Final Mixdown + Self Evaluation

Final Mixdown 320 MP3 Download Link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/icxa73pmgyhxjp8/Gary%20Frost%20-%20Producer%20Remix.mp3

[24bit, 48KHz WAV file to be handed in with presentation]


Self Evaluation:

When choosing the audio, I wanted to work with a sample that could be tweaked many different ways yet I wanted the soul of the track was kept. My main area of study during this assignment was researching the production techniques, theory behind remixing released material and general methods of producing a track in the style of Joker. What I felt helped most was experiencing Joker in a live environment of a nightclub in the past various times. This gave me an insight of what elements should be present within creating the remix in the style of Joker.

My reference song was Turboweekend - Trouble is (Joker Remix)as I felt it had the same sort of vibe regarding the vocals. Trying to add drive to the track the main element I tried to focus on was creating a thick pulsing lead which would dominate the track when in action. Joker uses synth sounds usually with the characteristics of multi layered oscillators slightly out of tune with each other. I used the Malstrom in Reason to achieve the same kind of sound as it caters for wave types with vast harmonic content. Along with getting the main sounds right I felt getting background and other melodies present but not so forefront in the mix, I felt this added many layers and textures to the sound spectrum present. Regarding the rhythm of the track I applied shuffle to the drums to give a Skippy element to the track, this is a typical characteristic of how Joker programmes his drums. I felt adding shuffle to the drums in my remix really enhanced the production technique I was striving for.

Arranging the track was the most challenging aspect of remixing the selected audio as I wanted to incorporate breakdowns and bridges leading up to the main verses of the song. When listening to my reference track I felt my arrangement should run in a similar fashion. Creating breakdowns, intros and bridges throughout the remix has added intensity to the verses that follow making the song exciting as it goes on. I feel that research on the selected producer has broadened my knowledge on his particular techniques and has gave me a lot of scope to explain his methods in my presentation. By taking the time out after finishing the remix to listen and analyse the mix with a reference track really helped me understand how should be dynamically put together. I aimed to mix the drums forward in the mix containing little fx whilst the main lead runs over the top of the track with its high end characteristics. The sub I made was intended to almost lie underneath the track creating a thick base where the other elements would sit on top, as the main element in Dubstep is the bass.

I am confident in creating a similar sound in the future and feel I have gained knowledge on how to incorporate other production techniques into my work.

Taking the time out to listen to the mix

iv recently finished my remix however i felt unhappy with the mix in some areas so over the course of tonight and tommorow i will be analysing the areas of my remix i really want to stand out. Iv been listening to joker tracks constantly over the course of this project and feel confident i can get that end result.

Finishing Touches

Just adding the finishing touches to the remix along with sorting out muy arrangement/mix. when iv finished mixing down and i go to export i intend to put a limiter on the stereo bus just to boost the volume a sligh notch. if i was to get the remix mastered i would have to take the limiter off.

The next post will be my evaluation and a download link with my final mix.

Joker interview

Iv just found this interview of Joker & his mc Nomad talking about 'the purple sound' found this quiet funny and interesting

Further research on Joker production techniques

As i am progressing with the remix i felt that it would be useful to look at more joker tracks (mainly remixes) for inspiration on varrying the sound of my mix. iv been looking at the following tracks:

Sub Focus - Could This Be Real (Joker Remix)
Adam Freeland - Do You (Joker remix)
The Heavy - How You Like Me Now (Joker Remix)

This has helped because i plan to make a breadown with a different style of bass/notation.

MP3 of track so far

DOWNLOAD LINK:- http://www.sendspace.com/file/awmfuo

above is a download link of a 320 MP3 of the track so far. As i am more than half way through the next audio i will post will be my final mixdown.

Arrangement

Last night i spent the majority of the evening working on my remix. Id say that im 75% finished and have added the main elements of the song. i intend to make the track around five minutes long this incorporating breakdowns and an outro. sticking to the joker them im going to try and find smaples that i can put through the whole track for transitional purposes (getting from 16-16 bars). so i can keep tabs on what part of the song is what i plan to colour code the blocks im working with.

Drums

Just mapped my drums into the project via the Redrum. Iv mainly used heavy sounding drums to give that 'joker' feel to the track i also added some swing to give the drums a more natural sound.i plan to vary the drum pattern throughout the track to give variation to the arrangement.

Progression Of Remix

Iv been adding transition fx to my remix to build up teh intensity when the song drops into the first verse. iv recently been studying joker tracks for tips on arrangement. iv been listening to the following songs for ideas:

Joker - My Trance Girl
Turboweekend - Trouble is (Joker Remix)

whilst building the intro i started to make a synth main bassline using the malstrom and starting from an initializes patch. To almost mimic the 'typical' joker bassline i mainly stuck creating square and saw tooth sounds to get that gritty/grainy sound also incorperating pitch bends into my melodies. im happy with the way it sounding so far and dont think it will be very long until iv finished.

Starting the remix

I acquired the audio from confetti on Friday which gave me the weekend to check it out and see what I could do with it. As I am using Reason to create my remix I imported the selected audio files into Recycle so i cud import them through the 'Dr octorex player' as of now i have created the intro to my track along with a build up to the drop.

Producer Profile: Joker

Liam Mclean aka ‘Joker’ is a 22 year old Dubstep producer from Bristol. He is the owner of the label ‘Kapsize Records’ which includes releases from artists such as L-wiz, Rustie and Ginz. At the age of 18, Joker released ‘The Kapsize EP’ which came out on ‘Earwax’, a label run by one of Dubsteps pioneers ‘Pinch’. This clearly signifies that at a young age Joker was making records which were of a high standard. Throughout the years Joker has had releases on a range of labels from ‘Terrorrythm records’ to ‘Hyper dub’ but mainly through Bristol based labels such as: ‘H.E.N.C.H’, ‘Soul Motive’ & ‘Tectonic’.

Being known as an extremely versatile producer, Joker has covered remixes from Mainstream artists such as: Professor Green, Simian Mobile Disco and Turbo weekend (Danish rock band). Although Joker is considered to be a Dubstep producer, his sound tends to contrast from the typical dark and moody side of Dubstep and swings towards the high end almost uplifting aspect. Joker’s musical interests include Jungle, RnB, Hip Hop, Funk and soul which are demonstrated in his own songs.

Purple? “Purple is a colour,” states Joker mock seriously. “Purple is blue and red, so I mix blue and red to make purple. But really, my music is like Sega Mega Drive meets R&B meets grime with a little bit of Dubstep thrown in and a funk twist.”
Source: (http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/news/joker-is-quite-a-card.html)

Outlined by this quote Joker refers to his own music as ‘Purple sound’ as it is said that this is the colour he sees when listening or creating his music. This perception of ‘Purple sound’ is also practiced by other Bristol-based producers such as ‘Gemmy’ & ‘Guido’. Though ‘Purple sound’ is not an actual genre; the main basis of the meaning comes down to the synthesizers and sounds produced. Every Joker song has a signature bassline or sound whilst the rest of the components run freely throughout the record. Production techniques include: 808/909 like drum kits, Legato basslines which are usually pitch bent, RnB/ Soulful melodies, heavy sub sections,1/16 arpeggio sections and syncopated drums usually with shuffle applied. Joker uses a range of methods to produce music, mainly using a combination of Reason & Logic to sequence his work; he also relies on hardware (outboard fx/proccesors + synths) to give it that studio sound which a lot of producers aspire to achieve.

Joker is iconic to the Dubstep genre because of his original and unique approach to creating music. Whilst a lot of producers within the genre were looking upon big names for inspiration, Joker took what his musical interests were and crafted a truly unique sound greatly valued by Dubstep fans around the world.