To start off, I wanted to say that this past week was very productive in getting this Bomb Squad project finished with Cocoa, DiMpLeZ and ADM all supplying their much needed vocals.  This means that only Harmony Speaks, Destiny Soprano (re-recording) and I are the last ones left.  Hopefully, this week will be just as productive.

Some interesting tidbits about the ADM recording; ADM voice-acts pretty well, and I’m guessing this has to do with some of the work he has done on radio and his video/movie classes.   As he put it:

“This sounds like an episode of 24.” – ADM

That should give you some insight on the song. =]

On to Project Inhaler.  Project Inhaler is the project that ADM and I will be working on.  It is geared to be a Prodigy style song, so pretty close to Drum-N-Bass.  We originally thought it would be classified as Jungle until we re-evaluated the speed of the beats and realized that it was WAY too slow to be jungle.  We were able to clock “Breathe” (The Prodigy song) in at about 127bpm, whereas Jungle is typically in the upper 100′s, upwards of 150bpm, I believe, if not faster.

Based on the research ADM had done, he found that a handful of producers suggested using breakbeat templates on the FPC in FL Studio to create the breakbeat needed for this type of project.  Some suggested layering the breakbeats as well.

We were lazy though, so after going through the kicks and changing each sample to a more suitable kick drum from stock, we nixed that process and decided to make our own breakbeat using regular sequencing methods.

A welcome addition here is the use of the Glitch plugin.  Boy Gnyus and Brian Bullion both suggested Glitch (or something similar) to me as it was the same plugin that Timbaland used in his songs to do his mid-bar reverse effects (Listen to ending of Jay-Z – Dirt Off Your Shoulder, and The Game – Put You In The Game for reference).  ADM suggested we try it after he had downloaded it a few days prior, and so we downloaded it and put it into use.  We haven’t gotten the total benefit of using it yet, though we used the Gater and Crusher in different parts of the break as well as the rhythm synth we used and the results were very gritty and we’re definitely looking to extend the use of the plugin.  For you producers out there, you can find Glitch here.

For anyone who is familiar with the song “Breathe” or other songs from Prodigy (more notably, the Fat of the Land album), then you know vocals are involved.  We are looking to have K-Maculate drop some vocals on this one, and I will try to as well.  I felt the British accents of both the people in “Breathe” helped that track, so I don’t know if our voices will make the cut.  We always make do with what we have though, and I’m sure we can figure something out to make it nice and greezy.

We employed Sylenth (or was it Vanguard?  I’ll have to re-open the project) as the ryhthm synth; using a distorted guitar type of synth preset.  Coupled with Glitch, it came out pretty juicy.  We don’t plan for this song to be too melodic as we want it to have that really aggressive feel.  The song does have a nice sounding base (foundation or low octave?  see what I did there? lol) in B minor, and we won’t be using too many notes to keep the aggressive tone.

With that foundation, we finished this phase of work on the project with some next steps being outlined:

- Map out the song arrangement, and what to break each section with
- Gather ideas for lead synths or instruments.  “Breathe” used a non-descript plucking of something as well as some guitar usage; both clean and distorted
- Come up with an actual name for the song
- Bring K in for some vocal input

I’m actually starting to wonder now what Harmony Speaks would sound like on something like this.  Maybe for a 1 or 2 bar break?  It would serve as part of the separation of sequences in the song.  I’ll run that through with ADM and see what he says.

I’ve also re-commenced work on Destiny Soprano’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” cover.  I’ve gone through two different iterations of it and through both I haven’t been comfortable.  I do feel however with the addition of the acoustic drumset in the studio, it may open some things up.  I’m thinking of now giving it a more rock feel in the recording (low to almost dry reverb with more guitars compared to the rich reverb-filled original with synths/keyboarding), and maybe some R&B elements in the arrangement.

Exciting time in the MsP world.  Keep checking in for more updates!

-mnshyn