OK guys, this is the first song! I know I said the first song would be published on the 14th, but what I meant was the second weekend in the middle of the month. I’ll explain more later, but for now let’s get to the song!

Hit play:

It’s True by Endy Daniyanto

Lyrics by Endy Daniyanto and Frans Bolla
Music by Endy Daniyanto

The story behind the song:

I think it was sometime around October 2008. At the time, I was still working with my Yamaha PSR-500 keyboard and it was simply too limited for my capabilities (yes, I actually outgrew the hardware!). So, a good friend of mine borrowed me his Technics keyboard, and I brought it over from Bandung to Jakarta.

I was just fiddling around on the keyboard, placed not-so-neatly on top of my bed. That’s when I came across this nitty little ditty. This ditty is the intro part of the song that you hear.

Some time later, I kept playing that ditty and I told Ulung (fellow musician and expert classical pianist, also flutist for ITB Student Orchestra) that I wanted to write a song using this as an intro. I imagined my future fans would go wild just from the sound of the intro alone, proving that they know the song by heart. Ulung agreed with me, and he said “Yeah, I can imagine that”.

It wasn’t until I met Frans, and we became better friends, that I showed him this intro. He was the one who immediately gave the first melody for it. This is the melody that you hear in the first verse, and that’s why it’s different from my other songs I wrote with Andre: because Frans chose the main melodic theme and not me.

The song was originally titled, er, something else [1] until we decided to give it another title: “It’s True”. The main draft of the song had no bridge, and had a hanging phrase at the end of the choruses. Because of this project, I decided to tidy up the song and give a proper knot at the end of the chorus and a bridge to break the monotonous of adjacent choruses.

The knot I’m talking about is the part of the chorus that goes: “And I know I want to always be with you”. The bridge starts at “Nothing could ever be”. These parts weren’t in the original draft. I decided to add them because the original lacked some motion and transition, so that’s a songwriting lesson for you.

The lyrics:

(Because you know you want to sing along!)

It’s True

Looking in your eyes
thinking of your smile
Being there beside you
is all I wanna do

Start a conversation
about the way I feel
The way I’m feeling for you
tells me that it’s real

This feeling I’m not dreaming
the truth that I’m believing
Since the day I saw you
saw the smile on you

You know that it’s true Oh Baby
You know that I love you
You know I want you Oh Baby
Wanna be beside you
This feeling that I tell you
All of it is true Baby
And I know I want to always be with you

Walking down the road
the two of us alone
You stay there in silence
how do I know

About the conversation
how do you feel
You don’t need to doubt me
I swear that I’m for real

You know that it’s true Oh Baby
You know that I need you
You know I want you Oh Baby
Wanna grow old with you
Oh Baby please believe me
shine a light on me
You know I want you to be here with me

Nothing could ever be
stronger than what I’m feeling now
Give your heart to me
and Baby you will see
My love is for real

You know that it’s true Oh Baby
You know that I love you
You know I want you Oh Baby
Wanna be beside you
This feeling that I tell you
All of it is true

And I know I want to always be
Oh Baby shine a light on me
I know I want to always be with you

It’s true

The geeky stuff:

Piano sound is the default piano patch from the Yamaha DGX-630 keyboard. Recorded via the 3/4 Line-In of a Presonus Firebox. Vocals were recorded using a JBL NK-77K Karaoke Microphone (yeah, because I’m funky and retro and I work with what I have!). Hosted in Cubase LE4.

I decided to use a karaoke dynamic microphone, because I wanted to test if it was the right microphone for male vocals. I suspected this since comparing the results between female vocals and male vocals using a condenser mic (the Studio Projects B-1). For female vocals, condensers are great, but for male vocals, I think they catch the surrounding ambience too much. My suspicion turned out to be true, as I found out recording my own voice gave a better male character and definition than the condenser.

However, the recorded sound from a dynamic mic (or at least this dynamic mic) is a fickle girl. In the mixing process (which was like, 6 hours), I spent the most time finding the right compression settings. Just a little change, and it would either sound too sharp or too dull. It isn’t usually like this with the condenser. And that’s a mixing lesson for you.

See I am a good guy, after all.

Thank you and credits:

Thanks to Frans for contributing the vocals, and stand being bossed around by me! Hey, the voice talent needs to be directed, you know. Plus, I am an aspiring record producer, after all. Thanks to, er, the one behind the inspiration that made this song. And thanks to you guys, who are going to share and put this song on your playlist for the next two weeks, right?

Cheers,
Endy

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[1] In order to protect certain parties, the original title of this song shall not be revealed. At least, I think that’s how it goes.