Another Deserted Urban Complex
- Posted by mariteaux on January 16th, 2020 filed in Tunesmithing
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dcb got me good with a fake album and tracklist inspired by the manic indie bullshit of MP3.com, like what I wrote about yesterday. Unfortunately for him, it’s not fake anymore. Cammy decided to make it real >:3c
This is by far the easiest track I’ve ever put together. I started with two chords (which became three instruments, all panned across the stereo field because depth), put that CR-78 beat over it (was originally another drum machine, but I don’t use the 78 enough), and then most crucially, I used a little thing I don’t think I’ve ever used on a track before: an arpeggiator.
A bit like loops, I’ve always felt arpeggiators were cheating, because they’re essentially computer-generated melodies. Given that I’ve always tried to make life difficult for myself, I thought that was like autopilot and never bothered to explore them any.
Really, they’re just like any other synth. No one would mistake an arpeggiator for a lead unless you literally made it the lead. Turns out, the bleepy bloopies are really fucking good for filling up space, so I have one (and later two) going throughout the track. I then soloed on top of it using my keyboard (which was a ton of fun, even if I can’t play keys for shit).
Four hours, a bit of “tape hiss”, and a fucked up Home Shopping Club sample later, and I really oughta track down the rest of mtlx’s discography. Look, it’s even 128kbps.
