The next version of Native Instruments Maschine 1.6 will allow to host VST/AU instruments and Effects along with samples. This will be a game changer and increase the serious production potential of this already very powerful programming tool many fold. Most people have been using Maschine as a plug-in in their DAW so far they might consider working more in standalone in the future, using Maschine also as plug-in host. This will further improve the workflow significantly, while adding better transport and key shortcuts. Consider having 8 racks with 16 synths or samplers!

Some of the new possibilities and benefits that come to mind here are:

• Using synthesizers for sound design along with samples, a combination known for Ableton Drumracks and something that previously could only be done via a DAW. Layering samples with synth sounds has long been one of the main sound design and production tools in electronic music.

• Additional Effects and Signal processing tools which could make it possible to produce a finished Mix just with Maschine (standalone) while using the best plug-ins available for mixing and mastering.

• Hands-on loop based automation of plug-ins becoming a breeze depending on how this will be implemented. I think it might at least happen via the macro controls and it remains to be seen how easily controls could be mapped to knobs without tedious routing and mousing. The autowrite and erase function is by far the easiest way to program automation I’ve seen so far.

• Step sequencing of any of your plug-in controls just by pressing a pad and turning a knob. This technique is here to stay and makes selecting/editing with the mouse and the computer keyboard feel somewhat awkward now.

• The Controller Editor could start to play a more prominent role here when it comes to mapping plug-ins to the Maschine knobs and buttons as it looks now the basic lay out to facilitate this is already in place.

• Beyond the plug-in support there might be a number of other important additions in the works and the Maschine Forum is abuzz with plenty of requests and creative ideas.

Here is my opinion of what could also be in the works for the 1.6 version:

• Native Instruments might add some kind of a time stretch feature..stretching sounds for granular effects or just synced beat matching. A very popular request and most likely to happen. But then again i could also add Kontakt to the mix and have various high quality time modes..however by abandoning somewhat the simple mouse free ways of Maschine.  On the positive Kontakt (which originally revolutionized sampler based time stretching) is such a well developed instrument for sample based sound design, that it will be hardly outdone by any other platform in the near future. Also being able to use Kontakt format opens up a universe of content by NI and 3rd party developers.

• So far we have enjoyed mostly the MIDI programming and performance potential of Maschine but NI has ultimately more in mind and will eventually also step on DAW- territory while keeping its cutting edge live midi control as a special distinction. The addition of the VST/AU plug-ins will be a most elegant first step to turn Maschine from a plug in into a host. How easy and smooth that will be remains to be seen, but considering the release is still some time off we all might want to get more powerful computers by then anyway.

• I also could imagine some kind of a song mode to be added that would allow for scenes to be rearranged easier or automation to be overdubbed as part of a project track. Midi editing could easily be improved. I think the software still has room to grow.

I will keep you informed here on some of the new features as they come over the NI horizon. I had the opportunity to meet the makers and hope for some additional goodies.

Meanwhile, expect a public beta to be available by January, and have fun playing and practicing your Maschine!

Heinrich Zwahlen is an Ableton Certified Dubspot instructor and sound designer currently teaching sound design and synthesis. Zwahlen is a Swiss-born, NYC-based producer who has worked with an eclectic set of DJs and producers from hip-hop to house.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brainfeeder artist/producer Lorn along with Native Instruments specialist Josh Fielstra hosted a Maschine workshop at Dubspot. Lorn talks about the creative process for his album, performing live with Maschine, using Reaktor to produce and getting signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“The Golden Years” will premiere October 18th at the DMC World Finals @ KOKO, London. Internet premiere: October 20.

“The Golden Years” was filmed at and is sponsored by Dubspot.

PRACTICE TIP #1 – Plan Your Practice
As a DJ, a turntablist, and a champion sandwich artist, I’m a big believer in the power of practice. However, not all practices of practice are practically equal. Someone can practice 10 hours straight and not make much progress. What’s important is not only how much you practice, but how you practice. Quality can trump quantity, as the saying goes, and quality pastrami trumps all.

I changed my practice habits a few years ago after having a conversation with my friend Mike. Mike was taking drum lessons from a drum master named Bob Gullotti of The Fringe, easily the best drummer I’ve ever seen in person. Gullotti advised Mike to practice in the following way (as I remember it):

1. Figure out each thing you want to practice.
2. Look at how much time you have each day to practice.
3. Practice each item for a set, finite amount of time. (e.g. If you want to practice 5 things, and you have 1hr 15 minutes each day to practice, practice each thing 15 minutes).

This method of practice helps in many ways. First, you are focusing entirely on one thing at a time, which usually allows for more efficient and effective development. You don’t get distracted with skills you don’t really care about. Secondly, you don’t get bogged down with any one skill. If your attempts at a particular technique aren’t going well, you still are only doing it for 15, maybe 30, minutes. On the flip side, if you are really making progress with something, the time limit will make you excited to come back the next day and practice it again.

I do this every time I practice now. I plan out everything I want to practice. I plan for how long I want to practice each skill. Then I literally set a timer, and follow my plan (http://online-stopwatch.com ftw, full-screen mode ftdoublew). Easy as pie, the easiest food in the world.

When I first started with this method, I noticed fast improvements within a week’s time. After a few months, I was already starting to nail scratches that were previously way beyond my reach. In general, my skills took off.

As an example, here’s one of my weekly practice schedules I used for my 2009 DMC World Finals preparation. And yes, I do have the handwriting of a 7-year-old.

But don’t just take my word for it. The power of this kind of practice routine is supported by actual research and actual scientists who wear actual glasses and actual overcoats. However, this sort of crazy talk is better suited for another post, so stay tuned for the next practice tip!

SELF SIMILARITY

In the past few articles of this series I’ve talked about technique and work-flow related issues all contextualized around making beats and producing electronic music.  In this article I’d like to introduce a concept which perhaps not everyone will agree with, but I think is worth talking about.  It deals more with the artistic component of making music.

The concept is self-similarity.  Basically, making tracks that sound like each other, and developing a ’sound’ as a producer and artist – meaning that someone could hear a new track and guess that it was you by the style and sonics.

An example of someone who has utilized this concept throughout their career is the grime MC and producer Wiley.  He’s one of my favorite artists from the grime scene both behind the mic and on the buttons.  His productions are bold and unique, and so is his MC personality.  He’s an artist with an outsized persona and a great deal of both personal and stylistic courage.

He’s also massively prolific.  I have no idea how many beats and songs he’s released, but it’s definitely in the hundreds in the past decade.  One way he does this is by re-using a lot of the same sounds and samples.  For example, he can finish a riddim, save the project as a new copy, delete the MIDI data, and start again using the same sounds.  He has mentioned that he works in Logic in the past, so specific to that program, you could use the ‘channel strip’ feature to achieve this.  In Ableton a similar technique would be to use an instrument rack.  Regardless of technique, after hearing so many different tracks with, for example, that wood-blocky, massively compressed Wiley snare, he has developed a very recognizable sonic signature.

For all producers reading I recommend you try this:

Finish a track, save it and then delete all the notes, patterns and melodic phrases and save with a new name.  Be careful not to hit save and overwrite your previous song without changing the name.

Now, write a new song in a new key signature, maybe a new tempo, and re-use the same sounds.  You’ve already spent a lot of time gathering and making these sounds, so they’re probably pretty good.

Focus on creating melodies, beat patterns and musical ideas, rather than sound design. Obviously in the course of the track you may end up adding some new sounds, changing existing sounds etc., but the point is you already had a nice palette to start with.

The second strength of self-similar production is that by doing this a few times and releasing the results, people will start to hear similarities between your tracks: if they like them they will often be happy to hear more of the same.  Yet another use for this technique is to make several songs using a good sound palette, and then choose the best one or two to release.  Choose two that sound similar but are different enough to stand apart, for example.  There is a fine line here between creating a sound for yourself and being repetitive, and this is where the controversy may arise.  Obviously many people, especially people who are into sounds more than songs, may complain (nerds hating on internet forums, I see you guys, don’t worry!)  It’s up to you in this case to find an artistic balance here between similarity and variation.

Maintaining a certain self-similarity in your own output can help people, both listeners and DJs, to understand your work.  By maintaining a certain somewhat consistent sound and vibe throughout, someone like Wiley can guarantee that if I am in a record-shop looking for a certain type of thing – basically interesting, weird but hype grime – I will definitely check out his new releases.

Another example of someone who does this in both the production and song writing side is Terius Nash, aka The Dream, another artist I find very inspiring.  As a producer/songwriter his  shiny, heavily processed, cotton candy R+B is immediately recognizable, whether it is he himself as an artist singing “Rockin’ That Sh*t” or someone like Rhianna singing “Umbrella” (he wrote both).  Again, in this case it can be both a strength and a weakness, but for someone like The Dream who made his initial mark as a behind-the-scenes song writer/producer (with partner Tricky Stewart) this guaranteed that when his clients went shopping for a single they could go to Radio Killa (his company and he’s not kidding with the name) and be confident that they would get a certain type of track and that it will probably set the charts on fire.

The Dubspot crew had a great time on our maiden voyage to Austin a couple months ago.  A successful edition of our production and performance workshop tour, with presentations from Francis Preve, Jim Rivers, Christopher Willits, Jon Margulies, Barry Cole, Daniel Wyatt, Pailo, Michael Hatsis, and DJ Kiva, plus a sick Funk Aid release party… A fantastic experience for all involved.

This new video summarizes the tour experience in Austin, with reactions from presenters, attendees, and some presentation topics, all giving a good taste of who we are, and what those who didn’t make it missed out on (don’t worry, we will be back).

Dubspot presents

Our first presenter, Francis Preve (Different Pieces, Toolroom, Armada), has been a sound designer for Ableton since 2004, a DJ since 2006, and a producer for over a decade, collaborating with Wolfgang Gartner on the hit songs Yin and Yang, plus remixing artists like Sander Kleinenberg, Dave Seaman, and Josh Gabriel.

His workshop will cover sound design strategies and effects applications in Live, drawing on the knowledge gained from his years in the studio, and his many projects with Ableton, during which he has worked on every aspect of sound development, from creating waveform data to developing custom presets and macros.

Our second presenter, Justin Williams (Wooden Eye Recordings), will be discussing effects automation, dummy clips, and clip envelopes, with an emphasis on acoustic instruments. His workshop will draw on his years of experience as a producer and improvisational composer/performer, during which he has developed a unique set of computer-based sequencing and compositional strategies that are perfectly applicable for any acoustic, and even electronic, musician.

This Austin Ableton User Group Sunday School Session is on at the AAMP Warehouse again, 411 W. Monroe, Austin, Texas — 4 to 8pm.  Please — RSVP@dubspot.com (ref: Austin User Group 02.21.10)

And now – Global Spokesperson for Adidas!  Adidas is releasing a Star Wars Edition — the…….. Skywalker Shoe! — and now Neil has found himself at the center of a crazy promotional campaign along with a few other names you might of heard before – Snoop Dogg and Daft Punk!! Say What?!

The official Release party is planned for February 4th, at the SOHO Adidas Originals Store, 136 Wooster St.  Theres an ‘Imperial March’ beginning at 10:45am (Broadway and Houston), with Neil providing the soundtrack.  Check it!  This shiz is serious….

Check out Neil’s latest infamous ‘gourmet mixtape’: “THE DNA of the Blueprint”:

In Neils own words “If in January of 2008 you told me that I would travel the world with Jay-Z, perform at the Olympics in Beijing and at President Obama’s Inaugural Ball with the Roc Boys, have bagels on Damien Hirst’s boat, represent the elements of hip-hop alongside Kanye and Coldplay, perform at MSG for the firefighters and police lost in 9/11–and now be featured in a global TV campaign for Adidas and Star Wars (with David Beckham and Snoop Dogg nonetheless)–I would have said, “yeah right.  Didn’t you know: I’m just a turntablist?”

Inspirational dude…!

Mike Henderson

His workshop will feature two of Native Instruments’ most widely used and respected products, Traktor Pro & Maschine, while giving the crowd an introduction to the technology and techniques of digital DJing.  Plus, he’ll touch on the intriguing Twitter DJ application, which broadcasts playlists live!

Apple Store SOHO
103 Prince St
New York, NY
(212) 226-3126

Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm

Some of you may already know this, but Ableton and Serato have been leaking info over the past few months of a new partnership to create a symbiotic link between Live and Scratch.  Being that I own, use, and love both of them, this was a major thing for me to cover and see at the show…

I was lucky enough to be there.  I captured it with my Supacam and got some stills with my regular camera.

Ableton and Serato have created a major buzz around this unveiling to both the DJ and Music production worlds.  The software product, called The Bridge, fuses both apps together, making one monster environment for production and performance.

They had a major press meeting at their booth to present it to the world; the whole thing was a huge mob-scene.

We all had ideas as far as how the interface integration was going to work and look……
As always, Abletons’ creativity and individuality never ceases to amaze me.
Their take on how it should look and work was quite different from mine, and I’m glad it was…….It would have been quite a boring unveiling for me if it looked and functioned exactly as how I had imagined;-)

I was able to corner my old friend and Ableton Product Specialist Huston Singletary for a very special Dubspot exclusive operational video to give us a deeper understanding than what we saw in the rush of the Press Release Meeting.
To give you an idea of what a buzz this was at the show, this video was interrupted by another old friend and sound designer extraordinare Richard Devine. We can also see James Bernard from Propellerhead bouncing around the Ableton booth as well……

The great news is is that it is free if you own Live 8 and Serato Scratch Live! 

DJ Shiftee

But that’s hardly it for the 2009 DMC World Champ.  He just dropped a new mix for the crew over at URB, all ripe and ready for download as you read these very words.

Electro Boat House flows through a variety of popular party genres, opening with some sharp, rock n’ roll electro, then moving through new disco and dubstep.  The whole experience is a headbanger’s delight, indicative of a DJ who carries crowds to the brink of ear-bleeds and insanity, while making ‘em smile the whole way through.  With songs from the likes of Boys Noize, Major Lazer, Jack Beats, Hot Chip, and The Rapture, its a whole hour of good time party music galore, perfect for either a Friday night, or a Monday morning when you’ve just run out of coffee.

A full tracklist is below.  Grab the mix now off URB’s website.

Electro Boat House Tracklist:

Boys Noize – Starter
Jack Beats ft. Dynamite MC – What
Boys Noize – My Head (Para One Remix)
Last Japan – L.F.O.
Diplo & Laidback Luke – Hey (Foamo Remix)
SonicC – Stickin’
SonicC – Stickin’ (Oliver Twizt Remix)
A1 Bassline – 8oh8
Toadally Krossed Out! – Toad’s Theme
Tom Stephan – Turn That Shit Up (Diplo Remix)
Major Lazer – Pon De Floor (Afrojack Remix)
Fake Blood – I Think I Like It
AC Slater – Play The Record Again
Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Waves (Chilly Gonzales Piano remake)
Zeds Dead – Dark Side Dub
Ollie! – You Stupid Cunt (Bare Noize Remix)
Attacca Pesante & Shea Soul – Make It Funky For Me (Rusko Remix)
Joker – Holly Brook Park
Mode – Play
BioViolence – Milk
The Shoes – People Movin’ (Siriusmo Remix)
Hot Chip – Out At The Pictures
La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
Classixx – I’ll Get You (Final Remix)
Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone
The Rapture – Sister Savior (DFA Dub)
Holy Ghost! – I Will Come Back
Amadou & Mariam – Sabali (Dakunt/Candongueiro Kuduro Refix)