DSF Q&A Sessions Vol.11 : IKONIKA (open)

[contakt321]

Glad to see you are doing this!!!

I feel like a lot of your melodies almost have an 8-bit/chiptune feel in the sound design, what do you use for these type of sounds? (Micron? Moog?, Vst?)

[ikonika]

Big up the Yamaha HS50 crew!

How do you go about making tunes? Where do you start?

Cheers,
Jason

Hi Jason,

I usually start with the melodies. I try and write about 64 bars of progression. I really like the idea of having a chorus in my songs, so I try and aim for that.

I start off with a lead which is usually bleeps or something from my moog, then layer it with some strings, I find the Micron is great for big chords and 'emotion'. once I've got all that out the way I tend to place the sub as it gives me a good idea of what I want the drums to do. I have my drum hits all ready in EXS24 for me to play on my computer's keyboard.

Organisation is key for the type of workload I have these days, its really important for me to reduce 'writers block'. If I do find myself being bored, I just make templates or go through my older tunes and save the best synths and stuff.

Hey

Just wanted to find out what inspires those crazy melodies and sounds?

What sort of musical background do you have? and how long did it take to get to the high standard your at now

Big up for the webcasts as well ive caught a couple been really kool

Thanks

Hi thanks for the support

I think the melodies I write are just from my sub conscious. I don't actively think about how I'm gonna make Ikonika sound. It just happens when I touch my synths. I only go in thinking about my arrangements, really. But saying all this, I think the reason why my stuff sounds a little crazy is because I'm influenced by so many genres and all that just gets compressed and mutated.

I use to take drum lessons for about a year, from the age of 11. I got my first drum kit at 16. I use to play in a few bands, playing metalcore and post-hardcore stuff. I was really into until about maybe 5 years ago, after that I started thinking about production.

[ikonika]

Love your stuff, Sara.

How do you feel about being one of the few females in the largely male dubstep scene? Do you feel like you get treated differently?

Also, what are you favorite records of the year?...besides "Love Vs. Money"

Hi Blackeyed,

I use to get a lot of sexism at gigs, like guys staring and almost waiting for me to mess up. Or guys saying girls should only DJ in their underwear. Sometimes when I step into the booth I get 'Oh its a girl' then their mate goes 'thats Ikonika' and then other guy shuts up lol.

To me I just think it's funny because i'm a bit of a tom boy and that world doesn't really annoy me as I think it does a lot of girls. I don't understand why having a vagina changes or enhances anything lol…The sexism was the best when I was in bands, though.

Besides 'Love Vs Money', some of my favourite records this year have been from The Xx, Passion Pit, Ryan Leslie and Dam Funk.

[Sharmaji]

I use to take drum lessons for about a year, from the age of 11. I got my first drum kit at 16. I use to play in a few bands, playing metalcore and post-hardcore stuff. I was really into until about maybe 5 years ago, after that I started thinking about production.

I knew it! Like the hits in "Phonelines VIP"-- no way those double-kick rolls were a happy accident. wicked programming, which leads to some seriously emotive music.

So are you sampling metal record for 1shots, too? will we ever get an Ikonika remix of slint?

[ikonika]

What sort of steps/processing etc.. do you take to get such a crystal clear sounding mix?

I don't really think my mixdowns are all that tbh, especially this year getting my head around Logic and the changes in my setup…A few months ago I thought I had to compress the hell out of everything and make it all sound big, I got really confused and started thinking about my mixdowns way too much.

I think the mixdown in 'Simulacrum' is my favourite. I kept it simple and used no compression or limiters, i just concentrated on the volumes in the individual tracks.

big up to pdomino and ikonika for doing this!

whats the most important tip or piece of advice you've gotten when it comes to producing?

whats the craziest thing you've seen while on the road or at a show?

where do you see/hear dubstep in the next couple years?

The best advice I've been given is just again be organised. Create and improve your palette continuously. Save all the sounds that work and USE THEM lol.

I've been creating new sounds using the one bleep sample. I've been moulding it since 'Phonelines' using effects in Logic and FL.

I haven't seen anything too crazy at shows…maybe I haven't been at the right ones lol.

Dubstep to me now, doesn't really have the same meaning it did to me in 2005. It's grown and mutated so quickly…but for the good..i think..but the more I play more 'normal' dubstep nights the more I wonder whether I can be mixed in with all of that. Sometimes I feel really paranoid for not playing wobbles or 'typical bangers' because my sets are drastically different, but thats what I do. I do something different and I'll play what I want after a big wobble or a peak time, whatever.

I don't really wanna attempt in guessing what the future of dubstep is, I just want to concentrate on my production and DJ style and how to improve it.

Do you just make bass music or have you branched out into other areas?

Nah, I like bass music, but I am getting more percussive, probably because of the influence funky has had on me. I'm making stuff at 130bpm now...but saying that I'm making 160bpm Juke as well.

I'd be interested to hear a few words about key musical influences from your past.

yeah, tell us about the hardcore days...

Most will know that my I am influenced by Glassjaw. They represented everything I wanted to hear from a band. I've always wanted my music to kind of resemble them in some ways, even before I heard them lol. It's like they read my mind.

I was really into a lot of Post-Hardcore and Metal influenced stuff like Vision of Disorder, Shai Hulud, Snapcase and Posion The Well.

Glad to see you are doing this!!!

I feel like a lot of your melodies almost have an 8-bit/chiptune feel in the sound design, what do you use for these type of sounds? (Micron? Moog?, Vst?)

I use Logic's ES2 most of the time. For trills I like using the Moog, just cos it feels more authentic that way. I use Chip32 a lot these days as well. I also have a collection of Game Boy samples that I just downloaded.

[ikonika]

I use to take drum lessons for about a year, from the age of 11. I got my first drum kit at 16. I use to play in a few bands, playing metalcore and post-hardcore stuff. I was really into until about maybe 5 years ago, after that I started thinking about production.

I knew it! Like the hits in "Phonelines VIP"-- no way those double-kick rolls were a happy accident. wicked programming, which leads to some seriously emotive music.

So are you sampling metal record for 1shots, too? will we ever get an Ikonika remix of slint?

I used some live drum samples I got free in Future Music Magazine for 'Phonelines' and 'Millie'. I don't really have time to sample things from old records, I guess I'm a chief, but at the end of the day it should be what works.

I did sample a Slint tune back in the day when I was first learning…it sounded horrible and I didn't give it any justice lol.

[thebootyjuice]

planing on doing tracks with vocals/singers on the album or in the future, kinda on an futurstic-rnb thing,


also i seen a cooly g date sweepstakes awhile back, i was just wondering if if theres one with you

[ikonika]

planing on doing tracks with vocals/singers on the album or in the future, kinda on an futurstic-rnb thing,


also i seen a cooly g date sweepstakes awhile back, i was just wondering if if theres one with you

The album is finished now, there's no vocalists on there unfortunately.

I have done a few vocal remixes that should surface early next year...

I'm kinda toying with the idea of building a vocal booth so peeps can walk in and try some stuff, but I don't think I'm ready just yet.

I would love to work with people like Robyn, Rosin Murphy or Daryl Palumbo and make some really cool pop music.

...And about the dating thing...you wouldn't wanna go on a date with me, I would probably bore the hell out of you

[bluenotes]

yes! Glassjaw! What an unexpected and delightful answer!

My question for you this evening is: What kind of gear are you using to play live? I haven't been able to come see ya yet (I live in Portland, Oregon afterall).

[tavravlavish]

shai hulud? thats my girl!!

[ikonika]

yes! Glassjaw! What an unexpected and delightful answer!

My question for you this evening is: What kind of gear are you using to play live? I haven't been able to come see ya yet (I live in Portland, Oregon afterall).

Hiya

Right now I DJ using Serato. Eventually I would like to start a live show, but I need it to be different. I don't just wanna be standing behind a laptop pressing buttons...I need to think of something a bit more creative.

[Pedro Sánchez]

Just popped in to say 'Please' is one my favourite pieces of electronic music ever and I support everything you're doing musically and my question is... When are you doing another UStream session Ikonika? the last one was big.

[serox]

Just popped in to say 'Please' is one my favourite pieces of electronic music ever and I support everything you're doing musically and my question is... When are you doing another UStream session Ikonika? the last one was big.

This ^

Also, you said earlier how you sent the tune to Kode9 and he gave some good feedback on what to do with it. Can you remember what he said roughly? was it the mix, structure or what?:)

The bleeps sound like drunken programming, very original.

[ikonika]

Just popped in to say 'Please' is one my favourite pieces of electronic music ever and I support everything you're doing musically and my question is... When are you doing another UStream session Ikonika? the last one was big.

This ^

Also, you said earlier how you sent the tune to Kode9 and he gave some good feedback on what to do with it. Can you remember what he said roughly? was it the mix, structure or what?:)

The bleeps sound like drunken programming, very original.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I would love to do more ustream stuff. It's just timing really. I love doing it cos it allows me to play tunes that I wouldn't normally play at shows.

The original version of 'Please' had the melody playing throughout lol and didn't have that bridge in the middle. I didn't really know what I was doing at that time, I just got excited that I had finished a tune.

Kode9 basically said my stuff sounded cluttered at times and I wasn't allowing the tune to just breathe. He taught me the importance of 'Less is more'. I try and think about this when I'm arranging my tunes.

[cloak and dagger]

any tips on arranging tunes?


i can never think of anything to ask during these sessions but really dig your music...that and i have to arrange a tune at some point soon and always dread it, as it just feels really tedious to me

[ikonika]

any tips on arranging tunes?


i can never think of anything to ask during these sessions but really dig your music...that and i have to arrange a tune at some point soon and always dread it, as it just feels really tedious to me

If you've got 32-64 bars of loops and everything, you should be ok when arranging. When I start a new project I like to record as many ideas as possible so that when it comes to arranging I got a choice of things to play around with. I treat my beats as songs, so I need a verse, pre chorus, verse, chorus x2 etc... I like writing in 16bars so its all DJ friendly, sometimes that goes out the window with tunes like 'Phonelines' and 'Please' where for some of it I was writing in 8's...so I made the endings mixable.

I also try and change something every 4 or 8 bars, whether it be just the drums and bass playing, or changing the the snare or hi-hat pattern...I like changing the hi-hat pattern as the entire groove changes but still stays true to the song as a whole... Also the scissor tool in Logic is one of my best friends

[cloak and dagger]

any tips on arranging tunes?


i can never think of anything to ask during these sessions but really dig your music...that and i have to arrange a tune at some point soon and always dread it, as it just feels really tedious to me

If you've got 32-64 bars of loops and everything, you should be ok when arranging. When I start a new project I like to record as many ideas as possible so that when it comes to arranging I got a choice of things to play around with. I treat my beats as songs, so I need a verse, pre chorus, verse, chorus x2 etc... I like writing in 16bars so its all DJ friendly, sometimes that goes out the window with tunes like 'Phonelines' and 'Please' where for some of it I was writing in 8's...so I made the endings mixable.

I also try and change something every 4 or 8 bars, whether it be just the drums and bass playing, or changing the the snare or hi-hat pattern...I like changing the hi-hat pattern as the entire groove changes but still stays true to the song as a whole... Also the scissor tool in Logic is one of my best friends

Nice one, thanks for the tips. I'm just always super finicky with my arrangements and end up tweaking and tweaking until finally it's finished and I never want to hear that song again. And then I tweak it again a week later.


Next question: how can we send tunes to you?

[ikonika]

any tips on arranging tunes?


i can never think of anything to ask during these sessions but really dig your music...that and i have to arrange a tune at some point soon and always dread it, as it just feels really tedious to me

If you've got 32-64 bars of loops and everything, you should be ok when arranging. When I start a new project I like to record as many ideas as possible so that when it comes to arranging I got a choice of things to play around with. I treat my beats as songs, so I need a verse, pre chorus, verse, chorus x2 etc... I like writing in 16bars so its all DJ friendly, sometimes that goes out the window with tunes like 'Phonelines' and 'Please' where for some of it I was writing in 8's...so I made the endings mixable.

I also try and change something every 4 or 8 bars, whether it be just the drums and bass playing, or changing the the snare or hi-hat pattern...I like changing the hi-hat pattern as the entire groove changes but still stays true to the song as a whole... Also the scissor tool in Logic is one of my best friends

Nice one, thanks for the tips. I'm just always super finicky with my arrangements and end up tweaking and tweaking until finally it's finished and I never want to hear that song again. And then I tweak it again a week later.


Next question: how can we send tunes to you?

The best way to send me tunes is via myspace, just drop me a message http://www.myspace.com/ikonika

Another thing I like to do to make sure a track is finished, is to lie down on my bed and close my eyes...If I open them at any point, it means it's not done

[narcissus]

hiya, ikonika! just listened to that please, and it's FAT

you mentioned that at first you were just excited to get a song done... i think people often connect to that mood very well, of excitement, newness, so it might be part of why a lot of people connected to that tune..

i think that often music is more about a mood and a feeling than anything else, despite what we might say about theory and production and all that...
so i'm curious, what kind of mood or artistic place do you usually try to be in when you sit down with your computer/synth?

is it more like ?

or perhaps ?

[polygonfiction]

Another thing I like to do to make sure a track is finished, is to lie down on my bed and close my eyes...If I open them at any point, it means it's not done

^ ^ Sounds like a plan