En utilisant de plus en plus de logiciels et mettant un peu de côté le matériel, Lucifer's Aid revient en détail sur ses nouvelles recettes de composition et de production qui ont permis d'ouvrir son dernier album Destruction vers des horizons dépassant la "Klinik-Industrial" qui faisait sa marque de fabrique. Beaucoup d'informations intéressante dans cette Kitchen Notes.
By using more and more software and leaving hardware a little bit aside, Lucifer's Aid goes back in details on his new composition and production recipes, allowing for on opening his latest album Destruction to new horizons higher than his "Klinik-Industrial" trademark.
A lot of interesting information are waiting for you in this Kitchen Notes.
Gears and software
What gears/softwares did you use for Destruction ?
My main DAW is Pro Tools. I use it for writing songs, production and mix. I know this DAW inside out and I work very fast with it. That is very important in the creative workflow. That you don’t get stuck in meny diving and have to figure out how to do things. It’s a very flexible and great DAW.
For Destruction I worked mainly with software synthesizers. Unlike my other albums where I worked mostly with hardware synthesizers. I needed a change in my workflow. There is an acoustic guitar and electric guitars on some of the tracks. I have no rules making music.
Your favorite gear(s)/software(s) ?
I do like the Serum and lot’s of Arturia’s soft synths. On Destruction worked with Native Instruments Battery and Maschine for drums. I work heavily on drum sounds and beats and those drum plugins fits perfect in my work flow.
I do like the Roland TR8S. It’s very creative and fast to program beats with. Analog Rytm and Analog Four sounds very good and have an awesome good UI. I don’t own the original 303 but my I use my Cyclone TT-303 a lot. The sequencer is very powerful. The Bass Station 2 is great too. It costs almost nothing and has a powerful and rich sound.
Any evolution in your setup ?
Not anything special. I do keep my studio updated as much as I can with the latest versions. I don’t work as much with hardware as before. I am very much into software these days. But that can of course change. I would like to start to explore Eurorack. It’s so flexible and you can get very lost in the creativity in the workflow. It looks like a lot of fun.
Sound Design
Do you use/tweak presets ?
If I start with a preset sound I tweak it to fit the songs. I also use a lot of plugins to make the sound more interesting like distortion, flangers and so on. Everything that can make sounds more interesting and give them a unique sound.
Do you design you own sound ? On which synth/plugin in particular ?
Yes. Mostly with Serum and Arturia’s synths. And Korg synths too. They are very flexible and if I have in my head I can tweak them and form them with those plugins. I work very much with layering sounds. That makes it dynamic in the songs. Some certain sounds blend very nicely together. I sometimes sample everyday sounds. I record it in Pro Tools and there I can manipulate them. I also like to sample from movies, documentaries. Like the electronic pioneers did in the 80’s.
Hardware synth I like to work with the Bass Station 2 and the Korg Minilogue.
What inspires me a lot is the sound itself. If I hear a cool synth sound I can start to write a song from just that particular sound. The same thing with a sample.
Any particular synth history ?
Well, in the 90’s I had the classic korg MS-20, Roland SH-09 and Juno 106. Later on I sold them for almost nothing. The MS-20 I exchanged for an electric guitar. Sometimes I do regret it. But one thing led to another and I formed bands because I sold those synthesizers and bought other gear instead. I am not nostalgic.
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 often start with a drum beat or bassline. Then I listen to it in a loop and make adjustments so they blend together. I add things, delete things. Trial and error. It's a bit of a struggle because drums and bass are the main cores in my songs. It's very important to get it just right. My songs do change a lot during the process when working with them. So how they sound in the end is very different from my first idea.
I take ”pauses' ' from the song and let them rest for a couple of days. When I come back to them I usually get new ideas and angles. When in the production stage I usualy take walks listening to the song over and over again to hear what I have to change. I find it easier to listen to what I have to change when not listening to the song in the studio. It’s better for me to listen to it in another environment.
Producing/mixing method
Do you produce/mix in the box or do you use mainly external gears (effect/comp/eq...)
I mix and produce everything In Pro Tools. It’s very convenient and I have great plugins that I like to make the mixes they way I want them. I work a lot with the mixing process. Mastering I let another guy do.
What is your most painful / enjoyable step in track production ? Sound design, arrangement, mixing, mastering ?
I’d say arrangement. A song has to be dynamic and have ”surprise” moments. Sometimes you achieve that. I try to break the traditional verse, chorus structure. And to do that you have to be very focused and it takes a lot of time. But it is worth it in the end. I enjoy the mixing process a lot. There is where the songs take form.
The song gets it’s character during the mix. I listen to the mix in my AirPods outside during a walk or something. Then I come up with new ideas. It’s great not looking at the screen when reference listen to your tracks. They sound ”different” when listening that way.
During mix it’s also where I come up with new ideas in the production flow. My songs often takes turns, change in shape during the whole process. I am not afraid to go away from the first idea of a song. The most important thing is that the song gets as good as possible.
Lucifer's Aid tips
Work hard and never leave a song that you are half satisfied with. Work, work and work with your songs. And take time to do a good mix. It’s your own creation you should be careful about.
Contact info
email : lucifersaid@gmail.com
#lucifersaid #darkwave #ebm #industrialmusic #recordingstudio
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