Kaiser Cartel recently stopped by the studio to record a few songs, discuss album funding with Pledge Music, and tell us a bit about the production elements of their forthcoming album. Join @tanacea and @KaiserCartel in this spazzcast as they discuss the ever-evolving music industry.

Oh… I almost forgot… the infamous Daniel of Daniel Records is also mentioned as they expose the carefully guarded secrets of his unique role as one of the founding owners of this budding indie label.

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While listening to this track you will not only hear the cherished pop and fuzz that only comes from vinyl, but you will also hear, especially at the end, a horrible buzz generated from compute/recorder noise. Please listen through the buzz as I was a total recording nOOb at the time of this remix. I did the remix using Stevie Wonder’s Past Time Paradise and a Jungle Break album I picked up while living and DJing in Germany. I have no idea who did the breakbeat, as I no longer have the vinyl. I hope you enjoy.


Past Time Paradise

Tanacea is The Music Spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.

One of my favorite forms of music expression exists as a mashup. Also know as the remix, music mashups allow one creative expression to be interpreted and then merged with another.
Three examples of my favorite remixes are:

Bob Marley: Dreams of Freedom: Ambient Translations of Bob Marley in Dub
The Cure: Mixed Up
Jaydiohead: The Encore

What I love most about these particular albums is the cross genre appeal and creative exploration. All three albums leave their original genre to be merged with another, thereby opening previously released music to a whole new market of listeners and diving into new forms of expression. This is great for the musician, especially indie artist, as it broaden their fan/listener base.

While mixing and mastering Andy Zipf’s Cowards Choir, I fell in love with the track Should Have Told You. I kept hearing a remix that had to be made or it would have burned in me for the rest of my life every time I heard the song. Using Pro Tools and Reason, I went to work.

The song is written with an AABAB form, which I was careful not to build too aggressivly. In order to accomplish this, I only used subtle variation in the A section of the song which allowed his story to take precedence over the remix. Because Andy’s poetry and voice commands the attention of the listener, this particular remix also required that I leave the whole of the vocal track in tact. My goal for this remix was not to change the core message, but to add the piece of expression the song led me every time I heard it.

Below you will find both the original mix and the remix my soul demanded.
02 Should Have Told You
01 Should Have Told You – Tanacea Remix

Tanacea is The Music Spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.

Session Production Elements:
This session is affectionately called Melody First because I built the beat/rhythm section around the melody. I started with a bright piano patch using the NN-19 sampler and filled it out with an NN-XT synth patch. I enjoyed the way the two instruments interact with each other as they swap carrying the melody. This interaction between the two parts help to create interest in a rather simple melody.

The Beat itself was programmed using the two ReDrum machines. One ReDrum has a few percussion hits only in it. While the other carries the core beat. Instead of just programming the drums using the ReDrum step pattern sequencer, I actually performed them using trigger pads. This adds life to the performance giving it a more authentic drum feel, by recording the actual velocity changes in the performance.

The bass was done using the Malstrom synth with quite a bit of grit added to it to give some edge that cuts the mix. I also recorded a mod wheel automation that opens the bass up at the end of phrases.

Finally, I am opening the loop with a pickup beat that uses two SubTractors to create some interesting texture. These effects are bussed to a delay to give them a huge sound and massive sustain.

Melody First

Download the .wav and Reason 4 file here.

Tanacea is the music spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.

Melody First by Tanacea is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are encouraged and are easily accessible by contacting @tanacea.

Session Production Elements:
In this session I open the track using the Redrum drum machine to lay the core beat, the Malstrom synth for my bass, the NN-XT sampler with a clarinet sample loaded up in it, and a Dr. Rex acoustic guitar sample that I panned all over the place to create interest and depth. The clarinet sample is bussed to the Scream 4 processor to add some gritty texture. The breakdown at bar seven/eight was created by combining the use of the Dr. Rex filter and a solo automation on the mixer. Finally I layered a second rhythm track with the second Dr. Rex loop player to fill out the beat and add life to the track.

Automation Discovery

Download the .wav and Reason 4 file here.

Tanacea is the music spazz and you can follow him @tanacea.

Automation Discovery by Tanacea is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license are encouraged and are easily accessible by contacting @tanacea.

In this Spazzcast listeners will hear about preamps, EQs, and Compression.

Listen to Lu and Tanacea discuss some of the gear (pres, comps, and EQs) they use when recording. From budget to high-end gear, @Lu and @tanacea discuss gear features, recording technique relating to acoustic guitar, and more in this Spazzcast.

In this Spazzcast listeners will discover practical approaches to recording the acoustic guitar.

Ever wonder how your pick selection will change your recorded sound? How about a one inch movement of your microphone to change the thickness of your tone? @Lu and @tanacea discuss these elements and more in this spazzcast. Additional topics include guitar and string selection, microphone types, placement, and techniques.