haha turn emo...you're a funny guy.

if you're just producing for fun, taking long breaks is cool.

but if you want to succeed, grow as an artist, and make somthing very good, you have to struggle, and work hard. even if that means forcing yourself to work on a track. but really, if you want it that bad, these things won't be of concern to you.

ya, like i said, for the casual producer, whatever, break as much as you want....who gives a shit.

I actually wish I could produce now, but I'm waiting for the final pieces for my new studio to arrive, so all synths and gear is spread around the room..

Hopefully I'll get it all sorted this weekend. I'll grab a pic when I'm done

And finally, I managed to actually get a rare inspiration box (minifridge with redbull and vodka in it). I'm getting a rare and very cool Red Bull Minifridge that only some restaurants get. Woot

Right now I'm also trying to get a couple of cinema chairs as well into the studio.

Btw, thats also a huge mood killer. If your studio looks like shit, it aint gonna help the creative mood

___________________
E-Mortal/Fredrik Johansson www.emortal.se
www.myspace.com/fredrikemortal
Upcoming/Latest releases:
Jan Johnston - Let the world fall apart (E:mortal remix) - Metallic Recordings
Headstrong ft. Tiff Lacey - The Truth (E:mortal remix) - SOLA
E:mortal - Lost Planet - Ministry of Sound & BTR, E:mortal ft. Tiff Lacey - Tell me - SOLA
E:mortal ft. Tiff Lacey - Footprints - SOLA, E:mortal ft. Tiff Lacey - Coming Home - SOLA
E:mortal ft. Vicky Fee - Say What You Feel - SOLA, E:mortal - Days On End - BTR
Headstrong ft. Kirsty Hawkshaw - In in Your Eyes (E:mortal remix)- SOLA

I just got back from work and Ive got FL Studio running in the background right now

If there is one thing we can agree on, taking breaks is an absolute must. The length of the break is debateable but if you have a mental block you will get nowhere by staring at a screen when your mind is blatently on something else. You might as well not bother.

When I was in uni I used to produce for days non stop and wouldnt even sleep for a day or two if I felt I was on a roll.

The weird thing is, I get more done by taking breaks when I start to fumble for ideas. I am more productive now that I am working full time and put limits on my producing time. But try to get the most out of every single hour I put in. Get out of your seat and do something else for an hour and come back to producing when your mind is focused if you arent feeling it.

I think everyone here has at some point 'overcooked' their tunes - basically overtweaked a mix to death and killing whatever magic it had in the first place, trying to make it better. Ive done this so many times I have lost count. Its not worth beating yourself up over it and dont let those defeats get you down or stop you from producing. Even the greats like Liam Howlett have off days. He had a few off years. We all have mental blocks. Its par for the course. The important thing is that you tough it out and see what you can really create when you are on song and you are in the zone.

quote:

Originally posted by Derivative When I was in uni I used to produce for days non stop and wouldnt even sleep for a day or two if I felt I was on a roll.

Oh yeah, definately been there

I always tell myself "ok, I'm gonna work on this track for one hour, and then I don't listen to it until next morning." And I end up staying up all night.

You know I want to throw out my 2 cents as well. This is a really good thread in my opinion...a LOT of people go through this. Whether you're doing it as a serious producer or just for hobby (I'm more the serious producer who also does it as a hobby, ha!), it's important to know how to discipline yourself during the creative process. Here's a few things I do:

If it's a project with a deadline:

1.) I make an actual schedule. Knowing in the back of my mind I won't stick to the schedule (similar to saying you'll work for an hour, and stop), I make one anyway because it forces my creativity to become more coherent.

2.) I will have 2 or 3 reference tracks that I can A/B to, all of which usually have some element I am trying to mimick. Ultimately I end up using it as a startpoint, and then just A/Bing for sonic spectrum purposes.

3.) SLEEP. I just came off of producing a track where for about 2 weeks straight I would pull shifts working until 6am, sleep until 10am, get up and continue working on the track. I got the job done but in retrospec, I can definitely hear PLENTY I would do differently. Sleep is very important folks!

If it's just as a hobby:

1.) Pretend that it's actually on a deadline. That can be tough, but the greatest thing about a deadline is that it often forces you to make decisions whereas if you had all the time in the world, you could stew about all the options. That's a tough thing to do to be honest, so it's very important with me.

2.) Listen to something entirely new. Don't pigeonhole a specific genre. For instance, right now, I have gone on a BT splurg where I listen to LOTS of BT. I'm pulling myself out and guess what I found myself listening to? A Kelly Clarkson track, some oldskool Eagles, Zeppelin, and LOADS of classical music.

3.) Play your principle instrument. I am a pianist, and firing up my yamaha P-90, throwing it into some great reverb or effects...then just playing, improvising. I garauntee you will get ideas that way. I often times get melodic ideas when I'm soloing over a jazz chart, oddly enough.

So, that's just my 2 cents. I'm on a "break" period as we speak since I am relocating for a new job, and therefor most of my attention is focused on all the things that have to be done in the next 2 weeks. YIKES!


This is a good thread, keep it going folks. It's inspiring me as we speak to do a new track for fun.

Ironically enough, after I started this thread I started working on something.

That's awesome man! Good luck with it. Keep us posted on your progress on the new track too! I'm the kinda guy who likes to hear things in progress and then hear the final product as well. :-D

quote:

Originally posted by Arudius 1.) Pretend that it's actually on a deadline. That can be tough, but the greatest thing about a deadline is that it often forces you to make decisions whereas if you had all the time in the world, you could stew about all the options. That's a tough thing to do to be honest, so it's very important with me.

I find I go off on so many tangents sometimes when working on an idea I just have to kick myself to leave parts of the track that I think arnt quite right and move on so the track actually "gets" somewhere - when it does its like a breath of fresh air and I go back to the previous part of the track I left.

As for ideas they either just come to me whatever im doing or inspired by a track im listening to, sometimes thought ill come up with what I think is an original peice then realise its actually a trance track I've heard lol.

___________________
http://soundcloud.com/drewwihl

great thread
i'm an old man, so i have been through years of this
i will change genres, instruments, etc
i remember the day i sold my hardware synths in 95-96 because "trance was dead" (like a fucking cat it is . . . )
i did the grunge thing which seemed so important then. . . and the d&b thing, the jazz thing. . . it all goes around.

long and short of it is it doesn't really matter ultimately. just make music and be happy. fame or getting signed doesn't matter. i can tell you of artists so hot people used to drool, and no one knows their name now. even einstein fades before the feynman's and the string theory gurus. no one even cares when president carter speaks now. only thing that matters is love and life. all else is illusion if you live long enough.

I've been producing as a hobby well over a decade now.. Brake is alvays good and needed, And don't do it 24/7. Soon you will realize it.. No matter how good you are at it, You got to balance your life. You live only once and belive me I seen some people get into it too hardcore over the years. You are young only once. And if you just do one thing, you'll miss on all the other things in life, and you end up regretting things. I read once that in this time, out of 1000 bedroom producers, only 1 will have their music released, and 1 if lucky will hit big to make a living out of that. It was a general info regarding all types of music, not just electronic. And the ratio suposely gets larger, with anyone with a computer being able to make music thease days. I don't question that since it's quite accesible with the technology now. A lot of people quit and move on, comsumed by their regular work and life. And some people do it as a hobby all their life. I know I am in that cattegory (hobby for life), and if i release something decent that's a bonus. I am married, have a doughter, work, have a studio as one of my many hobbies, and do dieferent things in life. Music is a quite big thing, but I just can't imagine if I was making tunes 24/7, I would of missed the best times of my life.

ps, I have a friend, not gonna disclose his name, he's pretty known in the electronic music scene, makes a living out of it. He does it 24/7, and what a poor sole, locked up for the last 10 years in his studio, avay like a rat. Missed some of his fun years already at 35+ years old... He's my best example, still single, almost zero social life, some interaction with people, mostly record label and me hehe, I visit him once a month.... if he's not too busy with a new track. No time to do anything, at list in his own words. The list goes on. You can imagine... It's like a being a workoholic, you just work and don't do anything alse...