Month: October 2023

When new music equipment, instruments, and recording technologies are introduced, they can influence how music is produced, and consumed. These advancements often lead to changes in sound, and production techniques, and sometimes contribute to the creation of new genres. For example, in 1986, Akai released a piece of equipment which became a go-to choice for many musicians and producers and impacted the development of sample-based music.

It is nothing but the S900 – an 8-voice, 12-bit sampler. Its sample rate varies from 7.5 kHz to 40 kHz, which allows it to sample up to 11.75 seconds of audio at a sampling rate of 40kHz, or up to 63 seconds with lower rates. The launch of this product was revolutionary, as the previous samplers could not sample anything longer than a few seconds and had only one available sound storage spot at the time while Akai made it possible to have up to 32 samples simultaneously. [1]

The Akai S900 made sampling technology more accessible by offering an affordable option of around £1700 for newly started producers. Before that, sampling was often an expensive and complex process, limited to high-end studios, so the release of the S900 provoked a boom in experimentation among a wider number of musicians.[2] 

MIDI integration in the Akai S900 meant that the sampler could communicate and synchronize with other MIDI-compatible devices. This allows musicians to control the S900, trigger samples, and coordinate between different instruments and equipment during recording or shows. [2] The sampler’s compact design also made it more practical for both studio use and live performances compared to some larger models available in the 1980s. This is also why it became a popular substitute for drum machines in home studios. [3]

As one of the early digital samplers, the Akai S900 contributed to the broader shift from analogue to digital sound processing during the 1980s and 1990s. This sampler became defining to the sound of many artists, including Fatboy Slim, Moby, Depeche Mode, Dr. Dre, Portishead, New Order and Tangerine Dream. [4] [5] [6] 

[1] www.synthmuseum.com. (n.d.). Synthmuseum.com – Akai : S900. [online] Available at: https://www.synthmuseum.com/akai/akas90001.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2023].

[2] Kraft, Espen. “S900 – This Made Akai the KINGS of Sampling.” Www.youtube.com, 20 Jan. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy-X0FaPpJk  Accessed 4 Nov. 2023. 

[3] Fishman, Paul. “Akai S900 Sampler (IM Jul 1986).” International Musician & Recording World, no. Jul 1986, 1 July 1986, pp. 84–86, www.muzines.co.uk/articles/akai-s900-sampler/11018  Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

[4] www.soundonsound.com. (2017). Classic Tracks: Fatboy Slim ‘Praise You’. [online] Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-fatboy-slim-praise-you  [Accessed 4 Nov. 2023].

[5] Ward, Phil. “Under New Orders (MT Apr 1994).” Music Technology, no. Apr 1994, 1 Apr. 1994, pp. 44–48, www.muzines.co.uk/articles/under-new-orders/7751  Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

[6] Trask, Simon. “Dream State (MT Jan 1991).” Music Technology, no. Jan 1991, 1 Jan. 1991, pp. 40–46, www.muzines.co.uk/articles/dream-state/764  Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

While choosing a record to analyse, I decided to go for something from an album that had kept me hooked for the past month. Today we’re looking at instrumentation and arraignment in “Star” by Mitski.

In this track, she builds tension by layering synthesisers and other instruments. The song starts with a sub-bass synth (you can hear the LFO circling[1]), followed by a sustained note played much higher up (might be the same synth or something else) until her voice with wet reverb applied comes in accompanied by mellow electronic piano playing sustained chords. 

At the 30-second point, another layer of synth comes in – a dreamy pad. The next instrument to enter the song is a virtual organ holding a sustained chord an octave higher.

Live drums are introduced at 1:08, and the instrumentation goes down to them + the three synthesisers from the beginning + vocal melody. This is the point at which I feel the song falls into the second section. The instruments start to come in once again.

Gradually, live strings emerge – an orchestration of violas, violins and double-bases. This selection adds more of a “dramatic” feeling to the song and fluctuates in its velocity throughout, dictating the intensity. 

The next layer is another high-octave organ[2] doing a chromatic run over the song. Strings also build up in velocity, though it is getting hard to make out separate instruments due to the mixing choice.

The strings, synthesisers, and drums fade out or exit the song one by one until the only track left is the pad that came in second, holding one sustained note. The song comes back to the energy level it began with.

[1] Stolet, Jeffrey (2009). “31. Low-frequency Oscillators”. Electronic Music Interactive, 2nd edition. University of Oregon.

[2] Mitski (2023). Mitski – Star (Behind the Song). [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kiknae8H_c&t=198s [Accessed 24 Oct. 2023].

In the first section, Genevieve combines polyrhythm and syncopation. She layers her voice/instrument recordings on top of each other seemingly without trying to make them sound coherent and pleasing. The song feels “chopped” a bit and leaves listeners in distress. I am stating this as a practising listener. I was distressed.  

Apart from being syncopated, the melodic lines are heavily panned and mixed quite “tight”. That creates a claustrophobic feeling. On top of that, some of the recordings occupy more or less the same frequency range, her voice has the same texture and pitch and might overlap a bit.

However, those strange composing and mixing techniques do resonate with the lyrics. In the first section, her thoughts are tangled, she’s confused, repeating the question “Why?”.

When the second section of the song comes in, it feels like a big relief. All of the instrumentation changes. Genevieve introduces a gentle pad, a dreamy synth that sounds almost like bells, and a nice quiet drumbeat in 4/4 – the time signature that has the most natural feeling to it and is the easiest to understand and follow. All of the channels are now treated with reverb, which creates a wider sound, so it almost feels like there is more air to breathe. Now the listener can relax and listen to what she has to say, as the lyrics calm down as well: simple “feels true”.

Music production involves an insane amount of people performing various roles, whether it is songwriting or mastering. But a producer? A performer alone is not a producer and a mixing engineer is not a producer – they are just parts of the music production process. At the same time, a producer may also be an engineer or a composer, but what defines them as the producer is the presence of their influence or supervision on all the stages of creating a music record. That is someone who is supposed to turn an idea into a record, ideally a distribution-quality one if they want to be able to pay rent from what they do.

Let’s say, we have got a musician. That person has written a song: a two-minute-long piece with lyrics over four guitar chords. They recorded themself performing it in their room, did some audio post-production (e.g. EQing or “cleaning” from background noise), and published it to Soundcloud. This person was with the song from its foetus state (“Oh, these chords sound nice together!”) all the way until it became a finished product, ready for other people to consume (a track on Soundcloud). So, then again, is that certain someone a music producer or still just a musician? Or is it the question of self-definition?

It is easy to associate the term “music producer” with electronic DAW-based music. The live instrument-based music only comes into the conversation when we touch on professional studio production. But if we define music production as a process of creating a record (in most of cases now, an audio file rather than vinyl), then it implies that any recorded and edited music – of any quality – is a product of music production.