Ben Hobbs + Catherine Duc – Blind to You

 

ARTIST NAME: Ben Hobbs (Remixed by Catherine Duc)

 

Blind to You (‘Stargazing’ Remix)

 

Blind to You (‘Till The Daylight’ Remix)

 

GENRE:

Stargazing Remix: EDM

 

Till The Daylight Remix: Downtempo/Chillstep

 

Facebook – Ben Hobbs

 

Facebook – Catherine Duc

 

Twitter – Ben Hobbs

 

iTunes

 

Apple Music

 

Spotify

 

Website – Ben Hobbs

 

Website – Catherine Duc

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Interview with Catherine Duc

 

 

Share your life story with us.

I started learning keyboard and classical piano and became interested in ambient and world music in high school.

 

My first composition was an ambient groove song with Incan influences.

 

Since then, I’ve been writing in styles that interest me at that time including Celtic, film music, EDM and Downtempo.

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Share your press release and reviews with us.

Press release for my remix ‘Blind to You (Stargazing Remix) for London singer/songwriter Ben Hobbs- Link

Catherine Duc – Website

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List the names of those that have supported you so far in your music career and use this opportunity to thank them.

Firstly, I’d like to thank my mother for giving me the opportunity to learn music and buying my first keyboard for me.

 

There have been many people along the way including my favourite music artists (who I’ve been very lucky to get in contact with or meet), music teachers, collaborators, other musicians, music supervisors, producers, engineers, music writers, and playlist curators.

 

It would take too long to name every person and I’d probably miss someone from the list, so if you think you’ve helped me in my musical journey, I’d like to thank you. 🙂

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Narrate your experience while recording in the studio or while touring.

I work in my home studio most of the time – either on my solo work, collaborations with other artists (which are usually done long distance over the internet) and commissions.

 

A memorable studio experience for me was recording at Studio City Sound in LA with other members of The Recording Academy.

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Discuss your songwriting.

I usually think of melodic ideas when I’m either doing day to day things and am not working on music, or am just playing around on my keyboard.  I usually arrange most of the song in my mind before recording anything.

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Elaborate on your future projects.

I’m currently working on a deep dark progressive house track for a music production company in Los Angeles.  After that, I have a remix for a melodic progressive house artist in the queue.

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Tell us what you are doing to increase your fan base.

I’m continuing to submit my music to e-zines, blogs, radio stations, and music curators.

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Tell us that point in time you wanted to give up on your music career.

I’ve actually never had that experience – maybe it’s because I’ve always had a non-music related day job.

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Go into detail on how you make your instrumentation or melody.

For instrumentation, I listen to a lot of music in the genre I’m composing in order to get ideas of the instruments, sounds, and textures used.

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Tell us your complete understanding of music licensing.

I’ve read a lot of music business books (including a 600+ page written by a music business lawyer – very tough to get through!) so I’ve learned quite a bit over the years.  Also, the practical experience of getting my music licensed has helped my understanding of this area.

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State your favourite genre of music.

I enjoy listening to a lot of different genres from ambient, electronic, world, classical, film score and pop.  My favourite genre changes all the time but at the moment, I’m really enjoying Melodic Progressive House as it’s really uplifting and Chillstep.

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Tell us the theme of most of your songs.

Most of my music is instrumental and is evocative of a time or place – either real or imagined.

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Elaborate on this song.

I came across Ben’s music on Spotify on the ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist where Spotify recommends music based on previous artists you’ve listened to.  I contacted Ben on Facebook and suggested a remix and then decided to remix ‘Blind to You’ from his EP ‘Blue Sky.’

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Discuss digital distribution and streaming.

Streaming has overtaken digital sales but the royalty rate is quite low (I think it’s around 0.02 cents on Spotify compared to songs on iTunes that sell for about $1).  I think YouTube is becoming more popular for streaming.

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Tell us numerous ways that artists can boost their revenue.

Apart from music sales, other avenues include synch licensing, live performances, funding campaigns, music commissions and working in music-related jobs such as a session musician.

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Tell us your opinion on self-training and enrolling in an educational institution to study music.

This is going to be different for everyone but personally, I found a mix of both worked for me.

 

On the educational institution side, I studied classical piano under the Australian Music Education Board and also a film music diploma with the London School of Creative Studies.

 

On the self-training side, I read a lot of music books – from music business to orchestration to mixing.

 

I also listen to music education podcasts and watch videos on production on YouTube and Sonic Academy.

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Go on at length on what it takes to write a hit song.

I wish I had the formula. 🙂  I’ve never had a Top 40 song so I’m not the best person to ask!

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State your artist’s name and elaborate on it.

It’s my real name. 🙂

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State the title of the song and the meaning.

‘Blind to You (Stargazing Remix)’ – When I do remixes for other artists, I like to use a word or phrase from their lyrics in the remix title.  This comes from the line ‘stargazing won’t save you.’

 

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