The Haunting

So... Last week, I released my latest single on Audiophile Deep - "A Night At The Opera" - which is a dark track that's ideal for Halloween sets. At the time of this writing, it's still climbing the Traxsource tech house chart, so I'm stoked for that :)

There's a full preview at the bottom of this post and you can pick it up at Traxsource here.

But that's not the sole purpose for this post. In addition to making tracks and designing presets, I've been working on a different approach to sound itself that I hope you'll dig.

The idea is simple: Recreate real-world soundscapes as accurately as possible using synthesis – in this case, Ableton's Operator softsynth – so that the result is a virtual environment that sounds real, but was created entirely in Live.

In keeping with all of this Halloween spookiness, my first work in this medium is called "The Haunting" and it's a two-minute composition inspired by the classic haunted house meme.

Below is a Soundcloud audio preview. I'm also including the entire Ableton project file so people with Live and Operator (or Suite) can check out each sound and explore how it was created. And yes, you can use it in commercial projects - as long as you please credit me and send a courtesy notification. I'm easy that way.

This is completely new territory for me as an artist, so I hope it inspires people to delve deeper into sound design. I definitely have more projects like these and I plan to give them away on this blog as a way to teach producers that there's more you can do with synths besides make them beep.

(And if you appreciate what I'm doing here and want to show some love, please buy "A Night At The Opera" on Traxsource.)

You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook too, for more music tech info :)

Download The Haunting [Requires Ableton Live 9.2 and Operator]

ARP Quadra Lust...

One synth I have always wanted is basically impossible to find in proper working order.

The ARP Quadra.

It's not particularly glamourous or powerful, but it's unique beyond words and I've always felt compelled to have one.

Sonicstate just delivered the heads up on a wonderfully acceptable substitute.

Here's the YouTube vid:

This & That #2

Now that the Super Bowl is over, time to go back to being a geek...

Analog Badassery Alert

Tom Oberheim is at it again. This time he's recreating the original Oberheim four-voice as the "Son Of 4 Voice" - a modern-day take on the legendary semi-programmable behemoth.

Here are a few tidbits about it to whet your appetite:
- Son Of 4 Voice image
- Son Of 4 Voice audio examples
- TomOberheim.com main page

Beatportal Tutorials Permalink

Just posted a permanent page to my blog, so you can easily find the Beatportal tutorials and RA glossary.

William A February 2011 Minimix

Armada recording artist and good buddy of mine, William A, has posted his latest DJ set here.

More linkee goodness after the jump...

Amazing EMS Documentary (YouTube)

Just stumbled across this documentary on legendary 60's British synth manufacturer, EMS.

Check it.



Parts 2 & 3 after the jump.

My Five Desert Island Plug-ins (February 2011)

Mike Cobb asked me to post an entry about my five must-have plug-ins, which is a very difficult task for a few reasons.

For one thing, there are literally thousands of great plug-ins out there. Synths, effects, EQs... Everyone knows this drill, so filing it down to five means leaving out some really great software.

On the other hand, I'm extremely finicky about what software ends up living on my machine. More plug-ins means more maintenance, upgrades, compatibility - and if you decide to collaborate or share tracks, then you need to render what the other party doesn't have.

In the end, I just went with the facts: These truly are the plug-ins that I use regularly and know intimately.

So here goes...

Index Of Beatportal Tutorials

From 2007-2009, I was technology editor for Beatport's EDM blog, Beatportal.

During that time, I wrote a comprehensive set of tutorials on subtractive synthesis - the underlying technology behind 99.9% of analog synths - as well as sampling, effects, tips for getting the most out of Reason's Thor, and a smattering of production master classes with techniques from some of the top EDM producers.

Since starting this blog, I've been asked to create an index of the Beatportal tutorials, so here ya go.

Ten Essential Production Tips

As this blog evolves, I'll be plundering my writing archives looking for older pieces that are essential - or at least robo-handy - for making club tracks and remixes.

Last September, to celebrate my 10th anniversary at Keyboard Magazine, I was asked to whip up a column on ten techniques every EDM producer should know.

Yeah, yeah... The original title is a tad over the top, but hey, I named my last book after the friggin' Bible.

Here's the linkee-link:
http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/ten-things-you/September-2010/119099

A Brief History of Ableton Live

Last week, MusicRadar, featured an article on the history of Ableton Live and I'm not mentioned once really impressed with their research. So, if you've ever wondered how an industry-changing product springs into existence, give this piece a read.

http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/a-brief-history-of-ableton-live-357837

(And has it really been ten years? Christ, I feel old...)