Hey Mathew!

Good to hear that I didn't offend you. I felt a bit like a back seat producer, poking my nose where it didn't belong, which wasn't my intention at all. So glad you're cool with it.

I've listened to most, if not all, of your soundclick songs and I think you have a lot of good stuff going on. Going the extra length to nit pick on details can be tedious, but the results are so rewarding in the end

For what I suggested about the kick, Battery would be my choise. Didn't realize you had it. I use, abuse and pretty much rape Battery at times. I love it for sound design! Loading the kick sample into three different cells let's you use the envelopes to adjust length and so forth. Then you use three different MIDI notes to trigger them. Easy to edit, you can play them and just enjoy your self. Superior drummer is great, I have it too but i only use it for "real" drum parts. But I'm sure it can be used in electronic music too. They have some digital drum sets for it too I think.

LFO, paning, many things can be used for movement on pads and basses. There's really no right or wrong way to do it, it's the result that counts. And experimenting with it is fun! I see you use Rapture, doesn't that have a pretty neat rhythm generator? I haven't really used it yet. But z3ta+, now that's a beast that will take months of your life. It's great!! The exciters I talked about, when you introduce some moving filters or something similar to a deep sound, exciters really makes the peaks stand out but won't do much with the sound when it goes back to "normal. And when applied sensibly it won't nasty out the mids too much either. You may even find that it adds to the rhythm of the track. The sense of movement and forward feel excels with that compared to just have long drone basses. But sorry, I ramble on. I love talking techniques

BTW, just to let you know where I'm coming from with this, feel free to check out this song I made for Serenity Trace with the vocalist for a video back drop that was supposed to be a part of their release show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuGc63xUS68
The drum kit is buildt up by three kicks, three snares, 7 hi-hats, two cymbals, two additional hi-hat loops, one snare roll and a whole lot of EQing. Come to think of it we did have a couple stock loops with this too. What we did for movement is quite simple, but rather effective IMO. The sound isn't too good. YouTube did something weird with it. But it's actually mixed on a huge PA system

BTW, sound toys eh? I'm just about to order the Native Bundle. They seem very awesome!

Good luck with the vocals man. I hope we get to hear what you do with it soon. Have you recorded the vocals your self? Less is more in a song like yours I think. Leave room for the kick ass leads!

Been messing around with battery most of the night, man I've really been under utilizing this thing.

I might throw in a couple pitch shifted kicks as well, really funk it up.

Kroneborge


Been messing around with battery most of the night, man I've really been under utilizing this thing.

I might throw in a couple pitch shifted kicks as well, really funk it up.

Yeah, Battery goes quite deep and it's easy to ignore the depth of sound shaping posibilities there. But if you're willing to take the time it is a terrific tool IMO. Try triggering some of the chopped up vocals you have with it too

Just remember to switch off the envelopes he he

Great job!  Good break around 1:41.  The hanging bass line makes the song slow in contrast with the faster drums.  This is unusual for me, but maybe innovative for others.  Usually it is a mid synth that have the hanging harmony and the bass lines are in line with the drums.  The transition around 4:04 needs some work. 

Ok, uploaded new song with vocals.

Changed
Snare increased level, also added a bit more verb (switched from hard tile to soft tile on the Lexicon LXP, I think it went a lot better)

Got rid of some of the stutters, also cut out about 16 bars that I felt dragged the song a bit   Added some vocal stuff with alchemy as well (it's really cool)

Changed the beat around a bit in a couple of places to give more variation.

Added some snare rolls etc


I think there's still a bit of mix work to do, but I think I will probably need a fresh pair of ears.  I'm still not totally happy with how all the vocals are sitting, but not sure yet what to do.   Already using EQ, compression, exciters etc.   Maybe just not using them right :)

Thanks,

Not really my cup of tea, but for the genre, it would stand up in a club nicely.  Well recorded with a lot of booty shakin bottom end!

Ok, made a couple more changes.

I think it's probably done, but I'm going to listen to it some more of the next week or so before I start sumbmitting it to try and get it published.

I changed out one of the "come on's" and played with the effects a bunch.  I ended up having to route a number of them to separate channels to get them just right.   But I'm glad I have an i7, I never could have done this project on my last computer.

Thanks again everyone who listened !

I really liked this ......

I am not an expert in this Genera but I am trying to write stuff like this.....I too am one of the old farts around here. I did not like this style up until just 5 or 6 months ago.

I am slowly going thru your list of works and liking them.....and would love to know how to put this kind of material together......I've got lots of ideas

anyway.....I liked this and want to hear more of it..

Clifford

@ Beagle 

Thanks man !   BTW, my parents have 3 beagles, awesome dogs.  Whenever I see your avatar I laugh a bit.   They are such food stealers.   I've had jerky stolen right out of my lap before.

@ Trucker

Glad you liked it.   I will give you a brief run down of how I go about it (of course it's always a bit different for each track).

First at least for me is always the beat.  EZ drummer has some great stuff (I have their electronic xpac) although a lot of times I use a pretty standard rock beat for the midi, and just use the electronic drums. 

Then I start messing around with either melody or bass lines.  Sometimes I use samples, but not that often.

My new favorite synth is Alchemy by Camel Audio.   But Rapture and Z3ta are both awesome (and I think come with Sonar). 

When composing, I usually look for a break or transition every 8-16 bars, to keep interest up.   Drum fills etc are also needed.    A nice pad sound etc is also great for transitions to help break up the track and keep interest.   Sometimes I will switch between different PAD sounds too.

Structure wise, you are probably going to be looking for at least 2 breakdowns, and either 2 choruses, or a 1 blow up.

Then once I'm get a good structure I usually go back in and put in more transitions and ear candy.

Previsously I would do vocals towards the end, but I'm thinking about doing them earlier.   I used alchemy for the vocal effects here, and then Battery 3 to trigger them. 


If you're really interested you can PM me, and I will send you a link to download a bundle file.   Of course most of the effects won't be working etc, and it's kind of a mess.


If you have any specific questions I will be happy to help if I can.   But I still have a lot to learn as well.


Some of my favorite people that do music like this can be found here
http://www.digitalrecords...wdrs?sn=Breakbeat+MP3s

Huda Hudia
DJ Trashy
Sharaz
Tony Faline

Just listen to a lot of music, and see how they put stuff together.  Then adapt it to your own style.

Good luck :)

This has come along nicely. I like what you've done with it.
All we need now are some lasers and strobe lights.

Kroneborge


Been messing around with battery most of the night, man I've really been under utilizing this thing.

Yeah, mine doesn't work as well either when the batteries get low? (See!? :-) LOL!


This sounds like it's gotten much "fatter" And this kind of music is nothing if it's not "fat." 


Only thing I might change is a little bit of high hat work and or types of high percussion as an addition to that kick and snare. Not all over mind you? But as accents...

Hi Mathew,

I don't know how you managed to put this together but i like it a lot. I love the mix on this. You have it sounding so professional like.

Great work
Mark.

I knew I was gonna like this! Love that kick!

Hey, this turned out great!  The vocals added a lot.  :)

Hey Mathew!

wow! This song has come a long way! This sounds really awesome now. The low end is much more tidy and everything has a awesome forward moving feel to it. And the breaks, I love'em! The mix still sounds clear and tidy to me (Nice work with the kick). And I really feel the arrangement comes together now.

I'm a fan Well done! It's been interesting following how you took this song to the next level and then some!