RYAN JENKINS
1. Shoe Stepper (4:41)
2. For samples i used very little, which is a big deal for me because i almost solely use sampling and cutting when composing most hip-hop/dance/house music. The samples i did use were the tried and true drum tracks that frequent baltimore club music. Drum loops from “it takes two to make a thing go right”, along with other obscure drum tracks taken from a locked groove battle record i recorded into my computer and edited within ableton. For built in instruments, i used the studio Montreal drumkit to begin with, and then also used a second impulse drumkit that i stacked with the basic 808, and then another with a 909 drumkit. i used those for my open/closed hats along with my claps and some snare hits.
i used automation for alot of panning, along with some filtering effects over my bass line. I also used it alot for vinyl distortion, Phaser, Chorus, and Flanger. I used a midi footpedal for all of my recording to make it easier to initiate my record starts and stops. Since i recorded/played all the instruments myelf it made it much easier to setup ableton with an easy controller than to try and use my hands. i also used a trigger finger midi controller to trigger my drums and record them as well.
The architecture of my piece follows exactly the backbone of house music, 32 beat intros, breakups of that, and heavy repeats and stacking frequencies. Im a DJ, and i try to make music for that purpose. Some parts may sound boring, but when used in the right situation and with complimenting tracks, it sounds pretty killer. i played it at a gig the other week and i was really happy with how well it went over.
3. my main influence here was “the Teenagers”. a duo that creates heavy dance music, but all with recorded instruments that follow the typical rock band setup. Ive played un punk bands most of my life and always find myself composing easier on guitar or with something analog then trying to make sounds with my computer. This really inspired me to take the punk rock/indy aspect of my musical experience, and blend it with DJing. The resulting track is not necessarily original in regards to composition or effects or structure or anything like that, but it is very original for me and something that i have never done before. I also think its original and interesting because im backing up grunge bassline with baltimore club breakbaeats, something that i didnt think would work but does. to be original while sampling is difficult, but as a DJ i think i can relate to it quite a bit. I always justified it by saying that you can play two tracks that arent your own, that are completely and entirely somebody elses work, but combining them in a way that creates a new song out of those two, is the real art of DJing. You dont necessarily listen to the songs being played, you listen to the new sounds that are getting created by the two melding together.
4. screenshots.
5. I have been insanely busy with the TNO afterparty and my other finals, so i wasnt able to recreate my entire piece in 5 like todd had suggested. i do have a small bounce though of me working within the framework of my original piece with some parts in 5 though just so people can hear what kind of effect it had. i Didnt do everything in 5, because im not really into how that sounds. But i do like having some things in 5, and others in 4, and watching how they wobble and line up.
my webspace is having issues, will upload the one in 5 soon.
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