Matthew Supert

The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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In some aspects I blame the modern pop music world for this problem, creating a listening expectation of the overly polished track, but the other blame is the software environment in which most music is now composed. While the software environment presents more and more opportunities for artists, the actual tools being used by artists appear to be diminishing. Visiting most music production communities online and searching their posts, you will find that the recommendation of tools follows its own trend: Absynth, Z3ta, Vaz, Fruityloops, Reason, Pro Logic etc. These are trends narrowing the sound palate in an environment that should instead be expanding the palate. While hundreds of sequencers probably exist on the internet for users, a common ten or less are used by probably 90% or more of the user base. Even within these ten most common packages, the software utilizes the same audio processing techniques and engines for competitive reasons, hence creating nearly the same sound.

Years ago artists would experiment in various recording formats, with different microphone setups and different studios to try to achieve that unique sound for their music. Perhaps ironically that attitude has now changed to an attitude to if your music doesn't sound like someone else's then it is a bad piece. For example, Propellerhead's Reason is a popular software platform for many artists, particularly electronic artists, that often times receives criticism that its audio engine is not up to par with other "industry standards". Many artists, professional or otherwise, feel the need to bounce audio out of Reason into another piece of software for rendering to achieve that "polished sound" they so desire. What strikes me as astonishing is that artists feel the need to standardize the sound to a common denominator rather then utilize the unique sound characteristics of the platform itself. Imagine for a second the absurdity of someone not liking the analog audio output of a Moog Voyager, so they grafted on a USB port so they could directly record the analog sound digitally. The whole sound characteristic and purpose of the tool becomes lost in the manic need of standardization.

Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:.
.:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:.
.:Part III:Who is to Blame?:.
.:Part IV: The Sound:.
.:Part V: The Tools:.
.:Part VI: Internet:.
.:Part VII: The Artists:.
.:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.

Stay Tuned for Part VI: The Internet

Tags: The Electronic Renaissance Part V: The Tools Article

The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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The sound and style of electronic music has changed over the past twenty years, and if you listen to tracks from the eighties to the nineties through to the current day there is a definite trend in the sonic character and form of most of the music. Most of the electronic music through the past two decades up to the late nineteen nineties was recorded on hardware through "traditional" recording practices. While the computer was ever present during all of this time it was not really until the turn of the century that computers could really handle complex audio mathematical computations in real-time. Instrument developers stepped up to the plate in this recent period and introduced new forms of synthesis and sound design that could never have been previously been available under traditional hardware forms.

As with all tools there develops methods and idiosyncrasies in which people work with those tools. Music from the previous generation of electronic artists often times had a repetitive nature in which loops and patterns cycled and were built upon. The common and often times cliche sound of the spoken movie dialogue over a kick beat and squelching acid line, as portrayed rather humorously in this.:Strongbad Flash Comic:. , represents the stigma of much of the music from this era. These limitations of idiosyncrasies by their nature along with the recording mediums of the time created a certain sound and style. Despite this however, this music did find itself a mass audience and as I stated before it fit nicely into rock station playlists at the time when alternative rock was building in its own music subculture.

The new audio tools of the computer and music software are no different then the ones of the past, except for the fact that they have different idiosyncrasies and workflows. Let's not delude ourselves to think that the removal of past limitations or new sound design opportunities will somehow break us of habits or patterns. Even these new opportunities, if more open, present their own limitations as any tool would. While through the past decade there was a divergence of sounds forming new genres and styles, it could arguably be said that the new music of this century is featuring a convergence of sound. One of the common themes running in much of the current electronic music is the focus on big glossy, highly polished sounds. The highly polished track with epic synthlines, epic drum rolls, huge kicks, dynamic basslines, and ripping synths as emerged not only as a staple of the club scene, but has also emerged as judge point for electronic music on the listening level as well.

Listen to a track produced today and one produced from the early nineties and the one produced from the nineties will often times sound thinner, but perhaps have more open feel. The currently produced tracks are mixed and mastered with sounds to appear up front in the mix, with little dynamic variation and little audio headroom not utilized. Criticisms of "Hot", "in your face" music are often heard by many audiophiles who listen to the highly tweaked and mastered tracks of current songs which strive to barrage you for your sense of attention. The problem here is mostly not in the fact of music being mixed this way, but for the fact that all music is being mixed this way. This form of mixing and mastering has become the industry and even independent standard of what is a "good song". I believe it is dangerous for a music scene when the standard of creative or good sets a single point of definition determining how tracks are to be judged. The biggest allure of vinyl and analog recording is the presence of space, warmth and irregularities.

Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:.
.:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:.
.:Part III:Who is to Blame?:.
.:Part IV: The Sound:.
.:Part V: The Tools:.
.:Part VI: Internet:.
.:Part VII: The Artists:.
.:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.

Stay Tuned for Part V: The Tools

Tags: The Electronic Renaissance Part IV: The Sound Article

The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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Since the beginning of the twenty first century electronic music has not seen the emergence of any new genres, ground breaking artists, or lasting albums that will continue to live on. Sure there are the Jamie Lidells, and LCD Soundsystems who are doing some interesting things, but are they doing anything new? Are they really anything more then the assumed linear evolution of Aphex Twins, Depeche Modes, and Prodigys of yesteryear?

On the radio these days the prevalence of electronic acts showcasing their music on traditional radio stations seems to be fading. I personally live in Chicago and we have a fantastic alternative rock radio station called Q101. Throughout the 1990's Q101 (and other stations) often played tracks by Underworld, Prodigy, Moby and others simply because the tracks were good tracks. They had the rough for the indie crowd, but also mass appeal to garner a larger audience. Currently however, there seems to be little if any display of modern electronic music on any radio station in Chicago.

The internet, online radio and digital distribution have in some regards become the new medium of conversion; however the online world does not have the marketing appeal or the audience base to the level of conventional radio. Artists today may find that outlets of distribution have restricted avenues and conceptions of sound and style then once past and may lock themselves into the notion of defined music.

I have several different reasons for why I think the music has degraded to the point it has, but for the purposes of this exercise I ultimately think it comes down to three general ideas: the sound of the music, the artists, and the internet.

Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:.
.:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:.
.:Part III:Who is to Blame?:.
.:Part IV: The Sound:.
.:Part V: The Tools:.
.:Part VI: Internet:.
.:Part VII: The Artists:.
.:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.

Stay Tuned for Part IV: The Sound.

Tags: The Electronic Renaissance Part III: Who is to blame? Article

The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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The 1990's saw the emergence of the modern dance scene and modern electronic music with the explosion of the urban sub-culture responding to the punk and grunge era before it. People wanted something fresh, they wanted something raw, they wanted something new, and perhaps most importantly, they wanted to dance and socialize to. Not only was a new music created, but an entire culture. It was through the 1990's that most of the genres that we commonly associate with electronic music were founded and defined; ranging from Drum n’ Bass to Trance to Trip Hop. All of these genres grew as derivatives of other genres in the ever changing evolution that was occuring. The music as a whole was continually morphing, evolving and growing throughout the entire decade, and as it did so the underlying counterculture that it created.

In this growth period the 1990's showcased the emergence of some of the most influential electronic artists of the scene, who to this day continue to remain most of the biggest names and iconic creative artists. Underworld, Prodigy, Orbital, the Orb, Meat Beat Manifesto, Goldie, AK1200, Future Sounds of London, Aphex Twin, Autchre, Coldcut, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers and many more. Even to this day most of these names are recognizable to people (under the age of 35) who do not even listen to electronic music. One of the problems however is that since 2000 there has been little if any establishment of new artists positioned to take over the reigns from the first generation of modern electronic innovators.

These first generation contemporary artists went onto release some of the most ground breaking albums in the history of electronic music and broke sound boundaries while redefining what many of us even considered music. They literally created the genres and definitions that we associate with today in the electronic scene. Even now, fifteen or more years later you can continue to hear many of these artists and songs on the radio and they continue to sound refreshing, modern and creative. Most of these artists could have released these tracks and albums this very day and they would still sound as fresh and relevant to the listener as ever. Underworld's "Born Slippy", Orbital's "Halcyon + on +on", or Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" all are examples that could be chart toppers if heard for the first time on the radio.

Just looking at the impact of releases on the scene since the turn of the century, there are few, if any artists or albums that can truly standout as long lasting in the eyes of this writer. As you are reading this article now, how many tracks or albums can you identify as being creatively groundbreaking, culturally accessible and truly innovative while still maintaining the ability to remain relevant and interesting ten or more years from now? Can you name a single song or album?

Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:.
.:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:.
.:Part III:Who is to Blame?:.
.:Part IV: The Sound:.
.:Part V: The Tools:.
.:Part VI: Internet:.
.:Part VII: The Artists:.
.:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.

Stay Tuned for Part III: Who is to Blame?

Tags: The Electronic Renaissance Part I: The Decade That Should Have Been Article

The following article is part of an eight part series exploring my thoughts on the state of electronic music in the current decade compared to the 1990's and 1980's.
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The year is now 2006 and we are more then half way through the decade of the 2000's. At the beginning of this decade I was graduating high school, beginning college and really digging into my own personal growth on a multitude of levels. I had high hopes, based on the fantastic music that came out in the 1990's, that the next decade of electronic music would really be the Golden Age, taking the electronic scene to the forefront of music culture and also creating new sub-cultures and genres for all sorts of artists. I believed that electronic music as an art form would penetrate and assimilate in the various levels of society from the political to the spiritual. I thought the internet and computer would really spark the creative juices of every bedroom artist in the world to bring something new and refreshing and help create the new subculture that expanded beyond just music, and touched people in all facets of life. As the decade has rolled by however there really does not seem to be the Golden Age and maturation of the electronic music scene that I was hoping for.

The modern form of electronic music emerged mostly out of the 1970's and took its most identifiable form as we know it now in the 1980's with synergies from rock and disco. It wasn’t until probably the mid 1980’s that most electronic music began to become accessible to the public musically. The development of MIDI, the personal computer and the internet really helped to bring along the sound through the mid eighties and through the 1990's decade to develop what is commonly thought of as modern electronic music. Looking back now at the music that has come out through the late 80's, 90's and the first half of the 2000's I am beginning to see that perhaps electronic music has already had its Golden years and is quickly fading out. It is my opiion as a musician and as an avid listener that electronic music needs a renaissance.

Other Chapters in this writing:
.:Part I:The Decade That Should Have Been:.
.:Part II:Where Electronic Music Was:.
.:Part III:Who is to Blame?:.
.:Part IV: The Sound:.
.:Part V: The Tools:.
.:Part VI: Internet:.
.:Part VII: The Artists:.
.:Part VIII: The Birth of the Renaissance:.

Stay Tuned for Part II: Where Electronic Music Was

Tags: The Electronic Renaissance Part I: The Decade That Should Have Been Article

As part of the release of my new net album in the next few weeks (hopefully) I hope to also launch a new website. I will still continue to blog here, simply because Blogger is a lot better then iWeb's blog system, but I felt another go at a traditional website might make it easier for people to find and download my music.

I have been building the site using iWeb, which is a very cool application for a 1.1 release. It has some major downfalls, but considering it has only been out for about six months the results are very impressive.

Tags: Dynamic Interplay website preview

As I have been working on the recordings for my latest album I have decided to tough it out and go with Garageband despite my initial misgivings of the software. My initial uses were a little frustrating and I almost switched to several alternatives.

After giving Garageband some time to grow and me to learn the workflow, I am glad I have decided to stick with it. While the initial workflow did and still continues to grind on me in some aspects I have found the Garageband has an amazingly simple process, yet fairly deep level of sophistication. I can do nearly all of the audio editing that I did in previous recording software, and even some more in many respects.

There is still no DC offset plugin to be found, but I have a slight inkling that Garageband might be applying this itself. In the past I often had DC offset problems, but my recent recordings into Garageband all were zero'd right in with no problems.

Unfortunately there is no automation available for plugins, but if your just a guy recording tracks into the software instead of creating music within the software (as most electronic musicians do) then you probably wont even use or miss the automation. What I have been most impressed with is the built in AU plugins that come with the software. Most of them have the same engines as their Logic Pro counterparts with slightly trimmed down features. Audio quality has been very impressive, thus far.

It will be interesting to compare some of my earlier recordings from using Windows to my upcoming releases that were bounced into Garageband.

Tags: Apple Garageband impressed

Do you have the Soundtrack of life playing in your head?

For as long as I can remember I have had what I like to call the Soundtrack of Life. The Soundtrack of Life is basically just some evolving music constantly playing in my head throughout the day. I am not sure if this little phenomenon of mine is because I am a musician and composer, or if it is just because I am weird, but it is just always there in some form or another adding music to whatever I may be doing throughout the day.

Now, The Soundtrack is not really a continuous track of music or anything like that. I am able to sleep at night. If anything The Soundtrack exists sort of like a movie sound track, where most of the time the music or sounds are ambient and you don’t notice them. It is only in their absence that you notice something is missing.
Occasionally, if I am sitting around bored or I am really excited then the volume level for the soundtrack picks up and I will consciously work on the music and build things in my head. Most often though The Soundtrack just sort of exists, playing along, sometimes getting my attention when an interesting melody pops up, but more often then not just sitting in the background. Sometimes a repetitive sound within the environment that I am working in will create some melody or beat that catches my attention and will bring the soundtrack up. If you are lucky you might find me grooving for what seems like no reason at all. My girlfriend has on occasion noticed me doing this. I think in some for or another though everyone has been caught grooving to the beat in their head. The immediate image that comes to my mind with this is in the movie “Groove” where a character is in the laundry mat starts grooving to the beat of her jeans repetitively thumping inside the dryer. Haven’t we all had a moment like that?

I first noticed The Soundtrack playing probably around high school, but I never really had a term for it until I had two experiences that really sort of made me aware of it.

The first instance that made me think about The Soundtrack occurred while I was reading the sci-fi series “Otherland”. In this story is a character named Dredd. Dredd is a psychotic masochist hit man of some sorts, who loves his job and loves composing music while doing his job. Now since this is a Sci-fi book all of the characters had the neurological implants that you so commonly see in sci-fi allowing them to plug into the internet and so forth, so instead of just thinking about music Dredd was actually making the music. I distinctly remember a part in one of the books where Dredd was talking online to his boss. Apparently Dredd was only half-paying attention to the discussion and the boss said something like; “Are you listening to that damned music in your head?! Turn it off!”

For some reason that little passage just really stuck with me. I think I have had several moments in my life where I have spaced off when people talk to me, just like that one. In fact I am sure everyone has had a moment like that.

The second instance that alerted me to The Soundtrack of life was from “Family Guy”. I don’t remember the exact episode but Peter was granted a wish of some sort and he chose to have a soundtrack play whenever he moves. I think his soundtrack was more along the lines of a musical or 1950’s TV show or something, but I immediately thought that segment was hilarious, if only for the fact that it rung so true. I think it was in that “Family Guy” episode that I was able to finally put a term to the music in my head.

As comical as the “Family Guy” can be it put the perfect label on the music in my head: “The Soundtrack of Life”. It is too bad everyone doesn’t have a soundtrack to just take them away sometimes.

Tags: Soundtrack of Life random thought music

I am what as known as the "Go To Guy" in my family. I don't know how I came to have this terrible honor. Maybe it is because I am a fairly nice guy. Maybe it is because I am neat, methodical, reliable person. Maybe I have a sign stuck on my back that says "Go To Guy". In any case I am sick and tired of it!!!!!!!!!!

Every single time something goes wrong in my parent's house, or with my girlfriend, I am the one first called to fix it. I am the tech guy, who either magically broke the machine or somehow knows how to fix it despite my college degree being in political science. Add to the fact that common sense seems to excape everyone except me. No one takes the time to sit down and think through a situation. What do they do? They freak out and call me. This is not just a few people, but almost everyone I know. Friends, Parents, Brother, Girlfriend. Enough!!!!!!

This past weekend for example my parents wanted to install some air conditioners. Who do they call to help? Oh yeah, me.
At first I had no problem since it was my room, but then i was recruited for do my brother's room, then my parent's room. All the meanwhile my brother is sitting downstairs watching the damn Cubs game. The list goes on from here with minor favors people ask me to do.

Then my girlfriend comes into the equation and she really appears to be rather helpless in some situations, mainly do to her own will. She will probably read this and be pissed, but I think she has a condition I like to call "Learned Helplessness". Rather then take the time and think through a situation she immediately calls me. For example, she was trying to burn songs to her iPod. Instead of taking two minutes to search the help file for iTunes she calls me to fix it. What do I do? Open the help file for iTunes, type in the question and copy and paste the text to her. Seriously, she couldn't have done that herself? Other instances follow this as well.

)6/17/06: Updating this post today I have another log to throw onto the fire of my frustration. As I said before I am always the person asked to help out with things. I will usually say yes too. Today I moved some of my stereo equipment out of my apartment because there has been some vandalism in the area. When I get back I ask my parents if they could help me unload some of my stuff. I have a total of 6 boxes in my car. Instead of help me the say they are too busy painting the porch. WTF!!!!!!! I spent two afternoons of my time to install some air conditioners at their house and they could not take five minutes to carry two boxes each into the house with me? I mean seriously. The paint is not going to miss them for five minutes to help me bring in some boxes.

A lot of this stuff is getting to the point of the last straw. I continually bend over backwards to help everyone I know out and no one can have the decency to repay me the favor of helping me out when I ask for some help.

Sign off in a fit of fury.

Tags: pissed off frustrated fed up

I know live performances have been nearly non-existant this past year. Unfortunatly due to grad school and my location in the ho-hum convervative suburbs of Chicago I have not had the fortune or time to really invest in booking shows. I might get a small something in the next month or so, if I can find the time to rip a demo.

I am currently (finally after a year) in the process of recording tracks for a Dynamic Interplay net-album. I will also do a couple of studio live recordings to give people a taste of some of the new music as well as use for some demos.

You can expect the time frame on these of course to range from next week to next year for their release.

Tags: album mp3 liveset