glitched.org /up

various [d] updates (soundcloud, modular, shruti-1)

Just thought I’d hit you with a few quick updates:

1.  I’ve finally gotten into the modular game!  After maybe 10 years of pining after a modular synthesizer system, I finally gave in and purchased a few modules.  See below for a slideshow:

2.  I’ve updated my soundcloud with sounds and loops made with that system:
MODULAR SET 1: http://snd.sc/bABNwB
MODULAR SET 2: http://snd.sc/fuFH3p

3. Remember the Shruti-1 DIY synthesizer project?  Well, I wrote up a rather extensive article that describes the entire building process, which was hosted on drop.io.  That site is now defunct, so I have moved that information to this site, at this location: http://glitched.org/up/diy-shruti-1-synthesizer-glitched/

4.  My Monomachine suffered a memory-erasing crash last night; I lost everything.  The sad part about this is that I had a bunch of songs and ideas ready to record for my upcoming album, but now they’re all gone.  Subsequently, I won’t be releasing anything soon.  This is just a minor setback.  Whenever this sort of thing happens, I look at it as a sort of cleansing experience and usually come up with some material that is 10x better than whatever I lost.  I’ll be back in action, soon.

That’s all for now.

category: (d), misc, modular, news

moving to a different web host (complete)

I will be moving to a different webhost this weekend, so there may be some down-time.

In the meantime, check out some of my recent tracks @ bandcamp.
I’ve been really into “Master Control,” recently:

http://glitched.bandcamp.com/track/master-control

UPDATE: Well, that was quick and painless–we’re back!  The transition from Godaddy to Dreamhost was flawless.

UPDATE2: I’m really happy with Dreamhost.  If you want to try them out, you can use this code, which entitles you to 1 year of hosting + 1 free domain for $60:  DHOST60 .  By the way, this WordPress site is maybe 3-5 times faster than it was on Godaddy.

category: misc, news

[d] is on soundcloud as d01

I finally gave in and signed up for a soundcloud account: http://soundcloud.com/d01 .  I’m not quite sure what I’ll put up there, but I think it’ll replace the songs I usually reserve for box.net; that is, remixes, works-in-progress, and misc.  Soundcloud is a cool tool to meet other like-minded people as well.

One drawback of the (albeit, free) service is that it only streams at 128k and that makes some of my tunes sound like crap.   I suppose everyone’s in the same boat because 128k seems to be the industry standard (even bandcamp’s player streams at this rate).  Thankfully, there is a “download original” function, where the listener can download a higher-quality mp3, .flac, or even .wav.

Add me up!

category: (d), misc, news, soundcloud, tracks

[d] re-mix: buromaschinen’s “hyperstarship” (part 2)

This post is a continuation of the first part, here:  http://glitched.org/up/2010/09/d-re-mix-buromaschinens-hyperstarship/

As much as I wanted to keep everything the same, as I dug into “Hyperstarship”, I felt it needed some “breathing room.”  That is, there’s a lot going on and it just needed a little variety as the song progressed.

Instead of everything coming in after the intro [1], I silenced the hi-hat and allowed the pad to come in before letting the song get into its stride.  I also removed the 808-ish snare that appears in the :30 – 1:00 range [2]

Hyperstarship Arrangement

Click to see the arrangement and annotations.

because I didn’t think it added much and I really wanted the listener to concentrate on that floaty 202 pad.  Speaking of which, to add a little [d]-ness to the track, I duplicated the track with the 202 and shifted one of them, so it sounded like a delay; one segment was also reversed, which is something I love to do [3].

Going back to the track with the 808 snare for a moment (labeled, “HSS_Percussions”, Live track 5), the pattern included a tom in it as well, which was a bit too busy; also, it interfered with the bassdrum, so I had to cut some of it out and create a new pattern [2a].  The new sequence sounds more “retro” to me.

I continued to comb through the arrangement and pick out parts that either didn’t add much to the song or got in the way of the enjoyment of the other elements.  At around :33 of the original mix, a thick, phasing, panning, buzzy sweep appears [4], which is a great lead-in to the next part of the song, but it is present throughout the entire song.  The problem isn’t with the sound itself (it’s a really cool Monomachine sound), but with the fullness and “liveliness” of it; in other words, it’s a really rich sound that might get in the way of the bassline or pad or whatever.

The light pad that plays throughout the track was left unaltered, except for an auto-panner instance, which was used more as a slow tremlolo effect, for variation [5].

At around 3:00, the bassline drops out and the kick and snare are allowed to do their thing, as a sort of final breakdown [6].

After making these changes to the arrangement, I was very happy with it.  The mixing was good too.  Of course, it took about five iterations to get it “perfect”, but after listening to it in my car (the acid test), it was done.  Oh, except for the mastering.

Because I spent so much time on the mix, “Hyperstarship” didn’t need all that much polishing off.  (I say this with all humility, as I understand that there are real “pro” mix engineers that would a lot of things differently than I did.)  The thing I didn’t want to do was smash the track into oblivion (it was already pretty compressed, anyway) and make the waveform hug the 0dB line the entire song.  (You can really screw everything up at this point.)

Maxximus plugin

IL's Maxximus plugin.

Using my favorite plugin of all time, Image-Line’s Maxximus, I started with the “clear master” preset, which essentially flattens most of the settings.  Even that setting was too much, so I turned down the LMH mix (basically, the depth of the Maxximus effect).  At that point, the loudness was good, but it didn’t sound much different than the un-mastered version.  Expanding the stereo image in the high and mid bands was the key.

A few more minor tweaks to preserve the dynamics and hyperstarship was done.

So, there you go.  Two blog posts that took way longer than the actual remix project itself.  I love doing both.  Thank you for the opportunity, Buromaschinen!

If you like what I have done with his mix, my services are available to the public.  Contact me here or @ twitter.

category: (d), elektron, machinedrum, misc, monomachine, remix, tracks

[d] re-mix: buromaschinen’s “hyperstarship”

Go here to listen to the track and comment:  http://soundcloud.com/buromaschinen/hyperstarship-d-glitched-org-rework
Click to download a higher-quality mp3 (soundcloud only streams at 128k):  hyperstarship – [d] rework.mp3

So, I first discovered Buromaschinen on the Elektron-users.com forums, a while back.  His tunes, made almost exclusively with the Monomachine and Machinedrum, evoked a retro-futuristic feeling to which I was really drawn.  His take on the whole 8/16-bit-retro-80′s-electro-videogame -thing is framed a bit differently than the worn-out “chiptune” paradigm.  Think R-Type, Altered Beast, and the TurboGrafx-16, rather than Galaga, Pac-Man, and the Atari 2600.  When listening to his tracks, I imagine that I’m escaping murderous cyborgs or reconstructing my past, while searching out an alien artifact that releases oxygen from beneath Mars’ surface.

Anyway, as much as his sound takes me back to a pleasant time in my life, I often want to hear a more “modern” take on the mix.  As Buromaschinen has said himself: “The mix sucks but I like it a lot, as it sounds bad like electronic music used to sound bad in early nineties.”  It’s certainly not that bad, but the melodies and beats deserve to be polished to a hi-gloss, like a T-800, fresh off the line.

As soon as I heard “Hyperstarship”, I wanted to see if I could improve the mix.  Overall, the sound wasn’t bad, but the main thing that bothered me was that it sounded “muddy” in the low end;  I really wanted that analog bassline and bass drum to play nicely.  Yes, everything seemed over-compressed, but that’s part of his sound; I really didn’t want to change that too much.

The composition was good, if a bit repetitive, but again, I wanted to “re-mix” his tune, not “remix” it.  With this goal in mind, I came to Buro and asked if he’d be amenable to me taking some liberties with his track.  He responded nearly instantly with several .wav files (the stems of the song) and his blessing.  BONUS STAGE: The stems were 24-bit, included wet and dry versions, and reference tracks!  (This is how all mix/remix projects should go!)

So, now that the stage is set, on to the process…

Read more ›

category: (d), elektron, machinedrum, misc, monomachine, remix, tracks

remastered [d] track – “clones”

I spent some time going through some of my recent tracks, in a quest to revamp and remaster them using some recently acquired knowledge (and software).  (Hint: FL Studio plug-ins are no joke.)
“3131 (rough)” was the first in this series; “clones” is the next.   Listen to it, here: http://glitched.bandcamp.com/track/clones .

The original version seemed low in volume compared to my other tracks; the bass was somewhat lacking as well.  Usually, you don’t want to overdo it on the mastering front, but the bass, especially in the “boom” range, needed to be brought way up.  (Ideally, I would have boosted the bass in the composition phase [in the machinedrum], but it sounded good in the headphones.)

The lesson to be learned is that you should audition your tracks on several systems before calling it a day.  That being said, I think this newly remastered version sounds much fuller and louder than the original.

Personal note: If you like how some of my tracks sound, I am experimenting with mastering, for a fee.  Let me know if you’re interested in this.

category: (d), bandcamp, elektron, machinedrum, tracks