Dank and dirty. Industrial vibes? Could see this pumping at a big venue!

Dank and dirty. Industrial vibes? Could see this pumping at a big venue!

Dig it.

I'm ready to commit multiple crimes in a neon colored city.

Dig it. I'm ready to commit multiple crimes in a neon colored city.

ahhhh this rules! it SOUNDS like you were having fun (but like, with cool shades on). could def hear this being extended, but it also feels like a complete statement in this form. i'm ready to get SERIOUS about today now 

ahhhh this rules! it SOUNDS like you were having fun (but like, with cool shades on). could def hear this being extended, but it also feels like a complete statement in this form. i'm ready to get SERIOUS about today now <3

Oh man, this track would be greatly improved through a proper system, just to feel the kick in your chest... and yeah, I aiming for like industrial dance meets midtempo... so like if Rez and Julia Bondar did a colab, glad that seems to be where I landed.   

My dastardly plan is all coming together (｀∀´)Ψ

Thanks, I'm glad you like it... and (‘-’*) yeeeeeeaaaah... there was a non-trivial amount of stanky face booty shaking while turning knobs while I was recording this track... ﾍ(￣ー￣)ﾉ

[quote=myfirstpunksong]Dank and dirty. Industrial vibes? Could see this pumping at a big venue![/quote] Oh man, this track would be greatly improved through a proper system, just to feel the kick in your chest... and yeah, I aiming for like industrial dance meets midtempo... so like if Rez and Julia Bondar did a colab, glad that seems to be where I landed. [quote=Beefpounder]Dig it. I'm ready to commit multiple crimes in a neon colored city. [/quote] My dastardly plan is all coming together (｀∀´)Ψ [quote=jwh]ahhhh this rules! it SOUNDS like you were having fun (but like, with cool shades on). could def hear this being extended, but it also feels like a complete statement in this form. i'm ready to get SERIOUS about today now <3[/quote] Thanks, I'm glad you like it... and (‘-’*) yeeeeeeaaaah... there was a non-trivial amount of stanky face booty shaking while turning knobs while I was recording this track... ﾍ(￣ー￣)ﾉ

I too need a cartilaginous layer around my eyes.

That bass is thick! And the kick is meaty and I'm a little jealous of your setup lol. Really sounds great, especially love the bass/lead call-and-response. Did you sequence it all on the deluge?

Also - the fx and transitions and fills here are fantastic. I never seem to get time for more than a snare fill and I am missing out, they really add so much character to this track. Great stuff.

I too need a cartilaginous layer around my eyes. That bass is thick! And the kick is meaty and I'm a little jealous of your setup lol. Really sounds great, especially love the bass/lead call-and-response. Did you sequence it all on the deluge? Also - the fx and transitions and fills here are fantastic. I never seem to get time for more than a snare fill and I am missing out, they really add so much character to this track. Great stuff.

Oh hell yeah, the instruments, atmosphere and tempo are all spot on. Great job!

Oh hell yeah, the instruments, atmosphere and tempo are all spot on. Great job!

Thanks, it is hard to argue with a girth of a Moog powered mono-synth bassline.  And, side-note, if you're looking to develop your own cartilaginous layer around your eyes, I'm pretty sure it's one of the long term effects of prolonged and excessive social media use... so we've all got that to look forward to.

And no, the bass and lead voices are sequenced with a Korg SQ-64, and everything was clocked by Logic (for ease of recording).  This track was actually kind of my excuse to finally RTFM for the SQ-64, and I gotta say I genuinely love it.  Don't get me wrong the Deluge is great for sequencing, and has been my primary sequencer for a couple years now... but it feels more like a compositional tool, where the SQ-64 feels like an exploration tool.  Where the Deluge is very surgical and DAW like, the SQ-64 is like a "happy little accident" generator. And, I was actively trying to avoid super deliberate composition with this track so it was a really great fit for the vibe...

Thanks for the kind words on the transitions, it is a bit time consuming to be sure.  Risers and fills is the last step in the "compositional" phase of my process, before I start finally mix down and mastering.  But I do think it's worth the effort, it really is amazing how much a of a difference a riser, or a well placed "swoosh" can be.  I pretty much always go for pre-canned ones in one way or another to save time though. I got a whole big pack as part of a Humble Bundle at one point (it's called 212 Risers I think... maybe from Producer Loops... not sure)... but for in the box I use Risers & Hits from NI a LOT, because you can set the beat count of how long you want the build to be, so you can literally just draw in a midi note so the middle is exactly on the beat you want the hit and your done.  It used to be a lot fussier with the Deluge to sequence risers, but now that there is a "Transition" type for tracks (in the new Community Firmware) it will automatically launch the track so that the endof the transition track lines up with the next loop (instead of the beginning). So, fills and risers are WAY WAY WAY easier to sequence (once you have the samples setup in kits or whatever). 

[quote=neon liminal]I too need a cartilaginous layer around my eyes. That bass is thick! And the kick is meaty and I'm a little jealous of your setup lol. Really sounds great, especially love the bass/lead call-and-response. Did you sequence it all on the deluge? Also - the fx and transitions and fills here are fantastic. I never seem to get time for more than a snare fill and I am missing out, they really add so much character to this track. Great stuff.[/quote] Thanks, it is hard to argue with a girth of a Moog powered mono-synth bassline. And, side-note, if you're looking to develop your own cartilaginous layer around your eyes, I'm pretty sure it's one of the long term effects of prolonged and excessive social media use... so we've all got that to look forward to. And no, the bass and lead voices are sequenced with a Korg SQ-64, and everything was clocked by Logic (for ease of recording). This track was actually kind of my excuse to finally RTFM for the SQ-64, and I gotta say I genuinely love it. Don't get me wrong the Deluge is great for sequencing, and has been my primary sequencer for a couple years now... but it feels more like a compositional tool, where the SQ-64 feels like an exploration tool. Where the Deluge is very surgical and DAW like, the SQ-64 is like a "happy little accident" generator. And, I was actively trying to avoid super deliberate composition with this track so it was a really great fit for the vibe... Thanks for the kind words on the transitions, it is a bit time consuming to be sure. Risers and fills is the last step in the "compositional" phase of my process, before I start finally mix down and mastering. But I do think it's worth the effort, it really is amazing how much a of a difference a riser, or a well placed "swoosh" can be. I pretty much always go for pre-canned ones in one way or another to save time though. I got a whole big pack as part of a Humble Bundle at one point (it's called 212 Risers I think... maybe from Producer Loops... not sure)... but for in the box I use Risers & Hits from NI a LOT, because you can set the beat count of how long you want the build to be, so you can literally just draw in a midi note so the middle is exactly on the beat you want the hit and your done. It used to be a lot fussier with the Deluge to sequence risers, but now that there is a "Transition" type for tracks (in the new Community Firmware) it will automatically launch the track so that the [b]end[/b]of the transition track lines up with the next loop (instead of the beginning). So, fills and risers are WAY WAY WAY easier to sequence (once you have the samples setup in kits or whatever).

Thanks, 98 BPM, not fast enough to be frantic, not slow enough to be calm... it is my sprit BPM.

[quote=Sodabelly]Oh hell yeah, the instruments, atmosphere and tempo are all spot on. Great job![/quote] Thanks, 98 BPM, not fast enough to be frantic, not slow enough to be calm... it is my sprit BPM.

haha the kick in the chest, that would be sick. Big beats!

[quote=Napear][quote=myfirstpunksong]Dank and dirty. Industrial vibes? Could see this pumping at a big venue![/quote] Oh man, this track would be greatly improved through a proper system, just to feel the kick in your chest... and yeah, I aiming for like industrial dance meets midtempo... so like if Rez and Julia Bondar did a colab, glad that seems to be where I landed. [/quote] haha the kick in the chest, that would be sick. Big beats!

Nasssstty! I loves me some synthwave/cyberpunk music.
This seems like such a minor thing to take note of, but I really like the ambient synth that opens up the track and plays throughout the background. I think it's because I'm often trying to find the right "padding" for my own tracks when I feel like the sonic spectrum is just missing a little bit of something. In this case, it adds a lot of darkness and texture to the track. I'm assuming it's the bit you mentioned in your description as being "Overly complex" and "Random", haha. ANYWAYS! This is a nice and fun four-on-the-floor track with a slick acid bass line

Nasssstty! I loves me some synthwave/cyberpunk music. This seems like such a minor thing to take note of, but I really like the ambient synth that opens up the track and plays throughout the background. I think it's because I'm often trying to find the right "padding" for my own tracks when I feel like the sonic spectrum is just missing a little bit of something. In this case, it adds a lot of darkness and texture to the track. I'm assuming it's the bit you mentioned in your description as being "Overly complex" and "Random", haha. ANYWAYS! This is a nice and fun four-on-the-floor track with a slick acid bass line :)

Ha, yup that's the bit. The texture is like the most complicated modular synth nerd way I could have made what amounts to heavily effected sci-fi wind chimes... After going through the granular processing, to me it sounds like someone did a field recording in a swamp on Cybertron.  It's actually kind of what inspired the whole track, I got that patched up as a generative ambient thing and was like "nope... too creepy, this needs a dirty ass bass on it."

[quote=ViridianLoom]Nasssstty! I loves me some synthwave/cyberpunk music. This seems like such a minor thing to take note of, but I really like the ambient synth that opens up the track and plays throughout the background. I think it's because I'm often trying to find the right "padding" for my own tracks when I feel like the sonic spectrum is just missing a little bit of something. In this case, it adds a lot of darkness and texture to the track. I'm assuming it's the bit you mentioned in your description as being "Overly complex" and "Random", haha. ANYWAYS! This is a nice and fun four-on-the-floor track with a slick acid bass line :)[/quote] Ha, yup that's the bit. The texture is like the most complicated modular synth nerd way I could have made what amounts to heavily effected sci-fi wind chimes... After going through the granular processing, to me it sounds like someone did a field recording in a swamp on Cybertron. It's actually kind of what inspired the whole track, I got that patched up as a generative ambient thing and was like "nope... too creepy, this needs a dirty ass bass on it."

Jeeeez this goes so hard. My vocab for this kind of music is non-existent, but I like how the buzzy synth sounds turn into "wub-wubs" and back to buzzy The "Cybertron swamp" sounds are so cool as well.

Jeeeez this goes so hard. My vocab for this kind of music is non-existent, but I like how the buzzy synth sounds turn into "wub-wubs" and back to buzzy :lol: The "Cybertron swamp" sounds are so cool as well.

Thanks, it was a ton of fun to make, in no small part because of all the sound design tinkering... but I suppose that's how one gets pulled down the eurorack rabbit hole to begin with.  Lol, I'm actually pretty sure that "buzzy" and "wub" are the technical terms for those sounds ｡：ﾟﾟ(´∀｀)･｡. And yeah, that's a filter trick, the bass sound is coming from a Moog Mavis, which has a low pass filter kind of baked into it, and the envelope that's opening up the VCA is also opening up the filter cutoff frequency.  All of that is then going into a multi-effects module (Ghost), which is going compression -> delay -> reverb -> distortion -> comb filter. Because I have the distortion going into a comb filter, if I raise the cutoff of the low pass on the Mavis directly, all the upper harmonics add high end distortion, which then goes nuts in the comb filter giving it all that nasty buzz... but if I clamp down the cutoff on the low pass, then it chokes off all those higher harmonics, so the comb filter doesn't have as much to get all hissy with, and we are firmly in Wub territory.  So I basically have one knob I can turn right for buzz and left for wub, which was one of the primary controls I played while recording. 

[quote=Cursory]Jeeeez this goes so hard. My vocab for this kind of music is non-existent, but I like how the buzzy synth sounds turn into "wub-wubs" and back to buzzy :lol: The "Cybertron swamp" sounds are so cool as well. [/quote] Thanks, it was a ton of fun to make, in no small part because of all the sound design tinkering... but I suppose that's how one gets pulled down the eurorack rabbit hole to begin with. Lol, I'm actually pretty sure that "buzzy" and "wub" [b][u]are[/u][/b] the technical terms for those sounds ｡：ﾟﾟ(´∀｀)･｡. And yeah, that's a filter trick, the bass sound is coming from a Moog Mavis, which has a low pass filter kind of baked into it, and the envelope that's opening up the VCA is also opening up the filter cutoff frequency. All of that is then going into a multi-effects module (Ghost), which is going compression -> delay -> reverb -> distortion -> comb filter. Because I have the distortion going into a comb filter, if I raise the cutoff of the low pass on the Mavis directly, all the upper harmonics add high end distortion, which then goes nuts in the comb filter giving it all that nasty buzz... but if I clamp down the cutoff on the low pass, then it chokes off all those higher harmonics, so the comb filter doesn't have as much to get all hissy with, and we are firmly in Wub territory. So I basically have one knob I can turn right for buzz and left for wub, which was one of the primary controls I played while recording.

That's some good dark techno, with the acid line playing the main role here.  How did you find that changing your workflow affected the way you think about composing tracks?

That's some good dark techno, with the acid line playing the main role here. How did you find that changing your workflow affected the way you think about composing tracks?

Thank you, and that is a really good question... I have a few different pieces of gear, specifically for getting away from my normal keyboard driven recording midi into Logic type workflow... but I don't think I've ever really thought hard about how it actually effects the way I approach making music.

In this case, I think the biggest impact is that I never really thought about melody.  I pretty much always break any given piece into Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm as core writing concepts.  Most of the time (in my normal workflow) I start with melody, because improvising a melody comes very naturally to me.  From there, I typically harmonize, then think about rhythm.  When I'm not working in my normal workflow, I almost always start with rhythm, because programming drums is fun.  Then I will think about harmony, usually via pads or arps, then melody.  In this case I followed that workflow pretty closely... but, I never really "wrote a melody" per se.  One of the things I have found I like to do with the SQ-64 its to go into step record mode, and play in what would be a sensible arp pattern, that outlines the harmony... but then switch to the gate mode, remove all the gates and just start building out a rhythmic pattern that sounds nice... just kind of experimenting with different patterns and using the rotate function to move things around, until I happen across something that gets my head bobbing. And in this track, both the bass and the lead were done in that way... each part has it's own 64 steps of pitch that I used for every section only changing which gates were being played for each.  So really instead of rhythm, harmony, melody... it was like rhythm, harmony, then rhythm again.  And I think most importantly, I wasn't dictating to the instruments what I want from them, then bending them to my will until I got it... I was more suggesting some ideas to play with, then collaborating with them until we found something that sounded good.

Thanks for the question.  It's always good to take some time and understand ones process, what works, what doesn't and most importantly WHY.  So thank you for provoking such useful thoughts. 

[quote=Kedbreak136]That's some good dark techno, with the acid line playing the main role here. How did you find that changing your workflow affected the way you think about composing tracks?[/quote] Thank you, and that is a [u][i]really[/i][/u] good question... I have a few different pieces of gear, specifically for getting away from my normal keyboard driven recording midi into Logic type workflow... but I don't think I've ever really thought hard about [i]how[/i] it actually effects the way I approach making music. In this case, I think the biggest impact is that I never really thought about melody. I pretty much always break any given piece into Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm as core writing concepts. Most of the time (in my normal workflow) I start with melody, because improvising a melody comes very naturally to me. From there, I typically harmonize, then think about rhythm. When I'm not working in my normal workflow, I almost always start with rhythm, because programming drums is fun. Then I will think about harmony, usually via pads or arps, then melody. In this case I followed that workflow pretty closely... but, I never really "wrote a melody" per se. One of the things I have found I like to do with the SQ-64 its to go into step record mode, and play in what would be a sensible arp pattern, that outlines the harmony... but then switch to the gate mode, remove all the gates and just start building out a rhythmic pattern that sounds nice... just kind of experimenting with different patterns and using the rotate function to move things around, until I happen across something that gets my head bobbing. And in this track, both the bass and the lead were done in that way... each part has it's own 64 steps of pitch that I used for every section only changing which gates were being played for each. So really instead of rhythm, harmony, melody... it was like rhythm, harmony, then rhythm again. And I think most importantly, I wasn't dictating to the instruments what I want from them, then bending them to my will until I got it... I was more suggesting some ideas to play with, then collaborating with them until we found something that sounded good. Thanks for the question. It's always good to take some time and understand ones process, what works, what doesn't and [b]most[/b] importantly WHY. So thank you for provoking such useful thoughts.

ooh this is inspiring me to patch up some modular gear love the sound design

ooh this is inspiring me to patch up some modular gear love the sound design

Thanks, and I'm eager to hear what you patch up. 

[quote=mzunguko]ooh this is inspiring me to patch up some modular gear love the sound design[/quote] Thanks, and I'm eager to hear what you patch up.

fun!

[img]https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia2.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2Fl1J9LQzjXulZWQ75e%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=7d8b4f99bf5a3e1176f6fdb6f0874728bc9baa9db352924100f11557e244f04f&ipo=images[/img] fun!

Thanks

[quote=emily] fun![/quote] Thanks [img]https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdjFpZ2Jxbnc4ZG14OXRwY2xmZjhubW8xcjZlcWJsaTh3d2s0d3E0eSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/azBguv0WX3Bqh7VAv4/giphy.gif[/img]

I like the grittiness of the drums and pace of it.  It has an industrial feel to it but the acid line takes it to a new level.  Def need sunglasses and a booty groove whilst twiddling lead lines Outro fx were a sweet touch.

I like the grittiness of the drums and pace of it. It has an industrial feel to it but the acid line takes it to a new level. Def need sunglasses and a booty groove whilst twiddling lead lines :) Outro fx were a sweet touch.

That opening synth tone rips!  Dig the subtle dark vibe to this track.  Kind of brooding.  Nice one.

That opening synth tone rips! Dig the subtle dark vibe to this track. Kind of brooding. Nice one.

Thanks... I do love me some 909 samples... and yeah I need to use modular "weird noises" type things more often, they are just so much fun to patch up. 

I'm glad you liked it.  So much of that tone is just the Ghost module doin Ghost things.  As soon as I found out that Andrew Huang had made a module with Endorphin.es I knew I was going to covet it... now having had one in my rack for about six months, it's become one of the like 4 or 5 modules I use in literally every patch. 

[quote=Tone Matrix]I like the grittiness of the drums and pace of it. It has an industrial feel to it but the acid line takes it to a new level. Def need sunglasses and a booty groove whilst twiddling lead lines :) Outro fx were a sweet touch.[/quote] Thanks... I do love me some 909 samples... and yeah I need to use modular "weird noises" type things more often, they are just so much fun to patch up. [quote=rdomain]That opening synth tone rips! Dig the subtle dark vibe to this track. Kind of brooding. Nice one.[/quote] I'm glad you liked it. So much of that tone is just the Ghost module doin Ghost things. As soon as I found out that Andrew Huang had made a module with Endorphin.es I knew I was going to covet it... now having had one in my rack for about six months, it's become one of the like 4 or 5 modules I use in literally every patch.

Ah ok.  I thought his module was all effects from memory..... Just read your description again; that makes sense.  Moog FTW. 

Ah ok. I thought his module was all effects from memory..... Just read your description again; that makes sense. Moog FTW. :)

Lol, yeah the Mavis should not be ignored... but for all that Moog Ladder Filter goodness to be had... very little is actually being used in that opening gnarlyness... Moog's filter is cranked all the way open, so it's just a wave blended between square and saw (mostly saw) with a little pulse width modulation from a pretty slow LFO, going into the Ghost.  But the Ghost is doin' a ton... synced delay, reverb, distortion, input high pass filtering, output comb filtering, compression, sidechain volume ducking... many things being modulated from various sources... like it's doin all the heavy lifting.   

[quote=rdomain]Ah ok. I thought his module was all effects from memory..... Just read your description again; that makes sense. Moog FTW. :)[/quote] Lol, yeah the Mavis should not be ignored... but for all that Moog Ladder Filter goodness to be had... very little is actually being used in that opening gnarlyness... Moog's filter is cranked all the way open, so it's just a wave blended between square and saw (mostly saw) with a little pulse width modulation from a pretty slow LFO, going into the Ghost. But the Ghost is doin' a ton... synced delay, reverb, distortion, input high pass filtering, output comb filtering, compression, sidechain volume ducking... many things being modulated from various sources... like it's doin all the heavy lifting.

Ahhh, so a heap of processing on it.  Nice!

Ahhh, so a heap of processing on it. Nice!