POLL: What makes a good tune?

What makes a good D+B tune?

  • Quality of production?

    Votes: 1 6.3%
  • Concept/idea of the track?

    Votes: 6 37.5%
  • Both?

    Votes: 7 43.8%
  • Doesn't matter as long as you dance?

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Total voters
    16
rhythms that at first don't make sense and are hard to follow but after listening a few times start to make sense - squarepusher is the man at this.

Its probably easier to say what makes a bad tune, for me its boring breaks that don't change and just slug along. Its personal preference though isn't it, Im not a fan of noisia style dnb cause it sounds to "ticka-ticka" and not enough "boom boom cha boom boom cha!" if you catch my drift!

In a nutshell....loud, dark but melodic enveloping baseline, crazy breaks and a sweet vocal to zip it up.

Thats my 2 cents anyway
 
I totally agree, whether it's dnb or any kind of music I like to be caught off guard. Fucked up rhythms, non repetitiveness but steady enough to dance to, and a scary/interesting melody. and a good vocal that makes me sing along.

I don't think production/sound quality is the most important at all. but i do tend to play with eq alot on my drums just because its fun.
 
The two things that make a good track is firstly the way that all the elements work together, as in the way that the beats, the bassline, and the melodies/chords/strings etc interact with each other, and secondly the kind of groove it has, in order to make you wanna boogie.
Production skills are not important, I would actually love to hear more ruff rugged tunes, with loads of dirt.
 
Well I agree with both of you! Production is clearly important but it's all about the concept and the general feel of the track. As long as the breaks are clear and rough enough and the bass is pounding it doesn't need to be ultra polished to make you hum along and nod your head. A good track just gets you excited and makes you want to play it again straight after you've heard it. I'v had great tracks on repeat for hours. A bit of the old school rave spirit is what's needed.
 
yeah dnb is far ahead of the game as far as production goes, which is great, but I agree that some rufness is needed sometimes. Old jungle tunes were often so raw it hurt.
I know what you mean about those lovely syncopated beats that arent predictable, but I hate Squarepusher and dudes who forget the rave-groove. just imo.
As for the concept of a track, I'm not sure what this really means. Do you mean the hook, or structuring it in a unique way, of bothering to create a new sound? putting thought into these is a plus, but the hook is the big one.

Personally I think the vital elements are understanding of percussive rhythm, a unique, catchy or off-kilter hook or melody, and loads of soul. Soul my friends is what is sorely lacking from a lot of tunes and it makes me cry. I'm not talking about individual genres that people may term 'soul-less', any sub-genre can produce soulful tunes, it comes through and displays the producer's true spirit of creativity.
 
tripple D said:
I totally agree, whether it's dnb or any kind of music I like to be caught off guard. Fucked up rhythms, non repetitiveness but steady enough to dance to, and a scary/interesting melody. and a good vocal that makes me sing along.

I don't think production/sound quality is the most important at all. but i do tend to play with eq alot on my drums just because its fun.

Good first post!!!!!
Keep the opinions coming!!!!
Good debate here!!
 
You neeed a large penis ( of your own) (y)
Differnet but not too different...it has to roll, and it has to catch my soul...so I loos control....err big up 1 and all ??
u get what I mean
and shit mixdown will loose impact. So yeh production does count, and like u all said somthink new...not eth same LFO waaabawaaabaa bassline
 
Mr Mesh, I accept your opinion on Squrepusher, but i don't know you can say it doesn't have the rave feel (Come on my selecta! Massif stay strong! Full rinse!)? It came out of the rave scene and although the beats and rhythms are often beyond getting up to boogie its, for me, the epitomy of rhythms and tunes that you get more out of with every listen. Its never easy on the ear but the more you listen the more you "get" what the tune is doing - i still hear new things in em when i listen to them.

But i digress......what i meant by the concept is what you were saying about the hook. One hundred percent, for me, in any genre, the tunes that really have an impact on me have a somewhat sad tone to them but with an optimisitic feel at the same time. It's like they give you a feeling of bravery or something in the face of adversity!! Here's an example....
 
nowwhichway said:
Mr Mesh, I accept your opinion on Squrepusher, but i don't know you can say it doesn't have the rave feel (Come on my selecta! Massif stay strong! Full rinse!)? It came out of the rave scene and although the beats and rhythms are often beyond getting up to boogie its, for me, the epitomy of rhythms and tunes that you get more out of with every listen. Its never easy on the ear but the more you listen the more you "get" what the tune is doing - i still hear new things in em when i listen to them.

But i digress......what i meant by the concept is what you were saying about the hook. One hundred percent, for me, in any genre, the tunes that really have an impact on me have a somewhat sad tone to them but with an optimisitic feel at the same time. It's like they give you a feeling of bravery or something in the face of adversity!! Here's an example....

Totally mate, there are quite a few Squarepusher fans on this site too. Its part of the tree of beats as TPI would say.:thumbsup:

I agree about the 'sad tone but with optimistic feel', kinda like a melancholy feeling, but not in the 'all hope is lost' kinda way. DBridge tunes are good for this.

One thing I love about early 90s darkside/hardcore is there was a whole crossover effect before 'dark' came to equal 'aggressive'. A lot of the hooks in those days were very eerie and spooky, a cliche example is the chimes off "Valley of the Shadows".

I'll have a listen to the sample sounds later at home.
 
yeah im a big fan of the early hardcore stuff, i wasn't around for it but you can feel in the music the excitment of the time. Would have loved to have gone to some of those first raves, it must have been like discovering a whole new world. Yeah the tunes were a bit eerie i agree, the scene does have a bit of a dark tint coz of the drugs i guess but there was still a fun vibe to it all, not just moodieness for the sake of being a badboy. Why is it whenever i post some samples i cant ever see them ,like they get taken off? is there a rule i dont know about?
 
nowwhichway said:
yeah im a big fan of the early hardcore stuff, i wasn't around for it but you can feel in the music the excitment of the time. Would have loved to have gone to some of those first raves, it must have been like discovering a whole new world. Yeah the tunes were a bit eerie i agree, the scene does have a bit of a dark tint coz of the drugs i guess but there was still a fun vibe to it all, not just moodieness for the sake of being a badboy. Why is it whenever i post some samples i cant ever see them ,like they get taken off? is there a rule i dont know about?

If you mean samples of other peoples tunes, Big Daddy Sdm may not be happy with it, copyright safety.
Whose the daddy? Sdm's the daddy................ you gotta watch him with a sock n some pool balls :teeth:
 
Really? Even if its just a 1min snippet? Seems pretty severe! Oh well, one of them was from a mix and was taken off but there are mix posts on the forum!?
 
nowwhichway said:
Really? Even if its just a 1min snippet? Seems pretty severe! Oh well, one of them was from a mix and was taken off but there are mix posts on the forum!?

I deleted 2 posts... the clips were fine but they were a bit out of context... just a random link to a clip. You can post them again but this time with a little explanation of why you think they're a good example of what makes a good tune....

Anyways i shoulda told you why i deleted them.. my bad! (y)
 
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