I'm trying out a new sound, feedback is very welcome and appreciated

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#1

Hey Elektronaut friends, I’m experimenting with a new sound and would love your feedback.

There’s some grainy filthy dirt thrown into dance beats with maybe too much polyrythms for a sane mind, and not all that much going on in the synth department, only a bassline, an arp and a lead.

The idea is to create an intimate and close sound with a pulsating beat, but stay away from the more classic filter sweeps, drops and sense of wide space. A bit like a funky jam in a garage or basement, but with some (much) suble things going on in different places still. To get that sense of immediacy, a lot of this is recorded from live, not sequenced, takes. The plan is to land on the right side of sloppy.

I know, it’s a bit vague, but here it is, I’d really love your feedback on this.

11 Likes
#2

Well, I certainly enjoyed that. I feel like it really does have that jam session feeling to it, like a couple of musicians going at it. I really liked it. Lots of subtle dynamic movement, and a feeling of ebb and flow. I was feeding a fire in my stove then settling into the warmth in a chair. It was a wonderful soundtrack to both tasks.
Nice work!!

3 Likes
#3

Thanks, I really appreciate it🙂that’s a lovely image you’re painting, I feel honored to be part of such a warm context.

#4

…well, circuitghost…this is electronic krautrock full on…

circuitghost spooks can… can would’nt call it a new sound…
but they would have liked it a lot…i guess…

so there u go…electronic krautrocker…

2 Likes
#5

Thanks, yep, it’s not new as such, it’s just new to me :slight_smile:

Very thoughtful reply, I haven’t much dived into electronic kraut. But I certainly will now. Much appreciated.

#6

…no no…there is no electronic krautrock…yet…as far as i know…
but what do i know 'bout the genre jungle…

…whatsoever, actually, it IS a new sound., some kind of new flavour…circuitghost…

2 Likes
#7

Aaah, very cool. Thank you, that’s even nicer. Not sure where I’m going with this and the workflow’s a bit of a pain, not in the least because of family issues right now, but music’s somehow that place where things always seem to make sense. It’s everything around it that don’t always follow.

1 Like
#8

I second the similarities to Can, or Neu, La Dusseldorf, Michael Rother and others…

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#9

I’m not all that familiar with these, but will sure check them out. Thanks for pointing me the way👏

#10

I really like this. It sounds like a jam session happening in some exotic place. Very good vibe!

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#11

Thanks, this is really helpful and it’s very kind of you to say. I am looking for that sort of feeling of “another place”, suggestive and intimate but still slightly haunting, and yet keep a fairly traditional beat as a foundation around all the polyrythmic stuff going on.

I counted it now, I got one traditional 4/4 on the kick, then there’s like a 44-step thing on the soft hi-hat, a 22-step on one of the snares and a very slow, low time signature thing on the distant clap that’s like 4 bars per beat or something, down to 8 steps. The drum loop is also an ordinary 4/4, to keep some kind of anchor and make sure it doesn’t drift too much.

#12

I like the percussion and the noise crackling on top, these sound nice together! They definitely evoke that kind of “intimate and close sound” to me that you described – although maybe we mean different things by that.
Not sure about the lead coming in at 0.50 though, it calls for way too much attention, sometimes even distracts a bit from the percussion. But then again, you also described a kind of “jam feeling” which it certainly creates!
Similar case with the kick, it could very well be the acoustic-session vibe that you’re going for, so I’m kind of willing to accept it how it is; but it keeps me wishing for a bit more focus. Either a bit more snap, or a bit more oomph, if you know what I mean.

1 Like
#13

You know, that’s a really interesting point. I added the lead at the very end, I felt the track wasn’t really going anywhere despite all the organic movement going on, just too repetitive. But I did feel a bit like I caved when I threw in the lead, cause without it, it had a more hypnotic and suggestive vibe … just a bit too much of it :slight_smile: I think I’ll do a version without the lead and just see if it can stand on its own, make the drone-like state a point on its own.

As you say, the kick’s very deliberate. It’s from the DFAM, intended to work as a pulse but not stand out, but rather be felt, though I’m sure a more distinct kick would’ve made the track thump more. I’m gonna try that as well, just to see where it takes me. Great feedback, thanks!

#14

Here’s another one in the same vein. This time, it’s put together from different sessions I’ve had over the year. Grain and filth are from the DFAM about a year ago, and drums are from Tanzmaus (and they’re quite recent). The synths are from a Tempest, a take or two I had a few months ago. All put together in the Blackbox and performed live through an Analog Heat, for enhancement and mixing but also slow, organic movement working the filter, the filter dirt and the drive through the envelopes and lfo.

I’m going for a small show and an EP based on the character of these tracks. None of them might make it to the end, I’m still looking to define the sound and come up with tracks that pull it off, so like before, feedback is really appreciated and listened to. Thank you so much for taking the time.

2 Likes
#15

BIG fan of the drums and percussion in both tracks. They are repetitive but not boring. The lead in the first track is not really going anywhere for me. You could fade it out at some point and introduce a new sound maybe? I like the synth loop in the second track, but it is mixed quite high. Maybe play with muting/unmuting tracks? Bring out those great percussive patterns a bit more.
Anyways, love the sound of it all :slight_smile:

1 Like
#16

@circuitghost

You need to make an album of this ‘sound’/approach. Excellent stuff. So gritty and alive. Early 80s Daniel Miller British synth
punk stuff, some Drexciya, Tuning Circuits, John Bender… that’s what this reminds me of.

1 Like
#17

Really like the first tune. I think it totally succeeds in creating “A Sound” that is clearly in the category of electronic music but avoids most of the clichés and conventions of the category. I actually do like the lead part, but maybe you can edit out the best parts and not have it play through for so long, and then develop those parts by dubbing the sound rather than evolving the melodic theme.

The second tune doesn’t work for me in quite the same way. It has too obvious of a latin/funky/housy feel (whereas the first also has a “world music” thing to it, just not to any particular part of the world). The sound is on the wrong side of sloppy, in this case, not sloppy enough.

Overall seems like a great direction to go in.

1 Like
#18

Thanks, yep, I feel the same. Beats and stuff work better than what’s on top of it, except maybe the bass which I feel follow the beats fairly well. I’m not sure overall about the synth sound, and am considering another approach there. I’m a keyboardist to begin with, and thinking of maybe trying some rhodes, old dusty pianos and jazz strings as sounds on the beats, instead of synths. But we’ll see. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback, it’s very welcome, thank you.

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#19

Thank you, that’s so kind of you to say. The idea is to put out an EP, once I feel I got enough going, and shop around for a few local shows here in town, see where it goes. Got no game plan for when that might happen, though. For now, I keep experimenting.

#20

Very interesting. In general, when I play these tracks to people, they tend to go for the second one. But there’s a raw shape to the first one which I like, save the lead which is just keyboard stuff going nowhere just because I could. That’s so the wrong approach to playing, just riffing of because the keys are there.

I am considering going less synth, more rhodes / strings / acoustic piano-style, see where that goes. I think the issue I’m having with finding a synth that really works for me, could be that I shouldn’t be looking at synths at all.

1 Like