Hollow Ground – A Musical Puzzle
- Tony Parker NESC
- Mar 3
- 3 min read
Hollow Ground - A step in a new direction:
How did this happen?
What am I doing here?
It all started with a random message from someone called Claire. Back in November 24, she told me she'd been inspired by one of my lyrics and used it in some audio files she uploaded.
I'm pretty sure now that Claire was just spam and had nothing to do with the real female vocals you hear in this track.
[ Hollow Ground - More Info ]
Finding the Vocals
When I first heard these vocal ("Claire") recordings, I was really drawn to her voice, especially on Hollow Ground. There was something about it that grabbed my attention. The way she layered her harmonies was something truly special, adding so much depth and emotion to the track.
So, I purchased the vocal pack and downloaded it to see what I could do with these files.
Loopmasters Folk Pop Vocals
A Musical Jigsaw Puzzle
These vocal tracks were just short phrases. The only info I got was the key and the tempo, nothing else. No verses, no choruses, no backing vocals, nothing was marked out. No chords, no instruments. Just a voice.
It was like a jigsaw puzzle, you get a few pieces but have no idea what the complete picture looks like.
It was the Christmas break, so it challenged me: Could I take these vocals and turn them into fully structured songs?
I had no plans to release them, it was just something fun and different after working on composing and structuring the storytelling of Campbell Island and the Shackleton series.
Building the Music: Where do you start?
First, I had to figure out what was a verse, a chorus, or backing vocals and sort them in some kind of order. Then, I needed to work out where the chords changed without any instruments or track info to guide me.
Keep in mind these tracks were very short phrases and all together in one big bundle, all six songs together. A lot of sorting and trial and error.
I started by playing along on my bass, matching the notes to her voice. This way, I could work out where she changed chords and what chords they were. Once I had a rough structure, I could start layering instruments and shaping the songs.
What started as a fun experiment turned into something bigger. The vocal pack had six tracks. At first, I was only going to work on one or two, but once I started, I couldn't stop. I had to finish all six.
The Vocals
Claire's voice is amazing. She layers her own harmonies, creating depth and atmosphere. It was inspiring to work with. That's why I decided to release it. If I am enjoying it, maybe others will, too.
Cloud Music – A New Kind of Session Work
These kinds of vocal packs are part of a growing trend—musicians record their performances and upload them to cloud-based platforms. They get paid every time someone downloads their work, but in return, they give up copyright ownership.
It's not too different from session musicians in the past, like the trumpets on Penny Lane or the soaring vocals on The Great Gig in the Sky. They got paid for their work, but the song wasn't theirs.
That means I can't and obviously will not claim any rights to the lyrics or vocals, only the music I built around them.
A Fun Challenge
This project took a lot of time over Christmas, but I loved every minute of it. Some of the tracks didn't even have a proper chorus, so shaping them into something new was a real challenge.
Maybe I should try another one sometime.
Let me know in the comments.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Thanks for listening
Tony
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