Okay, so today I wanna share my experience with something I’ve been tinkering with: “brother zay aew.” Sounds kinda cryptic, right? Well, lemme break it down from the start.
It all started when I stumbled upon this old project online – a bunch of audio files, seemingly interviews and music snippets, labeled with that “brother zay aew” tag. Intrigued, I decided to download ’em. First things first, I needed to organize this mess. I created a new folder, dumped everything in there, and then started listening.
Right away, I noticed the audio quality was all over the place. Some recordings were crystal clear, others sounded like they were recorded through a potato. My initial thought? Gotta clean this up. So, I fired up Audacity, my go-to audio editor. I started by normalizing the volume levels on all the tracks. This basically makes sure everything’s roughly the same loudness, so you’re not constantly adjusting your speakers.
Next up, noise reduction. A lot of these files had background hiss, clicks, and pops. Audacity’s noise reduction tool is pretty decent. I selected a small section of pure noise in each track, let Audacity learn its profile, and then applied the noise reduction across the entire file. It’s not perfect, but it makes a huge difference.
Now, the real fun began: figuring out what the heck this “brother zay aew” thing actually was. I started transcribing the interviews, which was a total pain, I’m not gonna lie. I used a combination of online transcription tools and good ol’ fashioned listening and typing. Slowly but surely, a narrative started to emerge. It sounded like a documentary project, or maybe a series of radio shows, about a local music scene.
As I transcribed more, I started identifying the speakers and the music being played. It was a mix of genres – soul, funk, a bit of early hip-hop. I decided to try and track down some of the artists mentioned. I started with online searches, using the names I’d pulled from the transcriptions. Some were easy to find – they had online profiles, YouTube channels, even some old recordings on Spotify. Others were completely obscure.
For the obscure ones, I had to dig deeper. I started scouring online forums dedicated to local music history. I even contacted a few music historians in the area. Eventually, I started piecing together a more complete picture of the scene and the people involved. It was like detective work!
After weeks of listening, transcribing, and researching, I had a ton of raw material. Now what? I decided to create a website to share my findings. I used WordPress ’cause it’s easy to use. I created pages for each of the artists, with bios, photos, and links to their music (where available). I also created a section for the interviews, with the transcripts and the audio files.
Then, I started thinking about how to present the audio itself. Just dumping a bunch of MP3s on a webpage isn’t very user-friendly. So, I decided to create short audio clips, highlighting the most interesting moments from the interviews and the music. I used Audacity again to cut and edit the audio, adding some fades and transitions to make it sound professional.
Finally, I uploaded everything to the website. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. I’m still working on adding more content and refining the design. The goal is to create a resource for anyone interested in this local music scene – a place where they can listen to the music, read the interviews, and learn about the artists.
Lessons learned?
- Audio editing can be tedious, but it’s essential for making your project sound professional.
- Transcription is a must if you want to really understand what’s going on in an audio recording.
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to experts for help. They can provide valuable insights and resources.
- Creating a website is a great way to share your work with the world.
This “brother zay aew” thing was a total rabbit hole, but I’m glad I went down it. I learned a lot, and I’m proud of what I’ve created. Hopefully, someone out there will find it interesting too.