendition of our unreleased track “Circumstances” at LCCM.
The video was well-received by Hot Vox, who selected us for Hot Vox RISING, “a platform that showcases the very best in new music, whilst raising vital funds for War Child UK.” We were invited to the Cargo Rooms, a recording studio near Seven Sisters, to shoot an “as-live” performance (play the full set in one take, any mistakes stay in the final cut). The set went out on a fundraising page for 3 weeks and we were able to raise around £400 for this worthy cause.
Hot Vox also added us to a line-up in July at the Spice Of Life, Soho. By this point the live band had gone through a number of iterations, but fate would intervene and force us to strip back. Our drummer, Jacob Hughes, had broken his foot at Glastonbury while our newly acquired bassist, Jacob Samuels, was double-booked for a better-paid session in Barcelona. We returned to the studio tracks and remixed them for live performance, triggering instrumental stems while Komy (keys) and I (guitar) fleshed out the tracks with live elements. The gig was a success - we had notified Eric from Secretly Group and he sent a few A&R reps along. Also in attendance were reps from Tileyard Music. We were responsible for the bulk of the venue’s ticket sales, so gave a high energy set to an engaged and lively crowd.
PAM FROM ADMIN - CIRCUMSTANCES (LIVE)
Vox: Pam From Admin (Sophia McCormack)
Guitar: Ant Lavelle (Felix Clarke)
Keys: Augustus Breeze (Komron Afshar)
Bass: Ollie Bailey
Drums: Jacob Hughes
Recording Engineer: Ollie Barnett
Mix Engineer: Felix Clarke
Videographer: Ben Kwann
Edit and colour grade: Felix Clarke
Meanwhile Pam and I were continuing to share on Instagram and Tik Tok - BTS from studio sessions, teasers of new music, gig updates and general lifestyle content.
We wanted to keep our audience engaged and to show any industry watching that we are consistent.
NEXT STEPS
Now we pitch.
Pam and I agree it’s important to not rest all of our hopes on the interest from Eric at Secretly Group. We admire the label and think we would suit the roster, but understand label interest can be fickle in this industry and it’s important to keep your options open.
I have drawn up a list of labels we would like to target to pitch the release. Some of these we already have a connection with (marked with 🔗) and some would require a cold reach out or ideally we’d look for an introduction.
Ninja Tune 🔗
Warp 🔗
Secretly Group 🔗
4AD // Y-o-u-n-g // XL (anything Beggars Group)
Tileyard Music 🔗
Black Butter
Rhythm Section 🔗
If we see little traction from the world of labels and distribution then we will go the DIY route and self-release. I have every confidence this project has the make-up to be signed and marketed by industry, but either way we will seek creative methods to promote and engage audiences with this release.
