Chapter 77

'I need to add a lot of things to the song.'

Aiden thought, staring at the music software and then at the synthesizer. It was midnight already and he was still working on the song.

Most of the things were already done and he just needed to arrange the song. And then finish up the lyrics.

Throughout the composing process, Aiden had realised a lot of little details about his power. He felt like he was feeling the fluctuation of his lights way more than before.

He put in a lot of effort and was very satisfied with how the song was coming up.

The theme of revolution and freedom was resounding in it with the strong rhythm that seemed to increase the heartbeat of the listener and make them feel like they could do anything in the world.

"Let's start."

Aiden muttered and played the beginning of the song. It was starting with a strong and catchy rhythm which was gradually picking up pace.

But he felt like the best way to make people excited would be to add an instrument which can bring about a heavy sound, but he needed to be careful to not make it too annoying to the ears.

'Drums.'

He thought, adding the drums effect in the beginning. A heavy and cracking sound came out and Aiden felt like it was too over the top for the song.

Finding the right effect was never an easy thing in a song.

So, he needed to try and change a lot of things. But in the end, he got the right sound effect he wanted for it.

It was not too much to overshadow the melody and was just enough to give off a thumping feeling to the listener.

For the melody before the first verse, Aiden was going for some strings and bass. Rock was nothing without the bass as it was used to power up the song.

Though, he wondered if it was too early for that.

But for now, he was just trying what could suit the rhythm and what won't. His whole job here was to truly bring out the essence of the foundation that he had created.

As he tried up the bass lines, it didn't seem to work as the harmony was not there. So he changed it to a much simpler tune, something that is powerful but not a lot spread out.

'No, this is not good.'

'The tune could be better. It doesn't give the feeling of a rock song.'

'Yes, this is good! Finally!'

While making any song, it was a very hard process to put everything together to make it work and at the same, make it sound unique.

If he just made a similar song to others, it wouldn't work.

That's why, the whole night, Aiden kept working. He already had the whole band together to perform the song, so he needed to make sure he presented his best work as a composer.

***

As Aiden was finishing up on the song, another one of his competitors, the indie band Ryse, was already in the middle of recording the song.

Ryse got popular a few years ago with a hit single that had gone viral. Their song was actually one of the first indie songs to get popular due to social media and after that, there was no stopping for them.

After that, they released albums and performed on major award shows and even got tours in other countries. Especially in Europe, they were a lot popular among people who were interested in indie bands.

But the problem was that they weren't mainstream yet.

No matter what they tried, they weren't able to get the tag of an indie band off their heads. As it had already been a few years since they broke out in the public eye, it was just luck that was stopping them from becoming a mainstream sensation.

Even their most popular song 'Do It like this' which had reached number 10 on the melody top 100 singles of the month, was three years old and in these three years, they have not given a top hit.

It was not wrong to say that they were fading out bit by bit.

So, getting the chance to sing the title track for a famous anime was maybe one of their hopes of getting a smash hit. At least, it would work way better than their previous songs.

"Hey, this sounds pretty catchy."

The leader of the band, Orion Goodman, who was also the vocalist, said. He was currently listening to the track that they had recorded till now.

The melody was very catchy and on top of it, the lyrics suited something like a war song.

????

"We are going to fight, we are going for the kill."

"No matter if they are stronger than us, we are not gonna give up."

"Till the time we fight, we are not defeateddd!"

????

Orinon smiled while listening to the chorus. It wasn't a loud song but something that sounded very similar to the original Japanese title track.

"Hey, LZ, it's pretty good. I think we are going to get selected right away."

Orion turned to look at the person who was handling the recording. He was the drummer of the band who also handled the composing and arranging of songs.

The third member, Kat who handled the keyboard and the second vocal was the songwriter.

"Yeah, me and Kat tried hard to go for something like the original track. The fans loved it, so Animeroll would probably like it too." LZ said, looking up at Orion.

"Yeah, who are our competitors? Any good ones?"

Orion suddenly asked. He only knew that there were other musicians and bands competing to get the title track. But he didn't know how many there were or which prominent bands they were competing against.

"I heard we are the most experienced out of all. Other than us, others are just newer bands who have a bit of success. If Animeroll is thinking straight, they would select us just for the fanbase we bring."

LZ commented with a bit of smirk on his lips.

Ryse fanbase was one of the most hardcore out of all indie bands and it was almost like they followed them everywhere, so the band knew how to take full advantage of it.

Because of them, their songs would never lose money, even if they don't perform exceptionally.

"You two are two overconfident."

A voice made them look at a corner where Kat, the third member of the band, was seated. She had a frown on her small face.

"How are we overconfident?" Orion asked, glaring at her.

"You two are for a while now. Because of that, you take it easy and say things like it's fine as we won't lose money."

"That's not true!"

Both LZ and Orion said at the same time. But Kat was firm at her words.

"You two need to understand that an artist needs to keep up with times unless they are the type to appear once in a century. We have not kept up with time. And now, even our fandom can't get us to the mainstream."

"Shut up!" Orion shouted, not liking what Kat was saying. "We just have bad luck and we will be back on track after 'Fight' is released."

Fight was the name of the song that they were sending to Animeroll.

"Let's see."

Kat said, sighing and lowering her face to look up at the comments on her social media. In her heart, she felt like the days of Ryse were over now, not because of others but because of the members who refused to evolve.

For her, 'Fight' becoming the title track was the only way to save the band from becoming obscure.

***

"Yeah, so I have been in Korea since X-Star ended, spending time with my family. It was a good break for me."

Emily flashed a bright smile in front of Aiden. He was currently driving her to the recording studio from the airport.

Her flight just landed but instead of checking in on the hotel, she wanted to go straight to the recording studio.

Along the way, she and Aiden were checking up on the things they were doing in the past few months.

"Are you going to settle in Korea?"

Aiden asked, wondering. Emily's family had recently shifted there permanently, so it made sense if she was going to settle there.

"Actually, I'm still thinking about it. I got some offers from Korean entertainment companies, asking me if I'm interested in being an idol. But I don't know how to dance."

"An idol? Sounds good."

Aiden said. Korean idols were just getting more and more popular going forward, so it won't be bad for her career if she really tried to become one.

Though, he still had some reservations about the Korean industry.

"Just be careful if you decide to be. Idols are worked hard in Korea with 20 hours work sometimes if you are famous. Many companies try to exploit them. Though, Hollywood ain't that better but people are way more vocal here."

Emily nodded, looking at him gratefully. She felt happy that he was giving advice to her and trying to help out.

"Anyway, tell me a bit about the song? You completed it?"

She asked and Aiden nodded.

"Yeah, it's completed. I will show you once we reach the recording studio. I have not worked so hard on a song since a long time, so I'm very confident in it and a bit scared too."

...