In the Studio With Noisia

By: Ben Gomori

When you think of the best, most talented, innovative and inspiring producers in electronic music, Dutch trip Noisia have got to be up there. Gatecrashing the D&B scene in the mid-'00s ("Dutch D&B? Really? Don't they make gabba and trance?"), their prolific output, hard-hitting sound and intricate production skills fast earned them a name as ones to really push the boundaries of a sound which was at that time, becoming rather stale. Forays into breaks andelectro showed them to be equally adapt at smashing up the rule book and creating tracks that made you feel like you were being smashed over the head with a big filthy hammer.


Their debut album this year, Split The Atom, proved them to be more than just 12" churners, and the title of the album really nailed what they area all about - dissecting the intrinsic parts of sound, smashing them apart and creating something entirely fresh out of all the remains. If you've ever wondered how they create that gnarly, hyperactive, ribshaking sound, you're in luck - as they gave DT a belated goodie to their studio essentials.


Cubase
We started using this a long, long time ago and our brains have grown into a synergetic relationship with this creature. We use it for almost everything - tracking vocals, arranging, remastering bounced WAVs, sound creation, recording samples from vinyl, processing sounds, arranging tracks and so on.


ADAM S3A / P-22A Active monitor speakers
We're currently giving the S3A a go again. We used to use the P-22's mostly before we re-did the studio a few weeks ago. We love the ADAM sound, the ribbon tweater gives such a detailed sound. Very good to work on fast transients. We might go back to the P-22's. They're not as precise, but they sound more like loud speakers when you turn up the volume, which is not desirable for mixes, but it is more enjoyable when you're making a tune that sounds really fat coming from the speakers. When it sounds fat on a P22-A it will still sound good everywhere.


Native Instruments FM8
Very precise synth. Good if you want ultimate control. Can sync oscillators, so they always start from the same start point in the oscillation cycle. Easy to add and exaggerate harmonics. Flexible envelopes are a godsend.


Access Virus TI
Virus sound - need we say more?


Xbox 360 & 42 inch TV
Right now we're playing Just Cause 2, Fifa 2009 and Trials HD. Martijn is an absolute demon with that.


Herman Miller Mirra chairs
Because we just got them and they are expensive.


Air conditioning
Before we had it it would be insanely hot in summer and also rather cold in winter. It is a bit noisy however.


Korg SV-1
We set out to buy a versatile workstation with as many stock sounds as possible and then we came across this beauty. It only does a few sounds but it does them so well and its such a joy to play.


Studio couch
It's a couch.


Neumann TLM102 - Audient Mico - RME multiface
Our vocal chain. Still getting to grips with it but the preamp has a harmonics knob so you know it's good.

In the Studio with Magnetic Man

You've got to respect anyone who manages to bag credible Top 10 hits while continuing to churn out resolutely underground bangers, and full-length albums to boot. Skream & Benga's continually prolific output and ongoing contribution to the dubstep scene has never been in doubt, and now their Magnetic Man project with one of the scene's godfathers, Artwork, is taking on a life of its own - showing the dancemusic world at large that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. 


Dubstep has grown so big that a dubstep act can now get in the Top 10 without compromising their style. OK, so we've not had a dubstep track in the charts without a vocal, but who cares when the vocals they're using are top-notch?

I digress. I Feel Air might be a bit too poppy for some, but after a listen to the debut Magnetic Man album, it's clear that this is no throwaway, cash-grabbing exercise. They've found themselves a label who are willing to back them withou

t making them water things down, and we're all the better for it. If you've heard Mad, you'll know the raw power they're capable of; if you've heard next single Perfect Stranger, you'll know they can do the anthem thing no problem. We caught up with them at London's Shoreditch House to discuss studio business, production tips, and their attitudes towards making music. . .

OK, first question - for people who are just getting started or on a budget, what should be your first purchases? What are the best things to spend your hard-earned cash on?

Benga: Erm, what did I get first? FL Studio?

Skream: I'd say a good soundcard, you can record in and get outs out of. . .

Benga: . . .'cos whatever sounds you can't make inside your computer you can make with your mouth. It's a good one I guess. What else do you need? You just need a program, you need a sequencer so you need FL Studio which is just massive and you can do so much stuff with it.

Do you all use FL Studio?

Skream: No I use it. But if you're on a tight budget then for me it's the best. I'm gonna say it 'cos I use it but it's the easiest to actually understand how to work a DAW.

Benga: No but I think it's actually the best program like for drum programming and stuff and getting in like. You don't wanna use Logic for your first go, let's put it that way.

Artwork: I would say the most important thing to buy is music, 'cos you need to be listening to so much stuff. If you're starting out making music you need to be listening to music 24 hours a day.

I was going to say, for inspiration is that all you guys do - just constantly listen to new stuff - or is it like "we need some ideas let's sit here and listen to a few new things"?

Artwork: You should just always be listening to good music, do you know what I mean? It's so important to keep listening, not just listening to your own stuff all the time.

But there's definitely been a lot of the kind of most legendary producers have been people who made music in a bubble and they don't listen to...they ignore everything else...

Benga: But they wear themselves out.

Skream: Yeah, but that's like a select few over god knows how long.

Artwork: I mean for a period if you're gonna go in and write something yeah fine, but most of the time when you're driving home or whatever or if you're sitting around at home, don't watch the telly - listen to music? You should be listening all the time.

Skream: 'Cos then the thing is, like what happened with me and Benny, you listen to stuff and you actually try and make it but you're not... you can't, and then you sort of end up with your own thing from it.

Was that the same experience for all three of you when you started making music? Were you trying to emulate something?

Artwork: Yeah definitely. When I first started out one of the most important things was I'd get a track that I loved and I'd try and recreate it. And in the process you learn so much 'cos you're listening to how he's done that and how he's done this, and you just try and copy it exactly, and in that process you'll learn so much, and you'll find your own way of getting that sorta sound - and then you just build your own sorta sound.

Following on from that, do you think when you sit down and start making tunes you should concentrate on trying to get your own sound, your own style or should you just make whatever kinda comes out naturally?

Skream: You can't get your own style or sound until you've learnt the basics, until you've built your way up 'cos you don't know what you're looking for until you find it - if that makes sense. If you try and start by looking for your own . . . I don't think it works, you need to...

I've phrased that badly, more once you've done that should you focus on, "OK I'm just going to make quite a narrow style so I kinda get my name known and my sound known" or do you think it's not so important, is it more important just to make whatever you want?

Skream: See what you're more comfortable making.

Artwork: If you're gonna be really successful you have to come up with something new. You have to come with a different sound. You do see these people that kinda do well because they sound like someone else, but then everybody knows they sound like that person.

Benga: But then you can never be as big as the person that you sound like.

Artwork: No, so you really should just try and make something different. Listen to everything else... but, yeah make something different.

Alright then let's get down to the nitty gritty, kicks and snares, talk to me. . .

Benga: Kicks and snares...I guess you've just got to find the best packs you can, because when it comes to kicks and snares there can be so much processing that you'll go round, and I guess if you just find the best recorded kicks and snares it'll help you out so much.

Skream: It'll save so much time.

Artwork: Yeah if you can get something, if you can get like a kick that sounds amazing without any EQ on it then you know you're on a winner? Rather than getting one and thinking ah well I'm guna boost the bottom end, I'm guna cut that very low end off and try and find it in and so and so. . .

. . . you're wasting more time. . .

Artwork: You waste a lot of time, yeah

Benga: And then again, sorry to cut you out, when you do EQ stuff, once you do find your way around EQ and stuff you have a sound, that's how you get your sound, mix-wise...processing.

Do you guys kinda stick to a certain number of kicks and snares do you just always go back to (what you did) or do you look at new ones all the time?

Skream: I don't I. it's whatever mood I'm in really. If I'm in a tinny mood, if I'm in a 909 mood. I think it just comes down to what you want. Like you sort of know an area in the packs that I think you know you tend to work from a bit more than others.

Moving onto bass that's something that people often say is the hardest kinda thing to master so what are your biggest challenges in that area?

Skream: Mine's still the same as level erm with levelling it out with the kick, that's always been my one. 'Cos I like a bass-heavy kick and a bass-heavy sub. So...

Benga: Get your side-chaining out!

Skream: Yeah.

So you can have a nice lot of low end in both of them?

Artwork: Yep.

When you're making you know music that does really focus onto your dance music (focusing days) specifically that's one of the lead things, is it essential to have some subs on your set up?

Artwork: Yes.

Benga: Yeah.

Skream: Oh no, oh no no no no... subs in the room? I haven't got no subs in the room - I can't work with them. I find it really hard working with them but I guess that's me, 'cos these two both do.

Benga: Yeah we're different.

Artwork: Yeah I use them.

What monitors do you all use?

Skream: I've got Dynaudios. BM1. . .

Benga/Artwork: BM6As

Artwork: Yeah I've got the same as that and some Genelec 1032As as well.

Benga: I got the same as them. . .

When you hear other people's productions and what other people... what's the most common mistakes or kinda shortcomings that you hear?

Skream: Mastering tracks themselves and limiting the fucking life out of it so when you open it up on a screen there's a block, with no peaks.

Artwork: And no dynamics. . .

Benga: It's really hard to master again after that, you can't get in. . .

Artwork: You can't master (it again).

Skream: I've had stuff I've been mastering for my label and it's been sent back and stuff gets sent back because he [the mastering engineer] knows exactly what you've used: he's like you've ultra maximised it, you've put a multiband compressor on it duh duh duh - and they know. And it's like, cool, but if it' . . .they can make it sound dynamically so much better for press. . . .

Benga: Just don't start your tune with anything on a master.

Favourite bits of kit and software please?

Benga: Ooh well to be fair I'm not telling anyone anything anymore. Nah only joking. I use, my favourite bit of kit at the moment. . .nah I can't say that. I just gotta give you an EQ. Er my favourite EQ at the moment is the Neve on my UAD card. It's one of the best things I've ever purchased, ever.

Artwork: One thing I've learnt is that the EQs on Logic are - when you get a lot of them - if you've got like 24 tracks and you've got Logic EQ's, on all of them, the bottom end is really really funny in the mix and you'll find it really hard to control what's going on. They do something down the bottom end so just switch it up, just try another one, try some different EQ's you don't have to go for. . .

Benga: It's lighter as well innit.

Artwork: Yeah you don't have to go for like the really high high, you know thousand quid EQs but if you just...

Skream: Find one you can run with well. . .

Artwork: Find one you can control easily and then use that instead, 'cos the bottom end of your mix will be a lot cleaner.

Skream: My favourite bit of kit at the moment. . .

Artwork: Kettle?

Skream: Is. . .

Benga: Oooh. . .

Skream: It's the Moog Little Phatty at the moment. I've been using it a lot at the moment as well for my bass. It's nice.

Do you guys use a lot of outboard stuff?

Skream: I've just got a couple of synths. To be honest,, I use different things for different style of tunes. I generally use the Moog when I'm going for something with a deeper sound, rather than if I'm going to do something mental I'll use a plugin, just for the different shapes/waveforms.

Again, you might not want to give too much away here but your favourite recently learned little tricks, or something that you would share?

Benga: Wow something that I'd share with the world. Erm, what would I share? 'Cos I know sharing's caring and all that. . .

Skream: Not in this game haha!

Benga: Yeah not in this game. Er, do I wanna give anything away? Does anyone else wanna give anything away?

Artwork: I'm trying to think of something useful.

The thing is at the end of the day you can give loads of stuff away but if you haven't got the tunes or haven't got the ideas. . .

Benga: I guess the biggest thing is right - and this might sound like the dumbest thing - but it's like. . .

Skream: Sorry that's censored haha!

Benga: Hah . . .get the arrangement up right. Get everything you need up and then actually start to filter what's not really necessary. . .

Skream: Just take it out like. . .

Benga: Yeah 'cos there's too much things going on in the mix. Use the most rhythmic things, and the things that add so much to like the power of the song, and the rest of it, just get rid of it.

Artwork: The most important thing is that kick and bass. Give it it's own space, d'you know what I mean? It sounds obvious but to people that probably, you know, are just getting into mixing or whatever the most important thing is finding a place. Look at it like a picture - you can see that the bass is gonna sit down there and you're gonna have your kick up there or your gonna have your kick down there and your bass a bit higher, but give them their own place to live or whatever

Benga: Mask as they call it

Artwork: Yeah yeah, exactly.

When you started collaborating or rather when you collaborate now, how does it work? Does it get crowded sometimes or is there always a specific role, how does it work?

Artwork: It's different for every record I think. It's like, you know, it's starting things together and then splitting off then someone will take it, do a bit more to it, you know move around - it doesn't matter. But one thing we kinda worked out from the start was that if one person doesn't like it, it doesn't go in. Rather than "oh well, two people like it and one person don't so that's that you know it's going to go in" - that can't happen. If one person doesn't like it, that's it.

That's when you get the split of creative differences. . .

Artwork: It's out..

Benga: Ha ha. . .

Artwork: But it's quite good, it's really good because you not only do you not have any arguments, you get a better product' 'cos you got three people that like that thing. So if you are gonna work in a group I would say that's a good way of doing it.

Quality control. . .

Artwork: Yeah.

When you made I Need Air did you have radio in mind and different dynamics to the usual club records, cos it's kinda less focused on the bottom end a bit. . .

Artwork: No not at all.

Skream: If you think about it – she [Angela Hunte] picked the tune. . .

Artwork: Yeah I mean the thing is when you've got a vocal that's as big as that is, it would have been difficult to put a massive top, mid-rangey bassline in there as well and hear all the words quite as clearly as it is, and it's a song. It is a song, it's not a. . .

That's a key element. . .

Artwork: Yeah, the key element of that record is that vocal. And you have to respect that, you know you have to with all these things and if you was making a track that was just about baselines then you wouldn't try and put a vocal in there. And it's the same. . .

Benga: How you mix, when you leave things out 'cos you know it's gonna clog up the space. . .

You've got to let it breath. . .

Benga: Yeah.

Artwork: You've gotta look at every record separately and say: "what is it in this record that is 'the thing?'" And in that thing it was the vocal.

And last thing who did the vocal on The Bug?

All: Sam Frank.

OK 'cos it didn't say on the promo version and I thought it may have been one of you guys or something. . .

Skream: No there was a rumour going out there that it was me or Benny... we started off saying it was Barry White and then I think Benny said it was me, and I think 'cos I didn't clarify and say it wasn't me it got out that everyone was saying it was me, but no it's Sam Frank.

I'll make sure people know. . .

Interview by Ben Gomori

Psytrance - What is it?

There are some electronic music genres that jump out at you and smack you right in the face. Ones that are so unignorable that they simply force you to pay attention. Psytrance is not one of them.

What is it then? Why has this genre survived for so long with attention spans getting shorter and other, more obvious genres standing out so much more clearly? Let's ask some questions...

What's it about?

Psytrance takes the "trance" part of its name very seriously. Whereas regular old trance tends to over-exaggeratedly build you up and break you down, adding the "Psy" to the front of it changes the sound considerably.

Your average Psytrance song will pound a repetitive arpeggiated bassline over a 4-on-the-floor beat for a goot 7-10 minutes, with repetitive lead synths steadily building and dropping throughout. It's the reduced focus on structure and increased focus on repetition that makes it so entrancing.

As with pretty much any music, there are other aspects to the culture that accompany the audible side of things. In this case, it tends to be something to do with illicit substance abuse and hippie-esque kaleidoscopic imagery. Tie-Dye and Psytrance go together like peas in a drug-filled pod.

When did it start?

In the mid '80s in Goa, India, the DJs that had thoroughly rinsed their Pink Floyd Vinyls decided to move towards electronic experimentation, remixing artists like Frontline Assembly and Front 242 into looped, danceable forms.

Clubs and Festivals adapted from the old psychadelic rock style to the new electronic style, fusing the European culture with the already established hippie culture to bring about the birth of the new wave of music.

How did it start to get popular?

For many years it was purely kept to the clubs, being difficult to get hold of albums of psytrance. However, in the early '90s, the first Psytrance album was released, though at the time it was known as "Goa Trance".

The term "Psytrance" didn't come into general useage until the mid '90s, when the music had evolved into a more refined concept. By this time, many mainstream DJs had picked up on the style, playing it to its commercial death a few years later, as it faded back into relative obscurity.

Why is Psytrance still so popular?

It does what it's supposed to do really well - hypnotise. Listening to the stuff induces a sense of intense relaxation so effectively that people have continued making it for decades. That combination of resonance-happy filter modulation, repetitive beats and unusual lead synths has, with no small amount of assistance from illegal substances, proven a solid means of tapping into that darker side of music, without losing the intensity of danceable electronica.

Where can I get samples for it?

Primeloops samples such as "Club Bizarre" or other similar progressive house packs provide a good starting point - just remember to be a bit more repetitive with the synths! Couple that with some ambient samples such as "Ambient Illusions" and you're well on your way to becoming a Psytrance master!

What is Dance-Hop?

It's time to realise that the charts have been crossing over two of the most club-friendly genres for some time now. It's time to pay attention to one of the biggest new sounds of the new millenium. It's time to ask some questions...

What's it about?

Dance-Hop is about merging together offbeat rhythms with constant, 4-on-the-floor ones. The funkiness of hip hop with the driving beats of club music, merging with some of the most uplifting and sexy synths to make a genre so danceable that it could turn a school disco into an underground exclusive clubnight!

When did it start?

It's not a new idea to merge hip hop and dance, but it's never really hit the charts with any weight in the past - the Hip House fad in the 80s briefly combined rap with dance beats, but it's taken a while for the crossover to really find its feet and become accepted in its own right as a chartworthy genre.

How did it start to get popular?

When hip hop and R&B artists such as Flo Rida, Taio Cruz, Will.i.am, Usher, and Akon all followed suit in adding dance and euro pop elements to their songs, the style was cemented into the minds of the masses. Massive hits like "sexy bitch", "dynamite" and "OMG" have really pushed the synth heavy sound to the fore of pop music.

Why is Dance Hop so club-friendly?

The undeniably danceable 4 on the floor kick drum beat that carries the song has been proven again and again to be a success in the club atmosphere, combining that with electro house synths associated so strongly with summer parties and the vocals from rap and R&B give the clubgoers hooks to sing along with. It has it all.

How can I make it?

Get yourself over to primeloops to grab "Da Sound of Bounce" for a start - that pack pretty much sums the genre up perfectly. Experimenting with conventionally dance-y sample packs in a hip hop context (try alternating between a dance beat and a hip hop one) can be a sure-fire success too!

Give square wave synths a chance and be generous with the glistening top end to get that uplifting feel. Most importantly, when writing it, make sure you can't resist dancing to it as you're laying those synthlines down!

In the Studio with... Lee Coombs

Today's production feature comes from our highly skilled Prime Loops' signing, team member & music producer Lee Coombs!

A seasoned veteran, Coombs first hit the DJ slopes in 1989, bathing himself in the acid house scene at parties all across the UK. Crucial in shaping his all-encompassing approach to DJing and production, this boundary-less approach would become Coombs' trademark, mixing up breaks, house, electro, techno and acid with dexterous assurance.

Coombs is also the author and engineer behind Prime Loops' best selling sample pack releases "Tech Funk Vol 1" and "Tech Funk Vol 2", so there's a high possibility you have come across his work already!

Introduction:

"My name is Lee Coombs and in this article I'll take you through the production process of my track 'Detox' which is one of the singles from my 'Light and Dark' album. It's a classic piece of Lee Coombs Acid House. The main element of most acid tracks is the Bassline. On this track I wrote the Bassline on a Moog Voyager. It makes a beautiful Saw tooth wave and the low frequencies are thundering. I am a huge Moog fan, and recently bought the VX-351 CV expander for the Voyager, effectively turning it into a modular synth. I love the way they make all their stuff so it will interact with each other."

"The other acid sounds come from my Studio Electronics ATC1, It has the changeable filter cartridges in the back and at the moment I have the SEM2600 filter cartridge fitted which makes the sound really boxy and very squelchy. I do have a Roland TB-303 but I didn't use it on this track. Many people associate Acid sounding tracks with the TB-303 but to be honest all you need is a really good Analogue Mono Synth like the ATC1 or a Moog Voyager, well you don't need to go as far as a Voyager, something like the Moog Little Phatty will do equally as well for these types of sounds. All these are recorded into the computer with an RME Fireface 800 sound card. It's very important to have a top quality soundcard for obvious reasons."

The Bassline:

"I start by writing the Bassline and other parts in the sequencer. I use a PC with Cubase 4, I know Cubase 5 is out but I'm doing fine with version 4 at the moment. On this track the bassline has Glide making the notes all bend into each other. It's easy to over do this effect so make sure you have the drum track to play along with as this will have a say on how much glide you're going to use. It's all about the groove and the swing of the track. Everything in the track must fit the groove to make it sound fluid and tight. Then I record a 4 or 8 bar loop into the computer so I have something to work with and build around. Make sure you save your settings on the Bassline synth as you will need to go back later to record longer parts with the filter sweeping up and down as you like to work with building the arrangement of the track."

"Now you have it in the computer I normalize the volume to 0db. I don't tend to use much compression or limiting on parts recorded from Analogue synths too much as all this does is flatten the wave form and although it gets it loud is looses the life and energy it had. I do like to put a sidechain compressor on with the kick drum controlling the threshold. This gives it a bit of bounce with it pumping a little with the drums. Not too much though. If there are fast moving notes in your bassline then only a little sidechain will work. If you have long simple notes you can crank up the threshold and really get a nice effect on the bass, but that's for a different type of track to this one."

"If the main part of the track is the bassline then some of the higher frequencies will probably need to be turned up. But wait until you have all the other parts written before you commit to any of this. Sometimes I like to use a sub bass under the bassline sound. So I cut the top bassline from about 150db and lay the sub underneath it, making sure that it is cut from about 150db up. These 2 tracks must be identical in their construction of the midi part. This will make them blend into each other creating one big sound once they have been mixed."

The Drums:

"There are millions of drum sounds available now a days. I have to be honest I don't use drum machines. I am happy with using good quality samples and playing them with a decent sample player such as Native Instruments Kontakt. I always seem to head towards the old school Roland sounds such as 606, 707, 808, and 909. They just seem to work so well with dance music."

"Detox has very techno sounding drums, I used 909 hihats and built up the energy through the arrangement by programming the Open hat to come in more often and in some parts take the place of the closed hat. By changing the hihats throughout the track it will make it sound a lot more interesting and way more exciting. But the key is to keep the same groove all the way through the track. This is the most important thing."

"If you can bring in more drums and make it busier while building on the same groove you are on to a winner. Don't have too many sounds though as everything still needs it's own space. Kick Drums are a very important element as they can determine the whole sound and even the vibe of the track. I have a bank of favorite kicks that I always seem to head for. It all personal taste really."

"The middle section of Detox slows down the tempo from 126bpm to about 100bpm and then speeds it back up again after the breakdown. This section has live sounding drums which I sourced from Spectrasonics Stylus. I love this application for its versatility and the ability to audition every loop at any tempo instantly. Then you drag the midi part over to your arrangement and then you can go in and edit the loop and even quantize it to fit perfectly with your track and groove. Its all about the groove remember. Because this track has tempo changes Stylus is great because you are playing the sounds without timestretching them, same as triggering a sampler. As each different drum sound and part of the loop is triggered by the midi part in the arrangement."

"When you are happy with the arrangement of the parts render each part down to audio. Then you can start to process it. I always feel that I want to see the waveform on the screen as I do each process, such as compression, EQ, Reverb etc. This lets me see if I am doing too much or not enough to the sound. I like to normalize everything and then compress, EQ, apply Reverb to give them space. I don't tend to put much reverb on the main drum sounds as they loose energy and get a bit washed out. But I love to add lots of Big room reverb to things like Rimshots and Claves. This can make your drum track sound huge on its own. Then work up from the bottom and pan out left or right so the higher frequency sounding drums are panned out furthest although I like to keep Hi Hats fairly in the middle as they are so integral to the groove."

Main parts:

"In a track like 'Detox' when you have a large sounding Bassline that pretty much fills the frequency range there isn't much room left for other Main lead sounds. So to make the track more interesting I have another acid sounding Analogue sound in the breakdown sections. This time it's more concentrated in the higher frequencies with not much bass. Pretty much cut completely from about 150Hz down. This gives a great contrast to the bass and keeps the energy flowing through the track."

"I made parts with lots of busy notes kind of like writing an arpeggio. I didn't use to much glide on these as again it made a nice contrast to the bassline. Delay works very well on the high notes and you can create a new sounding riff if you get the delay time to swing nicely with the track. Again its completely personal preference and there are no real rules. The only thing you have to ask yourself is does it sound good?"

Effects:

"I use the Voyager to make most of my sound effects. It's so versatile that I can pretty much get what I want within a matter of seconds, record it in the computer and then move on to the next sound. I make white noise sounds and then filter them up and down with the track and then after they have been recorded and EQed (cut everything below about 1000Hz on these noise effects as they fill the whole frequency range) I like to Sidechain them similar to the bassline but more intensely. This is a very popular production technique at the moment."

"White noise sounds good when it's turned on straight away along with the rest of the track, such as after a breakdown etc. It's good to be as creative as possible with this. The Voyager has a space effect which will pan the two different sounding filters and so giving a much more interesting sound to the effect. Generally effects only need to be on when there is nothing else filling that space as much of the time 'less is more' with these tracks. Also the less you use them the bigger effect they will have when they come on."

"If you are using sounds from big keyboards such as a voyager then you will not need to do much processing to the sound at all. Maybe a little EQ to shape it into your track. Because it's a live machine every note is different to the last one which gives it a life all of its own. This is something that not many Soft Synths can do because they are all thinking in One's and Zero's digitally which means they ending up sounding the same a lot of the time."

"I love to come back out of the Fireface and send my effects and other Lead sounds into one of my collection of Pedal boxes. I have the Moogerfooger Anolog Delay, Ring Modulator, Phaser and the MURF. I use the external input on the Voyager quite often as that is one hell of a filter, sounds great on percussion loops and Break Beats. Also I have a pedal called the Crowther Audio 'Prunes and Custard' (from New Zealand, I picked it up while touring once in Australia) which is a 'Harmonic Generator Intermodulator'. This gives a distorted craziness to your sound that is great for lying over the top of the original sound such as a lead stab or arpeggio."

"My favorite effect is by far the Analog Delay. This creates a beautiful sound and fills gaps in just the right way. As it's live, you can really ride the feedback and listen to your sound get churned inside out while it evolves. It's a great replacement for white noise and sounds a whole lot more exciting. There are plugins that will do this well such as the Softube 'Tube Delay' but there's something about the sound of the Moog that no plugin can beat."

Vocals:

"One effect that has been working very well on my vocals is to duplicate the track, lay them on top of each other and then pitch down by 2 or 3 semitones (or more even) the second track; this fattens up your vocals massively and makes them sound a lot more vibey in the mix of the track. You may need to EQ the second track to get it to sit correctly. Obviously this wont work on full songs or some types of voice but for one or two word vocal stabs it's great. Also the analog delays come in very useful on these parts. Not on all of them but generally the vocals that are used in breakdowns or parts leading up to a breakdown where you want to achieve more tension in the track."

Arrangement:

"As all the parts of the track are created I place them in a rough arrangement. Then as more things are added I can generally hear what else needs to be made to make the track work. As most of my sounds are recorded live there isn't too much automation, only getting the delays to tail off correctly. But when I have done my basic arrangement and I am happy with the structure of the track I then do the final automating of any effects that might be from a plugin. My favourites are the Softube - Tube Delay and the Ohm Force - Hematohm, these are very versatile units that will give you all the delay and pitching effects plus more that you could ever need creating huge build ups and great tension in the track."

Main outs:

"I generally group tracks together, basically Kick, Snare, Percussion, Drum Subgroup, Bassline, Top Bassline sound (if there are two parts to the Bassline sound layered on top of each other) Lead sounds, FX, and Vocals they all go out the Main Outputs where I have a compressor just jelling the top frequencies together. Roughly -2db on the Threshold with a good mixdown setting. Something like 10ms attack, 40ms release, 3:1 ratio, Auto gain on etc. Then I have the Sony Oxford Inflator, threshold set at 0db, using it as a limiter to stop the levels flying into the red when things get busy. It gives great warmth and fattens the sound with its Effect level setting. I like to have this at about 28% most times."

"Then when I'm happy with the track it should be good to render down for mastering. If I want to play the track out in the club I make a new arrangement and then use the Waves L3 Multimaximizer. This has amazing abilities of getting your track very loud whilst keeping most of the dynamics all there. I usually get about another 3-5db out of my track with this Limiter. I wouldn't send this limited version to be mastered as you definitely loose some dynamics but for a road test it's great!"

Check out all of Lee's creations for Prime Loops here!

What is Dirty South?

After the East and the West coasts had their own distinct Hip Hop styles, the southern states felt a bit left out and added their own style to the mix.

Welcome to the Dirty South...

What's it all about?

The Dirty South (Also known as Southern Hip Hop) has its roots firmly in da club. Party music through and through, it celebrates fame and money and rewards it with 808-tastic beats and repetitive (and as such, ridiculously catchy) detuned sawtooth synth lines over the top.

Occasionally you'll find one of the more epic dirty south tunes too, which ventures into sampling big string or brass sounds for the rappers to spit over and really push the club P.A. to its limit!

When did it start?

In the late 1980s, out of a genre then known as "Miami Bass" came Dirty South. It was originated by rappers such as 2 live crew. The initial sound was as bass heavy as its predecessor, making it ideal music for clubs.

How did it start to get popular?

As it progressed, the artists that came from the dirty south became more eclectic and more popular.

A few that sprung to the charts include Outkast, who pushed the envelope musically as well, being one of the few popular hip hop artists to venture outside of conventional 4/4 beats, Ludacris, who has featured on some of the biggest pop songs in the charts and become a massive rapper in his own right, and Lil Wayne, who similarly has pretty much spent his later career at the top of the charts.

Why is Dirty South so Dirty?

It spans from minimal to maximum impact, drum-machine focused to epic samples, but the consistancy lies in the message, which is pretty much to get up in the club. It's an easy message to follow and the club-goers and single-purchasers love it, hence its popularity.

Where can I get it?

As previously mentioned - just look in the charts! It's one of the easiest genres to find because it's so radio friendly (ironic, considering some of the more graphic content about what goes on after the rappers leave the club, girls in tow) so it's not hard to get stuck in!

For samples, check out Prime Loops' Dirty South Producer Combo Deal, which has a scary amount of quality samples to make epic Southern Beats with!

What is Ambient?

You know, sometimes in-your-face electronica is a bit too much. The beats eventually result in a headache and the synths steal too much focus. Perhaps all you need is something in the background... something that's not asking for your full attention.

Welcome to Ambient.

What’s it all about?

Ambient is an offshoot of electronica that decided that music wasn't solely for dancing to. Relaxation benefits from chilled tunes and sometimes all you need to set the atmosphere is a bit of... well... ambience.

It's a genre of music that doesn't mind being ignored. It's meant to be in the background. It won't get offended if you just carry on about your routine without acknowledging its existence - all it wants is to set the scene.

When did it start?

While people had been experimenting with background music for years, conventional ambient electronica was initially popularised by Brian Eno, a ground breaking and well educated musician who was initially in the band Roxy Music, but after tiring of the ego of the lead singer (we've all been there), decided to create his own form of experimental music in the early 70s.

From this point, he and a few other innovators (Pink Floyd, Yes and Kraftwerk to name a few bigger names) pushed the boundries of beats back and concentrated on textures and slow melodies instead. As usually happens when a new genre is born, it sewed seeds in other musicians...

How did it start to get popular?

While it's never reached mainstream popularity, it has grown in renown. More artists that work with ambient more intensively or combine the floaty textures with other genres of music have popped up, including Aphex Twin and The Orb, who while never getting a number 1, still managed to appear on Top of the Pops and play a game of Chess while their single played in the background. Maybe that's where the offshoot of "Intelligent Dance Music" originated.

More recent artists such as Burial have taken Dubstep and spliced it with ambient to create more underground success stories, with hardcore fans not capable of singing enough praises for the works of their favourite Ambient producers.

Why is Ambient so awesomely atmospheric?

As the Ambient grandpappy Eno himself said; "it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." It's because you can ignore it that makes it stand out from other genres - if you're willing to listen. When you're in the mood for it, soak it in and sink into the ambience. If you aren't, simply tune it out. You can't exactly say the same for pounding 4-on-the-floor genres!

Where can I get samples?

If you're looking for methods of making your own Ambient pieces, the popular opinion generally involves manipulating samples. Grab some awesome starting points with the Ambient Fractals or Ambient Illusions sample packs from Prime Loops. Don't be afraid to grab some less obvious sample packs though - some up-tempo packs like Da sound of Bounce could be slowed, filtered, cut, spliced and mangled into a gorgeous soundscape. Therein lies the beauty of Electro-Ambient music. Playing with sound. Have fun, make some sounds and most importantly - relax!