Most of the electronic albums I go back to repeatedly are “all over the place”.
If Serato BPM analysis can be believed, Underworld’s “Beaucoup Fish” is all at the same BPM despite the varied sound (even a half-speed “trip hop” track). Orbital’s “Snivilisation” has a punk track. Jon Hopkins’ “Immunity” is a chill-out album with occasional techno (and “Insides” was even more varied). “Pop” artists don’t seem to have this problem (or didn’t, in the 90s, when I bothered to listen to the charts). They work across the tone, genre, rhythm, emotion. No-one minds - although you run the risk of some tracks being “filler” for some people, when they’re not in the mood for that mood. Classical composers wrote sonatas and concertos and operas and chamber music and church music and “etudes”. They somehow all manage to sound like the composer regardless of speed, orchestration or form. It’s quite mind-boggling actually…
The thing to work on is your “voice”. What do you make music “about”? What’s the story behind the album? What do you want to say, and how do you use the music technique and gear technique to proclaim that message. Find sounds you like and explore different ways of playing those sounds. Find subjects and ideas to sing/play/express and then work with the rhythms, sounds and progressions that fit the message. Or don’t. 'cos this is just one way amongst many. Or… what technique (aside from genre) really interests you? Bach liked “harmony is a logic puzzle; form is the medium to explore it”. Merzbow likes “how can I make the most ear bleeding sound I can, today”… but each of their works has its own character.
This + the above quote so much. I love gear. I love talking gear. Gear culture/dawless culture…w/e the fcck it is has made me hate talking about gear. I no longer want to know what someone used to make a track. I no longer want to see studio pictures. I no longer want liner notes on production. I don’t want videos anymore. I just want good music and forget the rest.
from Godflesh?..saw him in the 80s with a drum machine and guitarist…now days music its decided by nerds indeed lol…it’s era driven by need of acknowledgment not thru music but people pleasing, and that seems to affect how albums are constructed and packaged.
I knew of a Jesu or Jesus project at some point but only a glancing attention…rated his bold drum …kinda reminded me a dirtied up version of Steve albinie’s productions.
I had this problem when I first starting making electronic music - wanting to emulate the sounds of the genres I was listening to. I think it’s not a bad exercise to spend some time mimicking those tracks you like.
But then after some time I believe the goal should shift to taking elements from different music you like and bringing them together. I think it should work naturally, and not force yourself to do this. People need to hear your voice, your sound, and not mistake you for others working within an endless amount of generic music.
I think there’s a lot of good advice in this thread around “don’t worry about genre and just allow things to come out naturally”. I think it’s also important to not immediately judge the music you make, but to let it sit for a bit so that you can return to it with a new perspective.
My favourite music is that which doesn’t easily fit one category, and those artists who have made a name for themselves have often done so because they combined their influences in a way that others before them haden’t. In fact, I think my goal is to make the music I want to hear that I simply cannot find elsewhere.
This thread reminded me of something. One time I made a track I thought was a real banger of a cinematic IDM song. Sent it to a friend. Next time I see him, probably three weeks later, he goes ”hey that track of yours? Pretty decent ambient!”
so many times i’ve played someone something and they can’t help but draw connections with their lived musical experience:
“oh those drums are well burial”
“synths are well afxy”
“merzbow vibes!” (cos it was noisy)
i find it a bit wince inducing and demoralising as it kind of dilutes all your effort into one thing. but also understand why people do it.
my favourite reaction is “you’re weird” as the listener can’t correlate it with anything existing in their memory banks so have to reject it as unlistenable.
i admire how autechre keep pushing that new genre approach and are lucky enough to have a large fanbase that will keep listening until their brains click with what they’re trying to do.
pick a loop from anything u really like…the more obvious/famous…the better…
drop that loop into ur grid/system…
and start to add various sonic stuff around, beneath, on top of that little piece of stolen/borrowed music…
create an additional bassline that fits that loop…create some pads that work with that loop…
drop some various single sounds and sound fx on top of that loop…
double up the rhythmical cornerstones, the dna of that groove within that loop…
cover up furthe rmore dna elements of that loop…
overload / overdub that loop til it becomes way too much…
and then…throw that loop away…vanished in the bin…never look back…
look only on what u got now…
since now u got a perfect collection of sonic elements to work out a track of ur own…
trust ur trust…and hey, that damned old genre question has already catched up with U…
promise…
whatever makes u going, keeps u working, enables u to sketch 'n flow…is a good thing…
ideas will come for u, as long ur in a state of workflow…
don’t overthink it…
while always keep in mind…for a good album of any kind, that contains, let’s say 8 killer tracks. u usually/commonly need to come up with at least 10 to 12 sketches first…
and another hey…never forget…average attention span out there is on heavy shrinking mode…
todays killer albums are music collections with not much more than 7 trax…
once called EP’s are todays LP’s…
When writing a novel the publication company need to know your genre. It doesnt matter if its made up. But it must be specific. If you dont its hard to place. Same in all the art world. If you just create ramblings of no bearing then it will be for your own pleasure.
So either go with trusted genres that sell or make up your own. But you need to make that decision right at the start else you will be in a pickle later on.
Something that might help that definitely helps me is while in the writing process stop listening to other peoples music. I said this in the song fatigue thread as well but all its going to do is make you start judging yourself against what others are doing and/or influence a direction.
Not to get to heady but I think we all are just looking for our personal voice and it’s easy to have other voices become louder than our own. Its best to listen to your own voice, and If that means an album full of different genres than so be it. Over time it will become cohesive and maybe even become your own genre.
That’s good advice man I think I’m overthinking it for sure… being in the world of sound design for so long has made me sort of a genre Chamaeleon. I’m definitely not trying to put marketing before the work I frankly don’t care what the music will get labeled as, I think what I’m ultimately saying is that I’m having a really hard time finding MY ‘voice’. All of us artists are a culmination of our influences and experiences and our art comes through our own personal filter or lens and I’ve majorly lost touch with where my influences stop and my personal filter begins
I wonder about this myself, a lot. I think the only solution is to make more tracks. Make LOADs of tracks. And by this I mean loads of half-way done sketches. if any of them take you to “finished” that’s a bonus. The core is to keep sketching, always and forever. Eventually you’ll
a) find out what you really like
b) have loads of material to build on and/or edit into “releases” later
Fuck, man that’s a major bad habit of mine. For a long time my habit is that I sit and write and come up with cool shit, I enjoy it I tweak it a bit and jam for a while then shut everything down and it’s gone forever…Soo many good ideas I’ve lost over the years to this practice, when I make something I really like I usually take a short video I’ve done that for years too so sometimes I’ll go back through my photo library and listen to some of the stuff from even years back and I’m like holy shit that’s a banger that’s exactly what I’m trying to write now but it’s gone. So yea I can’t think of a practice less conducive to finishing music so I’m going to end that shit starting today!
I do that a little bit, but usually just when someone’s music has an element that reminds me of something that I either really enjoy, or have great nostalgia for. If someone makes a track that reminds me of an old game that I spent many hours enjoying when I was younger, then I usually like to mention that it reminds me a bit of XXXX. That always means something good to me. Not really a classification of one’s music, just that one’s music takes me to a similar place. (if it takes me somewhere I don’t like, I typically don’t say anything )
we’re all guilty of it. and yes it’s not necessarily a negative.
i guess a positive luxury of this dirty internet vestibule is we all share these experiences and wider appreciation of what is a new, fresh approach/combination of what’s come before.
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