SENDS, SENDS, SENDS

“I use a lot of send and return busses that I’ve set up in my default Ableton set. They all have various effects (internal and external). It’s a great way to get your signature sound quickly and efficiently. I also find that using them helps mesh everything together sonically. You can get some great unexpected results sometimes when blending in sends and returns. For instance I have a delayed, +12 semitone send with additional reverb and chorus effects that’s great for pads and some percussion parts. I automate it manually and it gives some great interesting results.”

Panning and spacial awareness

“I find that when I’m using a lot of layers and textures in tracks that panning and spatial effects can really breathe life into the piece. Pushing things around the stereo field can bring a lot of depth and character to your work. It’s also nice to use it as a way to pronounce movement. Spacial tactics, using tools like Ableton’s ‘Simple Delay’ can add nice stereo width if used carefully, offsetting the right and left channels by 5 to 10 ms. The [Ableton] Auto Filter is also a nice way to modulate textural noises around the stereo field. I find I do that a lot with various elements of my tracks.”

Be visual, be inspired

“Finally, I think it helps sometimes to think of the music you’re writing as if you’re an author or a director of a book or a film. Visualising the main characters, storyline, setting, tone and where they all fit in a scene for me is very important. Thinking of music in a visual sense can really help break away from times where you feel uninspired and uninterested. I like to try and write music to an image sometimes, moving or still. I find it really helps break away from stagnated ideas and the feeling that you’re stuck sometimes when creating music. Go to a gallery and research some artists that you find interesting, and try and recreate their work using sound. Likewise, watch a scene from a movie you love and try and build ideas and sounds that you think work with the visual in context.”