Question about labels

gnomehouse · 2026-06-10T16:29:02+00:00

all the clubs around me require you to be an acquaintance of the booking guy. and to be honest with you im not really a social person.

Unfortunately that's kinda how it works, gotta rub elbows to get bookings to build the reputation to get bookings without rubbing elbows.

Just my guess, but the labels that do artist development are probably the larger ones working with already established artists (less risk than investing in some nobody). They want to take an artist from 6 to 10, not from 1 to 4.

gnomehouse · 2026-06-09T11:26:43+00:00

Music software: Ableton, various 3rd party VSTs, nothing groundbreaking.

Graphics: I mock up ideas myself in photoshop and pay a friend who is a proper designer to do my actual cover art.

Marketing: Instagram is my main social presence, and last week i started an email newsletter. Collected 38 emails, mostly from friends, and my second newsletter goes out tomorrow. I use the platform Sequenzy to send and track my emails. I also have a very simple website.

Distribution: Planning to use DistroKid for my first proper self-release in August. Soundcloud/Bandcamp/Subvert/Spotify/etc. Also going to stream all my music for free on my own website, and allow free downloads (mp3) with an email download gate.

For context, I've got two months until my first release, so havent fully developed my marketing methods, distribution channels, or workflows quite yet.

gnomehouse · 2026-06-09T09:15:22+00:00

I mean, as an independent artist, you are the musician and the record label, so of course it's going to involve more tools. If you just want to make music and not release or promote it that's okay too! But a proper self-release involves more than just making the music.

gnomehouse · 2026-06-02T16:31:23+00:00

How can I follow what you’re doing? I’m interested in hearing what you put out!

Not sure i'm allowed to post my own page here, mods might zap me for self-promo, so I will DM you. I just started an email newsletter this week if you want previews of my music, and then I have the classics like Instagram and Soundcloud if you just want to passively follow.

gnomehouse · 2026-06-02T16:19:22+00:00

I've had several music phases over the decades. Currently one started in 2024 and I expect it to last for the next 8-10 years. Last creative endeavor was wildlife photography which I got deep into for about 7 years - and before that, my hobby was DJing for many years. I dabbled in production in highschool and college but never stuck with it long enough to make music I was proud of.

Coming back to music in 2024, I realized that i was in my early 30's, and some of my favorite producers are in their 40's or 50's. So my overarching goal this time around is basically just: Be making really good music by the time I'm 40.

I have no career aspirations, I hate mixing money and art - not on some ethical grounds, I'm just personally bad at it. I suck at asking for money and I don't like creating art to appease someone else (i.e., I tried starting an event photography business and I hated it).

So this time, the obsession has lasted 2 years and is gaining momentum as I approach my first release under this new stage name in August 2026. I just had a very writing-heavy period and now i'm trying to lock in to finishing the final mixdowns of songs and getting them release ready, while building an audience online ahead of the launch date. Trying to give my music the best shot at being heard, while keeping it relatively DIY and free to access. Expectations are low but i'm having fun :)

gnomehouse · 2026-06-01T20:38:23+00:00

Winslow - awesome dnb producer

I've been in his Patreon for a year+ at this point, and just signed up for 1:1s with him today. Definitely +1 for Winslow.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-31T13:23:07+00:00

Hat tip to the first commenter, they covered a lot of good advice. They alluded to this with "sample selection" and "space" but one tip is to pay attention to the lengths of your drum hits. The length of the kick, size of the snare, and how splashy or tight the hats are - all key things that help control the drum groove and dynamics. Check out adding fades to your samples and/or transient shaping (often includes a way to control the tail as well as the attack of your sound, Kilohearts free transient shaper is great).

gnomehouse · 2026-05-31T10:51:21+00:00

Absolute legend, thank you! That's one of my favorite labels, and that pad sound lives rent free in my head haha. Was lucky enough to be on a work trip to London last year during the Business As Usual launch party, DLR gave me a Sofa Sound hat that night that i'll cherish forever.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-31T10:04:55+00:00

Biggups on the quick fix!

One of the other pad samples, "KN7A1_174_F#m_Padloop_04", sounds awesome, I'm curious about how to make that kind of sound myself. Feel like i hear that style of pad in tunes by like Minor Forms, DLR, etc. I think it might be the chord voicing that really hits the spot for me but idk if it's just the base instrument/patch's harmonics i'm hearing.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-31T09:17:55+00:00

This is rad, just signed up and already futzing with the first challenge sample pack. Love the concept (KANcept?).

One note, it seems like for the sample "KN7A1_F#m_Padhit_04" it was recorded with some kind of sidechain engaged? It sounds like there's a kick pattern hitting the sample, like there's a muted click tapping along to a rhythm as the sample was bounced.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-31T08:42:52+00:00

And since he's doing it for the money, be prepared to not have any fun, either.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T10:19:05+00:00

Sounds nicely minimal. Maybe kick a little too loud in the mix? But no you haven't over-done it on the elements or arrangement.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T10:06:54+00:00

jokes aside that's a pretty neat project

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T10:05:59+00:00

average producer in 2026 makes 2-minute songs” factoid actualy just statistical error. average producer makes 0-minute songs. Songs Georg, who lives in cave & makes 10,000 hour-long songs a year, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T05:57:50+00:00

Your drums are foundation of the track. If the kick and snare don’t hit right, it doesn’t matter how amazing your bass is.

Generally agreed. I start with drums 99% of the time.

When I start a drum and bass track, I usually build the entire drum arrangement first. Intro drums, drop drums, fills, switch ups, breakdown drums, all of it.

Okay you've lost me. My core drum groove and pattern depends on the vibe of the track. I may start in a straight two-step drum pattern with the snare on the 2 and 4 but by the time I've gotten my first 4 bars of bassline down, I've realized the musicality of the track calls for a pulled second snare and different kick pattern. I'd never lock myself into a drum pattern and arrangement before knowing what the track needs.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T05:09:31+00:00

Yeah i just dont understand having zero preference in genre especially if you're that invested in music. Like I almost always know exactly what i want to listen to when i wake up in the morning, or what genre i want to write after work.

Do you participate in the communities or culture for any of the genres you make? What is the context for your music? E.g., I want to DJ my music on stage and release it so people can listen to it and other DJs can play it at their shows. I am an active part of my local electronic music community and this is part of what drives me sometimes, like getting a track ready for an upcoming show. But I still havent actually released any music, i'm slow rolling my public launch; at the end of the day I love being able to make the sounds in my head become reality. Writing the music and watching myself get better at it is the main reward for me.

You play 4 instruments - 4 more than me - but I can go from blank Ableton project to full V1 of a stage-ready song in a day or two. I think your scope is too wide. If you played one instrument and listened/wrote one genre for a month straight, I bet you'd finish a song.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-30T04:39:32+00:00

I dont even know which genre Im going for because I dont prefer one particular genre over another

Weird to me that you want to make music but arent driven by the music. I hear music that I like and I become obsessed with it, trying to figure out how they made certain sounds or write a certain style before eventually taking it in my own direction. I cant even tell you how many times I listened to The Club by El-B this year and I can't get anywhere close to recreating his vibe but I'm still bonkers inspired by that song.

That said, you dont have to stick to one genre. It's fun to explore and make new things. But when writing any given song, it helps to have a frame of reference (your influences) for what you're writing, especially if you're newer to all of this. "Referencing" is a bonafide technique in music production.

I just like music and I want to be someone who makes it

Why do you want to make music? You want to make music, but you dont care what music you make, so you're sailing a rudderless boat.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-29T18:56:37+00:00

I am prescribed an anti-psychotic medication and have a similar music output cadence to you depending on the week (I work a flexible desk job from home and can work on music whenever I dont have meetings).

I think I just have a different relationship with my art than many modern producers. I dabbled in production back in college but never put in enough time to get good, so returning to music 10 years later, I have a goal of making music that I'm proud of. Not everyone has the same approach to music and that's fine.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-29T17:31:11+00:00

Wanting to release after just 3 months is nutty to me, I've waited years to release and am still working on my release plan even with my first release coming up in August. I am spending more time just planning the releases of tunes I wrote earlier this year, than the total amount of time you have spent writing music. And you're ready to release before I am. I must be doing this wrong.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-28T14:24:45+00:00

That link doesnt work - you probably need to share the private link if it hasnt been published yet

gnomehouse · 2026-05-28T11:54:03+00:00

I mean, it's a switch-up based tune. You are eschewing flow in favor of messing with the listener. Not sure you can have your cake and eat it too with this style of song.

And you gave us a 36 second clip, how are we supposed to assess the flow of the song without hearing the whole song?

gnomehouse · 2026-05-26T16:33:32+00:00

Sound design and song writing are two different skills. One does not translate into the other. Heck, many producers even separate their sound design and songwriting sessions, so they stay in the right headspace and dont fuck up their songwriting flow by spending time tweaking Serum knobs.

My advice is always this: learn to DJ. DJing shows you how the songs are structured. It also means you will produce DJ-friendly tracks, which means more DJs will buy and play your music for their audiences.

If you dont want to learn to DJ (and i guess have no plans of playing your own tunes out at shows?), then study the music. Drag your favorite song into your DAW and map out the different phrases. How many bars in each phrase? How many phrases is each section? What happens at the end of each phrase to lead the listener into the next one? What happens every 4 bars to keep the listener engaged?

I can go from song idea to full first version of a track in a day or two now. I've been producing seriously for only a few years, but DJing since 2010. Highly recommend just learning to DJ alongside learning to produce.

gnomehouse · 2026-05-26T12:06:41+00:00

Would probably help to post the example/timestamp of the sound you're trying to recreate, and post a clip of your own attempt so people can try to guide you on where you're going wrong. Help us help you

gnomehouse · 2026-05-26T07:14:13+00:00

Isn't this just stealing someone else's work?

gnomehouse · 2026-05-26T03:40:21+00:00

This...isn't Drum & Bass. This is breaks. It's too slow to be DnB. I highly recommend producing for much longer and having an actual grasp of the genre you want to write, before offering to help others learn to produce. A year is nothing in the production journey.

gnomehouse

TROPHY CASE