As a producer I specifically work on producing electronica and edm when working independently, I have been learning the piano for 9 months as well as having experience with guitar. I have been using logic for a year and a half and have some minimal confidence in ableton. Although experienced to some degree, I understand this is just the start of my journey and that I have tremendous amounts to learn.
Things I would like to improve
Team skills collaboration – Although now experienced I have not the most experience in collaboration mainly due to the fact I’ve never studied music for example at gcse or a level until now. This means I definitely feel slightly intimidated and under-developed in regards to adjusting to people’s flow, style of music and overall ways of communicating with one another. So with parts of this course, especially studio sessions, I aim to learn how to adapt and work in these environments with other people, whilst also learning how to express my individuality in that environment as much as possible.
DAWS – I have experience with logic and ableton but really want to expand on my ableton skills and am looking to do so. I have strong interest in programming but have never done it so am specifically excited to learn the audio programming in the first term and learn how to programme synths I have thought about for a long time, furthermore I also look into future with programming as programming instruments to me seems like a job i would thoroughly enjoy. Furthermore as an electronic artist I have heard the importance of the software and the fact it is actually better for the genre I specialise in, this gives me even more incentive to learn the absolute specifics and everything about this software to expand as much as possible, furthermore I have no experience in pro tools so am heavily intrigued to learn the way that functions and furthermore how to record instruments.
Mixing Desk – Having never worked in a professional studio in my whole life I see this courses as a tremendous opportunity to learn as much as I can about ways of mixing, recording and setting up in a more hands on way, excited to learn how to record drum kits, and what compressors you need for specific vocal types.
Lastly I am excited to expand on writing skills and analysis specifically in this blog post module.
RZA – Liquid Swords analysis
RZA produced this specific song through sampling, chopping up the sample then adjusting the audio through a sampler called the E-mu Systems SP-1200. This sampler would be controlled through a midi device operated by rza, the midi on the piano would pitch-shift the closest filled sample slot to match the requested pitch this would give RZA a lot of opportunity for precision having every key on the midi playing a different pitch. The sample was from Ann Peebles who was a 60s/70s Memphis soul singer/ songwriter, this genre of music especially around this time is no stranger to RZA’s music if anything we see it persistently and this is partly to do with multiple reasons one being texture; the texture of the song although sounding harmonic and lush carries a gritty element due to the time in which the song was recorded this crossover with the rap music and the context is perfect, it is emphasizing what they are saying; they are talking about struggle and emotional problems, rza is trying to make it as real possible.
The overall structure of the song is very simple but, it’s minimalistic qualities are what make it so impactful, with a regular 4\4 beat and constant yet cleverly processed hi-hats. Liquid swords starts with a sample from the shogun assassin and it creates a dark, spooky and ominous setting that then fades into a monologue from rza setting the tone then a chorus from both rza and gza. Having both of them sing this especially as this is the first track on the album gives an immediate understanding of what we are listening to and is a perfect opening, this is then followed by an intimate cut throat verse from rza with clever lyrics. For example “I flow like the blood on a murder scene Like a syringe, on some wild out shit to insert a fiend” these lyrics are enhancing this theme of struggle and roughness referencing murder scenes and syringes, things we associate with a run down city.
RZA inspired track process
My experience involved trying to emulate a snare which rza used, through a simple DAW snare. My immediate response was to analyze the eq of the rza snare and navigate the one I was creating to match it, although I knew this would not give an exact replica of the drum it would set me on the right path. From there I started to research rza’s technique on perfecting his drums. He used the ASR sampler which emphasized the rough edges, and furthermore mixed them through filters. However, the more I researched the more I realized how a lot of the time he used the sample as itself with no groundbreaking alteration. This made the mixing task hard for me but fundamentally led to more experimentation, playing around with reverbs trying to emulate the response of the studio it was recorded in, and learning how to keep it as minimal yet effective as possible. Also playing with distortion to give the warm textures and as previously mentioned making it gritty.
When it came to making my own beat, I started with the drums and being a fan of groovy funk-soul drum brakes I felt as though I knew where to look, researching and listening closely to songs by Melvin Bliss and Nkono Telles, I found an aggressive and quick drum loop from Melvin Bliss, (I liked the simplicity of it I felt this allowed me to focus on complexity more when it came to chopping up the samples) I took this into logic, and looped it, finding its bpm. The snare and hats were very off time, which I felt personally wasn’t working, so I altered them close but not right next to their bar, I then started to play with sampling vocally and instrumentally using chords taken from different Nina Simone songs. Gathering about 6 all from piano, I then experimented with its structure. The difference of audio on each individual chord gave the track an inorganic feel which I like as it was a good juxta position to it being from the same live piano.
Moor Mother – Death By Longitude analysis
The tracks production carries a range of organic elements crossed over with electronic we immediately see this at the start where we are presented with phased and flangered edited noises you would hear from someone’s mouth such as gurgling eating and a constant sound of breathing, this crossover between production styles makes the sounds recognisable yet somehow unknown which makes you unsettled as it almost feels like a viscous alien is breathing on your neck as though you’ve upset it, these breathing noises get more liquidated as the song progresses creating a feeling as though the track and moor mother are melting being also unsettling. This then starts to be accompanied by the lyrics which immediately strike you as rich, intense and emotive “Europe is God” “Everything else is the devil” these lyrics are referring to the 17th century and are there to give us context of the reality between how europe and especially royalty viewed themselves in contrast to the rest of the world and for what reason. As these lyrics are spoken, vocal effects which sound like the devil play and eventually break into screams, showing that these people are not devils, these are people suffering because of your entitlement. She goes deeper into the violent legacies of empire and she starts to list names and finger point “The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, the Americans” here she is educating us on who was involved, allowing us to realize ourselves that these countries are still the some of the most powerful despite taking part in such a horrible thing. Which leads to later lyrics of “there’s no place to escape it” the money which these governments own clearly have traces of the slave trade.
The song carries other production techniques which are less technical such as a simple constant 909 kick which runs through the song, although simple it it still creates a feeling of marching and royalty despite having electronic elements. Others are again pitch shifting and vocal changes with later in the song going to a much higher octave, Almost sounding like child screams emphasizing the children the slave trade impacted. The rhythms and melodies of more mothers lyrics are really effective in this song also, the melodies are rhythmic like a poem and the pronunciations are confrontational this allows one to understand its urgency and her emotions in the situations.
Moor Mother inspired track process
When I made my moor mother track I immediately started with the chords, looking really for something which gave that dreary, dark but impactful feeling something which really could coincide with poetic lyrics of something serious. I definitely took too much time looking for them as I feel I really have to when there’s a specific feeling what I’m looking for, this definitely didn’t help with the time I had to make it. I settled for two chords, furthermore inspired by a song in which moor mother did the same. As these were chosen I immediately felt as though the song should start with these, no drums but some kind of constant pad in one note, I went through multiple on logic and was looking for genuinely something which gave the spookiest atmosphere settling for one which sounded like a smoke machine across with bird chirps and alarms. I dragged this out for the first 16 bars almost trying to give the audience some portal into the song to come, which may have not been as effective as intended, then after this adding poetic dialogue now without the pad and the chords but filtered and sounding underwater.
In regards to percussion I liked the idea of organic hats and snare but accompanied by a processed kick, I further emphasised this contradiction between the two by having the kick quantized and organic percussion off kilter, much more spontaneous and out of time. I think this crossover created an ethereal texture and worked great in trying to make an eerie yet unearthly feeling. I furthermore did not loop the drums in any way. I wanted to respond to the creepiness of the pad and tap the drums in as soon as I felt most on the edge of my seat.
Rashad Becker – V analysis
Texture – Immediately the song starts off by creating an ambience through texture and reverb on bells, these bells sound organic yet electronic at the same time shifting constantly through microtonality, these ethereal textures are then enhanced by distortion and bit crusher making them robotic, these then continue in a flanger until a distorted bass enters which shifts the eeriness to a whole a new level, adjusting in resonance and depth through automation. Overall All these instruments and sounds grow from something simple into something complex then slowly drift back to simple.
Groove of song – The song seems to have no groove or rhythm, and rashad becker has done this on purpose I feel as this is a style chosen to distinctly detach from popular music and also expand on textures and instruments more creatively, he echos music from peoples in other parts of the world never previously encountered which also didn’t follow traditional song structure. Such as japanese noise (merzbro) and also indian classical music
I think for the listener this lack of groove creates many unique responses in regards to the music. It allows them to engage more in depth as they cannot predict what is to come through the structure of rhythm so have to wait patiently to see the change, it also makes them engaged in the fluidity of the song being it not having something concrete/obliging by specific bpm/ drum pattern allows for it to open and expand which as the listener you start to reflect this you’re submerged as though at an art exhibition sound scape.
As Well as non western musical influencers in the song there’s definitely also an aspect of nature influence from soundscapes involving just field recordings such as Smithsonian Folkways’ field recordings from Africa and Indonesia, not only the unpredictability takes influence but furthermore the sounds itself for example throughout V you can hear noises like water, birds chirping and winds, furthermore these noises accompanied by electronic editing make you feel like you’re experiencing a landscape but on another planet.
Rashad Becker – inspired track process
How I tried to record on instinct – My first response to raschad beckers music was to record purely on instinct and without a bpm, heavily inspired by his music i listened to, I looked for an organic instrument (gong) on logic pressed play and then started recording based on what came to mind, I also decided to respond in an f minor key as i felt this key resembled the sadness and eeriness he articulates. As I did this I surprised myself by how fast i went on the keys at different point for examples I actually went faster at the very beginning then started to get slower and slower but I felt the keys which resonated with me most as the song went on were the higher ones, after i recorded these sad notes I wanted to have turning point in the song inspired by raschad’s nature aspects and incorporate a sonic foreground which perhaps could sound like a storm. To execute this i sampled the sounds of a tornado on youtube and then crossed this over with crashes and spontaneous cymbals from a drum kit on logic.
Why i chose to use what i did – I chose to do it on instinct as listening rashad’s music it showed to me it was very expressive and in fact i wanted to react in a way which was in response and inspired from the first time hearing his music, the reason i structured it in two parts with the second simply intensifying the gong and bells was one because I felt that’s where the notes were going and two because a lot of raschads music i listened to seemed to have two parts with the first creating the setting then second exaggerating it as much as possible.
How i edited it – I used reverb, panning and distortion mostly. I Used reverb on the gong and the bells to make the texture more fragile and spacious then on the soundscape noise of the tornado to echo it’s intensity and also add a computerised feeling to something organic which raschad does really well. I used panning and distortion particularly when the drums came in. Furthermore to juxtapose the melancholy in the bells and gong as much as possible and create a grittiness and harsh feeling despite the exact and not changed bells playing.
What worked and what didn’t -I think furthermore the instinctual part of trying to make a song like rashad becker could have been different, and I could have tried more different instruments and sounds and reactions then choose from a selection rather then going from the first one however I do believe when responding to something meant to be inspired from another artist the first response is the most artististic and genuine, I felt the panning particularly worked in conveying a similar sound scape as rashad becker, as I was attempting to give that 3d feeling he gives by placing different frequencies in different ears this worked being exaggerated by the reverb. I felt i went too intense with distortion and maybe it took away the melancholic and ethereal qualities.
J DILLA – Don’t Cry analysis
Context
This song was made in 2006, in the hospital he died through using a portable turntable and Boss SP-303 sampler. This song is believed to be dedicated to his mother and a message to her to stay strong and also resemble how hard he found her in such pain because of his pain.
Sample
The sample is from two parts of the same song in I can’t stand to see you cry by the escorts, this sample is emotive, melodic and vibrant and rides on the sampled chopped up drums as though they are from the original recording. What makes this sample so effective is the fact it is the lyrics and the combination of two elements of the song which gives its own unique quality whilst still maximising the overall energy of which came from the song being sampled. The two samples suggest different things as well the first being a women laughing and the second being the words “don’t cry” this creates a beautiful juxtaposition and furthermore link to overall theme of wanting his mum and perhaps everyone to enjoy life and laugh.
Drums instrumentation
The drums play a big role on this track as they do with any j dilla song he has unique way of structuring, quantizing and overall placement, he created his own grey area of grooves that are more accurately notated using quintuplet or even septuplet subdivisions. He achieved this effect using the “swing” knob on the AKAI MPC sampler. Turning the knob to 50% would result in a straight groove, while turning it to 66.6% would make it swung.This style was perfect on this beat particular as they give such a human and imperfect yet beautiful quality, they don’t sound software edited which overall makes the song itself and what he’s trying to get across more genuine.
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY – Patrik Wikström overview
This is an interesting argument on the future of music and the lack of control we have of music online (streaming platform) in contrast to in hand (vinyls, cds, tapes etc). He strongly goes against the idea of believing “that right holders will soon have regained full control of their intelectual properties and things will go back to normal.” and also that soon enough “people will resume their old consumer habits and pay for the music they desire and music companies will once again be able to fund artists for long term development”
His contrast to this is that this implies a fairytale view on these ideas which are way to ambitious he says being that a democratic society is based on free flow of information there is a difficulty with distributing music online in the fact that it is impossible to control one thing and leave all the other things alone, he beleives as soon as you try to control one thing like music it has anti democratic purposes and encourages the idea of private communication being monitored.
He further exemplifies his main argument by talking about hacker culture and how it is not necessarily criminalized as such but sometimes praised as a sign of justified rebellion, which ultimately allows things like pirating and free mass distribution more likely.
Overall he feels that just because there is more societal understanding and sympathy on pirating and mass distribution it doesn’t mean things are gonna change furthermore we can see this in 2024 and that is actually going down hill and getting worse in the fact spotify are demonetising and starting to not pay their artists. Which is a huge contrast from music before the internet where artists would always make a sum of any records being solved which I think leads to the next point of simply musicians not being paid enough for their art.
Final reflection
I found this unit very tough but very productive and it most certainly enabled me to learn new skills and find things similar easier in the future for example, analysing and reviewing other people’s production has allowed me to be more analytical of my own music, looking for where structurally things don’t work the example I would use for this being rashad becker the way in which he incorporates an unexpected and spontaneous shift in his music definitely makes me tell myself not to be so predicatable. Through analysing and actually mimicking rza production process I learnt a lot about sampling and how to use samplers which I had never used before, this introduced me to a new creative process ultimately expanding my knowledge of what to do when I next want to sample, I furthermore developed a skill of looking for samples and knowing what styles sound good and work with different genres like motown drums on hip hop productions, analysing rza’s music in particularly has inspired that massively. Another skill I developed was my understanding of context and furthermore learning how to use that through my own productions, learning this through analysing more mother, her emotional depth and historical teachings made me look at music in a whole light. This has also expanded my music taste by studying producers of 3 different cultures and has aloud me to dig deeper into work and others similar.
I think overall it’s improved my writing skills and knowledge for music production massively whilst also allowing me to incorporate my own knowledge making overall this being a very enjoyable experience.
I would like to develop further in trying to come across when talking about productions styles and also to build my knowledge of mixing techniques and softwares so I can be more specific in my writing and also notice more things which make the specific production I’m talking about unique.
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