We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Kazoo Cover) Oliver Hagen 2026-09-18 | We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Kazoo Cover)
Tempted (Squeeze cover, featuring the MIDI-Imbued Stapler Collection and sundry other instruments) Oliver Hagen 2025-04-11 | An awesome earworm of a song featuring first-take keys and percussion, forgotten lyrics, and a weird homemade instrument, which can be read about here:penguinatron.github.io/Making/misc1/MISC1.htmlFun way to spend an evening.
Thats All - Live and on the spot @ Bohemian Night, The Fishermans Cottage Oliver Hagen 2025-03-28 | Done without ever having played the song before, featuring my brother on cajon.Originally by Genesis, from their self-titled album.
Fire Coming Out of a Monkeys Head - Live Gorillaz cover @ Up The Junction Oliver Hagen 2025-03-14 | Featuring the inimitable Westy, in an unrehearsed performance.Featuring me on a setup I'm trialling with my synthesiser providing drums and multiple layers of synth sequences, and live keyboard over the top.
The Demonic Game Corrupting The Youth Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Track 6 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EP.More info here:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
She gives Her toughest battles to their dumbest characters Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Track 5 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EP.This is my favourite track on the EP.Find out more:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
Shanty about that one particularly insane time in that pub by the dock Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Song 4 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EP.Sound effects are from iMovie.More info here:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
The Chaotic and Confusing Reign of the Skull-Splitters Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Song 3 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EP.Sound effects are from iMovie.More info here:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
The Ballad of Bluebell Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Song 2 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EP.Sounds effects are from iMovie.More info here:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
Session 0 Oliver Hagen 2025-02-28 | Track 1 of 6 from the 'Magical Murderers Making Hilarious Decisions' EPMore info here:penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2025/RPM2025.html
Lonely This Christmas (Mud Cover, with ALL THREE OF US!) Oliver Hagen 2024-12-15 | At the Butler, December 2023, after about 1.2 rehearsals. Lots of fun :)
DivingBoard Demo - a home-made MIDI controller for the Roland JD-Xi Oliver Hagen 2024-02-08 | For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Making/DivingBoard/DivingBoard.htmlTL;DW: I made a MIDI controller to make my life easier, and I felt pleased enough about it that I've decided to share what I've made.Show and tell for adults with no one listening :/00:00 - Introduction01:12 - The Problem: JD-Xi interface difficulties01:59 - DivingBoard Demo03:47 - The Problem 2: Existing controllers don't make it easy for users05:05 - Parameter Learning Demo09:32 - DivingBoard Demo with added parameter10:46 - Closing remarks
Demo - Im Not Finished Oliver Hagen 2023-09-03 | It's a new song- so new that I'm not sure if this is the finished version or not. Played live for the first time at Reading Pride's Pride aLive stage on 2023-09-02.
2of2 Oliver Hagen 2023-08-31 | New tune I made recently, way too late at night :PSilly visuals made in a silly way- motion tracking is hard.The chief voice is a Logic Pro X RetroSynth through an Overdrive, with expression via the joystick on the Akai MPK Mini- neat control, although not always a suitable replacement for separate wheels.The name is because I had two jams in the same Logic Project file, and this is the second one.
Shes Written a Song Oliver Hagen 2023-03-27 | Track 5 of 5 from my EP 'Perfection Can't Be Rushed (but this sure can)'For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2023/RPM2023.htmlFirst (written) and last (played) song on the EP. Tried to get a bit fancy with the video- the recorded version of the song requires three musicians to play, which I thought I could probably fit all in one frame with some editing work. I've never done a 'realistic-looking' composite before, so hopefully this one isn't too dodgy around the edges.
Living for the Weekend Oliver Hagen 2023-03-21 | Track 4 of 5 from my EP 'Perfection Can't Be Rushed (but this sure can)'For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2023/RPM2023.htmlThis one took ages and was inspired by how adults always talk about their jobs.The video is one part lyrics, and the other part me unironically vibing quite late in the night to the song I'd just made (I'm not very cool when vibing). I didn't expect to use this footage for the song's video, but I couldn't find or think of anything better, so that's what we've ended up with.
The Adventures of Mono in Sawtoothland Oliver Hagen 2023-03-15 | Track 3 of 5 from my EP 'Perfection Can't Be Rushed (but this sure can)'For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2023/RPM2023.htmlA synth improvisation, which has been retro-justified via overdubs and animations. I quite like it. The 'avoid the spikes' game is available at the above link.
Robot Penguin Warning Song Oliver Hagen 2023-03-09 | Track 2 of 5 from my EP 'Perfection Can't Be Rushed (but this sure can)'For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2023/RPM2023.htmlA sort of freaky campfire song from a parallel dimension. May or may not be relevant in this one.
Farewell Oliver Hagen 2023-03-03 | Track 1 of 5 from my EP 'Perfection Can't Be Rushed (but this sure can)'For more info: penguinatron.github.io/Music/RPM2023/RPM2023.htmlThis is an honest to goodness feelings song about a specific person.
Across the Universe (Beatles cover using vocals, synth, ukulele) Oliver Hagen 2023-01-01 | Happy new year.
Melancholy Christmas - Mutual Frogs cover(/arrangement demo) Oliver Hagen 2022-12-10 | Read more here: penguinatron.github.io/Music/MelancholyChristmas.htmlA year ago, the Birmingham band Mutual Frogs asked me to record their debut single (I said yes). The audio in this video is the demo track I made to show the Frogs the vocal harmonies I'd come up with, plus some extra instrumentation I've added since.
Hagen Brothers live at Pearson Hall, 2022-11-26 Oliver Hagen 2022-12-03 | Local musician and cool dude Matt Allwright invited us to play a set at a charity gig his band were doing, raising money for Alzheimers UK and the Woodley Lunch Bunch. Great fun for a great cause, and we got a recording out of it too; video is from an iPhone in the audience, audio is a mix of the soundboard and the iPhone video.SETLIST:00:30 The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel04:26 Help! - The Beatles07:47 '39 - Queen13:05 Honeybee - Steam Powered Giraffe(UNPLANNED) ENCORE:18:18 Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Honeybee (Steam Powered Giraffe cover) Oliver Hagen 2022-09-27 | Testing a new recording setup with mics just outside of the frame on the left and right, hard-panned to create a nice stereo image. This gives natural part separation (eg 'hello, goodbye...' with the Spine part to the right and the Rabbit part to the left) in the stereo field, although not particularly dramatically (better in headphones). Also lets the guitar and ukulele feel separate from each other. Due to the mic setup, the main vocal is a little quiet, and the majority of the instrumentation feels like it's slightly left of centre. The right-ear mic seems to be buzzing too. Oh well, it's a decent first try, and was a very fun performance.
Found a Job (using synth, uke and vocals) Oliver Hagen 2022-08-29 | Recorded the audio on the day I was offered a job. Recorded the video while having a job. Audio took several hours, video took upwards of a week.
Alright (Supergrass cover using vocals and ukulele via headphone mic) Oliver Hagen 2022-08-15 | I saw some people singing in videos on instagram using their headphone mics. Wasn't sure if the sound quality was lining up with the equipment used, so did this as a test (also had COVID and was bored).Each instrument scales proportionally to how loud it is at the time. Made in Scratch, doesn't work very well. I need to learn better editing software than iMovie to put multiple videos on top of each other, editing this took a long while.I did not bother to learn the lyrics for this song before doing this cover, which is why it's too short and features some word-like sounds.
Commonwealth App song (submitted as coursework for my degree) Oliver Hagen 2022-06-03 | penguinatron.github.io/Music/CommonwealthApp/CommonwealthApp.htmlOne of my second year CS modules was a group project where we had to design an app. One of the tasks given to us was to create a video demonstration of the app in action. I volunteered to take care of it, and managed to persuade my team to allow me some creative liberty (thanks, Group 16 :) ).We got a first (although I'm not sure how much this contributed to it).
9 - Counting Down Oliver Hagen 2022-02-07 | Lyrics are based on being in COVID isolation- the numbers are readings of my O2 %age, temperature and pulse.This isn't really a fully-formed anything, obviously, but whatever.
10 - Because (Beatles cover) Oliver Hagen 2022-02-06 | Made to test out a mic I picked up for £1.05. Not bad.
Fairytale of New York - Kazoo Edition Oliver Hagen 2021-12-25 | Exactly what it says on the tin. Have a wonderful Christmas, and let's hope that the coming year sees the world inch ever closer to normality, or better.
Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Kazoo Edition Oliver Hagen 2021-12-03 | Fight back the gloom with a Christmas tune.Reinstate the gloom with this specific version of it.
Meant To Be Fun Oliver Hagen 2021-06-25 | I'm afraid the Unknown Covers project was stressing me out- it is on hold, or possibly discontinued. The same is true for some other projects I've been working on for this channel, because I realised recently that I was doing them in order to be doing something, not because I enjoyed them.
Live at The Coppice Rednal Open Mic, 16/6/2021 Oliver Hagen 2021-06-17 | 00:23 Borrowed Man (Oliver Hagen)03:13 Help! (The Beatles)This was the first open mic I'd ever played, after a year of COVID lockdown (meaning very few performances), AND coming out of a summer cold, AND I was doing some original music, which I'd never done before.All in all it was quite fun, and I think I did a decent enough job for a first time. I've included the two best-performed songs, Borrowed Man (my own) and Help! (The Beatles). I hope you like it :)More stuff here: penguinatron.github.io
Love & War (Track Dogs cover) Oliver Hagen 2021-05-30 | More info + where to listen: penguinatron.github.io/LoveAndWarSong 5 of 12 in my Unknown covers project.Thanks for watching!
Broken (Matt Lloyd Mostyn cover) Oliver Hagen 2021-05-06 | Song 4 of 12 in my lesser-known covers project.Matt Lloyd Mostyn on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/4QXJYqrgvKYY2gRVZtwD9a?si=2x_B4K2wTEySPagOKK3W6g(Message to Matt: if you don't want this song online for whatever reason, let me know and I'll take it down. Great song, by the way.)This is probably the least-known song in this project, as the only extant recording of it that I know of is from when it's writer, a classmate of mine, performed it at a college music event. He's got a couple other songs that I know of, and I personally think that they're really good. I attempted to give this one a 'studio treatment', and hopefully have succeeded without burying any aspect of the original. Hence, I haven't changed the style of the song from the original particularly, apart from extending the instrumental break after the second chorus.In the process of recording, I experimented with doubling all of the harmony vocals to create a bigger and more choir-like sound. I tried to create more dynamic contrast by omitting the duplicate parts from the first section of the song, introducing them once the instruments had kicked in a little more. I also recorded actual piano audio instead of MIDI, initially because of some cable issues. I'm glad I did- I usually record the piano quickly and in sections, as ideas for parts come to me. Stitching these together and correcting the many errors caused by unfamiliarity with parts I'd just made up was only really possible using MIDI instruments, so this limitation forced me to practice the part, which also helped me refine it beyond the 'this'll do' stage.I'm reasonably happy with the main vocal part, too- after having my recording efforts thwarted for about a week by hay fever and mucous, my voice randomly felt a bit better one day, so I recorded five takes of the lead part and comped together the least phlegm-y bits of each.
Oh Hell (Jack Conte cover) Oliver Hagen 2021-03-28 | Song 3 of 12 in my lesser-known covers project.This song is originally by Jack Conte, one half of the amazing Pomplamoose, and co-founder of Patreon (If this channel ever takes off, I might use it myself). Before all of that, he wrote and performed this song- it's one of his earliest uploads. Despite the video being crude in comparison to his normally highly-produced output, the song and the delivery are raw and brilliant, and I find myself coming back to listen to the song several times in a row usually once every few months- there are few others like it. Like many others, I've hoped for a studio version at some point. As one doesn't seem to exist, I decided to give it a go myself.Musically, this started as an 'in the style of' adaptation- the plan was to record a version of Oh Hell in the style of Creep (Radiohead). As I can't play the electric guitar, bass or drums (nor do I possess them), I had to adapt this idea- clean guitars gave way to electric piano, and distortion was mostly abandoned, although it is represented by some effects-drenched cello, piano, and flute sounds, and a few ukulele tracks. As I was recording, various little ideas were incorporated: I added some vocal harmonies/countermelodies with new (if basic) lyrics, and changed the chord sequence for the last verse to something that felt MUSE-inspired when I made it up. The main vocal was recorded in a single take, in an attempt to preserve the emotion from the live version, which I have noticed is often lost when the vocal is over-engineered. It took quite a few takes to nail it- you can hear that in my voice at the end of the song. All of the vocal harmonies were built around a guide vocal prior to recording the final main vocal, apart from at the very end, where I partially abandoned the metronome. To obtain the lo-fi sound at the end of the song (and in the second verse chord vocals), I recorded through the microphone of a cheap webcam that I bought several years ago (this also appeared in the aptly-titled Inadvertent Webcam Lo-fi video.). I shifted the key down a little in order to sing the song properly (learned my lesson with Freight Train and On The Aftermath- I should re-record those...), and raised it slightly when editing the video by playing the audio at 101% speed. This sort of change is very minor, but pushes it just far enough out of the regular 12 keys that it gains a wholly different feel, to my ears at least.I started trying to mix smarter starting with this series of covers, as some problems with my mixing on Morning Childhood became apparent after many listens. Instead of making one track louder, I'm making other tracks quieter. I'm EQing sounds less harshly, and trying to develop a deliberate soundstage for the different instruments, instead of just chucking them wherever, or being drastic for effect. Hopefully this is coming across- I'd like to be good at this one day, but I'm completely self-taught at the moment. One thing that makes it a little difficult is that my headphones aren't being properly powered by my computer, so my mixing viewpoint is skewed, and the mixes often come out a little bassy on other headphones. Apparently, buying high-quality headphones forces you down a money-spending wormhole- anyone got any audio interface recommendations?I just looked at the character count for the description box, and I'm closing on 3400. Crikey. I don't know why I've chosen to write this much, but it doesn't much matter, as I doubt it will be read.TL;DR: This song's awesome, I hope my version lives up to it.
Joy Without Pleasure (Daniel Johnston cover) Oliver Hagen 2021-02-28 | It's a bit close to the wire, but here's song 2 of 12 in my lesser-known covers project.This one's by Daniel Johnston, who is one of the more interesting musicians I've been learning about recently. He originally recorded this song straight onto a blank cassette with just piano and vocals, and my intention with it was to do a conventional cover to make it sound more palatable to the average listener.I was initially inspired mostly by The Beatles (And Your Bird Can Sing), and then just added little bits and pieces around the edges, which gradually stretched it away from a completely straight cover, and into some slightly more interesting territory. I quite like how the backing vocals turned out in the second verse, and the piano solo was quite fun to do too.I hope you like it as much as I do!
Get Around (The Outs cover) Oliver Hagen 2021-01-31 | More info + where to listen: penguinatron.github.io/GetAround.htmlSong 1 of 12 in my lesser-known covers project.I hope you like it!
2021 Project: covering obscure songs. Oliver Hagen 2021-01-27 | Exactly what the video says.The music in this video is an unfinished demo by me, because just text on its own would be super boring.
A Last Word Oliver Hagen 2020-12-31 | More info + where to listen: penguinatron.github.io/LastWordOn2020.htmlAWFUL YEAR.Hopefully, this next one's better. Keep well, everyone.An original song by Oliver HagenGuitar by Stanley Hagen
Mini Christmas concert, 24/12/2020 Oliver Hagen 2020-12-25 | 00:00 Round Are Way - Oasis (warmup)02:02 Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis07:23 Run - Snow Patrol13:30 Talking To The Moon - Bruno Mars17:30 Merry Christmas Everybody - SladeHave a nice day, everyone.
Webcam Microphone Inadvertent Lo-Fi Oliver Hagen 2020-11-16 | Exactly what it says on the tin.Not sure why I did this, but it was fun, and I think it sounds nice.Looks like the 'In Quarantine' playlist is getting an unforeseen extension. It should really be called in lockdown, but I named it the wrong thing at the start, and I can't be bothered to change it now. Let's try to keep this new lockdown short. STAY HOME PLEASE.
Dont Look Back In Anger @ SixFest 2019 Oliver Hagen 2020-10-05 | The amazing album What's The Story, Morning Glory? turned 25 years old ago a few days ago. I've only known about it for a little over a year, but it's influenced my music making and listening quite a bit. Great album, great band.This is me performing Don't Look Back in Anger at a concert that took place about a year ago at my sixth form college. I'd only learnt the piano for it recently, so it's a little basic in some places. It was a fun performance.Source 1: Audio from my phone, located in the audience.Source 2: My Dad's phone recording.Source 3: College's official recording.
Connections/Distribution Oliver Hagen 2020-09-05 | Just a little bit of information. Here's my Spotify page, which will shortly feature Morning Childhood:open.spotify.com/artist/0pYNutl7B6F2DJKTtC8yZp?si=H1CpxjHLS--Y32IiT4ZAwQSee you all in the future.
Incoming Oliver Hagen 2020-09-01 | The fourth song from my first album, Morning Childhood.This song was written after and about the global Extinction Rebellion protests of 2019. I joined the protest myself, and had a super interesting time. Whenever I experience new and interesting things, I tend to put them into songs. With this one, I tried to capture the atmosphere which I felt in the people around me, as we all chanted slogans, marched to music, and hung out, chatting and laughing as people united by a common goal. I'm introverted by nature, usually knackered at the end of a long conversation with a single stranger, but the day at the protest left me energised and excited, and hopeful for a future where we can take this argument forwards with the people in charge.This song features guitar playing by Matthew Hilling, as well as a bunch of samples of speeches from the weeklong XR protest in London in 2019, all taken from YouTube. I don't intend to infringe any copyright, but if I do, do let me know. The chant at the end of the song was recorded by myself at the same 2019 protest.
Borrowed Man Oliver Hagen 2020-09-01 | The fifth song from my first album, Morning Childhood.Born from a slight identity crisis that I had a few years ago. Not much else to say in terms of lyrical inspiration.Musically, it borrows from The Kinks and NGHFB, and features kazoos, too. Of course. There's also me playing ukulele, with *some* degree of success. It was quite a laborious process, because I just don't have very much skill at the instrument yet. It's double-tracked, and panned a little into each ear. Then a third take is lowered by an octave and inserted a way back in the mix, to try and round out the bottom of the sound. I think the end result is pretty good, considering who's playing.
Hello World! Oliver Hagen 2020-09-01 | The first song from my first album, Morning Childhood.This song is about shouting into the void. The internet is a very big place, and people upload more of their creations every day. So much effort is put into stuff which is instantly buried, and so many people who have the passion and the talent to capture our imaginations and spirits are never seen. They are never forgotten, because they're never found in the first place. Weird to think about, great to write a song about.Musically, this song is mostly inspired by the sound of Oasis, Nirvana, and other heavy-sounding rock bands. It's not my usual territory for writing, but I love listening to it so much that I had to try it. I think it comes over quite well. There's a bit of ELO-style vocal harmony in the bridge, because I'm always a sucker for that stuff- nothing beats a load of harmonies on top of each other. The second half of the song features two guitar solos overlaid on top of each other, both played by my very talented brother, Stanley Hagen. The entire sound is brought together by some mixing done by Maisie Richards of the Sixth Form College, Farnborough. I did some more afterwards, so if any of it sounds weird, that's a bit that I did.
I Hope I Can Finish My Calculations Oliver Hagen 2020-09-01 | The third song from my first album, Morning Childhood.This one's fairly straightforward; I completely lost track of time during quarantine, and then on day 100 (I counted them, for fun) I realised that I'd done nothing constructive. So I had a little bit of a panic, and then wrote this song. Then I started recording all of them, which was fun.It was originally intended to be a pop punk type song, but I don't have the means to record in that style, so it became this. If I get the chance in the future, I might re-record it as it was originally intended.
