Fuego is now available for listening on all major streaming platforms!
Listen on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, and Tidal!
The Boston Music Project is committed to ensuring that students have access to a wide range of music-making opportunities with the support and attention of our exceptional teaching artists. Beginning in the fall of 2021, BMP began a Digital Music Composition Residency at Boston’s Margarita Muñiz Academy to provide digital music composition classes and advanced music production instruction. The Margarita Muñiz Academy (MMA) is Boston Public School’s first dual-language school serving grades 9 - 12, located in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
Students at the MMA have been hard at work since last semester producing several different digital music projects. Over the course of the semester, students first learned the basics of working in a DAW (digital audio workstation), as well as composition and songwriting fundamentals. Once they had the fundamentals, they then applied those skills to a wide range of multimedia projects including syncing music with video, creating virtual spaces with interactive music, and sampling audio from other songs, movies, and more. The semester finished with the production of a full-length album with artist statements, like this one from Matilda B.
“My song, "The Undergoer", describes the rustic feeling of pain and the jolt of the hero succeeding into his consciousness- to what he is- what he has become. It resembles the endurance of having to go on with helping hands because you can't be a hero alone."
For one of their first projects, students focused on adding visual elements to music. They were asked to choose video clips from YouTube to sync with their own music that they produced.
Check out the students' music and video selections!
"One of the best things about working on original music with two full classes of students is that everyone brings their own personality, background, and musical interests; so we were constantly creating a huge variety of music. I was consistently impressed by the students' creativity, curiosity, and clarity of vision about the music they wanted to make." - Josh Wareham, BMP Teaching Artist
Students also spent the last semester working on individual digital music tracks, which culminated in the production and release of a full-length student-driven collaborative album. The album “Fuego” is composed of songs written by each student in the both of the Digital Music Classes taught at the MMA, under the guidance of BMP Digital Technology Specialist & Teaching Artist Josh Wareham.
The students' new album was also selected to be featured as the music for the opening of a new exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art's (ICA) Teen Gallery on March 18th. The work in the exhibition, organized by the ICA's Teen Exhibitions Program, focuses on illustration, storytelling, community, equity, and belonging.
Fuego is now available for listening on all major streaming platforms!
Listen on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, and Tidal!
Josh shares more about the collaborative decision-making process for the album and working with the students on the project.
“The title 'Fuego' was nominated and voted on by the students, and the album art was created by one of the students, Brianny P. and of course each student chose their own song title too. It was incredible to see all of the students' ideas come together, and to also see them expand their musical and creative agency. The moments when a student listened back to their work and realized, "Wow, I made that!" were really special."
Some of the students also shared statements about the songs they wrote and what inspired their work.
Yenilis G.
Song: Yeni
“My song is based on a song by Anuel/The Weeknd. I really wanted to recreate that style because I like the way it is; the beats are slow and I also really like the bass.”
Angie M.
Song: El Baño
“Something that inspired me to make my music like this is the artist Ski Mask the Slump God, because some of his songs are a little bit aggressive. The flute was just something random that I wanted to include because I don't want any of my songs to be boring. In order for me to be able to make a new song I have to think about the way I'm going to make them and where I'm going to get my ideas from.”
Kayli E.
Song: ?IDK?
“In this song I didn't really start from a specific idea, I just added more sounds as I went on in the song. I chose my sounds by choosing whatever stood out to me, and if it worked well with the rest I added it. This music showed me what I was able to do while being tired at the end of the day. I would describe my song as chill with a mixture of many things.”
Matilda B.
Song: The Undergoer
“My song describes the rustic feeling of pain, the jolt of the hero succeeding into his consciousness — to what he is — what he has become. Which resembles the 2nd uptone guitar. It resembles the endurance of having to go on through with helping hands, because you can't be a hero alone. Between the last sections is the rewardence of things..and the consequential design of mystery — follow your goal — [the] real reason...
The ending describes the spacy dialect of time..and the wanderers archives, of ruined buildings...
What inspired me was 2000's edgy music, and "rock" bands people obsess over.
The music means to me hardcore, beats and some lovely guitar — it's nice.
I chose my sounds by looking into strong-hardcore beats... I got to play with the guitar so that was nice. And I also added in some synths [with the guitar as] a fun duet.
Nate L.
Song: Feel Ah Way
“Artists like Sheff g or sleepy hallow inspired me to make this song. I chose my sounds because of the rnb/trap kind of style that I listen to a lot. I would describe it as a little chill quick song.”
Nahsla P.
Song: waves
“My song is a chill song for going to sleep, and just chill while you do school work. I chose the sounds by listening to them.”
Evelio C.
Song: DBZ
“I went into the zone of the sound and liked it a lot, like a creation you're proud of.”
Jazzlyn C.
Song: Jazzlyn's Song
“One thing that inspired me was the different sounds and instruments, and how they all come together to make a song.”
Fuego is now available for listening on all major streaming platforms!
Listen on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, and Tidal!