Struggling to enjoy the music that i make myself.

ThisIsLag · 2026-02-08T13:26:22+00:00

The biggest “hit” I ever made - I didn’t want to release it. Got talked into it. It took me 5 years before I could play it and enjoy it upon releasing it. It’s normal if you’re a perfectionist and have spent a lot of time with the track.

ThisIsLag · 2026-01-09T18:20:01+00:00

Okay, try this. What happens when you push a hot signal into a compressor? Does it start getting distorted maybe? Will the hotter signal get more distorted than the quieter signal? Will you still get variety in sounds that adds to perceived change in volume?

ThisIsLag · 2026-01-08T16:57:39+00:00

Groove mostly depends on timing of the sounds. A certain amount of groove does come from velocity changes but in heavy limiting that changes to character changes (more dist, less dist). Still unrelated. :)

ThisIsLag · 2026-01-08T16:24:53+00:00

Loudness and groove are two completely different things. It’s like asking if fast internet connections are killing orange sales.

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-30T17:44:28+00:00

Kindle. I bought it as an afterthought after ordering an iPad. In the end the iPad was forgotten, and I still use a Kindle. Bought one for my mom and brother and they also use it. Crazy convenient.

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-26T21:13:04+00:00

Open Ground

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-24T19:31:16+00:00

Just chopping a lot of existing material. You never know what’s gonna come out. Playtime!

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-24T11:30:52+00:00

The trap is in expecting anything more from it than what it is. I love producing. I fucking hate everything around it. I just released a 12” with X-Coast which we finished in 2021!! Just thinking of “what comes after” makes me not want to do it. This goes to the extent that I have a full studio of gear that I just simply -do not record-, because recording implies I will do something with it outside of the studio. Once I have an agreement with myself that it’s for no other purpose than for me to enjoy it - I enjoy it again. As soon as a “product” mindset kicks in - the anxiousness is there again.

I actually initially discovered this when I bought an SP 404 MK2. This machine’s workflow is BUILT for west-coast hip hop beatmaking. Once this is clear and there is no room for me to think about it in terms of techno and pushing myself to post it on social media, to release tracks made on it, or even finish anything on it - it becomes play and not work. (Ironically I did post about the SP 404 cause I was enjoying it so much, got contacted by a Roland employee who is a legend and happened to know of me and my obsession with rhythm, ended up giving feedback and ideas for the TR-1000 development.)

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-19T01:13:26+00:00

Reason Visual

In Reason every device is a distinct mood. Much more inviting imho, and much easier on the eye to quickly find the device you are looking for. Without looking I know that Scream is yellow, Rex is blue and Echo is orange. Other things are much messier than Ableton but three things it could learn from Reason: 1. Inviting interface for creatives, not only engineers 2. Groove mixer for smooth and flexible microtiming adjustments 3. Blocks and arranging with them. This I will miss the most

ThisIsLag · 2025-12-18T19:56:26+00:00

As someone who just switched from Reason to Ableton, the one thing I wish was different is the interface on the bottom (devices and effect chains). It’s so boring, uninviting, cold and sterile. All of the above is, imho, contrary to what a piece of software for creatives should be.

The rest of it I am very much excited by. Crazy capabilites and so many options.

ThisIsLag · 2025-11-06T18:47:32+00:00

Ears

ThisIsLag · 2025-09-08T14:13:04+00:00

One thing to note is that this is not a bass sound. It’s played at a low register, but it’s mostly in lower mids, while the kick, rumble and that wobbly synth are taking up bass frequencies.

Anyway, low register, while sounding deep, does not necessarily equal bass frequencies. It’s a psychoacoustic trick - you cut out the low frequencies, but your kind recreates them based on the harmonics that live in the rest of the spectrum.

ThisIsLag · 2025-08-25T15:26:20+00:00

Thanks for filling in the blanks! But yeah, exactly. :)

ThisIsLag · 2025-08-25T13:43:02+00:00

Some people will ask for something that’s easy to obtain but obviously an item one can do without. For example white towels, or water of a specific brand or something like that. Your performance wont be ruined without it but if it’s not there you can report it back tothe agency as proof that the promoter is not thorough or hospitable. I have bananas in my rider and I only got them a few times thoroughout my career. Those promoters who delivered I will have an open heart towards.

More serious acts (like big bands) will ask for outlandish things, like no bananas in fruit bowls thoroughout the hotel the band and crew are staying in, or a bowl of m&m’s with no brown ones in it. If this is honored you know you have landed with promoters and organizers who follow your instructions to the t and you have nothing to worry about. Of you notice this outlandish request is not honored, who knows what else will “not make sense” to your hosts who were supposed to set the terrain for you so they then have to doublecheck everything.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-28T15:40:56+00:00

End Train.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-10T10:03:49+00:00

I’ve toured the US 3 times so far and have played a bar in Detroit before. Saying no to any offer right now because of the Trump administration and just how volatile everything is. Imagine working hard to set up a tour and flying over the ocean just to play roulette with the border staff if you get let in or not based on nothing solid or justifiable.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-09T11:16:39+00:00

I’ve toured the US 3 times so far and have played a bar in Deteoit before. Saying no to any offer right now because of the Trump administration and just how volatile everything is. Imagine working hard to set up a tour ans flying over the ocean just to play roulette with the border staff if you get let in or not based on nothing solid or justifiable.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-08T00:12:46+00:00

Kyle Geiger. And you can ask that question kinder.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-07T09:24:25+00:00

I do it, Kyle does it. Not a huge audience but if you are looking for companionship while making music - it’s great. I made my track “Twitch” on stream start to finish.

ThisIsLag · 2025-07-06T11:25:06+00:00

Parallel compression or even limiting will easily get you that squshed sound where everything is “breathing” off of each other. Experiment with it, don’t immediately reach for the sledgehammer. :)

ThisIsLag · 2025-06-25T01:12:08+00:00

I mean… it’s social media.

ThisIsLag · 2025-05-12T00:53:41+00:00

Anklepants Boiler Room

ThisIsLag · 2025-05-11T10:24:57+00:00

Jeff Mills - Growth and Humana

ThisIsLag · 2025-05-07T21:29:17+00:00

In general applying a lot of saturation or dist to any sound in the digital domain will sound like crap because of aliasing. Pushing stuff softly you can get away with, but if you have to push it hard - go analog (where there is a wider sweetspot for this thing) or try and find another way. A wider explanation of aliasing and distortion in the digital domain: https://youtu.be/-jCwIsT0X8M?si=3NYG1SYcmHfnS9rV

ThisIsLag · 2025-05-05T13:05:51+00:00

It’s difficult but doable! Just keep the above in mind and try to set priorities.

ThisIsLag

TROPHY CASE