I like plaid. I like Plaid. Both the textile pattern and the British electronic music duo have been aesthetic favorites of mine for many, many years. It should come as no surprise, then, that I've been heavily listening to the newly-released Plaid album - "Reachy Prints" - this week and absorbing their unique approach to synthesis, rhythm, and melody.

These guys know what they're doing, and have a way of executing precision flips and twirls with their electronic instrumentation that ensures you they're beaming sounds from a distant future in outer space, all the while keeping a solid beat and a fascinating harmonic progression. This is where I come in, daring to venture into similar territory with this week's song.

The bit-crushed drums kick off from the Maschine Studio, and the bass from Kairatune consumes the low end. Clean hi-hats and claps appear from the Maschine's fantastic drum synth engines before we get to the main event: Reaktor's Prism instrument running through a number of comb filter/delay effects provided by The Finger. The layers build, and the dark, brooding, melodic elements form into something I will likely never be able to put into words. Hopefully this concoction of sounds speaks to you in ways that I can't express here.

Key equipment/software used for production:

- Novation V-Station synth plug-in
- Psychic Modulation Phonec synth plug-in
- Futucraft Kairatune synth plug-in
- Native Instruments Prism Reaktor instrument
- Native Instruments The Finger Reaktor effect
- Native Instruments Maschine Studio
- ValhallaDSP ValhallaRoom effect plug-in

Key: F# minor
BPM: 106
Time Signature: 4/4

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Tags: dreamstep, electronic, week 21 2014, View by:Matthew Flook