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Dude. Just picking one of the YouTube pieces at random, and you're good. You still sound undifferentiated in that I'm not going to hear your work (or work that sounds like yours) and think, to myself, hey, that's DJ Tomo. Right now, however, you've got the bread and butter down for being something bigger.
Your ideas are all very musically sound and you have a good ear. My suggestion to you is to try and find an instrument or effect and abuse the hell out of it for a while. Make it do something it wasn't designed for - something that would make the people who programmed it go, "WTF!!" Chances are you'll be able to turn it into something useful.
Next, I'd work on progression. Don't just make a loop, fire it, and forget it. Continue to evolve it, making it more complex with each evolution - and most importantly, with each track. All of my tracks, except for the primary snare (and sometimes even that one), evolve and incorporate variations.
You're doing great by exploring a number of different styles. It's easy for a producer to get side-tracked into one and pigeon-hole himself.
Along that line of thinking, consider how each part is relating to the others. You might actually have an easier time with this concept than most producers. Let and/or make your tracks "talk" to one another. I call this call-and-response. One part calls out to one or more of the others and they respond.
Your weakest point, currently, may be your use of drums. You have melodies and harmonies down, quite well, but the rhythm progressions tend to be an all-or-nothing type of flavor. If you're using pre-canned loops, layer on top of those to give it depth.
I would also work, simultaneously, on progression. You've happened upon the magical loop, which actually works quite well for you, but haven't seemed to figure on how to progress to or past that with a nuanced approach. There are numerous little changes and augmentations that can be made to make songs less stagnant. I have heard you toying with variation, such as switching tempos and patterns but, again, you seem to be riding a three-speed cruiser when you might be happier with an 18-speed racing bike.
While FL is useful, you might think about another sequencer to compliment it, but you seem to be doing great with that, thus far. You have a very good ear for mixing your elements - they sound, to me, like they're right where they're supposed to be.
All told, welcome to the producer fold. Consider me impressed with where you're at, so far.
Lastly, listen to your critics:
deepeddiezilker.blogspot.com has selections of my music. You ought to make it a point to listen to anyone who gives you feedback. It lets you have a better understanding of where they're coming from and allows you to be selective about the critique you take, as a lot of it can be very subjective.
Last edited by EddieZilker on Apr-25-2009 at 02:29
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New producer needs honest feedback and direction
