CM diary

In part two of his exploration of the human side of computer music-making, Ashley talks about how to keep social – outside of your usual beat-making bubble

Breezewax is a Manchesterbased producer, performer and educator. Hear more at breezewax. bandcamp.com

In 2007, when I first started making electronic music on a crusty old version of FL Studio, I found a community of like-minded beatmakers on the platform Myspace (remember that?). There were a lot of mistakes; I didn’t even know how to use the mixer properly to begin with! There were no YouTube tutorials back then to quickly learn a DAW and production techniques, so I used to critically listen to my favourite artists and songs, as well as the other fledgling producers in my online circle, and share feedback in order to progress. Towards the end of the 00s, YouTube had risen, and we graduated to the platform to share our music. Within a couple of years, we began to have followings of our own.