Artist Digo stops by to discuss how future bass influences like Illenium (among others) lead him to produce in a unique style. He talks about some of the subtleties of electronic music genres and how certain characteristics separate house and techno from other styles. He takes a deep dive into his single Crashing and how he was able to create this modern track with a powerful lead vocal.
Episode Links:
Digo:
- Twitter: @official_digo1
Sound Design:
- Youtube: Synthacker: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPgdLBPVvhNt2o7m_HFQDw
- Dylan Tallchief: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIu2Fj4x_VMn2dgSB1bFyQ
- Instagram: Logic_tips: https://www.instagram.com/logic_tips/?hl=en
Plugins:
- Fabfilter ProQ: https://www.fabfilter.com/
- Klanghelm MUJC Compressor: https://klanghelm.com/contents/main.html
Gear:
Samples:
- Splice: https://splice.com/
Art:
- Canva. https://www.canva.com/
Episode Summary:
Daniel got into bedroom producing by taking a class in high school and also by getting a certificate at the recording workshop in Chillicothe, OH. One of his early inspirations is Illenium who he saw at a festival. Other favorites include San Holo, Porter Robinson, and Duskus. While he doesn’t completely define his music as future bass, he recognizes it as an influence in his style.
In discussing the differences between future bass and house, Daniel mentions the differentiation of the rhythm as a starting point. Half time or syncopated kick snare patterns make this genre different from techno and house. In addition, he recommends searching Youtube to find some broad strokes on ‘how to make a future bass beat’. He also likes to use ‘wall of sound’ chords or eighth note supersaws to start the vibe. For mixing, he says that sidechaining is crucial.
Digo likes to use Splice as a resource drum hits, melodic samples, impacts. He also mentions how helpful it has been to have a friend who is a mentor. For kicks, he discusses the importance of having enough high end to cut through the mix, but also something that can hit you hard in the chest on a good system. At the same time, the kick can’t be too long and boomy or it will interfere with the bass. These aspects are crucial for making a good kick drum to cut through the Future Bass or Electropop mix.
He likes plugins like Fabilter that don’t take up too much CPU. He also enjoys the simplicity of Klanghelm’s two-knob compression. He also likes Youtube creator Dylan Tallchief. Dylan has some great videos talking about other artists that can be helpful for getting started.
To get his track off the ground he usually likes to start with chords. He will use a piano or simple synth. He will work with progressions and explore inversions. He usually has a general sense of whether something sounds good to him when he is starting. Even though many tracks have similar chord progressions, Digo mentions that what really separates your track are the elements of sound design, rhythm, melody and a strong vocal. He also discusses that using different extensions can completely change the flavor of a progression. This is particularly important for the future bass genre. To a degree, Digo likes to ‘build in’ the melody into his chord progressions.
Digo doesn’t write intentionally toward an emotion. Rather he is in the moment and finds that making music can be meditative. He likes to get into the flow of production and the music is what comes out of it.
On two of his main singles Digo was able to use the same lead sound, which is a processed pan flute sample. On ‘Crashing’, he put the instrumental together really quickly. He then sent out a request for singer demos after having the main arrangement of his track together. Then his vocalist was able to write over it.
With regard to making hooks, Digo believes in finding a balance of repeatability with just enough variation to keep things interesting. There should be simplicity, but also small changes. Some methods he likes to use to create interest in his melodies are changing some of the notes, making them higher or lower, or by creating small rhythmic variations.
One of his favorite synths is Serum because he finds it to be very intuitive. He finds the visual feedback to be particularly helpful in this synth. He also has Casio SK1 sampling synth from the 80s.
He does like to have a promo plan for his releases. Part of this is getting together artwork for the album. One useful resource for album artwork is Canva. Also, he finds it helpful to collaborate with artists from other mediums including graphic designers and photographers.
Digo believes that when you are just getting started you have to create, even if it’s not good. He recommends you just try things, be creative and take risks. Don’t be afraid that something won’t sound good. Rather, take an exploratory approach to designing your music…and if it isn’t good, just learn from the experience. As you create in this manner you may find that you only like one sound, chord progression, or sample from the song – and you can at least save that for later use. Ultimately he believes the more you create the more you will learn about your own process.