Manu Forti - Fawn [Minimal dnb]

[Manu Forti]

So after working at 80 -100 bpm for past 6 months ive decided to move back to 160 - 200 for the remainder of the year... I would like to ease myself back into genre with a simple re edit and remaster of this song i made a few years ago. I wondered if anyone would would have a listen and point out any weak/strong points and how it might be improved?

 

[Manu Forti]

im gonna give this a lil bump in the hope that mabye... just mabye someone might help me out.... because im stuck at 90 bpm or 120 bpm and even some 60 bpm stuff now... wanna get back on my dnb thing...

liking the polish lager tonight btw...so any poles? id love your advice (just a side note)

 

[Nice]

Well if you wanna up the tempo, I'd suggest doubling the speed of the drums haha. I'm not listening on the greatest headphones so I can't comment that well on the mixdown. It sounds fine from earbuds the sound production seems dated, it sounds more like an ambient tune from the 90's to me.

I would suggest to get more of a minimal dnb vibe to work on your drum production. Right now they seem really bland and slow for a dnb song. Try listening to some popular minimal tracks and try to mimick what they do as well as look up some tutorials on youtube on how to make drum and bass drums. Once you get a better idea of what other people are doing you can more effectively stray down your own path while still having a polished sound.

A little bit more variation in the tune would also be welcomed. Even just some sort of automation on the original instruments you have, or adding a different sound to play the same thing would make the track more interesting.

As a side note, I'd actually say some of the sounds are kind of 'muddy' sounding. Try using a little subtractive EQ to clean up some sounds maybe.

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A good way to learn is to also listen to artists you like and try to find out EXACTLY what you like about that artist so much. Paying attention to vibe, arrangement, vocal additions, the sounds/instruments used with each other, drum groove, etc.

 

[Solace]

I'm not sure what i find of the tune, I'm not really sure what to say on it :p

On the higher bpm thing. What helped me alot when I wanted to make a more minimal tune (direction of dub phizix, skeptical), I got a drum beat sample. Lay a simple sine underneath, hitting together with the kick, and that usually got me going. I'd change a bit in the drum pattern, choose a different bass, and I was off.

I almost always go directly to these samples and loops when I want to make a more minimal track
http://store.samplephonics.com/products/drum-tools-004-minimal-dnb-freebie-2

that's the free part, but I love it, if you love that small bit, get the rest. There are some good percussions in there too

And yea, as said above, listen to other artists, at first it might feel like recreating stuff, but after a while you'll get the hang of it

 

[alcaponeuk]

ill be honest man i hate it when people post 160-200 stuff and its half time, i find it floating around in between a lot of genres and not really nailing down any proper feeling, i dont feel any energy or emotion from it listening and i cant really dance to it, you could really take all these trippy sounds. use a selection of really tight short drum samples and loops and make a naughty minimal dnb tune - with some sub and a couple tight chopped up reece samples it could be pure hot sauce! this half time stuff just really isnt for me though im afraid and this is a dnb forum!

 

[Manu Forti]

This is all good advice cheers "nice" i listen to loads of minimal stuff all the time and thats why i started dabbling with tempo to see how they are doing it, but im influenced by many artists from pink floyd to boards of canada and back into 170 bpm genre in particular exit recs stuff. this was made using samples before i even started eq so yeah it will sound bland... however i am aiming for a hybrid of ambient and dnb... look at a lot of instra:mental stuff hes using analog synths on loads of his stuff i like his sound but want to make my own style and yeah im not pulling it off and its comming out sounding ambient so mabye illl think more about my drums and keep them always 170... thanks.

Cheers for reply "crizis" yeah you know me my style is a little odd and mabye not for everyone although i do get a lot of positive feedback (mainly from people who are heavy drug abusers albeit) so i think sometimes its a matter of taste. you see ill never have anything else playing or trying to re create anything i just do all my own patterns experiment with my synth get something i think sounds good then get some structure together. i drive 100miles each day and do most of my listening to tracks in the car but its a broad spectrum of stuff from the 120 ish bpm style of kode 9 to d bridge and then back down to mobb deep for example, and i want to experiment in creating all these sounds but always keeping it minimal really like the subtle nuances in minimal, its like intelligent drum and bass back in the day just better. But i will take that advice on board mate because i feel ive taken my own path and strayed too much mabye i should try going back to basics. thanks again.

I know what your saying "alcap" right now im working on a 60 minute mix of dubtechno or my interpretation of it, for past 6 months been doing ambient downtempo/hiphop and as said i want to get back into dnb im no even sure what planet im on with all genres im pissing around with. i dont always want to make dance music however or should i say music people would dance to in a club its all about music for people sitting in house having a few beers doing whaever they do for me. see in scotland theres not a big dnb scene so im not used to going out and enjoying dnb not these days anyway... go out in scotland now its all mainstream pish which is fine as long as long as they sell alcohol lol. so i tend to jsut spew out more of a personal sound if you know what i mean but again yeah good advice and duly noted... and yeah i know this a dnb forum i just like it here and tbh i aint posting in future producers as its mostly kids making crap with no valuable advice and all this f4f nah guys here know what theyre talking about and are usually brutally honest. i need that man or ill get knowhere.

Anyway sorry for the wall of text and thanks for the replys plus rep for all

 

[alcaponeuk]

i completely understand u, obviously you have to make what you feel - i really like the song and the sounds and i think the drum work is top notch - but i just think the reason u may have been shot down / ignored here is purely because its not strictly what people here are expecting to listen to man, which is always a problem because theres no good forums out there for other genres, i used to post dub here lol, good luck with the tunes anyway keep it up just imo this would be sick as an atmos liquid tune with standard dnb drums!