from the series 'idm is easy as cake':
'how to write an idm song using fruityloops 1.4'
intro
-----
think you need a pile of vintage analog keyboards with a top-notch dsp
engine to make idm music? don't be fooled no more. laptop music is a
reality. aphex twin uses a laptop. autechre use a laptop. i
personally prefer a tower (laptop keyboards must be the most annoying
thing mankind has invented -- after laptop mouse-like devices, of
course).
anyhow. if you haven't tried fruity loops yet, get it. it's easy to
use, it lets you import all samples you want, & even has a utility so
you can tweak them to your liking. in the following, i'm going to
assume that you know a bit about that program.
however, this has caused me a headache & i should share it: fruity
loops comes with a bunch of beat samples. if you can't find them,
simply use the 'file: open' command, & browse the 'samples' directory, &
open every file you can. samples contained within will be 'unzipped'
kinda, & you'll have full access to them afterwards. for old school
idm, you'll be happy to use the 808/909/electro/etc beats & such. for
new school idm, just tweak them until they resemble an egg falling on a
hot frying pan. (& obviously, you can always load up your own. use
your imagination.)
setting up
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in 'loop settings', i would suggest you set the loop length to 32. 16
is _very_ limitative unless you want to restrict yourself to a more
four-on-the-floor approach. (obviously, 32 is for 4/4. if you want 6/8
or 35/84, then set the slider accordingly.) then, load up the beats you
need. the more the merrier; one hit, one snare, hi-hats, cowbells,
_everything_ you may need. the fun thing with idm is complexity, so add
it up!
the tweaking up part is also quite fun (actually, the whole process
is). if you click on the sample button, you'll get an extra window with
tons of new toys. feel free to fuck with the knobs as much as you
want. also, under the 'delay' tab, turn up the 'feedback' knob for some
delay action (always a must).
laying out
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the beat can be done quite simply. first, turn down the tempo to 90-140
(well, it can be anything you want, but for maximum autechre mimicry,
this is where you want to go.) the bass drum hits should be laid out
soberly but efficiently. one on the first hit (& usually one on the
17th), then wherever fits. you may want to construct your base beat
(hit & snare) at the same time. avoid obvious
poo-pooh-pah-ti-patoo-patoo-pah breaks. then add bells & whistles:
hi-hats, cowbells & such. those should be programmed almost randomly
(don't look if you have to) although favoring odd notes (as opposed to
even) usually gives better results. complexify at will, & add more than
you think you'll need (because you probably will).
the melody is a bit more complicated in a native fruity loops
environment, as they don't provide you with instantly 'melodic'
samples. however, many of them can be turned into melodic elements
quite easily. find one that doesn't 'hit' (i.e. a weak beat element).
then lower its pitch (within the 'nifty window') until it resembles an
actual keyboard. the way to lay out the notes is quite simple. push
the 'kb' button so you see a keyboard appear on the screen. while the
loop is playing, enter random notes until something resembling a melody
appears. then even out the bad parts. add more melodic tracks just as
you would beats, by listening to one melodic track & overlaying another
so both more or less fit together.
the key with melody, i found, is to have the following elements present:
1) a bassline. this is usually simple, not particularily catchy, but
fairly efficient. don't forget that it must support the rest of the
melodic track.
2) a catch. this is a line that is relatively complex, & obviously,
catchy. this is what will draw the listener into your track. the beat
can make them headnod all right, but this is what will make them want to
not push the skip button right away. some people think it's hard to
write a catchy line, but i believe anyone subjected to pop music during
their youth (& even now) can write one. the difficult part really is to
write one is that is not too obvious so as to surprise the listener. if
you can surprise yourself with your riff, you're probably on the right
path. obviously there can be more than one catch, but make sure they
all work together.
3) a resolution. this is for when your track has gone long enough &
your listener thinks you just can't add anything to it. then you paste
the resolving riff & they'll cream their pants. use 'dreamy',
string-like, ambient-sounding samples, & keep the riff relatively
simple. you should try & make sure that it goes well with the beat.
usually, this is what adds the 'funk' to the track. it shouldn't be
catchy on its own, but instead add the required 'meat' to the other
melodic tracks.
of course, a track can be written which doesn't have these 3 elements,
but those make things easier. just experiment.
you can also, obviously, import longer samples (i.e. a whole riff), but
this is risky, as fruity loops doesn't stretch samples to fit, so you
have to check your tempo closely. (just like tracking!)
playing
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there is no 'record' option in fruity loops 1.4. bugger, yeah. what i
do is i open sound forge & record the 'stereo out' input. since not
every sound card supports that sort of thing, you may have to record to
minidisc or even - gasp! - straight to tape. there is no easy solution
to that unless you use the loop playlist option & 'render' your song to
a wave file (but this removes a lot of the 'live' aspect of what i'm
going to talk about here.)
a _really_ important part before you record _anything_ is to jam a bit
using your programmed patterns. this will help a lot when it comes to
introducing new melodic patterns, or working on your beat (see step 4
below).
anyway. it's mostly up to you at this point, but this is what i found
to be most effective:
1) build a primary groove. the first minuteis especially important:
you must draw the listener in your song. for that purpose, there's
nothing like a good catchy riff, followed by a teasing beat (see
lackluster, 'starcell u.k.', or autechre, 'eggshell' for example) --
but, like all good things, if you do it all the time, people'll get
bored. if you miss it, just start again. it's okay to start again, you
know. it's even okay to delete a whole song that sucks.
2) build on the beat. this is where you turn your teasing
clickety-clank into a real dancefloor affair (be it a bedroom
dancefloor). add bass drums, & eventually, snares. the classic idm
trick to send a few hits to introduce a pattern is especially easy to do
with fruity loops. here's a classic (albeit quite badly laid out)
example:
patterns | 1 | 2 | 3
--------------------------------------------------------------
bassdrum | - - - - | - | - - - etc
snare | | x xx x | x x x etc
hi-hat | . .. .. | . .. .. | . .. .. etc
3) expand the melody. either add up to it, or play with the buttons to
change it, do something.
4) expand the beats. this can be tricky. a beat that stays the same
throughout can be quite tedious, so you'll want to change it -- however,
changes must be done relatively subtly. the advantage of composing a
song live is that you have an immediate sense of when to start & when to
stop, but still, that's something i personally have the hardest time
with. have a few hi-hat patterns, for example, & switch between them.
stop your snares & replace them with something similar. the way to make
the beat track flow is to add & remove tracks sparingly, one or two at a
time. even in a 'mellow' moment, try not to get rid of the beats
totally; leave a quiet closed hi-hat track there, for example. this
will help you start the beat again afterwards. another advice is to
avoid playing all your beat patterns at the same time. this rarely
gives a good result.
5) once even you have no clue where the fuck this track could be going
now, this is the time for the resolving riff! first, turn down the
beats & the melody a bit so as to make room. the more the listener
thinks that the song is close to an end the better. then, as
unexpectedly as possible, start the resolver. bang! one by one, put
your elements back into place & see them appear in a complete new light.
6) go on with steps 3 & 4 again, & then gradually tone down the tune
until it's done. stopping a track has to be one the hardest things to
achieve well, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare. remove some
melodic tracks, modify/simplify your beat, then get rid of the bass drum
& the snare, & from there on focus on the one melodic track you think is
worth ending with (this is something you find out when you first jam).
don't spend too much time on the ending unless you have new interesting
elements popping up even then.
i think that the steps you _definitely_ want to do right are 1 & 5. the
other parts may contain quite a lot of fooling around, but 5 is where
you justify it all.
closing comments
----------------
of course, feel free to disregard everything i've said. also, don't
expect to accidentally rewrite the warp catalogue just by randomly
hitting keys. the keyword here is: 'listen'. when you build your
track, you have to be both the musician & the listener, all at once. if
you're only being a musician, then you're only pleasing yourself (which
is okay, if you're only making music for yourself, but at least try not
to bore yourself to death with your own music.)
also keep in mind that this is only a quick overview of certain of the
features of fruity loops. i haven't even talked about random mixing & i
didn't say much of the dsp functions (the 'funky window'). that's yours
to discover. for now, have fun laying out your tracks, burn cd-rs for
your friends, or sell them as ultra-limited-editions of 5 (remember, i'm
always open for cd-r trades!)
happy tracking!
--
david