 |
PaulvanDyk:DigitalSpin
ByDustinDriver
FewDJscanelectrifyacrowdlikePaulvanDyk.Thatconnectionwasoriginallyanalog—allofhisgrooveswereetchedintoafewtonsofvinyl.ButforaboutthreeyearsnowvanDykhasbeenstrictlydigital.TodayheconjureshissetsonapairofMacBookProsusingLogicStudioandAbletonLive.Infact,itprobablyisn’taccuratetocallhima“DJ”anymore.VanDykweaveshisownmusicreal-time,likeanylivemusician.Heuseshisdance-floorsixthsenseandhisskillsasarenownedproducertocreatenewtracksduringeveryperformance.
“I’vedevelopedthesamepassionIhaveformakingmusicasIhaveforDJingoverthelast15years,”hesays.“It’stheultimatethingtobeabletocombineboth.IcanusemyproductionskillsaswellasmyskillsasaDJtogethertocreatenewthingslive.Thewholeexperienceofmeplayingmusicismuchmoreintensebecauseitfitstheatmosphereofthemoment,oftheset,ofthevenue,andofthecrowd.”
?Ofcourse,vanDykisalsoarenownedproducer.He’sconsideredoneofthepioneersofelectronicdancemusic.Hissongshavesmashedthedancecharts,soaredonthepopchartsandeveninvadedvideogamesoundtracks.HehasmaderemixeswithDepecheMode,JustinTimberlake,BritneySpearsandmanyothers.TodayhemakesallhismusicwithMacsrunningLogicStudioandAbletonLive.“EversinceIbasicallybeganmakingmusic,I’veworkedwithMacs,”hesays.“They’reinthestudioaswellasontheroad.I’vealwayshadmyMacswithme.They’reanessentialpartofmymusic.”
IntheLab
Whenhe’snotontheroad,vanDykturnsouttracksathisBerlinstudio.TheelectronicmusiclaboratoryispackedwitholdanaloggearandthelatestMacsrunningLogicStudio.LogicPro8isattheheartofhissetup.Theapplicationishisblankpage,studiorecorder,mixerandeffectsprocessorrolledintoone.ItalsoplaysnicewiththelegacygearthatvanDykhasusedthroughouttheyears.“MymusicproductionstartsinLogic,”hesays.“Iusuallynaildownaspeed,thengetanicedrumloopgoingforsomerhythm.ThenIlaydownchordsorabasslineorsomepiano—somestufflikethat.WhenIfeelthemusicalideaIhaveiscomingacross,andIcanfeelit,Igettoproperlyblowingitupanddoingdrumprogrammingandbetterbasslinesequences.”
VanDykgrabssoundsfromtheLogicStudiolibraryandrecordsriffsfromhisoldgear.“Mostofthestuffisnotsamples,”hesays.“It’salltweakedsynthesizer.InLogicIusetheES1,ES2,EVP88andthelike.”Greatinstrumentsareimportant,butfindingtherightonesforasongiskey.Again,LogicStudiohasthesolution.“Itprovidestheperfectsurroundingforsearchingfortherightsound,”saysvanDyk.“It’sgreathowyoucandiveintothesynthesizers,grabthosedifferentsortofresonancesandlookthroughthelibrarytofindexactlywhatyouneed.Andonceyou’vefoundwhatyou’relookingfor,therearealotofpossibilitiestoproduceauniquesong.Youcanusefilters—putagateonitorusetheenvelopeorcompressiontomakeitcrispandshinethroughwhateverelseisgoingon.”
?Logicgivestheproducertheflexibilityheneedstomakehismusiccometolife.“That’sthecoolthingaboutLogic,”hesays.“Youcanmakeiteasyforyourselfanduseallthepresetsandsettings,oryoucangointoitandcreatesomethingthatsoundsuniqueandspecial.It’sflexibleandyoucanuseittodoexactlywhatyouwant.”
?Real-timeRemixing
Forthemostpart,vanDyk’smusicmakingprocesswasamysterytohisfans,untilheputhisstudioonstage.Ontourforhislatestalbum,“InBetween,”theproducerusestwo17-inchMacBookProsrunningLogicStudioandAbletonLive.“Onecomputerisfortheaudiolibrary,theothercomputeriswherethesoftwaresynthesizersareforsequencing,”hesays.“ThecomputersareconnectedthroughaninterfaceandanAllen&Heath3Dmixer,whichisalsoaMIDIcontroller.Ihave19softwaresynthsinstalledandIhavetwoMIDIkeyboards,soIplayalotofthingslive.IalsohaveaUC-33controller,anAkaicontrollerandsomeotherthingsthatIcanplaywithwhenI’mupthere.WithallthesethingsI’mabletodosomecrazystuff.”
VanDykessentiallycreatesremixesofhistrackslive,tweakingthemtosuitthevibe.“Icouldplayyourfavoritetuneanditsoundscompletelydifferent—differentbassline,differentdrums,”hesays,“butitwouldsoundsomuchbetteratthatparticularmomentoftheset.”
Newremixesareoftenbornoutofthatspontaneousintensity.“SomeoftheremixesI’vedoneinthelastfewyearsarebasicallytheoutcomeofmeplayingacertaintracklive,”hesays.“ThenIjustredidexactlywhatIdidliveinthestudioanditwasaremix.Theliveperformanceisinfluencingtheproductionworkandviceversa.Whenyougotothestudiotodoaremixyouthinkaboutitalot.Whenyoucreateitinfrontofpeople,it’spartoftheset,anelementofthejourney.Youdon’treallythinksomuchaboutit,you’rejustinfluencedbythevibe.Youmaydothingsthatyounevercomeupwith[inthestudio]becauseyou’reintheflow.It’sveryinspiring.”
It’safarcryfromthedaysofvinyl.“I’msobusywhenIplaynow,”saysvanDyk.“TheotherdayIwaswondering,whatdidIactuallydooncetherecordwasplaying?Waitforeightminutestomixinthenextone?Howboring.”
CompellingClash
VanDykisalwayslookingforachallenge.Lately,thatmeansworkingwithpopsuperstarstocreateintriguingremixesthatappealtohishardcorefansandthemassesalike.“MakingaremixonthescaleofDepecheMode,JustinTimberlake,BritneySpears,it’sadifficultthing,”hesays.“Thefactis,thefansofJustinTimberlakearen’tnecessarilyenjoyingtheelementsthatI’mputtinginmyremix.Atthesametime,myfansaren’ttooexcitedaboutthesoundsthatcomefromJustinTimberlake’smusicbecausethey’renotusedtothem.Whatyou’retryingtodoiscombinethosetwoworldstomakeacompromisethat’snotexactlyacompromise.It’sarealchallenge,butIenjoyedittremendously.”
TheproducerrecentlyremixedTheWombats’single“MovingtoNewYork.”Atfirstglanceitseemslikeanunlikelyclashofmusicalgenres.ButvanDykwasentrancedbytheband’ssound.“It’sverydifficulttotranslatewhatTheWombatsdointomyfieldofmusic,”hesays.“ItwasoneofthebiggestchallengesI’veeverfacedintermsofmakingaremix,butIreallywantedtodoitbecauseIlovethebandsomuch.”
ForvanDyk,remixingisallaboutfusingdifferentmusicalstylestocreatecompellingsounds.It’saprocessthatinspiresproducersandartistsineverygenre.“Youalwayshavepeoplewhoareopentoandinterestedinnewthings,aswellasbeinginspiredbythem,”hesays.“Andifyoulookbackinthepasttwoorthreeyears,alotofpopartistshavestartedtoinvolvesoundsthattraditionallycomefrommymusicalfieldintheirproduction.Peoplerealizethatthereissomuchpotentialforbeingcreativewithelectronicmusic.Ithinkit’sfantastic.”
FastForward
VanDyk’s“InBetween”tourisstillgoingstrongandhehasnoplanstoabandonhisclubschedule.Still,hehasmanagedtomakefournewsongsduringallthechaos.“Idon’thavethemindsetyettogobackandmakeafullalbum,butI’mstillcomingupwithnewtracks,”hesays.“MyMacsandthelivesetupallowsmetoexplorenewthingswhileI’montourandthatmeansIcanmakemoremusic.WhenIgetbacktomystudioinBerlin,Ihavealottoworkon.”
He’llalsohavealottoworkonwhenhe’sonstage.Themusician’slivesetupcontinuestoevolve,givinghimmoreflexibilityandagreaterdegreeofcreativefreedom.“It’salwayschanging,”hesays.“Tobehonest,ifyouwould’veaskedmefiveyearsagoifIwouldbeonstagewithcomputersandsoftwaresynthesizers,playinglivewithacustom-mademixerandMIDImappingandallthatstuff,Iwouldhavesaidprobablynot.Wekeepgettingbettersoftwareandtools.ThefutureofelectronicmusicisveryexcitingtomeandmyMacswillbeapartofit.”
|