What do you think of my music?

GET A TRUMPET

Get a pirated copy of Dance Ejay 3.

Ez guys.

you needa get durty.

what i do when these moods take me is try and make something without any "rules" as such - like make a couple of noise tracks or some extreme dark drone music or something. don't have to show it to anybody, just fuck about with mad sounds and lose yourself in creating the perfect clicking noise or some shit. record a load of complete nonsense/shit at random then cut it all up, timestretch etc and try and work it all into some kind of tune. try and make an acid track using nothing but snare sounds + FX, i dunno...just do something completely out of the norm for you.

edit: here's what i think you should do, sorry if this sounds patronising but this is kind of what i'm doing at the moment too (only with different gear) and i'm well into it:

a) get your akai sampler working. it must be possible somehow...hopefully chunky (was it?) has sent you some disks or whatever it was you needed.

b) for the next week go about recording things at random with your iphone/ipod/portable recorder/tape recorder/whatevever you got. record hits, atmosphere, talking, machinery, odd noises etc

c) get all the samples on your computer, edit, add crazy effects (eg try to get a pad sound from a recording of a bus going past, that kind of thing) normalise and export to your akai.

d) limit yourself to just the akai, that new reverb unit you got and your DAW for sequencing and recording (Ableton is it?).

e) sequence your akai via midi from ableton and arrange the samples into pleasing patterns.

f) run the akai's output through the reverb unit direct (akai audio out > reverb unit > computer soundcard audio in) and whilst the patterns are playing, manually tweak the reverb and sampler unit's settings by hand. go crazy - push everything at once, turn knobs with your teeth, pull leads out and touch them onto other things , purposely overdrive the fuck out of it. don't worry if it sounds shit.

g) record all this into seperate tracks in ableton one at a time.

h) edit and arrange the recordings into a song. try and resist adding more effects in your DAW, just use it like a multitrack tape recorder and stick to what effects you get with the akai and reverb unit. if it doesn't sound pleasing straight away to you - that could very well be a good thing. but keep working at it, keep chipping away to mould what you have got to work with into something listenable.

i) repeat x 10.

i think by doing something like this the music you create will become much more personal (which is what i think is currently missing from your work); you will have made all the sounds. you will remember how you made that snare sound by hitting a metal railing with your shoe or whatever it is. it's going to mean something to you, and be an expression of you - usually this results in interesting and innovative art.

i like what some people are saying and agree that as for the whole "The Bro" thing you should either Man up to it (become "The Bro") or ditch it for something else. cause it doesn't really reflect the type of music that you're making. as for your music, you have mad skills but are making the same thing over and over again. i like it, but most people don't. funk is kinda dying. if you really like that type of music try to evolve it into something new. like how Primus did, combining funk bass with metal guitar. or make music of a completely different genre. i find that that helps a lot. what i have on soundcloud is nowhere close to how much i actually make. and ill most likely never release it. ive made music in all genres. it lets me think creatively so i don't keep making the same song over and over again.

i hope that helps you some.

i respect the watmm music makers because they at least try something i have never tried to do, even thought sometimes i wish i could make music, and so i often avoid criticizing tracks, because i don't want to be unfair.

http://soundcloud.com/thebro/the-bro-techno-visions-demo

Still i will talk about this track, because it caught my attention both in a positive and negative way. Its got a wonderful vibe to it, and shows you can handle the tools. On the other side, it belongs to the past. Glenn Underground was doing this in the 90's, and even tough its still got a good vibe to it, sounds technically outdated. So your track sounds even more outdated.

What has been said about funk is unfortunately true. I wouldn't go so far and say it is dead, but it sure is in need of being refreshed, and that's where todays producers might step into the game. Funk and footwork for example, could go well together, if correctly balanced. I guess.

Words from an ignorant music maker.

I always explore and observe history, what has been done, what has been achieved, before i mess around with my projects. An american architect called Robert Venturi once said that you only create new forms from existing ones, and never from the void.

If i were to make music, i would probably think this way too.

Good luck my bro

Take a break from music. That's the simplest answer to any of these introspective problems. Consider questions like why you even make music and what you want out of it. Or just clear your mind. It can be very freeing to not do something you love for some time.

http://soundcloud.com/thebro/the-bro-techno-visions-demo

i like this track right up until that godawful slap bass comes barging into it, knocking everything over and behaving like a cunt.

I'm going to go ahead and be a dick and say that I don't like it at all, and I think you're making music for the wrong reasons. You should just put it down for a while, or forever. Let it go and you will know when it's time to pick it back up, if ever.

saying that somebody you don't even know and have never met before is making music for all the wrong reasons is massively insanely arrogant. wtf. lol

everybody does things, including making music/tracks/noise, for different reasons. there are no wrong reasons here that i can see.

just (some) dick-ish arrogant personal opinions.

imo, probably the worst thing you could do would be force things if you're not feeling it/have lost enthusiasm at the moment.

and don't take any of the 'constructive' criticisms personally. at least you're not just copying afx or autechre.

just take a break until you're not so confused anymore. then go back to it...

simples! good luck :)

just get a fucking trumpet.

  On 8/22/2012 at 1:53 AM, sirch said:

saying that somebody you don't even know and have never met before is making music for all the wrong reasons is massively insanely arrogant. wtf. lol

Yeah, it is. But this "music" just reeks of it. Really. Sorry, I guess that makes me an arrogant prick.

  On 8/22/2012 at 1:53 AM, sirch said:

everybody does things, including making music/tracks/noise, for different reasons. there are no wrong reasons here that i can see.

just dick-ish arrogant personal opinions.

I disagree, there are wrong reasons, like attention, approval, validation, racking up followers, etc.

what about bitches & money?

  On 8/22/2012 at 1:53 AM, sirch said:

imo, probably the worst thing you could do would be force things if you're not feeling it/have lost enthusiasm at the moment.

Also I agree with this. This is what I heard in the music and this is why I think it's time to put it down for a bit. How can you make music for the right reasons (or if you don't believe in reasons, how can you make good music) if you're forcing it? Does not compute.

I feel like people who were given IDM names by their parents have an unfair advantage over every other artist. Otto Von Schirach, or Chris Clark, for example

Iain Duncan Smith?

oh wait...

god i'm drunk. sorry.

  On 8/22/2012 at 2:30 AM, ThatSpanishGuy said:

I feel like people who were given IDM names by their parents have an unfair advantage over every other artist. Otto Von Schirach, or Chris Clark, for example

Richard D James

I'm gonna try and balance out the hate storm and say your music is pretty good. it's not my favourite style or anything but I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would discern something seriously wrong about it. anyway, whenever you don't feel like your music is going places, it's probably because you aren't taking it there.

i have a feeling the internets will not help you here.

the answers are within you.

  On 8/22/2012 at 2:12 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 8/22/2012 at 1:53 AM, sirch said:

everybody does things, including making music/tracks/noise, for different reasons. there are no wrong reasons here that i can see.

just dick-ish arrogant personal opinions.

I disagree, there are wrong reasons, like attention, approval, validation, racking up followers, etc.

but those might be right reasons for some people and they might make some good music through their own reasons whatever they are. obviously some people aren't going to like their music but some will...

not everything has to break new ground or be awesome idmz for watmmerz. loads of different people are relatively successful at making all different sorts of music, innit. :) that's all i'm saying. it doesn't have to be acid or electro or idm.

totally just depends on the individual.

i would stop bothering to ask watmm what they think about everything because most people here have certain tastes, so you're not gonna get the most balanced of views. asking about gear is fine though i spose...

check out other music forums as well though. this isn't the only one in the world. :)

sirch, my complaint certainly isn't about it not fitting into a certain genre. I certainly don't only listen to WATMM-approved™ genres, and I think genres are pretty lame in general.

Hmm, judging by the responses, maybe I was being more of a dick than it seemed to me? Sorry if I was. Yeah, people (myself included) are sensitive when talking about their art, it's like hanging your junk out.

And asking what you think of it... Well, on the other hand, that question is pretty fucking vain, isn't it? What do you expect, asking that? You're sort of ostensibly asking people to be honest but in actuality you're asking them to lie and fluff your ego. I actually answered honestly and now a couple people think I'm a dick.

You don't need to ask other people what they think. When you make something good you just know. But just because you like it, doesn't mean others will.

If you want to make music that appeals to other people you're going to have to choose a popular musical style and make sure you satisfy the demands of that style's fan base.

For example. Let's say I decided tomorrow I wanted to be a reasonably well known and respected musician. Since I produce all sorts of weird and wonderful styles I would first of all need to choose a genre. Let's go with Minimal Techno.

I would now need to get involved in the scene, going to minimal events, listening to minimal DJ sets.

I'd need to visit minimal forums and websites.

I'd need to track the most popular minimal songs on beatport and other download sites.

I'd need to read loads of tutorials on how to produce minimal sounds.

I'd need to spend hours and hours recreating common minimal sounds and arrangements by ear.

I'd then need to produce my own tracks to very high standards (the listener's high standards).

I'd need good quality equipment to monitor correctly, or to visit an engineer for the mixdown.

I'd need to take the tracks along to minimal DJs to get feedback from them. Same for minimal labels. If they don't like it, I should be genuinely surprised because I really felt I nailed the minimal sound and produced something unique.

All this takes A LOT of time. But if I do all of the above, putting in a significant amount of time an effort, I stand a reasonable chance of getting at least a couple of tracks played out by DJs at big events.

"But if it's that easy why are so many producers struggling to get recognition?" Because:

They are lazy. - They know the hi-hat is shit but can't be bothered eqing it or searching for a new one.

They are too easily distracted. - They come across a nice trancey pad and write a chord progression with it, killing the minimal vibe and steering the track off course.

They make music for themselves instead of for the listener. - A synth sound reminds them of some obscure techno track from back in the day, so they use it. Ignorant to the fact that it just wouldn't work in a current minimal set.

They are unorganised. - Poor knowledge of the tools, music theory, bad monitoring environment etc.

Yep, once you make the decision that you want to produce for others you need to seriously start looking at these things. I could definitely see it being worthwhile and satisfying if you feel passionately enough about a specific genre. At the same time, it's always nice to just have a mess around and just self indulge

http://soundcloud.com/nzt-soundcloud/sid

So where did The Bro go?

I make music because I love making music. I'm not sure what this I'm making music for the wrong reasons crap is about. Yeah I'd like it to be successful but take it from me I make the music I want to hear or try to. And yeah I want it to be successful - shit who doesn't?