Article Planning
The style of my article will be an interview with the band 'Pearl Rose,' about an album that they are producing.
The purpose of my article is to entertain the reader, as well as informing the reader about the band, how they write their songs and record the songs. It will also advertise the new album being produced by the band.
Narrative voice - I will use a combination of 1st and 3rd person within my article. By using 1st person, it makes it more informal and I can tell them what I felt and what it was like talking with the band. I will use 3rd person, so that I can talk about the band and what they were saying and their reactions and body language.
Style - The style of my article will be very informal, so that it seems like a conversation with the reader. This will stop the reader becoming bored and keep them interested.(informal/formal)
The types of language I will use include; colloquial, this will make the text sound more like a conversation and make it more informal. I will use lots of quotes, as it is an interview and the reader will want to hear what the band has to say. I will also keep the text subject specific, so that I do not go off topic and lose the readers attention. I will also try and use as many descriptive and grabbing adjectives, so that the text stays interesting.
Article Draft
In the backstreets of Newcastle, lies a brand new recording studio with top of the range equipment and staff who are well known and admired with in the music business. This is where PEARL ROSE will be recording their exciting new album.
The band members were good enough to let me come watch them in recording and ask some questions. When I arrived everyone in the band was their except for PEAL ROSES drummer, Declan Gegg. Katie the bands lead singer told me, “He was at a posh awards ceremony last night so he is probably hung-over.” Typical drummer I thought, however, when he did eventually arrive about an hour later he looked a mess, but he had a big grin on his face. “Good night” I asked, to which he replied, “f**kin class mate. Payin for it dis morning like me head is killin, feels like I’ve gone 12 rounds with Ricky Hatton!” I was a bit concerned about his playing capabilities with his severe hangover. “So are you going to be in good shape to record today?” He replied to me as if I was stupid, “Course I am, I’ve played through worse than this trust me mate.”
When we went inside, I was surrounded by colourful psychedelic patterns, it was like walking into 60’s film. The recording room was huge, each musician had their own section, each of which were separated by glass French doors so they could still see eachother. I decided to ask the band a couple of questions about the album they were recording. “So guys, what have been your influences when you were writing these songs?” There was a bit of a silence while each member looked at each other as if they were confused. I was about to attempt to break the silence which was becoming quite awkward until David Stobart, (guitarist and singer) stepped in and answered the question. “Well, erm...” he stuttered, “I don’t think like we had much influence from other bands if that is what you were getting at? Cos, we were wanting to write something original and new. We basically wrote the lyrics and stuff based on things that were goin on in our lives.” “Yeh like relationships and stuff,” Scott Sanderson added. Nice and specific there I thought to myself. I was starting to think that getting good answers from the band was going to be a very difficult task.
I stopped asking questions for a while and let them get on with their recording. I thought that the band would be serious and focused while recording the album, however, I soon saw they were just messing around and having a laugh. Especially Declan, even when he was drumming he was making faces and laughing. Even though the band were just messing around the songs they were recording sounded awesome. When they had a tab break they were in a much happier and talkative mood than before. “We are gona play as many festivals as we can this year T in the Park, Glastonbury, Leeds the lot.” Katie told me really enthusiastically. “We haven’t played a festival yet and it’s sumit we really wana do!” “So what festival do you want to do most?” I asked to which Scott replied, “I really, really, really wana play Glastonbury, that would be class. The atmosphere is awesome and it’s so fun. I can remember goin to Glastonbury when I was younger it made me wana be a musician.” David then stepped in, “Yeh Glastonbury would be mint but have you seen the line-up so far for T in the Park? Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Dizzie Rascal.” He reeled off, “Playing with those kind of bands and artists would be sumit else!”
When we went back in the recording studio the band seemed a lot more focused on the task in hand. Even Declan got his head down and seemed to be very serious. When she was done singing, I asked Katie, “So how would you describe the music on your new album?” She smiled and said, “Well it’s different to what we have done before, it’s still really indie but, a couple of the tracks are quite heavy and rocky so we can show people we can vary our music, also tomorrow we are back in the studio with a very famous rapper.” “Oh really, who?” I enthusiastically asked. “It’s a secret she said you will have to wait until the album is released.” I spent most of the day after this trying to find out who this secret rapper was but the band were very strong minded not to give it away.
I can tell you that from what I heard of the new album it is well worth a listen make sure you get hold of a copy. Get next weeks issue of mute and you can win a copy of the album signed by the whole band.
Rationale:
On this double page spread, the photo will be in black and white. The only colour will be in the headings, this will make them stand out even more, and will be appealing to the reader. The text will be sorted in to ordered columns, so that it is easily understood and read by the audience. The writing will be in white to make it stand out on the darker background. I may have one item of clothing in yellow or green and nothing else, so that it stands out and so the models relate to the magazine. The main model will be higher in the shot and in the foreground to give him a sense of masculinity and power, and the others will be in the background and smaller, making them less important than the front man. I will also have one smaller picture to the bottom right of the page to display what the story is about, which will also be in black and white.
