Atmospheric acid sounds

Hey Daniel! What the best way to create smooth psychedelic acids which you have in your tracks? I can describe this sounds like long vibes, uplifting noises in the background + adding full-length vibe which giving the spice at sounding in the track background. How do you put those smooth acids and atmospheric sounds?

And how to build up the track correctly, first kick & bass and what phases are to do next? Maybe I’m doing that phase sequences in wrong way, so maybe get stuck. Best wishes!

Mattias

Hi Mattias, I cannot be sure which exactly acid sound you talking about, so let’s assume it was a track “Another Earth” from my latest EP:

Technically speaking, this sound is pretty simple. I’ve used a single oscillator with saw pulse-width modulated wave shape, low pass filter with a bunch of resonance, soft distortion and sample reduction. You can find hundreds of YouTube videos by request like “acid sound tutorial”, there are plenty of guys who can explain it better than me. But I would like to point on another thing.

Another Earth EP, 2015

Such acid and atmospheric sounds give lush deep feelings and make listeners immerse into the track. However, they can be tricky: too many sounds will make your track overwhelmed. I had such issue, especially if you listen to my old tracks: there is a “wall of sound” rushing toward to listeners, too many sounds at a single moment make it harder to take. So ask yourself: “Do my track have enough room for that certain sound?”. Perhaps, your track will be better without it.

Also, why those atmospheric sounds should be in the track in the first place? What a storyline behind the track? Think of what you’re trying to tell your listeners with this specific track. And atmospheric sounds are nothing but a tool for that, like a paint colour in an artist’s palette. As for the second question, it well deserves a separate topic, thus I’ll post about it next time.

How to build up a track

 94   2015   Advice   Production

Since 2015, I’ve run an advice section giving my experience and answering readers’ questions on music production, DJing, performing, marketing, management, and other aspects of the music industry. The purpose of the series is to spread knowledge and cultivate professionalism in the music industry. The advice series works simply: you send me your questions, and I answer them with a blog post when I have something relevant to say. Send me your questions via the form.

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