Members losergeek Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 Aggressive, hypnotic, throbbing electronica. Crazy beats, thick bass, searing synths. Loops, mashups, glitches. Stuff that makes you want to {censored} to it. ... but I'm an electronica neophyte. I recently got into fatboy slim, chemical brothers, and I think i'm gonna pick up a prodigy album. I also dug Mouse on Mars when I saw them live (but that's not really what I'm going for here, prodigy is probably closest). So here's an actual question: I've never worked with loops before. Don't know where to start. Any thoughts? I have lots of software that I've been using for my regular alt-rock projects - Logic, Reason, Reaktor, Battery. I feel like i could get a good start with logic and reason, but I can't get them to talk to each other...that's a diff'rent issue though. but I can only imagine that there are many methods to this mayhem. I remember watching a guy work Reaktor wonderfully on the NI website. I don't have any idea how to get something like that set up though. Another actual question: Any real basic tutorials out there for making electronic stuff? Any thoughts on this subject in general? Thanks,Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Amos Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 research, find the programs you really like... and register them. If you are a student you can often get an educational discount. I recommend Ableton Live as being extremely useful for MIDI and audio in a very loopy groove-based format that goes well for the kind of music you describe. The only thing you can't do in Live is surgically edit waveforms... I recommend a wave editor also. Cool Edit (now Adobe Audition) is a classic. Sample your own sources for a distinctive sound; for psychological purposes also, your music will have a more dirty, visceral edge if it uses real acoustic sound sources... try sampling things around the house and slowing them down drastically, then search for rhythmic moments of sound and grab them as loops. Fine-tune until it makes your booty move, then add more conventional percussion and (if necessary) melodic elements. Best of luck, and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pighood Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 ....and then, get a Casio SK-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yoozer Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 Originally posted by losergeek I recently got into fatboy slim, chemical brothers, and I think i'm gonna pick up a prodigy album. Get "Music for the Jilted Generation". Personally I'm partial towards "Experience" but that might be too old school; very UK breakbeat/rave. So here's an actual question: I've never worked with loops before. Don't know where to start. Any thoughts? There's a program called "Acid Express" which allows you to mess around with them. Also, you're going to need a wave editor - get the free "Audacity". Here for Acid Express: http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/download/step2.asp?DID=551 and here for Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Just record an existing song in Audacity - preferably something with a four-to-the-floor rhythm, cut 4 bars, save that file. Do this with several parts of the song; see if you can catch one part that's just melody, another that's mainly bass + drums, etc. Then load 'm up in Xpress and rearrange them, see what you can do. I have lots of software that I've been using for my regular alt-rock projects - Logic, Reason, Reaktor, Battery. Next time I should read on . Anyway, the need for a wave editor still stands, unless you have that one already. In that case, get a demo of Ableton like Amos said. Another actual question: Any real basic tutorials out there for making electronic stuff? Yes and no. There's tutorials on how to use your tools, but most step-by-step stuff on how to make a specific genre piece is to be found as a special in a music magazine. Any thoughts on this subject in general? The music of the Prodigy is almost a genre on its own. A step by step guide doesn't exist; but if you want to know how to make certain sounds, it's possible to explain (most of the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GregCh Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 check out Pighood's synth interpretations of Barry White's songs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Allerian Posted August 7, 2006 Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 After somone suggested that my album was ideal for gettin' it on, I had to verify. Sure enough... Incidentally, another person wrote me to say: In an manner not unlike the famous Wizard of Oz/Dark Side of the Moon matchup, "Listening Device" aligns itself uncannily well with "Dr Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth" (the Peter Cushing flick, not the TV series version). I had your album on, and my boyfriend asked "You mind if I put a movie in? Without sound?" while he worked on some tedious project. A few minutes later we had forgotten what we were working on and stared in rapt fascination as some thick drone would coincide perfectly with the appearance of a spaceship, or a rising cacophany perfectly scored a gunfight. Weirdness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members losergeek Posted August 7, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 7, 2006 thanks fer the words yos, I'll see what I can do. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members program_insect Posted August 8, 2006 Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 IMO Portishead has some of the sexiest electronic music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members noizyb Posted August 8, 2006 Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 Eddie Van Halen has been in the media lately as being the first "high profile" pop- rock star doing a soundtrack for a porn film directed by, in his words..."the Spielberg of Adult Films"... COOL ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asynchro_nous Posted August 8, 2006 Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 Originally posted by program_insect IMO Portishead has some of the sexiest electronic music. I can see throwing on Portishead for sex, definitely, but Prodigy??? I just don't get that one............. I sincerely wonder if anyone who associates Prodigy with great sex has an actual sex life. {No offense} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members losergeek Posted August 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 granted, i'm no expert in the field - but from what I've heard -the fast, aggressive beats have the same appeal as doing it to The Downward Spiral ("Closer") by NIN. It's thick and raw. Might not be for ev'ryone though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members losergeek Posted August 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 upon further inspection, seems like prodigy isn't quite there either. Familiar with the song The Perfect Drug By NIN? There's a drum solo towards the end that exemplifies the type of beats that are righteous. The rest fills in the gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members murch33 Posted August 8, 2006 Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 Originally posted by program_insect IMO Portishead has some of the sexiest electronic music. +berjillion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members losergeek Posted August 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 8, 2006 not bad, but not pornographic enough for the project i'm planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members asynchro_nous Posted August 9, 2006 Members Share Posted August 9, 2006 Originally posted by losergeek not bad, but not pornographic enough for the project i'm planning. Aha, a project....... Cool -- what type of project? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members losergeek Posted August 9, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 9, 2006 i dunno. i want to make some really heavy electronica, as described above. who knows if it'll actually happen, since i have no idea what i'm doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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