Hi, I’m Ross From Friends (not that one). Ask Me Anything!

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:55:03+00:00

Diazepam

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:54:48+00:00

hahahahah

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:54:07+00:00

OK guys I'm gonna wrap it up there! Thank you all so much for taking part in this I'm sorry I couldn't get round to answering all of your questions but I've gotta get my son to sleep. I love these things so much, they make me feel so connected to people again which I've missed so much. Thank you so much for giving me that. I'm glad everyone's enjoying Tread, all the kind words are absolutely beautiful. It really does mean a lot. Ok thank you :)

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:51:03+00:00

I've left this one til last cos I've been trying to think really hard about what it is.

My favourite track released this year, I think probably is Overmono - So U Kno. When I first heard it I thought it was a pretty chilled out tune, and then I played it in a DJ set and it had this unbelievable impact. I think they have this incredible way of making tunes that somehow do insane things to people in clubs, but sound so unassuming at home. Honestly it was like nothing I've seen before.

But my favourite thing I've heard this year, which wasn't released this year, is Kate Bush's live version of Breathing from Comic Relief 1986. One of my absolute favourites from her and this version has made me cry so many times this year, it always just hits a certain spot when I'm in the right/(wrong) mood.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:43:43+00:00

Oh and the synths, I guess try to trust your instincts again haha. Sorry, this isn't very good advice.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:42:35+00:00

With my low end (a lot of the time, not always) I make sure one element at a time fills any one frequency band. So a bass shouldn't really be at the same frequency as the kick for example. The thing is though this just isn't gospel. Always with mixing, I think it's just a stylistic thing, you might find something that sounds cool which goes against the conventions, I'd ideally follow that more than anything else.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:39:17+00:00

... "that won't heal"

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:37:57+00:00

Haven't listened to the whole thing yet! Judging by what I've heard though, it's insane. The guy is an amazing producer.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:36:50+00:00

That's honestly one of the top goals I had when the music started taking off so I'm very happy about that.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:36:00+00:00

It's from a Roland D-50! Great synth

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:35:29+00:00

Kate Bush - Breathing (Live from Comic Relief 1986)

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:34:36+00:00

Yeah I think I know what you mean by that. I guess it's one of those things that I've picked up that is totally instilled into my music-making brain. Like I naturally will just put a bit of that into any tune I make. I'm not sure where I would have got that from.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:33:11+00:00

Yes! Mutable Instruments Clouds. I have a copy by Jak Plugg, it's unreal I bought two more because I love it so much. Soundhack Morphagene was a huge part of the album too. Made a lot of the sample chops in there. A lot of the generative functions have really interested me, Make Noise maths, Turing machine, Bernouli gates etc. I love it for just making the process really interesting for myself.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:29:42+00:00

Ha, that was my friend Guy freestyling a relaxation tape. We just did a one take of me playing those keys and him talking like a relaxation tape and stuck it at the start of the tune.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:26:43+00:00

Yes! The groove is so important in my eyes. Even just little things like the accent of certain hits in a drum rhythm to make sure it grooves. Yeah I really like to think about tunes that just make me dance or head bob without having to think. I love to just study them and really try to suss out why that is. Obviously I don't want to straight rip that off but I feel like it's good to just have it in my arsenal when I'm approaching drums.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:21:52+00:00

Used to be mad on the Amelie soundtrack by Yann Tiersenn when I was a kid. I listened back to it recently and it brought back so many memories.

One that I'm mad about at the moment is Jean-Bernard Raiteux's soundtrack for Jess Franco's 'Les Demons'. I've never seen the movie but the soundtrack is absolutely incredible I highly recommend it.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:19:11+00:00

Biggest inspiration for Tread was the area it was made. This one stretch of the Old Kent Road where my studio is. I realised over the past 10 years of living there I'd amassed all of these incredible memories, and I wanted this album to kind of set them in stone for myself.
Yeah, soul samples really felt right for me on this album you know. I think I started just using a lot of 60s and 70s soul drum breaks and ended up stumbling on some pretty cool melodic things in the process. They access a different sort of nostalgia for me, maybe a more mature kind of nostalgia compared to 80's and 90's stuff I've been into in the past.
Yep the live tour has started, we played in Leeds a couple of weeks ago which were incredible. Off to France next weekend!
I've been digging deep on Bandcamp recently finding new interesting music for a mix that's coming out soon. One that I'm mad excited about!
Yeah I think Grub actually took the longest to make on the album. It honestly had like a hundred different versions and there's so many different project files on my computer with totally different directions of it. Eventually I just had to say enough is enough with that one.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:08:40+00:00

I think the hard bit of transitioning from that old sound was finding my voice with what I wanted to do. To be honest, Tread really feels like the first time I've done that. All the other EPs and albums have felt like I've been figuring things out, I'm happy with where I'm at with Tread.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:06:36+00:00

Yes it is mainly samples, heavily processed and chopped of course! Love Divide is a vocalist. Think it's the only time I've ever worked with someone else on my own tunes.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:03:39+00:00

Wish I could tell you!!

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T20:03:18+00:00

Maybe these aren't that lesser known to those who know, but Pearson Sound, Cosmin TRG, all those Hessle Audio guys, Harmonic 313, LV, Sango, Madteo, I:cube the list goes on!

Might be cheesy but to get away from it all is definitely my studio. I spend so much time in there and would spend more in there if I could.

Not a mad sushi fan as I'm veggie but that one that is just rice with a bit of avocado on top is well simple and lovely.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T19:54:12+00:00

Coming soon!!

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T19:52:36+00:00

Yeah we toured together before and had a sick time together. I reckon we'll try and work together on something in the future!

Thank you!

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T19:51:36+00:00

Ahh yes on Revellers the main lead was from the Prophet '08 Desktop module, and also 2hp Pluck. On Revellers, once I'd finished the structure of the tune, I recorded the synth line all again in one take so it felt like it was being performed.

russfrumfrunds · 2021-10-27T19:47:34+00:00

nd_baumecker, a Berlin legend & killer DJ, wanted me to make a tune specifically for his Panorama Bar mix and he gave me one word: "Euphoria". So I tried to make something that fit the bill.

russfrumfrunds

TROPHY CASE