Last year I got back into the art of DJing and was digging for music to play in a gig. As I blended a selection of music from clients (who allowed me to use their music) mixed with findings on Bandcamp, I focused more or less on minimal techno/house, genres often associated with my artist identity. As I asked for suggestions on my Facebook artist page, people were sharing and observing that my tastes weren’t just into minimalism but also fit under the umbrella term of stripped-down music. I knew that term and have clients who make that kind of music, but for some reason, I wasn’t aware how much I enjoyed it. Stripped-down tracks are an acquired taste, which is not for all, but through this post, I want to reflect on what it is and give tips on how to create it.

 

Definition: What is Stripped Down Music?

 

Stripped-down music is a bit difficult to explain to someone who is not versed in DJing. I think anyone who would come across that music and not be familiar with electronic music in the first place would automatically describe it as simplistic or alienating. If you’re familiar with the music I make, which, weirdly enough, is often labeled as minimal, it would be considered maximal compared to stripped-down tracks. What characterises that genre is the linear aspect of its structure, the focus elements used, and the low occurrence of changes. More than often, they would feel like it’s a simple loop repeating ad nauseam, but if you pay close attention, you’ll notice that some patterns change subtly or swap predictably. But never too much.

Honestly, it is one genre I find hard to make because if you spend too much time on those tracks, you’ll quickly ruin it by adding unnecessary elements. Someone once asked me if it was underproduced music, to which I replied:

 

There’s a thin line between underproduced music and the art of knowing what’s the minimum to make it viable. It requires much more experience than one would think.

 

Strangely enough, within that genre, there are a lot of producers who have a lot of experience and will relate that this genre of music induces whoever makes it into a state of perpetual doubt and let go. I like to believe there is some poetry in its making. You could easily compare it to modern art where the focus is simple, but the artist also had balls to go for a statement or simplicity over complexity. I worked a few times with artists making that music, and each time, it would boggle my brain with how simple the arrangements were. More than often, the number of channels was under the count of ten. Sometimes, it would be a live improvisation from a few machines, where the raw recording often made me feel it was perhaps just two machines and a long loop.

 

What is the point?

 

Some pop artists are anxious if they don’t have vocals and effects (swooshes and crashes) at every bar of their project, where the arrangements constantly go up and down, making it, in my opinion, annoying more than exciting. They’re the opposite, and I once tried to explain to one of those artists what stripped-down music is and its purpose. That didn’t go down too well. The artist could not get it, and listening to 30 seconds of it made them feel profoundly uncomfortable. To get what it is and why such music is made that way, you’ll need to understand for which context it is meant to be played and how it is intended to be used.

 

Context

 

I’m not an expert enough to relate where it came to be and when it started, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit were where it first gained traction. Looking back at artists like Robert Hood, his early works were stripped-down techno. Linear, no bullshit and made to hypnotize the audience. To appreciate that genre of music, you need to be exposed to a form of listening that requires patience. But Hood’s music is fast-paced and hard, a form of minimal techno/house that is different from minimal techno/house. If you ask DJs about that genre and why it is what it is, they’ll agree that those tracks are DJ-friendly and meant to be used in a performance context. Being linear songs, one can play them on multiple decks, craft them into a new song using EQs and adjust them to tastes for the crowd’s needs.

In other words, if you listen to them as is, not much will happen, but when you start layering them, they give the DJ much creative output. If you’re not a DJ listening to a set played with those tracks, you might never guess that the sources are pretty simple in the first place. By keeping your tracks to only a few elements leaves room to layer other ones on top.

 

 

Living the music

 

I find it interesting that some people really developed an appreciation for stripped-down music on its own, without being mixed in a track. Those people are rare, but I’m one of them. How I live that kind of music in a club/party context is far different as an experience compared to how I would listen to it in my studio or at home. While some people would quickly call it boring or energyless, to me, stripped-down music brings me a lot of energy for the space it opens to move into. As I love to dance to it, I find it liberating and giving me a sense of freedom. I find it’s one of the rare kinds of music where time seems to stretch beyond what I expect, creating a moment suspended in time.

I remember explaining that to someone, and that person rolled their eyes as if I was too spiritual. Before getting upset, I showed that person a video about David Lynch explaining his music view. He’s the only person who has said how I feel about it. He sees it as an element, such as fire or water and relates how much power it has, making it almost magic. Just like our ancestors, we are mastering the art of controlling it, and if we let ourselves be open about how much it can change us, beyond wanting to control it, we can see how much emotional bounding we can create with it.

Years ago, I did a score for a dance troop that was performing in a show. The choreographer rejected the first presentation of the score I proposed. She explained that there was not enough negative space for the dancers to explore. That view impacted me as it was the first time I dealt with someone who was just as interested in the silences as the music itself. Miles Davis emphasises that silence usage is what makes music.

 

Considering that stripped-down music is based on repetition and the use of negative space, it makes me think that it’s a genre that commands more respect than we can initially give it. There’s a maturity to it that is overlooked by many.

While there is a genre named Spiritual Jazz, stripped-down music is a bit on that side of things. I think it is more aligned with that mentality than some other genres pretend to be, but this is purely from a personal view.

On the other end of the spectrum of stripped-down music, there are people like Petre Inspirescu (who I often mentioned as a model of creativity). The few sets recorded for the Japanese Youtube channel Dommune are pure masterpieces worth watching because they are calmer than Hood’s music yet have some hypnotic energy that makes his fans dance.

 

 

How to Make It

 

Perhaps you have jumped to this part because you want to have bullet points on creating that music. While I can provide some ideas, tips and techniques, it is evident that if you’re going down that rabbit hole of music making, you’ll need to first listen to a lot of it. If you’re unfamiliar with the genre, I would say it might be easier to start by asking some DJ friend of yours to the rescue because finding quality stripped-down music can be challenging mainly because you’ll need to train your ears on what is quality and what is amateur or under-produced music. The line between the two is blurry, and in some cases, people who are new to music will do this kind of music because their skills aren’t too sharp to venture into complicated techniques. But this is also good news because it means that some beginners might come up with a very simplistic idea that works, making a simple track but nothing else is required.

Many people also struggle with this. They compare themselves to the wrong references and spend too much time on the song, ruining the fresh initial idea.

 

Here are a few points if you want to explore the genre:

 

1—Listen to a lot of similar music: While this is a tricky point, I list it first because having models will help you make critical decisions and understand that you need simplicity.

2—Limit your number of channels/sounds: Keep it low. I would encourage you to try to limit yourself to a maximum of 10 to start with. You can do a lot with that number! One channel can have variations, which makes it feel like it’s progressing and captivating. This is where many people fail; they’ll add layers instead of variations to what they have.

3- Work fast: I often encourage people to do speed sessions where they’ll blitz through working on multiple tracks within a 1 hour of studio work. Taking the time to do just 3 to 5 changes to a song on what’s apparent stops you from altering what doesn’t need to change.

4- Limit the voices: I mean the melodic elements. You won’t need much, perhaps even one loop, with variation, might be enough. If it feels incomplete, remember that it’s meant to be layered with something else; therefore, negative space is needed.

5- Be OK with repetition: As it says, you can grab your starting loop, stretch it to the last moment of the song, then slice it into sections of 8 bars and add some variations here and there. You don’t need to articulate it or make it “interesting” by adding bells and whistles.

6—Test in context: Mix it as a DJ or ask a friend to (pick wisely). If you don’t DJ, you can do it within your DAW, beatmatch, and then layer two songs. Is the combination of the 2 songs complementary? If not, create space or adjust it based on another song’s arrangements.

7—Work with loops: I’ve said it multiple times, but using loops is a key asset in getting the job done quickly. You can also recycle all your unused sounds, ideas, and loops from other songs you’ve done. It’s also a way of seeing some of your ideas from a new angle without any pressure.

8- No rules: This genre can be as experimental as having a repetitive loop playing with some effects. There are virtually no rules, and that can be unsettling. But if you understand that what you’re creating is a tool for another artist to pick and layer in their set, you’d be surprised that some artists are looking for simple ideas. I did some songs in the past that were ridiculously simple but ended up being some of my most popular material, being played in podcasts and radio shows. It’s weird but quite exciting.

 

The Key Point

 

What makes a track successful is based on multiple points worth sharing. However, the key point comes down to a listening technique I love practicing and sharing: Deep listening. It consists of listening to your song with your eyes closed and paying tight attention to all the elements, going from one to another. If you have fewer elements, your mind will automatically go from one to another circularly. I’m unsure where I read that, but we can’t listen to more than three sounds simultaneously. Yes, you hear many elements, but you can’t deeply connect with more than 3 at once.

Finding the perfect dosage of the right amount of sounds to use is where the art starts. This requires a certain level of experience, maturity, and understanding of how music is perceived in various contexts. I can’t explain it easily. Perhaps listening to music will reveal things you like, which you can explore. But I’ll share that polyrhythms and polyrhythmic modulations unlock that hypnotic effect. A good way to explore this is to remove the host synchronisation on your modulators, such as LFOs, and to go off the clock, which will give an analog feel.

 

Why Making it

 

You might wonder why I encourage you to explore this. There are multiple reasons behind that encouragement. The first one is that it forces you to review how you deal with simplicity and patience, which are skills music producers often struggle with. It also teaches you to work fast, make critical decisions, and let go of expectations.

It’s also quite fun.