In this thread is electronic music a friend and I make together as a group called Weekend Astronauts, details about production methods, and a free bonus downloadable clip or loop used in each project posted. Discussion encouraged, enjoyment required.
Our Soundcloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/weekendastronauts
So let's get to it.
First up is something I just finished mixing today, as the first "side" of a song based on what ultimately came to existence from playing with a softsynth and coming up with a lick I enjoyed. And it didn't even start that way. I was browsing through old projects and happened to love the tone of a synth I had in a project, and I decided to change the melody, then became something I wanted to follow through with. That melody is the first thing you hear in the song below:
(It's just a SoundCloud page, don't worry!)
>>>>
Weekend Astronauts - Plastic Bells (Sunrise Edit) <<<<
Hear that intro? That's what inspired the entire song. In fact, in the next post, there's a different song based solely on that synth line. Although the song is VERY different in character.
PRODUCTION METHODS
My music buddy and I both use Sonar 8.5. The cool thing about this program is that you can export an entire project and the other person can open it up and work in that project. This helps us because we're geographically far apart. We use Dropbox to exchange projects and clips, and there's never any problems.
For this song, the main bell-type synth line is constructed in Dimension Pro in Sonar. However, you could get this sound with any software (or hardware) synthesizer because it's a pretty basic set of layers. Of course, in Dimension Pro, we don't have the ability to create sounds from the oscillator up, because it's not that kind of synth. It's based on samples that you manipulate and layer. But if I were to guess, I'd say that there's definitely a sine on the top for one of the oscillators, Maybe a lower one too. As far as the dynamics of it, that's all controlled in Dimension regarding attack, decay, etc.
The patch was made from various layers of stock sounds that ship with Dimension Pro and tweaked. If anyone wants it, send me a message and I'll upload it for you to use in Dimension Pro.
DRUMS...
Ok,
this is the thing I'm providing for download. Mostly because it's awesome as hell, but also because I had absolutely nothing to do with those drums other than editing them to work right in my project. For the drums, you're hearing Bernard Purdie's famous shuffle. Here's the Youtube video I sampled them from:
Original Purdie Shuffle
Because he's drumming for real, and real people aren't completely and totally on time in terms of a programmed electronic music project, some work had to go into it in order to have the drums stay consistent. In the bonus download link at the end of this thread, you will have the main portion of what I edited in the song for the drums. They are EQ'd and processed, but that may not be to the fit of your project if you want to use them. In that case, well, you have the Youtube link.
The rest of the elements are rather straight forward. They're more "supporting roles", as it were. All are programmed in Sonar using various softsynths, both integrated and 3rd party. I do have to give a shout out to Waves, though. I use (extensively) Waves H-Delay. There's a feature in that delay plugin to do pitch modulation of the delay, which allows you to make really dreamy and almost dischordant ambience on basically anything you slap it on.
TIP:
If you don't have that plugin, you can hack it together by creating a delay buss for your track in question via a send, adding a normal delay, then adding a pitch adjustment plugin after that delay and automating the pitch knob. Once you have what you want, bounce that clip out and import it into your project, and run it parallel to your original track and EQ it in. (You may not hear this effect prominently in this song, but you will hear it in the next.)
OK!
Since there isn't much to this song, I'll just cut it short and provide the drum loop I've edited together, which exists quite naturally at 98 BPM.
LOOP DOWNLOAD - Purdie Shuffle
Bernard Purdie Shuffle - Edited - 98BPM