Drum programming/ Jungle/ Aphex Twin

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hi,

I have been thinking how Aphex Twin does his drum programming. He has mentioned many times he uses the Cirklon sequencer. Listening to his earlier jungle/ dnb in the Richard D James album, songs like Girl Boy Song and singles Come to Daddy…

Is he using a computer here ? Somehow i cant imagine Aphex sitting and cutting up audio or sequencing MIDI on his PC.

If he is using just hardware, then how does he get that intense/ organic jungle/ dn’b style programming…? Coming from Ableton, I would slice up the audio to midi or warp it or extract the groove etc…

Any ideas or tips for OT workflow Aphex style jungle?

Girl/Boy song

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Better Drum Programming
#2

RDJ Album, Come to daddy ep and drukqs was all done on the computer for the most part. At least his fans agree on this. The Cirklon was used on syro and cheetah. maybe on the tuss stuff as well

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#3

Aah ok, so Aphex has some serious splicing skills there :wink: Back to Ableton then :grin:

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#4

Since you use Ableton you should check this guy’s channel. Highly creative and very very funny :slight_smile:

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#5

Oh yes, his videos are super. This one specially opened up a whole new world of breaks!

#6

Ned Rush is great :smiley:

#7

I could watch him for hours :smile:

#8

totally. funny and talented chap.

#9

I guess you know that video. There’s is a thread about it somewhere on this forum.

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#10

Here is the Aphex interview where he talks about the process of using computers!

From 1996

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#11

I found that for doing fast and intricate breaks, that a tracker like Renoise was far more preferable to any piano-roll editor. But then again, I’ve never gotten along with piano roll editors much. It’s heavily used by Venetian Snares.

That’s a 10 year old video but you get a sense of what it can do.

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#12

yes this a very popular OT video. Great techniques here.

#13

Ableton with a few glitch plugins should do the trick these days i suppose.

#14

Yeah should do it for sure. But what he does on some tracks of drukqs like Mt Saint Michel… or Ziggomatic goes way beyond my imagination.

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#15

of course. i was just putting forward a very simplistic solution :wink:

Aphex is the boss.

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#16

For sure :wink: But Ableton and some tutorials like that of Ned Rush really opened my mind

#17

download amen breaks, chop using flex machine. setup scenes for delays with short time high feedback, slice length (for that shortened gating sound), retrigger params, and also slice #, then throw down trigs for any standard jungle pattern, plock the slices for the standard amen break, and play with the scenes.

that much should get you started. some things like slide trigs for pitch up and down and really thinking about where the trigs should be and what happens will refine things a bit more. after that start writing your own amen breaks with your own samples (hopefully not standard tr samples) and chop those up!

the OT is really auto idm once you get the hang of it. obviously practice and experimentation will get you better, but just figuring out the above can get things going.

In ableton it’s nothing different, you slice a sample to simpler, adjust grain size for the retrigger effect, sample length (just like above). I haven’t tried mapping the slices to a xfader like on the apc 40, but I also have a little more intent when I’m doing stuff like this in Ableton. dbglitch 2 is also a great plugin for lots of glitch effects

however thanks to @Unifono for posting that Ned Rush video…cause that makes things even easier LOL…now im gassing for a push 2

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#18

You’re welcome. I bought a push 2 recently and I really enjoy it. OT obviously is also fantastic.

#19

Thank you @signalsforstarships for the tips! Should be fun ! Yes I have been sampling a lot of old jazz drum breaks, solos…need to warp it in the Simpler and then export wavs to the OT. so they are all synced/ in time.

#20

Yes I think that those kind of rythmics can be done in OT. From slices to scenes, with help of fx and trigs such works can be done.
It’s kind jungle with greater use of break, like can be done in breackcore.
I think the procedure begin by

  1. A selection of drum kits, not to much, but with complementary of various hits in a same colour of sound (or not ;).
  2. Built two or three (max) patterns using the classic Amen break sequencing style, by alternate the differents frames of rythm. Each pattern must old a groove and being hable to turn longt time without boring.
  3. Then the use of slices : reccord patterns, slice them and use the start parameter (after having select SLIC in playback setup) to alter the trigs with LFO on STRT (playback menu) or the fader (on same parameter) or the function create random locks (audio editor slice menu).
  4. Then you can test live possibility, playing breaks of your initial patterns and look for the right organisation for the global rithmic construction. The objective is to find the organisation of your final rythmic frame.
  5. Then began the construction of the details of the work. Here cames the breakcore technica of creating the cool breaks (retrig, repetition of rythmic frames, accentuate syncopation, bringing the stress and alternate with loops). It’s a kind of haute couture et surpiqûres.
  6. Then the fx, cuts, and others dj’s tricks.
  7. The better is to glue the harmonic patterns in view to accentuate their respiration and presence and follow their progression.

Here’s the first things I would do in view to reccord a tape and finish the work.

I really love this kinds of construction. The easiest for that is the DAW. But if it’s very long and sometime complicated, on OT, it’s far more fun because of the live aspect of creation.
Often, i record the jam in OT and use parts of it to be efficient. It’s easiest to construct the song on several banks of patterns, and use the resampling habilities (can stack fx like that) of OT. The 4 Parts permit to procure variations and reach a complete and coherent sound.

These are my thoughts around one of the multiple technics to be tested with OT, and would appreciate to read other differents here.

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