Music Production/Writing/Works In Progress Advice Hole

[sycamore]

picture of the book + boyish double-tracked vocals + rural psychedelia = this is really really good

tickling my Hood + 90s Bristol brain area, very much so

the dissolve into layers of scribbly guitar towards the end was especially nice, as were the backing vocals

[sycamore]

@sycamore

it’s hard to say, really!

song-centric, with vocals, but shaped/structured and surrounded by/suffused with lots of different ‘experimental’ (vague umbrella term for lots of pretty specific ideas) sound design & etc

my main instruments are electric / acoustic guitar + violin (which I am looking into also being able to amplify, so as to process, loop, etc) + synths, drum machines, and all manner of field recs and other unusual sound sources (I’m going to get a contact mic, for one, and I’m interested in no-input mixer + pedal stuff)

lots of loop-based ideas, fragmenting and manipulating sound sources and instrumentation, ‘noise’ elements. concepts and sounds themselves being every bit as significant as emotions/words in providing the impetus for a songs’ creation

I think once I’ve set myself up with the right capacity for creating these elements, it’ll be a lot easier on my very ADHD brain, but narrowing it down to specific gear is the current challenge. almost there, I think

(this sounds like so much directionless waffle, oh god)

thinking more about it rn

I think I could narrow it down a bit by saying I want to be able to play samples like you’d play e.g. a snare drum, or a piano, in the sense that I want to be able to improvise with retriggering on the fly in a way that has fluid tempo and dynamics?

I was looking at the Digitakt II and saw that you could set a sample to each of the 16 instrument buttons and set it so each one played it at a different ‘retrig rate’? so you can e.g. play Squarepusher-esque rolls with any kind of sample, adjust a parameter on the sample whilst you do this (e.g. adjust the level of some reverb or distortion, adjust the ADSR)

[sycamore]

wondering how Tim Hecker made those albums where the sounds speed up and slow down, you know the ones

[parm]

If you want to trigger samples live and fuck around with them, a Digitakt isn’t what you want - it’s designed for sample-based sequencing primarily - you can do a lot of sound design and fucking around with the sounds in the sequencer, and also fuck around with them while the sequence is playing. But it’s not designed so you can just trigger the samples entirely live and easily mess with them as you do - the workflow isn’t designed for that.

You might look at say the Roland SP-404 or the new MPC Sample, which I think are more focused on live playback, but I don’t know how much fucking about with sound you can do with them.

[sycamore]

I’m thinking of it from a ‘studio’ (bedroom) perspective rather than live. the p-lock and trig stuff seems really very conducive to composing weird stuff

I have been looking for something to act as a looper, but again, as a composition tool

[parm]

By “live”, I mean that you want to trigger the samples on the fly, rather than as part of a sequence. The Digitakt does not have a workflow that supports live triggering with performance controls - it’s all sequenced. P-locks and trigs are inherently part of the sequencer.

It’s not a looper, either, and it won’t work as one.

[andyvine]

yeah i was going to say an SP404 sounds more like what youre looking for rather than a digitakt. speaking as someone who has played with neither but watched loads of videos of people playing with both. the digitakt is more like a DAW without being a laptop, the SP404 is more hiphop in approach i think

[manches]

I think i know which ones you mean but if you send examples I may have insights

[sycamore]

Konoyo/Anoyo

think he might have used some software called ‘ppooll’. looks complicated, but interesting + also apparently Drumm and Fennesz have used it

[robert02]

@HolyCannoli

Hello and hi! There are so many talented people on this here message board who are fantastic musicians, or who are mega listeners with great ears and taste. What better place to ask for advice on music you’re making?

If you’ve got something you’re working on and you want a little guidance, this can be your place to ask. How do these lyrics work leading into the chorus? What’s causing this mix to not quite hit like I want? How do I get closer to making this song sound like Genesis’ classic hit Follow You, Follow Me? What can I do to make this arrangement work how I want it to? There are no bad questions, there are no bad vibes.

This should be a safe space for people to post things they’re trying to rough out. There’s no formula for asking questions, and there’s no formula for giving answers - we’re a respectful bunch and I wouldn’t anticipate anyone just jumping in and going ‘The problem with your mix is that it’s crap’! Let’s all help each other break down some walls.

Love this initiative! Creating a safe space for “rough drafts” is exactly what the community needs to grow. Can’t wait to see what everyone is cooking up and help break down those creative walls!