Future Music delivers the technique and technology behind the hits. Packed with inspiration for today’s modern musician there’s reviews of hot new gear, tons of tutorials to help you get the most out of your hardware and software, and exclusive In The Studio features where the stars take apart their tracks.
Future Music delivers the technique and technology behind the hits. Packed with inspiration for today’s modern musician there’s reviews of hot new gear, tons of tutorials to help you get the most out of your hardware and software, and exclusive In The Studio features where the stars take apart their tracks.
Future Music delivers the technique and technology behind the hits. Packed with inspiration for today’s modern musician there’s reviews of hot new gear, tons of tutorials to help you get the most out of your hardware and software, and exclusive In The Studio features where the stars take apart their tracks.
For a track to sound at its best on a club sound system, it needs to sound tight at certain key frequencies. You need powerful bass that avoids being muddy and overblown, you need highs that will cut through without sounding tinny. In this issue’s Mixing For The Club cover feature, we’ll help you get your tracks club-ready. We’ll look at how to make sure they’ll sound great on any system, and how to prepare your creations to slot perfectly into a DJ set.
Tackling a remix can be a daunting prospect; whatever the original source material you’re working with, whether it’s a lauded classic or a close friend’s latest release, you’re effectively messing with somebody else’s creative work. How faithful should you be to the original idea? How can you put your own stamp on it? How can you take the ideas in a new direction while keeping it recognisable to fans of the original? It’s these questions we’re tackling in this issue’s massive Remix Masterclass. Not only are we bringing you our usual crop of tutorials and video guides, but we’ve also got expert advice and insight from the likes of Joris Voorn, Paul Oakenfold, Photek, Gui Boratto and more. On top of that, we’re even including 4GB of free construction kits to help you to flex your creative skills.
In an age when production software is more powerful than ever, there’s still something to be said for shutting down the computer and going full hardware with your music making. From the tactile feel of twisting dials and bashing buttons, to the sonic unpredictability that comes from running sound through an elaborate audio chain, there’s something about working with ‘real’ instruments and effects that you just can’t recreate with software and controllers. In this issue’s bumper cover feature, we delve into several potential setups to get you inspired and show you some ways you can create electronic music fully freed from the shackles of a DAW. Plus we pick up some advice from artists who are taking software-free routes to recording and performance.
Broadly speaking, there are two ways to use effects in music production as mix tools, or as creative processors. These two applications are effectively the polar opposite of one another. The former is all about transparency trying to improve the sound of an audio signal without making it obvious that an effect has been used on it. When it comes to creative processing though, the sound of the effect is precisely what we’re after. Whether that’s the spaced-out ambience of a long, drawn-out reverb, the wobbling repeats of a vintage delay, or the harmonically rich crunch of an analogue reverb. It’s these creative effects we’re focusing on in this issue. This month’s two main tutorial features are all about finding new and exciting ways to push sounds as far as you can, to create out-there, ear-catching results.
