I got a chance to talk with Scott Fisher from Image Line on the music creation issues on Android, and their decision in making an Android version of FL Studio Mobile – you can read the interview here and follow @AudioOnAndroid for more Android music making!
iOS musician Jinx Padlock has been producing under the streets of London for a year and a half now – picking up initial momentum on SoundCloud and landing on Tactal Hots Music for his debut E.P. Colonisation. Primarily producing inside of NanoStudio, the DAW of choice for many iOS musicians, Jinx incorporates a variety of iOS apps in his tracks, keeping the use of desktop software to a minimum and pushing the limits of what can be done on iOS. His latest release is a remix of Nomean by Newborn, read on to learn about production process for the track and what’s in store for his future…
How did you get the remix rights?
Since joining Tactal Hots Recordings last year I’ve been receiving the remixes emails from the company, always good stuff on there, and pretty diverse. I find remixing a good way of exploring avenues that are normally, sub-consciously hidden from my normal workflow, so I try and do as many as possible. It’s also a good way of keeping my profile active out there!
Explain the process from receiving the media to mastering a mix…
If I’m doing this purely mobile, which is 95% of the time, I’ll Dropbox the audio stems into Auria and from there chop out what I think I’ll need. Sometimes you’ll just get 8 bar loops, sometimes its full stems of the track. If its the full stems its good to get one last listen to the track as it originally stood. I have one simple remixing rule which I never break – once work starts on the remix, under no circumstances must I listen to the original until the mix is final and sent off. I find too closer a relationship with the source material offputting and counter productive – best to let instinct take the mix wherever it sees fit. Once I’ve got my samples roughly cut up, it’s copied into NanoStudio, where I’ll do the real intricate chopping and tuning. I try and keep it neat, I’ll bring most of it into a TRG to sort, then break those into drums, bass, fx etc. Its always a fight if you’ve got a lot of usable stuff to leave room for Jinx Padlock TGS! I treat it like a normal tune, working in the 8 bar loop, getting everything leveled and EQed, then adding parts to it from iOS synths. I sometimes get supplied with MIDI by the original artist but have never used it, I think its better to create something new. I do all my MIDI work in Cubasis, I like the clean approach to hooking synths up. I’ll play stuff into Magallen, NLog, Animoog etc and either directly ACP into NanoStudio, or take them through Audiobus. My main workflow of choice regarding Audiobus is usually going through one of two effects – LiveFX or JamUp. I’ve actually been having a lot of fun with the JamUp amplifier simulations. Great for adding a crispy live feel to sound. Its a perfect device for the DM1, which pretty much takes care of all of my drum needs these days – get a pattern looping and fire it through a marshall stack. LiveFX is great for FX performance – just jamming FX into AudioShare, sometimes you capture some real magic. When I’m happy that I’ve got enough ammunition in the 8 bar loop, and after trying a few dropouts in the mixer, I’ll start to populate the song arrangement. It was pretty clear from the moment I sampled it that the vocal was going to be the hook, line and sinker of this tune, so it was a matter of getting to it in an interesting way, then letting it rip over some building synths. It was a fairly painless arrangement, I was happy to let it fall into an almost standard club tune and resisted the urge to go into crazier territory, it was working and grooving along so nicely – those vocals were getting me quite excited, needed to finish it! The mix took 4 days of commuting to completely arrange and mix, about 9 hours. I was really happy with Newborn from a clarity point of view – impressed with getting this amount of punch and flow out of NanoStudio‘s mixer. I never master directly on the track in NanoStudio, preferring to leave a -3/-6 db headroom and no compression, then get it into Auria to push it through the master bus. I find the key to that process is ignoring any of the preset mastering setups and starting from scratch. Every track is different so every track deserves a individual master. Newborn was a fairly easy final, no need for any extra EQ on the stereo track itself, it all went through the master bus. I tend to then live with a tune for a day or so, listen to it on a few different devices – ALWAYS the car stereo – learned this years ago from a professional engineer, even better than NS10s – if it sounds good on a standard car stereo, you’ve pretty much got it! Once I’m happy, it gets dropboxed to the label and, if passed, off to the distributors. Then, I wait…
Any other remixing in the pipeline?
There is a mountain of JinxPadlock mixes hitting this year, almost one a month, I’ve been really busy with it, almost forgot to get my new E.P. finished! There’s a few remixes that I’m really happy with, both new acts, exciting stuff – Pop-Up Machines, mixed two of their tracks, Fools in a Goldfinger Bond style, the other Good Clean Woman in a more bouncing breaks / house groove, great tracks to start off with, lovely vocal performances. Another is an act called OhBoy, I’ve remixed their track “Berlin”, taken it into a dark techno space, again driven by it being an excellent tune originally. Going to be fiddling with another of their tracks soon. Just finished mixing Eick – “Tattletail” – something that I discovered one day in my SoundCloud stream and instantly loved – pestered Eick for the parts and made a massive acid mess of it! I also plan to have another bout of remixing other iOS / NanoStudio / SoundCloud users stuff like I did last year, it was a lot of fun and quite revealing to see how differently people were using the software. I’ve already got my eye on a couple of candidates! Must finish the new Jinx Padlock e.p. first, not far off now, you’re in for a very loud treat!
You can follow Jinx Padlock on Twitter, Facebook, and SoundCloud to keep up with his new tracks and thoughts on iOS production.
iOS musician and percussionist Gercek Dorman brings a serious approach to various iOS percussion apps in his videos on YouTube. Read on to see which percussive apps he likes the most, and why…
Tell us a little bit about you and your music!
My name is Gerçek Dorman, I’m from Ankara, Turkey, I’m 31 years old and I’ve been interested in music, drums, and percussion since I was 13. During my studies, I attended many private courses instructed by famous musicians from conservatories and Berklee Music College’s courses as well. In this period, I concentrated on drum set, darbuka, conga, cajon, udu drum and multi-percussion studies. I played with a number of bands both local and in other cities, as well as on TV shows, performances and entertainment organizations overseas. Besides that, I’ve been a drum and percussion educator for 6 years. In 2000′s, I was introduced to electronic music such as Talamasca, Rob Dougan, Juna Reacktor. After these I found my source of inspiration with Bonobo and Cinematic Orchestra, and I realized that I had a huge interest in computer based production and started to collect samples. Regardless of what kind of music I’m making, I always feel a huge Pink Floyd space inside me and I can see their reflection in all of my works (especially their A Saucerful of Secrets album). Last year I bought an iPad and start to use several music apps and I believe that my musical life changed to making music with iPad…
What would you say are your top three drumming / drum machine apps?
DrumJam: First of all, I’m a huge Pete Lockett fan. The app’s sounds are very useful, and there are tons of loop combinations. You can arrange them to infinitive numbers of variations. It is very user-friendly, and it has many realistic sounds. It’s also very easy to improvise with this app.
DM1: This one has great sounds. It’s very easy to understand and write beats, and there are loads of percussion and drum sets ranging from electronic to vintage. The app makes it very easy to create new songs. I also prefer this application for my live performances with Roland Spd-s since it is very easy to connect MIDI. You just just plug in the MIDI cable and the instruments automatically recognize each other. It’s also very easy to import samples and voices into the application, and now DM1 is now available in Audiobus! For me, this was the most pleasurable update ever.
DM1 for iPad on the
DM1 for iPhone on the
Impaktor: This one is easy to like, but hard to describe. It’s a very innovative app. I normally use e-drum pads and a sampler as Korg wavedrum / Roland Hpd-15, but I used a kitchen pan as an e-drum with Impaktor, I even recorded a video for my pan performance. The app also has a very easy to use looper…
Have you incorporated any iOS apps into your live performances?
Yes, I have incorporated several iOS apps into my live shows… iKaossilator, DjRig and mostly DM1. I use a hybrid set which consist of percussion and drums in gigs. In this set, there are both electronic and acoustic instruments. I used Roland’s SPDS for controlling DM1. Since DM1 can import sounds, I can use both DM1′s and the other samples that I imported. So during my performances, I have lots of sound choices which makes my performances more interesting. In general, if I play with play along tracks, I prefer the DjRig. It is easy to crossfade between songs and if I want to make additional live effects on songs, DjRig it very easy. iKaossilator is one of the reasons for me buying and iPad. Because before the iPad, I had a KP3 as hardware and I was planning to buy a Kaospad. Then I realized buying an iPad with the iKaossilator app is much better, and economic. It’s super easy to make loops with it and have fun! When it comes for percussion solo in gigs, I often open my iKaossilator app and play my percussion loops and songs that I’ve created there. I’m really glad I went with the iPad!
Actually, I’ll be performing solo in Turkey on 1st of May, and iOS apps will lead and help me in my show. I will use my favorite apps like Magellan, Animoog, Alchemy Mobile, LiveFx, ThumbJam, Audiobus, DrumJam, DM1, Impaktor, iKaossilator, and Samplr.
You seem to be a big user of the Alesis iO Dock, how satisfied with it are you?
I am a big user of Alesis iO Dock. I use it as a sound device for almost every work of mine. It’s like a swiss army knife for my iPad. It has XLR and 1/4-inch inputs, each with its own gain control and switchable phantom power for condenser microphones. It has MIDI connections and also it has stereo output. Everything I need, and I can carry it everywhere because it’s super portable. I use it mostly on stage during my performances as a MIDI connection between my Roland Spds and DM1. The only problem with iO Dock is the latency with microphone recordings, especially in BeatMaker 2. In MultiTrack DAW, it’s not as bad, but still present. Because of that, I am looking forward to the update from Intua for BeatMaker 2 (also for Audiobus). But for now, it is a part of my set up and I’m definitely going to stick with it…
You can give Gercek a follow on Twitter, YouTube, and subscribe to his blog here.
BitBurner‘s signature sound, dubbed VGDM or “video game dance music,” incorporates loads of samples from classic video games that’ll really make you feel like you’re in a musical arcade. Give him a follow him on Twitter and SoundCloud to keep up with his new tracks! You can also download an 8 bit arcade sample pack from him, for free, here!
Bonus: Get inside BitBurner’s head as a producer and a user by explore the NanoStudio project for his track Left Right Thrust Fire!
Tell us a little bit about you and your music!
My name is BitBurner, I’m from Bakersfield California, I’m 41, happily married 19 years, father of 2 girls 12 and 8. Professionally, I’m a network engineer and when I’m not working or playing Mineraft with my daughters I make music out of old classic video game sounds. I like to call it VGDM (video game dance music). I grew up in the height of the 80′s video game/arcade boom. I was a “latch key kid”, meaning I didn’t have much supervision after school. I hung out at the arcade at the mall where my mom worked in a dept store. I stayed till it closed almost everyday. There was also a huge arcade just a few blocks from my house. So with no supervision I spent a lot of time at arcades. So most my music is tied to my childhood and that nostalgic feeling I get when I hear those classic 8bit arcade sounds from some of my favorites like Galaga, Donkey Kong, and Asteroids. I like that arcade noise you know what I’m talking about? It’s music to me.
What got you started on iOS?
Last Christmas I used my work bonus to get an iPad2 and I soon discovered there were some really powerful music apps. Some I had used before on my PC like ReBirth or in real life like iElectribe or KORG iMS-20 but having it all in something I could take anywhere blew my mind. I must have spent $150 on music apps in the first week I got the iPad. I think my iPad has something like 6GB of just music apps, samples and projects on it. I even been known to delete games I really like just to make room for more music stuff haha…
What apps are you using to get those 8 bit sounds?
Well I have a couple of tricks but most of my sounds are from the ROMs of actual arcade games from the 80′s. I have an extensive MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) ROM collection of well over 7000 working games. I use a program on my PC called M1 to extract sounds as WAV’s from those ROMs. I throw those onto sample pads in NanoStudio and I’m halfway there. Another trick I use is create my own synth patches based on simple saw or square patterns and double them at different octaves (classic chiptune trick) or actually load up some old Atari 2600 bass noise samples as the sample on my custom synth patch. I also use a program on my PC called SFXR to create just about any 8 bit sound I need. I used it to make a free sample pack you can get here. I use a ton of those samples in that pack in my productions.
What would you say are your top three iOS music apps?
NanoStudio has to be at the top for sure. I use it by far the most. It’s a full production studio literally in my hands. It beats sitting at a desk at a DAW trying to be creative. I can take it with me and produce something at the park or while laying down relaxing. Some of my best tracks were done in the car on the way back from Disneyland. I don’t see me doing much without it. NanoStudio on my iPad has put me back in touch with my music with all the pun intended.
Second would be have to be TouchOSC. Before I got my Novation Launchpad I was using TouchOSC more as a full midi controller for Ableton Live stuff but it’s still great as a second controller. I can keep the Fx Screen up and then not have to worry about switching screens on the Launchpad. I’ve only released a few tracks done in Ableton as most of what I’m doing is prepping for live events coming up next year.
Third is a tossup. There are so many great apps it’s hard to choose. But if I have to choose one it would be nanoloop. It’s the closest thing to a mod tracker or LSDJ on iOS. I’m waiting for a full old school tracker like Milky to be ported but until then this will have to do. There is a pretty big learning curve along with a strange interface but it will make chiptunes. I’ve used some small elements in my productions via AudioCopy feature right into NanoStudio. But I have to say I use a lot of different apps. Especially if they support AudioCopy!
For those live gigs you’ve got planed, are you going to incorporate your iPad in at all? If so, how? Will we get to watch?
I do plan to use it live in two ways. One will be with TouchOSC to handle my effects in real time and they other will be NanoStudio to do some live creation stuff. This is where I’m trying to mesh Ableton and Nanostudio and I’m doing it by syncing midi clocks. I’m doing some cool stuff that I have wanted to do for along time but was never within my budget or grasp. I hope to go straight into a board wherever I am get a nice dat copy. I’ll have to borrow my friends as that is a piece of equipment i’m missing but you got me thinking maybe I can do it on a spare iPod :) But my overall goal/dream is to do some sort of tour to arcades all across the U.S. It might be a short tour as there are not many left. But there are some greats I would love to play like Twin Galaxies of course and Insert Coins in Las Vegas.
What’s one app or feature of iOS that you’re hoping for?
Wow that is a hard question because I was just talking about how a proper mod tracker is missing from iOS but I would have to say more VST support. There are some things I miss from the my Ableton setup like VSTs and automation. I would love to be able to do side chaining. Rumor has it Matt Borstel is working on something new (NanoStudio 2?!?) and I’m very excited about that. NanoStudio has some great potential to host these kind of features so I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
Lastly, what’s in store for BitBurner? Do you have surprises for the
coming months?
I have a lot of half finished tracks, non starters, etc that I would like to finish up soon. Sometimes I start a whole new one and finish it in a day (like today with “Remember Dont Shoot Food”). So you can expect a steady flow of free CCA licensed music to download as I have plenty in the que at the moment. If you have not figured it out also I’m a big believer in free art, and being in the public domain. Pretty much all my music is CCA licensed. Also I have hooked up with some similar artists to possibly put out some sort of sampler EP of VGDM and get it out there in all the online music stores etc. Maybe donate the profits to a charity like ChildsPlay. Keep a watch on my channel!
Follow BitBurner: Twitter, SoundCloud
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Sonic Logic is a modular MIDI controller that allows you to edit and control MIDI controller setups on your iPad. The whole MIDI designing app has been done before, so here’s an interview with the developer on how Sonic Logic differs from the already existing designer apps…
First off, what inspired you to make Sonic Logic?
I started taking an Ableton course back in March 2012 to get some live electronic performance skills to take my music outside the studio and into live sets. I immediately fell In love with Ableton Live and discovered the world of circuit bending controllers. Seeing people perform on the internet with their circuit-bent controllers fascinated me and I wanted to make myself a custom one which I could change whenever I wanted to. Since I have no skills for making any hardware controllers I decided to use my skills as a software developer – the iPad was a clear choice for it. My final project in the course was to perform live four original tracks and I had tons of ideas for it but couldn’t find a controller software that I was pleased with. So that’s how Sonic Logic came to be, It needed to have editing capabilities right from the iPad since I needed to work with it during class time and I wanted it to be really simple but powerful to use. I was really happy to make it and share it with others musicians to use.
What is your vision on what Sonic Logic is for?
I have so many visions for it! Earlier this year I had the privilege of presenting Sonic Logic during an Ableton Live group meeting and I was presented with the question “why is there so much empty space on the component selection bar?”
The answer was simple, I have tons of ideas for components and frankly I don’t think the space I had left will be enough! So my vision for Sonic Logic is to keep on growing, I plan to make incremental updates with a small development period intervals. I believe that a user shouldn’t wait long for a version with tons of new features, but rather when I finish a new feature I’ll release it as soon as I can. There’s also a great community of users and followers on Instagram and Facebook and I often ask them for new features and ideas, and most of the features that will go into the forthcoming update (1.1) were from uses on Instagram and Facebook. I really hope to make an iPhone version this year for it, I got a lot of requests for that and I’m thinking of a design that would be easy and powerful for the iPhone platform as well.
How does Sonic Logic differ from other MIDI designing apps?
I believe that it offers a very powerful and flexible MIDI control environment, editing live was the key feature I needed and I believe that it’s one of the stronger features in Sonic Logic. To say the truth, when I started developing it I didn’t explore other MIDI designing apps very throughly, I still don’t.
The main reason for it is that I don’t want to be influenced by existing products but rather develop my own ideas, sometimes they overlap, sometimes they don’t. This really gives Sonic Logic it’s own distinct set of features and strengths and also creates an alternative for the users rather than copy existing products and thoughts. (It’s also good for the development community which allows each developer to focus on it’s unique character rather than compete with copying products).
Are you an iOS developer looking to share your vission or inspiration for your app? Feel free to contact me here!
Cartoon artist and musician Jon Rawlinson, better known as Pants Of Death, received an iPad from his employer last year for Christmas, initially planning on using it digitally create and publish his cartoons, but after discovering ReBirth for iPad and NanoStudio, he started putting all of his creative efforts into producing music. His use of samples from popular movies and audiobooks really adds to his signature sound and vibe. You can listen to Pants Of Death on SoundCloud and follow him on Twitter to keep up with his new tracks!
Tell us a little bit about your and your music!
I am a 43 year old Englishman living and working in Sydney. In my late teens and early twenties I spent a load of time, and more money than I could afford, making music in my bedroom. As a hobby it was very time consuming and I got stuck in a rut of producing sketches, or 8 bar loops, but never any finished tracks. I became very frustrated and more or less stopped making music.
As time went by I started a job that involved a lot of travel, and got married and had kids, and all my music equipment and software was put in a cupboard and was forgotten about. I put all my creative energies into drawing cartoons, that is where the Pantsofdeath name comes from, it was/is a website where I would publish the cartoons I drew. For a while I was publishing a cartoon a day and learned a lot about the creative process as a result, but then life got in the way and I stopped doing that too.
My musical tastes from the age of 10 have traveled through Gary Numan to David Bowie, Goth, Industrial, EBM, Trance, Triphop, Breakbeat, Big Beat Ambient and Experimental and I have picked up a load of influences probably obvious to my listeners. I would love to sound more like Brendan Perry but my friends tell me everything sounds like Front Line Assembly. Importantly I have learned not to self censor and not to take myself too seriously (you wouldn’t guess that listening to my more pompous and bombastic pieces) so a load of things float to the surface.
What percent of your music, would you say, is generated / recorded on iOS?
Everything I do is on iOS, I am very strict about it, right from the start I wanted my whole music production environment to be something I could use anywhere and I have not used a single external device or instrument since I started. I have an Oxygen 8 MIDI controller at home but I have not bought a camera connection kit yet so it has never been used with my iPad. Originally that was because I couldn’t afford a camera connection kit, but then I quickly realized that I really don’t want to get used to using a “real” keyboard anyway. Arguably the only exception to this rule is my iRig guitar input thing, I bought it very cheaply on ebay and so I suspect it isn’t really an iRig at all. I had planned to add guitar lines to some tracks (I was originally a guitarist and bassist) but I hadn’t realized how badly my guitar playing skills had declined over the years. Frankly I am a useless guitarist now, but the “iRig” is useful for getting audio samples from movies on my laptop into Hokusai to be used in my tracks.
What got you started on iOS?
Last Christmas, my employer gave us all an iPad each. My first thought was that I could draw/publish cartoons directly from that device without all the inking and scanning and stuff, but within a fortnight I had installed ReBirth for iPad (because I had had it on my PC and recognized the name) and was making tunes on my way to work. I struggled with the Rebirth interface and started looking at other Apps. A couple of weeks later I bought NanoStudio and everything changed. I used to use the Yamaha QY10/20 walkstations and an early version of Cakewalk on my PC, NanoStudio seemed similar and was very intuitive and obvious to me. Within a week or two I had my first track up on SoundCloud, “Needlessly melodramatic“. I actually finished the track a few weeks before I posted it, I was nervous about letting my music out to be heard by other people, especially onto the internet which ican be a pretty harsh environment. I was blown away by the iOS soundcloud community, they were encouraging and supportive and said nice things. I was hooked and every bus journey and lunch hour became an opportunity to make more music. Nine months on I have a foolish number of iOS Music apps and have posted 44 tracks as Pantsofdeath and four as SokPupit.
Is there anything in particular that you find hard to accomplish on the iPad that you’d rather do on a desktop computer?
Not really, no. In fact my experience of desktop applications has been pretty bad, probably more due to my hardware than anything else. I used to use Cakewalk way back in the ’90s and that worked well, but I was mainly using it as a replacement for my 4 track, which was rubbish. At the time all my sounds came from a big Yamaha PC soundcard with my DX11 as a midi keyboard. Later I tried some versions of Fruityloops, Cubasis, Sonar, Reason etc but I found the workflow on all of those very difficult, partly because I was going from entry level software to professional DAWs without enough understanding to bridge the gap, and partly because of Hardware/config problems, finding the right sound library/drivers and so on. I also had terrible trouble with latency from my midi controllers, there was really no justification for this as the PCs I was working with all had pretty good spec.
In short, I found working on PC difficult…
By contrast the touch screen on the iPad, and the way the best apps run, make everything so easy, the ideas can flow without the interface getting in the way. It would be nice if you could just plug things together like you can working on a PC, but I suspect AudioBus will take care of a lot of those problems. I would also be able to use apps like VST/VSTi plugins, if I could have NLog/Animoog/Sunrizer etc as choosable instruments in Nanostudio (like Eden and TRG) then my working environment would be just about perfect.
My only real frustration with the iPad over a desktop PC come from the lack of a (visible) central file system. I have gigabytes of samples loaded into NanoStudio, on a PC I could browse to those samples from other applications, but the iPad makes that impossible, so I either have to load duplicate samples or mess about copy/pasting from one to another.
Have you tried Audioshare, or Dropbox to manage files?
I haven’t used Dropbox, a lot of the apps I use now support it but I haven’t got round to it somehow. I do use Audioshare but my experiences with it have not been good at all, I have had samples mysteriously double in speed between the source and destination, and more frequently simply not make it into the correct pasteboard, in fact since I installed it I have tried it a load of times but I think it has only really worked for me once or twice. These days if I want to transfer from one app to the other I ACP directly or if a different pasteboard is required go via Hokusai. I know a lot of people are frustrated by the Hokusai interface, myself included, but it is amazingly robust and never lets me down.
What do you use more: NanoStudio or BeatMaker 2?
BeatMaker 2, ugh! The ultimate in AppRegret!
I bought BeatMaker 2 a couple of weeks back, I was mostly tempted by the chop-shop thing, slicing samples up into small bits and spreading them over a set of pads, I do this longhand with all my vocal samples in Nanostudio, I usually hake a speech or set of dialog and cut it p into snippets. I thought it looked cool in the BeatMaker 2 videos. Within half an hour of buying BM2 I was experiencing waves of AppRegret. Given the number of apps I have bought this is nothing new but $20 still seems like a lot to drop on an app that doesn’t satisfy. It may be because I am such a NanoStudio fanboy but almost everything about BM2 makes me angry.. The built in keyboard sounds are dreadful, really high-street-shop-home-keyboard quality, there are a LOT of drum kits shipped with the product but they all sound curiously flat. Despite the ChopShop functionality I find getting samples into BM2 awkward, with NS you click ‘paste’ and lists of recent copied samples are available to you, not so with BeatMaker.
I bought NanoStudio back on the 22nd of Feb 2012, I had my first track up on SoundCloud by the 5th of March, and have done some 50 tracks in it since. Everything about it seems to be intuitive and easy to use, and it sounds fantastic. Really, the quality is amazing. I have put together the bones of a track in BM, but I am not happy with it at all, I believe some people are getting good results out of it but to my ear the thing sounds awful.
While the drum sounds in NS are limited the TRG pads are very nice to work with, and Eden is still one of my favorite synths on iOS, it’s easy to use and amazingly versatile.
So in short, yay NanoStudio!
Favorite app, and why?
That’s a tough question – like asking me to pick which of my children I like the best! I guess if I had to delete all of my apps bar one then I would hang onto NanoStudio, so that must be my very favorite.
The Apps that I get the most use from, other than NanoStudio, are Stochastik, DrumJam, and probably Magellan. When I upgraded to iOS 6 I lost the use of Stochastik for a month or two and that was really hard, love that app!
For SokPupit I only use apps with kaoss-type pads, mainly Figure and iKaossilator, because socks have no hands and have to play with their faces… both great apps, but they don’t fit Pantsofdeath music. Sokpupit was created to get use from those apps.
See, like a true app addict, you asked me for one and I gave you six, and I’m fretting about the really great ones I didn’t mention!
What’s in store for Pantsofdeath?
I don’t know, iOS music has kind of taken me by surprise, I have produced more music in the last 8 months than the rest of my life put together. I have had an amazing amount of fun and have found an awesome community of excellent people on SoundCloud. Probably more of the same! I was going to fling a few things onto Bandcamp because to sell even one track to someone would be really cool.
Check out more Pants Of Death on SoundCloud:
Are YOU producing music on iOS? Send it in here, here, or here and contact me here if you’d like to set up an interview!
David Israel, better know as Smite Matter, was one of the first artists to release an album made entirely iOS. His debut album Technopolis Lost takes you on an ambient journey through an world of noises and soundscapes that really paint pictures in your mind. While producing, David also publishes reviews of the apps he uses on his blog. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @SmiteMatter to keep up with his music and app reviews.
Tell us a little bit about you and your music!
I grew up moving a lot. My mom just couldn’t stay put. Spent my elementary years in Washington State, teens in Los Angeles, and then back here to Tacoma Washington where I now live with my wife and two kids. I’m pretty much just a regular guy. Like many others my music is a reflection of how I feel about things. I like to make ambient electronic music the most. I just love how it inspires and takes me on a journey in so many directions. I try to make songs that take the listener somewhere unique, and tell a story along the way. Sometimes it’s dark, other times its uplifting & inspiring. I don’t rely heavily on beats and often will just let the flow move within its natural rhythm. I love to create music outside, in a park, the forest, or nearby mountains in a mix of nature with technology. Wires are not an option or of any interest to me.
What got you started with iOS?
I got my first iPod touch in 2009 and began experimenting with the early apps. I was just messing around at first, having fun with the apps. It wasn’t long before I started to really get into it. I was making dance type stuff (under a different name), laced with ambient moods. I Shared a self made CD with friends and family at the end of 2009. Out of nowhere a close friend who is a longtime musician (Dean De Benedictis AKA Surface 10) showed interest, and gave me a lot of encouragement. He wanted me to make a full album that he would release on his label Fateless Flows Records after the new year 2010. That was the big push that sent me onward. I haven’t looked back since. Nothing went as planned, delays plagued 2010 so we missed the Jan 2010 release plan by quite a bit. It was definitely for the best and I think the time was well spent learning, and refining. The album release didn’t happen until October 2011 with “Technopolis Lost“. Finally.
What percent of your music is generated / recorded on iOS?
Absolutely every part of my music is made using just my iOS devices and apps. My computer is nothing more than a glorified storage unit for all my sounds, and projects. The only other thing I use is an iRig Mic once in a while. I make every stitch using just iOS.
Many of the tracks you’re uploading to SoundCloud were made in Auria, is that going to be your main DAW for the upcoming album?
Yes. Auria has really changed my whole process. It’s an amazing piece of technology with all the quality tools I need from start to finish. It’s allowed me to cut many workarounds out of my process. It’s my main iDAW for everything I do today. I say “today” because we all know how fast things change in iOS.
What do you like about Auria? Is there anything you don’t like? What do you think it says about making music on the iPad?
Before Auria I had to do a lot of extra processing to get the sounds I was looking for. I had to move files to get the right effects, master in another app etc. I couldn’t get much from the iOS reverbs to sound good on their own. I used to have to do a lot more work to get a passable reverb effect that had some body. Auria has a good basic Reverb, but also a Convolution Reverb with a large IR library of various reverberation types. I can arrange, mix, and master all in one place. The only thing I dislike is that track freeze doesn’t free up memory yet. It just takes some burden off the CPU. I hear that soon track freeze will also free up memory.
Auria is really a very professional and quality app. It pushes current iPads to their limits, but also says that it can be done. It’s a great iDAW, I’m sure it will get better, and there will be others as well. I think the days of being boxed in with just 8,12, or even 24 tracks are behind us. This is real.
What synthesizer app(s) did you find yourself using the most in Technopolis Lost?
So much has changed since then. I’ve had and used so many apps, its difficult to remember things perfectly. I used Sunrizer and Addictive Synth heavily near the end with the last few tracks. Early on it was mostly the Eden Synth from NanoStudio, NLogSynth PRO, and a bit from Crystal, & iMS-20. I wish I had Magellan or WaveGenerator back then.
What, if any, MIDI/keyboard gear do you use? Is there anything you’ve got your eye out for?
Well since I’m not interested in having any wires or extra gear around me, I’ve not really used any MIDI devices. My inner gadget loving self really wants to get a portable keyboard, but I’ve not used any at all except my iRig Mic. However, the iRig Keys is interesting to me for sure. I might get something someday, but with the iPad changing so often, I have to put my money toward that. They’re becoming expensive disposable technology with a 6 month life span. I love the advances, but geez, 6 months? If they are to be obsolete so fast Apple should lower the price or offer at least %50 trade in value. I’m sure that’ll happen, haha.
After this, we might start seeing apps appear as IAPs (in app purchases) inside of Auria. Would that provide for a better UI in your opinion? Would you pay for the IAP version again if you already owned the app?
That’s a very interesting question. Generally, I’m not fond of IAPs. If the in app plug in or whatever they’re offering adds to the experience without watering down the features that ship with an app, then sure why not. Auria was launched with the understanding that they will offer more plug ins at additional cost so it shouldn’t be too shocking. When the offered IAP product is the same as a stand alone app that’s already being sold, that seems odd to me since Audiobus will make the desired connection. However, the idea of having all the tools on the same screen without the need of any additional app connecting them does appeal to me. That part would be better. I wouldn’t pay again for something I already have though. It would have to be something new that I don’t have yet.
What’s in store next for Smite Matter?
I’m working on my next album now. It’s in the very early stages, and I haven’t decided on a title for it yet. I did decide on a concept to base it on. I’m going to make each song specifically for certain people I’ve known and who have had a large role in making me who I am. It is a difficult process emotionally to face some old memories that are both good and bad. It certainly will be honest, and emotional. The style will be less beat driven, and more traditional ambient drone-ish to some extent. I don’t know how long it will take, I don’t see it being completed this year. I just took too long making decisions. But, it is coming along. Fingers crossed. Other than making my own music, I’m contributing to collaborative efforts, helping musicians that ask how to get started in iOS music, beta testing, etc. I’m also balancing my blog, writing iOS music app reviews and whatever else strikes me as interesting. It may not sound like it, but I have a full plate and keeping up on everything is very challenging. I just try and do my best, and keep learning.
Check out David’s latest track, Rise To The Light, on SoundCloud:
Auria on the
Keep up with Smite Matter on Facebook, SoundCloud, and Twitter. David also has a blog, which filled with some really thurow app reviews.
Smite Matter’s Technopolis Lost is available on
Auria on the
