Snoman R. Dance Music Manual: Tools, Toys, and Techniques

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

PART 2

Dance Genres

284

This form of music was characterized by its mix of dark pounding rhythms

mixed with a soulful feel and a stripped down vibe. This latter stripped down

feel was a direct result of the limited technology available at the time. Since the

TB303, TR909 and TR808 were pretty much the only instruments obtainable to

those without a huge budget, most tracks were written with these alone which

were then recorded directly to two-track tape cassettes.

It wasn’t until late 1988, however, that techno became a genre in its own right

when Neil Rushton produced a compilation album labelled Techno – The New

Dance Sound of Detroit for Virgin records. Following this release, techno no lon-

ger described any form of electronic music but was used to describe minimalist,

almost mechanical house music. Similar to most genres of dance, this mutated

further as more artists embraced the ideas and formed their music around it.

By 1992 and the evolution of the new ‘rave generation ’ techno bore almost no

relationship to the funky beats and rhythms of house music as it took on more

drug-inﬂ uenced hypnotic tribal beats.

As technology evolved and MIDI instruments, samplers, sequencers and digi-

tal audio manipulation techniques became more accessible, techno began to

grow increasingly complex. While it still bore a resemblance to the stripped

down feel of Detroit techno consisting solely of rhythms and perhaps a bass,

the rhythmic interplay became much more complex. More and more rhythms

were laid atop one another and the entire studio became one instrument with

which to experiment.

Of course, Detroit techno still exists today but it has been vastly overshadowed

by the tribal beats of ‘pure’ techno developed by numerous artists including

Thomas Krome, Redhead Zync, Henrik B, Tobias, Carl Craig, Kenny Larkin and

Richie Hawtin. Each of these artists has injected their own style into the music

while keeping with some of the original style set by their contemporaries.

MUSICAL ANALYSIS

Techno can be viewed as dance music in its most primitive form since it’s chieﬂ y

formed around the cohesion and adaptation of numerous drum rhythms.

Although synthetic sounds are also occasionally employed, they will, more

often than not, remain atonal as it’s the abundance of percussive elements that

remains the most vital aspect of the music. In fact, in most techno tracks addi-

tional synthetic instruments are not often used in the ‘musical’ form to create

bass lines or melodies; instead, the genre deﬁ nes itself on a collection of care-

fully programmed and manipulated textures rather than melodic elements.

Fundamentally, this means that it’s produced with the DJ in mind and, in fact,

most techno is renowned for being ‘DJ friendly ’ and is formed and written to

allow him (or her) to seamlessly mix all the different compositions together to

produce one whole continuous mix to last through the night. As such, techno will

generally utilize a four-to-the-ﬂ oor time signature but it isn’t unusual to employ

numerous other drum rhythms written in different time signatures which are then

Techno

CHAPTER 14

285

mixed, effected and edited to ﬁ t alongside the main 4/4 signature. Tempo-wise,

it can range from 130 to 150 BPM, and although some techno has moved above

this latter ﬁ gure, it is in the minority rather than the majority.

Techno is also different from every other genre of music covered so far since

it does not rely on programming and mixing in the ‘conventional ’ manner (if

there is such a thing). Rather, it’s based around using the entire studio as one

interconnected tool. While a sequencer (hardware or software) is still used as

the centrepiece, it’s commonly only used to trigger numerous drum rhythms

contained in the connected samplers and drum machines. Each of these

rhythms have been previously edited and manipulated with effects to produce

new variations which are then layered with others or dropped in and out of the

mix to produce the ﬁ nal arrangement.

These rhythms are layered on top of one another so that they all interact har-

monically to produce interesting variations of the original patterns. As more

of these patterns are laid together, they create an often syncopated feel as the

rhythmic harmony becomes progressively more complex. The mixing desk is

then used to not mix the rhythms together in a conservative manner but as a

creative tool with EQ employed to enhance the interesting harmonic relation-

ships created from this layering, or to prevent the cohesive whole from becom-

ing too muddy or indistinct.

This method of working is analogous to subtractive synthesis, whereby you

build a harmonically rich sound and then employ ﬁ lters to shape the results.

With techno, you construct a hectic, yet harmonically rich rhythm by layering

loops, and then proceed to deconstruct them with ﬁ lters and EQ until you’re

left with some interesting harmonic interplay and rhythm. This produces

incredibly complex beats that could never be ‘programmed’ through MIDI or

played live and that also subtly move from one interesting rhythmic interaction

to another with some live (or automated) tweaking of EQ or additional effects.

The obvious place to start with any techno is to begin by shaping the loops

and, generally speaking, occasionally they may be programmed in MIDI but

are more often sourced from sample CDs or other records. These are then sub-

sequently diced, sliced and manipulated with programs such as Wavesurgeon

to create rhythms that are very different from the original. However you decide

to create the loops, the individual rhythms begin quite simply, and the begin-

nings consist of nothing more than a kick drum, snare, closed and open hi-hats

along with an occasional cymbal crash employed every 4 or so bars to mark the

end of a musical segment ( Figure 14.1 ).

Although this generally provides a good starting pattern, any further loops

should be programmed differently and/or use different timbres so that when

the rhythms are overlaid with one another a more complex sound and rhythm

evolves. To accomplish this, it’s often worth experimenting by programming

tribal rhythms to mix with the previous loop. How these are programmed is

entirely up to your own creativity, but a good starting point is to employ side

PART 2

Dance Genres

286

sticks, splash cymbals, tom drums and more snares that can dance around the

main starting loop. An example of a typical tribal loop is shown in Figure 14.2 .

Note that in the above example, very few of the instruments actually land on

the beat; rather they are all offset slightly. This helps them to combine more

freely with the initially created loop, creating thicker textures as the sounds

play slightly earlier or later than the ﬁ rst loop, thus preventing the loops from

becoming too metronomic. Also, note how this second loop does not contain

FIGURE 14.1

The beginnings of a

techno loop

FIGURE 14.2

A tribal techno loop

Techno

CHAPTER 14

287

any kicks. This is simply because if each consecutive loop contained a series of

offbeat kicks, the rhythm would lose its four-to-the-ﬂ oor feel, while if the kicks

were all laid on the beat of the bar, they would all amalgamate producing a

mix with a very heavy bottom end. The principle is to create a series of loops,

each of which focuses on a different timbre to carry the loop forward.

These two loops could be further augmented with another tribal loop, this

time much more complex than the last, containing a number of closely paired

instruments that all complement the previous two loops and create an even

more complex drum arrangement ( Figure 14.3 ).

Yet again, note how none of the instruments land on the beat. This prevents

the rhythm from becoming too metronomic and allows these new timbres to

mix with the previous two loops to thicken out those timbres already present.

Additionally, it is also worthwhile experimenting by mixing loops with differ-

ent time signatures together. For instance, two 4/4 loops mixed with two 3/4

loops can produce results that cannot be easily acquired any other way.

Once a number of MIDI ﬁ les have been created in this manner, they can be

exported/imported as audio and sliced, diced and EQ’d to modify the sounds

further to create abstract timbres suitable for techno. Although for this exam-

ple we’ve only discussed three loops, you should feel free to programme and

layer as many loops together as you feel are necessary to accomplish the overall

sound. This can range from using just three to layering over eight together and

then progressively reducing the content of each until you are left with harmon-

ically rich and interesting sound. The layering of these should also not just be

FIGURE 14.3

Another tribal techno

loop to mix with the

previous two

PART 2

Dance Genres

288

restricted to dropping them dead atop one another, and in many cases, moving

one of the two loops forward or back in time from the rest can be used to good

effect.

Once a few basic loops have been created, effects and aggressive EQ cuts or

boosts are employed on each individual element of a sliced loop to create inter-

esting timbres. Although the premise of techno is to keep a 4/4 kick pumping

away in mix, other percussive elements are commonly heavily affected, pro-

cessed and EQ’d to produce timbres that add to its tribal nature. Although any

effects can produce good results, of particular note the Sherman Filterbank is

almost a requisite for creating strange evolving timbres. That said, the effects

and processing applied are, of course, entirely open to artistic licence as the

end result is to create anything that sounds good but what follows is a list of

possibilities to start with:

■ Use a transient designer to remove the transients of a snare or hi-hat and

then increase the sustain.

■ Reverse a sample, apply reverb with a long tail and then reverse the sample

so that it plays the correct way again (albeit with a reversed reverb effect).

■ Use a noise gate to shorten sounds in the loops.

■ Apply heavy compression to squash the transients of some sounds.

■ Apply heavy compression but only to the sustain (i.e. use a long attack).

■ With the aid of a spectral analyser, identify the frequencies that contrib-

ute to the body of a sound and reduce their volume while increasing the

volume of those surrounding them.

■ Merge two timbres (such as a snare and hi-hat) together and use EQ to

remodel the sound.

■ Pitch shift individual notes up and by extreme amounts.

■ Apply heavy chorus or ﬂ angers/phasers to singular hi-hats or snares.

■ Write a hi-hat pattern, export it as audio (if required), apply heavy delay

and then cut the resulting ﬁ le up to produce a new pattern.

■ Apply heavy delay/chorus/ﬂ anging or phaser to an entire drum loop and

cut segments out to mix with the rest of the loops.

■ Constantly time stretch and compress audio to add some digital clutter

and then mix this with the other loops.

The main principle of applying all these processes is to generate timbres that

are tonally different from every other loop so that layered together they com-

bine to create an interesting sound. Using mixing desks EQ and low-, high- or

band-pass ﬁ lters, you can then amplify or ﬁ lter this area and slowly evolve its

progression over the length of the mix with some automation. This live ‘tweak-

ing’ forms a fundamental part of the music, so if the rhythms are contained in a

software audio sequencer, it’s of paramount importance to use an external con-

troller so that you can modulate the various parameters in real time. Obviously,

the more parameters this controller offers, the more creative you can become,

so ideally, you should look towards a controller that has numerous options.

Novation’s ReMote 25 can be particularly useful since this offers a plethora of

Techno

CHAPTER 14

289

real-time controllers consisting of knobs, faders, a touch pad and a yoke (a

control stick that can be used to control both pitch and modulation simultane-

ously). All of these can then be recorded as CC data in real time, permitting you

to edit the automation further if required.

Naturally, techno relies on compression to produce the harsh, heavy beats as

much as any other dance genre but its production ethics are slightly differ-

ent. Whereas in much of dance you usually wish to refrain from pumping the

hi-hats or additional percussion by compressing the 4/4 kick singularly, it isn’t

uncommon in this genre to actually pump these percussive elements on some

of the individual loops to create new sounds. Additionally, the compressor is

often treated as an effect as well as a processor and it isn’t considered unusual

to access a valve compressor as a send ‘effect’. With the setting of a low thresh-

old and high ratio, the returned signal can be added to the uncompressed sig-

nal, while experimenting with the attack and release will produce a series of

different timbres. If you do not have access to a valve compressor, then sending

the signal out to the PSP vintage warmer can often add more harmonics to the

signal similar to using a valve compressor.

Of course, once the beats are ﬁ nally laid down, with all the frequency, EQ and

pitch interaction the loop will need compressing to prevent any potential clip-

ping and, in techno, this is applied very heavily indeed. Generally, valve-based

compressors are used since these tend to pump musically. The most commonly

used compressors for this are the Joe Meek SC 2.2, UREI LA 3 or the UREI 1176

LN due to the amount of second-order harmonic distortion they introduce. If

you don’t have access to a good valve compressor, then after compressing it with

a standard unit it’s certainly worth throwing the loop through the PSP vintage

warmer to recreate the requisite sound. In fact, even if it is put through a valve

compressor it’s often worth placing it through the vintage warmer anyway. The

amount of compression to apply will, as always, depend heavily upon the tim-

bres used, but as a general guideline, start by setting the ratio to 12:1, along

with an attack of 5 ms and a medium release of 200 ms or so. Set the thresh-

old control to 0 dB and then slowly decrease it until both the kick and second

loudest elements of the loop (commonly the snare) register on the gain reduc-

tion meter by at least 5 dB. To avoid the volume anomaly (i.e. louder invariably

sounds better!), set the make-up gain so that the loop is at the same volume as

when the compressor is bypassed and then start experimenting with the release

settings. By shortening the release, the loop will become progressively heavier

the more that this is shortened. Unfortunately, the only guidelines for how

short this should be set are to use your ears and judgement but try not to get

too excited. Keep in mind that it should not be compressed so heavily that you

lose the excursion of the kick, otherwise the loop will lack any real punch.

As previously mentioned, techno commonly consists of drums alone but

some may also include a bass rhythm to help the music groove along. In these

instances, the bass is kept incredibly simple so as not to detract from the fun-

damental groove created by the drums. In other words, the bass commonly

PART 2

Dance Genres

290

consists of noting more than a series of 1/16th, 1/8th or 1/4th notes (some-

times consisting of a mix between them all) with none or very little movement

in pitch ( Figure 14.4 ).

In the above example, the bass remains atonal but movement is provided by

lengthening and shortening the bass notes, while the velocity controls the ﬁ lter

cut-off allowing the groove to move in and out of the drum rhythms. Some

tracks may also employ some pitch movement in the bass, but if this is the case

then the timbre used is invariably mono and makes heavy use of portamento

so that that any overlapping notes slide into one another ( Figure 14.5 ).

Note how in the above example a secondary note overlaps the ﬁ rst. This cre-

ates a timbre that rises and falls during its period and it’s this type of move-

ment that is fundamental to a techno bass. Since the bass will generally only

consist of one bar that is continually looped over and over, it’s the harmonic

and timbral movement that plays a primary role in attaining the groove. This is

accomplished not only by using portamento but also by adjusting various syn-

thesis and effects parameters as the bass plays alongside the drum track. The

basic belief here is to manipulate the frequencies contained in the bass so that

it augments the frequencies in the drum track. That is, it adds to the harmonic

relationship already created through manipulating the drums to create a cohe-

sive whole that pulses along. The bass should still remain a separate element to

the drum track but, nevertheless, any frequency-dependent movement should

be to bring further interest to the harmonic interaction with the drums than to

bring attention to itself.

For the bass timbre, the TB303 is the most widely used instrument since this

is what was originally used by the techno originators; however, more lately,

any analogue synthesizers (or DSP equivalents) are used so long as they con-

tain enough frequencies to be swept with a ﬁ lter so that they interact with the

rhythms. If you want to stay with the roots of techno, though, the TB303 is

FIGURE 14.4

A typical techno bass

line

Techno

CHAPTER 14

291

the bass to use but this timbre can be created in almost any subtractive syn-

thesizer. A good starting point is to employ both a saw and a square oscillator,

set the ampliﬁ ers EG to zero attack and sustain with a medium release and a

fast decay. Use a low-pass ﬁ lter with both the resonance and cut-off set midway

and then adjust the ﬁ lters envelope to a short attack, decay and sustain with no

release. Finally, as ever, experiment with all these settings until you obtain the

sound you require.

For those who are a little more adventurous, try combining four sawtooth

waves, or a couple of sawtooths and a sine wave to add some bottom end if

required. If a sine wave is used, detune this by an octave below the other oscil-

lators and then proceed to detune each saw from one another by ⫾3, ⫾5 and

⫾7. The amp envelope for all the waveforms is commonly set to a fast attack

with a medium-to-long decay and no sustain or release. A ﬁ lter envelope is not

commonly used as this adds harmonic movement through the period of the

sound that may conﬂ ict with the already programmed/manipulated rhythms,

and the oft preferred option is to keep it quite static and employ ﬁ lter move-

ment manually to suit the constantly changing frequencies in the rhythms.

That said, if a pitch envelope is available in the synth, it may be prudent to

positively or negatively modulate the pitch of the oscillators to add some small

amounts of movement. Once this basic timbre is laid down, it’s prudent to

experiment with the attack, decay and release of the amp’s EG to help the bass

sit comfortably in with the kick’s drum loop. In fact, it’s essential to accomplish

this rhythmic and tonal interaction between the drum loop and the bass before

moving on. Techno relies on a very sparse collection of ‘instruments’ and the

interaction attained here will form a majority of the record.

As the harmonic movement and interaction with the bass and rhythms provide

the basis for most techno, it’s also prudent to experiment by applying effects to

FIGURE 14.5

Using portamento on a

techno bass

PART 2

Dance Genres

292

the bass timbre to make it richer sounding. While most effects should be avoided

since they tend to spread the sound across the image (which destroys the stereo

perspective), small amounts of controlled distortion can help to pull the bass out

of the mix or give it a much stronger presence. Similarly, a conservatively applied

delay effect can be used to create more complex sounding rhythms.

One ﬁ nal aspect of techno is the addition of sound effects and occasionally

vocals. While the sound effects are generated by whatever means necessary,

from sampling and contorting anything with effects and EQ, the vocals very

rarely consist of anything more than a short sample. The verse and chorus

structure is most deﬁ nitely avoided and, in many cases, only very small phrases

are used which are often gleaned from the old ‘speak and spell ’ machines of

the early 1980s. This particular machine isn’t a requirement (with its increased

use in techno, the second-hand prices of these units have increased consider-

ably) and the same effect can be obtained from most vocoders so long as the

carrier consists of a saw wave and the modulator is robotically spoken.

When it comes to the arrangement of techno, it’s important to understand that it

does not follow the typical dance structure. Instead, it relies totally on the adapta-

tion and interrelationship between all the elements. This consists of dropping beats

in and out of the mix, along with the bass, vocals and sound effects (if used) but

it mostly centres on the real-time application of ﬁ lters, effects and EQ. The plan

is not to create a track that builds to a crescendo or climax but rather stay on one

constant rhythmical level that warps from one rhythmically interesting collective to

another. Indeed, its careful use of ﬁ lters and effects creates the ﬁ nal arrangement,

not the introduction of new melodic elements. The overall goal is to create the

impression that all the sounds are interweaving with one another at different stages

in the music. This helps to prevent monotony but also averts the building sensa-

tion often introduced by adding new melodic elements into the mix.

The data CD contains a full mix of a typical Techno track with narration on how it was

constructed.

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Ultimately, the purpose of this chapter has been to give some insight into the

production of techno and, as ever, there is no one deﬁ nitive way to produce the

genre. Indeed, the best way to learn new techniques and production ethics is to

actively listen to the current market leaders and experiment widely with the mix-

ing desk, effects and processors. With this in mind, what follows is a short list of

artists that, at the time of writing, are considered the most inﬂ uential in this area:

■ Derrick May

■ Juan Atkins

Techno

CHAPTER 14

293

■ Kevin Saunderson

■ Eddie Fowlkes

■ Richie Hawtin (Plastikman)

■ Carl Craig

■ Kenny Larkin

■ Stacey Pullen

■ Jeff Mills Mike Banks

■ James Pennington

■ Robert Hood

■ Blake Baxter

■ Alan Oldham