Runaway - Acoustic Instrumental Cover by Daryll Evan

Dennis Sheperd, Cold Blue Ft. JES - Runaway

I am so relieved that I have uploaded my third cover! The previous one was uploaded last May 15 and this one was last June 1. For a span of two weeks, I took a break from producing covers and I also had an island getaway for a day.  Initially, my goal was to upload a video every week; meaning I should have had 5 full-cover videos at the end of the summer; but well, things don't really work out so smoothly as we expect them to be. Two days after I uploaded Safe in the Sky, I decided to take on the song "Runaway" by Dennis Sheperd and Cold Blue featuring the vocals of JES. 

I've heard this song on Dennis Sheperd's album "Fight Your Fears". The album is an excellent compilation of the German producer's progressive trance songs. I've been a fan of him since 2012 when I heard his song, Edge of the World, which was also the song that got me into trance music. Up to this date, he is one of my favorite progressive trance producer because he's very consistent with his productions. He can incorporate  his style into his every song without being too repetitive. Anyway, I was sure I would be covering one of his songs from the album but I just did not know which one was the best option. I tried working on 2 or 3 songs but I ended up doing Runaway because it was the song which stuck on my mind. It's not my favorite song from the album (and I can't choose any) but I like the chord progression of the song and the mood that it generates. One of the reason why I'm into this genre is because I like how the songs are structured and the chord progressions are more creative and interesting than mainstream songs. I guess many people wonder why I choose this genre because I know it's not really popular (especially in this country). If I were still into mainstream stuff, I'd probably have more views; but of course, I'd rather play the songs that I like rather than what pleases others. But the good thing also is that I have no competition in this genre. I know there are famous pianists who cover electronic music (Evan Duffy, Yana Chernysheva) but I don't know of any guitarists who do; so what I'm doing is something new and unique.

Always the first thing that I do, I listened to the song on Youtube and broke it into parts. The reason I use Youtube is because of the speed option; with this, I can listen to the song in half-speed and it helps me get the lead melodies. It was not that hard to get the chord pattern so it took me just a night to somewhat dissect the song. However, it was a combination of laziness and a drought of ideas that made me abandon the project indefinitely. I just could not find suitable plucking pattern for every part of the song. I wanted to preserve the mood of the song but I was really having difficulty. By now I think everybody should have known that I am a musically-inclined person; but to be honest, it's not really like I want to play guitar everyday (same goes to as being a writer). Sometimes that part of me is just not accessible and I don't want to force myself to. It's only on some occasions that I get that sudden surge of passion to play. That's also the reason why I am not considering being a musician as a main career. I am aware that I lack the creativity to be called a musician; and I believe I would not survive for long in this industry if ever I enter it. Although there is no doubt that I love what I do, I think it would be best if I do this for leisure only. 

On the 28th of May, after having an unproductive week, I went back into shooting for this project. As I've said in my previous post, I rely on spontaneity and I keep on experimenting on new plucking patterns to suit to the song. Before I did that, I discovered something quite monumental for me. This song was on capo 2 with an Am-G-D-F-G pattern. It's a totally different progression from the first two covers that I did. When I tried doing the progression, I was uncomfortable with the D chord since its bass is the higher D and it sounded softer than the other bass notes that are on the E and A strings. Then out of nothing, I just had that "what if" moment. I freed the low E string from the Capo 2, leaving only the 5 other strings. I thought it was a crazy idea at first but I ended up using it for the whole project. It gave me more convenience in playing since I could now use the bass D note (actually the E but D in capo 2). If you don't get what I mean, here's a picture of it:

 

After that moment of serendipity, I was so motivated again to finish the project. I eventually found good patterns for the each part. There was not really much trouble after that; but on that week, the temperature ranged up to 34 °C; my lip actually cracked because of the heat. It was really hot shooting; after a minute of turning off the electric fan my shirt would already get soaked in sweat. (turning on the electric fan or the air conditioning would add background noise so I had to deal with it for 10 mins at most)  Especially for the rhythm clips, it was challenging since I kept making mistakes and the heat added up to my agitation. But of course, I did my best to be patient and eventually, I finished shooting them in 3 sessions. 

On the lead clips, I did not actually expect that this would be more sophisticated than the previous one. For this project, I reached 3 layers of audio for certain parts and it required more effort for me to put them together. It was a tough task. I've reached a point where I hated listening to it over and over again that even before I went to sleep it was still playing in my head. But despite all these, I was pretty sure I wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

I decided to tweet a screenshot of my project just for the sake of announcing it and unexpectedly, I got a response from one of the artists. 

I thought it would just go unnoticed but wow, I somehow managed to get attention.

I could've uploaded this 2 days earlier but I was stalling on 2 particular parts of the song where I couldn't think of a lead. For the breakdown part, I knew it would not be good if I repeated that same melody for the entire part; so half of it was my own improvisation. I thought of adding the scales just to try something new and a random simple lead. It took me a considerable amount of time to create the short leads and finally lay them on the rhythm; and that delayed the whole project.

After rendering the video, it gave me a great sense of relief. I know there were a lot of things I've left unfinished; but this time I managed to overcome that. However, I did not have much expectations for this video; I thought it would end up the same as the previous two. For a moment I actually felt sad that I didn't have many views for both my videos. But then I remembered that my main objective in doing all these is not about getting views or heaping praise. Of course that's also important but if that were the case, I would've stopped with the second video. For me, the journey is more important than the destination; I find fulfillment in what I do and that keeps me going. This project was a symbol that I tried again because I didn't succeed in the previous attempts. Although it is stressful at times, it gives me a sense of direction and a goal that I like to work towards. I've always had that feeling that by now I should have created something; and this has been it. I know I'm a person who has my own world and I'm sure that's strange for other people. I admit if I were a different person I'd probably not understand why Daryll Evan is always posting these things. But well, I am that person who is engrossed of turning my ideas into reality and in the process, I slowly build that world of mine.

Anyway, I uploaded the video, did my usual thing posting on social media and reaching out to the artists. With the earlier connection I've established to one of the artists, I gained a little hope; but I knew it would still not be easy. I was not really that confident at all.

The next morning, I saw a post of JES on my newsfeed and I decided to give it a shot. I posted my video as a comment hoping it would get noticed. I left my laptop for a while and when I came back, what awaited me was one of the most important notifications I've ever received in my life. 

I finally got a response I was overjoyed to know that I will finally be getting a share from an artist.

Maybe it's not so much of a big deal for others; but for me, it was a dream come true. I felt happy that my efforts finally paid off and it was great to hear sincere feedback from the artist as well. I am running out of words to fully express myself right now and I've posted a lot about this on social media; but I am just really thankful for this moment.

Right now, I am more inspired to continue what I do. I only have 3 days left before I leave for the city and go back for college; but I hope I could produce a last cover video for the summer. This summer has been really fruitful for me and I don't want it to end this soon; but I can't do anything with that. I have to fulfill a greater ambition, my main career as a civil engineer (hopefully).

Currently, I am still working on an easier cover. I don't have much time but I will do my best.

update: already heard from Dennis as well 

more update: I couldn't finish my fourth cover, I ran out of time but I'll have to work on it as soon as I get back.