Chapter 17 - Track structure (part 2)

Track structure (part 2)

NO BASS !
After some experiments with bass in the tracks, I decided that bass is not very good to be included in this type of track.
The track's structure is minimal, when I drop the bass in the track, most part of the other small sounds are inaudible. I don't know why, but this could be due to the frequency of the sound.
Another thing that put me off the bass was the minimal feeling of the tracks changing totally, and I was forced to have a melody; I wish to change all the direction I want to take on this project.

Currently, I am selecting the appropriate sounds for the Kaossilator for each background sound and drum loop. More updates soooooooon :)

Hello Friends

 Hi Friends

The reason I am contacting you now is that I have some tracks nearly ready, and I would like to show them to you and listen to your opinions.
Who's best to do that ?? YOU!

I know it can be painful, but I can handle some earplugs just in case :)

Meanwhile, this was intended to draw your attention and keep you involved in the project's progress.
Until then, please keep reading, as I am close to the end of the first round of tracks.

Speak soon and thank you for paying some attention to the weird shit I do :)

Chapter 16 - Track Structure (part 1)

Track Structure Experiments

Finally, I catch up with myself :)

This is where I am writing as I do the things!
I am at the moment in the music structure, I have recorded the sounds, I have listened, I have made some decisions, and I will need to change:
1* Start of the track
2* Use more bass
3* Make more unrecorded sound movements with the Kaossilator

4* End of the Track

The reasons are:

1* The stars of the tracks are always the same way.
This is because I am working with no synchroniser.
First, I play the Improvised sound made in the Kaossilator, next
The Drums, next
The background, next
more sounds.
This is okay and probably will be the total structure of the track, but listening to 10 tracks that start and finish the same way can be too much. I think!


2* I listen to the tracks and they need bass... again, my girlfriend says no !
I will add more bass to the tracks and listen to how it sounds.

3* Make more unrecorded sound movements with the Kaossilator.
Some low parts in the track need to use more (spare) Sound FX, which helps to create movement in the track.


4* The end of the track, like the start, it's always the same way.


  The end of the track is the same, always.
Always start with the drums and finish with the drums.
At the end, I have to switch off
The background, next,
The FX and at the end,
The drums.

I can find different ways to finish the track; the structure will always have to be this way, but I can use other effects to cover the basic structure at the end.

* Track Structure
I start with a Kaossilator sound, and next come the drums. The sound looping with the drums will sound desynchronised at first, but after some time, looping together, they start to transform into a synchronised rhythm.
Next comes the background sound, which works exactly at the same tempo as the drum loop.
Here, the melody is created already from nothing, and I am just following the vibe by now:)

This makes all the difference because all the music produced is recorded just once and is never the same again, totally unpredictable. Although the sounds may be the same, the melody and effects are always played differently, creating a charming and mental ambient vibe to hear.
Yes, very nice  :)

BUT
Start the track with the drums, it's too violent!
For this reason, I start the track with the FX sound of the Kaossilator.
This even though the drums will come next and not synchronised with the sound played, but the drum loops + the FX, soon start to make sense in your head :) :) And at this moment, it is just a melody created with the FX and the drums.
After the first two sounds play together, I come in with the background sound. Then, after the background sound, I apply more sounds, change the rhythm, and so on.

Very fun :)

Chapter 15 - Add Instruments

New Instruments Experiments.

I had a friend visit me during a weekend, he is a shy musician but has a lot of instruments, including lots of drums (as it is a drummer:)

My friend brought me a Micro Korg.

The Micro Korg
It's perfect, but too limited to work.
It's nice to take some sounds, but just that!
It's a vocoder too, which is beneficial for voices as well as specific sounds. It can make a very original effect in the music.
It's perfect equipment for live performances, but not in the style of the music I try to make here.
It's more of a (techno-minded) music machine.

a Mixer

The Mixer
Here we connected everything.

and a Kaoss Pad

The Kaoss pad
It can be beneficial to add some final effects to the overall music or make slight variations in the final sound played. He can make some extra sounds on top and other special effects.
With Kaoss pad, I think it's good just to make some minimal changes in the total sound, but it's the only one I can see included as 1 more instrument.

For now, my friend has left me the Kaoss Pad for me to have a try, but he will take it back in some months' time.
I end up not using this much.

Chapter 14 - Loops VS Kaossilator

Him and Her !!

Kaossilator and WAVDJ.
Now I have the background sounds in the buttons (by now I have 18 backgrounds)
I have six different drum loops assigned to the six drum buttons. This makes:
18 background sounds
6 drum loops
= 3 background sounds for each drum loop, so that I can change the background sound 3 times in 1 track.
They are all at the same 110BPM.

Putting all together and start to play....

After I have both playing at the same time, I start the kaossilator at the exact BPM and I make some sound effects; by now, the drums and the background are looping at the same time and the kaossilator sounds are giving a colour to the music as I add many other effects.

As I go along with the sounds and loops, I can adjust the mixer on the machine (WavDJ) and toggle the drum loop, background sound, or Kaossilator on and off.
This helps prevent the same sounds from looping for too long.

The kaossilator is a very nice complement for the wavdj.
I have been constructing this track with a vision of an Industrial Ambient style, so I have been looking for Industrial sound loops for the background. I made the Drum Loops sound Industrial, too, but the sounds of the Kaossilator make the track much softer and more Ambient.

My Drum loops are a bit too (breaks) even at 110BPM.
(Later I will write about the Track structure)

This explanation of the track construction is the result of my first experience; I will likely modify aspects such as the structure of the tracks, tempo, or other elements.

3- Backg. VS Drum Loops

Project Start - Backgrounds VS Drum Loops

I did talk about this in the chapter before but I still looking the best way for start the tracks.
The Kaossillator is good to start with sounds but the drums never start on time because wavdj have a big delay, this make the first sounds of the track to be off tempo.
On other hand ,this make a very interesting sound pattern in the melody and is always an improvised sound that will be arranged during the track

After I did some backgrounds and try, I realize that the backgrounds with rhythmic (nuances) sounds are more hard to get at the same drum tempo when I try to mix (background + drum loop) in the machine.

This difficulty didn't happen before with the first background sounds I did ,because they are not so much Industrial .
The first lot of backgrounds I did was more melodic , with long pads and they always go fine with the drum loops at first.
Basically, backgrounds have to be stable sounds and long, not short and rhythmic but I have choose some very rhythmic backgrounds for this Industrial tracks :(

2- Drum Loops

Project Start - Drum Loops

Drum Loops
Part of the WAV file used to change the drums in the program.

I can change all the patterns in the drums, including percussions.
This feature is minimal (as with all), with the only changeable elements being the BPMs and loop patterns; however, the instrument sounds will remain the same.

This is the loop part of the wavdj machine.
(Here are the drum loops buttons on the machine. 6 different drum loops for each style)

Here is where things get complicated, as this loop machine is not synchronised with anything.
For this reason, the background sounds and drum loops must be precisely at the same BPM and started at exactly the right time..

The next mission is to get these two parts playing at the same time (drums & Background sound). This requires a lot of precision to click the effects button at the same time as the first kick of the drum. Let's see !!

Go well :)
How I started the tracks before:

1- I have to start with the drums
2- Then, I can start the background sound at the same tempo as the beat.
(This is because there is no synchronisation in the machine, but the sounds are at the exact BPM, and I start at the right beat.)

But now I do like this: 
1- I will use the KAOSSILATOR to make some noises at the start.
2- I start the drums,
3- I start the background sound.
4- I take off the KAOSSILATOR sounds and delete the first sounds to start new ones while the first drum loop and background sound is playing...
YES !!

Track is on ;)

1- Background sounds

Project Start - Background Sounds

Background Sounds.
As part of WAVDJ (software), I used to modify the sound effects (background) in the program.

This part of the software allowed me to change and upload 900 (background sounds) from one button to another in the (wavdj machine) = (These buttons have no latency)

To start this work, I need background sounds that are industrial and minimal, but I also want to make something softer and more ambient.
To obtain samples and loops, I search the web and find some good resources for free loops and samples.

I found numerous free sample and loop websites, but it's challenging to find the specific type of sounds I'm looking for.
I did download some perfect loops (industrial) and  I will make a page just with links to mention these websites.
I have been searching since I started this DADA Project (wish will have a different name for various reasons)

I take the Background sound (loops) to Ableton and I stretch it, as long as I want, and I can add other sounds or voices in the background as I change the tempo (bpm) of the sounds for they cam match with the drum loops of the machine, as I dont have synchronisation possibilities on this machines.

I am doing the drum loops at 110BPM, so I want the loops I am doing in Ableton to come as 110BPM and I can stretch the loops for 30 min.. This is because the EFFECTS BUTTON do not loop the sound.
(The only looping part in wavdj is the drum machine.) wish to repeat the pattern over and over until I stop them.

So, here is the first job... get nice loops and make long backgrounds in Ableton, next, save as a WAV file and upload to the program software (*first image)
Each sound I upload into those spaces will be playing in the (wavdj machine buttons) (*second image)

Backgrounds on'e  go.)

Chapter 13 - Project Start

 Project Start - The Intro

After all the story and all the WaveDJ and Kaossilator presentations, I will now be more specific about the project and what I am doing.

First, I need to make:
1 - Background sounds
2- Drum loops
3- Ad 3 background sounds for each drum loop
4- Make short keyboard melodies
5- Make the background sounds at the same tempo as the drum loops in Ableton
(No sounds synchronised here.)
6- Found the best sounds in the kaossilator to use in each track.
(I will specify all this later)

This sounds easy, but it is not!
The wavdj software has too many bugs and dont work as a professional music program.
The wavdj (machine = console) makes a delay in the sounds.
(NOTE)  Delay is the time it takes for the sound to actually be heard on the speakers after I press the buttons of the wavdj (machine)

For a delay example:
If I press the keyboard, the sound takes about 2 seconds to be heard in the speakers. (delay)
If I press the FX buttons, the sound takes about 1 second to be heard in the speakers. (delay)
If  I press the drum loop button, the sound takes about 3 seconds to be heard in the speakers (delay)
This makes it a hard job to get the music all synchronised (drums + background sounds + keyboard)
In this case, I have to know precisely the tricks of this machine, but the most important thing is to have the sounds and drum loops at the same tempo.
IF I press the FX button (background sound) just 1 second before or after the beat of the drum loop, the sound will start out of tempo... I really need to be precise here or all the music will go into a mess!
Luckily, I can stop the sound if I press the button at the wrong time and restart again, which plays a sound intro while the drum loop continues to play.

Experiments to start.
My first experiment was to create Minimal Ambient music, but I soon realised that the drums of the wavetable don't allow me to make much, as the sounds are the same and only the loops can be changed (as I mentioned earlier). However, I did give it a try anyway.

My second experiment (still ongoing) is to make Minimal Industrial. A'm a bit more satisfy with the results but still a long way to go as I have to search a lot in the web to find some good free sound loops and after that, I have to put the loops on Ableton to make some arrangements and get the background sounds at the same tempo (bpm) of the drum loops of the wavdj.

My last experiment will be minimal Ambient, but this time without drum loops, just sounds.

I would never have got into this if I hadn't found the Kaossilator to be a good supplement for the WaveDJ.
One time, I had the WAVDJ looping the sounds and the drums at the same tempo, I would have time to go into the Kaossilator and add more sounds.
After I have enough sounds playing in both machines, I can return to the wavdj and adjust the background sounds, create short melodies, pause the drum loop, and drop in another sound or any other playing sound, because the wavdj features a 6-channel mixer where the sound can be turned on and off.

In fact, I can go mad and connect all this to my CD decks mixer, which has a surround button and will give me the possibility to equalise the sound while I am playing (low, med, high).
But I am not that mad... am I !?
If so, it's just a music issue! :)