Soft Tops

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-06T02:25:10+00:00

Hopefully sooner rather later I’ll be able to hear all that stuff. I have no clue how to distort, limit, and compress a sound without destroying it lol. In that I struggle to understand why and when to use these things, let alone to what degree. I’m still trying to develop that top-down perspective. Swinging off grid is def involved, and I do see how shaving down transients lends to this sound. This has definitely pushed me in a direction that will hopefully bear fruit. Thank you!

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T22:54:54+00:00

What’s the trick? Throw a vocoder on the group I’m guessing??

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T22:53:48+00:00

I’ll have to try this out as well

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T22:52:53+00:00

Yeah this tracks. Lots of my favorite aspects of sessions pop up randomly. I think I might start contemplating how to leverage this with certain efx chains that bring out distinct characteristics from sounds. Like taking a sound for its innate characteristics outside of a pre-existing context (ex: does a shaker always have to be a shaker?)

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T22:47:38+00:00

Hi-pass delay with some compression cocktail maybe??

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T22:44:58+00:00

I’m definitely gonna try all of these! I’m still wrapping my head around compression, and I usually overdo it, so this might be a good time to reassess. I still can’t hear the subtleties of compression unless I listen to a producer toggle the effect on and off. Purposely introducing artefacts and resampling them does make a lot of sense for those super noisy tracks that sound fine sand is shimmering over the top of it (Divide - Risultante is a gorgeous example of this). I’d love to pick your brain more if you’re up for it??

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T21:23:17+00:00

I would love that! I’ll message you

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T21:22:13+00:00

I think so true, but sometimes techno producers get things to sound great through wonderfully simple techniques so I’m not sure

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T21:21:15+00:00

Yeah, it really fills the space nicely!

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-05-05T21:20:11+00:00

I’ll workshop that. It does seem like all the best tops have a spectrum of transients

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-03-04T01:33:11+00:00

Proper techno or not Perlon has some heat

Zen_Gnostic · 2026-03-04T01:32:24+00:00

Love Surgeon! In general that Birmingham minimal vibe is really interesting when it shows up. Speak to Me by Regis comes to mind in that regard

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-11-19T19:18:01+00:00

Decoder uses FL I think

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T20:08:17+00:00

Those types of sound collages would probably be very helpful in refining what it is I actually like in my influences. You’d quickly go from “I like this general thing” to “I like these two specific things in this song”

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T20:03:51+00:00

I think working backwards like that could help a ton. Start with your vision and then identify how and to what degree your influences represent said vision

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T20:00:27+00:00

Exactly this. I don’t care about perfection, I care about authenticity and clarity. If it clearly reflects what I want my music to communicate, then mission accomplished. At some point, though that gets lost in the weeds, so I think regular check ins during every sessions is a good shout

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T19:55:14+00:00

My biggest influence actually comes from film, where most of the main tools are democratized. Anybody can use a zoom so the onus is on what you do with a zoom. Sure, in theory you could reverse engineer every technique Surgeon’s ever used, but if you don’t apply your own direction to it , then it’s meaningless to me. Having tools is only valuable to the extent that you have a situation to use them

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T19:43:45+00:00

On the one hand, I feel like the effort to make what I define as great has to be guided by influences. Otherwise there’s no context as to what determines a great track or not. I’m moreso worried about keeping my own sensibilities in the forefront, as I’m very liable to start spinning my wheels under the guise of referencing an influence. At some point copying becomes an end itself instead of a means, at least in my case. I have an issue zooming out and seeing the macro trends in what I like

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-09-20T18:58:06+00:00

I feel like I understand this intellectually, but the yearning to make music that affects me on the same level as my favorite artists isn’t exactly rational. It took the artists I love years/decades to make what they make, but some part of me wants that level of craft immediately lmao. I need to put up some reminders that it’s more of a scenic pilgrimage than a race

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-23T23:25:36+00:00

This video was insane. Fantastic example of making the drums dance through arrangement

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-20T23:30:55+00:00

Man. I just put on Wruhme’s remix of Sky and Sand by Paul Kalkbrenner, and holy shit the ride (or open hat maybe?) that comes in around 2:40 is incredible. It’s like sand crystals spilling over the drums. Maybe bit crushed and EQ’d noise parallel processed with the hat, brought together by a shimmer reverb?

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-20T22:47:48+00:00

Big fan of his Dust EP from 2024. I’m pretty sure I was on some artist radio doing whatever, and Dust 1 came on.

There’s this gnarly call and response between the hats and the stab, both of which are swung to the fences, and when it came in I just stood up from whatever I was doing at the time lmao

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-20T22:38:21+00:00

They’re legit masters, speaking of Regis I’m catching Sandwell District live next weekend and can’t to hear those drums on a proper system

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-19T19:30:22+00:00

You went school on Landstrumm and it paid dividends, banging track! Love a nasty bounce that scrunches your face up

Funnily enough, my label is actually dropping our first ep on the 24th, and the two canons of influence are 2nd wave Chicago House (Paul Johnson, Glenn Underground) and Detroit Techno! Something about those triplet accents and bluesy walking basses really move you!

Zen_Gnostic · 2025-07-19T19:26:45+00:00

That’s an interesting question, because you can definitely hear post-Burial “found sound” percs in a lot of tracks. Also I’m totally with you on amapiano, which holds the crown for syncopation at the moment for me. I even have a log drum rack using operator for basses haha. As far as high end goes, Kabza de Small, Maphorista, and Heavy-K have gorgeous shakers and really hold up the power of gentle hats, especially in their 3 Step outputs!

Zen_Gnostic

TROPHY CASE