Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

What is Audiobus?Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

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Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Overpuddinging the egg – More is even more!

Originally I was going to post a thing about how we all have too many synths to make music with, even bought apps we’ve still never used – the intention being one day they’ll all come together to contribute their component parts to form a glorious whole. I was going to ask if we could pick out examples of actual hit songs that are have the bare minimum in their production, leaving only the composition to shine through? Then I realised this is a huge area with nothing to point to. People would post acapella, to collapse the argument. People would post minimal techno (wait, I said hit songs! Would someone whistle your techno?). And then there’s the whole thing of live performances having to by nature be stripped down to make it work. Especially with a good three-piece band, like The Police or The Jam, etc.

Let’s therefore go the opposite way. Which songs — actual hits, people bought, etc — are in not only your opinion but the conclusive consensus of every sane person alive, good proper actual compositions, good songs, good playing and programming, etc, but really, could have been achieved with half the stuff in there! Which releases are so overinstrumented and overproduced that it’s embarassing it even gets accepted. Which hits have too much stuff in there.

Mainly, I’m thinking that an amateur music composer falls into the trap of putting too much stuff in there, every time, because we can and we think that’s what it takes to make a proper professional song. If we put a tenth of what we do in there — five tracks on the sequencer instead of fifty, for example — would it really be a pathetic substandard song (maybe) or would it stand and shine as a recognisable germ of a communication (also maybe)? I think we’re too often afraid to stop, we keep going, despite that we’d actually finished long ago.

Which actual songs out there are like that? But, to qualify, also suggest what about the result should have been left on the cutting room floor.

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Comments

  • Not to pick on any particular artist or genre, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

    Sabres of Paradise - Wilmot

    I love this. Now turn the delay off and let’s hear what’s underneath it.

  • ^ I know that tune. Track no.1 from gypsy beats and balkan bangers, shantel's buconiva (cover, I imagine). Here is a version heavily dubbed but mnml, love it.

  • I love the Sabres of Paradise, I haven't heard them in years, must dig out that crate of LPs, or maybe just search for them on Spotify. Wilmot was a real favourite of mine circa 1994, played it constantly.

    Listening to it again though, I'm not sure it actually fits your description, so I'm going to post something so overproduced it sounds both funny, but also strangely appropriate and right:

  • I love how you put this in the Japanese support section :D

  • When Doves Cry is a remarkably spare hit.
    The Purple One's Kiss also sounds spare like a demo. The man really was a genius.

  • edited November 2017

    @JeffChasteen said:
    When Doves Cry is a remarkably spare hit.
    The Purple One's Kiss also sounds spare like a demo. The man really was a genius.

    You realize these tracks in particular feel this way as they have no bassline? One of my party tricks is this little factoid

  • edited November 2017

    @dvlmusic said:

    @JeffChasteen said:
    When Doves Cry is a remarkably spare hit.
    The Purple One's Kiss also sounds spare like a demo. The man really was a genius.

    You realize these tracks in particular feel this way as they have no bassline? One of my party tricks is this little factoid

    Hey, you're right!
    Thanks, you devil you.

  • I'm not a fan, but almost every CSNY song has waaaaay too much singing going on. It doesn't sound like harmonizing, but rather four vocalists full throttle trying to outdo one another. An incredibly annoying and fatiguing result.

  • @richardyot said:
    I love the Sabres of Paradise, I haven't heard them in years, must dig out that crate of LPs, or maybe just search for them on Spotify. Wilmot was a real favourite of mine circa 1994, played it constantly.

    Listening to it again though, I'm not sure it actually fits your description, so I'm going to post something so overproduced it sounds both funny, but also strangely appropriate and right:

    That SoM track is a good example.

  • edited November 2017

    @JeffChasteen said:
    When Doves Cry is a remarkably spare hit.
    The Purple One's Kiss also sounds spare like a demo. The man really was a genius.

    >

    Yeah. When Doves Cry has no bass line, but still sounds like a fantastic shock to the soul. Soon, we may discover what gems are still in the fabled Vault.

    BTW, I was fortunate enough to see Prince in concert twice. The second time, was famously reported by the British music press as ‘not a dry seat in the house.’ ;)

  • I thought this was about making the perfect pudding....well I guess it is in a way

  • @JeffChasteen said:
    I'm not a fan, but almost every CSNY song has waaaaay too much singing going on.

    >

    Much of it twee and feeble.

    Give me Neil Young on his own, any day. Keep on rockin’ in the free world!

  • @Zen210507 said:

    @JeffChasteen said:
    I'm not a fan, but almost every CSNY song has waaaaay too much singing going on.

    >

    Much of it twee and feeble.

    Give me Neil Young on his own, any day. Keep on rockin’ in the free world!

    Doubleplus X Doubleplus this!

  • Has Ian become the self-appointed conscience of the Audiobus forum? :*

    I like your first idea. Was this a hit song? is it bare minimum enough to meet your criteria? BREAK OUT THE METRONOME!

  • @brambos said:
    I love how you put this in the Japanese support section :D

    Well, when you’re big in Japan…

    (Not saying that this is an over complicated pudding, er, song)

  • Here's one that always comes to mind for me

  • Then there's Doo Rag. They get music from a pile of junk.

  • For a more recent pop hit, this springs to mind

  • This one will haunt me forever

  • @CracklePot said:
    Here's one that always comes to mind for me

    … Trio - Da Da Da …

    That track was initially going through my mind when I was first conceiving this thing (and a few other tracks too).

  • Okay, here’s how to do world domination with just three players:

  • edited November 2017

    Andy Summers, by the way, is a serious photographer http://andysummers.com/photography/

    …but then, so is Jeff Bridges http://www.jeffbridges.com/photojan10a.html (Specialises in panoramic wide shots, on his WideLux).

    …and Brad Pitt, actually.

    …and as was Leonard Nimoy. http://www.rmichelson.com/artists/leonard-nimoy/the-full-body-project/

  • My vote from best power trio:

  • There were a lot of great punk trios as well. Here's one of the best:

  • Back before the classic four-piece line-up, when they were essentially a three-piece.

  • @u0421793 said:
    Back before the classic four-piece line-up, when they were essentially a three-piece.

    It is the awesome sound of Can morphing into Kraftwerk. Amazing B)

  • Stop thinking start doing

  • edited April 2018

    @ozmot said:
    Stop thinking start doing

    Less thinking more doing......good way for sure!

  • But if you get some spare looks of some modern DAW productions you see that they mostly use a large number of tracks. But that doesn´t mean you can create more chaos with a 4 track thing.
    It´s more when a sound or effect works and which frequencies are used and what melodies works together and and and.
    But yeah....just do something and look forward.

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