Electronic music that you might like -- Lighthead's Soundcloud.

[Lighthead]

Here's some music that you might appreciate. I'm not really looking for any tangible benefits to result from hearing it, I just want people to hear my music.

The older stuff is more similar to Drum and bass, but the newer stuff sounds a lot like Techno. The really old stuff is the stuff that sounds a little bit more on the cheesy side. I made the older stuff with a basic music maker. But the new stuff is what I'm really proud of. I made that with a certain Native Instruments product (Reaktor 5). The process involved in making the last songs was really intuitive (not really linear at all). It's a really visual process (the specific program within Reaktor 5 is called, Newscool).

I just want to emphasize that I feel that the quality is more concentrated in the songs at the top of the page, and increasingly less so towards the bottom. I've had the strange experience that I get really excited about the last song that I just created, and for some reason people are mostly hearing and liking the one right before that. I guess, as long as they like any of it.

So, anyway, here's my music. I hope you like it:

The There -- Soundcloud

[tamaryn]

Awesome! What working environment are you using? And do you have any experience with NI Massive?

[Lighthead]

Awesome! What working environment are you using? And do you have any experience with NI Massive?

Wow, thanks! I just pretty much use the demo version of Reaktor. I found out that you could record with the demo version. I'm pretty poor right now, so I can only afford to use freeware. I appreciate the enthusiasm, though.   I have never used Massive, but I really wish I could afford it, though. I saw a Youtube video that was demonstrating the uses of it.

[seven]

Hmm I really like the sound you produce. Space is my favorite - those blips and chirps sounds like they come from a Buchla haha. Very intresting how the track evolves. Keep up the good work.

[Lighthead]

Hmm I really like the sound you produce. Space is my favorite - those blips and chirps sounds like they come from a Buchla haha. Very intresting how the track evolves. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! A lot of people seem to really like Space. I like how it makes you think it's only Techno at first, and then like towards the middle it turns into Drum and bass... and then sort of ends with Techno. I think that Space is the first song where I could say I really knew what I was doing with Reaktor. I educated myself with some Youtube videos, and then attempted Space. To make a track with Reaktor that sounds polished takes a little work. You have to know what each element really does.

The two songs before Magnifying glass were done with Mulab. I like Mulab, but it has its limitations (especially the demo version). First of all, to force you to buy the real version they make it so that if you put down more than one track, it makes a hissing sound. At first, I was like, where is that damn sound coming from! And then, I saw on the website where it says that the demo version has that built into it. The other thing I don't like that much about Mulab is that you have to structure your songs with Mulab, and that doesn't really allow you to record anything in real-time. And that's what I like about Newscool in Reaktor. It almost makes you feel more like a DJ than somebody who's taking way too much time trying to put tracks together. The stuff done with Mulab was very minimal because of those enforced limitations. It took way too much time to have to work 50% of your time in Mulab and 50% of your time in Audacity. With Reaktor, I could do 95% of the work in Reaktor (in real-time; I just had to set the template before I started to record and play with it), and then spend 5% of the time just mixing and rendering in Audacity, if that much.

I've been procrastinating for the longest time with another track that I'm doing with another part of Reaktor (not Newscool). The reason I've been procrastinating with it is because I need a good microphone, and I don't really have any microphone. There's also another thing that feels like an obstacle. I hope I can do it eventually.

[AnthroHeart]

How does Reaktor compare to Reason?

[Lighthead]

How does Reaktor compare to Reason?

To be honest, I haven't used Reason. You have to shill out some serious coins for that. Reason is one of the first music makers that I heard about. I would imagine that Reason is pretty competitive. But I don't know, I have a great respect for Native Instruments's products (Reaktor comes from Native Instruments). But Reason seems to have everything built into it too (including analog sounding machines). I'd say they're both good. Reaktor is just one small part of the Native Instruments package. If you had the money to throw away, I would say that you couldn't go wrong in building a Native Instruments powered studio.

[Lighthead]

Space is my favorite - those blips and chirps sounds like they come from a Buchla haha.

I would say that the reason is has that real, genuine techno sound like that is because Newscool was designed by Robert Babicz (Rob Acid). Babicz is a Techno pioneer.

[seven]

Hmm I really like the sound you produce. Space is my favorite - those blips and chirps sounds like they come from a Buchla haha. Very intresting how the track evolves. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! A lot of people seem to really like Space. I like how it makes you think it's only Techno at first, and then like towards the middle it turns into Drum and bass... and then sort of ends with Techno. I think that Space is the first song where I could say I really knew what I was doing with Reaktor. I educated myself with some Youtube videos, and then attempted Space. To make a track with Reaktor that sounds polished takes a little work. You have to know what each element really does.

The two songs before Magnifying glass were done with Mulab. I like Mulab, but it has its limitations (especially the demo version). First of all, to force you to buy the real version they make it so that if you put down more than one track, it makes a hissing sound. At first, I was like, where is that damn sound coming from! And then, I saw on the website where it says that the demo version has that built into it. The other thing I don't like that much about Mulab is that you have to structure your songs with Mulab, and that doesn't really allow you to record anything in real-time. And that's what I like about Newscool in Reaktor. It almost makes you feel more like a DJ than somebody who's taking way too much time trying to put tracks together. The stuff done with Mulab was very minimal because of those enforced limitations. It took way too much time to have to work 50% of your time in Mulab and 50% of your time in Audacity. With Reaktor, I could do 95% of the work in Reaktor (in real-time; I just had to set the template before I started to record and play with it), and then spend 5% of the time just mixing and rendering in Audacity, if that much.

I've been procrastinating for the longest time with another track that I'm doing with another part of Reaktor (not Newscool). The reason I've been procrastinating with it is because I need a good microphone, and I don't really have any microphone. There's also another thing that feels like an obstacle. I hope I can do it eventually.

Cool. I need to check out Reaktor, I really like the sound it generates. I'm producing in ableton live and it looks like you can use it as a standard plug-in.

Yeah I know what you mean with real-time recording, that's where it's at! I always try to do my things as real time as I can. I do polishing, rearrangement and mastering afterwards – playing has to be at least half of the game, or I lose my interest. You should check out TM404, I think you could like some things he puts out.

[Lighthead]

Cool. I need to check out Reaktor, I really like the sound it generates. I'm producing in ableton live and it looks like you can use it as a standard plug-in.

Yeah I know what you mean with real-time recording, that's where it's at! I always try to do my things as real time as I can. I do polishing, rearrangement and mastering afterwards – playing has to be at least half of the game, or I lose my interest. You should check out TM404, I think you could like some things he puts out.

Oh, wow. I didn't know I could use that as a plug-in. Yeah, real-time is definitely where it's at. We're both seeing eye to eye on that. It gets sort of boring and tedious (mostly tedious) if it's not done in real-time.

Yeah, I'll definitely check them out. Are they on Soundcloud?

Edit: I can see why you pointed out TM404...

[Lighthead]

seven, your track, Face of Truth sounds like a mix of Future garage and vaporwave. That's my favorite one so far. You're pretty talented. I replied, to your comment above.

[seven]

This is one of my favorite sets with him (this is in a constellation they call Kondens): https://soundcloud.com/tilliander/konden...2014-11-08

Oh thanks I'm not that talented when it comes to music, but I really understand how synthesizers work and all that, you can probably relate. For a long time I was more interested in the actual sounds rather than harmonics and the whole classic "music theory". Face of Truth is from a later project of mine that leans into beats/hiphop/trip-hop etc, but I have older projects such as https://soundcloud.com/zodiak-minds (skip down to 'Together' and below) which is more techno/progressive inspired stuff, a lot of colabs with friends, this one is a favorite: https://soundcloud.com/zodiak-minds/the-...ic-process. It's mostly done with analog gear.

[Lighthead]

This is one of my favorite sets with him (this is in a constellation they call Kondens): https://soundcloud.com/tilliander/konden...2014-11-08

Wow, I'm really digging this set. It sounds kind of tribal so far. Especially the first set. I hear an industrial influence. I'll definitely take a listen to your other Soundcloud project. I'm curious as to what he uses.

[Lighthead]

[. . .]but I have older projects such as https://soundcloud.com/zodiak-minds (skip down to 'Together' and below) which is more techno/progressive inspired stuff, a lot of colabs with friends, this one is a favorite: https://soundcloud.com/zodiak-minds/the-...ic-process. It's mostly done with analog gear.

I really like that track too. I'm going to step out right now, but I'll check out the rest of your stuff soon.

[seven]

This is one of my favorite sets with him (this is in a constellation they call Kondens): https://soundcloud.com/tilliander/konden...2014-11-08

Wow, I'm really digging this set. It sounds kind of tribal so far. Especially the first set. I hear an industrial influence. I'll definitely take a listen to your other Soundcloud project. I'm curious as to what he uses.

Ah yeah. I've seen him live and I know he used some Elektron devices. I know he uses one or two machinedrums

Listening to Unbroken Steps once again, it's great too, it also got this tribal feel to it. I love it around 12:00 when you get a coat put over you, but the percussions keeps glittering.
How are you triggering the drums in "Do you dare?"? Like how is it arranged? I really dig the experimental feel to it.

[Lighthead]

Listening to Unbroken Steps once again, it's great too, it also got this tribal feel to it. I love it around 12:00 when you get a coat put over you, but the percussions keeps glittering.

Yeah, thanks. I really like that song. That's my favorite song so far and I'm really proud of it. The weird thing is that while I'm making it, I don't seem to hear all those nuances that I hear later. When I took a second listen I was really surprised at the quality (I give it all to Reaktor). My two favorite parts are the transition at around 6:45, and the sort of Buddhist monk, chant sounds on top of the drums at around 9:36-ish. And there are a lot of little parts that I like (like the intro, etcetera). That one so far is really my favorite.

How are you triggering the drums in "Do you dare?"? Like how is it arranged? I really dig the experimental feel to it.

It was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure that the drums are Mulab's version of a TR-909. I can't remember if I reworked them. I might've. And I just put it all together with the "space bass" in Audacity (the space bass was from Mulab, not Audacity). You're probably one of the few persons that like it! Haha. It gets some of the fewest listens. I personally do like it. I think that a lot of people don't go down that far for whatever reason. The spacey "bass" was really loud, I thought it was going to overpower the drums. But it came out real nicely. I kept on adjusting the volume at different times, so that it didn't sound monotone. The space bass is something that I pretty much completely reworked, and saved as a different instrument. To me, the whole song sounds like a really old-school version of drum and bass. It sounds like if Drum and bass was made in the 80s! Haha. By like a really far underground group. I think that the key with using software like Mulab is to be really meticulous, even when you're mixing it in Audacity. Because it kept on not sounding right to me. But then, when I put it all together, I just let it go and it sounded just right.

But, to be honest, the minimal sound is really because of the limitations of using a demo version of Mulab. If I wanted to put all of these layers on it, it probably would've taken me at least a month for just one track. That's what somebody didn't understand that I sort of became friends with on Soundcloud. He was kind of chewing me out for not putting the drums together with the bass on We regret. But it's really hard when you're using a free version of a software. On the one hand, I appreciate how hard he pushed me to make my music better, because right after that is when I did Do you dare?

I was going to say something else, but I completely forgot. I write too much...

[AnthroHeart]

How can someone not like your music if they don't listen to it?
I haven't listened to it yet.

[AnthroHeart]

You ever use Cool Edit Pro? I admit I used a cracked version of it. But it was neat as it did brainwave sounds too.

[Lighthead]

How can someone not like your music if they don't listen to it?
I haven't listened to it yet.

That's true too. But I notice that when people really like something, they tend to try to hear it over and over again. I must have heard my last song, Unbroken Steps, so many times.

[AnthroHeart]

Did you do Unbroken Steps in realtime?

[Lighthead]

Did you do Unbroken Steps in realtime?

I did it in real-time. Did you hear it?

[AnthroHeart]

What do you think of this? One of my favorite instrumentals.
It's Red XIII's theme.

[AnthroHeart]

Did you do Unbroken Steps in realtime?

I did it in real-time. Did you hear it?

At the beginning it sounds insectoid.
When I think of unbroken steps I think of the steps of Light we will walk at harvest.

[AnthroHeart]

My very favorite instrumental though is This Land from The Lion King.

I love the flute. You should do some with a flute. Make it sound native.

Look into Deep Forest.

[Lighthead]

Did you do Unbroken Steps in realtime?

I did it in real-time. Did you hear it?

At the beginning it sounds insectoid.
When I think of unbroken steps I think of the steps of Light we will walk at harvest.

That's sort of what I think about too, to be honest. Thanks for the listen!

[Lighthead]

My very favorite instrumental though is This Land from The Lion King.

I love the flute. You should do some with a flute. Make it sound native.

Look into Deep Forest.

I've heard a lot of good electronic music done with flutes. I'll give it a try sometime. I would like to have my own studio when that time comes.

[AnthroHeart]

This is another instrumental that I like.

[AnthroHeart]

I've heard a lot of good electronic music done with flutes. I'll give it a try sometime. I would like to have my own studio when that time comes.

I know a guy who has a studio in his home:

http://www.salmonpeak.com/

[Lighthead]

I've heard a lot of good electronic music done with flutes. I'll give it a try sometime. I would like to have my own studio when that time comes.

I know a guy who has a studio in his home:

http://www.salmonpeak.com/

It looks pretty cool. Yeah, I'd definitely like to have something like that. If I wanted to have it professionally done, I would probably have to have somebody do it for me, though. I'd also need a good amount of lettuce (money).

[AnthroHeart]

Yeah, I wanted to create an audio version of my book, but I just don't have the money.
You have to use audio FX in the audio book too.