A techno tune that came together between jam sessions with Draft34, preparation for our upcoming show, assignments, watching a documentary on Berlin techno, and so on. Might revisit it and make minor tweaks in the future, but for now, enjoy this 320 kbps download. It’s long and subtly evolving, just how techno should be.
Deadmau5 - Strobe (Rindigo’s drone remix)
HA! I went back through my soundcloud and re-discovered this unauthorized remix I almost forgot I had made ~7 months ago. This zany genre-bending resulted in something that, to me at least, is surprisingly beautiful. What a silly thing… I became that asshole who made a drone remix of Deadmau5’s track, Strobe.
Lately I have been listening to and coming across a lot more trap music, and I thought I would dedicate a post to it because the genre is rapidly growing and because I have a curious perception of this genre that I want to share. In a thread I found elsewhere, trap was called the new brostep, derogatorily described essentially as “something brostep DJ’s through into a set to feel less white,” and generally referred to as just a new trendy genre to rage to.
I really disagree. It is of course not worth disputing that trap is great music to party hard to, but I think a lot of trap production is not geared toward partying hard, but produced with a very specific musical purpose in mind in a very specific genre context. I see trap producers treating it as one big musical joke. The production process of trap is not particularly complex and everyone is well aware of the simplicity of the patterns and the basic formula of arpeggiating snares or hats and pitch-shifting them for dramatic effect - and it sounds good of course, but it’s painfully obvious how much of a trope that is. Another glaring element of trap is the overuse of the Zaytoven type chant, and the really generic drum samples.
All of these things are great to rock out to, and using them naturally adds some sort of slightly ironic feel to whatever you add it to, because it is so derivative. I think trap producers are well aware of the derivative nature of the genre, as such use it often to ironic effect or as cross-genre allusions. Think of Burial using the deplorable airhorn sample specifically as an allusion to jungle and oldschool breakbeat. In this, I find trap to be flavor-wise, to be closely related to witch house. the genres are about the deconstruction of genre tropes and rearranging them in different ways to both ironic and referential effect. Of course witch house, which I absolutely love, and trap are very different mood wise, but production and intent wise, they are more closely related than they are at first glance.
I do not think the rise of brostep had the same vibe that the rise of trap has. Nowadays it can be - the addition of wobble bass is frequently used in totally different genres for ironic/referential effect. But I see this happening right now during the rise of trap music because producers are very well aware of what is happening: they are producing in a very ironic context and have intimate knowledge of genres and their tropes. I feel like this is in contrast to the rise of brostep, where this was mostly uncharted territory and it was a race to the top. we saw the development of a lot of completely new sounds and vibes. It was rise filled with a lot of exploration and development, as opposed to the rise of trap, which is about artistic re-arrangement, not necessarily the development of something completely new.
maybe I’m giving trap producers too much credit and just drank too much coffee myself.
Draft34 & Rindigo - Night Stumblers
Something brought me back to this track recently. Nick and I worked on this in March, if I am not mistaken, and it was a really exciting and invigorating project for me. We had to coordinate and collaborate by sending things back and forth with mediafire between different timezones because Nick was studying abroad in London, and I was doing my intern-y duties during my semester away from school.
It’s a really lighthearted tune that reminds me of late-night bikerides and taking steps forward. . I do sincerely hope you enjoy this fat bass!
Rindigo - Worldcurve
This techno-type tune is the synthesis of the good bits of two tracks that I created each in a few short hours. I challenged myself to rapidly crash-produce two tracks to see what some of my production “gimmicks,” or habitual processes, are. This was also a way to dive into the flexibility of Maschine and get the hang for a few methods. It’s a good exercise because you gain a lo of perspective into your production process afterward when you think about how you went about it.
This track was originally also submitted to a production contest and kept “private”, which is why it was uploaded ~3 months ago but has only 3 plays. I haven’t heard from the contest organizers so I removed the private setting and am now sharing this track with you.
Also it’s a bit overcompressed, and I think I will rework it when my computer is in functioning order. It could definitely benefit from an extended edit, in my opinion. But definitely share your thoughts!
Things to keep in mind for sound engineering/mastering
Here is a big picture of infographics and charts I came across over a long time being on the internets. I found these to be the most useful, so I glued them all together into an even bigger, more comprehensive infographic that I hope will be useful for sound engineering and possible mixing things down while mastering. Some of the pictures have sources attached, but I came across many without sources and without attribution. If you know the sources of any of these pics, let me know, so that credit can be given where it is due. Because Tumblr’s ability to upload and display images sucks. it cripples everything and makes it too small or distorts it. here is a full-sized version of the pic you can download
Beautiful midi controller !
More pics of the Soundscape. First reaction is naturally a huge “wtfamilookingat?!” but it makes more sense when you see the other pics in that link. It looks gorgeous, but I wonder if it is a bit too random to use effects exactly the way you expect to. Which might actually be a good thing… It could force you to construct effect racks to work well no and not be too heavy handed and all flow together, all of which is an excellent exercise in building effect racks (in Ableton). It probably also feels awesome, and certainly is one of the most unique controllers I have seen.
letterstoaly-deactivated2012071 asked: I love your music and cats.
OMG this is the first fan letter I have EVER received! Thank you for the kind words. It’s reassuring to know that there is more to the Internet than just cute cats…
I wonder if my music evokes cuddly feelings as much as cats do…
Rindigo - Streetlights Are My Escape
In the past I described many of my tracks as “emotional,” but I’m no longer sure that is quite the right word. They are more serious than emotional. I think that shows in this track I just completed - it’s serious, but not heavy. It is contemplative. It’s like the spotlight in the center of a dark stage, in a night-black theater. Take a listen to this minimal track, and see if you feel that too.
