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antic604

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Posts posted by antic604

    here's a psytrance track ive been working on id love some feedback!

    in Free Music Promotion

    Posted

    I really, really like it - it sounds very unique, quite different to most of stuff out there even in the forest genre and that's what matters. Sure, as @Twisted Desire above said, balance and placement in the mix of particular sounds could be improved, but that's a technical thing that you'll undoubtably improve on that as time goes by. The ideas are there, the story is there, the pacing is right.

     

    Followed on SC, looking forward to more tunes! :)

    Which MIDI / control keyboard you're using?

    in Music Making and Production/Industry

    Posted

    Hmm, that's a good point.. I guess it appears like a worse deal than most DAW's since it's basically the same price as Ableton but you only have to pay Ableton once, but yeah I can see it being a nice way to keep the updates high quality. And it's a bit tricky comparing since Bitwig is new in the game. A more honest statement would probably be that 350 euros is too much for me regardless of what I would spend it on lol

     

    Only with FL you pay once and get lifetime updates free. With Live you pay for every full number update. Last full number update of Live was in 2013 and what it brought until now is improved sampler, RMS & peak metering, new filter algorithms, 3 Max4Live devices (so only for Suite owners), Link protocol and some free sound packs. Sure, the users didn't had to pay for 4 years, but they got very little in return.

    Which MIDI / control keyboard you're using?

    in Music Making and Production/Industry

    Posted

    I'm still working with some old 1.3something xD Found a script for 1.3 on the bitwig forum, soo I'll simply have to see how it works out... I consider buying Bitwig 2 though, just gotta save some moneyyyy (or just wait for a crack..... it's really expensive considering you just get the updates for a year). But yeah I'll message you once I get the keyboard :)

     

    Come on, you're one of those people too?

     

    No, you but what's in the current version and 12 months updates - which may well include a 3.0 version - are guaranteed for free. After that you're free to not pay and use the last version you that you've got. And then you can pay again whenever you feel new version justifies it, with additional 12 months of free updates again available. How people still read it is 12 months subscription boggles my mind. If such model encourages the team to put out meaningful updates more frequently - which based on last 6 months is happening - then I'm all for it.

    Which MIDI / control keyboard you're using?

    in Music Making and Production/Industry

    Posted

    Hey people! After my thread about finding inspiration I was linked this thread, I'm currently thinking about buying the Arturia Minilab MK2 or the Akai mpk mini mk2. Anyone got experience with any of them? Heard both good and bad about both... I like how the minilab has 16 knobs but the pads seems nicer on the MPK, and I like the idea of an arpeggiator.

     

    Minilab is great for Renoise - you can map all 16 encoders to whatever parameters across the whole project, pads to transport & general movement. In Bitwig it's not as great, because native script doesn't make much sense (to me at least), while the generic scripts work acceptably but far from perfect either.

     

    Can't tell anything about MPK Mini2, but consider this - for psychedelic trance you might wanna control at the same time a lot of parameters across many devices (filters, resonances, envelopes, effect sends, effect parameters, etc.) and Akai has only 8 knobs and they're of the pots variety, so with specified min & max. I don't know how that'd work in Renoise, but Bitwig currently doesn't have parameter pickup function, which means if you had your filter on one device (and on controller) at 20% and switch to a different device that has it at 100%, then turning the knob will make it suddenly jump to 20%.

     

    Arturia seems more solid & is slightly bigger, while Akai is even more compact (smaller footprint due to lack of pitch&mod, and flatter) and while it feels a bit more plastic (especially the keys), it definitely doesn't feel flimsy or easy to break.

     

    Tough choice, sorry :)

    Doors to creativity?

    in Music Making and Production/Industry

    Posted

    Thanks for the answer! I use bitwig and renoise mostly. But I have serious problems getting into the world of clips and instead use the "arrange-mode", or what one would call it, most of the time. It feels a bit more natural for me, perhaps since I've mostly used tracker based software in the past. So I might start off with a MIDI-keyboard to begin with, I've always loved playing melodies and arps on keys and even though my technical skills is a bit limited I do have some knowledge in musical theory.. :) If I can sell off my wardrobe as planned I'll probably save the money for more musical toys :P

     

    Just like you said in your post I was initially leaning towards the Code-25, but after some research and comparing the 25-key midi-keyboards available I think the Akai MPK mini MK2 would be the best choice for me. It has enough knobs and pads and the X/Y joystick is a really cool bonus, for ie cutoff and resonance on bandpassed leads, or to tweak a arpeggiated melodies into more chaotic realms...

     

    And thanks for the feedback on my music! :) I find myself creating things barely realising how it happens haha, but yeah creativity usually comes and goes in phases, hopefully some knobs and buttons will give me a little push  :P

     

    Also, if I remember correctly you too has been fooling around with trackers for some time? :D I got my hands on a copy of Renoise a while ago and must admit it's really fun, and the potential seems huuuuge. lots of nice built in effects and wonderful workflow

     

    Yes, indeed I come from trackers as well (been using Renoise for 5-10 years, without ever completing anything though :)) and actually for me clips were the natural extension - or evolution - of tracker paradigm. It was always killing my workflow that I had to copy & paste full patterns - so all the tracks together - and then delete, adjust or modify what I wanted. Jeskola's Buzz and Psycle tracker solved that nicely by detaching tracks from patterns, so you could re-use the parts that were repeating, but their interface and other things were off-putting to me. Pattern is basically a 'scene' in Live or Bitwig, so - in a way - it's still there if you want it.

     

    Live and now Bitwig are (almost) perfect for me, because I use the Session / Clip Launcher view as a sketch pad to accumulate ideas and their variations, then jam with them to find good combinations and their sequence to finally drag them to Arrangement for further editing. Usually what I end up with in Arrangement differs significantly from where I started in the Session, because I'll likely cut and chop the clips, stretch, reverse, offset the start positions, etc. But it really works for me, especially to get the initial idea going. The only thing missing - and surprisingly, in boht! - is alias/ghost clips, i.e. the workflow that you can create a clip in either Session or Arrangment and then 'clone' it across the project so whenever you change the original, all other clips will follow and be adjusted too. This is such an obvious functionality and most 'traditional' DAWs have it, that I was shocked to find out it's absent in Live and Bitwig...

     

    Regarding MPK Mini's joystick - please verify with its manual, but I'm pretty sure the joystick isn't freely mapable, i.e. it's there to save space on pitch & mod wheels and only sends those messages.

    Doors to creativity?

    in Music Making and Production/Industry

    Posted

    So, after a long summer and spring I've finally settled down and got my computer up with acceptable monitors, soundcard etc.... But every time i open up my DAW I feel like I'm falling into old habits of just making a boring (generic) bass+kick and then trying to add weird leads and sounds on top; this never gets me creative or excited. Especially since I don't even have a MIDI controller. I feel that I lack the fun part of the production when working with just plugins and such.

     

    Everytime I sit down with a piece of hardware (i.e. in a music store or at a friends place) I start to experiment and jam and I feel that this is what I need, a "natural" way in to the sounds and music, based on experiments and joy rather than trying to manufacture these things. 

     

    But - since I don't really have that money to spare for hardware synths I'm looking looking for other methods of finding inspiration and creativity in my production. Do any of you got any advice? :)

     

    Alternatively, if I were to spend the small amounts of cash I can on a piece of hardware, what would be a good thing to start with? I really love jamming and making more unusual sounds.

     

    Which DAW are you using? I find that the workflow facilitated by clip-focused software (Live, Bitwig, Maschine) is a good way to come up with ideas - you create bunch of different clips: drums, basses, leads, arps, pads, fx, acid lines; then just jam with them launching them in random order, at different offsets, etc. to come up - sometimes by accident - with interesting combinations. You can record all that, along with modulation to any and all of the parameters, to the arrangement timeline for further refinement. A clip-launching controller might come in handy in such a workflow, e.g. something like Novation Launchpad Pro, which you can use - at least in Live or Bitwig - to play MIDI notes & drums, control mixer and devices, launch clips, etc., so - in a way - it can do much more than regular MIDI keyboard. One awesome thing (for Launchpad Pro, lower versions don't have it) is that in 'notes' mode you can set the root note and scale and whatever note you play, it will always be correct, so - with practice - it's easy to come up with melodies, chord progressions, etc. without knowing the theory.

     

    launchpad-pro-angle-main.jpg?1440805385

     

    Here's overview of how it works with Live (it's even expanded with custom scripts for Bitwig):

     

     

     

     

    Some time ago I bought a MIDI controller with keyboard & knobs (https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/72618-which-midi-control-keyboard-youre-using/ for more details :)) and I'm happy with it for the reasons that @recursionloop mentioned, but I'm seriously thinking on expanding my setup with the Launchpad Pro. See here for reference (the guy is using Bitwig, Launchpad Pro and Launch Control):

     

     

     

     

     

     

    BTW, I had a peek at your Soundcloud and it's really great - the tracks are well produced, musical, very varied so I just think you're going through a difficult phase, because you clearly got talent and skills! :)

    The Irresistible Force - Kira Kira [Liquid Sound Design]

    in Artist News and Labels announcements

    Posted

    Out today! Not really psy-trance, or even psy-chill/dub but since it's released on L.S.D. I thought it's only appropriate to give the heads up. It's incredibly lush, sunny, warm, positive and peaceful music brimming with live instrumentation, voices and singing all in mid tempo, but without the typical eastern(ish) influences or heavy dub. Weird it wasn't released few months ago before the summer, because it would fit right in!

     

    Highly recommended for when you want to take a break from all that banging!  :blush:

     

     

     

    The Irresistible Force returns with ‘Kira Kira’, his first original album in nearly ten years. The album dips and dives through lush ambient soundscapes, combining Mixmaster Morris’ signature use of crate digging, live instrumentation, and swirling electronics. ‘Kira Kira’ expands on The Irresistible Force sound, exploring the depths of ambient and chillout music. The music draws you through a maze of japanese influences, dub basslines (courtesy of the legendary Jah Wobble), balearic textures, and the jazz tinged sound of Nik Turner’s (Hawkwind) saxophone. The bulk of the album was created in Youth’s Space Mountain Studios in the suitably epic, yet idyllic, mountains of southern Spain. Acting as production supervisor, Youth brings his own unique feel to the album, adding warbling arpeggios and a modern aesthetic to the classic sound of The Irresistible Force.

     

    a4052108034_16.jpg

     

     

    Listen / grab it here: https://liquidsounddesignuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-irresistible-force-kira-kira

     

     

    Music Review

    in Free Music Promotion

    Posted

    Also the leads/stabs/farts/voice samples etc should be better balanced, some of them sound louder than they should be, some others are way too quiet. 

     

    Oh, indeed! There was one 'shout' in there that really took me by surprise at how loud it was :)

    • Like 1

    Music Review

    in Free Music Promotion

    Posted

    Are you a fan of Logic Bomb / Hux-Flux, because at times it sounds just like that :) I like a lot of the sounds, the melodies are fine, the stuttery effects and overall production is good, although - probably - you could make the kick+bass a bit louder and upfront, to match the contemporary psy-trance production standards. I don't like the triplets in the middle (but I hate them in general :)) and I think the track would benefit from more focused arrangement, e.g. there's basically nothing happening in the last two minutes, while earlier the hi- and low-energy parts are kind of randomly interwoven, so it's a bit difficult to tell what's the buildup, peak and release. The only element of the "story" is the triplet break in the middle, while it's difficult to tell the difference between the parts pre- and after that bridge.

     

    But overall, that's a very, very solid track! :)

    • Like 1

    Hallucinogen - The Lone Deranger

    in 1997

    Posted

    20 years later, still the best goa/psy album ever made.

     

    Nope, that's Cosmosis' "Synergy" but this one's pretty damn close :P

     

    The thing that always surprises me the most listening to it nowadays, is how good the production is still - sure, there's much less emphasis on kick + bass, but (because of that) there's much more variety and freedom in the rhythm section - and by extension: in the album as a whole - to do interesting stuff, rather than that droning, mind-numbing KBBB (or K_BB alternatively) pattern underneath the squishy acids and stabby "melodies" that seem almost obligatory now. Timeless album indeed! :)

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