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Conversations with Clients: Isaac Prieto

March 2, 2016/in Blog, Mastering, Mixing, Song Finalizing and Arrangements/by pheek

Isaac Prieto is a Detroit-based DJ and producer and the co-founder of vinyl label Detroit Vinyl Room. He was also a client of Pheek’s, who helped Isaac with song finalization, mixdown and mastering. I spoke with Isaac to gain some insights into his journey as a DJ and producer and his experience working with Pheek.

Note: this interview has been edited for length and readability.

Shawn: To start off, why don’t you tell me a little bit about your relationship with electronic music, how and when you got into it.

Isaac: Well it was basically when I moved to Detroit, with the first time I went to the Movement Festival, in 2012. I remember the experience, and not understanding why I had never heard this kind of music before, because I immediately fell in love with it. After the festival I sought out events in the city that played this type of music.

So you didn’t have any education or formal training in music, right? You just got into it as a fan?

Yeah, I was just a fan of the sound. I would always be using Shazam to find the tracks I liked, and I started listening to so many sets on Soundcloud and just building a music library like that. As my library grew, I got the urge to edit a lot of the tracks (slow them down/filter) to fit my style more, and that was my initial motivation. To make a set with my library, that I would enjoy.

So did you pretty much teach yourself how to DJ then?

Yeah, I started out with just one turntable and a Pioneer Traktor mixer. My friend told me to just watch a bunch of tutorials on YouTube, so that’s what I did. Something that helped me develop too was to try and find a set I really enjoyed [and] which I could find the tracks for, and try to replicate it.

Okay, so let’s talk a bit about your production work. In your Resident Advisor bio, it says you’ll be releasing music this summer on the Detroit Vinyl Room label that you co-founded. Can you tell me more about this project?

Yeah, so a few months ago a new venue opened up [in downtown Detroit], 1315 Broadway. I was asked by a friend of mine, Ali Unifier, to help put together the lineup for some events. To me the sets that always influenced me the most were vinyl-only sets, so we called it Detroit Vinyl Room. The parties went well, but after starting the podcast series I eventually decided to take a break from hosting events to focus on building up the label. I had some tracks I had been working on for some time, and that’s when I reached out to Pheek to help with the mixdown and mastering.

So it was a series of parties and podcasts that then became a label, is that right?

Yeah, correct.

And was it easy to start up a label?

Oh god no, it’s a lot more work than I had anticipated to be honest, but I’m glad I’m doing it. For a while, I had been contemplating whether I wanted to build a package of tracks to send out to labels, but decided against that. I made my main goal in releasing music to make something I would personally enjoy to have, and in turn it made the production process a lot more enjoyable. I showed the tracks to a few of my friends, and they liked it and wanted to be involved in the release. So on this first release, I’ll be providing 2 original tracks with remixes from MGUN as well as Moreon & Baffa.

And you say you needed help with the mixdown and mastering. Tell me more about this. Had you tried to learn how to do it yourself?

Yeah, I had looked into how that process works, but it was beyond the scope of what I could dedicate time to at this point. It really is a job for a sound engineer.

And aside from questions of sound engineering, how did you find the transition from DJing to production? Did you face challenges at first, either technical or in terms of the creative process?

It was a little more frustrating because production took more time to get the hang of. I started off with just getting to know Ableton with a MIDI controller and making loops that I liked, and then moved gradually to aquiring more analog gear. But that took time and money. Before asking Pheek for help, it had been over a year of working on stuff on my own until finally I had 3 or 4 tracks that I was pretty happy with. With one in particular I felt like, “Okay, this track for sure I want on vinyl,” and with the others I felt I had really good ideas, but they just didn’t flow the way I wanted them to, you know? And so I went and asked him for help, and he made them sound a lot better and gave me ideas about how to change them up.

Yeah, he helped with song finalization too, no?

Yeah, so in his tutorials, he talks about these ideas and sub-ideas. And for one of these tracks, I had it down, but it was just the transition points between these ideas that I was having difficulties with. And so I sent him the project, and he changed it up a lot. He sent me a few versions and I would tell him, “Okay, more of this, less of that.” He sent me a few versions, and then afterwards he sent me the different parts of the finalized version that I liked the most. And from there I could easily tell, “Okay, these are the changes that I liked or didn’t like,” which allowed me to make the the final arrangements for the track into something different that fit my own style better. But I wouldn’t have been able to reach that last version had he not changed some other aspects first himself.

Right, so he sort of unblocked you, you could say?

Yeah, he took this block out. Like he would say, “Okay, that transition is really nice right there, but I want it to be more this way.” And now that the song is finished, it’s something that I felt was definitely, was organically, all my idea. He’s just been working with music for so long that these things come so easy to him. So the more we work together, the easier the process gets I guess.

So what brought you to Pheek originally though?

I had been a fan of his music, and so I just followed him on Facebook, and I saw that he posted stuff about production. I found that pretty helpful. I have an agent here in Detroit, my friend Maggie, from Auxetic, and I was telling her about the idea of the label and what I wanted to do, and how I saw what Pheek had been posting on Facebook. And she’s like, “Oh actually, he’s a good friend of mine, he’s a great person, you should totally get in contact with him.” So she made that connection. I mean I already had a bunch of his records, and I like the sound that he makes, so I thought he would be good as someone who can understand what I wanted to do with my sounds.

So it sounds like it’s been a very fruitful creative collaboration for you.

Yeah, yeah. I had chances where I could have put stuff out earlier, and some digital releases and stuff, but nothing really got me that excited about doing that. And it wasn’t until I thought, “Okay, now this is something I’d want to have as mine.” And even if it sells out or it doesn’t sell out or whatever, I’m just gonna print out a few copies on vinyl, and I think it’ll fall into the right hands.

And do you think that the collaboration has brought something to your own production more durably?

Yeah, definitely. I saw how he was able to change what I had, and it gives me new ideas as to how I can do that for future productions. He also posts a lot of good ideas [on his Facebook page and blog] that I wouldn’t have thought of, like “Do a loop a day.” Or, even just how he’s honest. Like when I first sent him the songs, one of them, it just wasn’t ready. And he said, “You can make it sound better.” So before I sent them back, it was a few more weeks of changing it up, before I thought, “Okay, I’ve reached a point where I think this is the most I can do with this track, and I think, with your help, it can be better.”

Follow Isaac Prieto and Detroit Vinyl Room on Soundcloud.

Making the Choice To Be Exclusive to a Label

February 24, 2016/in Blog, Production/by pheek

You might have heard of record labels asking for exclusivity, or maybe you’ve at least heard the term mentioned in one way or another. But what does it entail exactly, and how should you approach the decision if you’re ever faced with such an offer?

In another post, I shared a personal story of mine where I had the chance to commit to a huge label and bring my career to the next level — but I refused. It’s the kind of moment that doesn’t happen many times, but when it comes, it calls for careful reflection before making a decision. In my case, it was hard to seek advice from friends, as not many of them had been in the same situation before. I followed my gut feeling, and opted to follow my dreams without considering the possible outcomes.

All and all, there are a few questions to consider:

- Where do I see myself in 5 years, musically speaking?
- How can this exclusivity arrangement help me reach that goal?

So that should pretty much form the basis of your reflections.

While it’s hard to imagine ourselves down the road or even to give ourselves a reality check on how achievable our goals are, it is still quite essential to develop a vision of where we want to go. There will be certain things you have in mind, and if you have a firm idea of your goals, it will make it easier to decide whether you should commit to being exclusive to a label or not.

The DJ and producer

Being one doesn’t exclude the other, and while you can do both individually, the winning combination is to do at least some of both. This way you can create a great release, for example, and you’ll be able to tour to promote it, which then brings you more requests for new releases, and then more gigs, and so on. The wheel spins organically. In this case, if you commit to a label, you will need this label to cover a lot of ground for you because there will be a lot of opportunity.

The entrepreneur

You want a label, you want to do a bit of everything, and you want to be in control because you like things done your way. This is pretty much a scenario that many people see themselves in, but if you’re not an entrepreneur, it is a difficult road to choose. More power brings more responsibilities, but also all the freedom to express yourself. In this case, exclusivity doesn’t work well for you.

The studio artist

This means that you prefer producing to DJing, and that you’re not so interested in heading out to the clubs to tour. This is a tricky road. Exclusivity can be interesting to you because you will have a platform for your releases, and you can still use aliases to release elsewhere. But to make this worthwhile, your flagship label will have to be a major outlet.

Being dedicated to a label

Some artists want to be with a label and plan all their projects around it. They will be okay not creating many releases, will want to tour using the team’s contacts, and they’ll feel comfortable with everything the label does. The great thing about this is that you’re part of the label’s brand. This can make your own image and sound more powerful in a way, because you’ll be part of a collective of artists who you admire, and who will shape the label’s identity. If you produce a bit less, this outcome might be well suited for you.

Choosing Track Finalization over Ghost Producing

February 21, 2016/in Blog, Production, Song Finalizing and Arrangements/by pheek

A lot of you might already know what ghost producing is, and you might even have some pretty strong feelings about it. For those who aren’t familiar with the term:

Ghost producing is having your track made from scratch, with your instructions, by another producer.

What you might be more surprised to find out, though, is that many producers — even the most pro or successful ones — sometimes get others to finalize their tracks for them. I can tell you, for example, that even some big-name artists on the Minus label get Richie Hawtin to finalize their songs. But despite how common it is, there’s unfortunately still a sort of stigma around outsourcing your track finalization, and it’s easy to understand.

So first, let’s get this out of the way: song finalization is not the same as ghost production. Track finalization is nothing to be ashamed about, as the song is still the creative work of the producer. Let’s begin with a definition:

Track finalization is having another producer suggest ideas on how to get to a finished product based on your initial ideas.

Track finalization: The sources of a stigma

Back at the beginnings of electronic music in the early 1990s, DJs and producers had to be technicians too. You simply couldn’t get very far as an artist without being a jack-of-all-trades and an expert in the hardware of sound engineering and music production. It came with the territory, and DJs and producers prided themselves on their resourcefulness.

This DIY nature of electronic music culture became so deeply rooted that when laptops and software began taking off in the early 2000s, many seasoned producers and DJs bristled at the intrusion of laptops into live performances. I remember the very first MUTEK festival in 2000, when the novel machines began appearing on stage with one performer after the next — it was such an alien sight that no one knew how to react! Many of us viewed their use as a form of cheating at first, but it soon became clear that the game had changed.

Music technology continued to develop at an exponential pace, making electronic music-making accessible for more and more people. One impact of this, however, has been to make it seem like electronic music production is so easy… that anyone can do it! Well obviously, it’s much more complicated than that.

If anything, the proliferation of producers has actually made it harder to stand out from the pack. Meanwhile, the infinite musical possibilities opened up by the digital revolution have made it that much easier to get overwhelmed. Where once your kick drum would be a 909, for example, now there are thousands of options to choose from. Sometimes the best creative surges come when you’re faced with constraints, but pure freedom, while it seems tempting, can make it easier to get lost and lose your focus.

Track finalization as creative collaboration

The truth is that even the most experienced artists get writer’s block, and every producer is likely to have a hard drive full of tracks that they never got around to finishing for a variety of reasons. Chances are that there is at least one great album or a few EPs in there waiting to be unearthed and brought to fruition. So what’s holding you back?

Chilean producer Dandy Jack once told me that the day he understood that a shared victory was way more meaningful than doing it alone, his entire perspective on collaboration changed.

Having a trusted hand finalize your tracks can be an antidote to writer’s block and a gateway to beautiful and fulfilling creative collaborations. Unlike ghost producing, track finalization isn’t about substituting for your own creativity, but about gaining a fresh and friendly perspective to help you out of a rut. In writing, even the most masterful authors need a good editor. Why should music be any different?

Even if the finalized track isn’t always exactly what you had in mind at first, it then becomes much easier for the producer to take it from there and carry it across the finish line. Track finalization is about finding what’s blocking you and unblocking it. It’s about unleashing your creative potential.

And I’m here to help.

The Day I Refused Exclusivity to a Label

February 17, 2016/in Blog/by pheek

I don’t always talk about things that happened in my “career.” Since this is a blog though, I thought it would be fun and instructive to share some of the different decisions I had to face, and the consequences of each of them. I have a bunch of fun stories going back to 1998, and some might interest you.

If you haven’t read my bio, I can tell you that I early on took out the standard line all artists have, where they say they’ve been into music from an early age. Instead, I will point you to 1998, to the year where I created my alias, Pheek. What really ignited the project was a performance by Richie Hawtin, who made a rare live show (back then) as Plastikman/Concept:96. It was amazing!

That inspiration was critical in my development. It took me 5 years to figure out where I wanted to go and for me to feel confident enough to send a demo to Rich, which I finally did around 2003. He loved it, and he asked me for more music for a release. What followed was one of the most creative moments of my life: I made and sent him 5 CDs full of music over a span of 2 years. He finally picked one track, “Le Plan B,” which was released on the first Minimize to Maximize compilation, on Minus.

That was a big deal for me. Well, not just for me, but for everyone in the netlabel scene. You see, in 2005, there was no Beatport, selling MP3s was a bit of a weird concept, and people releasing on netlabels were seen as outsiders, even nerds. It was one of the first times that one of the guys from the community graduated to a big label like Hawtin’s Minus. Almost at the same time, there were other artists that followed, and netlabels became more and more recognized as a source for quality music.

I had my own label, Archipel, that I had founded in 2004 and that I wanted to pursue. There was no doubt that a release on Minus could only mean a great push for my personal projects. I started touring more, and soon there came a big milestone for my career that I still think about often. The guys at Minus offered me exclusivity, meaning that Pheek could only appear on their label, which would have given a huge boost to my career.

I refused. Yeah, you read right. I said,

“No, I don’t think I can see myself being exclusive, but maybe under another alias?”

To be honest, when I think of that day every now and then, I wonder what would have happened if I’d said yes. It was around that time that Minus was exclusively signing big names like Barem, Gaiser, Troy Pierce, Heartthrob and others. If I’d said yes, I think I could have pretty much become someone else entirely than the person I am today. But in a way, I have no regrets.

One thing to keep in mind is that it’s hard to achieve alone or with friends what an established label and group can do for you. You can build from scratch, but it will take a long time to get things to the same level. I released for labels like Sushitech and Leftroom in their early days, and I watched them grow as they became what they are now. I’m proud do say that I was a part of it at their beginnings.

If I decided to work with other labels, it was because I was producing a lot of tracks and felt like I wanted to tap into different networks and reach out to people I liked, even if that was the more difficult path.

There are two types of artists out there:

The ones who want to work with you for the long term. Those are the ones you connect with intellectually, and you love each other’s musical output. The connection is real and both parties feel it.
Then there are others who you only want to work with in the short term. Both labels and artists can qualify. Unless there’s drama, if the arrangement ends organically, then it had to be this way.

The reason labels want exclusivity is to get a return on their investment (ROI) by farming their own artists. The constantly changing branding is risky and tiring for labels. If the sound constantly changes, it can be an irritant for fans too.

I hope this helps you understand the complexities of label exclusivity from another perspective.

Turn Your Writer’s Block Into an Opportunity

February 9, 2016/in Blog, Production, Tips/by pheek

You’ve heard about writer’s block many times, and maybe you’ve experienced one. I also get one routinely. Many others have addressed the topic, but I’ll share some of my own views on it here.

Before anything, let’s just check a definition first so we’re on the same page:

Writer’s block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.

What I’ve learned through time is that a writer’s block is also your body and mind telling you to slow down. There’s no better way to see it. While you can learn to change your way of working, which might be leading to feelings of insecurity, frustration, or confusion, you also need to first make sure that you’re really in a writer’s block. These are some symptoms:

Nothing you work on makes sense. You feel the music is just copying a trend and that it’s not bringing you joy anymore.
Everything music-related sounds crappy. Your brain is tilting and all the beautiful sounds aren’t pretty anymore.
You have the omnipresent temptation to give up.

Where many people get confused is between a writer’s block and being exhausted. I know many prolific producers who work really hard for 3-6 months and then will not do any more productions for the rest of the year. They will focus on DJing, collecting new toys for the studio, or just spending more time playing music.

There’s no better way to approach the situation than taking a step back. For my friends, for example, this usually involves:

Collecting music that makes you feel good or listening to early tracks that inspire you. Just make playlists on Soundcloud, listen to old liked tracks, and take a moment to buy some.
Listening to music you never listened to before or music you actually don’t normally enjoy.
Playing video games.
Exercising.

It’s easy to fall into simple psychology tips, but I’ll refrain from doing so, mainly because each person has their own way about it. But one thing that I absolutely encourage you to do is to not panic.

Resist the urge to delete or sell anything you don’t like. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people tell me they deleted a project they were working on. I believe that this is one of the last things you want to do. Not only does every project have at least one great thing about it, but they can probably be recycled later on, maybe even many years later.

Take time to learn sound design or sound engineering. One of the things that happens when you are creatively productive is that you lack the time to perfect your design skills. You’ll be absorbed in mixing and making tracks and arrangements, but sound design is one of the most important parts of your work. Also, when do you ever have time to read technical stuff? Mostly never or just a few minutes here and there. Take the time to read up on the technicalities you usually avoid for fear of boredom.

Reach out to fellow producers to collaborate or remix. When working with others, things usually flow easily. That is, it’s not really your work, and teaming up brings motivation. Try it!

Recycling Your Tracks Into Fresh New Ideas

February 4, 2016/in Blog, Production, Tips/by pheek

Like with any creative work, writer’s block can be a very frustrating and demoralizing thing for producers of electronic music. Many artists spend hours and hours wrestling with their ideas just trying to come up with something new – but what if what you were looking for was already under your nose? What if old tracks that you thought weren’t good enough to release were actually the seeds of something brilliant?

I’ve found there are many practical ways for electronic music producers to beat the writer’s block and jumpstart their creative process. Recycling old tracks is a great place to start.

Generally, producers might make between 5 and 10 tracks before stumbling on the one that they love. But then, we’re also our own harshest critics! I’m not going to address the tracks that don’t even get done as we all have a huge collection of those.

The truth is that each song has something cool in it, even if it’s not good enough for release.

Elements (or “stems”) of old songs, whether it’s a kick, a bass line, a loop, or a vocal sample, can be remixed and made into something completely fresh.

It’s important to remember that remixing is the most accessible part of music production. Reusing stems, loops and parts of old tracks instead of starting fresh can kickstart your creativity and help you jumpstart a new song. This isn’t just about saving time. More importantly, it will make the creative process less intimidating and more exciting by allowing the creative juices to flow more freely. When you start with small ideas, bigger ones follow.

Pulling your inspiration from old material can also be a fantastic way to re-appreciate your own work. This will in turn boost your confidence and momentum as a producer.

To get you started on recycling old tracks, here are a few tips to think about:

Organize all your music projects in the same folder. This will make going back and reviewing old tracks easier. Avoid the temptation to sort tracks into different folders depending on how good or finished you think they are right after creating them — and never, never trash them! You might be surprised later at what gems you’ll find that you had written off or forgotten about!

Save your effects and synths as presets. The key to being an efficient producer is to never let your creative time and energies go to waste. Nothing is a more valuable resource for an artist – don’t deprive yourself of these resources, harness them! Building up your bank of presets will save you from always having to return to square one, and it will encourage you to develop your own distinctive sound and aesthetic over time. I also encourage you to create groups/macros in Ableton as a way to have personal tools.

Open an old song and keep all arrangements as they are, but swap the sounds. For example, you can import the stem of a kick you did from a certain song, which has its variations and moments of silence or its own structure. Then you combine it with the snare-clap of another track. Removed from their original context, united in a new canvas, they might interact in a way you’d never have thought to do on your own.

Recycling old tracks can be an extremely practical, effective, and (most importantly) fun way to beat writer’s block and take your production to a dimension you rarely visit. It will make you feel less stale and more fulfilled in ways that will surprise you, and it will encourage you to develop new styles or rhythmics.

Give it a try!

SEE ALSO : Is My Song Good ?

Get A Free Music Coach

January 29, 2016/in Blog, Production, Tips/by pheek

[Important update, August 2017: The Free program is being redesigned and put on pause. You can still register to get the free Ableton Live Template and get news on when it starts again.]

I made an important decision to remove my newsletter and change it into free music coaching for every subscriber. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But also fun!

A little bit of help to make great things happen

What exactly is a coach?

While you can google for the definition, you may also summarize it with a simple explanation:

“It’s someone who helps you reach your goal(s).”

We can add in there self-improvement, knowledge transfer, experience sharing and technical advising. The same applies to a music coach. While it’s pretty common in sports or at work, we often overlook it when it comes to arts. But why not include it?

Ever since I started making electronic music, I’d say that my best stretches in learning often happened when I was in touch with someone who could address my questions. I’d go to them to learn:

How to use a specific production technique.
How to focus on finishing a song, a project.
Tips on sound design.
How to expand my network.

The great thing with helping others is that it opens doors on many things, like when you pause for a moment to find the right terms to arrive at the best explanation possible, and you end up improving your own understanding in the process. Ever since I had a music coach, I’ve been really interested in returning the help, mainly because I asked so many friends how to do things.

It’s been quite fascinating to see how electronics have evolved to make it easier for people to attain their goals of producing electronic music. As time’s gone on and the technologies have become cheaper, it’s become increasingly accessible to make music through computers or machines. The democratization of music has opened the doors for many people to make their dream come true by making music.

But this also raises some questions:

What should I get to start making music?
Which technology is best suited for me?
How do I start a song once I’m equipped?
Is this song really done or should I add something?

These issues can be hard to nail down, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

Everyone is different, both in personality but also in terms of how they deal with technology. Some are more tech-savvy than others.

The role of a music coach can be summarized as:

Helping you set goals. The best way to not get lost is to choose a destination. A journey has multiple destinations and a music coach can help break down your long-term dream into multiple mini-milestones. With a plan in mind, it becomes easier to not let your mind run wild and become unproductive.

Understanding your limits while expanding your strengths. One of the first steps in any new hobby, activity or interest is to take a look at yourself. While some skills are transposable from other areas into your new field of interest, you’ll also need to take stock of your own limitations. Quickly identifying your weak points is a good way to motivate you into developing new skills. If you run up against your own limitations in any area, there could also be solutions you’re not yet aware of.

Structuring your workflow. The technique behind all techniques is to coordinate the different parts so that things fall neatly into place. If you mess with your production order, you might run into an episode of counter-productivity.

Being present. A coach is someone that can reply to your questions, listen, encourage, and drive. This part is the most crucial one.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of my free coaching, join my mailing list and we’ll get you started!

Give A Direction To Your Loops

January 18, 2016/in Blog, Production, Tips/by pheek

I have never studied sound or music theory. My blog is a pure description of how my mind and artistic view has grown through time and practice. In this post, I will share some observations on percussion and how it can give your loops a new meaning.

Make Tracks From Your Loops

If you’re into making techno or more beat-driven tracks, you pretty much have your own routine. It’s always a bit different from one person to another because we all hear in different ways or simply work in a different flow. But all in all, here’s some of what we can say to sum it up:

Find an interesting idea.
Have a sub-idea to support the main one.
Fiddle the percussion around it.
Arrangements and mixing.

When it comes to techno loops or other dance-related music, it sometimes happens that the percussion is the heart and soul of the track. There can be different reasons for this: it can be the DJ tools or loops, or it can also be that it’s just plain good as it is (e.g. a “foreverloop” that you never get bored of).

If you’re into straight-up percussive loops and perhaps play with simple ideas for fun or for an eventual track, there are some tips you can keep in mind, just like I do. But let’s not get crazy about it either: On the one hand, some people study percussion all their lives without seeing all of its subtleties, while others can go to university and learn that every culture has its own intricate, complex way of doing it.

Let’s keep it simple. But if you want to learn more, there are tons of great reads online.

So, in my case, I’ve been inspired by early workshops I did with Gabrielle Roth and have been interested in the “5 Rhythms” approach. Ever since, it’s been in the back of my head whenever I try to design my tracks. The 5 Rhythms categorize dance types into families based on their style of percussion. Roth believes that within an hour, once a practitioner experiences her use of the different rhythms, they can reach a level of personal enlightenment.

This can make you question, in a way, your own personal quest and reasons for making music. Are you making tracks or are you working on a bigger set of instruments with the purpose of transporting the listener elsewhere? Not to fall into pseudo-new-age stuff, but it certainly becomes more exciting when you give your music a significance.

Now, when it comes to the rhythms, they are:

Flowing.
Staccato.
Chaos.
Lyrical.
Stillness.

One track can focus on one or multiple, but you can also integrate them all to create something balanced.

Flowing

To me, this is the most important one.

A good flow is the basis of all other rhythms.

It implies that your track, even with drastic changes, has a way of making all the rhythms work together so that it creates a cohesive whole. Great flow also makes a song catchy and re-playable.

When it lacks: There will be a feeling of awkwardness in the transitions. DJs will observe a drop of energy from the crowd.

Try: Working with transitions and arrangements. Try to separate your song into sections, and then find a way to move from one to another. That can be achieved with percussion changes or effects.

Staccato

Powerful and dynamic would be the best terms to describe this one. Think of huge samba drums or repetitive, hypnotic, minimal techno loops. The staccato is often dense and can go from very simple to very complex. It isn’t only necessary in percussion; it can also be in the form of simple arpeggios applied to a melody, for instance.

When it lacks: At some level, it can make a groove feel weak and static, which is the opposite of what a great staccato can bring to your work.

Try: Using arpeggios and applying them to any of your sounds. Tweak the settings to get something unexpected.

Chaos

Often hated by DJs who love linear and predictable loops for easier mixing, chaos here doesn’t necessarily refer to Ornette Coleman’s free jazz. I’d say it’s when things get a bit off the grid, and go slightly unquantified in the spirit of infusing your track with quirky grooves or unpredictable moments. When applied strategically, surprising a crowd can drive them crazy in a good way. Chaos can also refer to breaking free of standard genres and ideas to forge something new.

When it lacks: Your loop might sound generic, clinical, predictable — and yes, boring.

Try: Tapping percussions using PUSH. Apply weird grooves from Ableton. Adjust transients so they fall off the grid just a little bit. You may also slice your loop and randomize the order of the sounds.

Lyrical

To me this is the hardest, but that’s mainly because I’m more of an artist than a musician. What “lyrical” implies here is the use of melodies to conjure an emotion. There’s no restriction here: we’re talking pure emotional material, from sad to happy, deep to cheesy. Great melodies can become ear worms and can stay in people’s minds for a long time, making some material timeless. When someone can whistle your main idea, you know you have lyrical content.

When it lacks: Your song might be cold or simply ephemeral. There’s no main idea that we can refer to when describing it to someone else.

Try: Experimenting with melodies or asking a musician for help. You can turn to solutions like Liquid Rhythm to assist you as well.

Stillness

The most difficult to explain, because this one is a pure game of subtle micro-changes. Stillness in music is often translated to boring because nothing seems to happen. When nothing happens, a lot is happening… in the listener’s mind. They will start craving something, will start wondering, getting a bit anxious. Stillness is the art of creating an intelligent tension that makes the eventual release both soothing and powerful. You can also see it as linear music, which is a genre in itself. That is another game.

When it lacks: If you don’t allow for your listener to have any tension building, your song might feel self-supporting or shallow.

Try: Finding songs that build tension in you. When listening to them, pay attention to the very moment where you start getting a bit anxious, and notice how the song is built at that very moment so you can replicate the formula in your own music.

Useful Music Producer Skills For All

January 12, 2016/in Blog, Production/by pheek

This article will answer one of the questions I get sometimes from people who consider making electronic music, which is: what sort of skills make production easier? It depends on the personality of the music producer in question. My answer might surprise you.

What kind of producer are you?

The great thing about electronic music, and especially at the moment, is how it’s opened a democratic space that makes it possible for pretty much anyone to make music. It doesn’t mean that it’s easy to get where you want to be, but the doors are opened.

Here, I observe a few different kinds of producers’ personalities.

Six personality types of music producers

The musician: Very often you’ll see the musician who now uses software to be able to do everything they need.
- Strength: Music knowledge
- Flaw: Sometimes is technology-challenged.

The craftsman: Knowing pretty much all the technicalities of software, he loves new technologies and is more interested in tweaking, while not necessarily finishing tracks.
- Strength: Knows it all. Learns quickly.
- Flaw: Sometimes he believes the technology will do it all, and he procrastinates.

The party dude: He loves to party and loves the music but is neither a musician nor a computer guy. He would love to explore making music but it’s not an easy task.
- Strength: Has tons of ideas and is fun to be around.
- Flaw: Has trouble getting started.

The DJ: His main hobby is to spin records. He likes production but it’s not his main thing.
- Strength: Has a clear vision of how music should be made to work a dancefloor.
- Flaw: Is a bit lost in how to get there.

The artist: He’s not a musician but has tons of ideas and loves pairing with a craftsman.
- Strength: Highly creative.
- Flaw: Is sometimes allergic to computers, prefers gear and gets lost in the process.

Balanced profile: He’s a bit of everything above with one as a priority.
- Strength: Gets things done.
- Flaw: A Jack-of-all-trades is master of nothing.

Of course, this is all just based on general observation, and there are way more producer genres than this. There’s no best profile, but some will have an easier path ahead because of certain skills that are known to make things smoother.

Let’s see what those skills are.

Important skills for producing music

Geekiness

The very first skill I’d point out, from my experience and also from being an audio technology teacher, is a general understanding of computers. I’d say this is what has been helping my students most in going further in their production.

I know it might sound dumb. But you have no idea how people that are computer-savvy can progress so much faster than someone who’s not so good with general concepts.

They understand simple things such as “Save As” vs “Save,” file organization, installing, keyboard shortcuts, and troubleshooting. Those are skills that are essential because there’s so much time that is lost in studio trying to understand why things aren’t completely working.

How to get there: Follow great websites like Synthopia and Attack Magazine.

Curiosity

What would come next, if we relate to DAWs (digital audio workstations) in general, is not necessarily a skill but a personality trait: curiosity. The more curious you are, the more creative you will be, and the less stagnant as well. These are two essential things necessary to success, but also to fun!

Cultivating curiosity will come by the desire to know what else is being made out there and not to be content with your own circle of influence alone.

You know there are other ways to do things, and you’re curious to know how you can improve your technique. As music producer skills go, you can’t get enough of this one.

How to get there: Program a calendar pop-up based on location or time, so that when you get to the studio after listening to new music you found on Soundcloud, you’ll get an alert to check for technology tools on sites like KVRAudio.

Patience

This one is difficult, but patience can be your best ally. It will teach you to:

Let tracks be unfinished for now and know that they will eventually get done.
Not share your tracks immediately after finishing them because you might need time to listen again and fix certain details.
Accept that most labels will take up to 3 months to confirm they will sign a track.

How to get there: Set down rules for yourself on when to post a track and when to send it as a demo.

It’s hard to respect your own rules when you’re your only boss.

So you could ask a friend to be a moderator of your Soundcloud, for instance.

Deep Listening

Not completely technical, but oh so essential to get you anywhere. If you can use these tricks to improve your listening, you’ll always be able to discern what has to be touched and what has to be left as is:

Close your eyes to listen to your track.
Leave a loop playing in the back while you clean or cook.
Be able to follow the progression of one sound through an entire song.

How to get there: Practice listening to music with your eyes closed. If you’re a bit more open, try a Mindfulness app.

And to conclude, one of the main skills that will always help: People skills.

The art of understanding people and how they behave is such a precious asset when you’ll have collaborators.

With all this, you have a full set of music producer skills.

Nerds will have it easier, but the great thing today is that music is accessible to everyone — and in any case, not all nerds are sociable!

What is the Electronic Music Equipment Needed to Start Producing?

January 7, 2016/in Blog, Production, Tips/by pheek

Are you here because you’ve been planning to make electronic music? I will try to cover the main questions I get on a regular basis about electronic music equipment for home studios.

Get ready to produce

I recently received an email from someone who wanted my advice on what he needed to start making music. Usually, people want to know if they need a specific sound card or which DAW is the most appropriate. But this email had a never-ending list of gear, monitors, laptops, sound cards, VSTs, mixers and so on.

People tend to think that if they have the perfect studio set-up, music will pour out and things will get easier.

That’s pretty much a myth and I’ll explain why.

Electronic music equipment: facts vs myths

Bigger studio, bigger problems

While it’s easy to see how much fun there can be with more toys to play with, this comes with a bunch of problems. The best way to start is to get the minimum needed to get rolling and then slowly add to it. For instance, if you start with a DAW, which is pretty much the centre of everything, your first task is to get to know it by learning the terms and technicalities, and by understanding how it works — its logic.

As soon as you feel you need to add more things to get somewhere, you’re falling for distractions and getting sidetracked from your main objective.

If you add something new, you’re then stuck with 2 things you don’t really know of and you multiply the chances of getting lost. Then you will wonder where to start to troubleshoot an issue.

Too many options, too many choices

Facing too many options is a trap

In other words, the more options you have, the more you get lost in choosing your options. If you have fewer options, you’ll eventually run out of ideas and you’ll have to get creative to get elsewhere. When you have fully exploited your samples by playing with them, modifying them and so on, then adding new sounds will be a giant new addition to your toolkit.

The illusion of ease is counter-productive

Thinking that if you have the best studio, you’ll finish more songs is not only wrong, but also a good excuse not to sit and work. With the huge interest for modular synths/equipment in recent years, people have been frantically buying new modules thinking, “That one will get me that sound.” People buy, then resell, then buy again, and eventually they have that giant rack of equipment that produces a few bleeps. Well, it’s great — but the process to get there is costly.

So, where to start?

laptop ipad basic electronic music equipment laptop ipad tablet getting started producing producers production

The basics: laptop or tablet.

There are basically two main scenarios, if you’re starting:

A good computer, with good headphones and a DAW.
A tablet, such as an iPad, with audio apps and headphones.

Don’t fall into the trap. Buy analog gear to start with.

SEE ALSO : Equipment Needed to Make Music – Gear vs. Experience vs. Monitoring

You may expand if you want, but then you might run into some issues, such as being stuck with what you have. You might not be able to record what you do or edit it. The option of finishing songs becomes a bit tricky.

My suggestion for you is to have a cycle of acquisition for electronic music equipment. You can get little upgrades for one before moving on, or cover one completely and then move on. But since technology evolves really fast, if you cover one quickly, it might be outdated in 6 months to 1 year.

Here’s a good cycle to respect that I’ve found helps me not to get overwhelmed:

1 – Computer
2 – DAW/Software
3 – Monitoring
4 – External equipment

How it works. We start with the bare minimum and then as you get comfortable (and at ease with your budget), move to the next step.

1 – Computer. To me, this is where you gain the most returns on your investment, both in the short term and even long term. You can be self-sufficient with little programs that range from free to professional all-in-one solutions. On top of that, you can use it for communications or personal use. Things to focus on are a blazing fast hard drive (nowadays SSD is the best thing ever), a lot of RAM, and a fairly solid CPU. If you don’t have money for a DAW yet, there are many kinds of freeware or demo copies you can explore in the meantime and even record with. I know some producers who started with really laughable setups, but managed to do mindboggling productions. It was mainly because they didn’t have the bias of technical knowledge, and because the less you know, the more daring you are with trying new things.

2 – DAW. With a solid computer comes a DAW. This is where you take a step into the world of production on a more serious level. With your DAW, you’ll be able to record your jams, explore sound design, and compose your first songs with flexibility. I can’t point you to a specific DAW in particular, but I’d encourage you to use demos and pick one that you feel most comfortable using. Most of them also come in different bundles, so you can upgrade as you learn. Personally, I use many for my productions. Ableton Live is my top one because it offers me tools that are close to what I need the most, but for sound design I love Reason, and when it comes to mixing I like Studio One.

3 – Monitoring, both sound and video. As soon as you can, invest in a pair of good headphones, a sound card, and monitors, preferably in that order. For monitors, not many people will tell you this, but I suggest renting before buying. Sound is a very personal thing, and I might recommend something that wouldn’t work for you. This is a huge investment and keep in mind you might have your monitors for 10 years so be careful. If you can, get a dual monitor setup. They are very practical for helping you produce with ease.

4 – External Equipment. This part alone could be an entire blog post, but this section involves gear, synths, mixers, MIDI controllers, and so on.

Let me know if you have any questions! I’d be glad to give more details.

Strategic Guide To Releases Planning And Production

January 3, 2016/in Blog, Label Management, Production, Tips/by pheek

In this first post of the year, I try to share my own perspective on music release planning for both labels and musicians. It will be looking into how a busy agenda can do wonders.

Music release planning is a game-changer

I’d say most of the musicians I know will produce music in bursts of inspiration. They’ll make music as they can and as they are able to finish it. When you understand how labels work and when they release music, you can also organize your strategy for submitting music.

By the way, if you haven’t signed up on Bandcamp yet, I strongly encourage you to get an account now!

Most labels who release monthly or more plan most of the year in advance. They receive many demos and they will fix some dates. There’s a strategy for the ones that are a bit more organized. Here are some tips:

Festivals. There are peak points in the year where music gets played by DJs, and festivals are one of those busy moments for networking and exposure. If your track gets played, many people will be wanting to play it too.
Downtime = vacations. Certain periods in the year have lower sales. This happens around vacation times when DJs are playing less. This time is good for consumer music releases though, as they will be your main audience.

I remember once spending an afternoon at HardWax in Berlin and discussing music releasing strategies for producers.

Pete and Shed were both agreeing that an artist, to be seen enough but without overwhelming his followers, should release 3 times per year. That has been a magical number I’ve always kept in mind.

Producers should keep in mind that it takes between 3 to 6 months for a label to organize a release. This involves proper mixing, mastering, artwork and promotion.

For labels, here are some tips and target points for music-release planning. Let’s analyze a year’s activity.

January

One of the busiest festivals is certainly the BPM festival in Mexico. 300+ artists and pretty much all of the main industry players are there. It is an excellent excuse for people to extend their New Year’s vacations, while artists network in the following months. January used to be really dead for sales, but that’s changing today.

Producers: This is a good moment to network, spend time making new tracks, and listen to live streams and podcasts to see what’s working. Make a list of the labels that release the kind of music you make, and establish new contacts.

Labels: If you’re releasing here, dance-floor material will be appreciated. This is a good month to test the waters with compilations that can define the upcoming months of music.

February-March

Mid-January to early March is a period when sales tend to be low. North America and Europe are in winter mode and people go out less, but an important moment of the year is coming up next, so preparation is key.

Tip: Slow months mean studio time should be really active.

Producers: Tracks done, time to hunt for labels and follow up. This is a good moment to consider getting a release out for early summer.

Labels: Time to prepare a sampler/demo to send to key DJs for the upcoming spring festivals. If you want to release ambient music or more downtempo, this is a good period too.

March

Another big moment of the year is the famous WMC, where so much is happening. Some DJs are ending a winter tour there and will be happy to play your bombs. It’s also a really key moment to test your important release as the peak of the year is 2 months away, in May.

Tip: Contact some DJs you see being booked beforehand to share unreleased material with them.

Producers: If you can travel, now’s a good time. Focus on shopping for labels. Studio time can be on pause to give your inspiration a break and renew.

Labels: Promotion, promotion, and promotion. A good time to invest in marketing. Ambient releases are okay too.

April-May

May is a great time for music producers to plan a release, with DEMF, Spain's Sonar, and Montreal's MUTEK (pictured) all back-to-back.

credit: Vice Thump

May is a great moment for a release. You tested in March and crowds might know some strong tunes, so then releasing now for Germany’s famous May Day is an excellent move. That’s also because what’s hot in that moment will help define some of the summer hits that will play at important events. Many key artists will be on tour, and with Detroit’s DEMF, Sonar in Spain or Montreal’s MUTEK, you have back-to-back events where artists want the best to play.

Producers and labels will have to network at this point.

June-August

This is the beginning of festival season. A lot of the bigger festivals have all of the same big names, while many lesser-known artists won’t be booked. Romania’s Sunwaves is around this time and is a good destination too. If your music is not prime-time, this period might be a bit low for sales. It’s also a very bad time to release a vinyl as people spend less time shopping and rely mostly on the music they gathered in early summer.

If you can’t relax, spending time in the studio should be more than valuable for the last stretch of the year.

September-October

The back-to-school period is a very busy period for clubs, just like spring is. Consider this to be an important period for releasing dance-floor music. DJs are back from festivals and hungry for new material. It’s an excellent moment to release an album. There’s a lot of buzz around the Burning Man festival, where more and more artists attend each year. It can be something to watch.

November-December

These are slow months. They’re a good moment for studio time and preparation for New Year’s, but also for the BPM festival, as described at the beginning. The end of the year is also a moment for labels to look back at what they did that year and evaluate their sales. Perhaps you can also take notes and do a post-mortem before the following year’s music-release planning.

For producers, I find that with the Black Friday sales, November is a good time to invest in gear and equipment. A lot of gear will be on sale and you can check out what was released that year, look into reviews, and then decide how to spend your money best.

SEE ALSO : Make Your Music Bucket List Happen

How Will A Music Label Find Me?

December 28, 2015/in Blog, Tips/by pheek

This blog post will focus on one of the anxieties that every new music producer gets in this turbulent and busy world, which is: how to reach a music label aside from sending in demos.

Can your music make it to the ears of a label owner?

Following one of my most popular posts on how to send demos, this post will focus on the opposite approach, which is to slowly get labels to come to you instead of hunting them down. Call it reverse psychology if you want, but it could also be called the art of letting go. As Einstein said,

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

To understand how a label works and to help you prepare your strategy, perhaps I can share my own experience first. Here are some pointers:

Being a label owner is a bit like being a talent scout in sports. You have a routine of listening to music from within your own circle and of checking your preferred sources like charts and podcasts, as well as finding music through friends of label artists. Then there are moments where you’re a bit freer or more curious, and you’ll dig through SoundCloud for a few hours. I found some pretty incredible artists on SoundCloud and I find that it’s easier than ever to find unknown artists — raw talent. But while it’s easier and more exciting than ever to find unsigned artists, it’s also overwhelming.

The label owner and yourself face the same issue: how can you connect to each other to form a perfect match?

Maybe you don’t realize this, but you might not yet know which label will be your main career companion. It’s a bit like finding true love; it’s out there, but it needs the right timing to happen.

As the label grows, the owner tends to want to sign friends of the label’s artists and artists related to those that have already been signed.

Why?

Mainly because, in my case, I want to deal with people I feel are great to work with. Also, because while the music label is defining its sound, I want to keep some sort of logical progression from release to release. I won’t sign in a rush, or sign a track that sounds crazy good without knowing who I will be dealing with. Difficult and finicky personas are my pet peeve, and I will try to stay far away from them.

Running multiple projects can become messy with difficult people.

Dealing with contracts and such is so annoying, and I’d prefer doing it with someone who clicks with me. I trust my friends more than Facebook or a polite exchange over email.

So what does that tell you? How do music labels get to you if they want to sign you?

Stop worrying about labels, and instead work on your network. Spend more time connecting with artists who inspire you. Befriend newer artists who also struggle. That struggling artist or that other dude you met can eventually be helpful at some point.

Some inspiration to meet people:

Soundcloud: Follow artists that inspire you. Comment on their tracks and go listen to people who also love the tracks.
Soundcloud groups: There are nice communities out there that you can join and where you can post your new ideas. Some music label owners are also there sometimes.
Facebook groups: If you search a bit, you’ll find many groups you can join. People will discuss topics or share a new find. There’s always something to read.
Google Hangouts: A bit like Facebook but one great feature is to have group video calls. Then you can talk all together. Quite fun.

The music label that needs to work with you will find you at the right moment, when they need to. It demands a certain faith in the process, but while waiting, go back to learning sound design and making new friends.

Use Mastered Tracks To Submit A Great Demo

December 21, 2015/in Blog, Mastering, Tips/by pheek

This post will cover some essentials on how to submit a music demo to a label you want to join.

How to send a demo to your favourite record label

If you’re a music producer and have been making a few tracks, perhaps you thought it would be a great idea now to submit a music demo to a label. I mean, that’s pretty much what we all dream of as musicians, which is to be part of a community of artists we appreciate and to be appreciated in return. That sense of accomplishment is something you’ve been pursuing for a while and will most probably be chasing for years to come. Trust me.

I’d say that if you want to reach your goals or be part of a label, especially one that has a certain notoriety, you’ll need to be prepared and to do things right.

I thought I’d make a list of rules for you, starting with these:

One demo, one label. Think of who you want to send your music to, check out the latest tracks released by the label, and then pick your tracks accordingly. If the label has been there for a while, chances are they might have a restricted number of artists and that their sound has changed over time. So make sure you’re up to date.

Before contacting the label, make sure you’re following the label on social media. This might sound silly, but if you’re sending to a label you’re not following and tell them you’re a fan, it just looks bizarre. It’s something label owners do check.

Find the contact to submit to. I could write an entire post about this alone, but I’ll summarize.
- Check if the label has a website and find the specific contact information for demo submissions.
- If they have a submissions policy, read it. It’s that simple, but important! If it’s written down, it’s because they want you to stick to it.
- Send a first email to see if the label is accepting demos at the moment.

You now have the 2 main starters: the label and the how-to-submit. Now, let’s get to work.

Preparing your music demo for submission

Unless the label has a precise modus operandi, here are some general guidelines that work for most labels.

Aim for an EP. The magic number of tracks to start with would roughly be 4, so start by picking the best fitting ones. It’s not a good idea to send too many tracks at once since label owners already have a lot of demos to listen to (Note: the Soundcloud age has really brought smoke-screening to whole new level), and it makes you look a bit confused in your intentions.

Send your best stuff mastered, if possible. But ask the label for its preference. As much as this sounds obvious, you’d be surprised to know that as a label owner, I do receive music that sounds half-finished, pale, or improperly mixed. It doesn’t show you in your best light, and a first impression can only be made once. Ask someone to do the mixdown for you if you’re not sure.

Don’t submit remixes. It’s not up to you to pick the remixers at this point. That’s just awkward.

If you send Soundcloud links, make sure your tracks are private. Send full tracks. Use playlists too.

If you send tracks, use a service like WeTransfer, and I’d recommend sending mp3 files, in maximum 256 kbps. Sadly, there are people with bad intentions out there, and giving the real masters is risking trouble if the label releases your song. You still have rights over it, but I’ve seen labels do this.

Name and tag your files with your name, and title your song correctly. I sometimes find a demo months later with no information at all, and it’s quite frustrating to find out who made it.

Okay, you have your tracks ready, now let’s move on to the first contact.

Send your email to only one person!

Introduce yourself. Like any emails, business or casual, you gain attention by keeping things short, concise, clear and simple. Don’t share your bio (it has no value in decision-making), your releases to come (if you’re too busy, it can be turned against you, and if you have nothing, it can be… well, not good either), that you like the label (why would you contact the label otherwise?), or your 17 different profiles on all those music-related sites.

Say what you’d want from the label. Are you up for an EP? Or a vinyl only? Would you like remixes? Be precise but not demanding (you’re not signed yet!).

Don’t ask for a money advance or be cocky in any way. It’s pretty much a turn-off for everyone.

Start a conversation and invite the person to get back to you. Ask questions and try to open a space for discussion.

Great! Email sent, tracks submitted. Now, it’s far from over — next there’s follow-up!

Wait at least 1 week to follow up. When you do, make it very short and simple.

Bigger labels request time. Be patient.

Do not send your demo to other labels. But if you do, definitely not to more than one. I’ve heard so many stories of people submitting to a bunch, and then 2 wanted to signs the tracks… Sadly, after trying to please both, the artist ended up being discarded for his lack of commitment. So, be careful.

Again, be patient. Make more music, but don’t send more music unless the label owner asks for more.

At this point, it’s a bit of a follow-up game. You can give up on the label if there’s no answer at all after 1 month. If there are no plays on your Soundcloud links, that’s of course a bad sign. You can also track who listened. Some label owners hate to receive tracks that have multiple listens, so if you’re recycling a demo, I encourage you to delete the tracks or start from scratch.

If you give up on the label, be polite and just send a last email to thank them for their time and attention and to say you’d be interested in submitting more in the future.

Good luck!

SEE ALSO : How Will A Music Label Find Me?

Music Production Tips: How To Start A Track

December 16, 2015/in Blog, Pheek Talks (video), Production, Tips/by pheek

This post shares some proven tips for electronic music producers on how to start a track. I’ve also made what will be the first in a series of YouTube videos on production, where I guide you through the process of getting your song started.

How to start a track in electronic music.

So, let’s face it. You’ve been dying to make music. After reading a bit and watching videos, you got a copy of Ableton and then… well, now what?!

You’re not alone. Many people are overwhelmed when they first open their software packages. There’s this weird-looking Excel grid in front of you, with all of these knobs and buttons. You thought it would be simpler, and many of your friends told you that making electronic music was actually very easy. Maybe not.

Here’s a method I’ve been using for over 10 years, and I’ve been teaching it as well. If you use it with discipline, you’ll get really awesome results after only a few sessions.

The 5-step method for making a song

But before I start, I want to give you my definition of what a song is, because this will help make sense of what follows.

A song is a recording of an idea that develops through a period of time, changing and evolving as it creates its own vocabulary. Two sub-ideas can be added to support the main idea, injecting a narration into the song that brings it to life.

Drop a simple beat to begin. This is simple to get started with and will give you a good feel for the track. No need to get complicated for now. It will also help you to start jamming, because jamming over no beats is a bit awkward (though it’s still possible with practice). You won’t need the best kick in the world here. No time to design one, just drop something generic. I often say that you’ll finalize your kick selection once you know what the main idea you want to explore is. This will help you to stay in tune.

2. Create a quick structure for your song. This is temporary. One of the most common myths about music production is that you create the structure as you go. This is not always true, nor is it practical. If you make some simple technical decisions at the beginning, you’re liberating your mind from the stresses of organization, while the limitations you impose on yourself here will even force you to be creative. It also gives you visual references for organizing the samples in the structure.

3. Hunt for sounds. Here, there are no rules. You can buy samples, find some that are free, recycle some from past tracks, or go to sites like Splice and Puremagnetik to find fresh ideas. This is just to fuel Step 1, and also to prepare you for Step 4.

4. Do some sound design to develop or create new ideas. You imported sounds. Now put them in a sampler, morph them, and play with them to get something new. Slice loops, or open a synth and play with knobs while you record yourself. Make tons of recordings for this current song, but remember that they can be used in future productions as well. Then you can take what you like, drop them into the pre-organized structure, and decide how it starts, what it sounds like in the middle, and so on.

Nothing is permanent! This whole method is about finding the drive of your song. Once you get into production, then things will get a bit more serious.

Coming to a session with no preconceived idea in mind is the best way to remain open to new possibilities. If you go into the studio with an idea that you want to try, you might spend a lot of time tweaking and might miss all of those happy accidents.

5. Save your project and close it. I always suggest not working more than 1 hour on a project. After an hour, save and close it, and do something else. Your concentration and creativity will degrade over time. Next time you open the song, after a few days, you’ll know right away what works and what doesn’t. And having already begun the track, you will have a have a fresh energy, which is ideal to kickstarting the next next step.

Check out this video tutorial I made on how to start a track, and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like what you see!

SEE ALSO : Music Production And Studio Tips

How To Define Your Label’s Identity With Your Sound Engineer

December 15, 2015/in Blog, Label Management, Mastering/by pheek

In this article, I discuss the impact that music mastering can have for a label, and how a good sound engineer can help.

What is label mastering and how you can benefit from it

The term “label mastering” might sound new to you, but it’s something that can make one crew stand out from the others. When I refer to a label’s sound identity, I’m referring to the impression you want your label to leave with fans. For them, a label is:

A sign of quality.
A sure bet that the sound will sound as great as fans expect.
Whenever you look back, that sound still remains.

Label mastering means “making sure the sound is adjusted so each release sounds close to the others, and having a signature that makes your label unique.”

As examples, I could name Chain Reaction and its dirty techno sound, Ostgut with its driven techno, or Perlon’s quirky music.

Think of your own favourite label – one that has been running for years. Now think of the label’s early releases and compare them to the label’s more recent work. There’s a correlation, right? The sound is great, regardless of the release date.

Shaping the sound

A sensitive sound engineer will pay special attention to the label owner’s aesthetics and take a moment to listen to the artists to understand their musical direction. The partnership between an audio engineer and the label is as critical as the graphic designer is to forging the label’s visual identity. I see a label as the product of a strong collaboration between the three.

The label owner/manager decides the content of the catalogue.
The sound engineer analyzes the releases and directs what will suit them, sound-wise.
The graphic designer will aim to visually represent the way the sound feels.

Label mastering means that you will work hand-in-hand with your sound engineer to develop the direction of your label in the long run. If people can use your label as a reference, you’ll know you did well.

Now, a tip for musicians that are sending demos abroad. So often, I see musicians sending me music for my label that sounds like nothing comparable to what we do. It always amazes me to think artists have no idea that a label aims to maintain a certain sound aesthetic. Of course, some labels are more open to different genres and ideas, but in general, the sound quality is what really will make the huge difference in deciding whether your tracks will be accepted or not.

You might also want to consider having a trusted engineer do a proper mixdown for your song, which I can help with.

Need Help To Finalize Your Unfinished Songs?

December 7, 2015/in Blog, Production, Products, Song Finalizing and Arrangements/by pheek

In this post, I will discuss the advantages of having someone else take a look at your unfinished tracks.

Time to finish those sleeping projects

Have you ever watched those renovation shows where an expert takes over a messy apartment and gives it a complete makeover? I know that for myself and most people I know, these shows make us dream. We love the transformation, the before and after, the journey to an incredible final product.

Now what if I told you there might be a future for all those unfinished songs of yours?

Are you one of those producers that have dozens of projects that were never finished?

Perhaps you are here because this rings a bell:

You get bored of the song you’re making.
You get a new idea that seems better than the one that you’re working on.
What you work on doesn’t sound like what you have in mind.

I hear these comments all the time from fellow producers or aspiring ones. Not being able to finish a song is a very common problem for all of us. The world goes by so quickly today, and being exposed to so much music on Soundcloud triggers our A.D.D. and stimulates the excitement to always want to do more. As an artist, you set expectations for your own work too high, which then leads to you getting overwhelmed and succumbing to procrastination.

Many people have ideas, but once they get on the computer they get lost in the details of sound design and start to feel very sluggish. Eventually, the hype disappears and the person gets bored.

The problem is, your song might actually be great, and you’re not realizing it!

Just like with mixing, sometimes asking someone else to take a look can be critical to pinpointing what was wrong.

I once said to a friend, “That chord here is just too loud and makes the rest of the sounds pale!” That was all he needed to hear to finish what became one of his favourite songs. I’m not taking any credit here: the important part was his curiosity and openness to asking for help.

That’s often the main obstacle here: asking for help.

Mainly because you think:

It won’t be my track if someone does it for me.
I won’t feel proud of it.
It’s not going to work, period.

I can tell you one thing, and that’s that when it comes to remixes, people usually work fast. Well guess what? Asking someone to take over a song that’s blocking you is just like asking for a remix. The only difference is that you’re the maestro who provides the creative direction.

You’ll also need to have enough trust to be able let go of things. This is for your own good.

In the meantime, here are a few tips of mine:

Set a deadline on when a song should be done.
Set reminders and alarms.
Don’t spend more than 30 minutes at a time on the song.
Impose limits on yourself.

I can help you produce your song and finish it. Fast.

One of my specialties is listening to an artist’s vision, and then using their creative direction to help bring their projects to fruition. With almost 20 completed albums in my portfolio, I’m ready and eager to put my experience to work for you. Book me today!

A Great Sound Engineer Will Give Your Song Its True Sound

December 7, 2015/in Blog, Mixing/by pheek

In this blog post, I will explain how important it is, for the sake of your music as well as for the mastering process, to have a good mixdown. I also want to make the point that working with a trusted sound engineer who knows how to master can be a game-changer.

The Importance Of A Good Mixdown

No matter who your sound engineer is and how skilled he or she is or what equipment they use, there will never be a great-sounding master without a killer mixdown. A good audio engineer should understand your needs as well as your song. An engineer with experience can do that, but choosing the right one is important.

What is a great mixdown?

It has a perfect balance of sounds. None are battling to get heard.
Each part shines and feels right.
The stereo image gives your song a big impression.
The song breathes, it doesn’t sound harsh.

There are a few challenges you might face in completing your song.

Perhaps this is familiar?

The bass sounds muddy.
The main melody seems overshadowed by other sounds.
The song lacks overall punch.
Your track’s percussion sounds shy.

Sometimes, doing the mixdown yourself won’t give your project the treatment it deserves. If you spent countless hours creating it, you know that it has to sound right. Many producers, even experienced ones, know that a second pair of ears will do it justice. It’s no surprise that most of the best producers give their projects to a trusted mixing engineer.

There are some other challenges too:

Your studio is technically challenged (eg., lacks acoustic treatment, no sub, not EQed, etc).
You simply lack experience.
You’ve heard your song too many times and can’t make decisions.

Again, those are the kind of problems that many people have.

It’s important to choose a sound engineer who has a great understanding of the musical genre you’re producing. This will ensure your sound is in tune with what’s on the market.

Why me?

I’ve been doing mixdowns for myself and others since 2002. The number of songs I’ve done is hard to calculate, but the one thing that matters is that my clients are always satisfied. With almost 20 albums released under my Pheek moniker, I understand the challenges and know when compression should be done, and how.

My main task is to understand what you want to do so I can help you define your own personal sound.

In future articles, I will explain some of my tricks on how to get your music sounding proper.

But if you need an audio engineer like me, don’t hesitate to book me now!