mercredi 28 décembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 28/12/2022 - La boum de fin d'année

Si vous craignez de brûler trop de gaz durant cet hiver, mettez vous cette édition rougnesque de fin d'année dans les oreilles, çà devrait vous réchauffer un peu sans trop faire tourner la chaudière.

Transhuman Rebirth - Synthetic Drugs
Portion Control - Taunt
Razorback Hollow - The Third Kind
Dame Area - Vivo e Credo
Monsieur Desastreux - No respect
Nuclear Sludge - Unhuman
Bakunin Commando - X (Unconscious Remix)
Proband 147 - Dein Labor
First Aid 4 Souls - Your Symbols Will Fail
ELM - Excuses Excuses
Nghtly - I Corvi Della Morte
Ultra Sunn - Silver smile
AkMD - Techno shit
Statiqbloom - Capacity Of Brutality
My Love Kills - The Dark Thrown
STAHLSCHLAG - Stunde Null
Transmitter - Hit the max (live at Klangtherapie festival 2018)
SKREN - Im kopf
Un Hombre Solo - Aportando de Nada
Nine Seconds - Plastic Fantastic

Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221228.mp3



mercredi 21 décembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 21/12/2022 - Suède, industrie de la viande froide

Triple thématique dans cette édition d'Electraumatisme où la seconde est consacrée à la production Suédoise, avec quelques bouts de Fredrik Djurfeldt et un petit plongeon dans l'eau froide de la Karmanik Collection.


dISHARMONY - Dune
Fractal - Release me
Komor Kommando (feat. The True Union) - One By One
Slave to Sin - Dead inside
Teatre - State of Affairs
Instans - Nuke Fight (Remix By The Pain Machinery)
En Halvkokt I Folie – Tjänne'ru Teknolukten?
Severe Illusion – Massive Democratic Maintenance (Remix By Soren Jensen)
Memorandum – Pura Dalem (Temple Of The Dead)
Instans - Daily routine
Morthond – Shrivatsa
Interlace - Master (single edit)
Invoke the Insult - Even Shadows
Project Grudge - Like The Sun
Archon Satani – Dies Irae Pt. 2

Releases of the week:


 












 












 

mercredi 14 décembre 2022

Electraumatisme du 14/12/2022

Edition régulière d'Electraumatisme où votre hôte dessaoule en direct, belle performance en attendant les ripailles encore plus éreintantes qui nous attendent dans 2 semaines. Par conséquent, le programme ici est assez lourd, même s'il commence dans l'espace.

Planet Supreme - Shuttle
Skren - X
atmstc - The Hour Of The Ghost
TC75 - So Dark [All Over Europe]
Pain Station - Vagrant
Petrified Entity - Voyeur
KONKURS - Ordinary Fear
Nomenclatura - Final illusion
Interdictor - Endosymbiont
Juniper Hill - Run faster (live)
Paul Handley - All Debts Forgiven
Seven Trees - Present Decay
D-F-O-W - Coming up for air


Release of the week:

 

 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221214.mp3


mercredi 7 décembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 06/12/2022 - spéciale USA

"Les américains n'ont jamais de problème, ils noient leur chagrin dans le Coca-Cola..." Vous vous rappelez de çà ? (un kilo de poils à qui me ressort d'où çà vient)
Bon heureusement, ils font aussi de la musique un peu sombre, parfois électronique et c'est de cela dont est composée la seconde partie de cette édition d'Electraumatisme.

KONKURS - Bay of Pigs
Petrified Entity - Church of Disorder
Pure Obsessions Red Nights - Sadie wants the night
Pigmy Children - Intensify (Sanctified Mix)
Control Panel - Loyalty
Audio Rape Transmission - The Art of Sonic Assault
Ithevirus - Dark clouds
Elektroniqa - Rhapsody's started
Ithevirus - American dream
Oozish - Twisted Master
Jihad - Hands that hide
Judgement of Paris - Denial (Part Three)
Kangarot - Xenophobic Scum

Releases of the week:


 







Petrified Entity - Petrified Entity


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221207.mp3



mercredi 30 novembre 2022

Electraumatisme du 30/11/2022

Ne pas trop faire gaffe à l'actualité, flâner dans la CDthèque un peu au hasard au risque de (re)découvrir de bonnes choses. C'est ce que l'on propose de faire toutes les 2 semaines dans ces éditions régulières d'Electraumatisme.

TC75 - Dying Culture
Matt Hart - Terraform
And One - Second Voice
Pain Station - Hate
Comp C3 - Steelvoices
L.I.N. ‎– OnLine (Moda Mix)
Himmelsfahrt - ...Abwege Einer Seele
Chrome Corpse - The Feeling Is Mutual (It's Nothing Personal Mix)
Phobos Reactor - Superspreader
Jihad - Retrospekt
Tau Factor - Motionless
Whitar - Taint Belief

Release of the week:


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221130.mp3

dimanche 27 novembre 2022

Kitchen Notes : erehwoN on ...Cable Bends Steel, X trackT, N/NOR

Pour la première fois dans Electraumatisme, une Kitchen Notes qui aborde 3 projets aux couleurs très différentes pourtant issus du même cerveau. erehwoN opère depuis la partie la plus industrielle de la Croatie et il nous partage ses méthodes pour chacune de ses 3 productions récemment sorties pour Cable Bends Steel (dark electro épurée), X trackT (ambiant indus rafinée) et N/NOR (coldwave electronique minimale en prise directe). Enormément d'informations pratiques passionnantes qui peuvent inspirer les bidouilleurs sonores en chambre, en espérant voir sa musique diffusée à une plus large audience car elle le mérite...

For the first time in Electraumatisme, a Kitchen Notes about 3 projects with very different colors yet coming from the same brain. erehwoN proceeds from the most industrial part of Croatia and there he shares his methods for each of his most recent productions for (refined dark electro), X trackT (polished ambiant indus) et N/NOR (electronic minimal live recorded coldwave). A huge amount of enthralling informations that would inspire many bedroom sound fixers, hoping to see his music spread to a larger audience because it deserves it.


Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for the 3 very different projects ?

10-channel mixer "BERINGHER EURORACK MODEL MX1804X" that goes into "TERRATEC" PC card.

Main DAW I migrated to now is "Cockos Reaper". I can't praise this enough, from portability, sound engine is great, routing options, LIGHT on CPU, and many more. Every once in a while I discover some new small thing that works great.

Synths used are ROLAND JUNO-106, KORG Polysix and choice of VSTs.

My sampler for now is VSTi VEMBER AUDIO Shortcircuit. Empty sampler, just feed it with your sounds, as the sampler should be, no 1 GB banks of wind instruments or such. Only downside is small number of audio outputs. Oh, yeah, did I mentioned it is FREE?!?!

https://plugins4free.com/plugin/1104/

And there are differences for each project I do;

In "CABLE BENDS STEEL" I try to capture energy / equivalent of emotional state I'm writing in that particular period. I'm happy with "reduction" in sound; more bass / beat oriented, there's less and less "padding" that drowns the mix.

"X trackT" is most exploratory sound-wise and arrangement-wise, because, usually I don't have to plan arrangement for vocal later on, so everything is sound design / flow orientated. "Trajectory" is the best song I did (so far?) for Xt and is example for this.

"N/NOR" is my newest project and technically most interesting; I try to recreate conditions of my idols from late-half 70's / early 80's electronic music. Deliberately, I work with limitations, monophonic lines, stripped-down arrangement, pattern based arranging.

I make some sequence and record on the fly; mute / solo channels, manipulate cutoff or delay, distortion etc.

Resulting wave recording is, for example, 7min long which I edit down to manageable 4min

Most N/NOR tracks I can't recreate again same as they were recorded, there's no automatization, separating tracks, just recording on 4 channels max and that is the backbone of every N/NOR track. After that I start with vocal on top.


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

There are some "mythical" pieces of gear that I've never seen "in flesh" let alone tried / used and it is out of my price range.

What I do have is; I just gave "ENSONIQ ASR-10" for a repair / modification (USB instead of floppy), this is something I love (its Phaser alone is so melodic-metalic, it works well with everything.

I also love my "KORG Polysix" mostly used for riff / bass lines. It cuts its way thru the mix, it just clears its path thru other instruments, it lifts the whole arrangement immediately. This sound of electricity, that moves is like no VST I've heard. I was uncertain of that synth for a while, because it had no MIDI so I didn't know for what to use it and almost sold it at one point, but after I started to actualy use it; it was valuable addition!

Also, friend of mine had a "YAMAHA DX21" and it was used at my place for a period of time ago. Bass preset (SOLID BASS) is very punchy it lifts everything in a arrangement. Always stuck in my mind for those italo, early house, new zone, EBM in late 80's, etc...

It had some grainy decimating decay in sound that sounded as nothing else. I'd love to get that one day again.

And for now, lately, I found it much rewarding to use those tone-based rhythm-machines that have adjustable paramenters for individual sounds (for example, Kick has vaweform, tone, decay, attack and so on...) so I don't depend on samples alone, you can fine-tweak every sound (example "CABLE BENDS STEEL - We Are"; kick & snare)

Any evolution in your setup ?

Evolution is, economicaly-based. As a pre-amlifier / overdrive (mostly for vocal), I started to use old cassette player on "record". Noisy, but at high recording level sounds like "MINISTRY - Stigmata".

I finaly managed to get old delay and spring reverb, everything you put thru it is instant "Sleeping beast" (...and "PORTION CONTROL", and "JOHN FOXX" etc....) Used mostly on N/NOR (for example, track "Dystopian")

Also, "ELECTRO-HARMONIX Big Muff" pedal. I love how it can beautifuly distort sound from whisper-level to max input.

 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ?

Whenever I try something new, I browse thru presets first, just to get the idea what this is capable of.

If I like it, I start to fiddle knobs to get into the workflow, to familiarize myself with architecture.

Almost never use presets provided, at the writing stage I use tweaked preset as a temp just to get the arrangement notes / timing going. After that I layer / change sounds, record manipulation (for example, cutoff thru song) put thru FXs, etc.

As I mentioned above, for "N/NOR" I approach as if there is no presets. As the sequence is running, I tweak everything related during recording "on the fly" (delay feedback, cutoff of a synth line etc...)

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

Oh, yes! To me, that's the most interesting thing in all umbrella electronic underground genres.

By recording voice, outside found objects, effects, then editing it to use in musical enviroment with all kinds of manipulations, combining it with something else. (Hammond organ on "X trackT - Opium", or "X trackT - Trajectory"; those percussive "shot" sounds from the beginning are originaly from taps on a microphone)

So, there is a library of my own created sounds, from one-shot hits, fills to sequences, atmospheres (from synths, random noises etc...)

And, for example, other half of drums track on "X trackT - Controller (warped)" is recorded thru old reel-to-reel with a used tape. So, anything that works and gives some special timbre / effect is usable.
 

Personal synth story

Hmmm? It's not much, but when a friend of mine went to buy second-hand synth (KORG M1), guy who owned it tried to use the selling point that it's great synth for folk music. :)
Like I said, not much.

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 ? ...

As mentioned above, I am "pulled" into writing by a sound first. Either interesting sample being sequenced, or a vocal stab thru FX pitched / reversed / cut-up or any number of things. Or a melodic line that I start to fill with other elements. After that I multiply that in time, add something new erase boring repetitive elements and so on.

And I forgot about the bass guitar; I play it more /and record.

Producing/mixing method

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

Maybe 50-50. Outboard mixer is great for leveling (and it is "physical") before inputting something as a part of arrangement. And after I record everything in comp, I mix it and output it.

For "CABLE BENDS STEEL - Old skin" track, I put the final mix thru Overdrive pedal. So, I avoid to end up with the same trodden path as with previous thing.

Btw, CD player I bought recently, "ARCAM" has digital inputs for its DA converter. I'll try this next as a final stage.


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

That first start of writing; when I record something brand new thats so inviting. It could be just 8 bars or it could 1min or more. That buzz then that makes you energetic when listening to that and you start to get options what direction it could go to. Then, the day after you hear it again and it's not so hot as you thought....!

Painful would be not enough time to sit and finish something.

 

erehwoN's tips

It's nothing revolutionary, but I started using different time-bases occasionally; 3/4 or 7/8, etc, it makes you think differently rhytmicaly ("N/NOR - HeartLess" has both, and a tempo speed-up change in the middle)

Cheap-ass overdrive TIP!

For example, mix loop with sine wave and put this thru some sort of limiter / saturation so that the wave "mangles" the loop out of zero-axis while sinusoid wave is barely hearable. MAKE SHURE TO USE some highpass filter for protecting against over-excessive low-end on output. (around 20-25 Hz).

[also in reaper] I recorded a TEMP vocal just to hear how it would fit and part of it ended up great "for keeping"
Trouble is, it was noisy (planned to be Temp) and I tried to clean it up. It was impossible, until I tried one trick with Reaper.
I took lonely part of wave with "noise" and took a "print" and linked dry/wet parameter to audio loudness.
The louder the wave (part with vocal), the less the effect will "mix in wet" to avoid the "destruction" of effective part of sound.
Result is much better than a few Denoisers I tried.

Contact info

sinisa.lupis@gmail.com

mercredi 23 novembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 23/11/2022 - s'aligner en rang en face du DJ ou rouler à gauche

Un public entièrement tourné face au DJ comme dans n'importe quelle soirée techno signe-t-il la fin de la spécificité des soirées dark ?
Dans cette édition d'Electraumatisme on essaye de discuter des causes de cette situation (si vous avez des idées ou un avis, commentez) avant de monter dans la Mini-Cooper pour parcourir un bout de discographie venue du Royaume-Unis.

 

Soft Crash - Count To Zero
Triode - Dream
NEIKKA RPM - No Flow
Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Welcome To The 21st Century
Brion Gysin - I am this
Headbutt - Through the Slides
Libitina – Painted Whiter Than White
In Death It Ends - Veil Of Clouded Verse
Inertia - Obsession
In the Nursery - Electric Edwardians - Opening credits
Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11 (UK extended version)
Johnson Engineering Co. - Thug
Rhombus – Timeless And Elegant


Release of the week:

Soft Crash - Your Last Everything

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221123.mp3


lundi 21 novembre 2022

Kitchen Notes : Protectorate on II

Pour le second assaut de son projet solo Protectorate, Kalle Lindberg a balancé 8 titres d'electro-indus dévastateurs aux frontières du métal dans leur composition mais suivant des méthodes de production qui pourraient bien vous surprendre. Kitchen Notes passionnantes pour un retour réussi au son crossover des années 90 avec les moyens d'aujourd'hui.

On the second assault of his solo project Protectorate, Kalle Lindberg fired away 8 blasting electro-indus tracks on the edge of metal in their structure but following production methods that might surprise you. Fascinating Kitchen Notes for an accomplished come back to the crossover sound of 90's with today's tools.

 


 

Gears and software

What gears/softwares did you use for II ?

intel i7 with RME 9652 and MOTU 896mk3, 828mk3, 8pre, Ultralite as converters and a micro lite for midi.
Adam A7X
Nektar Panorama P4
Steinberg CMC-AI

Cubase 9 - 11 on Windows 7 and 10
Groove Agent 5, Halion 6
Arturia Collection, FX collection
d16 lush-101, silverline
chipsound OPS7
Slate Digital Virtual Mixrack, Tape, Bus Comp, Console Collection, Tubes, Distressor
Eventide H3000 Factory
PSP Audioware (VintageWarmer, 2445 EMT, N2O, Delays)

Waldorf Pulse 1&2, Rocket, MicroQ, MicroWave II
Korg Monologue, Minilogue, Volca FM, Volca Modular, Volca Sample
Behringer DeepMind 6, K-2
Arturia MicroFreak
Roland Jx-8p

Patchbox Modep on a Raspberry Pi4 (@96khz)
Korg NTS-1

Electric Bass and guitar


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

I think my favourite is Cubase. All my hardware is setup as external instruments in Cubase, it's really convenient to be able to process the hardware synths ITB with latency compensation. The oldest songs on "II" I started to write in 2016 with maybe cubase 9 or something and I was able to finish the songs eventually with C11 without any problems, so the compatibility is good too. Arturia has those cool vintage sampler emulations which got used a lot on the album. The OPS7 is a really good DX7 emulation, I used it as a programmer for the Volca FM, worked really good together with a midi out mod installed on the Volca FM.

Any evolution in your setup ?

Setup is constantly evolving. Just recently after finishing the album I swapped the JX-8p on my setup to a Yamaha SY77. I also had to upgrade the computer because the motherboard died. With the new comp I'm hoping to be able to transition to 96khz as the MOTUs support it and the new comp has a second RME 9652 installed and working.

 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ?

I use an multisampled acoustic drumkit layered under the electronic drum samples. It's mostly used for the room and overheads, also for the cymbals and toms. Theres a couple of sounds on the album from Arturia SQ80 from the Ensoniq Factory set for that vintage flavour. Theres some original factory samples from Emulator V and Fairlight V.

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

Most of the sound design I do myself. I mostly use hardware, those I program from the hardware interface, it's quick and inspiring. When I do use software instruments, I use my Nektar Panorama P4 mapped to the plugins so that's fast and hands on too.

Personal synth story

I've seen some talk about the use of guitars on a couple of reviews of the new album and thought it might be interesting to elaborate on the matter a bit. There is very little actual electric guitar on the album, just a couple of lead guitar melodies in the end on the track Asymmetric, Lethe, Tribunal and Deathbringer. The kind of palm mute type of sounds are actually from MicroWave II ran through a amp sim. There's also distorted electric bass on the album, usually layered with a bass synth. Just to give it all a bit of grit and aggression.
Old Ministry (twitch-mind is a terrible thing to taste era) was a big influence on the album, so it kinda requires some chorus and distortion on the electric bass. I also used the Behringer K-2s ESP with a guitar to play some synth pads on a couple of tracks. It tracks really good for what it is. I also like the way that pitch becomes organic when using a string as pitch source for the synth.

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 ? ...

Sometimes a have an idea beforehand but the composition always includes some amount of improvisation/jamming. Some of the tracks on II were initially written using an electric bass (Asymmetric, Teargarden) while on others a synth was used for the initial bass lines. I tend play every track (I do quantize though) in with a keyboard, drum pads or you know a stringed instrument, rather than programming with a mouse or step input.
I don't really have a structure in mind beforehand, I like to go where the track takes me, but I do have a somewhat of a rigid idea what a song structure can be, so this way I can avoid too similar song structures between the songs by not thinking ahead too much.

Producing/mixing method

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

My mixing is done In The Box using Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack, Tape and Bus Comps. Every channel gets an instance of the Tape emulation and a console emulation followed usually by an SSL EQ (for cutting) - VCA comp - Neve EQ (for boosting). The Slate Distressor emulation gets quite a bit of use too.
For distortion and modulation I use D16 Silverline plugins and Arturia FX Bundle. Master Bus (Red), Drum Bus (Gray) and Vox Bus (Vari-MU) get a Slate Virtual Bus Comp each.


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

The hardest thing for me in the process is writing the lyrics. That takes most of the time. Other than that, at least with Protectorate II, maybe the final mix was a bit hard for me, but I think that it was mostly because I was kinda burned out by that point by all the work I had done for the album.
I guess there is sometimes a bit of a challenge when composing a track at the point where you have to come up with a chorus, but I wouldn't call it painful, the missing part just sometimes takes a bit of time to manifest.
Other than that, sound design is fun, arranging is fun. I tend to mix a bit early on in the production, so final mix is more of tidying everything up and giving the track the final 10%.I don't know if this is really a tip, but what has helped me a lot in the mixing department, was to try to kind of emulate an old school analog setup using the tape and console emulations. Mostly I think it adds a bit of distortion to every track, but it kind of reminds me how things used to work and sound when I was using a tape 4 track as a kid.
Another useful thing is to have as much physical control on synths when doing sound design. Easier to find sweet spots on synths with physical controls on hardware or software synths, doing automation is simpler and I get results before I get bored. 


Kalle's Tips

I don't know if this is really a tip, but what has helped me a lot in the mixing department, was to try to kind of emulate an old school analog setup using the tape and console emulations. Mostly I think it adds a bit of distortion to every track, but it kind of reminds me how things used to work and sound when I was using a tape 4 track as a kid.
Another useful thing is to have as much physical control on synths when doing sound design. Easier to find sweet spots on synths with physical controls on hardware or software synths, doing automation is simpler and I get results before I get bored.

Contact info

https://protectorateindustrial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@protectorateindustrial
https://www.instagram.com/protectorate.industrial
https://www.facebook.com/protectorateindustrial

For booking: protectorateindustrial@gmail.com

mercredi 16 novembre 2022

Electraumatisme du 16/11/2022

Edition d'Electraumatisme régulière de bonne tenue cette semaine considérant la qualité des sorties récemment présentées. Et la petite annonce de bonne nouvelle pour les clermontois.

Epilepsy Morbid Rotten - Parazito
Miseria Ultima - Witch Heart Apparition
At The Heart Of The World - Ichor
Cable Bends Steel - We are
Stiff Valentine - Industrial Metal Disco
Pro-Patria - Bend the light
Object - Nowhere to Hide
Protectorate - Asymmetric
Hexadiode - Breaking it Whole
And One - Crimetime
Titan - Straight
Borderrun - LSDevil

Release of the week:

 

 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221116.mp3

vendredi 11 novembre 2022

Kitchen Notes : Pro Patria on Piercing Through the Armour

Passé de l'équipement matériel que l'on pouvait se procurer avec des moyens réduits au début des années 90 au tout virtuel actuel, PVC revient sur les moyens et méthodes de production de l'EBM bien balancée que l'on retrouve sur le dernier album Piercing Through the Armour de Pro-Patria.
Des anecdotes et détails techniques (mais il garde quelques secrets) qui rappelleront des choses à pas mal d'entre-ceux qui ont un jour craqué leurs économies pour un premier synthé.

Switching from hardware equipment we could afford in early 90s with little money to a current complete virtual system, PVC comes back to production methods and tools for well balanced EBM we now can hear on the last Pro-Patria's Piercing Through the Armour album.
Anecdotes and technical details (but he still keeps a few secrets) that will remind things to those who one day cracked and bought a first synth with all the money they could save.


Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for Piercing Through the Armour ?

I used to compose everything on an old Roland D-20 keyboard, but nowadays I only use Cubase 9 with a number of plug-ins. I believe that digital instruments have become so good that there's no more use to invest so much money in real synths anymore, especially now there's hardly any money to be made anymore in the music industry.


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

To be honest? My D-20! People usually laugh when I say this because it certainly wasn't Roland's greatest keyboard, it being a downgraded version of the famous D-50. The D-series was also more the type of synths one associated with commercial happy-flappy music rather than EBM. In my opinion, it's not about which instruments you use but how you use them. On "Back to Basics", for instance, I drove the D-20 through an old guitar distortion pedal to create some amazing sounds. Most of all, the D-20 had a great internal sequencer which allowed you to create real songs with 8 tracks plus drums. Without it, making music would probably have been out of my reach and Pro Patria would have remained a distant dream.

Any evolution in your setup ?

Yes, of course. After 34 years it's only normal that you evolve. Our first CD "Quod Erat Demonstrandum" was recorded in a professional studio where the main instruments were a Roland D-70 and a Juno, coupled to a nineties Mac with Audio Logic through one of the first digital mixing desks. I still recall how impressed I  was when I saw those sliders move up and down automatically!
When I returned in 2017 I was all on my own and I only had my D-20, that pedal and an old Alesis voice processor. I bought Cubase 7 and quickly found some nice plug-ins to complement my setup. I've been a musician for all of my life but sound producing was completely new to me so you'll understand I had to learn a lot in a very short time frame. This becomes obvious when you compare my last 4 digital albums and the way that they were produced, from ignorant amateur to someone who's beginning to understand the basics.
As from "Executioner" I upgraded to Cubase 9 and with every new album I bought a new plug-in, so the sound of each of those 4 digital albums is largely designed by the plug-in I acquired for it.

 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ?

Yes, I use presets but I tweak or even change them completely most of the time to get exactly the sound that I want. Most presets are nice but rarely do I find one that really nails it. They're a great help though to get started with sound design, which is a black craft in its own right.

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

Yes, of course! I'm not going to reveal all of my secrets here, but I can assure you that the two plug-ins that I use most are packed with my own creations.
 

Personal synth story

Do you know which unlikely instrument we used during our first two gigs? The Commodore 64! It had MIDI capability and it produced some awesome sounds to layer on my D-20. Unfortunately it was too much of a hassle dragging it around, especially my dad's second television (black and white) to connect the Commodore to. I'm sure that he wasn't displeased when I left it at home afterwards.

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 ? ...

Strangely enough, most of my music comes to me at night in my sleep. Then have to I rush into the bathroom in order not to waken my wife and record myself humming it. Most of the times, these ideas already come with the exact sounds and sometimes even words. They're just loose fragments, though, and the structure only appears later when I'm amalgamating all of these ideas into a (hopefully) coherent song. I improvise a lot actually. Most of my acoustic album was improvised on the moment of recording. I love doing improvised solos such as the one on "War (till the day we die)", that's one I'm particularly proud of. Unfortunately EBM isn't a style that allows a lot of improvising as everything has to be arranged with an almost military order.

Producing/mixing method


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

I HATE mixing and mastering! As I said, I consider myself to be a musician, certainly not a sound engineer. Still I'm doing my best to mix and master everything myself because, apart from the money, I don't want to depend on others. This resulted in some painful experiences such as my first attempt at "Back to Basics", but I'm learning. Also sound design can be frustrating at times because I have the right sound in my head but sometimes I really struggle recreating that sound with my instruments. So, to answer your question, I definitely prefer the composing/arranging bit. It's there that I can unleash all of my creativity.

PVC's tips

No tips here as I'm still learning a lot myself. More in general, an advice that I'd like to give to young, emerging talents, is to listen more to your heart and less to your idols.

Contact info

 http://propatria.be/

mercredi 9 novembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 09/11/2022 - Fourscher 2022

Compte rendu complet (et bavard) du festival Fourscher 2022 qui s'est déroulé ce week-end à Erfurt.
Organisation parfaite, ambiance fraternelle et programmation digne d'un best of d'Electraumatisme.
Merci Danny & Andreas !


Object - The tormented mind
Protectorate - Teargarden
X trackT - Trajectory
Aktion:Fiasko - ??? (live @fourscher 2022)
Wülf7 - EBM Nation
Object - Shinjuku Survival Alliance
Nordarr - Never Forget
Transmitter - Hit The Max (Live @ Klangtherapie Festival 2018)
No Sleep By The Machine - Euchred
Statiqbloom - Black walks eternal
Circumpolar - Lost In Time
Mildreda - Inner Judgement
Rhys Fulber - Rogue Minority

Releases of the week:

 

 







Protectorate - II


 








X trackT - Controller OD

(contact me on electraumatisme facebook page for more info on this one)

 

Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221109.mp3 


mardi 1 novembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 01/11/2022 - IDM

Une édition toute calme faite pour le neurones plus que pour les guibolles cette semaine dans Electraumatisme alors qu'on a la tête dans la citrouille pour ne pas dire qu'on l'a ailleurs.

 

Pro Patria - Voices in my Head
N/N OR - HeartLess
Matt Hart - Event Horizon (original mix)
Reflection Black - Call My Name
Tangent - Delusion
Frontier Guards - Narrowest Path
The Thing With Five Eyes - Live At The Nocturnus
High Wycombe - Perturbation
He3dless - Sold
Human Vault - Foundation Hope
Mlada Fronta - SNO
Irklis – Onkalo
Jerico One - Testing
Oozish - The Feelz Good

Releases of the week:


 







N/N OR - The Law Of Love

(contact me on electraumatisme facebook page for more info on this one)

 Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221101.mp3

 

mercredi 26 octobre 2022

Electraumatisme du 26/10/2022

Une édition régulière agressive d'Electraumatisme cette semaine mais surtout la joie de retrouver Cable Bends Steel projet croate que je pensais perdu à jamais.

 


At The Heart Of The World - Coalescing/Collapsing
Cable Bends Steel - Call of the void
Nadragea - Pilgrim cell (Vandor sejt)
Mach FoX - theOne
Volition Immanent - Truth
ELM - Steel Hope
We the North - Chrysalis
Stiff Valentine - Thrash Metal Machine
Biopsy - Cx state
Margaret Freeman - C'est un piège
Carbon 12 - Parasite
Stin Scatzor - I Will Die (Remake By Liquid G)
NEUROLOGY. - Paradox
Wet Skin - Abstract & Free [STATIQBLOOM REMIX]

Releases of the week:


 







Cable Bends Steel - Future Threats

(contact me on electraumatisme facebook page for more info on this one)

Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221026.mp3

mardi 25 octobre 2022

Kitchen Notes : ELM on Penetrator


Peter Elm produit de l'EBM de haute tenue depuis 28 ans et si son dernier album Penetrator explore un spectre plus large que la simple version oldschool du genre, il reste fidèle aux méthodes de production solides et efficaces. Voici quelques détails sur la façon dont il a procèdé cette fois-ci pour nous faire remuer le bas du ventre.

Peter Elm produces top quality EBM since 28 yers and if his last album Penetrator explores a wider spectrum than a simple oldschool version of the genre, he remains faithfull to solid and effective production methods. These are a few details on how he did to make us shake our pelvis this time.


Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for Penetrator ?

I work with Logic Pro X and hardware synths. The arranging, mixing and production is done in Loqic but the sound of ELM is still very hardware based.


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

There's so much amazing stuff out there...
When it comes to hardware I have a few "secret weapons" but can reveal that Korg's Arp Odyssey, Behringer's Pro-1 and the Yamaha TX81Z are used very heavily in my productions.
For software I actually really like Logic's ES2 but also the stuff from U-he such as the Pro One etc...

Any evolution in your setup ?

Not the past couple of years... I like simplicity, reliability and stability.

 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ?

Anyone these days working with a DAW will use some form of presets, such as drums etc... But otherwise sounds are definitely tweaked and personalized... I never use arps and very, very rarely use loops...

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

Yes! Arp Odyssey, Pro-1...
 

Personal synth story

I quite recently acquired a second Yamaha DX 11 which was the first synth I ever owned as a teenager. I absolutely love this synth and in recent years I've come to realise that the sounds that come from this synth were what I was looking for for a long time ironically. Don't get me wrong, I'm an analog synth freak as well!

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 write a lot of lyrics and poems separately... Then I usually try to match them with a suitable musical idea . Very often however, I start with fooling around with basslines and once I get something that is "right" I feel it instantly and the lyrics just come by themselves. I have a quite conservative approach when it comes to EBM. I believe it should be raw and pure. In a lot of modern EBM productions there are too much effects, tricks and crazy arpeggiations... The sound and song is what's most important.

Producing/mixing method


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

It's dificult when you do everything on your own... It's very easy to get lost or focus on the wrong things... Getting lost in details, missing the big picture... I'm the first to admit this. Sometimes I've taken too long on tracks and the songs lose their spontaneity.

Elm's tips

Remove elements rather than add elements. This will make things more aggressive and "in your face".

Contact info 

 

mercredi 19 octobre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 19/10/2022 - Total Rougna Pawoua Part. 46

La petite session rougnesque, c'est cette semaine dans Electraumatisme.


Bakunin Commando -  VI
ELM - Ha-Ha-Ha-Begär
Die Robo Sapiens - Robo Normativ
Amnistia - Thoughts
M/A/T - Das Fundament
ELM - Sex Junkie
Silver Walks - In consequence
Matt Hart - Absolute Zero (Rotersand Classic Ride rework)
The Operating Tracks - Poison ID
Fluid Ghost - Persuasion
A-tria - Ya no Juegan
AkMD - Last Bullet
First aid 4 souls - I Am The Night

Releases of the week:


 












 















mercredi 12 octobre 2022

Electraumatisme du 12/10/2022

De retour avec une édition régulière d'Electraumatisme cette semaine. Et l'occasion de présenter le dernier album de Dame Area, une formation à voir absolument sur scène (enfin, dans la fosse autant que possible, c'est là qu'ils sont les meilleur(e)s).

Dame Area - Innamorata del tuo Controllo
C-Lekktor - New World Disorder (VENAL FLESH remix)
Die Robo Sapiens - Teufelskreis
ELM - Excuses Excuses
mulpHia - computer piercing
Portion Control - Disslove
Digital Poodle - Noisea (part 3)
Gin Devo - Bitter tears
Invoke the Insult - Hatelunch
Volition Immanent - No Gods
Liaisons Dangereuses - Kess kill fe show
Red Red Groove - Dirty Deeds
Placebo Effect - Slashed open
Cyberthreat - Liers

Release of the week:


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20221012.mp3

mercredi 28 septembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 28/09/2022 - Speciale Metropolis

Avec pas mal de retard, Electraumatisme évoque cette semaine la disparition de Dave Heckman, fondateur du label/distributeur Metropolis, véritable pilier de la scène Electro-Indus dans sa grande diversité aux Etats-Unis depuis plus de 20 ans.

Gin Devo - Only for Moments
RAILWRX - Column
Black Agent - Parasite Receiver
Download - YONI
Battery Cage - Caged (Cyclone-B Remix)
Apoptygma Berzerk - Fade To Black
Fixmer & McCarthy - Splitter
Imperative Reaction - Compressed/Terror
Icon of Coil - Everything Is Real?
Imperative Reaction - Malady
Informatik - 96 degrees
In Strict Confidence - Babylon
Statiqbloom - Restless

Release of the week:


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20220928.mp3


mardi 27 septembre 2022

Kitchen Notes : Nghtly on Il Venerdì Dell'Arte

Une rapide description des moyens et methods utilisés par Francesco Tella lors de la production de son dernier tir techno/EBM riche en textures Il Venerdì Dell'Arte dans le cadre de son projet Nghtly.

A quick description of the means and methods used by Francesco Tella to produce his last textural dense techno/EBM shot Il Venerdì Dell'Arte with his Nghtly project.

Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for Il Venerdì Dell'Arte ?

Your favorite gear(s)/software(s) and do you design you own sound  ? On which synth/plugin in particular ?

I have many personal preset created by me over the years and many of them have been used in this album.. like sylenth 1 / bazille u-he/ Serum / Massive/ Spire and more by Arturia like Jup 8.. there are all for synths..

For the drum i love 80's drums like Akai RX 10/ Roland 505 and much more...As synth i love the Roland sh101 and microkorg too.. the sounds are more intense and full-bodied. I love to use the ARP but most of the time i writer the notes manually because I feel the most personal work.

 

Writing/composing method &Production/mixing method

I usually start from the composing drum and then continue with synth (the drums give me synths inspiration) to create something harmonious and sensible.. i use my voice or even those taken from movies.. (60's movies). I use ambient samples by me and as effects like saturators and delay/reverbs likes the Valhalla.. I often apply them on my voice and on the ambients.. and pads.
All in my MIDI instruments like APC mini and keyboards.. about the mixes i use EQ/Compressor by the VST Waves.

Contact info 

mercredi 21 septembre 2022

Electraumatisme du 21/09/2022

Des ressorties et remastering en guise de sorties de la semaine, c'est aussi çà la récession, et cette édition régulière d'Electraumatisme en pâtit.

mulpHia - LD 50 (middle)
Portion Control - Meatbag
Monsieur Desastreux - no respect
Cagoule - Take A Rest In Hell
Hardpot - F​ö​rnimmelsen
AkMD - Mankind Slaughter
Nine Seconds - All Beauty Must Die
Nghtly - Crisi Di Identità
Eyephone – L5
Digital Poodle - Attempt (version two)
electron7 - Keep on smiling
Himmelsfahrt - Abwege Einer Seele
Cycloon - Megabite
Kali Jugend - New Body Beat
Typis Belgis - Aimless

Releases of the week:


 







Portion Control - Dissolve Plus


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20220921.mp3


mercredi 14 septembre 2022

Playlist Electraumatisme du 14/09/2022 - Canada et FLA

Cette semaine on pose nos oreilles au Canada dans Electraumatisme en faisant une grosse pause à Vancouver autour de Front Line Assembly avant de survoler tout le reste du pays.


Nghtly - Venerdì D'Arte
Fractal - Contact
Fractal - Moon
Frontline Assembly - Mindphaser
Rhys Fulber - The Sick
Front Line Assembly - Evil Playground
Displacer - Down
Front Line Assembly - Obsession
Holon - Void Process
Infestation - Si tu n'existais pas
Holon - Slow Down And Breathe
Iszoloscope - In The Face Of Descent
iVardensphere - Devils

 

Releases of the week:

Nghtly - Il Venerdì Dell'Arte


 







Fractal - Last day on earth


 







Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20220914.mp3

mercredi 7 septembre 2022

Electraumatisme du 07/09/2022

Ha on fait moins les marioles maintenant qu'on a repris le boulot hein ? Allez une petite dose d'Electraumatisme pour faire passer çà en attendant le repos éternel. Je vous mets le générique.

AkMD - Techno shit
Modebionics - FOLD VICE (single edit)
Nuclear Sludge - Unhuman
RetCon - Xcommunication
M/A/T - Nueva Esperanza
Fuze Box Machine - S... Yes Or No ?!
The Seven Whores Of The Apocalypse - Grinding Walls
Xingu Hill - The Conquistador Closes His Eyes
Nine Seconds - Plastic fantastic
Electronic Dream Factory - Death
vProjekt - A kiss between the eyes
Alessandro Adriani - Ecstatic Feeling
Instans - Daily routine
Will - Epilogue

Release of the week:


 








Download : http://electraumatisme.info/broadcast/20220907.mp3


lundi 5 septembre 2022

Kitchen Notes : Stahlschlag on A Zone of Silence

 

 

Pour la première fois dans les Kitchen Notes, on donne la parole à un projet qui verse plus dans la musique noise-industrielle que dans l'EBM ou la Dark Electro pure. Il faut dire que A Zone of Silence de Stahlschlag nous a bien accroché l'oreille ces dernières semaines et les explications données par Sebastian Sünkler concernant la production de sa musique recellent de sacrées surprises. Les nostalgiques des années tracker vont se régaler.

For the first time in the Kitchen Notes, we give the floor to a project falling more into noise-industrial music than on pure EBM or Dark-electro. It must be said that Stahlschlag's A Zone of Silence had our ears quite hooked these last weeks and the explantions provided by Sebastian Sünkler on his music's production hold real surprises. Nostalgic of tracker years will be delighted.


Gears and software

What gears/software did you use for A Zone of Silence ?

I produce all my tracks in Renoise. It's a DAW that works in a tracker style and works differently than most major DAWs because you have to compose and produce from top to bottom rather than left to right. What I love about this production style is that I have control over every step I take for my music, as I enter the notes for each track into the grid. I just have to choose the BPM and timing I want to work with. In Renoise, you work in patterns that can be arranged in a pattern matrix. Another advantage for me is the great built-in sampler, since I work with samples and virtual instruments. I've been working with trackers for over 20 years, so I remain loyal to them and used them for my album as well.

About other software and equipment for the album. I used a long list of different plugins, virtual instruments and also samples to create my drums and sounds.

My main virtual instrument for the album was Melda MSoundfactory, as it has a lot of great sounding synthesizers and samplers. Almost all of my tribal sounds I made with MSoundFactory, but I also used Applied Acoustics Systems Chromaphone 3 a lot, as it offers a great physical modeling engine that allows you to create more realistic sounds in some ways. But I also used u-he Hive, Arturia Pigments and Sugar Bytes Aparillo.

For effects, I used all Tokyo Dawn EQs for EQ work and Newfangled Saturate for mixing purposes. I discovered for myself that I also need to focus more on the stereo image. That's how I discovered Raising Jake Studios' SideMinder 2, which helped a lot for keeping the stereo image in phase.

The equipment I use for the production process is my Yamaha AG06 audio interface, my Samson Rubicon R6a studio monitors and my Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro headphones. I also use cheap speakers from Amazon to find very distracting frequencies. On a side note, I use an Akai MPD 24 and a Roland SP-555 for my live sets. The Roland SP-555 stores the loops of the tracks that I can trigger live during my performances. The Akai MPD 24 is used to play samples and as a midi controller to work with effects on the tracks.


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

My favorites are constantly changing as I discover new things with each music production. I thought it would come to an end, but no. There is always something new and exciting. For this album, my favorites were Melda MSoundfactory as an instrument and SideMinder 2 from Raising Jake Studios for mixing. Really great stuff. Melda MSoundfactory also has a smart random preset generator that helped inspire me.

 

Any evolution in your setup ?

My setup hasn't changed much, but I've been working with some different tools and instruments. I do that all the time because it inspires me. Maybe one development is that I had to work with tools to mix the vocals of the collaborations into the tracks. I've never had to do it that way before. I used iZotope Nectar to polish the vocals, and Wavesfactory Trackspacer helped a lot with the mixing. On some songs it was a challenge to mix the vocals and all the noise.

 

Sound Design

Do you use/tweak presets  ?

I always use presets as a starting point because I can get inspired so quickly, but I rarely use them without changes. I often don't change the synthesizers, but work with effects to make them sound different, e.g. distortion, reverb, delay, bitcrushing. I've also discovered synthesizers with smart randomizer functions that can be used to create unique, inspiring presets. My favorite in this regard is Melda MSoundfactory, but Tone 2 Warlock is also very good with its randomized presets. I can only recommend to give it a try.

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

My sound design mostly takes place outside of synthesizers. My favorite effects for that are the standard Renoise plugins like Distortion and LofiMat. Nothing really fancy, but they help me find my signature sound. It's also awesome to work with multi-FX plugins to create a unique sound design. Permut8 by Sonic Charge is my absolute favorite here. I use it a lot to spice up sounds and samples.

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 ? ...

My composition method differs from traditional methods in some ways. I often start with a rough idea of the sound of a track in Renoise and listen to presets and samples to find what I'm looking for, but I don't have a scheme. Sometimes I just get inspired by seeing or hearing something. I work differently when I produce my tracks or remix other artists. When I remix someone, I always start with the beat and the drums. It's easier because I usually get the melodies and structure from the artists. When I'm working on my tracks, it can be different. Sometimes I build the intro first and look for nice intro sounds like pads and drones. But sometimes I produce the drums first. Working in Renoise is different because I rarely record anything, but mostly program all the tracks and mix them together. I do it step by step, which gives me the opportunity to change every little thing in a song. I have to admit that I love having so much control over the whole process.

Producing/mixing method

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

I just work in the box because I've been doing it that way for so many years. I have a few favorite tools for the mixing process. One thing I've discovered for myself is using clipping instead of compressors. When tracking, I just use clippers to adjust dynamics, but I use a bus compressor and also a multiband compressor on the mix bus.

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

The most painful part is mixing, because it always takes much more time than any other process. I love to just go ahead and produce without mixing anything. That's how I always work. I produce a rough demo of a whole track before I touch any tool to mix it. For me, it's important that I don't interrupt the creative flow. I also thought about letting others mixing and mastering my music but since I just do it for passion, I prefer to do it all on my own.


Stahlschlag's tips

I guess what I want to share is that it's important not to get too critical and/or perfectionistic when producing music, it really kills creativity and often there comes a point where enough is enough. Often it sounds great just the way it is, and you shouldn't watch or read too many tutorials about producing and mixing. That can drive you crazy.

Another tip is to play with synthesizers that offer preset randomizers. That's really a lot of fun and can be very inspiring.

And my last piece of advice is to not take everything too seriously and stop comparing yourself too much to others. I know it's hard to be heard, and we all have different goals with our music. For me personally, it's about the passion, the fun, and also the great opportunity to connect with other people that you might never meet if you weren't producing music. That's the most exciting part for me.

Contact info

https://stahlschlag.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/stahlschlag
https://www.facebook.com/STAHLSCHLAG/
https://www.instagram.com/stahlschlag_official/
https://stahlschlag.de/