DSF Q&A Sessions : The Widdler : Closed For Questions

[FSTZ]

I heard you have some pretty awesome kazoo skills, is this true?

on a serious note, how many tunes do you make in a week?

ya that is "harrington 1200", which was in one of the episodes of the epicly funny "look around you" series. It should eventually get a release as well, I have many tunes like that and prehistoric world that need a final master and such. Perhaps try and get all the older tunes released together , we'll see

bigup Computer Jones!! almost as cool as Synthesizer Patel

On a serious note though, i learnt all my production skills from these informative videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5cWWV0KNDg

Was there one producer you looked upto in particular and aspired to be like? or was it just... look i made this noise cool!

there is a legit question hidden in my post there guy

[Depone]

I heard you have some pretty awesome kazoo skills, is this true?

on a serious note, how many tunes do you make in a week?

ya that is "harrington 1200", which was in one of the episodes of the epicly funny "look around you" series. It should eventually get a release as well, I have many tunes like that and prehistoric world that need a final master and such. Perhaps try and get all the older tunes released together , we'll see

bigup Computer Jones!! almost as cool as Synthesizer Patel

On a serious note though, i learnt all my production skills from these informative videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5cWWV0KNDg

Was there one producer you looked upto in particular and aspired to be like? or was it just... look i made this noise cool!

there is a legit question hidden in my post there guy

Shit... so does mine

[rez pez]

watap yoni, its reza, just wanted to give ya some praise and ask a couple questions

ive gone through multiple stages of just being completely baffled at tunes youve made in the past. most recently, its alley cat blues. ive probably mentioned it before but MAN that track has so much character in it. when that horn (sax/trumpet?) first comes in, it just seeps right into me, straight up perfect! when i first heard that song i didn't know what you used, was it samples you found and cut up or instrument patches? it sounds like a combination of both but it really is masterfully done.

i also was and still am baffled by go ask alice. you really achieved a consistent atmosphere in there while bringin in a bunch of unique sound elements. always wondered what millions of things were going on to get that stretchy synth sound on the second drop. i dont want you to spill the beans, just a hint at whats goin on over there. really perfect dark track with some modesty.

and, if you havent heard it enough, the lady dub vip is outstanding man and im also really diggin cosmic funk, really fitting atmosphere and textures goin about into my ears.

haha and i have to mention, that sunday track, i ALWAYS thought it was beyonce, i looked up the original track at one point and that bitch is just some hoodrat nasally ass sounding girl, shit is awesome! haha

was also surprised to hear about yer maelstrom endeavors to make the froggy style synth. ive always tried conceptualizing how to make a sound like that, and i saw you mentioned messin with the elektronic sound, glad you are tearing apart maelstrom! there really is a lot you can do with it despite not being able to load your own samples in it.

best of luck to ya man, and whenever you have the urge of doing something way different, give a big 'fuck you' to dj friendly tracks and go nuts

[nowaysj]

this was never about making the widdler a household name or for fame or money or any of that. It was always and will always be about music and fun

And it shows I wish more people would take this philosophy to heart. Thanks for the toons, and thanks for doing this.


Is your music purely about music, or do thoughts of the larger world enter your process in any way? Kind of referring to the state of the world environmentally, politically, financially.

[xthewiddler]

Big respect widdler, one of the origional that got me into dubstep

1) How do you got bout making your drums huge and keeping your bass fat aswell....I seem to be struggle a bit with this at the mo. Do you side chain your bass of roll of some frequencies?

2) When the fuck is Acheri coming out....give it to me, I want it!!!!!!!

1) The key things with drums is picking the right samples to compliment each other, layering 2 or 3 snares together , and compression. Take time and choose good samples. Once you have a good kick snare going, get in some basic hats, shuffle them up a bit, then start adding a bit more percussion here and there. Adding shuffle to percussion whilst leaving the kick snare in time gives a good dubstep feel to it. Also try and add hits on the up beats to give it reggae dub style in a way.

2) Heh when it is done it will probably be released please hold tight

[xthewiddler]

Big up to you for doing this man, loving most of the shit you bring out.

A) When using samples from the internet/movies/songs, you ever went to the makers of the sample to get the release rights for your tune?

B) Do you have moments where you just sit in front of your DAW, staring at the screen playing the same loop over and over again, not knowing what to do? If so, what helps if you really really wanna continue but you just can't?


It's been a damn useful thread already, thanks!

a) Nope. Intellectual property , what a silly idea XD

b) YES. To be honest I probably still have about 200 tunes that are just that. Loops. What usually happens is either I move on and forget it about it until a few months down the line when I reopen it and either try and add to it, or realize it is a stuck loop. If it is something I don't want to give up on and think has potential, I will leave it be for a few days, and go back to it periodically adding a little here and a little there. It eventually adds up to more than you expect and helps bring it along. Another thing I sometimes do is save the file as , and make a copy. The reason is I'll take the 2nd copy of the tune and I will make something new out of it and perhaps either find a new direction that has more potential, or to realize again what potential the original copy had. (hope my ramblings make sense).

[xthewiddler]

I heard you have some pretty awesome kazoo skills, is this true?

on a serious note, how many tunes do you make in a week?

ya that is "harrington 1200", which was in one of the episodes of the epicly funny "look around you" series. It should eventually get a release as well, I have many tunes like that and prehistoric world that need a final master and such. Perhaps try and get all the older tunes released together , we'll see

bigup Computer Jones!! almost as cool as Synthesizer Patel

stezeeeeeee <3

I think you know damn straight that Kazoo isn't a skill. IT IS A LIFESTYLE!

Back when I started (summer after high school) I was able to actually pump out about 2-3 tunes a week working most of the day. But they lacked some quality, variation and a good mix. Nowadays I try to spend more time on tunes and give them the full deal. Laying down an idea for a tune (small intro / drop / outro) only takes me a few hours (which is what I did in the past) but finishing a tune takes a few weeks of going back and adding,changing,fixing.

[xthewiddler]

I heard you have some pretty awesome kazoo skills, is this true?

on a serious note, how many tunes do you make in a week?

ya that is "harrington 1200", which was in one of the episodes of the epicly funny "look around you" series. It should eventually get a release as well, I have many tunes like that and prehistoric world that need a final master and such. Perhaps try and get all the older tunes released together , we'll see

bigup Computer Jones!! almost as cool as Synthesizer Patel

On a serious note though, i learnt all my production skills from these informative videos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5cWWV0KNDg

Was there one producer you looked upto in particular and aspired to be like? or was it just... look i made this noise cool!

When I started making dubstep I only knew of like 5 producers, mostly ones on the science faction release, so I can't say that it was any artist in particular but the feeling of dubstep as it was in early 2000 is one of my influences. Good pace, good bass, good space. Once into dubstep I was influenced by both worlds. I loved any digital mystikz mix I could get my hands on for late night toking and chilling, and had tons of rusko/caspa/skream mixes in my car.

That being said most of my musical influence comes from what I used to listen to as a kid before knowing about dubstep. Looking back on it, I think Origin was heavily influenced by Enigma's album MCMXC a.D.

[xthewiddler]

watap yoni, its reza, just wanted to give ya some praise and ask a couple questions

ive gone through multiple stages of just being completely baffled at tunes youve made in the past. most recently, its alley cat blues. ive probably mentioned it before but MAN that track has so much character in it. when that horn (sax/trumpet?) first comes in, it just seeps right into me, straight up perfect! when i first heard that song i didn't know what you used, was it samples you found and cut up or instrument patches? it sounds like a combination of both but it really is masterfully done.

i also was and still am baffled by go ask alice. you really achieved a consistent atmosphere in there while bringin in a bunch of unique sound elements. always wondered what millions of things were going on to get that stretchy synth sound on the second drop. i dont want you to spill the beans, just a hint at whats goin on over there. really perfect dark track with some modesty.

and, if you havent heard it enough, the lady dub vip is outstanding man and im also really diggin cosmic funk, really fitting atmosphere and textures goin about into my ears.

haha and i have to mention, that sunday track, i ALWAYS thought it was beyonce, i looked up the original track at one point and that bitch is just some hoodrat nasally ass sounding girl, shit is awesome! haha

was also surprised to hear about yer maelstrom endeavors to make the froggy style synth. ive always tried conceptualizing how to make a sound like that, and i saw you mentioned messin with the elektronic sound, glad you are tearing apart maelstrom! there really is a lot you can do with it despite not being able to load your own samples in it.

best of luck to ya man, and whenever you have the urge of doing something way different, give a big 'fuck you' to dj friendly tracks and go nuts

REZA! been a while

Alley Cat blues was great fun to make. The trumpet is from the SR brass refill, clarinet is from reason factory I think, as is the upright jazz bass. Glockenspiel was reason factory. And the keys were from a refill called "Electro Mechanical" which has great retro pianos and organs. The flute was a rex loop I found whilst browsing through stuff. Originally it was just the intro part and was at 135 bpm and wasnt going to have drums. It was gonna be a chilled jazz groove, but then I have a change of mood sped it up and slapped in some think drums. I'll def finish this tune at some point.

glad you are digging the tunes on the page I'll have new ones to put up later in summer

Most if not all of my cool sounds have come about from playing with synths outside of a tune, just messing with and learning a synth is a good way to practice and kill some time if you're bored.

thanks for the compliments man , hit me up sometime if you and sina are gonna be at any shows in the area

[xthewiddler]

this was never about making the widdler a household name or for fame or money or any of that. It was always and will always be about music and fun

And it shows I wish more people would take this philosophy to heart. Thanks for the toons, and thanks for doing this.


Is your music purely about music, or do thoughts of the larger world enter your process in any way? Kind of referring to the state of the world environmentally, politically, financially.

The state of the world to me personally is sort of a scary/sad joke, but eventually something will give. I try not to think about it. Try being the keyword. The world itself however, nature, physics, the universe, are very much a part of my music. Origin was almost just that, a culmination of tunes inspired by the earth itself.

[DubSac]

Dude your just a sick guy...

[sixth sense]

Not sure if someone asked this already but what does the widdler mean? to be honest I think its such a sick name

[faultier]

and a jews harp.

wait what ?

jokes aside thanks for doing this q+a, havent listened to your tunes before, you just got yourself a new listener sir

[paravrais]

Dude your just a sick guy...

+1 for this

also how long had you been producing for when you made sensi samurai?

[xthewiddler]

and a jews harp.

wait what ?

jokes aside thanks for doing this q+a, havent listened to your tunes before, you just got yourself a new listener sir

jews (jaws) harp

[xthewiddler]

Dude your just a sick guy...

+1 for this

also how long had you been producing for when you made sensi samurai?

When I made sensi it was after about 7 years of messing with recording and about 3 years in reason. I spent about 4-5 months total on both sensi and lady dub

[nitz]

No questions for now... But just pure respect for this guy

[nowaysj]

I'm sitting far from my monitors, nitz your avatar kinda looks like the widdler's. I thought the widdler had flipped it and was talking about himself.

[E-man]

hey thanx read the thread and already learned alot. i have questions too:
1. how many synths/patches do you use per track ?(for the bass not including the sub)? do you use many different ones or just put effects on the same
2. and when do you know if a track is finished? (im asking cuz i tend to somtimes overdo mine and it ends up messy)

[nitz]

I spent about 4-5 months total on both sensi and lady dub

No shit... it was apparent

@nowaysj