Track I Made Using No midi, only audio samples, and sequenced in Audacity

[Brisbot]

https://soundcloud.com/evoava/bad-acid-hash

The whole idea behind this track for me was that all of the textures and drum samples and whatnot are glitched out to an extent, with no particular scrutiny for individual samples and automation, so I'm able to basically get many many samples using vsts or found sounds, and then sequence partially in Audacity and partially in my DAW.

The idea was that I could constantly be 'creative' and not worry about the particulars of a sound (since I tend to obsess over it if I can control everything). So I chose to limit myself this way as I could only use 'found sounds' and not worry about tweaking everything so much.

The result of this little experiment, was that the track itself is more wild and unpredictable. When I use midi, everything kind of sounds like I'm 'in control' and very deliberate, whereas if I'm glitching stuff out by only relying on what I can make with twiddling parameters and recording. The result is a much more wild sound.

I think i've succeeded in doing what I set out to do, but next time I'm definitely not using audacity as this took like twice as long as it should have :)

I initially used Audacity so the track could sound more natural and not rely on a straight forward tempo, but I'm not sure if that suits this kind of track. Maybe something more atmospheric and slower.

[Salvatorin]

pretty fucking special I must say

[Ragnar]

I'll listen in a bit, just suggesting you listen to my release 'coffee mug inventor/open the third nostril' as I actually incorporated modular synths/effects to control the swing/tempo in some tracks (not sure which ones, but definitely dog cone 97b or whatever). The others I just layered swing machines to a ridiculous extent and that seemed to make an effect like the swing settings fighting amongst themselves. I'm trying some super weird stuff with compression now - like altering the attack release time according to dB over threshold, but the db over threshold to an /auxilary/ channel so I can like distort or even EQ the db to fool it it's some other amount of dB at that moment, to 'humanize' the attack release curves. The EQ is interesting because it would essentially act different/have a sorta working memory of the compression setting so many samples ago, like high frequencies would be how erratic the compression/signal is and you could maybe lowpass that to dull/smooth it (or highpass to accent the erratic parts)? That's all I'll say, I find that interesting too tho because then the beatz are still quantized but the velocity is changed to hopefully sound like a drummer with insanely good timing/mike glozier

 

i thought about doing this sort of thing in audacity but you have the same problem that like, you /could/ work at the sample level but it's like trying to paint the mona lisa pixel by pixel, mang. I think it's better like i said to do like distortion and stuff to add chaos but something tweakable like a waveshaper so it's automatic but a personalized automation

[Kavinsky]

i love the liquid sound would like to see some kind of tutorial how you made it but i may aks to much

[flacid]

Always enjoy listening to your work. A lot of variety in what you make.

 

I like both the experimental idea and their results. As mentioned above the 'liquid' sounds are made better by the fluidity of the track. Great work, would like to hear an EP/album within this area.

[Ragnar]

yes this was a cool thing

[Polytrix]

Always love your stuff dude. This is a banger. I agree about there being too much control available when using midi. I love using purely audio and sequencing the results of endless jams. Your sounds are really pleasing :)

[Brisbot]

Thanks for listening guys. I've not had a computer the past few days so I've just looked at watmm :)

 

 

I like both the experimental idea and their results. As mentioned above the 'liquid' sounds are made better by the fluidity of the track. Great work, would like to hear an EP/album within this area.

Yeah, since I made this track I've been using things I've learned from it in my stuff. I'm definitely more likely to rely on the resulting audio than tweaking midi :)

 

i love the liquid sound would like to see some kind of tutorial how you made it but i may aks to much

It's probably easier than it seems. The basic idea was for me to get heaps of different audio quickly. I did this in a number of different ways, but a good way to start would be to pick a scale, set up 1/2nd 1/4th and 1/8th notes, really any length. And then do things like automate the cutoff or pitch with drums. From there it's experimentation, and knowing when you've run into an interesting sound. Basically I record a lot, listen through for interesting sounds, and then sequence stuff and try to make a composition out of it. I feel like most of it is knowing when you've found a good sample, and then using it.

 

'll listen in a bit, just suggesting you listen to my release 'coffee mug inventor/open the third nostril' as I actually incorporated modular synths/effects to control the swing/tempo in some tracks (not sure which ones, but definitely dog cone 97b or whatever). The others I just layered swing machines to a ridiculous extent and that seemed to make an effect like the swing settings fighting amongst themselves. I'm trying some super weird stuff with compression now - like altering the attack release time according to dB over threshold, but the db over threshold to an /auxilary/ channel so I can like distort or even EQ the db to fool it it's some other amount of dB at that moment, to 'humanize' the attack release curves. The EQ is interesting because it would essentially act different/have a sorta working memory of the compression setting so many samples ago, like high frequencies would be how erratic the compression/signal is and you could maybe lowpass that to dull/smooth it (or highpass to accent the erratic parts)? That's all I'll say, I find that interesting too tho because then the beatz are still quantized but the velocity is changed to hopefully sound like a drummer with insanely good timing/mike glozier

 

i thought about doing this sort of thing in audacity but you have the same problem that like, you /could/ work at the sample level but it's like trying to paint the mona lisa pixel by pixel, mang. I think it's better like i said to do like distortion and stuff to add chaos but something tweakable like a waveshaper so it's automatic but a personalized automation

Thanks for the ideas. Definitely going to try (what I can) out next time I'm in experiment mode. Unfortunately I'm in 'must finish tracks' mode... I really don't experiment with compression enough. Lots of weird things you can do with it.

[Guest Chesney]

yeah, i'll listen in my own good time, if I can be bothered, but check me out, i'm doing this this and this, it's better because I can do this this and this. etc etc etc.

Just kidding though haha

 

anyway, bris, this is rad, really like the track regardless of how it was made so that's a good mark of how well it worked.

[Brisbot]

 

yeah, i'll listen in my own good time, if I can be bothered, but check me out, i'm doing this this and this, it's better because I can do this this and this. etc etc etc.

Just kidding though haha

IMA KICK UR ARSE.

 

 

 

 

anyway, bris, this is rad, really like the track regardless of how it was made so that's a good mark of how well it worked.

Yeah it doesn't really matter how I made it, I just think a descriptive topic title is more interesting and clickbait-y than just using the track's name. Though Bad Acid kind of sounds enticing, especially if I make it sound as if I took bad acid. Heh.

 

I made it a certain way to see how it affected how I worked, and the fact that I made it in audacity just slowed me down. Though using only audio clips definitely improved my creativity I think.

[Guest Chesney]

I was taking the piss out o ragnar to be honest ;) that's how I read his post anyway. No beef with either rags though ha

[Brisbot]

Yeah I know.

[Guest Chesney]

ha, all good then ;)

[Guest WNS000]

Excellent track. Nice flow. You got skills, man.

 

I love sequencing audio samples without midi too. It is convenient for me to orientate looking at waveforms and cross-fading is powerful.

[Brisbot]

Excellent track. Nice flow. You got skills, man.

 

I love sequencing audio samples without midi too. It is convenient for me to orientate looking at waveforms and cross-fading is powerful.

Yep, pros and cons. There are tons of them where midi is concerned, and it's like I'm discovering them constantly. It even determines how your music sounds in the end. more wild sounding with audio samples, more 'concentrated' or 'controlled' sounding with midi.

[cruising for burgers]

track is pretty dope, guess i would love to hear a little bit of tweaking between the drums and the glitches, morph them together somehow, i mean, i can tell them apart you know, especially the snare, tweak that shit son!!! oh, and some pads? nothing fancy, just some vapor in the background...

i've had this idea before, i mean, filling in a can with nice tweaked sounds cut from experimentation and then just sequence them the way i liked, but i'm a bit of a control/detail freak so, ended up wondering if i could back to the tweaked sound and tweak it in a different way and i got lost in this loop...

[o00o]

I really really like your talking modulated bass line. How is it made? Is it a vocoder of some sorts???

[Brisbot]

track is pretty dope, guess i would love to hear a little bit of tweaking between the drums and the glitches, morph them together somehow, i mean, i can tell them apart you know, especially the snare, tweak that shit son!!! oh, and some pads? nothing fancy, just some vapor in the background...

i've had this idea before, i mean, filling in a can with nice tweaked sounds cut from experimentation and then just sequence them the way i liked, but i'm a bit of a control/detail freak so, ended up wondering if i could back to the tweaked sound and tweak it in a different way and i got lost in this loop...

 

oh I totally agree, though the track was an experiment with the synth and seeing how expressive I can get with just audio files. The answer is pretty damn expressive, though the drums are lacking. The main reason I didn't improve the drums is because I have moved on to other tracks.

 

 

 

 

I really really like your talking modulated bass line. How is it made? Is it a vocoder of some sorts???

I've actually made a better one... in my opinion, but the track surrounding it is a bit lackluster. Actually I'll upload it so you can hear it.

 

https://soundcloud.com/evoava-2/hash-swing

 

It's actually fairly simpler to make than it sounds. I did it a while back so I'm not 100% sure of the exact process, but what you're hearing in both Bad Acid and Hash Swing are cut up bits of audio built with a formant filter. What I did was play around with a formant filter until I found the sound I liked, then I picked a scale, then I added midi for like 2-3 octaves worth of that scale. Make sure the midi's release is basically instant, and no 2 midis come 'together'. Then after this I used Fl Studio's SliceX program, which basically cuts up the audio into bits with markers, which I then can just input with midi.

 

After I played around with it until I get an acid line I like, I'll then add things like compression/slight saturation/distortion to beef the sound up (it sounds a bit weak without it) and chorus in the mid and upper frequencies.

 

I'm sure I added other things but hopefully that was helpful and should get you on your way :)

[Brisbot]

Oh I forgot to add. The trick to making the formant filter sounding like a vocoder, beyond using FX to boost the sound up, is, when you're 'adding' the formants together, make it sound like it's saying something, or making an 'ahh' or 'ohh' or something. Like in Hash Swing, I got it to say 'hey' and 'way' and 'nessie', things like that.

One good way to get quick ideas for it, is to use randomly generated midi, which allows you to very quickly get ideas, or hear ideas in whatever's generated. The trick is to listen intently, and whittle down what 'doesn't make sense' in the context of what you're trying to do.

[BaggerMcGuirk]

Really excellent stuff. It really does sound 'off the grid'.

[Brisbot]

Off the Grid. I'm actually confused as to what you mean. Heh. Are you refering to me using Audacity and things 'swinging' as a result? Or is it just another way to say 'good'. :)

[bossman]

nice one

 

1:30 and on is fucking rad

 

reminds me a bit of soul oddity

[Brisbot]

Wtf, you're the second person who's said that. Any particular tracks by soul oddity, or just like in general?

[cruising for burgers]

will somebody explain this swing thing to me? :(
lol is it the same as making your beats on the piano roll in the 1/4T 1/8T 1/16T measures? i have this doubt because in certain drum machines and fruity loops you have a swing knob, or you can quantize your stuff using some swing presets, but, if i use this knob or swing presets, the stuff will neither be in double times neither triplets... and then when i'm gonna add stuff i don't really know what signature i set on the piano roll to get stuff matching with the stuff i swing with the knob, only time this works is if i set the swing to about 50% which makes the stuff fit the triplets division... now, i guess that's the point, having things not match completely on the piano roll, but on fast breaks, if things are not clinical, it gets messy, right? i understand that in slow stuff like glitch hop hip hop etc you don't even have to think about this because you just play it on an mpc and probably it's easy to make a beat without grid, but on fast stuff, it fucks my head....

[cruising for burgers]

ahhh, sorry for derailing your thread man! another thing, i don't have the option to set a specific swing value for the entire grid for my entire project, i can only select what i already painted in it and apply swing to it... :(((( maybe this is not a problem at all, maybe the problem it's in my head! :)