How does one achieve originality while not just being compared to influences

Can't trying to be someone else be part of oneself?

  On 10/12/2016 at 10:51 PM, Braintree said:

I played a gig about five years ago where a guy came up to me after my set and told me that my music was too ahead of its time and also that it "sounded like the 90s." I couldn't tell if he was calling me original or derivative.

 

 

Hi miim, just checked out your stuff. Some nice beats and sounds. Don't worry about sounding original and just have fun creating, is what I would say. We can't decide how people are going to judge our work so it's a waste of time worrying about it. But we have practically limitless control over how to put sounds together. That means you can ignore most of what your annoyingly talented peers are doing and set your own limitations, like getting really good with an Amen break or Scarborough Fair on the harp, for instance. I like to imagine myself trapped on a desert island with nothing but coconut shells and a dictaphone. After one year, you could bet I'd have (probably) the most original pantomime horse routine ever recorded.

  On 10/12/2016 at 10:51 PM, Braintree said:

I played a gig about five years ago where a guy came up to me after my set and told me that my music was too ahead of its time and also that it "sounded like the 90s." I couldn't tell if he was calling me original or derivative.

 

never play gigs. 

  On 10/13/2016 at 12:06 AM, purlieu said:

In general I'd side with most people saying be yourself, enjoy what you do, and some element of originality will come through - and even if not, as long as you're enjoying it, who cares?

 

That said, if you're still after tips, mine would be: try doing something you've never done before, without any tutorials and without directly copying something. A piece of software or hardware that you've no idea how to use, a genre you've never tried out before and don't know how to make.

I've released quite a bit of music over the years, and although I think the bulk of my albums carry a thread of identity through them, they all have obvious reference points on a song-by-song basis. Except my debut. I made that in Fruityloops 3. A friend had given me a copy and a 30 minute tutorial in making eurotrance, and I worked upwards from there. I knew nothing at all about synths, so it's almost entirely structured from single shot samples of whatever I could find. From this I attempted to make an ambient/soundscape record like FSOL's Lifeforms. And despite structural similarities, the final thing sounds nothing like it - or, indeed, any other record I've ever heard. I dunno, there might actually be other music out there that sounds like it, but it'll always be my favourite of my own works, despite its huge technical faults, because it's the purest, most distilled sound of 'me' I've ever made. I pretty much found my own way around the software, and tried to make a style of music I had absolutely no idea how to make, and thus despite conceptual influences, there was no real way other music could have particularly reared its head in the overall sound of it.

The more knowledge I've gained about music production, the easier I've found it to emulate things I like, and so a certain edge of originality has been lost. My last release was a bunch of longform acid jams, unashamedly unoriginal. I don't mind really, I like having fun playing with genres these days. But looking back, I can completely identify the fact that I had no idea what I was doing as the main reason my first album sounded so different.

 

Which album is that?

I think it's more important to do what is exciting and interesting than trying to be "original". Just get rid of any limitations of "how certain types of music should be made.

I just recently tried doing music in a different way but I got nothing done. It wasn't interesting or fun in any way. So after struggling long enough I just thought "fuck it" and went back to my old ways and had a ton of fun. Sounding original is prolly just something that comes naturally when you're comfortable enough with doing what you do.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Thiefinger

I just try to remember that every single one of us is standing on the shoulders of giants. It'd be pretty difficult to create anything 100% original, especially given the "rules" that music should/shouldn't follow. In my opinion it's better to learn from said giants and use that knowledge to create what YOU like. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try new things, be creative and do whatever makes you happy! Just remember that nobody is their own giant.

It cant be 100% original cause it wouldnt be consumable. Neither kant, neither beethoven, neither ae nor kubrick were 100% 'new'. Not even tesla.

maybe its not about being original more about being compared to other people, that's the way journalism works i know but you can't simply put music out and it be valued on its own merits. Like when warp started putting out things other than electronic music it caused a backlash but in reality it worked for them at the time as it opened up more opportunity for them to release different music.

  On 10/13/2016 at 9:24 AM, hello spiral said:

 

Which album is that?

 

 

This one. It's a bit naive and fairly badly mixed, but idea-wise I certainly don't have anything in my collection that sounds like it (be interested to hear anything that does!)

  On 10/12/2016 at 3:13 AM, Brisbot said:

 

  Quote

 

 

This. trust yoself, listen your intuition, go for the goosebumps

pfft. PFFFFFT.... PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!

 

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 3:16 PM, miim said:

maybe its not about being original more about being compared to other people, that's the way journalism works i know but you can't simply put music out and it be valued on its own merits. Like when warp started putting out things other than electronic music it caused a backlash but in reality it worked for them at the time as it opened up more opportunity for them to release different music.

Don't waste any of your time thinking about journalists...let alone imaginary ones.

  On 10/14/2016 at 10:36 PM, Brian Dance said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 3:16 PM, miim said:

maybe its not about being original more about being compared to other people, that's the way journalism works i know but you can't simply put music out and it be valued on its own merits. Like when warp started putting out things other than electronic music it caused a backlash but in reality it worked for them at the time as it opened up more opportunity for them to release different music.

Don't waste any of your time thinking about journalists...let alone imaginary ones.

 

I was talking generally not just about my output, as much as we would like to think it doesn't matter journo's make or break an artist sometimes. I can think of a few artists that are mediocre at best and yet get praised by the media for being amazing and cutting edge blah blah blah when in reality they're just biting other artists style.

  On 10/13/2016 at 6:57 PM, purlieu said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 9:24 AM, hello spiral said:

 

Which album is that?

 

 

This one. It's a bit naive and fairly badly mixed, but idea-wise I certainly don't have anything in my collection that sounds like it (be interested to hear anything that does!)

 

 

ty

  On 10/17/2016 at 1:18 PM, hello spiral said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 6:57 PM, purlieu said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 9:24 AM, hello spiral said:

 

 

 

Which album is that?

 

This one. It's a bit naive and fairly badly mixed, but idea-wise I certainly don't have anything in my collection that sounds like it (be interested to hear anything that does!)

ty

Listened to this on my commute this morning. Very nice album ty

don't sweat it too much or you'll just cramp up artistically and never finish anything, at least from my experience. and trial and error is absolutely vital in "finding yourself".

 

i believe about 90% of everything "innovative" in culture is some kind of amalgamation of external styles through a personal filter which you couldn't avoid even if you tried to. i don't think 100% emulation of art is even possible if you're not literally using the exact same pallette, arrangements etc... i'd even bet alot of cool stuff emerged from merely the fact someone "failed" at imitating something else. i mean if you check ae's radio broadcasts you can hear even they wear their influences right on their sleeves, it's all just mangled in a very idiosyncratic way. like peter saville said in some interview somewhere "the only thing that hasn't been there before is yourself" ... so yeah.

 

on the other hand i mean sure you can force yourself and puzzle out certain techniques and stategies to avoid established patterns and there is a certain probability suff will turn out unheared of but that doesn't mean it can't be rather shit either, y'know, like an album consisting completely of fart samples or something. innovation is not the end-all of things. that pretty much only works in academia but only assuming you're also creative at theoretically justifying your shit for people to aquire the appropriate taste. but that's another discipline i guess... um yeah where was i just do you stuff, like, whatevs mang.

 

that being said...

 

  On 10/11/2016 at 6:20 PM, hoggy said:

But you know, I haven't made any music that I can really say I'm totally happy with , so you probably shouldn't listen to me

Edited October 21, 2016 by jaderpansen

HA! The title of this thread suddenly reminded me of one of the best opening monologues ever:

 

"Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier, my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked. There's something wrong. A bump. The dentist called again. I'm way overdue. If I stop putting things off, I would be happier. All I do is sit on my fat ass. If my ass wasn't fat I would be happier. I wouldn't have to wear these shirts with the tails out all the time. Like that's fooling anyone. Fat ass. I should start jogging again. Five miles a day. Really do it this time. Maybe rock climbing. I need to turn my life around. What do I need to do? I need to fall in love. I need to have a girlfriend. I need to read more, improve myself. What if I learned Russian or something? Or took up an instrument? I could speak Chinese. I'd be the screenwriter who speaks Chinese and plays the oboe. That would be cool. I should get my hair cut short. Stop trying to fool myself and everyone else into thinking I have a full head of hair. How pathetic is that? Just be real. Confident. Isn't that what women are attracted to? Men don't have to be attractive. But that's not true. Especially these days. Almost as much pressure on men as there is on women these days. Why should I be made to feel I have to apologize for my existence? Maybe it's my brain chemistry. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. Bad chemistry. All my problems and anxiety can be reduced to a chemical imbalance or some kind of misfiring synapses. I need to get help for that. But I'll still be ugly though. Nothing's gonna change that."-

- Charlie Kaufman

"You have to play a long time to sound like yourself." - Miles Davis

  On 10/21/2016 at 9:03 AM, hello spiral said:

 

  On 10/17/2016 at 1:18 PM, hello spiral said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 6:57 PM, purlieu said:

 

  On 10/13/2016 at 9:24 AM, hello spiral said:

 

 

Which album is that?

This one. It's a bit naive and fairly badly mixed, but idea-wise I certainly don't have anything in my collection that sounds like it (be interested to hear anything that does!)

ty

Listened to this on my commute this morning. Very nice album ty

 

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed :)

Labels are useful for browsing at a record shop, but that's about all they're good for

Mostly they just prejudice us

Imo there is not 2 artist that sounds exactly the same.

Some are of course more original or have a more distinctive sound but i have not found 2 artists that have EXACTLY the same sound.

There is always idiosyncrasies,big or small differences that distinguishes musicians from each others.

 

So i think in fact its almost impossible to be completely unoriginal as much as it is to be completely original.

 

Every human is unique and every artist is unique.

  On 10/26/2016 at 2:16 PM, fxbip said:

Imo there is not 2 artist that sounds exactly the same.

Some are of course more original or have a more distinctive sound but i have not found 2 artists that have EXACTLY the same sound.

There is always idiosyncrasies,big or small differences that distinguishes musicians from each others.

 

So i think in fact its almost impossible to be completely unoriginal as much as it is to be completely original.

 

Every human is unique and every artist is unique.

 

You hit the nail on the head. Also, for someone to be seen as completely original.. they'd have to grow up in a bubble where they never heard anyone else's music. Every artist has artists they like growing up, or even after they get success.. and pieces of those artists will always be in their sound.

 

weakmassive made a good point on this:

"You see this piece of advice given to music producers a lot- "do something original. Do something different" but I'm not sure I 100% agree with that. I think "be yourself" is maybe better. Many times even if you are trying to copy something it comes out sounding different because you put your own spin on it even if you're not aware. At this point I just want to keep interested in what I'm doing and if I get bored I move on."

Edited October 28, 2016 by clevreuse

For me it's all about associations I get when listening. A certain guitar riff, or synth melody, or bass sound, or snare drum sound can evoke a certain association, and if the association is too close to something (like say a certain triphop track, or the triphop vibe), then it instantly sticks out and my brain goes in that direction. So to be original you need to create new associations in the sounds, tones, rhythms and structure that evoke something new. The great tracks can use all the old tricks but due to a great chord or sound it will get its own 'identity' and thus be more original. A lot of ambient tracks can do this for example. There's a gazillion ambient pieces out there yet a powerful chord with the right sound can feel like an all new thing. So surprises are a big deal I guess. (it's still subjective though, so someone else will not have the same reaction, but some genres and sounds are _extremely_ prevelant in pop culture etc) Practically speaking this could mean using less samples or modifying the samples more, or using synths and no presets, as you instantly custom make something, and those experiments can lead you to things you couldn't conceive of in advance. I feel like you're several times going to have new goals, then strive to achieve those goals, and then you 'abandon' those goals, in a kind of loop. Like I've had a goal since like 2002 of wanting to make a really complex symphonic / orchestral thing (like at 8 mins long), and it's _still_ too hard to do it the way I want it, and I'm not sure I ever will be able to, but that's how I kind of look at it. 

Edited October 26, 2016 by coax

  On 10/26/2016 at 5:20 PM, clevreuse said:

 

  On 10/26/2016 at 2:16 PM, fxbip said:

Imo there is not 2 artist that sounds exactly the same.

Some are of course more original or have a more distinctive sound but i have not found 2 artists that have EXACTLY the same sound.

There is always idiosyncrasies,big or small differences that distinguishes musicians from each others.

 

So i think in fact its almost impossible to be completely unoriginal as much as it is to be completely original.

 

Every human is unique and every artist is unique.

 

You hit the nail on the head. Also, for someone to be seen as completely original, they'd have to grow up in a bubble where they never heard anyone else's music. Every artist has artists they like growing up, or even after they get success.. and pieces of those artists will always be in their sound.

 

weakmassive made a good point on this:

"You see this piece of advice given to music producers a lot- "do something original. Do something different" but I'm not sure I 100% agree with that. I think "be yourself" is maybe better. Many times even if you are trying to copy something it comes out sounding different because you put your own spin on it even if you're not aware. At this point I just want to keep interested in what I'm doing and if I get bored I move on."

 

Be yourself exactly.In the Ask Autechre Anything thread if i remember well thats pretty much what they recommended.Just do what the fuck you want.