How I Did It
Lucky Strike at 4AM Dubby DFF_Sound_System
Tools I Used
Reaper (for sequencing)
Audacity (for some editing)
Worked on a fairly basic dell laptop running vista.
Used an akai mpk mini keyboard controller.
Samples I Used
As you can see i concentrated on just the accapella samples from irish4t.
The drum loops were from my own collection i've built up.
Process
I imported the samples into audacity and got the "love" dada sample working at 89bpm as i was going to use this as the basis loop throughout the track. Then saved a copy of this and the cell vocal (at the same bpm) and opened them in reaper. The "mic check" sample through a simple echo seemed an obvious starting point. I actually changed my working technique a bit with this mix in that i'll normally work in a linear fashion, building up and near enough finishing each section as i go. This time round i built up the sections using just the samples and drums, only adding synths once the arrangement was almost finished. For the vocal cuts and edits i just cut the vocals and placed them on separate tracks as opposed to using automation so i could pan different effects and have a bit more control over seeing whats happening. I just find it easier this way. The other main vocal effect (from about0:54) was created using MDAs dub delay. Here goes the big secret. I used a short 3ms delay time and feedback set high (97). This in itself provides a good metallic feedback to the sound. I then set the LFO depth at about 60% and set the rate to 16 seconds or so which is what gives it the movement. This also works well at low levels on snare hits if you're using the same sample throughout a track. A lot of the smaller details in the mix i gave quite extreme panning and had them very low in the mix. I've been listening to a lot of alt hip hop recently and i think the first minute reflects this. The drums were the usual drum and bass combo of various breaks and loops with a basic kick and snare laid over the top. The synths were improvised live in one take over the top of the track and then i adjusted and changed the synths to suit the various sections of the mix. Hope this gives some insight into my working methods, any other questions feel free to ask.
This site uses