It starts with a melody. From this comes the chorus — the drums, the bassline and the synthesizer — which is then built into the body of the song. The vocals come last, and then it’s all mixed and cut together.
That’s the most electronic music is made, but it’s not the music-making process for Boston University student musician Steve Friedman, a senior in the College of Communication.
“It’s weird with electronic music because the structure isn’t really there,” Friedman said. “That can sometimes be a little paralyzing because you have unlimited options. You can choose any sounds, but it also is really freeing.”
Friedman started making music with friends in the sixth grade and began writing his own songs the following year. After graduating from high school, he transitioned from creating indie music to the electronic genre under the stage name Stevie Blunder. The name is a pun on Stevie Wonder, an artist Friedman says was very influential in his decision to pursue music.
“I liked that [electronic music] was a combination of both musicality but also the more technical side of the production,” he said.
He released his first full-length album, “coffee time,” last Friday on Soundcloud. The album includes nine tracks and runs for just over 27 minutes.
Friedman explained that he started writing the songs for “coffee time” while studying abroad in London this spring, although he didn’t realize he was creating an actual album at the time. His production was also limited, as he only had his laptop and headphones rather than his entire setup.
“It was definitely a relief when I got back to Boston this summer,” he said, as his return meant a reunion with his mic, bass and guitar.
For the tracks on “coffee time,” Friedman drew inspiration from artists such as Lorde and Tyler, The Creator — artists he listened to over the summer extensively. This caused his new album to sound more “pop-y” than his prior music, as he’s drawn from a larger variety of genres in the past that made his tracks sound more scattered.
“[The album] has a cohesive sound,” he said. “Not all of the songs sound the same, but they all have similar motifs throughout them. I think you can listen to the whole album from start to finish and you’d get that it’s one project, it’s not just a bunch of random songs stuck together.”
For Friedman, music production isn’t an exact science. Be it song titles, lyrics or even an album name, he said the process is very fluid. Once he settles on a name, it’s usually symbolic of the mood or theme as a whole.
“I’ve started drinking a lot of coffee recently, so [the title] feels appropriate,” Friedman said. “I’m about to graduate and I feel like I’ve been getting really busy, and I also have a lot of ambitions, so it’s time to drink some coffee and get going, because there’s a lot of work to do.”
Conner Reed, a senior in COM and Friedman’s roommate of three years, said that he thinks “coffee time” is Friedman’s best work so far.
“It’s really strong,” Reed said. “It’s very listenable, very accessible. It has a lot more pop melody going on than a lot of his other stuff, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring and derivative. It’s very interesting, and I’m excited about it.”
Friedman often bounces ideas off of Reed and asks for his opinions on the songs he creates.
Although Reed doesn’t personally have a musical background, he’s still able to provide feedback as a listener. He said that he enjoys seeing how much his friend has grown musically, especially as his roommate is already in the process of a new project: a music video collaboration with BU alumnus Dan Esberg.
Esberg, who graduated from COM in January of this year, is an artist similar to Friedman, though he considers his music to fall under the genre of hip hop. Like Reed, he has only good things to say about “coffee time.”
“It’s really cool to see Steve’s hard work pay off and to see that he was able to put together a really cohesive album all from his bedroom,” he wrote in a Facebook message. “Always champion your friends’ music and creative endeavors. It’s tough to get the courage to put stuff out nowadays because there’s already so much content out there.”
The music video is set to be released within the next few weeks. For now, though, Friedman said he hopes people listen to and enjoy his new album.
“I try to make sure that there is never a moment in a song that didn’t need to be there,” he said. “I just want it to be an enjoyable experience from start to finish.”
