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...to quote El-B, and probably countless others.


I struggled with this for quite awhile. feeling the need to throw shit in there to sort of "fill in" a beat that I thought lacked something. and then a month later listening to a tune and thinking "waaaaay too much going down in this beat here".

so I listen to mad tunes, and notice maybe one or two elements...melodies, etc.

do you strongly believe in the "less is more" mentality? I can think on both ends where there are tunes I love that are chock full of all sorts of sounds. but also I am in awe of tunes where the really aint boo going on but it's still a massive beat.

like an example that comes to my head right now from a "current" producer is Samiyam.

Well coming form a breakcore background. More is always good. But your right in many ways less is so much more impactful. almost more emotive. So thats always good. It also adds much more deth to a lot of tracks

yeah i reckon there is a simplicity for sure. but to make that simplicity interesting/musical/complex is the hard part. a simple kick snare and shuffle and can sound amazing, whereas a crazily complex beat can sound like arse. just having the right sounds, and using them right i guess? i dunno, excuse me if i'm waffling, just been thinking about it lately. so many of the 'big' tunes seem super simple - and therefore easier to understand on a dancefloor. which is the aim i guess? but if you make it easy to understand whilst having switch ups and progression in my opinion that's all the better. so i reckon more is more, as long as more isn't just there for the sake of having more.

I probably overdo the beats a lot of the time to be honest but I am absolutely mesmerized by a minimal tune that can hold your attention from beginning to end. I think Skream is the master of this. A lot of his tunes sound like they only have 4 or 5 layers going and yet it manages to be compelling.

skeam - filth. how simple is it? but how sick is it?

gnome wrote:Well coming form a breakcore background. More is always good. But your right in many ways less is so much more impactful. almost more emotive. So thats always good. It also adds much more deth to a lot of tracks

i've always had a less is more approach, part of that is that i love minimal music, but i also love breakcore where the majority of the time it can come across as a "wall of noise". when i make breakcore i always try to have it as restrained as possible by having the minimal amount of elements like just changing drum breaks using short sounds and minimal low bass. sometimes i just make mash stuff though and pile it on.

i think dubstep lends itself very well to simplicity. in beat programming and also in the sort of sounds that compliment that sort of mood. like nothing else but a simple drum loop, sparse hats and a sub can still sound really dope.

I'm also on the less is more boat. The hard part is knowing when to stop adding elements. You got to have a bit of a plan so you dont end up doing stuff like filling a bit of silence with an unnecessary sound. I am also get more blown away when I hear a track and realize there are only 4 or 5 sounds going on. Same with a guy with a guitar, sometimes it just seems unreal the sound can be so full.

Total less is more here.

I think in a lot of respects it is harder to do less is more.

I have a natural tendency to fill fill fill. And removing often times, does not work.

So try to build it up enough to bang, and then roll it out.

Beats are stronger this way too, your kick, your snare, they get almost all of your headroom. BOOM BOOM BANG!

less is more, natural rhythm, going off quantixation or triplets for more natural feel, that and if ya ever played drums at all helps

I think a really good strategy is to use multiple midi tracks for your drums, so if you add too much, you can experiment with taking away layers instead of trying to figure out one-by-one which hits are getting in the way.


Miles Davis said it's all about the notes you DON'T play, right? He couldn't be more right; I'm still amazed when I listen to old UK garage or Boxcutter or something, and I can tell there's swing in the beat when it's just a snare. I'm still not sure how exactly they do that.

Ive been listening to bunch of trip hop and hip hop lately and ive come to appreciate simpler beats more and more. It creates enough of a vibe/emotion where you can take it from there, choose your own meaning you know?. Hard to explain I guess but maybe some might understand what im saying

86. wrote:...to quote El-B, and probably countless others.


I struggled with this for quite awhile. feeling the need to throw shit in there to sort of "fill in" a beat that I thought lacked something. and then a month later listening to a tune and thinking "waaaaay too much going down in this beat here".

so I listen to mad tunes, and notice maybe one or two elements...melodies, etc.

do you strongly believe in the "less is more" mentality? I can think on both ends where there are tunes I love that are chock full of all sorts of sounds. but also I am in awe of tunes where the really aint boo going on but it's still a massive beat.

like an example that comes to my head right now from a "current" producer is Samiyam.

BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH. I think having tunes which have lots going on as well as simple tunes which sound like YOUR STYLE is the key tbh. Variation whilst maintaining my sound is the ultimate goal for my music really. If i can make tunes that sound so different but still sound like me thats the ideal. So yeah less sometimes more others, i tend to have more with more ambient tracks and less with heavier tunes. But i want to make tunes that have OOOMF and are complex as well if its within my sound. And tunes that are sparse and ambient. Anything as long as its got consistency with the sound i consider to be my own.

my_fickle_eye wrote:

86. wrote:...to quote El-B, and probably countless others.


I struggled with this for quite awhile. feeling the need to throw shit in there to sort of "fill in" a beat that I thought lacked something. and then a month later listening to a tune and thinking "waaaaay too much going down in this beat here".

so I listen to mad tunes, and notice maybe one or two elements...melodies, etc.

do you strongly believe in the "less is more" mentality? I can think on both ends where there are tunes I love that are chock full of all sorts of sounds. but also I am in awe of tunes where the really aint boo going on but it's still a massive beat.

like an example that comes to my head right now from a "current" producer is Samiyam.

BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH. I think having tunes which have lots going on as well as simple tunes which sound like YOUR STYLE is the key tbh. Variation whilst maintaining my sound is the ultimate goal for my music really. If i can make tunes that sound so different but still sound like me thats the ideal. So yeah less sometimes more others, i tend to have more with more ambient tracks and less with heavier tunes. But i want to make tunes that have OOOMF and are complex as well if its within my sound. And tunes that are sparse and ambient. Anything as long as its got consistency with the sound i consider to be my own.

That is a good point. I guess with dubstep what you expect is the bass and space, heavy verbs ect...But I a can also appreciate something different that breaks the proverbial mold. Boxcutter comes to mind as one of the best at making a complex sounding tune.
Having said that I think something sorta breaks down to time/place. Simple & heavy is better suited for the party, ambient/complex is better for after the party or chillin.

I don't have a whole lot of experience making music, but I know that it is a lot harder to make something interesting with a minimalist approach. People who don't think they have an interesting sound just add things to make it better. It takes a skilled musician to make something incredibly simple AND compelling.

I don't know if Dizzee holds any credibility around here anymore, but his song Fix Up Look Sharp is totally that way. Nothing but like one sample and his rapping in the song, and it's still awesome. To me anyway.

So yeah, I think less is more.

I use whats needed. None of this 'im a minimalist' bullsh!t

Depone wrote:I use whats needed. None of this 'im a minimalist' bullsh!t

true, but loads of people see oh people use layers and overdo it or overdo fills etc
honestly if some people worked with breakbeats a bit more before trying to program beats it would have a more natural feel or a less is more approach

Yeah man i love box cutter

deadly habit wrote:

Depone wrote:I use whats needed. None of this 'im a minimalist' bullsh!t

true, but loads of people see oh people use layers and overdo it or overdo fills etc
honestly if some people worked with breakbeats a bit more before trying to program beats it would have a more natural feel or a less is more approach

I agree with this. nothing worse than weak beats.

ghost hits help create rhythm

webstarr wrote:ghost hits help create rhythm

True. Ghost hits are the key....