Since I started this project, my career goals have changed a lot. At first, I wanted to study electronic production at university, but now I’ve changed my mind and want to join the RAF. Overall, I think the quality of my work has gotten better compared to my first year. I improved because I practiced a lot with Ableton and had more time and equipment to work on my music at home. But I still feel like I didn’t reach my full potential.
At first, I wanted to make a piece of music inspired by one of my favorite artists, Aphex Twin. I planned to record my own drums and spend time learning a new synthesis program I got. But in the end, the track I made was rushed and didn’t meet my original goals. Even so, I still appreciate it and think the final product is good.
Recording the drums was the most important part of the project, but it didn’t go as planned. Unfortunately, none of the recorded takes sounded good. I had problems with how I recorded and the equipment I used. The recordings sounded thin and unpleasant, especially the snare drums. I tried fixing them with EQ adjustments, but they still weren’t good enough. So I decided not to use any of the recorded material and used MIDI instead. I chose to use 808 samples, inspired by Aphex Twin.
When I started working on experimental tracks, I realized it would be difficult to get the sound I wanted. I didn’t feel skilled enough and didn’t have the right equipment. Watching tutorials on how to create sounds like IDM artists made me realize it was more complicated than I thought. Still, I was able to recreate some techniques that sounded good. But when I tried putting them together into a full track, it was a mess without any structure. That’s how I ended up with my final track.
I decided to start fresh and leave behind my previous projects. To avoid getting overwhelmed, I kept things simple. I made a basic bassline and added a distorted kick drum, which sounded good. I kept the composition concise and followed a simple structure with a clear beginning, middle, and end. I wanted the track to start calm, then build up, and end calmly again. I enjoyed this approach and it was relatively easy to do. But I know I can do better. I think I should have spent more time improving the drums and exploring the lessons I learned from YouTube tutorials on making IDM music.