KVR Audio

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:56 pm

i'm sloshing on in my pursuit of creating an idm piece. ;-) since this is for a tutorial for public consumption, i feel i need to know "the rules" (customs) of idm/electronica so i don't violate them.

i'm wondering about form, the structure of an idm piece. which of these two approaches sounds more on target? the first uses two sets of material, the second uses one.

1. two main sections, a and b, a more "in your face" dnb, b more laid-back; both linked by underlying pulse/meter. after introducing a then b, the second half would develop them, vary them, combine them. intro, closing, dropouts, gobs of breaks. pared down:

intro - a - b - a1 - b1 - a2b2 - closing

2. one groove, one melody, one set of pads/fx, one bass line. these layers are introduced, developed, varied, and arranged (overlapped) in a complex pattern (or perhaps semi-randomly) like mosaic tiles. intro, closing, dropouts, gobs of breaks.

groove ------- ---- ------ --
bass ----- ------- - --------------
melody --- --- ------- ------
pads/fx ------ ------- ------- ------

thanks for your help veterans of idm. :-)

rachMiel the iDm-challenged

tangentmusic · Post by **tangentmusic** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:06 pm

well for me personally i would have to say 2 myself( i dont make idm exclusively tho),

(as luck would have it i did a track in a few hours last night using nothing but samples of curcuit bent synths,drum machines and toys )

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:07 pm

thanks, tangentmusic. :-)

> as luck would have it i did a track in a few hours last night using nothing but samples of curcuit bent synths,drum machines and toys in a random way

upload it! (please.)

tangentmusic · Post by **tangentmusic** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:27 pm

ok bear with me.....

flanneljammies · Post by **flanneljammies** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:30 pm

IDM is like punk rock -- anything goes.

jackson · Post by **jackson** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:33 pm

flanneljammies wrote:IDM is like punk rock

Wow.

Nothing like an out of context quote for a laugh in the morning.

Barnadine · Post by **Barnadine** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:34 pm

flanneljammies wrote:IDM is like punk rock -- anything goes.

yeah, go with method 3.

idm (or at least the most interesting idm) is pretty much a reaction against the cliches of dance music, isn't it? idm innovations are then ruthlessly imitated, true, but I don't think the world's lying awake waiting for more aphex and autechre ripoffs.

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:42 pm

i love the anything goes approach (it pretty much defines all my electronic music production thus far!), but it might not play well in a tutorial aimed at showing users (from beginners up) how to create an idm track. think of this as a quasi-academic project.

so let's say you had to choose between 1 (two sets of musical material, a and b) and 2 (one set of layers, arranged in a mosaic) ... which one is better?

the_nihilist · Post by **the_nihilist** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:56 pm

Choice 1 smells like it's from the IDM artists that started out without using software -- but it's a dated approach.
Choice 2 reeks of the post-FL* lazyness that's infested the genre.

*(Not a dig against FL specifically, but moreso against the kind of pattern and loop oriented softsequencers out there that are in heavy use among IDM producers these days. I swear to god, so much of the stuff I hear out of this scene sounds less like music and more like people just switching patterns in and out...)

grillo · Post by **grillo** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:03 pm

Well, if i had to choose, i'd choose the second one. If it's for 'educational purposes' i'd like it to show the layers approach.

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:05 pm

as already said, IDM is about doing what the hell you want.....its about experimentation not limitation

tangentmusic · Post by **tangentmusic** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:24 pm

http://media.putfile.com/glitch-ahh

im gonna get flamed

talkin of a the world not waiting for another aphex twin....if you look at the last sound threw a spectragram you will see the logo for mp3 unsigned (its where i up my tunes to..)

http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=1/1303435879.jpg&s=x12
bad choice of background colours(you get the idea tho)

snareSpanker · Post by **snareSpanker** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:50 pm

Cool one tangentmusic! I especially liked the part that starts around 1:30

snooky · Post by **snooky** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 4:58 pm

rachmiel wrote:i'm sloshing on in my pursuit of creating an idm piece. since this is for a tutorial for public consumption, i feel i need to know "the rules" (customs) of idm/electronica so i don't violate them.

i'm wondering about form, the structure of an idm piece. which of these two approaches sounds more on target? the first uses two sets of material, the second uses one.

1. two main sections, a and b, a more "in your face" dnb, b more laid-back; both linked by underlying pulse/meter. after introducing a then b, the second half would develop them, vary them, combine them. intro, closing, dropouts, gobs of breaks. pared down:

intro - a - b - a1 - b1 - a2b2 - closing

2. one groove, one melody, one set of pads/fx, one bass line. these layers are introduced, developed, varied, and arranged (overlapped) in a complex pattern (or perhaps semi-randomly) like mosaic tiles. intro, closing, dropouts, gobs of breaks.

groove ------- ---- ------ --
bass ----- ------- - --------------
melody --- --- ------- ------
pads/fx ------ ------- ------- ------

thanks for your help veterans of idm.

rachMiel the iDm-challenged

ach..drop it man..IDM is about being innovative..if you want rules, compose classical/score music or pop.

stilaktive · Post by **stilaktive** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:06 pm

IDM is acid with knobs on. in most cases. or drums with delay beats oldskoolaphexwohohoooooooooooquoth.

"how to" idm question