(bm) studio finaldraft

8/12/2019 (BM) Studio Finaldraft

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Studio Project

CandNo: 75544

Module Convener: Thor Magnusson


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In my final studio project, I have taken the approach of self-producing, mixing and mastering a 10-minute extended play

(E.P) in digital format. The E.P is titled Radical, and includes three tracks, two of which I have included within my

portfolioone is called ??? and the other ???

My project stage name is Yo Ma Saul, which I named after the famous French-American concert cellistYo Yo Ma and,

King Saul, the first king of Israel. I chose it forthe combination of the ancient biblical with the contemporary association. .

The E.P is also accompanied by artwork from photographer and

graphic designer Inga Patricija, who took artistic control of thephotography the E.Ps front cover. I myself applied Photoshop

elements to design the logo and branding on the front cover.

Throughout the production of this record, my overall intention

was never confined to any particular style or genre. With that

said, the overall style of the record is very beat-driven, and,

ideally, these tracks would be performed in a club-like

environment.

I am influenced by many old as well as contemporary artists,

Figure 1.1 The front jacket of Radical, by Yo Ma Saul


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including: Amon Tobin, Flying Lotus, Onetrixpointnever, Nicolas Jaar, Steve Reich, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra and Boards of

Canada.

Certain areas of the research I took fall into my subsections of production, mixing and mastering, including:

Learning to produce within a new digital audio workstation (DAW)

Application of the tape machine in the mixing and mastering stages of the record and influence from

contemporary electronic music, as discussed in my presentation.

Understanding and applying the principles of beat-layering in the production process

Being consistent as a producer.

Notes on the production and mixing of Chekhovs ShuffleAlluding to the Russian physician, dramaturge and author Anton Chekhov,Chekhovs Shuffle. I was influenced to write

this after researching the concept of Chekhovs gun, whereby everything in a narrative has to be necessary and

irreplaceable, and to remove everything that has no relevance to the story.

Speaking broadly about this piece, striking a correct balance was key for me. The following points describe my thought

process in the making of this piece:

Making sure there was always a constant pulse throughout, even in quieter sections

Keeping it repetitive, but not so it lost any interest.


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With the use of repetitive melodies, and building

heavier percussive elements throughout, it was

important to provide awareness that this piece of

music is suitable for club-environments.

Although I think I could have been more

effective by adding further layers of harmony to

develop the piece, I found this difficult as I did not

want the overall sound to become too thick or muddy,as it would be difficult for instruments to be clearly

defined from each other within the mix.


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Fig. 1.4: Table to show instrumentation, FX and notes within Chekhovs ShuffleTrack Audio, Midi, or Return FX Notes

Sample Audio

Audio

Compressor, EQ

Increasing reverb to enhance sound of trumpet player in the sample

Oberheim Noise Midi Sidechain Compression

[Kick], WAVES EQ

Rising filter and use of noise

Oberheim Funk Lead Midi Sidechain Compression

[Kick], Saturator, Reverb[Hall]

Kick Midi Sidechain Compression[Kick], WAVES EQ

African Shaker 1 Audio converted into Midiformat

Delay, Reverb [Room],Reverb [Hall], Compressor

Clack sample arranged into 4-bar phrase

African Shaker 2 Audio converted into Midi

format

Auto Panning, EQ Recorded using my ZOOM Microphone

Funk Clap Audio converted into Midiformat

Compressor, EQ

Drum layering techniques applied

Clap 2 Audio converted into Midi

format

Compressor, EQ Drum layering techniques applied

Sub Bass Midi Slight use of EQ Drum layering techniques applied

Hats Audio

Reverb [Room], Reverb [Hall],Compressor

Drum Hats Midi Slight use of EQ, Reverb, Sidechain back into the kick drum to prevent the overall sound from becoming muddy

Shaker

Recorded Audio

Slight use of EQ

Recorded using my ZOOM Microphone

Shhhhh Sample Recorded Audio EQ and Compression Recorded using my Zoom microphone

Sampled Triangle Audio converted into Midiformat

Reverb [Room], Reverb [Hall],

Reverb (Room) RETURN Truverb Unit. Low diffusion, decay and intensity to model a bedroom sized space


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Reverb (Hall) RETURN Truverb Unit

High diffusion, decay and low intensity to model a small hall

Delay RETURN Kramer Delay Unit Subtle use of delay to add overall depth

Drum-layering principles within Chekhovs ShuffleWhen working with layers of sound, engineers and producers all over the world layer all manner of sounds. For me, I was

mostly interested in layering percussion. The basic concept remains relatively simple, yet in practice, I find it to be one of

the most challenging things in production, and even with these pieces of music, I still feel as though I have yet to get it

right. Most of the process involves doing the legwork; making sure you organise samples folders to find enough raw

materials, but it also requires a level of tonal and spectral sculpturing, as I will describe below.

By achieving the desired sound on a snare hit, adds width, depth and overall thickness. The process of sculpting through

the use of EQing also allowed very detailed tonal sculpting and by altering frequencies on top of one another can

enhance the perceived harmonic content as a result. However, the reason I find the overall technique so intriguing, even

though frustrating at times, is that unique tones can be created that add a sense of originality and flare to a production.

Within Chekhovs Shuffle, the snare is layered with 2 different hits. By placing two samples together, I found that there

was a clash in frequency, which can sound untidy in the overall mix. For that reason, experimenting with as many

different snare hits together is a crucial step in the process.


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When I found two corresponding hits (one extremely compressed clap, and one other, also harsh clap), I layered the two.

Sometimes (when you experiment with a lot of different samples together), the raw sound is satisfying enough for the

process to end there, but usually enveloping is needed for the next stage of the process. Separating out the attack,

sustain, decay and release portions of the sample is essential for effective layering within the mix, and I also often use

gating on one or more of the sample hits, to ensure tail ends are not heard.

Notes on the production and mixing of RadicalI started writing Radical after Chekhovs Shuffle. Because of Chekhovs upbeat tempo, I decided to contrast this, and

write at a much slower tempo. Because of this, it gave me a lot more space to work with from the get go, allowing me to

build textures on the Oberheim, without the mix sounding too dense.

Some key technological elements here are:

Use of filtering to build tension

Minimal dub section (there is a longer dub version of this track also)

Use of subtle delay & auto pan elements

Use of saturation to slightly distort the kick drum.

Automation control within Radical, as something was something that was crucial to bringing in new sonic elements and

percussion. By adjusting either the feedback or decibel level parameters on the delay return track, I was able to control

how much reverb I wanted at different times.


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Track

Audio, Midi, or Return

FX

Notes

Kick Drum

Audio converted into Midi format

PSP Saturator, PSP VIntage Warmer,EQ

Wanted to have a sense of swing. Use of filtering from the midiinstrument in certain sections.

Hits Audio converted into Midi format Reverb [Room], Reverb [Hall],

Compressor

Oberheim Strings Midi Sidechain Compression [Kick], Saturator,

Reverb [Hall]Heavy use of filtering and portamento.

Sub Bass Midi

Sidechain Compression [Kick], WAVESEQ

Clack Audio converted into Midi format Delay, Reverb [Room], Reverb [Hall],Compressor

Clack sample arranged into 4-bar phrase

Clarinet Audio Recorded using my ZOOM Microphone

African Shaker

Audio

Auto Panning

Recorded using my african shaker. See figure below.

Glitch sample Audio converted into Midi format

WAVES EQ Sampled from Dahglish, and changed the rhythm and pitch

using warp markers.

Sample fills Audio Reverb, Delay Orchestral elements like flute

DRUM KIT // HI-HATS Reverb [Room], Reverb [Hall],Compressor

Reverb [Room] (Waves Truverb) RETURN Slight use of EQ Sidechain back into the kick drum to prevent the overall sound

from becoming muddy

Reverb [Hall] (Waves Truverb) RETURN Slight use of EQ

Delay (Waves Feedback)

RETURN

None

adjusted amplitude dependant on sections that build

Learning and using a new digital audio workstation (DAW).


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This was my first time using Ableton Live, and I am still exploring its the new features. I found it a lot easier for loop-

making functionality in general. Creating loops in the scene window and using warp markers when inserting samples

made building block elements of a piece very easy throughout. I found that within half an hour I had gathered enough

material together that worked, and had done most of the mixing within various 4/8/16 bar loops. I could then go on to

recording it into the arrange window in Live, structure it and add automation where applicable.

Throughout each Ableton live project, I found moving

entire sections around more difficult than in Logic.

Logic has a smart function when it comes to moving

regions, and manages to understand what the user

wants. I think this is something Ableton Live should

consider improving upon in its future design elements.

The Mastering process: the tape machineIn my presentation, I took a broad overview of the

tape machine, its usage by both old and new, and looked into contemporary artists like Pierre Schaeffer, Steve Reich, and

Boards of Canada. I demonstrated part of a piece of music I had been working on by applying a Tape Machine in digital

format (Kramer MPX S), to some tracks within the piece.

Figure 4: By using a low tape speed, (7.5 inches per second orips) I was able to produce an overall lower frequencyresponse with some high frequency loss. Applying flux,another term for operating level,as magnetic radiationemitted from the record head on to the tape itself.Figure 3: Overall graphic score of Radical


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Whilst many, like Steve Reich in Come Out, use tape looping within the production stage of composition, I was

interested in using it at the mastering stage. This is also common, as artists, spanning all styles of music, employ its

usage to add warmth to their overall mix.

The result is that the record has a distinct Lo-fi sound to it throughout. This makes me happy, as I know that it has added

a final tail of colour to the overall sound, as well as sounding consistent throughout.

Improvements and Final ThoughtsIt was often easy to loop material that I had written. This is a common problem for many producers, because pieces

of music can often lack significant development. I do not think I have a problem in adding or fading in certain

instrumentation (i.e thinking in a vertical process). This is something I will consider in future compositions.

Whilst there was a lot of automation throughout both pieces, I could have been even more precise with automation,

and pinpoint the exact moment new elements are brought in both more subtly and effectively.

Within Chekhovs Shuffle, I found it difficult to keep the pulse constant, whilst varying and keeping the interest. I

wanted to add further depth, and develop the harmony, but I found that this adding more instrumentation resulted

in an overall muddiness to the tracks.


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In summary, I like the fact that the record incorporated different moods indicated by musical characteristics like

tempo, textures and instrumentation. There is still, in my opinion, a lot of work to be done, but these compositions

have made me feel as though the E.P has solid potential. As far as it goes for releasing and marketing the product,

there are a number of issues that still need to be addressed.


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References

- Jenkins, M. (2007).Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, performing, buying.Oxford: Elsivier Ltd.

- Aturia. (2014). User's Manual: Oberheim SEM .Meylan, France: 4, Chemin de Malacher.

-

Collins, N., & d'Escrian, J. (2007). The Cambirdge Companion to Electronic Music.Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Discography:

Flying LotusUntil The Quiet Comes

Theo ParrishFirst Floor

Nicolas JaarSpace Is Only Noise

Amon TobinFoley RoomBonoboNorth Borders

Steve ReichCome Out

Sampleography

RadicalRelaxing Jazz Music with Rain and Restaurant Sounds[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6u8fqkDJMs]

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