by djnarrative | 6 Mar, 2016 | 0. All DJ Mixes, 02. Going Out Mixes (Uptempo & Dancefloor), 05. House & Techno (Mix), 06. Phat Glitchy Party & Nu Skool Breaks (Mix)
A recent mix i recorded for the Hannah Wants competiton with a load of new records i bought just before xmas exploring the dancefloor sound of the more uk based genre hopping bass music style. I only recorded this one take which never got submitted as i got really ill literally the day after recording it - and it required a youtube vid submission. But nevertheless it's a sound im loving at the moment and features some wicked...
by djnarrative | 20 Feb, 2014 | The Reckorder Project
This is from ages ago, but i thought it would be nice to post up as its the only narrative visual thing i have from Tony. This was my first track i ever made - and Tony is one of my favourite Vjs (and a very good friend) - so i'll always enjoy seeing this little visual jam he did on his way to the Plasa Show. The track was my first breaks track called Drop Beats Not Bombs, mixing in woppa by the Bassbin Twins & this was performed at the Plasa stand to showcase their new VJ Hardware The 5am train to Plasa from Tony Coleman (Blend) on...
by djnarrative | 2 Dec, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
Another track i worked on on a glitchy tip, but this time i wanted something more dancefloor. As always the acapella came after, but seems to fit really well, and i love the original. As you can hear i've used the 2001 space odyssey theme a bit at the start, which was as a result of some pads i used which were vaguely similar, but i think its a works well with the build of the vocal. The kick and snare were very glitch hop influenced and i cant remember much about the drums other than i started with them and wanted to get a basic glitch hop style with a little swing on the groove. The ride cymbal hats are from a really cool loop, which works nicely with the programmed hats when it kicks in i think. The bass and glitchyness was my main practice aim, and im quite pleased with the sounds created for the bass and how it moves around. It's probably a little busy, and i cant even start to imagine how it was all made as it was a week of late night sessions, but it has the neurofunk sound i was hoping for, and with some work on the arrangement and mixing and mastering, i reckon it could be a good one. Anyway another one for early next year as got a few big projects coming up for other people that need have deadlines for Jan 2014. I'll still post the useful tutorials i find, but will have to take a break from making music till their...
by djnarrative | 2 Nov, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
This isn't technically a remix, but i used a bit of Bobby Mcferrins circle song so its become one. 🙂 Again im writing this retrospectively as i didnt log my progress, but my original intention was to create a soundtrack to a moonlit walk, inspired, unsurprisingly by walking under a full moon with overhanging trees on either side. I started playing some halo drum (vst) and strings, and wanted to create something glitchy but not glitchy hop, beautiful, but not cheesy, and i was listening to Tippers amazing broken soul jamboree a lot at the time. I was trying out a lot of resampling with this and manually chopping up the bounces. I also wanted to incorporate more of stutter edit, but using my own patches, and then editing the recorded audio. I think stutter edit is amazing, but i find it requires a strict workflow to be useful in a studio / composing environment. I've been learning after effects and video editing recently so im very visually motivated at the mo, and it does fit my vision of the moonlit walk idea, and something i could practice making the visuals too. I do like it as a track too, but think it needs a bit more work and hasn't been mixed down or arranged properly. I might pick it up again in the new year as think its got potential so will update the post if i finish it, and get recording the process while im doing to make these posts a bit more insightful...
by djnarrative | 14 Sep, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
Inspired by the Ozomatli Remix i started a new track, which has turned into more of a breaks affair and ended being a remix of Outkast's wicked Whole World track. My goal with this one was to try using more of my sample and loop library and within an hour or two i'd got the hook and idea down. I then recreated the parts with my own synths, so then followed a load of muddying up the bass with more and more layers until the track got a bit swamped, as did my head for a while 🙂 Left it for a week or so and came back and after a lot of eq chiselling i manage to retain the idea and improve the parts. To be fair i think aside from nailing an arrangement this was the main part of the it. I didnt want to let the idea go, but i knew id gone too far with the layers. Think it turned out ok in the end, and did some alloy and ozone production on it. Not a very insightful post here, but im writing it retrospectively and can't remember too much. 🙂 I'll post the download of the track as it gets...
by djnarrative | 8 Aug, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
I'm writing this post retrospectively, so unfortunately didn't record the process like i did the test tracks 🙁 Its the same for the other few i've written, but i wanted to post them anyway and share what i can remember. This track had a specific release in mind, and came together really quickly. I wanted to try and simplify the process and concentrate on getting a phat funky glitch hop breaks type track going. As always the acapella came last, and turned the track into a remix of the mighty Ozomatli's hip hop track Saturday Night I started with the kick and snare, dialling them in at 80 and 200 ish hz, to make sure they cut through and making sure that they compliment each other. I probably added some layering and all the normal equing to phatten it up, and i definitely used a swing groove to add a little funkiness to the beat and hats. Next up was the bass which was made by combining a couple of instances of massive with a seperate channel for the sub, which was basically a sine wav cut with a 60-80hz low pass turned up as loud as it can. The notes came to mind after putting in the drum groove and i literally sang the notes in, and then used the ableton 9 audio to midi function to help determine the notes. First time id used it, and it worked really well. The bridge and chorus synths and stuff all came after that and gradually got reduced as the arrangement was worked on. I tend to find i generally...
by djnarrative | 20 Jul, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
Aside from a few post dated tutorial posts i've had no contact with any of my websites after all the hassle with the hosting. I think they're running well no, but after the month spent i needed some time off the reckorder project and got busy finishing the painting and getting some sun. Yesterday however i received a really cool email from my favourite birmingham based label beta birmingham asking if i had any tracks for their next compilation of remixes. Harley liked a couple on my soundcloud and asked for anything more recent. Pointed him to the reckorder project site and he wants the superstition remix! I'm too critical of everything i make at the best of times, but hearing such positive feedback from someone i'd such respect for as a producer really made me reconsider the approach. I do think the track needed work as it was only intended to be a practice track, but listening back to it with fresh ears i'm hearing it in a whole new light. Anyway suffice to say im going to work on it and update this post with the finished version. I'm really pleased as you can probably tell, and even though it's a free release, it's given me confidence to play people my tracks instead of waiting until i've reached the level i want to as a produce and musician, as that will always be a continuous and ever evolving process. Update : I recorded some scratches, and new parts to phatten it up, and posted the track above, However i also got working on a few others, and...
by djnarrative | 14 Mar, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
Over the last few days i've been working on a new track. It came together pretty quickly and i wanted to try out the hang drum instrument and the strings. Ive also just upgraded to Ableton 9, which is awesome, (although i started this in the beta version as it took 5 days or so for my order to be processed). Im thinking along the lines of playing it live if it turnes out well and its inspired by Alan Watts and OTT I will update the process when i get chance as i've been keeping a rough log in my google calendar, but i wanted to post this when it had got to a basic arrangement stage that i was happy with. I used to find the arranging part difficult, until i simplified the process, and now my next goal is to work on the edits, and making the arrangement interesting. This means adding risers, fills, and lots of editing, so im going to try that out and then if all goes well post it up. I figured instead of updating the audio file in the orginal post like with the first two test tracks, it might be more useful to show the how it changed. Im going to set a basic level so that its listenable, and then hopefully the next one will be produced to show the difference it makes to newer music makers. I have been purposely mixing along the way to try and avoid the pitfalls of the last two tracks where they got swamped with frequencies, and so far it sounds a lot cleaner....
by djnarrative | 25 Jan, 2013 | The Reckorder Project
A few days after starting the iko iko track, i had an idea for a bassline for Stevie Wonder's classic track Superstition. Its one of my favourites ands so i thought it would be a good way of putting some of what ive learnt into practice, and in particular use the live bass and brass instruments. Superstition is one of the surefire tracks when i play the bham opera afterparties. To be fair every track is well received as its such a great crowd to play to, but even with such a great opportunity to play a load of funk and soul classics to a really up for it crowd of people, this track is one of the big tracks in the bag for obvious reason. For all my other gigs though, it doesn't quite have the pace (or bass) to keep up the energy in the mix, so i've always thought it would be a good one to have a go at remixing. As its such a classic i'm more going for a reedit than a remix, but it seems to be turning out pretty well so far, and im thinking maybe a cool start to a collaboration with brummy legend Mylz Hedz, (who got in touch after checking out my prequel album of remixes to ask about doing a track together), as he plays very much on the funky end of the spectrum. I normally make a remix out of laying an acapella over an existing track when i dont know where to go with it, so this was a first in using the vocal first and building...
by djnarrative | 25 Dec, 2012 | The Reckorder Project
Wishing anyone who reads this a very merry xmas. Here are 12 mixes and an album of remixes that i posted on one of my other sites. Hope you enjoy them and have a great...
by djnarrative | 10 Mar, 2012 | Reckorder Tutorials
This month's tutorials feature a great breakbeat masterclass from Tommy D (Ctrlz Z/Skism) and a wicked free analyser which has really helped define that solid kick and the snare starting point, as well as mixing the kick and the bass so they sit well together. Following last months tutorials, and in particular the information about getting that kick and snare sitting in their rightful place, i went searching for a better analyser. I was using abletons built in one but i really wanted something bigger and more versatile. After trying out a fair few demos of favoured one like Roger Nichols Xl Inspector and Blue cat I found Voxengo Span. This is a free audio analyser thats not only nice and clear but also allows you to view 2 channels at once (e.g the kick and the bass) After watching this tutorial on how to use it (dont be put off by the fact its trance production like i was - its easily the best how to ive found for span) i was then able to really produce my tracks and deal with any of the issues of conflicting frequencies that i was facing previously As a starter dish, i would also like to put forward one of the best masterclasses i have seen. Tommy D from Ctrl Z/Skism offering up a very thorough, honest and engaging walkhrough of how he remixed the freestylers track - Ruffneck. How it relates to Span analyser is that I remember when i first watched this it covered really well how to get those phat kicks and punchy snares hitting at the right...
