Otto Matta

I wouldn't recommend those AKGs for DJ headphones. Get something more heavy duty, closed instead of open, and cheaper.

I wouldn't call it shit, but I would say that it is too repetitive for home listening. Cool sound, though, even though it's not really an album (albums have more variety). I'd enjoy it on the dancefloor. I'll keep it around for when I'm in the mood for that one very particular thing they do over and over, and then change music after the second or third track.

Jon - Have you become familiar with Ka-Sol's track, Pricken, off of Tales from the Dark Forest yet? What do you think?

"Rectal sputum"? Come on, Abasio, tell us how you really feel. I thought the new Broken Toy was pretty rectal. Seems the further along they go, the worse they get. The Low Down Dirty Sounds of... seemed just like a bad Infected ripoff, but not of their early stuff - their later stuff. It's a ripoff of crap, which makes it doubly rectal. Early on, Broken Toy's sound was really cool, I thought.

Cool track, man. I like all the variations you have going on, the seemingly deliberate simplicity, as well as the general tone you set. If it were longer I'd start really yearning for some counterpoint/layering in the variations, rather than a single highlighted progression every handful of bars. But since it's very short, I think you get away with it. You might consider putting it in Music Promo where more people are likely to hear it and give feedback. Cheers.

I see what you mean. So instead of a loudness war, should one call it an advance in engineering skill? Two out of five CDs in a recent psytrance purchase were this way.

I understand. However, my issue is this. On my car stereo I have a volume meter. Almost all the music I listen to is about as loud as I like it at about 4.5. It's predictable, and I don't have to fuss with the volume, just like with a good recording I don't have to fuss with the bass or treble. But with, again, Eat Static's new one, I have to lower the volume to under 4 or it will break my speakers. That's what I mean. It makes me think, whether it's true or not, that thickness of sound is being traded in for loudness, which makes me enjoy that wonderful album less than I would otherwise.

I'm getting pretty annoyed with this loudness war thing myself. I don't understand it. I mean, we all have volume knobs, no? How does louder equal better? The latest Eat Static, for instance, although a lot of fun, is annoyingly loud.

My first sequencer, back in '88/'89 was this little guy: From '89 to '94 I had a Roland MC-300 (no good pictures to be found), an 8-track sequencer. From '94 into the 00s I used the 16-track sequencer on my Korg 01/Wfd workstation, which was a dream after the Rolands, but kept me from getting serious with music because it was still severely limited.

Okay, I have a better idea now, thanks (although I don't have a clue how to do it). SG - I'm asking from buddies because a very unfortunate thing about the music scene is that people who know cool stuff seem to purposely make their descriptions impossible to understand. It's an exclusive club and the kids have to push and shove to get simple information.

Can anyone describe to me in layman's terms what sidechaining is? I hear it talked about a lot, and it appears to be useful, but the technical terminology fizzles my brain. Is it sort of like a gate?

You got rid of the Linn monster machine? No, I hear you, software is generally a million times easier but also as sophisticated as one needs it to be. Anyway, it'll be interesting to hear what you create, after all this gear talk and you buying and selling hardware like it was going out of style again. I've been using Cubase 4 for several months now and really love it. It was frustrating at first because I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and it seems like an unconquerable beast, but since then I've continued to climb the mountain and learn. I found once I became familiar with the very general ropes - after a month or so - then the whole thing really blossomed for me, and continues to. Fortunately I've got so much more to learn about it, which can only make my music better, or at least more interesting. My production skill - something I've felt so weak about - has really been improving, too, because Cubase makes it easy. And that makes me very, very happy. I came over from Reason 3.0, which I really loved, and part of me still does. But looking back on it I feel it made my life a lot more difficult than it needed to be, and my music and mental state suffered for it.

Awesome stuff, NHJO. It's like Metallica decided to do a Eurotrance Christmas album. I especially love the acapella version of Silent Night to end it. My favorites were not included, however: Little Drummer Boy, Edelweiss and Greensleeves. I'm hoping they'll be on the next holiday release. Thanks.

The professionals say they've got better bass response and are more suited to electronic music, whereas the 271s are better for rock and acoustic stuff where bass is not as much a factor. Plus, because the 701s are open, in my opinion they resemble speakers/monitors more than the closed environment of the 271s. Better sound, better environment. And yeah, those K1000s are a fucking dream! Too bad they were discontinued, but last time I checked (a year ago or so) they were still making the eBay rounds.

It's true. Producing in headphones is a bad idea. I know. I produce in headphones, and I have arguably the best you can get (AKG K701). What you get in headphones is production for headphones. Take it to speakers and it's all messed up. Levels that seem right in headphones are way out of whack when taken to a car stereo, for example. If you're forced to produce in headphones, you need to go through a tedious, although improvable, process of getting it right. I'm forced to produce in headphones because I live in an apartment. But I have learned that you can get better at it if you practice and pay attention. Here are some of my lessons learned (and relearned, and relearned, and relearned...): - Use only good, neutral headphones. ***Not Sony!*** Neutral doesn't mean "raw" so much as "real" - too real, actually. Monitors and a good acoustic environment are best for overall sound and feel. You get what you pay for, and it's expensive. - When mixing in headphones, turn your main level very low, to the level of a very soft conversation, and mix from that. When you have your music cranked the levels jumble together and are not accurate. Cranking is for the ego only. - Before you plan to do serious mixing, take a long break to let your ears recover, because they've been blasted relentlessly and go into muted defense mode. I recommend a day at least. A week is preferable because it not only lets your ears recover fully, it also allows some perspective on your work in general. During this week, audition a version of your work at a site like this or others to get people's opinion. Lower your pride. - Also during this time, play your track on as many different sound systems as you can, like in a car or two (they're all very different), your crap work computer (with and without crap headphones), etc. After doing this enough times you'll start to notice a general rule with headphone production, which is that if it seems too loud, it is too loud, and if it seems too soft, it is too soft. It's very subtle, but you get better at it. You'll notice, for instance, that a track with bloated frequencies will sound better in good headphones than good speakers, so it's best to moderate with EQ and perhaps some compression if necessary. Quality over quantity! Clarity over boom! Moderation! - Become intimate with your ear-brain connection. Your ears are the best judge (it helps to clean them occasionally, thoroughly, with a plunger and hot water kit), and with practice you'll notice that your brain, even though it wants to overdo everything, knows somewhere inside what is best for your track. This is, to me, the most challenging, ongoing process, akin to spiritual development and getting in touch with one's intuition and humility versus one's ego. - Start planning for a home of your own, where you can dedicate a room to proper production with monitors AND headphones, which is what I'm doing (years down the road). Headphones are good, but they're limited. Perspective is what you're after, and great headphones are only part of that process.

I've actually set up my life so that I can create through the night. I get off work at midnight, and have until the sun rises to create.

Me too. I find it very difficult to write during the daylight hours. I don't know why that is. It was the same when I was painting a lot. It's almost as if daylight is awake and witnessing what I'm doing, whereas I'd prefer to do it in secrecy and privacy, undercover of the night, as Mick Jagger says. e: My music tends to have a nostalgic, bitter-sweet property. I think the quiet of the night helps me get in touch with this.

Wow. That shit is sick. Love it.

Thanks for the feedback, Bahamut. I appreciate the honest comments. Yeah, man, I have a thing for static beats for some reason. I think I'll eventually have to find a collaborator who's better at them. The issue might be that the version you heard had drums that were too forward, so I made some various adjustments, pulled them back a little, as well as the bass, so hopefully it all sounds more integrated now. The new version is posted up top if anyone's interested.

Ten paces, then DRAW [some wicked automation].

The Northwestern station is decent sometimes. It introduced me to Amon Tobin and classic country.

Sorry. I've updated the link.

Sweet, man. Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it, serguei, and I appreciate all the effort to listen.

This is a great track. One thing I love about Billy's work is how it seems his sounds are floating in a huge space where each sound is miles away from the next, but they all still function together somehow. I don't know how he does it. And I love the very last melody that fades the track out. Okay, so someone's going to have to take some initiative here...Someone should direct one of these labels like AlephZero to Billy's work.

Thanks, Snap. I'm only using Cubase soft synths (and effects), but I have a love for the warmth of analog sound. I'm glad you like the beats - I enjoy messing with syncopation, and I find there's a real fine line between it sounding deliberate and awkward and sounding natural. I'm working on it. I'll redo some of the production this weekend - some elements are way too frontal when I listen on other systems. Anyway, I really appreciate your feedback. serquei - What upload service do you prefer? And thanks, Billy.