Libertyville students release album to benefit charity

The final project of the Libertyville High School music production class is being called an album, but it wasn't created on vinyl.

“I wasn't sure what to call it since it's all digital and each track is by a different person,” said music teacher Matthew Karnstedt.

The unnamed offering is a compilation of various interests and skills rather than a themed work. This class assignment won't be climbing the charts, but at $5, it's affordable, with all proceeds going to a good cause.

“As requests for services continue increasing because of the ongoing pandemic, we are honored that the (school) district and students are including us in such a creative and unique way to serve their community,” said Damaris Lorta, chief development officer of A Safe Place, a Zion-based organization focused on victims of domestic violence.

Karnstedt has taught music at LHS for seven years. This semester, he expanded the horizon of the music production class.

“This is the first time I tried to do an album as a whole-class project,” he said. “I hope in a few years, the kids will have the sound cloud link and can listen.”

The final for each student was to create a song using digital techniques. There are no vocals on any of the 13 tracks.

Each track needed to have a drum, an audio loop and an instrument plucked from the electronic universe of MIDI data, as well as a song structure to include introduction, verse and chorus.

Other than that, it was pretty wide open, Karnstedt said.

Influences including folk, rock and hip-hop and other genres are represented.

“I would say every track is interesting,” he added. “There's a lot of stuff I think is really well done.”

The class was broken into groups to determine how the songs should be distributed and promoted, how much to charge and where the proceeds would go. It's available at the District 128 web store.

“Obviously, I'd like as many people to donate as possible,” Karnstedt. “The more important thing is it's something the kids totally created. It's pretty much all them.”

Lorta said the school support helps A Safe Place continue to serve in multiple locations, including Libertyville.

It also “provides an opportunity to educate youth on domestic violence, bringing us one step closer to eliminating it once and for all,” she added.

Karnstedt said he'll continue to develop the concept.