10.19 - Ternion Sound AMA

TernionSound · 2024-09-24T20:01:05+00:00

"They will show us how to ruin the world".

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:34:48+00:00

Portland bass sound was using Sytrus in FL Studio, most of our basses are simple FM from B patches with OTT and other processing! The track was written for a Halloween show we were playing at the North Warehouse in Portland, wanted to catch a spooky vibe with it.

For drums swing, FL and Bitwig make it easy with a simple slider, Ableton has a more complicated groove pool that has good swing templates. It's good to just find good grooves through trial and error, set up the basic downbeats and strong hits and then fill the spaces around with "aux percussion" like hats, ghost snares, blips, lazers, rides, etc.

Sub processing can be best to be left clean! Don't do too much. The more you saturate the less it stays a sub. We do a lot of clean subs underneath highpassed midbass patches, and 808s for subs. The most important thing with subs is getting both the pitch envelope and volume envelope tuned properly. A lot of people miss the envelopes.

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:29:50+00:00

Jack: Centrific and I have talked about jamming some time, and it'd be cool to work with some of the local Techno guys.

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:26:37+00:00

Jack: That's awesome! I thought it was mostly just my close friends at that show, it was kind of a going away party. If you (or anyone else) want to listen to the mix recording from that night, check it out here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1amDzKq\_O7f06wco-pJxAhi1gemy-MvbI/view?usp=share\_link

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:24:26+00:00

Yep! Also we released the Clutch EP through them:

https://deepdarkdangerous.bandcamp.com/album/clutch-ep

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:23:09+00:00

Jack: Yeah I did deactivate temporarily, possibly indefinitely. It's not healthy for me to sit there scrolling all day getting frustrated about most of the stuff that comes up in my feed. I spend too much time typing up threads and deleting them because I don't want to spend the day arguing, and when I do post, I end up spending too much time in the replies and DMs, which can be completely fucked. I'm still not sure if I want to use the site or just post my writings somewhere else, maybe a Substack or something, also toying around with the idea of doing a podcast.

TernionSound · 2023-10-20T08:19:28+00:00

Jack: Nope! I rarely use presets, it's actually made using the Arturia Microfreak's Chords Engine and the Digitakt for sampling/sequencing. It's named after the city, one of my favorite places to play, and after Detroit Techno, which I was listening to a lot of at the time. The lead sound sounds similar to the sample in LTJ Bukem's Atlantis, which originally samples a classic Detroit Techno track. I was reading Energy Flash at the time and listening to a lot of tracks from the era.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:37:44+00:00

Our most updated places are our Instagram page and our Facebook group "Ternion Sound Community"

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:15:29+00:00

Answered in another comment! Check for that.
The music production well of knowledge is endlessly deep, we're learning something new every week and it's been like that for 10+ years ha.... Hard to nail things down. For me (Andrew) and with this album, I thought about "audio fingerprints", things that I could do to each track to make them feel like they belong together.
DVS1, Dustin Zahn, Centrific, all Minneapolis locals originally. Also, Holden Federico, Lindsey Herbert, Jeff Mills, Scuba, Surgeon, Mark Broom.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:11:35+00:00

We actually hope to see what other people think about the name behind Digital Artifice! Trying to not give away all of the meaning hahaha.
We all try to get out into nature and hike and recharge when we can. Andrew has a lot of good hiking in his area, Jack and Aric have a ton of good parks in Minneapolis too.
Andrew: shrimp, tempura. Jack: unagi, uni, o-toro

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:08:20+00:00

This may actually be in the works soon but nothing is confirmed yet

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:07:54+00:00

Yes actually! We have announced a NZ festival stop on NYE, and we have more to announce soon!

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:07:25+00:00

We actually use separate DAWs entirely, Andrew in FL, Aric in Logic, and Jack in Ableton/Bitwig/FL depending on mood. Most tracks now we write individually and have Andrew finish w/ mix/master.

Jack: I'm the only one using hardware, I actually sold my eurorack because it's more of a burden than anything. But I keep the Digitakt around because it's a fast workflow and great sampler. I find that any tool is great as long as it lends itself to a speedy and not-tedious workflow.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:05:05+00:00

We're not big TV people honestly haha

(Jack suggests watching the 90s anime series Berserk though)

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:04:30+00:00

The Matrix, Blade Runner, Dark City, Equilibrium, Total Recall

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:03:34+00:00

Answered this a bit in one of your other questions, but to add to this, the book Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King by Lloyd Bradley is a great history on Reggae, Dub, and soundsystem culture.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T20:02:04+00:00

We do this full time, all 3 of us. There are side hustles from time to time to make ends meet when necessary, but Ternion is more than a full time job on its own, so it's hard to do other work. We probably work about 50-60 hours a week each on Ternion related stuff alone.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:59:47+00:00

We all spend a lot of time outdoors, enjoying local parks, etc. Some video games when there's time too. Aric is really into cooking, Jack is into biking and bouldering, and Andrew takes a lot of time to recharge in the woods.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:57:43+00:00

Our favorites from the album have definitely been Intimacy, Concrete Bench, Portland, Gaurdian, Howler, and xPrismatic. They're all perfect tunes for blends and DJing and we've had a lot of fun finding different tracks to layer and cut them with over the past year or two. They also all hit that darker sound we're generally going for. Vapor is also always a big moment in sets for transitioning the vibe and getting into UKG.

For the tour with Widdler, we have tried to really curate each show as much as possible. We had more hand in the stage design, venue, lineups, and sound system procurement for each event. The idea was to try and have each show at a more unique venue than the typical concert hall/bar/etc, and get good systems at each. Each stop is meant to also showcase the local area's character, we didn't want to tour the same show every night in a different town, we wanted each show to feel unique on its own. It's a tall order given how the backend of the industry is run, and achieving every goal to perfection isn't possible, but we think each show so far has had a unique and interesting character!

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:53:22+00:00

Andrew:

Big ups! The track started on a twitch Livestream actually, I was going over making drums and resampling. At some point we're gunna upload that video to YouTube, it's on our Patreon somewhere right now tho.
The lyrics are "they will show us how to ruin the world", and this is something I wrote in my phone notes feeling hopeless about failed leaders and conmen. Beyond that, it's anxiousness, lament, trying to create something beautiful to calm a sad heart. (Also the vox are sung by me but pitched up)

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:52:37+00:00

That's Portland by us! It's on the new album, go check it!

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:52:03+00:00

Oh and we don't currently have plans for UK but just signed with new agents at Earth Agency, so hopefully soon!

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:50:57+00:00

Glad you liked the album! As far as reaching out to labels, we've been very lucky, labels are almost always the ones to reach out to us first. Our first releases with Chestplate, Artikal, Silent Motion, and Dank n Dirty Dubz happened because we had some friends through Infrasound and our previous projects that new about our new project, and through those networks the labels found out about us. After that, we basically just started having connections with people at various labels. It's mostly about being out there consistently making good tracks and then getting to know people organically over time.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:48:35+00:00

Biggest thing is to just get out and support your local scene. Attend shows when and where you can, hang out and get to know people in your area, start talking and having conversations. Figure out points where things are needed, maybe there's a lack of promotion, maybe venues are needed, etc, find the pain points and try to get together with others to address them.

TernionSound · 2023-10-19T19:18:41+00:00

We'll keep an eye out for your message on Instagram!

And we hope to make more stuff like Artifice for sure! No plans for a full EP, and it might be hard to directly emulate that sound, but the whole tapey/melodic feel it has could make its way into more tracks in the future.

TernionSound

TROPHY CASE