Tangent

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a Lush bubblebath, complete with Cuban cigar and a couple of beers, while watching Hard Core Logo on my laptop, the machine resting safely on my toilet lid. Yes, I’m THAT Rock N Roll.

Out of nowhere, I had a great idea. I have never really been happy with the kick drums in my recordings. They’re usually more of a ‘hit’ than a note. If you listen to some Detroit-era Motown, you can hear what I want: The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" is a perfect example. Phoom, ch, ba-boom ch… Not my ‘Thud, ch, thu-thud ch’.

So what if I tracked the kick-drum as I have done, but then mimic the beat with a really soft synthesizer, quietly following the chord progression? Even with the drums on their own, you’d still get the impression that you knew the basics. To make that 'Thud' a 'Phoom'...
I spent the last two weeks recreating the kick-drum patterns, making sure that the synthesized notes were subtle enough, and the right sound. I made sure each track followed the song’s chord progression perfectly.

And yesterday, I realized that it made absolutely no difference. Not a sausage. Nil. Once the other instruments are blended into the mix, the synth notes are either too subtle and unnecessary, or they’re too powerful and muddy up the track.

Oh well, when these ideas succeed they create the magic and innovation that IS music. Unfortunately, more often than not, they don’t.