New Kryptic Minds production direction...

[wub]

http://www.fabriclondon.com/blog/view/a ... police-mix

When Kryptic Minds first came out with music that had a more 140bpm focus, what really stood out about their productions was their use of textures. Tracks sounded like they were pumped through this increasingly gritty monochrome, playing out like miniature film scores set to tough, rigid drum patterns. In a sense the duo haven’t really ever tried to change such a striking formula over the releases that have followed, with their low end loaded productions finding homes on labels like Black Box, early Swamp81 and their own Osiris Music UK, but that staunch dedication to style has only really benefitted them at a time when people around them might’ve been writing more with airplay in mind.

"After completing the 'Lost All Faith' album we felt that a change in direction was needed," explained Si, one half of Kryptic Minds alongside Leon Switch, to Kmag back in 2011. "We'd been making drum and bass for ten years as a partnership, and we'd explored lots of different avenues within the genre. We'd been experimenting with different tempos and styles for a while, but we hadn't previously released anything apart from a few things on 'Lost All Faith."

"For us, age was starting to play a part in our musical tastes," agreed Leon, expanding on the point a bit more to say: "with us not being 18 and wanting to tear out a tune with distorted amen breaks and crazy basses, which we had done for many years and thoroughly enjoyed, the natural progression was to slow down and concentrate more on our sound, and experiment with different grooves."

And that Kryptic Minds trademarked groove experimentation is constantly continuing if this exclusive promo mix is anything to go by. Shunning any kind of defined snare drum, the mix rolls out cloaked with the same kind of ominous tones as their early productions but it wriggles through tracks and on into breakdowns in a much more supple way. In a similar way to how dBridge and Instra:mental opened up the possibilities of the drum & bass tempo with their work as Autonomic, removing the chunk of the snare drum in the early part of the mix opens up the EQ range of the tracks allowing the little trickles of percussion to shine through whilst severely amping up the expectation for any kind of snare drum – which when it does finally come feels like a bit of a spiritual shanking after the listener has invested so much attention in it.

0:00 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
3:41 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
8:20 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
11:07 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
13:31 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
16:17 Amit - Acid Trip
18:59 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
21:46 Killawatt - Tantra
24:56 Kaiju - Hunter feat.Flowdan
28:09 Unknown
30:53 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
34:05 Kryptic Minds - Untitled
36:50 Unknown
39:57 Killawatt - Area 51
42:22 Killawatt - Rolling Dunes (Ipman Remix)
44:30 Kryptic Minds - Untitled

Download

Not a fan of 'Dungeon' and thought for a while that KM were some of the worst offenders in terms of turning out basically slowed down neurofunk and repackaging it as groundbreaking...but oh my days this mix is ridiculous.

This bit especially is resonating with me;

Shunning any kind of defined snare drum...In a similar way to how dBridge and Instra:mental opened up the possibilities of the drum & bass tempo with their work as Autonomic...opens up the EQ range of the tracks allowing the little trickles of percussion to shine through

One of the best mixes I've heard in months of this kind of sound, proper space, bass & pace vibes coming through on this. The sort of sound that makes me want to go home and just rip at the DAW and see what happens.

Not that I don't get that most days TBH.

But the sound of hearing something that I've grown some accustomed to actually being driven forward into a new stage within a genre is mindblowing. Can't recommend this mix enough, put it on and drift away. And report back. Always report back.

[Hircine]

Doesn't sound that groundbreaking to me, those are the sounds thelem and killawatt pushed together in 2012, taking out the snare is not a brand new direction. I think the way they are handling reverb and ambience is way more avant garde, this sound usually has cold, short, big room high passed plate reverbs. I love the way they drown the mix just to bring it back with new elements introduced.

[wub]

I think the way they are handling reverb and ambience is way more avant garde, this sound usually has cold, short, big room high passed plate reverbs. I love the way they drown the mix just to bring it back with new elements introduced.

Feeling that too, had a think about how to achieve that. Am thinking running a long reverb on the key sounds, maybe even some delay in places, then cranking up the wet knob until the damn thing is eating itself. Add new elements not on the long verb send (when it's fully wet), then as the reverb wet decreases slowly increasing the send of the new elements to the reverb bus and fade them up.

[hutyluty]

yeah tbh doest sound that unique to me- first ten minutes sounds like dub techno, the rest sounds like dungeon without a snare. very well produced and enjoyable to listen to all the same, especially when its chucking it down with snow

[wub]

yeah tbh doest sound that unique to me- first ten minutes sounds like dub techno, the rest sounds like dungeon without a snare. very well produced and enjoyable to listen to all the same, especially when its chucking it down with snow

Maybe I've been avoiding Dungeon for too long then to have noticed the decent stuff creeping back in

Atmospherics on it are ridiculous though, always such a big sound going on proper cinematics enveloping. Part of me wants to eschew beats altogether and just create soundscapes tonight.

Then have some sidechained drums creeping in, reverb on the percussion, big sound, maybe more 'verb and some light delay on a pad bus. Beginning to think my sound design hasn't had much practice recently though, so would be a good chance to expand.

I'm waxing lyrical, but honestly haven't enjoyed a mix from a "ooooh that's a cool sound" point of view in months.

[hutyluty]

yeah i know what you mean- i got a similar thing when i heard kryptic Minds for the first time and more recently when I listened to Old Apparatus.

i'd quite like to hear a KM album with no beats, kind of like an opposite to the dub versions some people do, a beatless digi version of their next album would be good in the small chance they're reading

[fragments]

Will report back. I've been stuck on the XM old school hip hop station during my commutes. Will be nice to change things up!

[Hircine]

I think the way they are handling reverb and ambience is way more avant garde, this sound usually has cold, short, big room high passed plate reverbs. I love the way they drown the mix just to bring it back with new elements introduced.

Feeling that too, had a think about how to achieve that. Am thinking running a long reverb on the key sounds, maybe even some delay in places, then cranking up the wet knob until the damn thing is eating itself. Add new elements not on the long verb send (when it's fully wet), then as the reverb wet decreases slowly increasing the send of the new elements to the reverb bus and fade them up.

I'm working on a song where I send a distorted phasing sine mid range (200hz~1000hz) to a digital delay, around 25% wet, 1/4D, not much feedback followed by a 2~3 sec long superhall reverb, around 20m or so. letting all those frequencies between 100 and 150hz pass through while using a different and dryer reverb sound on the drums. During the second drop, I crossfade both the send volumes on the snare and the percussion so the muddy and dark reverb takes over and creates some sort of evolving atmosphere because of the delay. Not sure if I was able to make myself clear.

Another technic I use is to have a chord stab sidechain its own reverb aux. Then I slowly increase the decay time during the song until it's long enough to turn on the infinite decay button on. After that, slowly decrease the stab volume while increasing the sidechain signal to the compressor in the reverb aux. While you do that, might as well introduce some new elements to the tune, the wall of reverb will act as a filter.

[fragments]

I think the way they are handling reverb and ambience is way more avant garde, this sound usually has cold, short, big room high passed plate reverbs. I love the way they drown the mix just to bring it back with new elements introduced.

Feeling that too, had a think about how to achieve that. Am thinking running a long reverb on the key sounds, maybe even some delay in places, then cranking up the wet knob until the damn thing is eating itself. Add new elements not on the long verb send (when it's fully wet), then as the reverb wet decreases slowly increasing the send of the new elements to the reverb bus and fade them up.

I'm working on a song where I send a distorted phasing sine mid range (200hz~1000hz) to a digital delay, around 25% wet, 1/4D, not much feedback followed by a 2~3 sec long superhall reverb, around 20m or so. letting all those frequencies between 100 and 150hz pass through while using a different and dryer reverb sound on the drums. During the second drop, I crossfade both the send volumes on the snare and the percussion so the muddy and dark reverb takes over and creates some sort of evolving atmosphere because of the delay. Not sure if I was able to make myself clear.

Another technic I use is to have a chord stab sidechain its own reverb aux. Then I slowly increase the decay time during the song until it's long enough to turn on the infinite decay button on. After that, slowly decrease the stab volume while increasing the sidechain signal to the compressor in the reverb aux. While you do that, might as well introduce some new elements to the tune, the wall of reverb will act as a filter.

Feel free to keep talking. I've been getting more and more into complex automation like this. My CPU doesn't like it though...lol

[Hircine]

Those are dub and dub techno technics applied to dubstep. You gotta have a decent cpu hungry reverb to do it in the box, otherwise automating the decay will sound terrible

[alphacat]

So the takeaway is... Wub hates snares.

[dougriley]

to be honest, i wasn't that impressed with the mix. don't get me wrong, i do like the minimal techno thing in moderation. however, i found myself craving variation. atmosphere is awesome throughout, but i couldn't really get into the mix until the kaiju tune. nothing does it for me more than a huge kick/snare. i feel like rhythm is sacrificed when having a kick drive the tune alone.

i'd like to hear more sets finish on a techno kick. it kind of has the late at night, rave, "i'm not sure why i'm still out", sort of vibe. however, i feel bored after about 20mins if i'm not in that state of mind.

sleeper's venture into techno has been way more exciting imo. i feel he is doing an awesome job capturing the classic elements of a rolling, dark techno tune.

[fragments]

Those are dub and dub techno technics applied to dubstep. You gotta have a decent cpu hungry reverb to do it in the box, otherwise automating the decay will sound terrible

I'm selling some gear so I may end up buying an Eventide Space pedal because I *need* to spend 500 dollars on a reverb...

Re: the mix...I've been enjoying it...but that being said Dubstep accounts for less than 10% of the music I listen too...my enjoyment could well be a lack of listening. I really dug the stuff in the beginning...all those dubby dubs...a lot of it does sound like recycled neurofunk...but that doesn't bother me so much because that kind of drum and bass is probably still my favorite EDM sound o all time. I wish it would have stayed a bit more spacey...the transition into the harder tunes was too sudden, which probably works well in the club, but not so much for me on headphones.

[sully_harmitage]

shackleton has been doing snareless 140 for years too...
good to see some other brave souls taking the same approach though.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

i always liked leon switch more

[Fowles]

really like this. the sounds they use are very interesting.

the whole no snare thing is a cool idea i guess, but it seems like in some songs they just replace the where the snare would be with some other percussive sound.

[wolf89]

yeah tbh doest sound that unique to me- first ten minutes sounds like dub techno, the rest sounds like dungeon without a snare. very well produced and enjoyable to listen to all the same, especially when its chucking it down with snow

Agree with this, not sure why everyone getting quite so blown away and going on about it's originality but it really is the best thing I've heard by them in ages though. They were quickly becoming boring djs and producers.

[wub]

it really is the best thing I've heard by them in ages though. They were quickly becoming boring djs and producers.

This is mainly why I've got so much love for this, and as huty said if it's soundtracking the right scene then that helps a lot.

I'm selling some gear so I may end up buying an Eventide Space pedal because I *need* to spend 500 dollars on a reverb...

The word is 'invest'

Re: the mix...I've been enjoying it...but that being said Dubstep accounts for less than 10% of the music I listen too...my enjoyment could well be a lack of listening. I really dug the stuff in the beginning...all those dubby dubs...a lot of it does sound like recycled neurofunk...but that doesn't bother me so much because that kind of drum and bass is probably still my favorite EDM sound o all time. I wish it would have stayed a bit more spacey...the transition into the harder tunes was too sudden, which probably works well in the club, but not so much for me on headphones.

TBH I was thinking differently...could see the first half being more soundtracking/listening and the bit from Hunter onwards being more club orientated. It was weird, when the snares actually hit (Amit, I think) it was like a rush release that I've not had from a DJ mix headphones experience for a long while.

So the takeaway is... Wub hates snares.

Formulaic Dungeon yes...of which snares happen to be a big part

I'm working on a song where I send a distorted phasing sine mid range (200hz~1000hz) to a digital delay, around 25% wet, 1/4D, not much feedback followed by a 2~3 sec long superhall reverb, around 20m or so. letting all those frequencies between 100 and 150hz pass through while using a different and dryer reverb sound on the drums. During the second drop, I crossfade both the send volumes on the snare and the percussion so the muddy and dark reverb takes over and creates some sort of evolving atmosphere because of the delay. Not sure if I was able to make myself clear.

Another technic I use is to have a chord stab sidechain its own reverb aux. Then I slowly increase the decay time during the song until it's long enough to turn on the infinite decay button on. After that, slowly decrease the stab volume while increasing the sidechain signal to the compressor in the reverb aux. While you do that, might as well introduce some new elements to the tune, the wall of reverb will act as a filter.

Expanding on this further, I had an XY controller setup after reading this...the X axis controlling the Sends on my pads & percussion bus, and the Y plane axis crossfading between a short plate reverb and a big cavern style spacey echo reverb. By sweeping across the XY, the amount that each element is going to the reverb is affected, and can then fade from the reverb styles therein.

Was a bit rough around the edges as a 30min demo project, plus the sweeps were a bit jarring at times (as you've mentioned re; reverb processor hogging)

[twilitez]

Autonomic at lower tempo seems about right for some of these tunes, quite liking it so far.

[fragments]

@Wub: lol at "invest". But thanks for posting this, I've been rinsing it in the car. Maybe not so exciting to some, but I've been digging it. I really just don' care for that fucking dry, boring vocal in Acid Trip. It's like....yea, ok, I get it...you are trying to make this song as annoying as an acid trip AHHHHHHHHHHH...the first half is def. more headphone friendly, wanted more of that! (BTW, if all goes to plan wub I'm blowing my load on a DSI Prophet)

It's funny how rinsed we agree all agree the dungeon/neuro sound is yet look at the gianormous growl bass thread on the production forum lol.