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krd

SteveDon wrote: »

Not sure whether this is completely **** or really good

http://soundcloud.com/steve-donaldson/stephen-donaldson-courtship-dance-work-in-progress

Please help!

That's kind of freaky

That's really good.

You have a lot of interesting bass lines going on. You might have too much going on a once - It might sound better if you faded out some of the lines and let others come out stronger at times. Some of the basslines are too far down in the mix to have that drive to them. If there's too much going on at once stuff gets missed.

And your stabs and things - you should put little variations in them to stop them sounding like loops. The odd double stab here or there. A little note change in the other patterns. Just something to stop them sounding like loops
- but not to the point it sounds like a free jazz ensemble

Try a once off hit like a single or half bar break beat somewhere and resist the temptation to use it again.

Don't forget to use the high end - don't go crazy either. Do you still have your electribes. I was playing around with my Roland MC505 last night - I haven't integrated with my DAW - I will, I think I've figured it out but have to get down with the cables etc. But I was able to make some really interesting sounds really quickly. There's less clicking on dialog boxes and lots happens quickly by accident - and it has a mind of it's own.

Have a guy from Moldovia trying to speak in a "cool" mid-atlantic accent say something about Ibiza.

There are a lot of really good things in that track as it is. There's nothing "wrong" with it. You'll get there in the end. Where ever there is.

SteveDon

krd wrote: »

That's kind of freaky

That's really good.

You have a lot of interesting bass lines going on. You might have too much going on a once - It might sound better if you faded out some of the lines and let others come out stronger at times. Some of the basslines are too far down in the mix to have that drive to them. If there's too much going on at once stuff gets missed.

Thanks for the feedback, was having major problems managing the whole mix, it sounded very distorted at first, especially when it breaks in after the big break, so i put a eq on the master and turned down the bass and raised the other elements having the effect of kind of killing the thick analog bass that was there in the original still trying to find the right balance.

Im really trying to make tracks now that deviate from the norm a bit, thats what i was going for with this, mainly because I want a big label release (fingers crossed) Im nearly finished college now, just under two weeks to go, so i plan on working on music 9-5 every day for the next 6 months or so. If i get nowhere, at least i tried.

Live the dream

krd

SteveDon wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback, was having major problems managing the whole mix, it sounded very distorted at first, especially when it breaks in after the big break, so i put a eq on the master and turned down the bass and raised the other elements having the effect of kind of killing the thick analog bass that was there in the original still trying to find the right balance.

It might be a case of you can only fit so much at once. And that using Eq to make things sit well might just kill their power. Something might have to go.

I'm using Ableton 7 - there's something it doesn't have which I'd like, which would be a volume automation that allowed me automate the volume on every other track apart from the one I'm working on. There's a perceptual thing in hearing - that you can drop everything else back apart from a single element, for a a very brief time and the ear perceives everything as still being there. It's a technique used by lots of people - you don't notice it until you listen for it - then you really hear it. To do it individually on each track would be a real pain in the ass.

Im really trying to make tracks now that deviate from the norm a bit, thats what i was going for with this, mainly because I want a big label release (fingers crossed)

I really can't talk with authority on getting released. But don't put yourself in a ghetto. You probably should experiment with some contemporary house (that's the commercial stuff), remixing more commercial sounding stuff and trying to get your name around - or pseudonym, so you don't caught by the hip police for being unhip. I've heard the commercial labels are always interested in remixes - even unsolicited - and if they don't accepted it, people will look for bootlegs anyway - so the stuff circulates. You might be asked to do remixes for people - where you actually get paid.
I don't know (or think) remix competitions are worth it. A hundred remixes of a song circulating could make everything get lost.

There are probably just a few hundred deep tech house nights in the world. On the other hand there are millions of discothèques. Not all the commercial stuff is painfully awful.

Im nearly finished college now, just under two weeks to go, so i plan on working on music 9-5 every day for the next 6 months or so. If i get nowhere, at least i tried.

Yeah well working in this country has gone to sh1te anyhow. You may as well keep working on your music. It will probably pay off better at some point, than a hellish trip through the Irish world of work.

What were you studying?

Live the dream

Rave on!!!

seannash

Not going to say much about Chloroplasts post except to say i dont see naything wrong with thanking someone for listening to your track if they comment.

I do it,but then again id be lucky to get 5 comments on a track:)

pigdestroyer

Quick Plug to some of my tracks! Still getting to grips with home recording and been messing about with samples and [EMAIL="s@#t"]s@#t[/EMAIL] too!

www.soundcloud.com/damiendooris

Enjoy!:D

krd

seannash wrote: »

Not going to say much about Chloroplasts post except to say i dont see naything wrong with thanking someone for listening to your track if they comment.

I do it,but then again id be lucky to get 5 comments on a track:)

Aw - I'll give you some comments.

The reason I don't like to put comments on say your tracks or Stephen's tracks - is I don't want to muck it up if you're sending the link to labels.

I don't know if the Noobian Prince seal of approval counts for much.

I you like I can log in as complete stranger and rave over your track. If you need some Astro Turfing done, I'll help out.

My Noobian Prince account is full at the minute - I need another one - I'm not up to a point where I consider my stuff as releasable. I was thinking maybe The return of the Noobian Prince - or The Noobian Prince Strikes Back.

Maybe later next year I'll be at a point where my stuff is more plausible. Then I'll be something like Nashville Jean. Originally from Haiti, but DJ'ing in Tennessee. Yes, I know it won't be true but that's show biz. It's not like Kermit the frog was a real frog either.

krd

pigdestroyer wrote: »

Quick Plug to some of my tracks! Still getting to grips with home recording and been messing about with samples and [EMAIL="s@#t"]s@#t[/EMAIL] too!

www.soundcloud.com/damiendooris

Enjoy!:D

I like some of the ideas. I like the guitar and drums. But it sounds very muddy and there's some kind of aliasing on the guitar - Ableton warp can do that - what are you using?

SteveDon

I dunno if id start making commercial music just to make a name for myself, whats the point in making music in the first place if you dont enjoy it?

Im nearly finished an economics and politics degree, thinking about doing a masters in journalism next year in d.i.t, only time will tell.

Just finished this off, started work on it at around 5, i reckon its finished but then again my ears are lazy at the moment.

http://soundcloud.com/steve-donaldson/stephen-donaldson-here-demo-mix

krd

SteveDon wrote: »

I dunno if id start making commercial music just to make a name for myself, whats the point in making music in the first place if you dont enjoy it?

Money.

It's not a case of making music you don't enjoy. Not all commercial stuff is terrible. But all releases are a commercial unless they're completely free - which even then there can be commercial motive behind their release. And people who make genre music are just as guilty of artistic compromise as people who make chart music.

There isn't huge money in music. But if you got lucky you could have a nicer life without that much struggle. And you might get a chance to make some stuff you're really proud of.

Im nearly finished an economics and politics degree, thinking about doing a masters in journalism next year in d.i.t, only time will tell.

Good luck with that. If you're considering getting into journalism - start trying to blag freelance work now. Like submitting articles to the Guardian Comment is Free. I think journalism is lot like music. A lot of the work doesn't pay. And you can easily end up writing for things like trade journals for undertakers - writing articles that try to make embalming fluids sound exciting. I've surprised in the past that freelancers I liked made virtually nothing from their journalism and had to pay the bills by proof reading romantic fiction.

Unless you're well connected - then a career in journalism is just a phone call away.

Even mainstream journalism that seems on the face of it straight up can be very scuzzy. All talk of neutrality and objectivity is nonsense. Irish newspapers are pravadaesque. Then there's the ass kissing - if you don't have a taste for anus, your daily working life here can be unpalatable.

Just finished this off, started work on it at around 5, i reckon its finished but then again my ears are lazy at the moment.

http://soundcloud.com/steve-donaldson/stephen-donaldson-here-demo-mix

I haven't listened yet - I'm giving my ears a rest - well I'm not - I'm meant to be going to that thing in tripod tonight where I'll get my ears blasted, I hope.

I'll listen tomorrow.

slut1

hello again! heres my new track, http://soundcloud.com/slut1/slut1-i-came-slut1s-theme hope You like it! even the not so trigger happy dude!

jtsuited

krd wrote: »

Good luck with that. If you're considering getting into journalism - start trying to blag freelance work now. Like submitting articles to the Guardian Comment is Free. I think journalism is lot like music. A lot of the work doesn't pay. And you can easily end up writing for things like trade journals for undertakers - writing articles that try to make embalming fluids sound exciting. I've surprised in the past that freelancers I liked made virtually nothing from their journalism and had to pay the bills by proof reading romantic fiction.
.

interesing point on this, i've made more money in 2 months of journalism doing it for 2 hours a week than I have in 4 years making music for 40+ hours a week.

Android 666

jtsuited wrote: »

interesing point on this, i've made more money in 2 months of journalism doing it for 2 hours a week than I have in 4 years making music for 40+ hours a week.

Ah, but that two hours a week doesn't include all the time spent on the interweb despairing at the state of humanity which gets you riled up enough to write a review.

krd

jtsuited wrote: »

interesing point on this, i've made more money in 2 months of journalism doing it for 2 hours a week than I have in 4 years making music for 40+ hours a week.

Yes, but the journalism gig. Would you have got it, had you not spent 40 hours a week for 4 years making music.

It takes more than 2 hours a week to build the requisite knowledge.

Through your bit of journalism you've made some money from music. And you could probably build on that - get genuine profile.

I think a lot of people who make their money in music do it indirectly - and some gigs pay off more disproportionately than others.

Like if you did the music for a television ad - it might pay off way more than any chance of what the music might make if it spent ten weeks at the top of some club chart.

Their are tosser DJ's in Dublin - will not mention any names - who offer everything from journalism, to T-shirts, to interior design even, as part of their services.

There are Irish mobile disco DJs who make more money than recognisable names.

Big brother contestants make more money DJ'ing than recognisable names. There are big name Detroit producers who only ever sold a few thousand records - they still got to tour the world DJ'ing. And it's nearly impossible to make money from music sales these days. Many musicians make more money from beer company and mobile phone sponsorship deals that releasing records.

You know why Deadmau5 got so famous. It wasn't because of his production skills - he's good but nowhere near as good as possibly hundreds of other completely unknown producers. It was that stupid mouse head hat. The guy had a gimmick. In Show biznesss you need a gimmick.

Altern8 are still wearing boiler suits over twenty years later - and it might not even be them in those suits - they may have outsourced the operation. That granny who DJ's, she's got her gimmick.

Jeff, what you lack... is a gimmick.

electrogrimey

I think DJing would be a much more sustainable lifestyle if DJs in Dublin got paid fairly. It's become the norm in Dublin for promoters to either not pay their DJs, give them expenses, or at best throw them 50/100 quid, even if they're taking a couple of thousand at the door. Then there's the regular 'ah we've loads of DJs tonight so we can't pay you' etc etc excuses.

There's a select few promoters who actually pay their DJs properly, but the majority, in my experience, don't.

Producers/DJs in Dublin would be able to live off dance music if they were getting paid properly to DJ, and wouldn't have to get a side job to support themselves.

jtsuited

actually to point out something that completely negates my point (and was rightly brought up by krd),
I was actually asked to do journalism because of my music career.

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

Producers/DJs in Dublin would be able to live off dance music if they were getting paid properly to DJ, and wouldn't have to get a side job to support themselves.

I disagree. If you look at the revenue coming in the door at gigs and try and work out a way of paying dj's decently, you'll see that's nigh on impossible to do so. Made worse by the fact that the whole 'scene' is split a billion ways by guys running their own nights to get gigs.

I've been looking at the average income of international dj's lately, and tbh it's really not as lucrative as most people think unless you're in tiesto, hawtin, cox territory.

Rockshamrover

Chloroplast wrote: »

Late reply, and firstly , sorry for accusing you of group spamming, it was just that i seen the track was in 2 groups one day, and 41 the next, so a bit of an over site from me.

so let me take the time to address a few things here.
the way i see it is, the only way you can get that many plays on soundcloud in that short about of time is to do the following :

Group spamming.

Privately sharing tracks to thousands of people.

mass mailing all the people you follow/followers and asking them for feedback.

external linking your track all over the net.

if your track gets a feature on big website/blog.

sitting at home all day refreshing the page and playing your own track over and over again.

using play bots.

---

im also looking at some of the comments on the track, where i see such comments as : so between that and the amount of plays the track has, i can only presume you mailed the 1000 + people and asked for feedback ?

or are you still gonna try and tell me that the plays just happened and grew because your music is so popular ?

i be straight up with you, ive been on soundcloud the day it opened. seen it done it and wore the t-shirt. the only way you can get that many plays on such a short amount of time, is via all the above , not because of your skill , or because your just a nice person.

so it is YOU who needs to get real, not me. your the one with your head rammed up your arse because of all your plays and your great feedback and thats fine. but then you come here to gloath about it to everyone, and we are supposed to act dumb and say "yeah man, your brilliant ,well done"

i dont fukin think so. and ALSO :

respect the thread for what it is : post tracks/give feedback
not : spam music on sc/ come back to boards and gloat about how over fuking brilliant you are.

there are people that use this thread genuinely, and are legitimate about what they do and post, so respect the thread!!!


and to answer some of your questions :

why would you feel obliged to respond to peoples comments ? can people not leave comments on your track and leave it at that, or maybe when you mail people asking them for comments then i would imagine then you would naturally be obliged to reply as you did mail the and ask them in the first place.

because 20 comments looks visually better than zero comments. if i see a track that's plastered in comments the first thing that comes to mind is : what's all the fuss about on this track, look at all the comments, this must be good, im gonna play and find out.

only that's the not case for me any-more, because its been over done now. so now when i see a track that has a million comments on it, i just know, i just know straight away its a pile of over-spammed sh1t

disrespectful straight away, you should ONLY follow someone on soudcloud if you like their music and your genuinely interested in them, or if they are your friend etc. following someone back because they follow you is lame and if you are gonna do that, at least take the time to listen to their music. i have people following me on soudcloud, i check out his page, he does hip hop, i aint gonna follow him back, coz i aint gonna listen to his stuff. there aint nothing worse than having people follow you and they dont listen to your stuff.

so very wrong.
well grow some music skills then as opposed to "the other"
LOL, define "popular" please.

if a person stops following you because you didn't reply to one of their comments they need help, really they do, i have never heard anything so stupid in my life.

look, if you dont spam people , you wont feel so obliged to reply to people.if you make a track and someone comments, and leaves good feedback, then thats brilliant, leave it at that. if you know the person or hes been a follower for a long time or if its someone from here, the yeah , fell free to reply or whatever, but its not essential.

you have that many comments on the track you can bearly see the wave form, thats a sign these day that the track is a pile of sh1t. your track may be good, it might even be fantastic, but what your after doing to it now has just put it in a particular class. 338 comments, id say about 200 are from your self. and funny, "mo and mary" must of left about 15 comments ? ...you replied to every single one of them LMAO... ahhh im fuking done lads.

Hey Chloroplast, I could argue with you forever on this but it would be a waste of time and energy for both of us.

In the words of that internationally famous song, Move on now.

Rock

Android 666

Hey all you muddy funksters, check out my tracks!!!

When I'm not on the internet creating ways to embarass myself or sitting on the toilet feeling dead inside I try to create some tunes that are like totally indifferent!

The first one is my continuing journey towards trying to make a garage track:
http://soundcloud.com/four-bear/mikados-are-garage

The second one is another one in a housey melodic technoy vein that was inspired by my love of Jim Corr:
http://soundcloud.com/android-78/the-marketplace

Android 666

SteveDon wrote: »

I dunno if id start making commercial music just to make a name for myself, whats the point in making music in the first place if you dont enjoy it?

Im nearly finished an economics and politics degree, thinking about doing a masters in journalism next year in d.i.t, only time will tell.

Just finished this off, started work on it at around 5, i reckon its finished but then again my ears are lazy at the moment.

http://soundcloud.com/steve-donaldson/stephen-donaldson-here-demo-mix

That is a seriously cool track Steve.


Edit: Just listened to Courtship as well. You make that stuff sound effortless. Great stuff

red dave

Android 666 wrote: »

That is a seriously cool track Steve.


Edit: Just listened to Courtship as well. You make that stuff sound effortless. Great stuff

+1 on that for sure

SteveDon

Android 666 wrote: »

Hey all you muddy funksters, check out my tracks!!!

When I'm not on the internet creating ways to embarass myself or sitting on the toilet feeling dead inside I try to create some tunes that are like totally indifferent!

The first one is my continuing journey towards trying to make a garage track:
http://soundcloud.com/four-bear/mikados-are-garage

The second one is another one in a housey melodic technoy vein that was inspired by my love of Jim Corr:
http://soundcloud.com/android-78/the-marketplace

Left you some comments on soundcloud there.

What are your main influeneces?

Thanks for the compliments lads, greatly appreciated.

Android 666

SteveDon wrote: »

Left you some comments on soundcloud there.

What are your main influeneces?

Thanks for the compliments lads, greatly appreciated.

Hi Steve thanks for the comments.

In terms of influences I've been getting into garage like Horsepower productions and Synchro that I've heard through the garage and hybrid dubstep threads over on the electronic music forum along the likes of Martyn, A Made Up Sound, Kontext, Dark Sky, Donnacha Costello and Chymera. I also love the early electronica and techno of Kraftwerk, Model 500 and many others.

I suppose with the Fourbear stuff I'm going for a garagey sound (that usually ends up sounding more downtempo) and the Android 78 stuff is on a more melodic techno/house/electronica vibe.

iamstop

I just upped a new track there to the auld Soundcloud

http://snd.sc/fMXKNY

Gritty dirty downtempo electronic might be the words used to sum it up. :pac:

Might not though.

stateofflux

Starfox wrote: »

uplifting trancer, feel free to comment

http://soundcloud.com/shane-c/shane-collins-above-earth-original-mix

really liked it....great pummelling snare sound...not mad on the first lead keyboard arp sound....but thats just my personal taste... i can see this doing very well if you get it out there......

dasdog

Not really a song as such but I've been playing with Reason 5 & Record 1.5 replacing oscillators with audio. The original loops are tagged on the end.

http://soundcloud.com/dasdog/constitutionalsheayte-osc-repl-demo

rcaz

Earlier today I downloaded Soundflower so I could send audio from Pure Data into Ableton Live, and threw this out for an idea...

http://soundcloud.com/captain-wow/flower

And about 5 minutes ago I figured out the IAC Driver midi bus thing so I can send MIDI between Pd and Live, but I think it's about time to sleep and do the rest in the morning...

This is a very happy and excited El Pr0n

dasdog

Glitching

http://soundcloud.com/dasdog/pussinboots

electrogrimey

Made some strange thing sampling Tom Waits, Youngblood Brass Band and that song from the Ikea video with the cats. I want to start sampling more so this was kind of an exercise. I think it'd sound good with a Burial type feel, so I might spend some time on it, if anyone has an suggestions of how to do that.

http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/51809543/file.html

krd

electrogrimey wrote: »

Made some strange thing sampling Tom Waits, Youngblood Brass Band and that song from the Ikea video with the cats. I want to start sampling more so this was kind of an exercise. I think it'd sound good with a Burial type feel, so I might spend some time on it, if anyone has an suggestions of how to do that.

http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/51809543/file.html

Why don't you start by sampling directly from Burial recordings.

Make sure your loops are in time - I like the piano bit but It's not in time - when you cut a sample from something make sure it loops properly before you put it in Warp.. The BPM you used is pretty slow - 90 whatever. The BPM on DnB is usally at 180 ish. The slow stuff is playing in half time but the drums and drum samples play fast at 180. Slow the slow bits sound like they're in 90 (they are but they aren't).

If you've got a clear idea of what you want it to do keep at it until you've got it working.

electrogrimey

krd wrote: »

Why don't you start by sampling directly from Burial recordings.

Make sure your loops are in time - I like the piano bit but It's not in time - when you cut a sample from something make sure it loops properly before you put it in Warp.. The BPM you used is pretty slow - 90 whatever. The BPM on DnB is usally at 180 ish. The slow stuff is playing in half time but the drums and drum samples play fast at 180. Slow the slow bits sound like they're in 90 (they are but they aren't).

If you've got a clear idea of what you want it to do keep at it until you've got it working.

Yeah I was having trouble with chopping the samples. I was doing it in Ableton using the create MIDI slice function, creating one per warp marker, but there doesn't seem to be a way of determining the length...Suppose if I put a warp marker where I wanted the sample to end too, and then just deleted that slice...

It's at about 108, and I wasn't going for d 'n' b. I know the drums are all wrong but I think I'm going for this kind of vibe, this is at 110.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AqTvu5_plM