How I Did It
Plastic (ft. Brad Sucks)by Quarkstar
Tools I Used
Ableton Live
Guitars: Synth, Slayer 2 (physical model of a guitar)
Arpeggio Synth: Alchemy (070: Oby Synth)
Piano Synth: Live's Electric piano with Arepggiator and effects (programmed by Quarkstar)
Arpeggio Guitar Synth: Slayer 2 + Live's effects (programmed by Quarkstar)
Sequenced Synth: Live's Operator synth based on Rhythmic Chuggin'
Samples I Used
Suplementary drums: Thomas Penton-Essenitals
Percussion: KV Bala Indian Sessions
Process
Arpeggiators
When you use an arpeggiator, remember that the first note played depends on whether you are going Up or Down and that you may have to invert your chord to have the notes played in an order that you want. If the Arpeggiator is set for 1/8 notes and the sequence is a Quarter note long then only two notes will play, so just enter the two that you want played. I hit this problem on the Piano towards the end with the diminished chord transitions.
I started from another tune which was quiet and thoughtful and this bass line appeared that didn't fit. I listened to vocals on ccmixter and realised that it could fit Brad's song and moved the bass line across.
I don't have a great ear for chords so I used an Autotune to show the notes Brad sung, then removed the Autotune once I had them written down. Brad really took me on a tour of chords, using every triad in G# major.
Other Notes
Once I heard the vocals I wanted to make the song under three minutes long. This didn't leave me any room for a break down or chorus. I am hoping to do a longer version with all those in.
The song is surprisingly complex, Brad makes it sound so fluent but there is a lot going on with the chords and textures.
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