Tag Archives: music

Denim Robot Releases New Track “Lucid”

Posted on by August 28, 2017

Denim Robot’s previous release “Lost Generation,” off their upcoming album “Nonexist,” marked a bit of a shift in the group’s sound — away from the synthpop-ish elements prominent of their last record, towards a more dissonant and experimental space. It is no surprise then that the duo’s newest track, “Lucid” goes even further in this direction, despite maintaining that signature DR style of tension and release, and multi-layered moods. Lucid open with a soft solo marimba synth pattern that establishes for the listener a feeling of unease and uncertainty. Although it may seem like the song will build into something more heavy, it actually brightens up a bit for the chorus, feeling more happy and optimistic despite the seemingly conflicting repeating line: “this monstrosity that is existence”. The song then descends into apparent madness, while somehow maintaining a steady and danceable groove throughout. According to Tommy Bobcat, this track marked the … Continue reading →

DLA Releases New Track “Sidelines”

Posted on by August 28, 2017

If you are a fan of electronic chillwave or just relaxed groovy beats, you definitely want to check out DLA’s new track “Sidelines.” DLA always delivers the goods with his catchy Nile Rodgers-esque guitar loops layered over the top of those signature synth riffs. This tune contains an epic crescendo, building and building on textures which culminate in a raucous and chaotic ending chorus. In contrast to prior releases, which contained sampled vocal loops, DLA adds his own vocals to this track. The first vocal line actually has 8 different (slightly detuned) versions of the melody, and he pitched the VOX down an octave to get that deep, subby effect. Chorus and delay effects were also added to fatten it up a little. As far as the recording process goes, DLA explains, “[n]o amps were mic’d up in the making of this tune!” which really goes to show you how … Continue reading →

Songwriting During Periods of Writer’s Block

Posted on by August 28, 2017

For me, creativity rarely flows like a continuous stream. In fact, more often than not, it comes in violent volcanic bursts. We’ve all had those stretches where songs seem to fly out with ease and other times where we stare down at our instrument or notepad for hours and nothing seems to really work. Sometimes this can stretch out over days, into weeks. or even months or longer. That feeling of burnout — when writing feels like a chore — can be brutal. So, what exactly causes this writer’s block and what can be done about it? I can really only speak for myself, but typically when I have extended periods where I am not excited about anything, there is usually some underlying expectation that isn’t being fulfilled. In other words, I have an idea in my head of how something should sound, but my fingers don’t want to cooperate. … Continue reading →

Songwriting in an Era of Options

Posted on by August 28, 2017

When it comes to creating art, taste is everything. We often think of songwriting as an additive process, which might start with a basic chord progression and build from there. But, sometimes it is what is not included in the final product that gives the work its aesthetic quality.  Today, we live in a time of excessive options. Electronic musicians often get cited for not playing instruments the traditional way, and yet the process has never been as simple as pushing a few buttons. Given all of the plugin and looping options, it is perhaps knowing what to leave on the cutting room floor that shapes the character of the modern musician. With this reality, decision paralysis becomes a real problem in songwriting. There is a tendency to fall into the trap of believing that more is always better, or wondering if something could be tweaked to make the piece … Continue reading →

Challenge Accepted

Posted on by August 28, 2017

I remember the first time I heard The Residents. Nothing could have prepared me for such a unique onslaught of noises (most of which were initially unpleasing to my ears). And yet, something told me to continue listening past the point of wanting to tap out — I guess I had faith that it would all make sense at some point. It eventually did, but in order to reach that level my musical orientation needed a complete repositioning. It recently occurred to me that most of the music I have come to love presented with a rather steep learning curve. Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle come to mind, both of which produced sounds that were simply not very welcoming to new listeners. In fact, in relation to Zappa, one Redditor summarized the listener’s response cycle for each album, broken up into four stages: Stage 1: What is this shit? Stage … Continue reading →

The Model Approach

Posted on by August 28, 2017

The first time I used software amp modeling it was out of pure necessity rather than personal preference. At the time (somewhere around 2007) I had just graduated to Logic from Garageband and was in a living situation where I could not crank an amp without it leading to an angry knock at the door. So, I played around with the built in guitar amp plugs for that version of Logic and found something that was a least a step up from the DI signal. But, I was never really satisfied with how the guitar sounded and figured I would always need to mic my amp in order to get tone that was tasteful enough to record. Little did I know at the time, but in a few years I would be relying almost exclusively on amp modeling for studio tracking my music as well as my clients. While none … Continue reading →

Ready, Break

Posted on by April 22, 2017

I absolutely love the show Dr. Katz. In what might be my favorite episode, DK has been asked to give a guest lecture as part of an adult education course (to which he is clearly ill prepared for). As Katz starts orally composing his speech, he gets caught up in critically analyzing each word of his opening, until everything sounds completely crazy to him. The same thing, of course, happens in mixing. Once I have completed a project, I can rarely ever listen back without becoming somewhat nauseated. Presumably, this means I have essentially “listened to failure” as they might say in the weight room. In other words, there is a level of saturation that occurs with all art forms, in which a person not only stops experiencing any joy by consuming the product, but the art actually worsens your mood. We have all experienced this with certain pop songs … Continue reading →

Hooray for Mix Degradation!

Posted on by April 22, 2017

My first attempt at studio tracking a band — outside of one that I played in — was for a punk group called Doll Fight!. This was a single song recording project, which would be featured on an upcoming compilation album. At the time, I was severely hamstrung when it came to both gear and the recording space (which in this case turned out to be a friend’s very acoustically unfriendly guest room). For the kit, I think I went with two condenser overheads and maybe a SM57 on the kick drum (if even that). The guitar went through a Metal Zone and was then DI’d along with the bass. We did two or three takes, followed by quick vocal overdubs and some saxophone. In the end, it took about an hour or so and we were all relatively pleased with the result. However, I remember at the time thinking … Continue reading →