bass music.

It always changes depending on the mood really. Sometimes it might be neither and a field recording I've done from the weekend before might inspire it. I've definitely started tracks only because I had recorded my porch creaking, branches cracking and water running earlier in the day.

Always changes, although recently I've been in a nice habit of waking up at a good time, coming to the studio and just getting going before 11. I can't see the sun from my studio, but i know it's out and use that for inspiration.

Nature, the sun, books, field recordings, kids and scones.

Get outside and do some hiking, hands in the dirt type stuff. Always works.

Depends again. Sometimes I have a certain sound I'm going for or a certain bank of recordings Ive done, but really never the same.

Yea sure, depending on the project but I'm not opposed to pop stuff at all. It's all good.

My Roland Edirol field recorder.

An Ocean harp. Actually don't use it that much, but it's wicked.

I mix down all my material, always. When i collab with friends, there is always a shared effort in the mixdown process, but for my own it's different. For any releases that go out into the world on vinyl or cd or digi, someone else always masters it.

Oh I have no idea, there are the obvious things I could say, but it all doesn't really bother me much. When it comes to music or production I try to focus on what i like, not what i don't like. Brings in more goodness that way.

It all takes time and no need to beat yourself up with music. Just let it flow baby.

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This week, we've got a rather unconventional producer Q&A with that most 'unconventional' of people, Ginz.  Hopefully it will give you an insight into the thinking behind such classics as Purple City and Re-Up.

I feel I should point out that all images in this piece were chosen by the man himself.....

Before I embark upon your inquisition, a word I use not in a pejorative manner, but rather as an indication of the gravity and importance our traveling this path together, a path through my mind and therefore to the gateway of a world of creative insight, has for our readers, I would like to quickly draw attention to a realization I had quite recently, with the aid of my (and Baobinga’s) Spiritual guru, Chunky Rumpajump, on a month long vision quest in Reno Nevada. 

While Chunky’s methodology and legitimacy is often the subject of controversy, and he has more discreditors than adherents, those in his inner circle possess no doubts as to his attainment and transcendental wisdom, so when he commanded me to travel from my modest 15

         The boundaries of the retreat were as follows: we were not to sleep for the entirety of the month and we were to subsist only on Pina Coladas, pancakes, maple syrup and a powder Chunky called “Juju Jones’ Magic Table Salt”, which he had been importing from a little known Tibetan monastery in the hills of a remote Columbian forest, we were to gamble whenever we weren’t eating, imbibing the powder, or in the hot tub with women he called “princesses of the sky”, whom he said those with clear vision would see as enlightened deities, though at times I must admit they did seem to me to be ladies of the night, loose harlots performing all manner of devious and delightful acts upon us both. In order to facilitate and finance this retreat I mortgaged my manor house, an act Chucky assured me would pay metaphysical dividends that far outweighed and outshined the worldly value of pecuniary accumulation and security.

          My breakthrough arrived three weeks into the retreat, I know not the hour what with the infernal casino’s complete prohibition of chronometric technologies, when I was playing my three hundred and fourth game of roulette that day. Having played the “Voisins du Zero” all day, with a categorical and complete lack of success, a sequence of failure I was worrying might mean having to sell off my collection of 1960’s champagnes, I had bet on red 7 (as a man ethnically ginger, I always bet on red) and the wheel was spun. Staring at the centre of the wheel I was entranced, utterly absorbed by the rhythm of its rotation and the quite mantras made by the sounds of the white ball bounding around as if it were a blind albino lemming leaping in search of a ledge, suddenly the wheel wasn’t spinning, the world was spinning and the roulette wheel was absolute stillness, the central point of infinity, surrounded by a dynamic non dimensional lattice of interpenetrative nodes and connections, and the roulette wheel was the essence and I was the wheel we were all both the stillness and the infinitely dynamic.

         I came to, pina colada dripping off my face and hair, covered in maple syrup coloured vomit aware of having defecated in my undergarments, on the floor of the casino being dragged out by a group of large, and might I add terribly attired, security guards, who violently and mercilessly threw me into the street where I again lost consciousness. I was hospitalized for a week, though my memory of the stint is largely hazey and episodal, a series of vignettes in which nurse after nurse slapped me in the face and a parade of mustached police officers visited me to hold interviews I can not quite recall. Ultimately whatever it was that did, or did not happen, I am writing this from my chamber at a rehabilitative and correctional facility somewhere in Nevada. I haven’t heard from Chunky since, and amusingly the correctional officers and psychiatrists do not believe in his existence, in fact they tell me I am suffering from delusions of grandeur and paranoid schizophrenia, that I am a very sick individual. I know he hasn’t written or called because this is part of my training and an extension of the retreat itself. Oh Chunky, you loveable rogue you! How delightfully risqué! In the end, as I rest and recuperate my realization still glows in my mind and towers over any small matters of discomfort or incarceration, and that is this: I am the Boss of all Bosses.

How do you approach a tune?  Drums first?  Melody?  

Most of the time they approach me, in dreams, visions or in are spelled out magically in bowls of alphabet soup. The drums dance a cha cha and melodies sing songs of spontaneous realization, and I loom over them playfully with a net made of stardust collecting and storing them on my macintosh-power-machine until they are ripe with an effulgent odor.

 

What time of day do you work best and where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?

In the sun, the shining sun, beams of liquid energy enliven my corporeal structure, but the moon, that wicked moon, how he enervates, devouring my life force, straw-sucking my vital powers. At the four gates of the day (dawn noon sunset and midnight) the portals to the other world are opened and the crystalline meshwork of my studio pod manifests my “works” operating as a form of transdimentional semi permeable membrane. Its a good example of osmosis, for those doing A level biology.

What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?

I like to read my poetry primarily, I find I draw both inspiration and comfort from the musings of my younger self. Here is a pithy one:

When pumpkins and crust

Become one

The sun, the greatest pie of all,

Baked in the cosmic oven

Is done.

Do you start a tune from scratch, or do you usually have a drumset/template/etc to work from?

I am becoming a tad bit impatient with your questions, who is behind all this, are you working with the doctors, is this another psychometric test? I demand to speak to my advisors. I will say no more, not a single drop of ink will be spilled to create punctuation jotted to give structure to answers you will use against me, villains.

If you got a chance would you write pop stuff for a major label (if the money was good?)

Let me out, I can’t breath in here, the pate is only passable, and I have suspicions the butter is being cut with vegetable oil. Why does the wall stare so? Why does the window, encrusted with safety glass, circumambulated with a security frame, adorned with bars question my vigour, why world do you look on as if at one whom you never gave safe haven to, whoms loins have not carressed your grasses and weeds?

What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?

I

What's the coolest bit of kit you've got and do you actually use it much?

Am

Do you mixdown your own stuff?  Reckon there's a stigma around this?

Done

What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?

With

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

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This week we've got Rob Sparx taking a break from staring blankly at
the monitor screen, forgetting what it was he's supposed to be
listening out for (or is that just me?)  to answer our producer Q's.
Many thanks to Rob for taking time out to send these over!
We reviewed Rob's new album 'Trooper' last week, and it's out now at
all good record shops.

1. How do you approach a tune?  Drums first?  Melody?

There's no set approach but I think the best way usually is to get the
drums and melody sorted then jam out a bassline over it - I find it
hard to write a bassline without some music in there first.
2. What time of day do you work best?

Early afternoon.
3. Where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?

I usually try to cover a style I haven't done before - that keeps
things interesting.
4. What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?

Listen to other people's tunes or walk the dog.
5. Do you start a tune from scratch, or do you usually have a
drumset/template/etc to work from?

I normally start from scratch and go into other project files to
borrow sounds as and when I need them.
6. If you got a chance would you write pop stuff for a major label (if
the money was good?)

Yes definitely, but I refuse to suck Satan's cock and write anything
too cheesy just for a quick buck!  I've done 1 remix competition for
Sony (Beyonce - Sweet Dreams) but my mix didn't get accepted -
probably because my sound is bit deeper than what they're looking for
so they went with Nero's mix instead; it was electro house not
dubstep. I'd like to do some RNB influenced dubstep/2step/house with
good soulful singers like Beyonce or Christina Aguilera etc or
something vocal but deep like Massive Attack. I play guitar and I'm
into all sorts of artists who have had huge commercial success like
U2, New Order, The Stone Roses, The Specials, Annie Lennox/Eurythmics
and Chicane etc so I'd love to write pop music but something with a
bit more shelf life than the cheesy generic shit that Radio 1 seem to
love so much at the moment.
7. What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?

EQ and filter plugins.
8. What's the coolest bit of kit you've got and do you actually use it much?

The Moog Prodigy but I don't use it much as its not got midi - I just
take a load of samples off it every once in a while.
9. Do you mixdown your own stuff?  Reckon there's a stigma around this?

I've always done my own mixdowns and I do other peoples occassionally as well.
10. What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?

Although I use it I'm gonna have to say wobbling as most of the time
its done badly or sounds about as original as a wet fart.
11. What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

Using 60hz 0.1Q boost followed by a limiter for my sub-basses - would
have been good to know that from day one, as thats how I get my basses
sounding so loud. Also just using better quality plugins and sidechain
compression would have helped.

-------------
i.d.

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Boom!  Time for another producer Q&A.  This week I'm particularly chuffed to present the U.S. legend that is Bassnectar.  Pioneer of that slow, swinging, bass heavy sound he sometimes calls swamp-hop, it's now slowly getting recognition worldwide, as part of that hip-hop influenced West Coast scene that includes the likes of Glitch Mob, Flying Lotus et al.  Get on over to his site to download a few free tracks and see what it's all about.  Bassnectar is honestly one of the best party DJ's I've seen, switching tempos so quick it left me scratching my head how he did it - although you can see from his gig list he gets plenty of practise.  In fact I'm amazed he gets any time to produce at all, as it looks like he spends most of his life on a tourbus.  Anyway, massive thanks to him for these detailed answers!

www.bassnectar.net

How do you approach a tune?  Drums first?  Melody? 

I usually hear the bassline first...kind of in a churning death metal style, but i work on drums first, since the idea is usually in a specific tempo, i need to build the "groove" in order to work on the bassline idea properly.

Then again, there is no STRICT SYSTEM in my methods...  

What time of day do you work best?

After the phone stops ringing...i work best when i'm immersed for days on end. 

Where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?

From a pretty metaphysical place in my cabeza. 

What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?

I pretty much always feel inspired, if not then i just process my thoughts and address whatever is bugging me, usually with good friends. If my creative juices are clogged, it's probably due to a real-time issue that needs to be addressed in my life, so better to solve/address it so i can approach music in a pure headspace.

Do you start a tune from scratch, or do you usually have a drumset/template/etc to work from?

Holy shit, it's been 15 years and i've never made a proper template. That is one reason why i suck...what a ridiculously great time saver it would be to have a template! i recommend doing so, although i have never followed my advice there.. 

If you got a chance would you write pop stuff for a major label (if the money was good?)

I'd only consider the money in the sense that it would take up my time, which there is none to spare... but it's not like i need to prove something by avoiding pop music. i guess if i authentically LOVE how something sounds, then i WANT to spend my time on it. Anything that i DON'T wanna do i guess i would need some type of compensation in order to justify taking me away from whatever path im on.

But as for working on 'pop' music, i can think of a lot worse ways to sell out... i do not really expect to make any money selling music i have produced... money seems like it is earned on the road, playing shows, etc. 

What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?

Oddly, I have lost most of my go-to techniques... i enjoyed using Reason for about 6 years, and then i felt like everything sounded "Reasony" so i am now using Ableton, and pretty open-format with it. 

What's the coolest bit of kit you've got and do you actually use it much?

I really like Albino. 

Do you mixdown your own stuff?  Reckon there's a stigma around this?

Yes i do and yes there is. i think the stigma is ridiculous (it's the same kind of boys club mentality that makes you wonder...are you making music to impress your colleagues or to touch a wider range of people?)... Following that logic, there are no rules if your goal is to impact people with music. I am happy contributing to a song, and not having to do everything on it myself, as long as i love the end product. That's why i like collaborations so much! And that's why i don't hesitate to use samples, or really ANY sound source that turns me on. I do not need to perform every single function in producing a song, but of course i *can* do every part (like the tune i made back in 2004 called 'Blow' ...i even mastered that one myself)... but really if i can help give birth to an idea, i do not really feel so insecure with myself that i need to do EVERYTHING on it... maybe that comes from knowing that i can if need be though...

I think being in bands helped a lot. When i was a part of a band i never felt wierd or regretful that i did not perform every single function. it was a team effort! It was totally ok in my mind if i did not play the bass and the drums AND mix and master, and distribute the demo tape and promote the shows, and set up the backstage, and run the sound board, and and and and and... you know? i just had fun raging on the guitar and headbanging and going "BWAAHHHH!!!" into a cheap ass mic.

So when i started producing in 1994/1995 i enjoyed being able to kind of make everything happen myself, and not rely on anyone else...after proving to myself i could do it all, i suppose i realized that it's fun to connect with other minds musically.

In terms of the mixdown, i am a control freak so i usually want to do everything myself, but if a homie can come into the studio and help me tweak something, or a mastering engineer can pull 3 or 4 more DB out of a tune by working some kind of magic then HELL YEAH! 

What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?

Gangster rap lyrics....and actually any lame/negative vocal samples in general.

And beyond vocals and vocal samples even in terms of the music/melody, i'm pretty bored by Hard/Angry Tough-Guy vibes in music... i mean if you are truly angry, then by all means express that!!! But so often DnB and dubstep (2 of my favorite genres due to their sheer intensity, raw sound, and overall energy) sound like someone with no musical ideas who is just grating my ears with some under-sexed vibe. Not fun.

(By the way, i am NOT trying to talk shit here at all, i really do not say this to piss anyone off...partly because i do not want to hear the angry music they might make in response..;)

But also because i think anyone has the right to make any sounds they want... but you asked, so i said it: i think the super dark death toughguy bully sound is overused because sometimes it feels unnecessary but still used to fill the void of good ideas. 

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

That none of this matters, that life flies by faster than i ever imagined, that learning to enjoy moments instead of stressing out is a really good thing.

At the same time though, it ALL matters, so being grateful for every moment before that moment passes lets me engage it on a deeper level.

Most goals i have set for myself i have achieved, yet still felt just as dissatisfied as before i achieved them, ...i think humans will always strive for the next thing, yet in doing so i hope to find a balance so i can enjoy more of the journey on my way to the goal.

---------

i.d.

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