As work often does, it’s taken me away from posting on my blog, but we’re back from the commercial break folks, so down to business.

Working on that four track EP is a lot harder than I first though. It’s not just about coming up with four “tunes” and shoving them out there, but coming up with four technically, musically, and emotionally potent works that have some degree of continuity with eachother. Although I’ve not wanted to really box myself in, maybe it’s time to start looking at “themes”. Releases based upon social, idealogical, fictional, or even personal pretenses seems to be a sensible route. At least it directs my workflow and sound, something that, with my rather scattershot approach to things, could be quit helpful.

“Scattershot” is a term that seems quite adequate for the way I work, diving in to things haphazardly and then hoping for a positive, or at least minimally-detrimental result. This is mostly a self-imposed choice. I loathe organization with a passion, as it feels so unnatural, constricting, tedious, monotonous.  It’s absolutely unnecessary, at least for me and creativity to get along, that things be free, and open to change and personal interpretation.

That’s all for now folks.

Cheers,

-SC

Been two or three weeks since the last post, so yes, I’m still here. School’s started and all that jazz, so I’ve got to get running on this EP, stop editing and whittling away and screwing around and just get some ideas out. Let the critics tear it apart later. I’ve developed a nice bag of tricks to pull from now, so I think I can finally just sit down and whip some things up. Intros are definitely the toughest part of any song, but the more you put into them, the better chance you have of making the rest of the song great (chuckle). So I’m here, I’m alive, and I’m “in the kitchen”.

Cheers,

-SC

Funny how the creative process works, isn’t it? One moment I think I’m creating a Jesper Kyd-esque, perfect soundtrack piece for a game, the next it’s warped itself into a techy, dark n’ twisted drum and bass track. The key with  this sort of music is to roll with the ideas, not try and fight against them with all your might (which I was a bad habit I had before).

Well, we’ll see see where it leads!

Cheers,

-SC

Well, my Senior year is about to start, and already I’m feeling that wonderful “application blues”. Let’s face it straight up, applying to college is (to say the least), a pain in the ass. Not only does it seem like each college has its own special application form that they prefer, but the sheer amount of paperwork, information gathering, and essay writing involved is enough to make your head explode. So here are some useful things I’ve found that can help (in no particular order):

1.) Start doing “rough drafts” your applications during the summer break between Junior & Senior year. It’ll make things a lot less stressful, and you’ll at least be familiar with the forms by the time you actually fill them out. Basically, just print off a copy for the app-form of each school you’re applying to and fill it in.

2.) Download, don’t mail. If you’re reading this blog, it means you have an internet connection (obviously), so use it! Most colleges now offer their forms in downloadable PDF format, which means if you screw one copy up, you can just print off another.

3.) Take your time! For pete’s sake, there’s nothing college admissions officers hate more than crappy, poorly done, rush-job answers. Believe me people, presentation counts. Use your best handwriting, and spell-check!

4.) Be honest, be reasonable. Try adjusting the wording of your essay answers and activities/job descriptions so they shine, but don’t go exaggerating or even worse, lying about achievements. Even if there’s a 99% probability that you’re going to be class valedictorian, don’t count it in until all your eggs are in the basket (botched cliche, I know).

5.) Don’t pressure yourself. Unless you really want to give your sanity a run for its money, don’t sweat the applications. Just stay calm, take it easy, and you’ll do a much better job.

Alright that’s it for now. More tips as I think of them.

Cheers,

-C

With so many names in DnB nowadays, I’ve found it’s really easy to ignore some of the best, most inventive, and solid talents there are out there in preference for more big-namers (no offense Spor, Noisia, Evol Intent). It’s not that the producer getting the most limelight don’t deserve their spot, but there are other producers out there who really do deserve more publicity. This is just my little dedication to some of those producers.

GRIDLOK - Gridlok has always been touted as an underrated producer, and unfortunately it’s true. Just as it seems he’s about to make the leap to the DnB big time, the poor guy seems to get stampeded by releases from other, bigger acts. Gridlok was my introduction into DnB, his sound is just so unique, so refreshing, right down to the sounds he uses for his bass. There are times where I can’t believe that stellar works of his such as the Tricks EP (Violence) are passed over in favor for some of the pure crap that is spewed out in force by the mainstream. His recent “Break the System” LP may have finally given the guy the break he deserves, and his inclusion on Dieselboy’s latest effort,Substance D means that one of the guys I’ve always respected so much may finally get his share of the pie. Even so, I promise you this, when I go live, I promise to always include at least one Gridlok tune in my sets.

ENDUSER-Another guy who I can’t believe has been passed up, Enduser seems to be making a bigger impact in the IDM/breakcore genre, but his drum and bass packs an incredible wallop and can regularly rival the best efforts of Tech Itch or Evol Intent. The thing about Enduser is that when he makes a track, he seems to not just be interested in dance-fodder, but in the actual musicality of the piece as well. He always adds this great element of contrast to a track, and his buildups are truly things of beauty.

RESONANT EVIL- He’s remixed Evol Intent tracks, been a member of the Renegade Hardware camp for almost five years, and yet no one really pays any mind to this chap it would seem. His work is always hard, dark, consistent, and interesting to listen to. Thing with Resonant Evil is that he really sticks to his guns. He knows what he likes, and he damn well does it well.

DJ HIDDEN - DJ Hidden is one of those producers who would seem almost impossible to ignore, but somehow has been. His sound is amazing, dark, intense, rich textures, and drum programming that would make even the most seasoned glitch fanatics go pale. He’s right up there with the top togs in my opinion, and unlike most other producers, Hidden doesn’t just dabble in other genres of electronic, but takes them and truly bends them to his own, twisted, devious, delightful will. His debut LP, “The Later After” really deserves to be up there with works like Evol Intent’s “Era of Diversion”.

SPL: Oregon-based SPL was getting some attention for a while, but seems to be getting the short end of the stick now, which is a shame because the guy’s got a cleanliness in his production that really just shouldn’t be ignored. His sound is just so futuristic, so very sci-fi, it seems like he would be turning the head of every major DJ out there at the moment. But the fact that he was left off of Dieselboy’s Substance D (his latest double-disc mix) which is pretty much going to dictate who the big players will be in DnB for the next four or so years, means that SPL is going to be staying in the background for a while unless he really does something nutty.

B-SOUL: Last one for now. Here’s a guy whose work as of late, really does give Mark Caro (Tech Itch) and his buddies a run for their money. Soul has all the production down, but seems to be hitting it a little harder than are boys Tech Itch or Limewax as of late. The only thing is, it’s so damn hard to find any of his work for purchase.

So for those I haven’t blathered to it about, I’m working at my father’s oil and gas company over the summer (mainly as a lease analyst). It’s a good job, pays well, and my pop is a real swell guy (patient, knowledgeable, helpful, and understanding, no joking here!). I really enjoy the work being quite honest, it challenges my brain and is very…well…fun actually.

I’ve been piecing together a lease schedule over the past two or so weeks, and I turned it in yesterday, and it looked just perfect.

Well, obviously I didn’t check hard enough. In my rush to get some last-minute info in, I screwed up some of the data, and I put text in places where it shouldn’t be on an Excel Spreadsheet.

So needless to say, I’e just handed myself another good two to four hours worth of work. I’ve made up my mind though, and I’m not going to charge my father for it (not going to enter the hours on my time sheet). It really is some basic, knucklehead stuff that my father went over with me at the beginning of all this, and so I need to be more careful! I know he suspects that I’ve been listening to my I-pod at work (which I haven’t, not while the lease schedule needs to get done anyways), and unfortunately I think I’m only confirming his suspicions by the rather lousy presentation job I did. I know that the data is dead solid. I picked through each lease carefully and with great tenacity, but in my vigor to put in the data in a hurry, I forgot to keep things clean and organized so it’s actually an usable Excel worksheet. Worst of all, I misspelled “interest” a truckload of times. Not very good Corpheus, not good at all.

On the other side, I hit another, really solid-sounding idea just yesterday around lunch. I’m going to toy with it and see what I can do with it. The idea’s rather glitch-hop oriented, and the BPM right now is about 100, which is good. I’ll see what happens if I slow it down to 90, then I can insert some DnB samples in double time, and alternate styles within the piece, which is always good fun in a musical context. I’ve noticed that the more I experiment, the more my musical style becomes unique and more apparent. I’ve started looking at things as influences that a month ago, I wouldn’t have touched. Rolling Stones, Public Enemy, even Thelonius Monk. It’s nice to see myself mature, and that’s why I set the “date” (more like an estimated period) for my “first” release out so far. I now feel a lot more comfortable with my sound, and now it’s all about just putting down as many ideas as I can, weeding out the bad ones, and growing the good ones to their full potential.

I’m also starting to look at buying hardware again. I think that Novation X- Station I mentioned in the other post is a good place to start. It’s supposedly got a beefy sound, and it’s a MIDI controller (which I direly need as I really just cannot fit my s90 into my bedroom) all for under 500 smackers.

Cheers,

-SC

Lets face it, there’s a conflict going on in the electronic music scene, a moral conflict of erm…well…not necessarily epic proportions, but it’s pretty big nonetheless.

What is this battle you ask?

It is argument whether or not actual hardware synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines are better than their virtual counterparts.

It been a source of contention between producers for a few years now, and I figured it was time for me to put my two cents in on the debate.

Now obviously there are somethings that modern software can’t replace. I have yet to hear a decent, virtual guitar, and woodwinds and brass seem to always be lacking to some degree (even in those multi-thousand dollar sample libraries). Strings are pretty getting good but still lack a great deal of warmth and well…human characteristic. I tell you here and now, to capture every sound and squeak possible on a violin would take terabytes of storage space, and even then there’s still be something lacking (and it would practically impossible to use).

But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m here to discuss synths, drum machines, and old skool samplers.

Synths:

The thing about most new hardware synths these days is that they’re based off the same wavetable and analog/FM emulation technology as their software counterparts! Truth be told, software might finally be winning the battle here. Older, actual tubes-n’-metal “real” analog synths still have that ever present quality of warmth over their digital-age cousins, but a good producer with a lot of patience, guts, and a good selection of effects can generally recreate that now as well. FM was digital to start with, so that one’s pretty easy, and wavetable synthesis…well…software pretty much owns that right now. Computer synths generally have an advantage in being able to combine more forms of synthesis, more filters and other gizmos, and having a larger selection of waveforms to run on since they use you computer’s far more massice HD (even the tip-top workstations like the Korg Oaysis are worlds away in terms of storage capacity), are easier to transport (duh), and take up a lot less room in the studio (doh again). There;s also a price thing. Hardware synths, whether old or new, generally cost insane amounts of money compared to far more tricked-out, more than capable hardware versions. Example:

Hardware: Prophet 5 (’08) -$2800 (Digital replication of the original)

Software: Native Instruments Pro-53 (Prophet 5 emulator)-$199

Better yet, the classic, a Moog.

Hardware: Moog Minimoog Voyager Performer-$2,985

Software: Arturia Minimoog V-$200

As you can see, for more than ten times less, you get a synth with more presets, more sounds, and with the same general functionality and controls.

Drum Machines: Software wins easily here. Since it dru machines run on (guess what) drum samples, they generally have the same restrictions (if not more so due to storage capacity) as their virtual versions). Price is generally about the same here. A decent drum machine costs $200-$300 bucks, but what the virtual versions are missing are the advanced swing, sampling/editing, filtering, and other features of equally priced software like Native Instrument’s Battery.

Samplers: Here’s the real hot one, and it generally comes out to a dead heat. Hardware samplers (especially the old ones) have an amount of grit, of imperfection that their crystal-clear quality software versions just can’t match. Put simply, they just sound more real, more raw. However Software swings back with the fact that it can tote around massive pre-packaged sample libraries (just take a look at Native Instrument’s Kontakt, 33 gigabytes built right in), can actively run and store as many samples as the RAM will allow. The machines are catching up in the RAM aspect (Akai’s MPC 500 is a great example of this), but comparible hardware versions of the software tanks generally run for about five to eight times as much. Still, a good sofware sampler requires a rather expensive computer to run well, so it can be a draw.

Effects:

Alright, I’ll be frank here. Hardware wins when it comes to FX processing and such. There’s just something that it adds, a characteristic, a warmth to one’s sound. Not to mention that hardware FX tend to actually have a bit more individuality in the sound they “add” to a sample or mix. Still, there’s that expense and portability thing. It’s easy to house thirty virtual compressors, not so easy to house thirty hardware compressors. Also, most music software companies are far more apt give away FX as freebies, no such thing can be said for hardware. But you get what you pay for!

So when it comes down to it, here is the break down.

HARDWARE:

Pros: Warm sound on the old skool stuff and effects/processors that can’t be duplicated. And sometimes it’s just nice to feel some actual knobs and turn and crank things with your actual hands. Using hardware also makes you more of a “purist”. Us virtual/software-intensive guys are still apparently a bunch punks who don’t know their EQ’s from their Jupiter-8 polyphonic synths.

Cons: Hardware has a habit of being horribly, horribly expensive in comparison to a comparable hardware version nowadays. Also, like I said above, you can’t easily fit twenty analog, FM, and wavetable synths into a studio let alone at home. Also, hardware can actually, physically break, and finds itself increasingly outdone by the sheer amount of features and sound that can be packed into a single package. Did I mention all the wiring needed?

Software:

Pros: Software is generally cheaper, can precisely duplicate sounds of their classic counterparts, save room, and generally possess more features and sounds than hardware. Plus there’s free updates (albiet a few hardware options can be found with this feature now, but still, if you want new features or improvements in a hardware synths architecture, it generally means waiting for another big synth to buy and putting ht old one into storage ), freeware (no one, no music company in their right mind gives away a hardware synth unless it’s a promotional sweepstakes offer or something).

Cons: That analog warmth, and the sheer number of overpriced, poorly-made music software programs out there is astounding. And there really, really is something to be said for the magic in creating a killer sound with your hands on actual knobs on a hardware synth rather than just downloading five-billion freeware synths and finally hitting the right preset.

Well that’s all for now. I think you can see that my opinion given here firmly comes out on the software side, but there are a few hardware synths out there I’d be willing to dish out the dough for. The Alesis Andromeda (a brilliant fusion of digital display with actual analog workings, not just chips and circuits), the Access TI Virus (get the desktop, no one’s been really all that able to replicate it’s exact sound yet, albiet Access has released two software versions of the instrument, and there’s a version of Cakewalk’s z3ta+ software synth that I own that does a damn good job of getting close to it), and Novation’s X-Station (a USB/MIDI controller, virtual analog synth, and an audio/MIDI interface in one for just $500 bucks, deal. Heard it’s a little beastie too). As for samplers and drum machines, I’ll stick to software. Effects racks and such? Probably a mix, but I would love to get one or two (or three) of those lovely rackmount towers that holds ten or so single-unit processors. Also would love to take my parent’s old Yamaha Amp with me to college, it’s got such a wonderful, warm sound, and can really crank out the bass (don’t think that’s gonna happen though).

Cheers,

-SC

Let’s face it, John Coltrane was right.

“Bees do it, birds do it (etc, etc)…)

Researching the music you love is probably one of the best if not the best way to learn about the music you want to create. Even little foxes sit, glued to their ‘98 Gateways browsing the internet on how to make a hip-hop track. Now adays, with the internet and all, all the knowledge that was once hidden can easily be yours. Hell, there are entire communities of like-minded musicians online sharing and trading info, tips, samples, synth presets, everything you can imagine.

I’ll be the first to admit that I, in my semi-nOObish state, learned how to make drum and bass, and practically every other form of music out there, from Wikipedia’s DnB article. Search for tutorials and interviews from your favorite artists, as most I’ve found usually drop one or two good really good hints or tricks in them. Magizines such as the UK’s Computer Music or Future Music are usually jam-packed with such information (as well as gear reviews, and usually a DVD with video tutorials and a truckload of free, albiet not necessarily good samples to use in your music). Try and find the studio setups of your heroes as well. Take a look at some of the software/hardware then check it out. Now obviously, you aren’t going to get your hands on an original Juno-6 synth without paying a good quid or two, so for now, let’s just stick to the software stuff, alright?

So before you jump in, make sure you know what the difference between an amen break and a bloody kit kat bar are, or not only are you going to look foolish when you try and distribute your work, but you’ll also encounter far more heartache and headache trying to make a track.

Second of all, one of the great things about making electronic music is that you don’t need a ton of musical expertise to do it and guess what one of the downsides of making electronic music is?

You don’t need a ton of musical expertise to do it. for every Gabriel & Dresden, every Liam Howlett, every Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Evol Intent, Alec Empire out there, there are thousands, millions copycats, posers, and fakers out there. I realise now, at the time I am posting this, that you’re certainly thinking.

“Corpheus, wtf? You haven’t even posted your first release in almost a year yet.”

Alright, fair enough. That’s true. I’ve got nine tracks up on soundclick, and by no means are they good, and by no means does that make me special. So I’ll be honest here, this isn’t just my advice. It’s the wisdom of old pros like Tweakmaster, and thousands of others who have made it. I’m taking as much from them as I am writing myself on this.
So back on topic, pick up a theory book from your local music shop, and start cracking! Learn your notes, scales, time signatures, rhythms etc! I may have not been making electronic music for very long, put I’ve been playing the piano since I was seven years old, and the clarinet too, so I do have some idea how to teach (done that for a year as well now)!

Finally, it’s getting pretty late, so tomorrow, I’m going to compile a list of terms and lingo you should know (organized by genre), and I’ll post it sometime…soon. Two or three days tops.

Hey, it’s gotta look good, right?

‘Till next time my friends,

-C

So, as another part of the new posting bonanza, I’m going to start up a tips section (since I actually know enough to give some half-way decent advice now) on making electronic music and such. These will range from extremely specific advice (good ways to compress your drums when making a Prodigy-style drum track) to more general wisdom (good studio practices) and such.

So let’s begin out Introduction:

PART I/? (I don’t really know yet)…

SO YOU WANT TO MAKE MUSIC:

Alright, so you’ve finally mustered the balls, and you want to start making your own tracks eh? “Easy!,” you think, “I’ll just buy that $2,000 gizmo there, three kabillion of the most expensive whatever that is in the magazine, and I’m good to go, right?”

Erm…not exactly. This was how I approached things the first time around and it nearly killed me. Well alright, it didn’t get that bad, but the “Insane Gear Monster” approach as I’ve dubbed it, is extremely inefficient, will kill your creativity, your will, your sanity, and your wallet. You see, first of all, before you go blasting off just buying kabillions of hardware and software tools, you need to actually figure out a few things first.

ONE: What kind of music am I going to make: The answer for some is easy, but for others, such as myself, who take their influences from a variety of genres and sounds and artists, to so much so. So before you go off buying gear, pick a genre of electronic you really like, and want to get into. Keep in mind that the more complex forms like drum and bass, big beat, breaks, or anything that generally involves a lot of sampling (we’ll get to this later) is going to be a fair bit more intensive than their four on the flour counterparts.

TWO: How much effort am I going to put in: Alright, this is where you have to be honest with yourself. Consider not just your personal drive, but how the rest of your life plays out right now. Obviously, it’s generally a dumb-ass idea to be making a double-disc mixed/unmixed album with collabs and remixes in addition to original tunes while finals are going on at school, or work is getting hectic. Also really, really consider whether you want this to just be a hobby, or if you really want to “go pro”. If it’s just a side-project your looking for to keep yourself busy, then you really shouldn’t lavish on expensive rackmounts, synths, keyboards, samplers, drums, software, etc. If your willing to take the pains, the time (think years my friend), and really, really put your heart, your emotion, every part of your soul into it, then do so. Now I don’t mean you have to always take this endeavor seriously, a light heart, a sense of humor, and patience (especially patience) goes a long way. Just take a look at the Noisia boys.

THREE: What are my goals: Another mistake I made was that I tended to expect too much of myself. The fact is, any electronic music a fifteen year old high-school sophomore makes, especially if it’s his/her first go around, is generally not going to be very good. So set the bar high, but keep it realistic. Don’t expect to make instantaneous, chart-topping house or trance singles, but do, for the love of god, do put some effort in. Please, for my sanity, don’t just line up three notes on a soft-synth, and a basic “boom-chick” beat with crappy samples from some POS freeware knockoff from your grandmother’s ‘95 Dell laptop and call it “the most original, amazing, seeeeeexy, blah blah blah track evrrrrr!”, I will personally hunt you down and gut you like a fish. In fact, the only thing that annoys me (and most people) more than a crappy, under-produced, non-original, over-hyped, genuine 100% crapload is a crappy, under-produced, non-original, over-hyped, genuine 100% crapload with poor grammar. Just don’t do it. I have CIA connections and Jason Bourne is a personal friend of mine.

Alright, now that that rant is over with, back to the main point of this article. If you have answered the three questions, good! Now get ready for the real work to begin, the research…

Yours truly,

-C

For those of you not “in the know”, Counterstrike is a drum and bass production/dj duo based in Capetown, South Africa. To say that their sound is hard, their blend of metal/heavy rock and electronic refreshing, and their output and quality of work prodigious is an understatement.  A Counterstrike track is always something just that little bit special, being just that little bit different, that little bit more cleanly produced, that little bit more aggressive.

So my question with Insubordination Phase I is…

What the?

I’m no stranger to Counterstrike’s pure electronic style, and many of their smasher tracks such as White Light (Evol Intent Recordings), or Gateway (Barcode) have followed this path. But with Insubordination Phase I, Counterstrike takes things to the far extreme, having created tracks that pound your skull in without mercy. Maybe a bit too much to the extreme for my tastes. So here’s the breakdown.

Tracks:

Fear Generation-This is a track that’s probably more dancefloor oriented. It hits hard, and then…doesn’t let up. And that’s the only problem. The repetitiveness. No mood switched, not even a beat change to tell you when thengs are letting up. It’s well produced though and the beats are heavy and addicting. 4/5

Tear You Soul Apart-This one features Donny, another hard-as-rock style producer, who, frankly, I don’t know much about. His tracks tend to be of the “pound your skull to bits” ilk as far as I’ve noticed though. But Counterstrike and Donny hit the nail on the head on this one. Nice solid groove, not too harsh, good build up. It’s a solid effort. 4/5

Room of Mirrors-This is an interesting little piece from the boys from South Africa. The intro grabs your attention immediately, and the build up is right on target. Then Counterstrike pulls a fast one on you. Bet you were ready for another brain-smasher eh? Not so much. This is where Room of Mirrors excels, it keeps things nice and under control. So just when you think all hell is about to break loose, it instead switches to a calculating, razor-sharp drum programming and evil, twisted bass. 5/5

Interface­-Magna Karta has been featured with Counterstrike before. If you look back in the crate all the way to early the Capetown duo’s early works, you’ll see that the chap did a remix of Counterstrike’s Damaged (Core). Interface is probably the weakest track, in my opinion, on the EP. It’s not bad, but it’s just not…that special. Counterstrike is formidable in the quality and consistency of their releases, so as a fan, you come to expect a certain things. Interface just strikes me as rather bland, that’s all. The build-up is nice, but after that, it just seems to rehash itself. Put simply, it seemed like Interface was just a little too easy in creation. But then again, it could be Magna’s style, which is not quite as harsh as Counterstrike’s, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. 3.5/5

So here we have it, Insubordination Phase I. A strong addition to any collection, but more for the hardcore-leaning dancefloors than the average home listener.

CREATIVITY & PRODUCTION: 4/5 (How clean, original, and interesting is it?)

DANCEFLOOR IMPACT: 5/5 (I’d be a fool to think otherwise)

LISTENABILITY: 3.5/5 (How interesting would this be to the average, at-home listener?)

OVERALL: 83/100 (B-)

A good release, but not spectacular.