Right-back since the earliest days of recorded music, musicians and producers have been making use of techniques that are technically ‘wrong’ for creative purposes. Just look at the adventurous techniques used by The Beatles in Abbey Road, or the leftfield sound creation of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
In the 21st century, there are multiple techniques and production approaches used regularly by electronic music makers which originated as things that were technically ‘wrong’ – errors, malfunctions or misused gear that turned out to create musically pleasing results. The most obvious example is distortion, discussed below and over the page, which is essentially the byproduct of trying to push a piece of recording gear harder than intended. There are multiple other ‘wrong’ techniques worth adding to your arsenal of production skills though; from glitch-like digital pseudo-malfunctions to purposefully raw and lo-recording techniques.
This issue we’re exploring precisely those approaches. We’ll dig into the science of ‘breaking’ your music, and show you how pushing certain approaches to the extremes can add character and unique qualities to your tracks.
What is distortion?
This story is from the Autumn 2021 edition of Future Music.
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This story is from the Autumn 2021 edition of Future Music.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
SONIC DESTRUCTION
From overdriven signal paths to rhythmic malfunctions, there’s plenty of creativity to be found by doing things just a little bit wrong
Feed Me
EDM producer Jon Gooch revives his cartoonish Feed Me moniker. Danny Turner finds out how the use of live instrumentation changed his production approach
Exploring Akai MPC
Leo Maymind takes a detailed look at an iconic groovebox whose influence helped shape modern hip-hop and much more besides
Liars
Dissolving the contours of rock and electronics, Danny Turner charts the making of Liars’ 10th album with Angus Andrew and Laurence Pike
Jean-Michel Jarre
The pioneering musician who introduced generations to futuristic sounds the first time around is at it again. He joins Matt Mullen to talk experiments in VR gigging, spatial audio and more...
Noise
With roots as far back as 1913, noise is the genre that’s also a state of mind
1010 Music Bitbox mk2 £549
Rob Redman finds out whether this updated sampler box of tricks contains any more surprises
Erica Synths and Sonic Potions LXR-02 £499
Rob Redman braces himself for another resurrected blast from the past
Modal SKULPTsynth SE £169
Modal are back with an update to their SKULPT synth. Bruce Aisher takes a listen to see if it can rustle up a big sound
Reason Studios Reason 12 £399
Now in both DAW and plugin realms, Reason gains a sampler and refreshed Combinator. Si Truss investigates