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Hi there, hope you're all feeling groovy.
Well we have talked about the basics of making music: the arrangement, choosing the right sounds, the equipment (although I am biased to pioneer when it comes to DJ' ing) the mix, studio setup etc... maybe it helped you, maybe it didn't. There are a thousand magazines and websites and places to go to get more info. For example Electronic Musician, Sound On Sound, EQ, Mix Magazine, are greats among a number of publications. Or if you want just want a good laugh I love "geekologie" (nothing to do with music but great for geeks). As far as websites I like: futureproducers.com is a great community for upcoming and crackin producers, acapellas4u if you need vocals to practice with/remix (don't forget you need to obtain a license if your thinking of releasing/selling anything with these vocals), or freesound.org is a great website for license free samples.
So, what's next? well once you feel your music is ready there are a few options available to you, but, before you put yourself "out there" for the world to see and hear lets talk about presentation. I can't tell you enough how sad it is the amount of music that goes unlistened to that I receive simply because it comes with a "smiley face" and no contact info. What are we, five? Presentation is everything and if it's done right, you will be taken seriously.
Make sure you print a label on your CD with all the relevant contact info. Pictures of yourself on the CD are a bad idea (I'm not kidding, I get those too) unless of course you look like Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Ryan Reynolds... ok you get the picture! A note (preferably typed on a letterhead) with a BRIEF explanation of who you are (this is why a small bio is a good idea) and why you think this label is right for your music. That's right, you have to think about where you feel your music fits... no good sending drum and bass to a house label like Subliminal or Impropa Talent, when you know it needs to go to Propa Talent! lol... Don't spend all your time gushing how great you think the label/DJ is, be professional at all times, after all, we are all the same, no one is god here and we are not saving lives, so polite and directly to the point is the way to go.
Lastly if you get no response, do follow up as many DJ's/labels need a gentle "prod" mainly because they are busy. I always try to give feedback whether I like the track or not, some don't bother and I am sorry as I think it would really help out the newblood. If you get no love at all, don't keep at them. Why would you want to be on a label that doesn't give a shit anyway?
Hope some of you find this useful, it certainly helped me. And yes, I have sent a "smiley" cd out when I was a young raver myself, so I can say whatever I damn well like! lol.
luv and bass DJ RAP-by the way, all the people on my mailing list get free tracks on the first of every month as well as goodies in their inboxes. so head over to my website [djrap.com] and sign up today.
Well hello there friends, it's a lovely day in the neighborhood and I'm happy to see all the great feedback we've been getting from the blog. I'm glad you're diggin it! Rather than drone on about more mixing mojo and blah blah blah... I thought we'd talk a bit about arrangement today.
While you might not think that arrangement is a big deal, I'll tell you its a well known fact that many Dj's wont play your record if the arrangement sucks. Plenty of DJ's, myself included, will spend hours editing their sets to flow together like butta. But thats another story. Getting your tracks to peak and breathe is going to take a bit of schooling and a lot of listening.
You're probably gonna kill me here but again... the first step to getting arrangement right is.... anyone, anyone... Bueller... Bueller... listen to your favs. The importance to listening to your favorite producers in any genre of music is huge. Simply because there is a formula and it works.
When it comes to electronica, gigantic intros are a pain in the ass to mix, as well as not putting beats at the end of the track, meaning more time in the studio editing so that the sets flow. I mean come on will it kill you to put 4 bars of beats at the end? or fade the sounds out so it ends up just being beats. Sounds like im nagging, but you have no idea how many dj's bitch about this, myself included.
Once you've spent time and you understand the formula, a great way to cheat with this is to import the track into your sequencer and simply copy the arrangement. I personally dont do this but it might help you in the beginning. One of the great things about having experience DJing is knowing how the crowd will react. This is something the bedroom producer never gets to see. For example I know that no matter what people say, big drops go down well. You only have to listen to productions by Paul van Dyk, BT, Tiesto, Deep Dish and Dubfire to know that i speak the truth. Same goes for every genre of electronic music, it simply sells records. However it's important nowadays to stay away from the old fashioned crashes and 'ravey' breakdowns. Deadmou5 is a perfect example of how to do a perfect modern breakdown. It doesn't have to be cheesy, it just needs to be powerful. Of course there are some producers who do not want this kind of impact in their music as it would not suit the productions they are making. So it really is a judgement call on your part dependant on the production style you're going for.
That's really about all i can say concerning arrangement for right now, but keep it here for more in a couple weeks. And as always, head over to the djrap website and sign up to the mailing list to get free music every month.
luv and bass, DJ RAP
