Otto Matta

I have very short hair too. Buzzed. You'll see what I'm talking about with the mutant head indentations.

I have my computer hooked up to my NAD amp already, so I use its headphone jack. And yeah, those earpads are indeed huge, like a big ol' fluffy lounge chair for the ears. Beware of the headpiece part that rest on the top of your head - after some hours the shape of your head will conform to it, and might make you look a bit alien-ish. I've been meaning to fix that on mine by attaching a strip of foam or something there.

Ha! Congrats. I practically live in mine when I'm at home. Be sure to save the silver stand to put your phones on when not in use.

Yessir, right away, sir.

So how many of you have made music their identity (or have had music make you its identity)? As in, if someone asked you what your greatest passion in life was, you'd be forced to say "making music". And if you neglect your music for a little while you start to feel as if a betrayal is going on, and you're not happy. Or have some or most of you played it safe and made it only one of many things? I find I've always been one of those "one thing at a time" kind of people. Like, when I have a good friend, or a girlfriend, or a creative activity, I have to/like to really focus on it, which leaves very little room for much else. I don't know if I have lack of focus or too much intensity of focus, but I suspect it's a combination. I feel really attached to it, as if it were a really solid relationship, but if it ended I'd feel helpless and sad. Shit, it's a lot like a relationship, actually. I cheated on her once recently, after our relationship had deteriorated a little over a span of months, when I started getting excited by a new medium (amateur film). I simply felt she didn't have enough to offer me at the time, but I needed my outlet, so I left for a while. The whole time I felt like I was simultaneously betraying her but also realizing that a break was probably the best idea - which it was. When we got back together it was an exciting rendezvous. We immediately made a baby.

Yes, and the world apparently can't get enough autotune. Drives me up the wall.

Awesome! I'm glad you guys liked it, and I appreciate the compliments.

I'm sensing a trap. Don't mind me if I tip-toe out of this conversation. *tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap*

New track from me. Hope it makes you bob along and feel along. Let me know how my fake production sounds. I feel it might be a bit bright in places. Starcade - Rainbow China (5:12, 192kbps mp3) This is an attempt to borrow/steal the rainbow back. It's a good symbol and should have broader meaning. Unless my track is totally gay, in which case I've attained nothing. Let me know. Recent inspirations: D-nox & Beckers Guitar Kettel Clark Murcof Multistate

But, but...

Ah, the innocent smile of dark love.

It would be cool to write a song that was so over-the-top automatically arpeggioed that the automatic aesthetic sounded deliberate, but also make it catchy and classy.

Shakta was one of my first ten or so Goa loves. I listened to Enlightened Ape over and over. I also really like his Somaton project. I'm not a big fan of his later stuff or his downtempo/ambient work.

I think you're largely correct, devious, but I don't think it's really any person's fault if things are misinterpreted. What I'm really actually trying to get to with this thread is that it's words themselves that are at fault. Words carry our meaning for us. If I say "I'm going to eat a sandwich," people have a very precise idea what I'm about to eat. It doesn't matter what's actually on the sandwich. To say "I'm a composer" also carries a very precise meaning that has long since been established. Like Wikipedia says (thanks, Nemo), it generally - meaning for most people, including me - means that I'm writing classical music by writing it down on paper first, then having musicians play the music. The composer can also be, for example, a piano player, in which case he could perform the music, and is therefore also a musician as well as a composer. But the closest we've come in this thread to describe someone who makes electronic music with software is "electronic music producer." That will certainly do, but I'd love it if there were one word instead of three, like everyone else seems to enjoy. It's not really a big deal, though, just something that's been on my mind here and there.

It's not about anybody lying, Nemo. All I'm saying is that the words that currently exist do not accurately describe what it is we do as artists who create electronic music.

Well, you actually are if most people think a composer is someone who creates classical music with notation. The thing is, it doesn't matter what your own personal definition of something is if everyone else agrees on a different definition. I don't call myself a composer, because it's misleading.

If you tell people you're a composer you're ultimately going to mislead them. That's a problem. So then what do you call yourself then? Can you think of one word that describes exactly what you do?

I don't agree. I think they're accurate, and are in accord with the definitions I know, which is why I brought up this topic. Even if they're outdated, they can't be updated because their meanings have solidified over many, many years. composers write music via notation (usually) musicians play the music (a guitarist for a rock band is a musician) songwriters write music with lyrics (song = sung) "Producer" makes more sense than "composer", but even that requires more information.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Neither "composer" nor "musician" nor "songwriter" actually describe what we do.

Totally cool, Billy. :clapping: :drama:

Me too. Pretty much every time, actually, even if I tell myself going into it NOT to do that. Yes. That's a good one.

Another great moment: Sending a track off to a collaborator and getting back a totally expanded, awesome new version. This happened to me once, with auryn here at Psynews. Another bad moment: Lending a track out for a remix and having the result be totally awful.

Ha. Me too. I find I really have to be careful with this, though, because if I listen to my stuff too many times I lose perspective on it and feel the need to add more elements to make it interesting, when more elements may not be the best thing for the track. Worst: I really don't like the final polishing mix work where the process swings rapidly from creative to technical. I also don't like when one day I'm totally excited about a track, and then the next day I'm in a bad mood, maybe I'm tired and/or hungry, and the track sounds like crap.

Yeah, people understand "compose electronic music" here too. But somehow that's different than just "composer" to 99.9% of people. Again, at least here "I am a composer" means exactly "I write/create/make classical music." I wish in a similar way I could use one word to describe what I do to someone, instead of having to actually describe it with paragraphs. It would help if I actually knew what I was doing myself, because it seems ambiguous, somewhat "applied" and somewhat "fine".

Yeah, see, I don't know. That's the issue. I compose, but I don't know if I'm a composer, with all that implies. In the past when I've said this I've felt pretentious, if not a bit inauthentic. At least where I come from, if you tell someone you're a composer, they're going to expect classical music, not electronic dance grooves. I guess I'm hoping, at least for myself, that I can actually get to a stage of electronic composition where I'll feel more genuine about calling myself a "composer". Agree. Do you ever feel like you're "designing", though?