Thrive in '95 - Jungle's zenith
- Thread starter droid
- Start date
Slothrop
Tight but Polite
I normally hate "I blame the internet" arguments, but I blame the internet for this. It's everyone going onto production forums / facebook / youtube and finding exactly the same how to mix a tune / how to write a chord progression / how to make techstep drums / how to make wobble bass tutorials, rather than starting out with a pile of records and a few hints, trying to figure it out for yourself, probably ending up with complete shit or getting frustrated and giving up but if you're lucky ending up with something that's slightly different from the stuff you wanted to copy but in a good and creative way...
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
So was he just lying in those interviews?
It's a good lie, in any case. And it points to a real phenomenon in music e.g. the invention of acid house through the misuse of the 303.
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
The pristine (if 'ruff') mechanical drums of metalheadz, the creeping mechanical professionalism of jungle becoming drum n bass.
What this thread is about is not only a full flowering but the first signs of decay, right?
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
Yes that's true.
Was his explanation that it helped cover up his janky drums?
This was one of the things about Burial, despite his popularity for home listeners you almost never heard his tunes in a club.
pattycakes_
Can turn naughty
Yeah, well put. its precisely this that makes it so compelling. There's so much wild animal energy contained in the timbres, timing and texture of that amen loop.
Even the ninja grade chop masters with their lazer precision slicing skills, photek et al, were harnessing it. Different levels of containment, but always that tension.
If you mean the soundforge claims, I never bought it myself.
You a fan?
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
Yeah I think Photek did squeeze the life out of it, ultimately (his Studio 2 stuff was great). Never really liked ni ten ichi ryu etc. was far too clinical for me.
pattycakes_
Can turn naughty
I dig the martial arts influenced stuff. Very visually evocative for me. Was also my gateway into the world of choppage. I don't listen to it much now but I think it has its place. Definitely more into the wilder stuff now.
Re: soundforge. I dunno about now but back then you couldn't even multitrack in it. Was it a lot of mix pasting then? Trial and error with the placement? Just keep hitting undo until it sounds right? Sounds like such a ball ache. What's your friend's music like?
droid
Well-known member
He was using it back in the 90s!!
You make your loops, calculate lengths and then paste em together, build them up piece by piece. Every thing has to be EQ'd and levelled first of course. We thought he was insane at the time, but... he made it work, and Burial's stuff has all the hallmarks of the same process.
My mate, Deasy is incredibly talented. He mainly made hip hop influenced stuff, veering off into more abstract material when the mood took him. Check out the crazy amount of detail in this tune. All sound forge start to finish:
When we pressed this to vinyl we had a problem with bass and we had to go back and find the original bass samples, invert the phase, reduce volume and then paste them back into the final track to reduce the bass levels...
You make your loops, calculate lengths and then paste em together, build them up piece by piece. Every thing has to be EQ'd and levelled first of course. We thought he was insane at the time, but... he made it work, and Burial's stuff has all the hallmarks of the same process.
My mate, Deasy is incredibly talented. He mainly made hip hop influenced stuff, veering off into more abstract material when the mood took him. Check out the crazy amount of detail in this tune. All sound forge start to finish:
When we pressed this to vinyl we had a problem with bass and we had to go back and find the original bass samples, invert the phase, reduce volume and then paste them back into the final track to reduce the bass levels...
pattycakes_
Can turn naughty
Jesus. That's wild. Almost as laborious as using tape and razors! And yeah I guess you'd have a bunch of floating windows open as your loop bank. Haha, I'll stick with ableton, thank you very much!
droid
Well-known member
Roni Size - Step Up
Deadlines are calling, but before I go dark Id like to explore the 'step' phenomenon that probably peaked in '95. First up, the Bristol debut for this thread via the plunging bass shuffle of Roni's 'Step Up'. All about the breathless diva vocal entry at 2:07 and the way its cut up isn't a million miles away from garage. Gotta love that rollout starting at 5:08 as well. Simple, solid, but utterly compelling.
Deadlines are calling, but before I go dark Id like to explore the 'step' phenomenon that probably peaked in '95. First up, the Bristol debut for this thread via the plunging bass shuffle of Roni's 'Step Up'. All about the breathless diva vocal entry at 2:07 and the way its cut up isn't a million miles away from garage. Gotta love that rollout starting at 5:08 as well. Simple, solid, but utterly compelling.
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droid
Well-known member
Danny Breaks - Step Off
Dont wanna step up? Then Step off instead. Danny breaks had a great run with the first 9 or 10 droppin science releases and this one has a slow, tension building intro that segues into a subterranean Goblin victory dance - and then the amen pops in with some very slick end of bar edits. The only thing that lets this down is the dullness of the production. One for the mid/high EQ cru.
Dont wanna step up? Then Step off instead. Danny breaks had a great run with the first 9 or 10 droppin science releases and this one has a slow, tension building intro that segues into a subterranean Goblin victory dance - and then the amen pops in with some very slick end of bar edits. The only thing that lets this down is the dullness of the production. One for the mid/high EQ cru.
droid
Well-known member
Foul Play - The Stepper
Stepping back up again now with another scintillating display of rhythm mastery from Foul Play. Its difficult to find anything to fault with this guy. All the beats are perfectly poised, bass rolling along nicely and then 3:11, the pads come in, leading to one of the prettiest breakdowns in jungle history. Listen to how each element slinks back in afterwards, leading inexorably to that judiciously punctuated amen drop. Absolute perfection, like it was grown rather than sequenced.
Stepping back up again now with another scintillating display of rhythm mastery from Foul Play. Its difficult to find anything to fault with this guy. All the beats are perfectly poised, bass rolling along nicely and then 3:11, the pads come in, leading to one of the prettiest breakdowns in jungle history. Listen to how each element slinks back in afterwards, leading inexorably to that judiciously punctuated amen drop. Absolute perfection, like it was grown rather than sequenced.
droid
Well-known member
Unknown Face - Step up
EDIT - Officer Craner points out that this is 96 not 95 but Im leaving it in cos its a great tune.
So many steps they could have put stairmasters in the rave... Its time to step up... again! Unknown face was Stacey Buche & Nico, and Nico's fingerprints are all over this one. Ive played this one out and the production is outstanding, beautifully simple, minimal and crisp, an air of menace building and building and then after nearly halfway through the tune that bassline drops in like the sharks fin parting the waters. There's a slight photek vibe here but the drums are just a bit too direct. One of the best things Nico was ever involved in, and a forerunner for some of the more high production value breakwork Paradox explored a little while later.
EDIT - Officer Craner points out that this is 96 not 95 but Im leaving it in cos its a great tune.
So many steps they could have put stairmasters in the rave... Its time to step up... again! Unknown face was Stacey Buche & Nico, and Nico's fingerprints are all over this one. Ive played this one out and the production is outstanding, beautifully simple, minimal and crisp, an air of menace building and building and then after nearly halfway through the tune that bassline drops in like the sharks fin parting the waters. There's a slight photek vibe here but the drums are just a bit too direct. One of the best things Nico was ever involved in, and a forerunner for some of the more high production value breakwork Paradox explored a little while later.
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