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| quote: | Originally posted by John 00 Fleming
Someone pointed me to this thread, so I thought I'd stick up for myself!
As ‘Lunar Phase’ pointed out Trance music can be loaded with many large reverbs and delays, layers and every sound will be fighting for space. For me, this creates the best music for clubs, as you get lost in all those sounds and fx swirling around…hence the meaning Trance….and that’s where the name originally came from.
However some of the Psy guys head for a more minimal sound, focusing on mainly the kick and bass, leaving plenty of head room for those sharp hats and riffs, this is why they sound so clear.
It becomes a personal choice for each producer, I myself opt for the more fuller sound with width and layers but unfortunately have to sacrifice the clarity due to this. I make music for clubs and festivals, and this sound works perfectly in these environments. Armin however makes music for the masses, his music will be also be played on radio so he we ensure the tracks sound good for radio too. The mastering guys will also add their take to this, my guy for instance masters for the club environment, and I expect Armin’s guys master in a completely different way for radio etc.
You’ll hear a huge difference in the new John 00 Fleming & Digital Blonde (00.db) productions in 2009, I headed for a much cleaner sound on some of the tracks. Also Digital Blonde puts his hands up to not being a great engineer, (he’s a genius writer though!!) hence his very muddy productions. I’m teaching him though!
The different production/engineering styles can add flavor to DJ set, each track has it’s own feeling, and I use these ‘feelings’ to steer my sets in a different direction when I feel it needs it. It can be a powerful tool when changing the mood on the dancefloor and I assess this when programming my sets live.
That’s my take on it!
Thanks Domesticated for the verbal attack  |
Sorry for the attack John - it was more in jest than anything, as I own plenty of your tracks and have paid to see you DJ on several occasions, as you are someone I respect greatly.
I'm glad my criticism drew you out of the woodwork, because I've been wondering about your reasoning behind compression/mastering for quite a while.
While I fully understand and appreciate your explanation, it doesn't make home listening any less frustrating when one listens to a very clean, minimal Israeli-style production, such as Ace Ventura or Zen Mechanics, and can hear every small detail perfectly, then immediately after listens to a production such as yours, where the depth of sound and melody is maximal, and even though you're fully aware that there are fantastic elements in there, they can get drowned out at times and you feel like you're missing out on something.
In regards to making music "for clubs and festivals", rather than the radio, again I can appreciate and respect that, but there are quite a few producers who never aimed to be played on radio, yet manage to achieve a sound that's clear as a bell on both tinny home systems and booming club rigs, even with an abundance of layers.
I think Simon Posford is a good example of this. He uses an incredible amount of layers in his work yet still manages to maintain a crisp sound.
Finally, I just want to re-iterate the fact that this is not a personal attack or harsh critisicm of your work. I'm fully aware that I could never achieve what you have, musically or technically, and that it's lofty to make such criticisms without your own ability to back it up.
I do enjoy your music greatly, otherwise I wouldn't buy it - all I'm expressing is a frustration that such great music could be made even greater (personal preference, I know), yet there is a conscious effort not to do this.
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