Analog synths and VHS, digital dreams, SNES

December 5, 2015 10:41 PM

FrankJavCee knows what the kids like to listen to, and will teach you how to make songs in popular new genres, like chillwave and ocean grunge .

Witch House (bonus: candyapples)
IDM
ASMR
Cloud Rap
Extra Tone

posted by infinitewindow (16 comments total)

I was introduced to this guy via HOW TO MAKE FUTURE FUNK and am convinced he's some kind of genius. That cloud rap video is amazing.
posted by chrominance at 11:31 PM on December 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

At first I just thought he was doing funny takedowns but damned if he isn't dropping actual interesting historical info, and producing actual credible demos of every genre he addresses. At least as far as I can tell, it's not like I know that much myself.
posted by edheil at 11:37 PM on December 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wow. This guy. Even the Gabber workout is surprisingly credible, like an actual Mokum or Rotterdam Records cut from 1993...
posted by prismatic7 at 11:41 PM on December 5, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh my god this is great.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:24 AM on December 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

It has the sort of parody/sincere-appreciation vibe of Ishkur's or something.

"vape-I mean sea punk" aaaAAAHAHAH
posted by en forme de poire at 12:49 AM on December 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like that there is some real knowledge between the jokes too, like the hyperreal.org mailing list screenshot in the IDM one. Those lists were huge in the mid-late 90s for techno/IDM heads.

The demo tracks are useful and passable too, but people unfamiliar with the genres may be a tad underwhelmed if that's their only exposure.
posted by p3t3 at 1:10 AM on December 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yes the IDM one was fun. I went "huh that doesn't sound very IDM" when the tutorial ended, but the sample track is pretty convincing.

Random IDM mailing list memories:

Poster 1:
I've figured it out! AUdio TEchnical REsearch = AUTECHRE!

Poster 2 replying:
CO INCI DENCE = COINCIDENCE
posted by shortfuse at 4:56 AM on December 6, 2015 [7 favorites]

This is exceptional. Dude is clearly talented and these videos are genuinely informative. I cringed a lot in self-recognition during the IDM tutorial - I have hundreds of albums that sound disturbingly like his demo track (well, minus the hilarious vocals).
posted by Frobenius Twist at 8:28 AM on December 6, 2015

Is there anything better than making fun of microgenres?

No, there isn't!
posted by aubilenon at 10:21 AM on December 6, 2015

the Gabber one made me laugh until tears came out of my eyes, it is so perfect
posted by fraula at 10:40 AM on December 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

I laughed.
But seriously, what’s the best free VST that makes songs, cuz I dl’d a crack of FL Studio and did the presets but my shit doesn’t sound like the pros. Do I need more analogs?
posted by bongo_x at 12:29 PM on December 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

The chillwave is just perfection.

bongo_x: sometimes it's a matter of reverbs, compressors and equalizers more than the instruments.

Perhaps the best free VST is Synth1, modeled after the NordLead II. I think there was a patch pack with a few thousands worth of patches (KVR Synth1 pack or something), some of them quite analogue-y.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:46 PM on December 6, 2015

bongo_x, I think Ableton has the most beats... uh, beats per... per sample. It's really warm and creamy.

Seriously, the best example I ever got of how a multi-track should be laid down was when Nine Inch Nails released GarageBand versions of songs from Year Zero. So clean recordings. Much headroom. Very live effects.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:52 PM on December 6, 2015

Oh man I was laughing at the Extra Tone video.

Great vids, great.
posted by awfurby at 2:18 PM on December 6, 2015

Yea these are really good both as commentary and music.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:44 AM on December 7, 2015

It's a Windows XP Christmas!
posted by fraula at 6:06 AM on December 7, 2015