I had a chance to interview Ivo Ivanov, sound designer and founder of Glitchmachines.

Can you tell us a bit: who’s Ivo Ivanov?

I’m the founder and Audio Director of Glitchmachines. I’m also a professional sound designer and I work with various audio companies like SoundMorph, K-Devices, Ableton, Signal Space, Soundsnap and many others. Aside from audio and electronic music production, one of my lifelong hobbies is video games. I’ve been an avid gamer since around 1982 and my favorite genres are side-scrolling platformers, JRPGs and scifi or action adventure games. Most importantly, I’m a family man and when I’m not working, I enjoy every moment of time spent with my wife and two young kids.

How did you got involved in electronic music production and sound designing?

I got interested in electronic music as a young child, after hearing otherworldly sounds that were coming from our family’s Atari 2600 and Vectrex video game systems, as well as the electro and new wave music of the 1980s. Having had some classical training on the piano, this eventually inspired me to learn more about synthesizers and I finally put together my first basic recording setup in the late 80s. This resulted in an increasing interest in audio engineering, and I eventually put together my first proper home studio around 1992. All in all, audio and music have been a very significant part of my life ever since I was a young kid.

You seem to be an expert on glitch genre and sound effects as well. What made you interested in this specific genre?

I’ve always been interested in the more academic aspects of music and sound, so abstract, experimental and forward-thinking music has always interested me greatly. Even as a child, I would re-structure basic musical scales into more complicated articulations to make them more interesting to myself while practicing piano. Once I started writing electronic music, I struggled to find comfort within the confines of pre-established genres. That’s honestly one of the main reasons why I haven’t yet released a proper album in 20+ years of making electronic music. Even with glitch music and its various sub-genres, I find that there are a lot of frustrating limitations. Just because something sounds glitchy, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily that interesting. It comes down to substance: i.e. what would be left if you took out all the fancy effects and drum breaks? That being said, I enjoy a lot of musical genres, perhaps too many to list here. As a musician and especially as an engineer, I think it’s foolish to limit yourself.

What kind of studio gear do you have in your studio (hardware/software) and what’s your absolute favorite piece of gear (hardware or software) and why?

Ironically, about a year and a half ago, I got rid of all of my modular synth hardware. For me, it’s a sort of cleanse – and it’s a highly effective one because I’m getting more work done than ever! To make what could be a very long answer as short and concise as possible; I found that gear lust was one of my biggest obstacles when it came to making progress. Not only that, but the sum of money I have spent on modules (and gear in general) over the years is truly staggering. I want to do other things in life besides buying more modules. Anyway, to answer your question, my favorite piece of gear in my studio is my Genelec 8040 monitors. The reason for this is that I know and trust these monitors thoroughly, and I am always confident when I work with them. Together with my Mac, high-end audio interface, portable recorder, mics and all my software, I basically have everything I need. For software, my favorite DAW is Ableton Live (though I use Reaper when working on video game projects) and my all time favorite synth platform is Reaktor, which I have been using since it was called Generator in the 90s. Aside from Reaktor, I regularly use plugins from Valhalla DSP, 2C Audio, Sonic Charge, Twisted Tools, SoundMorph, Inear Display and Madrona Labs, to name a few.

You have produced a huge amount of sounds and sound packs and they sound sonically very diverse. Where do you get all those ideas for your sounds?

I keep an ongoing list of ideas. This helps me a lot because ideas tend to come at the most awkward times. As such, I’ve trained myself to email the idea to myself, and I later integrate it into a master spreadsheet which I constantly populate with new material. I’ve got hundreds of ideas there currently. The big challenge is that only half of them are attainable at this point, as many of them would require staggering budgets or security clearances to achieve. For example, I would love to record various types of animals or mechanical things like complex machines in a factory.

Do you ever run out of ideas for your music and sounds and if you do, what do you usually do to find your creativity again?

I don’t really ever run out of ideas, but I do run out of energy and enthusiasm. When that happens, I try to take a mental break and recharge. Sleeping really helps, so I’ve forced myself to go to bed at a more reasonable time than in the past. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of lacking inspiration, and for that, I usually take my family outdoors for the day or do something uplifting that has nothing to do with audio. Generally speaking, I think people don’t do this enough – rather, they sit in their chair day in day out, hoping for inspiration to magically strike. Most of the time that doesn’t work. It’s just not how our brains function. Taking a break (mentally and physically) is the best thing you can do.

When you start to create a new sound or set of sounds, where do you begin? What’s the very first step you take?

The very first step I take is writing out a couple of paragraphs, where I essentially discuss the project with myself. It’s a sort of solo brainstorming session. This helps me put all of my ideas and concepts on paper, so I can see everything in front of me. Everything from what software I will use to which locations I would field record, to what the different subcategories will be, to the nuances of the theme etc. This process helps me streamline my perspective and workflow in a way that is customized for each individual project. From there, I usually spend a few days (or weeks) prototyping. The reason for this is that even if you have some great ideas, sometimes they just play out differently than you expected. So the prototyping helps me figure out what will and will not work. I also don’t like to include any first attempts in an actual shipped project so, in that way, I essentially give myself a chance to do some dress rehearsals before I really begin.

How much do you use synthesis in sound designing? Do you have any favorite synths?

It definitely depends on the project but I would assess that synthesis plays some part in almost all of my designs since its core elements are so intertwined with the process (speaking of things like modulation, for example). Of course some projects are a lot more synth-heavy than others, and in that case, I will use synthesis quite a lot. In the past, I would try to incorporate some hardware into this process, but I find nowadays that I have more than enough software to meet my needs. Once again, I would say that Reaktor is my favorite since it’s so much more than just one synth. Before I eliminated modular hardware from my workflow, my favorite Eurorack modular synth gear came from Make Noise, The Harvestman, Mutable Instruments and Intellijel. As far as software synths go, I’m really into the Madrona Labs stuff at the moment.

What do you think will be the next popular sub-genre in electronic music?

It’s kind of impossible to predict. I don’t really stay too much on top of what’s popular anymore because that’s usually the first thing to become outdated once it gets chewed up and spit out by the mainstream. I do keep myself informed, for the sake of perspective, but that’s the only real interaction I have with what’s going on in the world of popular music. I actually find it somewhat humorous that all of these convoluted new sub-genre names keep popping up (not just in electronic music but in general). It’s comical because it’s a contradiction if you think about it. It’s like trying to strictly define something in an effort to say that it is unique, yet inadvertently confining it to the limitations imposed by the predefined parameters of the genre. Maybe it all stems from lingering ideals established by former record industry business models. I hope we can move past it in the future, for the sake of creative evolution. I would like to believe that we can someday move beyond the notion of “genres”, but it would be a slow and complicated process and probably won’t happen anytime soon.

Any tips for new (and why not more seasoned!) sound designers or electronic music producers? Any “rules of thumb”?

Don’t focus so much on the next piece of gear, or how many comments you’ll get on Soundcloud. Rather, embrace the process and learn everything you can about the craft. There will always be someone better than you so make it your mission to stay down to earth and try to understand that there is always something new to be learned, even from someone less experienced. Spend money on important gear like excellent reference monitors and audio interfaces, even when fun purchases like synths and noise boxes are more enticing. More importantly, learn how to communicate. I can’t tell you how many people can’t even follow standard email etiquette. It’s important to understand that you’ll have a hard time finding good opportunities if you don’t know how to conduct yourself when the moment finally comes. Know the difference between addressing your buddies and speaking to someone in a professional context. Always be on time and do your best work. Follow through, be clear and direct, and set realistic goals and deadlines. Don’t focus on what you think you’re ultimately capable of – rather, focus on what you are actually capable of today. Help others even when there’s nothing in it for you. Most of all, be humble, kind and generous and treat people with respect.

Any future plans for your music, sound packs or plugins in glitchmachines.com?

I’m currently working on a full-length album (to be released under my own name, (label TBA), which I’m very proud of because it’s the first time I’m going to be releasing an album in the 20+ years that I’ve been writing electronic music. This album features fully realized concepts that I’ve been working on for well over a decade, and I’m very excited to share it with everyone in the Fall of 2016. I’m also working on the follow-up to Biomorph, which is a new sci-fi Glitchmachines sound pack to be released in Fall of 2016. We are working on some updates to the existing range of Glitchmachines plugins, with Quadrant getting a 1.1 update very soon. This one features a lot of new stuff including a bunch of new modules. We’re also working on a follow-up to our super popular free plugin, Fracture. Fracture 2 will be available early in the fall for only $10.

Where can we listen to your music and sound design work?

Stay tuned to my Twitter profile about news regarding my upcoming album and sound design projects. You can check out most of my recent projects at my personal website: www.ivanovsound.com

The post An Interview With Ivo Ivanov appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

In this time and age, sound designing and sound designers play very important role in music production – especially in EDM. These people bring inspiration to other producers and their sounds may also become a trademark for a whole genre.

One of the sound designers amongst many is Shane Robbins from Echo Sound Works and I had an opportunity to interview him:

Hello Shane! First things first: can you tell us a little about where are you from and how did you got interested in electronic music production and sound designing?

I’m from Oregon, but my adopted home town is Denver. I really love that city. I moved out to LA about a year ago and that’s my new home bass.

I got started with electronic music produciton kind of later in life. I started playing guitar when I was in grade school. I had to pick an elective and it was either Band, Theater or Spanish. I chose Band and started playing the electric guitar. It wasn’t until I got my first Mac computer in high school that I got into electronic music production and music production in general.

My interest in sound design began when my Mom bought a Korg Triton in 2002. She played in a Church band and I had so much fun tweaking sounds and trying to make my own. I had no idea what I was doing but it was fun! Fast forward a few years and I was obsessed with the ES2 in Logic 7.

About your studio: what’s your main DAW of choice and why’s that?

I am a Logic guy through and through. I have been using it since version 7. When I started out, I didn’t have a lot of money for preamps and third party gear, and back in the day Pro Tools wasn’t an open ended system like it is now. You had to buy a certain preamp and had to buy TDM plugins which were always more expensive than the native ones so I went with Logic.

What about the rest of your studio: what kind of monitoring system are you using? Any other hardware that is your “go-to” equipment?

I’m pretty simple with my set up. I have a UA Apollo Quad, three preamps and an 1176 compressor. I have one “high end” preamp, the Presonus ADL 600 which sounds great on vocals. I swear by Warm Audio’s Tonebeast. That’s a great preamp. I have two of those and would never sell them.

For monitoring I use some JBL monitors and some KRK Rokits and really well treated room.

What’s your favorite effect and/or synth plugin? And why?

That’s such a tough question. I’m so excited to live in a time period where there are so many options for synthesizers and plugins. I could probably narrow down my favorite synths to three.

Massive
Spire
ANA

And as far as effect plugins go, way too many to mention!

You seem to know the features and functions of many popular synth plugins inside out. Where have you learned all this stuff? And where have you learned sound designing in the first place?

I’m self taught in the sound design field. It all began because when I bought Logic 7 I quickly realized the sounds weren’t what I expected them to be. Back then in 2004 you pretty much had to use a hardware synth for commercial results. Massive and Sylenth didn’t even exist yet!

So I really learned how to use the ES2 in Logic. I spent hours learning that synth and reading the manual over and over. After a while it started to make sense. The third party synth game didn’t start to catch on until 2005-2006 and I purchased Massive as soon as it came out.

There’s really only so many types of synthesis. Once you learn those, subtractive, wavetable, FM and Additive, using multiple synths becomes easier.

When you start designing a new sound, do you already “hear it in your head” or do you just start noodling the knobs and experiment and see what you can come up with?

I don’t like to recreate sounds so I seldom have an idea in my head to reference before I start. As a producer, I don’t like to use sounds that are already famous and that has carried over into my sound design. I might think I need a lead that has modulated vibrato that doesn’t sound like a supersaw and then go from there for example.

I just did this Tropical House soundset for Massive and I wanted to make a Pan flute sound. That was definitely noodling. A lot of noodling.

In your opinion, is there any synthesis basics or fundamentals one should learn before being able to create new and interesting sounds?

I would say that it’s important to understand that a good sound will still sound good without a bunch of bells and whistles. I like to think of software synthesizers as real instruments. If you have a bad sounding guitar no amount of reverb or distortion will make that guitar sound good. I also think taking risks is important. I feel like a lot of sound designers try to make what’s already popular in a given genre instead of being the catalyst for pushing that genre in new directions.

Do you ever use any of those commercial, synth preset collections made by other sound designers in your own music?

Yes! It might sound weird but I do. As a producer I love Nexus for being able to instantly create. A lot of times I end up replacing the sound with a custom one but it’s still part of the process. If I have an artist in the room with me, I can’t spend 30 minutes making a sound. I use other’s as well. There are some really talented sound designers out there right now.

What’s your favorite sub-genre in electronic music scene?

I really like Indie Dance, Glitch, Future House and Tropical House right now.

What’s your opinion: what is going to be the next popular sub-genre in electronic music that will go main stream?

I think Indie Dance will start to get popular in 2015.

Any tips for new sound designers?

Just practice, play and tweak a lot!

Where can we hear your music and sound design work?

You can check out my sounds at www.echosoundworks.com

and my productions at www.monarrkmusic.com

Many thanks for your interview, Shane!

The post Interview: Shane Robbins From Echo Sound Works appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

I had an opportunity to interview Mr. Bill, a talented electronic music producer who recently released the third season of his innovative “The Art of Mr. Bill” tutorial video series, and is considered to be one of the foremost experts on Ableton Live production.

Each season in this series is split into ten videos, each an hour in length, that take watchers from the absolute beginnings of the making of a track to the final product, covering a variety of tricks and techniques along the way. This unique approach to teaching offers something most tutorials fail to capture: a glimpse into the complex reasoning and context behind every decision a producer makes.

Mr. Bill’s educational ventures have seen support from ill.gates and Tom Cosm, who are the two biggest names in Ableton Live education, as well as West Coast bass producer Vespers, and his music has been supported by artists like Plaid and Minnesota. He is extremely knowledgeable about music production and teaching others, and makes for a great interview on either topic. He also just relocated halfway around the world from Sydney to Denver, and this video series is his first release from the new studio he built.

Here’s the interview:

First of all, could you tell us, who’s actually the Person behind Mr. Bill and where are you from?

I’m originally from Sydney, Australia, but then I lived in Melbourne, Australia for a bit, but recently moved to Denver, Colorado… I’m essentially just a dude that likes to make technical, weird music

How long have you been making music and how did you got involved into producing in the first place?

I’ve been making music since I was about 5 or so, but that was just silly little things I’d play on a keyboard or something, I started taking it more seriously when I was about 13 or 14 and my mum bought me a guitar and I decided to learn it properly, after that I went and studied drums for a while, then I did a bachelor in audio engineering at SAE Sydney after being introduced to the idea of electronic music production by a friend of mine.

Any specific bands/artists who has inspired you?

Electronically, people like Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert, Venetian Snares, etc. Bandwise, things like Tool, Veil Of Maya, All Shall Perish(any of the real technical metal bands really), Animals As Leaders etc… And of course… Metallica.

What kind is your studio setup (hardware/sofware)?

It’s mostly software, I do most things inside the box using Ableton Live, then rather than having nice hardware I preference toward nice peripherals, like gaming mice and keyboards and really nice monitoring

What’s your favorite hardware/software instrument/effect plugin(s)? And why?

Probably Zebra 2 if you weighed up every aspect of every plug-in and how much I use things. Well, I mean Ableton Live is obviously up there… But as for plug-ins, yeah I’d say Zebra 2, it’s just so versatile, and sounds so nice and I’ve gotten so much use out of it over the years.

You’re working with Ableton Live, right? Why’s that? What got you into Live?

That is correct. Well originally I was using Garage Band, and FL Studio and things like that, but not really getting good results, then my friend introduced me to Ableton Live and showed me the basics, and the rest is history really. I guess I just clicked with that program the most, then started naturally learning more and more about it over time.

What’s your opinion on FL Studio?

Personally, I can’t really use it, but if Circuit Bent, The Mollusk, Goosebumpz, Savant, Freddy Todd, etc can do what they do in FL Studio then, it must be at least “good enough”, right? Personally, from seeing Circuit Bent use it a lot I think it *looks* really pretty xD Also, the inbuilt granuliser in it sounds nuts.

How much time per day do you spent on producing music?

If you weighed it out over an entire year, maybe an hour a day, some days I don’t write at all, some days I write for 12 hours, it depends really how I’m feeling. I try to do at least a few *solid* sessions a week though, and by solid session, I mean like a good 3 or 4 hour session.

What’s your opinion on producers using synth presets to make music rather than designing their own sounds?

If that’s what you wanna’ do, and it makes you happy, then go for it I guess, but personally, I don’t really see the gain in it. I like the feeling of achievement from writing music, and the idea of exploring your own path and discovering and creating new things. I don’t think using
presets completely nullifys that experience, but it makes it weaker for me personally.

I’ve also heard you’re creating awesome tutorials as well. How did you got inspired to start sharing your knowledge to new/other producers?

Well, my friend introduced me to Tom Cosm’s tutorials, and it helped me a lot back in the day, so I figured (after doing an audio engineering degree), why not spread some of the knowledge I acquired whilst doing that with budding producers and help them the same way Tom helped me Worst case scenario, I get a few nasty YouTube comments and some producers learn some stuff and start pumping better music into the scene. Win Win ^_^

What’s your opinion on “Loudness War”: do you prefer louder-than-others-but-crushed, or more dynamic stuff?

Again, it’s a preference thing obviously. I honestly like both, depending on the genre. However, if I ever do crush something to the point of it being stupidly loud and distorted, it’s almost never to compete with the volumes of other music, it’s purely because that style generally *needs* to sound that way, and I’ll do it for that reason. But generally, if I’m listening to music all day for pleasure, I’ll listen to something a bit more dynamic, like chill. Ryanosaurus’s new album has amazing dynamics, I enjoyed listening to the way he mixed/mastered that

How does the modern EDM sound (i.e music made by AVICII, Garrix, Guetta, Deadmau5, etc) in your opinion?

Well, I don’t like AVICII, Garrix or Guetta, but I love Deadmau5 & Skrillex, so I guess it’s a pick and choose sort’ve thing. I honestly feel like what Deadmau5 & Skrillex do is so vastly different from AVICII, Garrix & Guetta, I don’t really feel like they’re on the same page (for me anyway).

What’s your opinion: what’s the next popular sub-genre in electronic music that will go mainstream and reach the masses?

Well, it seems to be garage or this future thing at the moment. I feel like the rise of artists like Flume has taken the direction of EDM in a more chill direction, which I’m stoked about honestly!

If you could name only one tip for beginners in electronic music production, what would that be?

Watch tutorials on YouTube, it’ll save you a shitload of time!

Any future plans on your music or tutorials?

Write more albums. Make more tutorials Nothing really to say here I guess. I’ll obviously always be doing this, I can’t really say for sure how it’ll sound, or what the tutorials will be, but yeah, I’m definitely going to be doing this for a while I think.

Where can we check out your music and tutorials?

For tutorials, go to www.mrbillstunes.com. For all my music, go to my Bandcamp page. However, if you just want to keep up to date with what I’m doing, follow me on Facebook (I seem to update that the most often) or Twitter if you just wanna hear my silly quick thoughts every now and then or Instagram if you wanna see the silly shit I’m doing on a daily basis or Snapchat if you wanna send me silly pictures/videos – mrbillstunes

Many thanks for the interview, Mr. Bill!

The post Mr. Bill Interview! appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

Alright, here’s the final part of Satoshi Tomiie’s How To Write Dance Music music production tutorials series.

In this final part, Japan’s most successful DJ explains how he uses vocals in EDM music tracks, and how he builds his arrangements. He also talks about the tools and software that he uses for his productions.

(Remember to check the earlier parts of this tutorial series)

Some of your most famous tracks had vocals, but you’ve also released a lot of instrumental club music. When should a producer use vocals?

Satoshi Tomiie: For any dance music producer, working with a vocalist is “next level shit”. There are many ways to work with vocals. When I work with a vocalist, I tend to provide the basic rhythm and melody of a song so they have something to build on. However, it’s important not to overdo the production beforehand, so as to leave enough space for the songwriter to come up with ideas.

In EDM genre, the songwriter and the vocalists are one and the same person most of the time. My 2001 track ‘Love In Traffic’ was written by the vocalist Kelli Ali and myself, and after I had built the basic track, I sent it to her, and she came up with the idea for the song and the vocals. Then we worked together to finish it.

At the beginning, I give vocalists a basic direction, but leave them with a lot of room to add their ideas. And then only after we have agreed on the main idea and have recorded the vocals, will I go in and add chords, melodies, harmonies and extra beats. Sometimes I will re-compose a track after a vocal has been done, almost like a remix, because I get inspired.

There would be no point finishing the instrumental part of a track before the vocals, as then the vocalist would have little chance of coming up with an idea that you had not already imagined. Having said that, there have been times when I’ve created an instrumental track and I’ve felt the missing ingredient was a vocal, so these rules are flexible. You can also use vocal samples (get some quality ones here) if you need to spice your tracks and no have a talented vocalist near you.

When do you start arranging a track?

Satoshi Tomiie: After making a satisfactory groove, I move on to the arrangement. Right now I use Ableton Live to arrange my songs, and then at the end, I will move on to Pro Tools to mix down.

Before you move onto arranging a track, how many bars is your master loop generally?

Satoshi Tomiie: My loop structure tends to change for each track. I mostly use eight-bar loops, but sometimes I will write a hook that’s three bars or six bars long. It depends on the track really.

Why do you use Ableton Live for arranging?

Satoshi Tomiie: Ableton Live is super easy to do arrangements and it’s actually pretty fun because it takes no effort to make one part longer or shorter. To just an idea and a feeling for a track down, it is very easy.

When do you start layering in effects?

Satoshi Tomiie: At this point, I don’t tend to go too crazy for general effects but there will be some tracks that must have an effect, as it’s integral to the track’s progression. I try to get the right compressor for tracks, and the right EQ for everything, and then when I get to a point where I’m happy with the arrangement, I will bounce every track separately to audio. I recommend you to use Fabfilter Pro-Q 2

Do you use compressor and EQ on everything?

Satoshi Tomiie: Yes. Most of the tracks have their own EQ and compression. Having the right compression and EQ will make your track sound well mixed and create better separation between the tracks.

That’s a really important note to make – dance music is generally loud, and it doesn’t have a need for that much dynamic range, compared to say, classical music. You need to use compression and EQ on everything to make it loud.

Over the years all recorded music has been getting louder and louder and louder. Back in the day, CDs were actually a lot quieter. Now everything is super loud. It’s like a competition. One way to achieve that desired loudness is to use compression in the right way. I recommend you to use Dynameter to control your mix loudness, you will love it.

Treated sound sounds better when you make small differences to every track. A small difference times by 30 tracks, can mean a big overall change.

After arranging in Ableton, you move onto Pro Tools. Why is that?

Satoshi Tomiie: The mixing on Ableton Live is still not the best, and I’ve used Pro Tools for so many years so I’m really used to its software plugins. Pro Tools was developed initially as an imitation of a recording console, and it’s controlled by a physical controller, so I’m really familiar and comfortable with all of its concepts. The Pro Tools console is like a real studio.

What other controllers do you use in the studio?

Satoshi Tomiie: Controller wise, I use the Avid / Euphonix MC Control, which controls all of the applications on my Mac. I like my control room to be like an airplane cockpit, with lots of gadgets!

I also use a virtual controller on the iPad for Pro Tools and Ableton, which I use as a sub-controller. The app is called V-Control for Pro Tools, and TouchAble for Ableton. Using these apps feels a bit more like you’re playing live, kind of like DJing.

How do you finish a track?

Satoshi Tomiie: Sometimes occasionally, rarely, I might not be happy with a kick. So right at the end, after everything has been arranged, I might look for a replacement.

Finally, when I get a playable version I will start road-testing the track in clubs, to get the balance and the EQ levels right. I’m fortunate to be able to road test my new music in clubs every weekend.

What comes next?

Satoshi Tomiie:  When I’m really happy with a track, then I’ll bounce it down and make a production master. My production master is not a maximized output, as you have to leave some headroom for the mastering engineer to do their work.

It doesn’t make sense to give the mastering guy a maximized copy. The first thing he would do, is “un-maximise” it, as there’s not much that he could do with that. But a clean “un-maximised” track with the right levels is what they need. Usually, I give them a track which doesn’t need too much EQ and has just the right amount of compression and level adjustment, so they can just tweak it here and there. Then finally, the track is mastered and finished!

Well, I think we’ve covered most of the basics in this series. Thanks Satoshi for sharing your tips and insights into how to make electronic music!

Satoshi Tomiie: Great! I hope beginners of electronic music find this series interesting and useful. It has been fun to reflect on how I work.

—

That’s it, everyone! Thanks to Satoshi Tomiie for sharing his thoughts on electronic music production and Terry Church for providing me this interview! Remember to check out the earlier parts of this tutorial series.

The post How To Make Electronic Music Part 4: Vocals And Arrangement appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

New York house hero Satoshi Tomiie continues his dance music production tutorial series, with another insightful and educational lesson. This time the boss of SAW Recordings, who has produced electronic music since the late 1980’s, covers drum loops, percussion, and melody.

Part 1 and Part 2 of Satoshi Tomiie tutorial series covered kick drums and bass.

Why do you always start writing your tracks with a kick drum and a bassline?

Satoshi Tomiie: I get inspiration from a bassline and a good kick. I can’t just come up with hooks like a singer/songwriter. I usually start my tracks there and then see how it goes.

Maybe it’s because I’m a DJ, but that’s how I produced from day one.

So what comes next?

Satoshi Tomiie:  Now comes the fun part! Actually, all of it is fun for me, but this is the part when your track really comes together.

After I’m happy with my bass and kick drums, next comes the other drum elements. Usually, that will be some kind of hi-hat, clap, and snare. I don’t go too crazy programming the drums at this stage as I think it’s important to leave some room to play later on.

Once I’ve got a basic drum arrangement looping, that’s when I’ll begin to add in percussion hits, and sometimes, percussion patterns.

By working this way, the idea is to try and build a basic groove with the drums and bass first, and then start slowly building your track up on top. If you have a good foundation with the bass and kick drums, building a track up is usually fun and it will flow well. If you don’t have the right basic foundation, you will have a problem building up a track, and you’ll have to go back and rebuild the foundation again from scratch.

What do you do after you have a basic drum, percussion and bass loop going?

Satoshi Tomiie:  After the drums, bass and percussion come the keyboard parts and synths. It’s difficult to give advice about hooks or melodies as not all dance tracks have hooks or melodies and a lot of tracks today are more like drum tools – effective without being musical.

The hook is also probably the most difficult part of a track to write, but if you want melody in your dance track, it’s best to start programming it early on, around the same time that you’re building the kick drums and bass. Otherwise later you will find that there isn’t enough room for it to do its work.

Also, sometimes you just don’t need a melody. Dance music is designed to move people, and often you can be just as effective on a dancefloor by using really tight beats and a killer bassline. Sometimes a hook sounds too much.

What sort of synths do you use to write the melody?

Satoshi Tomiie:  When I write melodies, I tend to use a different synth sound every time as I don’t like to repeat what I’ve done before. Inspiration can be limited for me if I use the same synths over and over. Some producers like to have their synths set up like a band – they always use the same synths and settings for every song – but unfortunately, I can’t work like that. If I could, I could probably write my tracks 20 times faster!

I use the same kind of synths that I mentioned in my bass tutorial. I also sometimes use samples, like for instance piano samples – I’ve got some awesome ones of an actual electric piano. I also have a real Fender Rhodes electric piano but it’s quite bulky and takes up a lot of space in my studio so I don’t use it that often.

A lot of dance music producers aren’t classically trained musicians, but most will know that keys are important. What can you tell us about them?

Satoshi Tomiie: In terms of keys, I like using flats as I think they sound better for dance music than sharps. My favorite keys are ones like C Minor, F Minor, G Minor, and B Flat Minor.

A lot of people have asked me in the past about tuning – how to tune your drums to a key, and I always tell them that it isn’t that crucial. If you strike a metal object, generally it doesn’t have a melodic pitch, at least not so much of a melodic pitch as to be recognizably melodic. Percussion, for the most part, has a pitch that is so unclear that you can get away with it on any key.

Of course, you have to use your ears – if something sounds like a key clash, you might have to pitch it up or down to make it fit better into the main key of a track. Sometimes the ambient noise of a drum loop will have a pitch, so that’s when you might have to pitch your drum loop up or down to make it fit better.

Also, sometimes it’s actually good to have something out of key too, like for instance, if you want to draw attention to a particular percussion hit.

That’s it. Remember to check out the earlier parts of this tutorial series and look out for the final part!

The post How To Make Electronic Music Part 3: Drum Loops, Percussion and Melody appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

Last week I posted part 1 of Satoshi Tomiie’s dance music production tutorial series and it focused on the kick. Here’s part 2 and in this part, the veteran house music producer discusses that most crucial element of club music: The Bass

Here it is…

Let’s talk about the bass…

Satoshi Tomiie: The Bass is probably the most important part of a dance music track. Bass is a really important part of a song in general. It is fundamental along with the rhythm.

Since electronic music is played in an environment where the bass is emphasized and music is played very loud, you generally hear bass with your whole body. Without a good kick drum or a killer bassline, your experience in a club would be much less enjoyable.

Since we listen to electronic music so loudly, it’s important that bass is placed in exactly the right way.

What are the rules?

Satoshi Tomiie: Bass should always try to work in tandem with the drums and percussion, as the rhythm section is the foundation of a track.

For the relationship to work between bass and drums, it has to work in drum patterns. In the past, bass worked sometimes with the melody section of a song, but in recent times as bass sequencing has become more advanced it has become more used as a tool for working a dancefloor.

So bass should talk to your drums. It’s kind of like a harmony, not between notes, but it terms of timing and placement. Sonically as well, the bass has to fit with the drums and percussion, and sound treatment, such as EQ and compression, is important here.

How do you create the perfect bassline?

Satoshi Tomiie: There are so many ways to work with bass. I prefer to play my bass by hand. Some use a computer and a mouse to place bass notes on a sequencing grid. Others use arpeggiators. It’s really the choice of the producer.

How do you play bass “by hand”?

Satoshi Tomiie: I use my fingers and a keyboard. Once I’ve picked my kick drum for a track and I’m happy with it (see Satoshi’s guide to creating the perfect kick drum) I play around with the sound and pattern of my bass on a keyboard.

It’s all about finding the right place for the bass. Its relationship to the kick drum is very important as they occupy the same frequency range and if you’re not careful they can cancel each other out.

Sometimes the bassline can be the hook of the song, sometimes it’s really the support act. I don’t plan the process of my productions, I just go with the flow and sometimes basslines become melodic, and sometimes they are just sub notes.

You can also use multiple basslines to work together, but that’s not easy as you need to find the right balance. One tip – try marrying a mid range bass to a sub bass. That can work nicely.

When bass and kick drums play together you have to ensure that they don’t sonically cancel each other out, so you have to really play with the phases of the bass – where it peaks, where it dips, so it doesn’t ruin the kick drum. Ultimately though, you have to judge with your ears.

What do you mean by the bass and the kick drum can “cancel each other out”?

Satoshi Tomiie: If you play a kick drum or a bassline by themselves, they sound fine. But sometimes when you play them together, you lose some of the basses due to a weird phasing effect.

Back in the days of vinyl, a record could actually sometimes skip due to the producer using stereo bass (for vinyl cutting purposes, it’s better if the bass is in mono). The needles just couldn’t handle the phasing.

Interestingly, if you have perfectly out of phase bass, then you hear no bass at all. Sometimes you come across the occasional DJ booth where they have miswired the monitors and no matter how loud you turn it up you get no bass. That’s why I always go to soundcheck.

If you have a subwoofer in the studio, you might want to play around with the phasing switch at the back of the sub, as sometimes your sub bass actually takes the bass out of your studio due to the same reason.

Let’s talk gear. What equipment or software would you recommend for creating monstrous bass?

Satoshi Tomiie: Over the years I’ve used a lot of gear. Keyboards wise, first there was the Roland MKS-70 aka the Super JX, which is the rackmount version of the JX-10.

I also still have a Roland JX-8P at my parents’ house which was one of my first ever synthesizers. Back in the early days of house Marshall Jefferson used that one a lot. His signature bass and pad sound actually came from the JX-8P.

I was so excited to find this machine because by the time I had even begun making music this synth was already discontinued.

For my track ‘Tears’, that I made with Frankie Knuckles in 1989, I used the MKS-70. I still have the patch for that track at home.

I have to mention the Roland SH-101 too. I’ve got a Roland Juno-60 which I have used for a long time. The Roland Jupiter 8 is amazing but it’s massive – here is a good software emulation by Arturia: Jup-8V available at Plugin Boutique.

I like my set up to be like an airplane cockpit, so I can reach everything without moving too much, so the Roland SH-101 is perfect.

For bass, I like to have knobs and sliders to tweak a sound. The SH-101 is really fun to play with. Here is one of the best virtual emulation for the SH-101: LuSH-101 by D16 Group, so go ahead and try it if you are looking to have all the original sounds in a more comfortable (and affordable) software version.

These are the main machines that I’ve used over my career.

I always wanted a MiniMoog but I could never afford it so I only ever got to use one when I hired a studio. Eventually, I bought a MiniMoog Voyager which combines the classic MiniMoog sound with the convenience of MIDI. I love it, it’s so phat!

So much of your music was made on hardware. What do you think of all the software that producers use today?

Satoshi Tomiie: Let me tell you a story. Finnish producer Sasse, who runs the respected Mood Music label in Berlin, is known for his love of hardware, analog gear, and synths. But when I met him he says that even though he owns all of that stuff, he still tends to use the digital emulators when he writes music, plugins like the LuSH-101 mentioned above.

He will only use the real, physical synths if he feels that the digital version isn’t as good. Very occasionally soft synths do not sound as good as the real thing, but a lot of the time, they do.

It’s nice to have everything analog in your studio, but I remember the days of total recall and it was a pain in the ass. Mixing out of the box is not as bad as it used to be.

What soft synths are you fond of?

Satoshi Tomiie: Arturia’s plug-ins are good for bass. Native Instruments’ FM8 is also good for bass, and at the moment that seems to be a ‘trendy bass’.

When choosing soft synths, I think it’s important to choose ones that are emulators of a real bass synthesizer. Arturia’s stuff is all software versions of real instruments. Buy Arturia’s Virtual Instruments.

I’m trying to go down the software emulator route. They’re not exactly the same as the hardware versions, but they’re good enough.

The fact is, physical synths are fun and awesome but they are quite annoying to use sometimes as you can’t recall sounds that you were working on previously and have to start all over again. But that’s what happens when you use circuits and wires to create electronic sounds.

Does EQ play an important role in a bass?

Satoshi Tomiie: I try to create bass that sounds good enough without any EQ effects so that I don’t have to go crazy later on with EQ.

Try to make your bass sound as good as possible without EQ. Sometimes bass can actually be too bassy, so a lot of the time I will use EQ to take away some bottom end if necessary.

My way of using EQ with bass is not to change the sound, but more to polish it. Sometimes you can’t tweak bass but you can add a little more bottom end or mid end. I only tweak the EQ when it is needed.

You said earlier that bass and kick drums have to work in tandem so as to not cancel each other out. Should bass be EQ’d above or below a kick drum?

Satoshi Tomiie: A good tip is to peak the bass EQ and move it around the frequency range to find the sweet spot. Use your ears to find where it is most potent.

Also bass usually moves around the frequency range, whilst a kick generally stays at the same frequency.

You have to listen to both, therefore, and tweak the EQ of both to avoid clashes. Sometimes I have to replace my kick drum as I find it doesn’t work with my bassline anymore.

One other thing – you can sample bass, but it is much better to control it with a synthesizer as EQ can only change so much. It’s about building the right sound from scratch rather than mashing an already existing sample into a hole it won’t fit.

Why is compression important for bass?

Satoshi Tomiie: You need some experience with a compressor before you use one as it’s not the easiest thing to play with. It depends on the sound of a track, but generally bass improves with compression.

Sometimes after you’ve built a bassline in a track, one section will sound louder and one section will sound quieter. Compressors fix that problem – they equalize the level so it fits better into the song.

Again you have to use your ears and must know what you’re doing. There is no universal rule for compressing bass. You have to discover when to use it.

I pretty much compress everything. Sometimes light, sometimes heavy, it depends on the sound. Some stuff doesn’t need compression at all. The universal rule in the studio is to experiment and find your own way of using compressors.

What compressors do you use?

Satoshi Tomiie: Actually my favorite just changed recently. My favorite is 6030 Ultimate Compressor, made my McDSP. This basically emulates a classic compressor, it sounds amazing and is very easy to use. It’s also not very heavy on the processor so you can use a lot.

When choosing the right bass sound, there are often sound wave options, such as SAW or Square waves. Which one is best for club music?

Satoshi Tomiie: Any sound wave works well for house music bass. SAW waves or square waves are the basic ones. Oscillators in modern synths can actually change anything into anything so it doesn’t matter too much which one you begin with.

Finally, how do you create a bassline that you can feel?

Satoshi Tomiie: In clubs, you feel sub bass. You can’t hear it though, but you can hear the highest frequency of a sub bass sometimes, which is the melodic part.

If you listen to a sub bass unit by itself, it’s just a muffled sound, you don’t really hear anything. Together with the music, however, you can feel the bass.

Here’s an interesting fact about MP3s. In order to reduce file size most of the time MP3s actually remove frequencies below 10HZ and over 20KHZ. So MP3s lose their super sub bass and super highs. Human ears don’t just listen to what comes out of the speakers, they also hear things that you don’t consciously hear.

It’s like the same with dog whistles. Those high frequencies over 20K you can’t hear but they still affect you. MP3s get rid of those super high and super low elements to reduce file size, and that alters the sound. If I could, I would only play uncompressed files.

That’s it. Watch out for part 3: How To Make Drum Loops

The post How To Make EDM Music Part 2: “The Bass” appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.

I have given exclusive rights to publish Satoshi Tomiie‘s first part tutorial series on how to make EDM music. In this part 1, we’ll focus on the kick drum. This basic stuff and the guidelines will apply to almost any electronic dance music genre, but still very useful and interesting read from this Japanese house music pioneer.

Here it is…

Meticulous house producer Satoshi Tomiie is well known for his attention to detail. Ever since his magnificent debut single ‘Tears’, the 1989 house classic that he produced with the ‘Godfather of House’ Frankie Knuckles, Satoshi Tomiie’s name has been synonymous with carefully crafted house goodness.

In this exclusive series of interviews, the New York City producer, DJ, and label owner will share some studio tips, thought processes, and production tricks that he has acquired during a music career that stretches over 20 years.

Here in part one, Satoshi starts with that most basic element of electronic dance music: the kick drum.

Where do you begin, when writing a new track?

Satoshi Tomiie: I always start with the kick drums. It’s about finding the right sound firstly, and then changing that sound and tweaking it continuously, whilst you produce the music for the track.

The kick drum is the foundation of dance music, so this is the part that I spend the most amount of time on.

That’s quite surprising, that you always start with the kick drum.

Satoshi Tomiie: I don’t have a formula for writing music, but basically, the kick and bass is the bottom foundation of a dance track and it always has been.

Back in the day, the kick originated from a drum machine, like the Roland TR-909 or 808 and slowly it moved into the sampler. The technology has changed, but really it’s still about the kick.

Is there really that much difference between one kick and the next?

Satoshi Tomiie: Actually, the tone of a kick drum changes quite significantly according to the vibe of a song. For example, if you take the kick from a rocky alternative track, and swap it with the kick from a techno track, the vibe of both songs will change completely. The aim is to find the appropriate kick drum for the song.

How many kick drum samples do you have?

Satoshi Tomiie: I’ve collected countless samples of kick drums over the years. I try to not use the same kick drum more than once.

Why not?

Satoshi Tomiie: If you use the same kick drum, the inspiration that you get from it can be limited. I’m always looking for new kicks. In fact, you could say my whole career has been about searching for the perfect kick drum.

Where do you get them from?

Satoshi Tomiie: Sometimes I sample a kick from a record or a sample CD. Sometimes I’ll mix two kick drums together to create a new one, but that gets tricky as two different kick drums on top of each other can actually make the whole kick sound smaller as they cancel each other out.

Satoshi Tomiie: It’s called phasing. The same thing happens if you wire a pair of stereo speakers backward. It basically cancels out the bottom end. So when you layer kicks you have to tweak the phases on one kick drum so you feel both simultaneously.

So you’ve got your kick drum sorted, what’s next?

Satoshi Tomiie: Well as I mentioned earlier, I continually tweak the kick whilst writing a track. Sometimes I will switch a kick half way through writing a track, or even when I’ve finished a track if I feel it’s not quite appropriate. I always go back and forth between the lower foundation of a track and the mid-range musical part, as well as the high-end hi-hats. It’s a balance really.

My tracks usually develop pretty organically. I will get the idea for how the track will go, as I write it. That could be a lead or a bassline, or the lyrics – it all happens when I write it.

Like sometimes I will set out wanting to write a deep house track, but the writing process will end up leading me to something else.

Why is that?

Satoshi Tomiie: Some producers can easily adjust the style of music they want to do – you always hear of producers who just copy what’s currently hot. I can’t. My music just happens. Also, some people change their engineer when they want to change sounds, but because I do everything myself I can’t do that.

So your music happens quite naturally. Where does it lead after the kick drum?

Satoshi Tomiie: After the kick, I put a beat together by adding snares and hi-hats to build a loop. This is the easiest part for me.

It’s about finding the right sounds to go with the kick and the right breaks too.

How long are your loops generally?

Satoshi Tomiie: I tend to stick to a four bar or eight bar loop first, and then I will make the arrangement later. You’ve got to prepare your ingredients before you can cook, and to me, arranging a track is the cooking part.

That’s it for now. Watch out for part 2 where Satoshi shares his thoughts on bass.

The post How To Make EDM Music Part 1: The Kick Drum appeared first on How To Make Electronic Music.