Minimalism / Self Restrictions - Why it Sounds Good & is Hard to do Well

I like quotes when the shit they say is what the song is about. Like it is integral to the song. But I like cryptic media quotes, not like obvious shit to trigger recognition for the mouthbreathers.

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@fragments That ‘dub is where the engineer becomes the artist’ sample is in Las & Gantz - Firepusher :smile:

Dont mind dialogue samples as long as they add something and arent a crutch for the tune to lean on

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It’s like guitar solos: if you do it every fuckin’ song, and it’s always in the same spot, and it’s all fucking “ooooh scary lookout for badman booga booga!” - then it plays itself out fast and becomes a joke. A sample is just another instrument. Does it need to be there to move the song somewhere? No? Ok, no need for it then. Mix it up a little pplz. There’s a time and a place for everything (except orchestra hits, fuck those.)

Then you end up with nu-metal.

You tryin piss me off?

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idk, i think most of them stand alone pretty well whether or not you know the film. just look at goat stare, one of the biggest tunes in dubstep and im willing to bet a substantial amount of people have never seen scanners

i mean nowadays its become a bit more of a faux pas (most likely due to brostep in particular and the extremely heavy use of corny samples before drops), but dubstep in general was BUILT on movie samples. like the amount of tracks that sample blade runner alone is pretty overwhelming

good usage

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This has to be posted when speaking about movie/documentary samples

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Yeah, but it is played out.

I guess the key to succesful minimal track is to have few but STRONG elements in it. Also subtle changes are nice. I’m really into this Dettman track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJjw2BQOaow
Some might say it is boring as hell, but I’d say you’re lacking imagination then :smiley:

Yeah yeah, subjective tastes etc.

Also there is a grand difference between hearing a track like this at home than hearing it through proper soundsystem in a warehousy location partying with good people.

This is huge.

This is what gets me. In very minimal tracks, all you’re left with is subtlety. I know subtlety is the holy grail for a lot of people, but I, personally, have had enough of it. It is like being clever. Worst thing ever. It’s a trap.

I guess it depends on the particular changes and what subtlety is going on there. In that Dettman track, what the synthline starts doing is like magic, the synth feels like a moving object. Of course that magical effect doesn’t happen if the element is poor - in other words lacks precence. Aaand of course, the subjectivity of music. Lots of people like Pink Floyd for example, but I just don’t get it. I achknowledge their skills as musicians, but the feeling they have is not for me. That’s about it.

I thought minimalism in music was about taking away the narrative of modern styles (like Verse Chorus verse, chord progressions and big changes in structure.)

I actually think that most styles of dance music are minimal in that sense. Especially techno.

This is “proper” minimalism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLckHHc25ww

1 BigUp

Good point. But thats mostly applying the entry level of minimalism. It’s a fully developed artistic direction innit. That^ just happens the first couple of times the idea hits music.

Imo anything involving a form of subtraction will become minimalist most of the time. Something like music concrete might also be viewed as minimalist but could easily go under maximalist aswell, in how it works outside of convention of for example scales and becomes a plane for something ‘else’.

@karmacazee - yeah, good point, and true from an academic/formal historic angle for sure.

I think the consensus for most using the term these days is as more of a generalized adjective for something with less stuff in it than the average tune, but it’s actually a good idea for anybody trying to bite it off as a production mode to understand what those folks were doing and the context it came from.

There are a lot of electronic producers who would deliberately set out to make a minimal track who would never think about song structure because they only operate in an additive/subtractive, standard dance music arrangement way and not a traditional rock/pop verse-chorus-verse way.

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Music for 18 Musicians is so good. I’ve long been fascinated by this composition.

That tune is nucking futs!

tips

mute all sound

use left hand on mouse

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The left hand trick is also good for jerkin’ the gherkin.