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narcissus wrote:hiya, ikonika! just listened to that please, and it's FAT

you mentioned that at first you were just excited to get a song done... i think people often connect to that mood very well, of excitement, newness, so it might be part of why a lot of people connected to that tune..

i think that often music is more about a mood and a feeling than anything else, despite what we might say about theory and production and all that...
so i'm curious, what kind of mood or artistic place do you usually try to be in when you sit down with your computer/synth?

is it more like ?

or perhaps ?

You just let the mood take you where you wanna go.

Music is expression to me, I don't care too much for words so I let the music speak...Thats very important to me, it shows who I really am...Sometimes I use my Mac's keyboard to play, building new words, new sentences...I just want comunicate

I know Im a bit slow on this one but I just wanna say- Ikonika is a fooking legend.
I saw her not so long ago and I pestered her after a show about production and she had just done AN EPIC set but she still had the time to chat and find a tune that I thought stood out in the mix and we found it in an ad hoc "is this the tune" plays tune kind of manner.

Big in the game Ikonika- one of ma faves.





What a legend you are Ikonika, If your ever in Bangor again- I'll cook yer dinner!!
PEACE

THA BUMPZ

Whats the best way to send tracks out? How many tracks, what info etc etc

How do you sit/mix your bass and kick?

Favourite part/task of production?

Any advice you can give us that you wish you would of known when you started out?

Your BIG!

mumble wrote:Whats the best way to send tracks out? How many tracks, what info etc etc

How do you sit/mix your bass and kick?

Favourite part/task of production?

Any advice you can give us that you wish you would of known when you started out?

Your BIG!

Do you mean when I send demos/tracks out? I tend to give my tracks out to honest people I think could mix them well, or to the DJs who have open minded audiences. When I first started I just gave out tunes to everyone, just to get on the map. I also sent tunes that could be streamed rather than downloaded so you don't waste anyone's time or annoy their hard drive.

...I also think it's important for your tracks not to get rinsed, patience is the key. I've got a lot of new material that's not gonna be on the album that still needs to be signed. When I do send dubs out I usually make a small zip file so the DJ has a choice.

I like having my kick at about -10db and the bass slightly lower. I don't like boosting the sub anymore. I usually put a slight compressor on the kick, just to get it thumping.

My fave part of production is just messing with melodies and effects, I try and exhaust as much soul as I can into them. I want my music to be heartfelt but at the same time it needs to work on the dancefloor. I love having that kind of contrast.

TBH I wish I wasn't so hyped about, things got rushed I think and I didn't get the time to just breathe a little, but is ok I'm breathing now lol. I also wish my DJ skills were up to scratch before I released tunes.

mole wrote:I know Im a bit slow on this one but I just wanna say- Ikonika is a fooking legend.
I saw her not so long ago and I pestered her after a show about production and she had just done AN EPIC set but she still had the time to chat and find a tune that I thought stood out in the mix and we found it in an ad hoc "is this the tune" plays tune kind of manner.

Big in the game Ikonika- one of ma faves.





What a legend you are Ikonika, If your ever in Bangor again- I'll cook yer dinner!!
PEACE

Thanks for the kind words

Can I just say, what an awesome thread this is. read it from top to tip.

Ikonika, you say you try not use all that much compression when mixing a song... What techniques do you use when going about mastering or other dynamic processing when mixing?

I'm having a lot of trouble getting my tracks sounding crystal clear at the moment... Clashing frequencies resulting in muddy sounds etc, how do you go about making sure everything fits?

Two slightly similar questions I realise, Could'nt seem to word a combined question...

Cheers,
Oli

Where did you get that bongo sample from!? pure genius!

whats your opinion on the the surge of clown steppy mid range stuff, and sort of forgetting the dub in dubstep?

You also got an 8 bit influence (respect on the chip 32, recommend basic 64, sweet arp on it) have you ever made any full blown chiptunes? Are you a fan of henry homesweet?

If you could collab with any producer in dubstep who would it be?

If you could collab with any producer outside dubstep who would it be?

Enjoy'd Moscow?

ikonika wrote:
I don't really think my mixdowns are all that tbh, especially this year getting my head around Logic and the changes in my setup…A few months ago I thought I had to compress the hell out of everything and make it all sound big, I got really confused and started thinking about my mixdowns way too much.

I think the mixdown in 'Simulacrum' is my favourite. I kept it simple and used no compression or limiters, i just concentrated on the volumes in the individual tracks.

My EXACT problem at the moment and I think I have pretty much decided to go back to the old way I used to do things ... keeping it simple with no compression or limiters.(or very very little)

Cheers Ikonika you helped me decide once and for all. WOOTBAM as well on the material you are putting out and thanks for doing the Q+A!!!!

Okota wrote:Can I just say, what an awesome thread this is. read it from top to tip.

Ikonika, you say you try not use all that much compression when mixing a song... What techniques do you use when going about mastering or other dynamic processing when mixing?

I'm having a lot of trouble getting my tracks sounding crystal clear at the moment... Clashing frequencies resulting in muddy sounds etc, how do you go about making sure everything fits?

Two slightly similar questions I realise, Could'nt seem to word a combined question...

Cheers,
Oli

I'm enjoying this as well, I rather do this and chat to people directly rather than doing interviews.

When using compression, I try to think of it as an effect (sounds weird and probably really basic, but I think it helps a lot). I think it's important to experiment with compression but it's something that I don't know too much about, that's why I would only use only a tiny bit...but if I'm sending tunes out for people to play using cdjs or serato I would apply a limiter in the master so it sounds alright next to mastered tunes in the club or radio, then take it off for final mastering.

I've had a lot of trouble with clashing frequencies, especially in the mid range with my synths. I still don't really know what the correct way is...and whether there is a correct way??? Many people will try and tell you what the correct way is, some are right and some are wrong...Generally I try and isolate all the components in the tune so they all have their own 'reserved seating'. I mixdown my tunes really low, so that they hit at about -3db in the master.

I cut certain frequencies, so with the hihats I'll cut most of the lows to allow space for the other instruments (sub and drums especially), but then lower the really high frequencies...If my mixdowns start to sound dull, it's probably because I've overly compressed something...If this happens, I will give my ears a break, or get someone to listen to it...or just remove everything and start again. I'm quite disposable with the projects I start...If I get bored or stressed, I just start something new.

I think it's also helpful if I collect great drum samples that sound great and are easy to eq...Also I don't really trust presets in compression or eq, just because we are making bass heavy music and I feel these presets are designed for more loud orientated music.

last & least wrote:Where did you get that bongo sample from!? pure genius!

whats your opinion on the the surge of clown steppy mid range stuff, and sort of forgetting the dub in dubstep?

You also got an 8 bit influence (respect on the chip 32, recommend basic 64, sweet arp on it) have you ever made any full blown chiptunes? Are you a fan of henry homesweet?

If you could collab with any producer in dubstep who would it be?

If you could collab with any producer outside dubstep who would it be?

What bongo sample? From 'Please'?

Majority of my one hit samples are free, I've either downloaded kits and packs from websites or have used something from cds given away free with computer music or future music.

With the the whole clownstep thing...I don't really have much of an opinion on that kind of stuff because I'm not really around it too often these days. I miss choking on sub bass and being zoned out and all... but things are just colourful these days, especially with a lot of producers being influenced by funky, and beats being more about drums and melody rather than who can break their wrist further with lfo...its like a competition who can colour in the fastest rather than who can make a pretty picture...

I don't know about Henry Homesweet...But thanks for the vst recommendation, I've never made any full chiptunes...I think I would be crap at that.

I'd like to collab with a lot of people, its just having the time...

lokiboi wrote:Enjoy'd Moscow?

Yes it was cold and beautiful

ikonika wrote:

narcissus wrote:hiya, ikonika! just listened to that please, and it's FAT

you mentioned that at first you were just excited to get a song done... i think people often connect to that mood very well, of excitement, newness, so it might be part of why a lot of people connected to that tune..

i think that often music is more about a mood and a feeling than anything else, despite what we might say about theory and production and all that...
so i'm curious, what kind of mood or artistic place do you usually try to be in when you sit down with your computer/synth?

is it more like ?

or perhaps ?

You just let the mood take you where you wanna go.

Music is expression to me, I don't care too much for words so I let the music speak...Thats very important to me, it shows who I really am...Sometimes I use my Mac's keyboard to play, building new words, new sentences...I just want comunicate

cool! i feel exactly the same way.. good to know there's likeminded artists gettin recognition out there...

i soaked up every word of this thread, lots of good stuff i agree w/!

Hi Ikonika, just wondering how many projects do you have that are unfinished/abandoned? have you played any SNES/Megadrive/old console games (that have inspired you?), and is there a certain structure/template you follow when structuring your tunes? Thanks!

P.S. I played Phonelines Vip to my 8-year-old brother, he said "it sounds like its from the future". Haha big up!!

The answers may be similar to ones you've already given, and if they are then you can ignore this...but what are some do's and don't's to getting your tracks heard and developing a name for yourself? I don't really follow the dubstep scene, which is a blessing when making music and a curse when trying to figure out what to do with that music once it's finished.

hans blix wrote:Hi Ikonika, just wondering how many projects do you have that are unfinished/abandoned? have you played any SNES/Megadrive/old console games (that have inspired you?), and is there a certain structure/template you follow when structuring your tunes? Thanks!

P.S. I played Phonelines Vip to my 8-year-old brother, he said "it sounds like its from the future". Haha big up!!

We're talking loads, 100s maybe a 1000 lol..but the upside to that, is, i've usually got great sounds out of those projects that I've saved and use now. These days I tend to work better, if I open Logic I usually make 2-3 finished tunes that day.

I used to play NES and Mega Drive...I was more into my Mega Drive, games like Streets of Rage, Mortal Kombat, Sonic, Micro Machines, Cool Spot and Road Rash.

ikonika wrote:

hans blix wrote:I was more into my Mega Drive, games like Streets of Rage, Mortal Kombat, Sonic, Micro Machines, Cool Spot and Road Rash.

Cool spot had an awesome soundtrack. Rock 'n' roll!

'Please' and 'Need You' by Darkstar were the two tracks that made me fall in love with this genre and start producing, so thank you!

When ur producing, writing a track, do you have lots of breaks or do you keep ploughing through it until you're done?

And what inspires you creatively? I find after reading lots of sci-fi I feel super-inspired, heh.

Thanks for taking the time out to answer all these questions.

You mentioned already that you used to over-compress your mixes, if you could go back in time what other mistakes would you avoid / what would you do differently?

Thanks for the reply, very interesting.

ikonika wrote:...These days I tend to work better, if I open Logic I usually make 2-3 finished tunes that day.

thats impressive!