jeudi 3 juin 2021

Kitchen Notes : G.H.T. on Voices of the Night

 

 

G.H.T. nous décrit les processus de production de l'épais Voices of the Night, plein de couches massives mais dont les titres cachent de sacrées bonnes mélodies à base de bon vieux synthés logiciels (si Olga vous rapelle quelque-chose...)

G.H.T. describes us the process he went thru to produce the thick, heavy layered industrial Voices of the Night tracks hiding clever melodies with good old softsynths (remember Olga ?)



Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for this album ?

I create all music in Logic Pro that meets all my needs when it comes to music production. There are lots of software syntheses and effects to buy, which means that I never stagnate in my music production.

Your favorite gear(s)/software(s) ?

My favorite plugins when it comes to Synthesizers are Logic's own Alchemy. I think it is absolutely fantastic when you want to program and create dirty sound. Together with different distorted effects, you can create magic sounds. Some other favorites among software synths are Hexeract, Knif Audio Knifonium and Olga. It is very easy to create really dirty and distorted sounds together with the right effect. Punchbox is a favorite for creating awesome bass drums.
To get a really dirty sound on the bass I often use a bass amp simulator and it works fine with the one in Logic.
 
 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ? 

I start from a preset and as I almost exclusively reprogram to get the perfect sound. I can sit for hours with headphones and change the sound with different parameters.
 

Do you design you own sound  ? On which synth/plugin in particular ?

Yes, absolutely. I try to make a dirty and distorted sound and it’s a combination between programming a software synth and use a nice guitar amplifier or effect pedal. A new favorite has become Soundtoy's filter freak.

Any personal synth story ?

I bought my first synth in 1985 and it was a Casio CZ-101. I thought it was great and the fact is that I still have it but do not use it when I produce music. Maybe I should dust it off for the next album.

 

Writing/composing method

What would be your main writing/composing method ? Do you start classical rythm/bassline then arrange around it ? Do you already have structure in mind ? Do you improvise, record sessions then select ?

I usually start with the bass and looking for interesting tone sequences. The bass sound is extremely important for the entire production.
But sometimes it's a soundscape that I'm looking for and that can start the process with a new song. I´m obsessed with bass drums with which I can spend many hours trying to find the best bass drum. I've been searching for over 30 years but still not found what I hear in my head.

I often try to build soundscapes with distorted sounds on many tracks and part of the process is to use an arpeggiator to create different rhythms.
The great thing about creating music is that chance and coincidence are always included, you have to be a little lucky.  
When it comes to song recordings, I often improvise melodies while singing into the microphone. I spend a lot of time to get the right vocal sound often with distortion and other effects.

 

Producing/mixing method

Do you produce/mix in the box or do you use mainly external gears (effect/comp/eq...) ?

I mix in Logic and when it comes to mastering I use Ozone 9 together with a tape emulator and a saturation plugin. I try to avoid the mix to get to digitally sharp and add more analog feeling to the mix.

What is your most painful / enjoyable step in track production ? Sound design, arrangement, mixing, mastering ?

The best part is the creative process, to create songs without any pressure that I usually get later in the process. The most difficult and anxious part is mixing and mastering. On the latest album, I had fifteen different mixes and ten different mastering mixes. It was a long process and I usually test the mixes in three different studios to see if it's sound good. I use Sonarworks which I think works well to get a balanced sound image in a room that does not have the perfect acoustics.

Part of the process of creating an album is album covers, pictures and music videos. Since I have worked with both photography and layout, it is a process that I love to do. The whole process is based on simple ideas and a zero budget. The music together with pictures and film must harmonize and have a common language.

 

G.H.T. tips

Try to find your own musical expression in terms of both sound and structure of songs. There is so much music that just follows musical templates and tries to follow the next trend in music.

 

Contact info

You can visit www.ghtproduction.com or follow me on instagram.com/ghtproduction or
watch a music videos on https://youtu.be/OCTeie4Mac4

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