DSF Q&A Sessions 2: Ramadanman

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:07 am

Johnny Beat wrote:What's your opinion on presets? Do you use presets on instruments?

good question! im not a big fan of presets, i find it a bit strange when i listen to someones tune and then i notice when like browsing presets that it's just straight from the synth. but on the other side of the coin the presets are there to be used, so if it sounds good, then go for it! i see presets though as more of a base to start from. so often i might find a preset i like the general idea of, but then i'll tweak it to make it unique and to fit the tune better

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:09 am

dubsteptim wrote:why are your tunes so damn sexy?

what inspired u to start hessle audio?

do you cut dubplates/acetate?

have you played stateside yet? and if no, you need to bro!!!!!!

we just did a feature on hessle for RA website, which explains the origins behind the label. comes with a free mix too! http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature- ... px?id=1006

i do cut dubplates yes, but not that often. generally i cut vinyl plates rather than acetates. i guess i play a mixture of cd and vinyl, and occasionally use serato.

should be coming to the usa this summer, in the pipeline!

Disco Nutter · Post by **Disco Nutter** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:11 am

What do you find being the hardest thing when making a tune?

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:12 am

Depone wrote:On average, how long does it take for you to write and mix a track? Because I take about 1 week per track.

Also, do you make and mix 'in the box'? or do you have a nice hardware rig going, and if so, what your fav piece of hardware/Software Plugin,Synth,compressor etc...?

some tunes come very naturally and you can finish them in 2 days and be really happy - often these ones are your best. others are a lot longer process, go through several different version and eventually come to a final decision. and some tunes just remain as 2 minute ideas forever! i dont really have a separate mixing down process, generally just do it as i go along. i also don't really sit down and have long production sessions, generally just an hour here, an hour there

i don't have a nice hardware rig going really. as i mentioned before i like to use some random hardware things, and its nice to have something to touch rather than just staring at a screen. my favourite piece of hardware? that could be one of my old yamaha keyboards. comes with a mic, and you can sample from it, then assign to keys and stretch the sample etc. quite advanced for a kids keyboard!

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:13 am

pdomino wrote:Who inspires you ?

bit of a difficult question. i am really inspired by people like madlib, ltj bukem , sven weisemann , dj shadow amongst others, but i dont think my music really sounds like any of them. so i guess they inspired me in a different way , in terms of really respecting their production and being interested in their way of creating music.

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:15 am

-Dubson- wrote:how often do you make tunes good enough to be played out, do have have lots of idea's that you don't finish?

i do generally finish tunes these days, there was a point where i was just making lots of 3 minute things and not being able to finish ,but now, it either stays as a 30 second idea or ends up as a finished tune in general. i have lots of old ideas that i would really like to finish, but a lot of the time i would rather start something new. i think sometimes it is best just to move on

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:17 am

Legendary wrote:Firstly, Carla is amazing!!

Your sound has changed a lot from that early banger Hungarian Skank.. What was the progression from that to the deep techy stuff you're doing now? was you just finding your feet or just started to get the sound you wanted or something else?

thanks!

i think the stuff that i was making when i first got into the sound was in a way replicating what i was hearing. then again before hungarian skank etc i was making a lot of deep mellow dubsteppy stuff as well, its just HS, dynamic balancing etc got more popular. you might be able to find a showcase mix by me from april 2006 (might be under the name 'the k') which shows some of these older ideas. as you say i think after a bit i found my feet a bit and was able to be a bit more individual

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:18 am

Macc wrote:You KNOW I dig your stuff man.

That's not a question is it

Ok so, why do you look so bloody young? Or am I getting old?

haha i think you're getting old

i am 20 though

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:19 am

Johnny Beat wrote:You playing at Berlin? How's the crowd there?

played at the berghain last night (well, saturday morning, 6.30am - 8am!). always enjoy playing in berlin, crowd are always enthusiastic. the berghain gig last night was really fun, amazing sound system - the most funktion one i have ever seen in a room! it was quite messy by the time i was on which was quite amusing

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:22 am

Johnny Beat wrote:What do you find being the hardest thing when making a tune?

hmm tricky one. i think sometimes you are just looking for that perfect sound to put in a tune, and sometimes you just cant find it, and that can be frustrating. also occasionally i have a really problem mixdown which frustrates me. sometimes you just cant get it sounding how you want. and sometimes then the only answer is reconstruction

recently i have found that it's more about the sounds you choose. ie say your kick doesnt have enough of the frequency you want, instead of maybe trying to boost that frequency, sometimes it might be best just to find a different kick which naturally contains more.

Disco Nutter · Post by **Disco Nutter** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:23 am

Any particular advice on drum sequencing? You know - hihat programming and so on?

james fox · Post by **james fox** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:57 pm

safe.

Coppola · Post by **Coppola** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:23 pm

what are your 5 favourite albums ever?
what sort of music were you into before dubstep/garage?
how old were you when you started producing music and becoming recognised for it?

macc · Post by **macc** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:07 am

ramadanman wrote: haha i think you're getting old

i am 20 though

Actually I did have a serious question - have you tried collaborating with Pangaea?

Oh, and where did you pinch the drum noises from on Blimey? (tune btw)

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:05 am

Johnny Beat wrote:Any particular advice on drum sequencing? You know - hihat programming and so on?

i think groove in drums is extremely important, not entirely sure if there's a set way to get it. i don't have a formula in doing my drums, i just play around until it sounds good. it really depends on the tune

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:26 am

BEN? wrote:what are your 5 favourite albums ever?
what sort of music were you into before dubstep/garage?
how old were you when you started producing music and becoming recognised for it?

off the top of my head, some of my favourite albums are

krs one - a retrospective
ltj bukem - producer 01
helios - eingya
quasimoto - the unseen
beastie boys - hello nasty

asides from dubstep i'm into house, techno, hip hop, drum and bass mainly

started making music on computers when i was about 12, and i guess i put my first tune out there when i was 17 or so

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:27 am

Macc wrote:
ramadanman wrote: haha i think you're getting old

i am 20 though

Actually I did have a serious question - have you tried collaborating with Pangaea?

yeh i have made some tunes with pangaea. we used to live a few minutes apart so we sometimes tried to make something. nothing really came of it but i still play some of our collabs from time to time

pdomino · Post by **pdomino** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:39 am

ramadanman wrote:
pdomino wrote:Who inspires you ?
bit of a difficult question. i am really inspired by people like madlib, ltj bukem , sven weisemann , dj shadow amongst others, but i dont think my music really sounds like any of them. so i guess they inspired me in a different way , in terms of really respecting their production and being interested in their way of creating music.

Crystal, inspiration comes in many forms i guess, Thanks sir !

dubsteptim · Post by **dubsteptim** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:19 pm

ramadanman wrote:should be coming to the usa this summer, in the pipeline!

safe, very happy to hear this!

karig13 · Post by **karig13** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:00 pm

Only one question here mate:

Where do you get your quality sounding drums?

I know this is a bit of a stupid question..

DSF Q&A Sessions 2: Ramadanman

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