This is a track I wrote over the last 5 or 6 months. It includes most the my favorite sounds that I have ever made; there is one specifically that comes in around the first drop that feels like a robot moving out of orbit if you were somehow outside of a space station around planet Earth. All of the sounds have a lot of processing involved and it has become quite a fun process to adventure through the different possibilities with low frequency sounds.
The music video came together pretty well. I loved the idea of Sardukaur training and initiation rituals so the name for this track came from a lot of recent sound design missions converging together. The graphic from a dune inspired graphic from chat GPT combined with some image processing and music visualization with magic and viola. I like how its kind of similar to an 80s cartoon. There’s a kind of journey in the music video. The track itself is meant to be pretty dark and the idea is that no matter how far our technology advances, humans will always resort to war as some kind of way to advance ourselves.
This is a really fun track that I made about throwing my cell phone into the woods about three weeks ago. I’ve had a really good time detaching from my cell-phone since then and I have the new iPhone now, but I will always miss the times when I did not have the ability to access a phone. I’m not super stoked about how the world is changing to digital and I think it’s best if we, as a society, take our time to adopt new technologies, such as AI. The Analog world is so cool; I highly recommend giving yourself sometimes without technology, especially a phone, sometime in the next few months. Take a week off and explore the real world…..
#ElectroBassHouse
This is a really fun track that I made about throwing my cell phone into the woods about three weeks ago. I’ve had a really good time detaching from my cell-phone since then and I am going to get a new iPhone tomorrow, but not super stoked about it. The Analog world is so cool; I highly recommend giving yourself sometimes without technology, especially a phone, sometime in the next few months. Take a week off…..
Noer the Boy is at the helm of a new generation of pioneers exploring the frequency spectrum through abstract bass music. His beats crush with punishing distortion and his music seethes with melodic and harmonic intricacies that will being your dance moves to the next level. From his background in marching band, choir, and video editing; Noah grew a fascination with kinetic beats, industrial sounds, and the unrestricted freedom of computer sound creation.
Noah is 27 (August 3rd, 1993) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Noah was born and raised in Appleton, which is about an hour and a half from Milwaukee on the northern end of Lake Winnebago. Noah studied music and band in high school playing the French horn, which is pretty damn cool and also became a drum major for his high school, Appleton East.
Noah is a member of DJ Shadow’s imprint Liquid Amber, Los Angeles collective Courteous Family, and Noisia’s DIVISION, Noer the Boy has also released music on Mass Appeal, VISION, Alpha Pup, and Orange Milk Records. Noer teamed up with Shadow to co-produce ‘Horror Show’ featuring Danny Brown and tour Europe following the release of his debut album ‘Mechanism’. His sounds have grabbed the attention of bass music figureheads G Jones, EPROM, Machinedrum, Ivy Lab, and the Low End Theory club night in LA.
Noah seems to be in a solid space, even with the impact of CoronaVirus in 2020. Pretty awesome considering he now makes a living off making music, sound design tutorials and sample packs, and has an awesome Patreon where you can get exclusives of all his newly released tracks, as well as deeper packages to help music creators augment their productions. He works hard for it and his sound reflects that.
I’ve been lucky enough to take lessons from Noah for about the last year and a half and we’ve been drilling down into mix engineering, deeper sound design, and modular synthesis. Noah is really a wiz at music, so make sure you follow him because he will definitely be releasing new music. He’s recently started to make heavily synthesized house music, or electro, which I have to say I am ecstatic about. Electro-House is my favorite kind of music.
I interviewed Noah about A Forlorn Hope, in an effort to get a better understanding of his music creation process, and what this latest album means to him. I loved the album, especially Shapeshifter, Nebula, Exile, and Rule of two. The whole album certainly deserves a listen on some high quality speakers! (your car is probably not loud enough). Check out the Q and A with Noah below and leave a comment if you feel inclined:
Interview with Noer the Boy
Q1. Elliot: “I personally love all of your music. But this album seems special. I think it hits harder than most and that the sound design is pioneering. What kinds of processes and techniques do you use to make your sounds and mix stand out so much? What kind of special sauces do you use to create such a punishing sound?”
A1. Noertheboy: “Don’t underestimate the power of layering. A few simple sounds or effect chains can combine to form something that appears much more complex than it really is. Treat sound design as building with lego bricks – maybe the instructions are useful but also maybe you want to experiment instead.”
Q2. Elliot: “A Forlorn Hope has some of my favorite tunes on it. But I think that the title track is special and its kind of the motif of the album. Its fat. What inspired you to create that track, and the sounds that are in it?”
A2. Noertheboy: “Without giving too much away, Forlorn Hope is about a doomed journey to the edge of the known universe. ‘Forlorn Hope’ was originally named ‘Event Horizon’, but after watching the 90s film by the same title I didn’t want people to think I made the record about that movie.”
Q3. Elliot: “My favorite track is Nebula, I’m not sure why, but I just love the cohesion of the track and the melody that persists and finds an apex near the ending. What are your favorite parts of the album, and why?”
A3. Noertheboy: “It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite from my album. Each album track is my favorite for a different reason. If I don’t feel 100% like it’s my favorite song made so far, it doesn’t make it on the record.”
Q4: Elliot: “How did you come up with the theme and storyline behind the album? Its pretty cool. It reminds me of a combination of Lost in Space, Dune, or maybe the Abyss.”
A4. Noertheboy: “‘Forlorn Hope’ itself is a term for a group of soldiers tasked with a leading mission, usually a suicidal mission where casualties are high. That combined with my love of deep space SCI-FI films have influenced me a great deal. The Alien series, Interstellar, War of the Worlds, 2001: A Space Odyssey – movies like those have shaped a lot of my sonic identity. The world that ‘Forlorn Hope’ exists in is also the same world that my first album ‘Mechanism’ takes place in. I’m a big fan of concept records.”
Q5. Elliot: “You said on your instagram that writing this album has been particularly Cathartic for you. In what ways have you grown personally and professionally from writing A Forlorn Hope?”
A5. Noertheboy: “I only start write an album when I have something new to say and new tools to showcase. So a lot of growth has to happen to get to that place. And the album writing process itself is transformative. Writing a few songs will undoubtably inspire me to write more and that process leads to rapid growth and breakthroughs that might come much slower if not for writing a cohesive LP.”
Q6. Elliot: “How long did you album take?”
A6. Noertheboy: “The process took a little under a year and a half.”
Q7. Elliot: “How long have you been writing music? What was your first show like?”
A7. Noertheboy: “I’ve been writing music as Noer the Boy for going on 8 years, but music has been an integral part of my life ever since I can remember. My first show was a house party in college and I remember playing hella Pretty Lights, rap music, and Skrillex mashups IIRC. Shoutout my old music homies Kaelin and Alec for playing with me at that first show!”
Q8. Elliot: “You’re pretty good at writing music, Noah. But why do you make it? What’s your primary inspiration. (or 2, or 3)”
A8. Noertheboy: “Music put simply is my everything. It’s what I know. I’d make music if nobody listened.”
Q9. Elliot: “Is there anything else about the album that you want people to know? Maybe you can comment on how you feel about it being finished and out there in the wild to have a life of its own?”
A9. Noertheboy: “Shirts and vinyl copies are in the works! Big thanks to everyone listening and sharing the record, I really appreciate it.”
Q10: “Any last notes? Any coronavirus advice?”
A10. Noertheboy: “Take the stay at home orders seriously so we can get back to enjoying live music.”
That’s it for the interview, feel free to comment on anything and make sure to check out this very avant-garde production from Noer the Boy – A Forlorn Hope.
You can buy the Forlorn Hope album on Bandcamp to help support Noah in his journey. You can also follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, on Facebook.
Sorry its been so long since I’ve posted about my music here. I’m getting back into the swing of my second job (yoga instruction) and I started a new landscaping business this year, so it has been very difficult to find time for things other than work and relaxing from work, and music requires a lot of attention, effort, and time.
However, I have been working super diligently on my music and continuing my lessons with Noah, aka Noer the Boy, whose music you can check out here. He’s a really talented dude with an incredible grasp on distortion and how to manipulate sound to create ultra heavy beats, so make sure you check out his music. His melodies are also really incredible, make sure you listen to his latest album: Forlorn Hope.
Melodies
The biggest challenge thus far in learning how to write music has certainly been learning to write effective and ear catching melodies. Ideally, to create melodies that resonate and build upon themselves to create an overall harmony that is enjoyable. Thus the release of ‘Mystery’ and ‘Go Big’, which are by far the most melodically oriented tracks I’ve made. I have kinda pushed sound design to the side to explore music theory in more depth and to get a handle on mixing, which has always been really challenging for me (before Noah, I was completely self-taught via youtube). I’m thinking about getting another mentor also just to keep growing in different ways. I’m also working with my buddy who is literally the best guitar player I’ve ever met, Rich Santana, to start making more analog sounds (drums, guitar riffs, bass riffs, etc). I’ve also picked up the Arturia CMI Fairlight and Buchla Easel emulations, which are super fun and incredibly unique instruments.
Learning to mix has been quite the journey for me. I got into music because I love sound and experimental beats, similar to Mr. Oizo, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Eprom, and No Mana, but obviously all of the artists I just mentioned are fantastic mixing engineers. Experimental sound design isn’t really that cool unless you can properly mix the sounds, because of the overlap of the distortion and lack of quiet in certain parts of the frequency spectrum. I am continuing to educate myself on how exactly to mix sounds to create heavier beats and will continue this journey for a few decades, I hope.
Crystal Caves – Elliot’s newest track
This brings me to my latest piece of music, an abstract BASS track that I call Crystal Caves. This is significantly slower than the majority of my music, because I am trying to branch out from my favorite genre, house music, to play with more experimental and heavy rhythms. I’ve also worked out longer intros and some serious layering of melodies in combination with tighter mixes through precise equalizing and compression to make more cinematic music.
Get my music pretty music anywhere
The track is available on most streaming outlets and I’ve actually used a 3rd party distributor for this track instead of using DistroKid, though I am very skeptical of continuing to work with any distributor. I want complete control over my own music, which makes it tough to even send my stuff out to labels. Please share my track with your friends if you like it, I also really appreciate anyone who reaches out to me with a comment or even a buck or two to support my journey in making music. But I really appreciate anyone who is just willing to give my music a good listen.
Follow my releases here: https://linktr.ee/etelford32
Get ready for the Harmony Remix, the E.T.’s best track yet. Turn up your speakers to max and clear the tables around you before your insanity commences!
the E.T.’s Harmony Remix
This might be the most amount of time I’ve spent on a track. I spent a lot of time getting familiar with the sound design that CloZee uses and learning the key of F minor, which I must say made the experience worth it by itself. This was a great opportunity to learn about some very unique instruments. CloZee makes world music which nearly always uses live instrumentation. This also means that she uses a ton of different instruments.
I focused on re-using her Erhu, Harmonium, Khuur, Zither, Bass, and Guitar samples in the Harmony remix. This is a great Complextro, Bass-House track because her influence is so visible throughout the track. There is a good amount of glitch percussion and weird Bass designs to accompany what is mostly re-used samples from the contest site. I didn’t even experiment with key changes at all, I tried to make the track as recognizable a Harmony remix as possible.
I also created some heavy Bass sounds and creating a darker atmosphere for the track, though I keep the melody in F minor. The percussion mix is solid, I hope you enjoy making dance moves to it.
Sub bass is mixed in properly. My favorite part of the track is the arpeggiated vocal melody that moves fully into the track at the last drop. Initially that last drop was going to be the end of the track, but I couldn’t help but think ‘what a waste of energy!’ so I re-did it. I hope you like the finished version. This track is one of my more cohesive arrangements and most certainly has some of my best mixing and sound design.
The Composition of CloZee’s Harmony – the E.T. remix
The introduction last about 30 seconds and introduces a completely new drumkit, but I did use her clap sound as a layer in the drum rack I used. I added several House Bass sounds to the track as well as re-using CloZee’s mid bass sound in the intro to the 4 bar Complextro loops that the tracks breaks into.
The sub bass keeps the track rolling throughout and little breaks for the heavy bass sounds make for a funky and somewhat unpredictable beat, which I love having in House tracks. It makes the track so much easier to dance to. Verse 1 also introduced my vocal manipulations and the guitar melody that finishes the loops along with the Bass plucks.
I did a good amount of EQ’ing on the various sounds, but I like to keep my EQ’ing to a minimum because sometimes it causes the sounds to lose a lot of texture.
The Final drop is a proper crescendo and introduces a new melody that I created with the vocal samples that were introduced in Verse 1. The Erhu is continuous throughout the track and I feel like that instrument, along with the harmonium make the track instantly recognizable as a CloZee remix. I hope I did the original track at least a bit of justice…
Finally making Glitch-Hop
this new wave of production is going to be epic; I got into music because I loved Glitch-Hop and how it could just drop into a crazy beat out of nowhere, so CloZee’s music has been great to experience while I improve my production skills. BROKE is a milestone for the E.T. that I am really excited about, and will continue to create tracks that remind us that perfection is for robots! I have a track that I’m working on right now called Tinkerbox. It will take the production style of Broke into a new universe.
Finding & Creating Signature Sounds
Lately I have been working heavily with the Juno waveforms within Serum. I created an emulation and it’s by far one of my favorite sounds to use in my tracks. I have also created quite a few pads and ambient sounds with it, but I think it’s use in Glitch music will be the most interesting way to use it.
I’ve also worked hard to good at manipulating vocals into Melodies and Glitch sounds. I continue to experiment and play with the textures and transients (initial hits) of manipulating vocals. They say this is how Kanye made all of his music. Honestly the human voice is incredibly pleasing to the ears, so its probably true.
I designed 90% of the bass sounds in this track. Everything except for the weird lazer Glitch sound CloZee used in the original Harmony mix. I am now better at mixing as a result of spending so much time on sound design.
A New Wave of the E.T.
I have like 5 tracks in the works right now, including a bombaf TECHNO track called Position. Named after Issaac Assimov’s idea for AI. It reminds me of Gesaffelstein and Pursuit. Also, Digitalism just released a new track, Spectrum which is an awesome dance track! One of my favorite new tracks, I will definitely be fitting it into my live sets. The louder I play it, the better it sounds!
My plan is to DJ a friends B-day party later in the month. I think I might play some originals, but getting people dancing will be so much fun. DJing is super fun with cool people. Right now, I feel pretty repressed when it comes to music, so it should be a great time!
the E.T. continues to improve with my ears, skill-set, and ability to produce music. A lot of this new music is unique; I am turning a corner into a new realm of quality. Definitely shoot me some feedback if you have some!
Clozee’s music is a dynamic fusion of influences. Categorized into the genre of World-Bass Music, CloZee brings a fresh take on EDM, combining eastern instrumentation with western bass music and creating a fusion that is uniquely identifiable as her own style of music.
CloZee is the musical alias of Chloe Herry, a 25?y/o native French speaker from Toulouse, in southern France, which is really cool, I would love to speak some French with her (cause southern speakers are much easier to understand than native Parisians, which is where I learned).
CloZee didn’t release a single track until she was 19 and her popularity grew from humble beginnings. Chloe is a classical guitarist and she uses her instrumentation to create the soaring melodies you can hear in all of her tracks. She specifically uses FL studio and gives massive praise to the stock effects, which are normally highly undervalued, especially by beginner producers.
Eastern Instruments in CloZee productions
A BIG part of CloZee’s sound is her use of eastern and unique instrumentation. In her latest album, Harmony, CloZee utilizes a Guzheng, or Chinese Zither or harp which has been used for over 2,500 years. She also uses a Harmonium as her lead Synth, a Morin Khurr (Mongolian Horsehead Fiddle) for increased texture and to add sensation to the overall feel of the track, and finally an Erhu to compliment the other instruments in the higher frequencies. She also uses saxophones, unique drum samples, and funky percussive arrangements to create some of the best dance music I’ve ever experienced. I know she is also using other instruments, but these are the ones that I was able to pick up on. She also loves to use different kinds of flutes and her guitar melodies are always on point.
Harmony is a fantastic name for the main track of the album, and honestly it’s hard for me to understand why it isn’t her most popular track. Probably because Inner Peace and Koto are also powerful compositions, each a journey in their own respect. Expect big things from CloZee’s music as Chloe continues to evolve, she keeps getting better and better!
A Pioneer of World Music and Bass Fusion
CloZee’s music is uniquely cinematic. The combination of sounds that she uses nearly always leads itself to different experiences while listening to her tracks. Each track is very unique and seems to evolve as my taste in music grows. Here are my favorite tracks from her discography.
CloZee’s Top 5 Tracks:
1 Inner Peace
2 Aspara Calling
3 Harmony
4 Koto
5 Red Forest
The Modern State of Music and the Future of Bass Music
She has partnered with Psymbionic for her last US tour, which was great because I feel like both of their music is extremely different and powerful. Looking forward to seeing her live!
AND make sure you follow Chloe’s Soundcloud, she will probably release new music soon! Also check her out on Spotify, Youtube, and the other streaming networks. I won’t be surprised if her music is in a movie soon!
Haze EP is a group of some of the most unique electronic music tracks that I have ever listened to. Sometimes, I can’t believe that I created a few of the tracks.
Each song is kind of a world of sounds because I do all of my own sound design. Then I take the highest quality analogue samples and mixing the hell of of the track. The sound is nothing short of galactic adventurous. My journey through music continues to evolve and these latest tracks take the quality to a new echelon.
Haze has some of my favorite music ever on it. I’ve always had a certain taste in electronic music and I am very excited to share how I like it with the world!
Diving into Sound Design
Of course, the kind of music that I enjoy is an ever evolving taste and honestly, I hope to be able to follow this path forever.
My handle on the technology involved continues to grow firmer and my sound design skills improve as I continue to experiment with my different synthesizers, Serum and Zebra2. Operator is and always has been my go to. My ability to create unique bass sounds grows more and more potent as I also hone my mixing, the two go together really nicely.
I have begun to split frequencies far more often to great effect. I feel highlighting certain frequencies in the bass spectrum becomes really important as I get more detail oriented with my bass music.
The Tracks
I finished composing nearly all of the tracks for the album and will release a few of them early. I might release one tonight, actually. This time, I am giving myself plenty of time to finish all the tracks.
So I will tell you my favorite tracks and why before I give you the Haze EP track list.
HyperDrive is my favorite song. I love it because it represents a beautiful style of electro house that has been a little bit forgotten. This multilayered Future-Bass influenced house track will leave you feeling like you just visited another world.
8R0K3 is also my favorite song. It has some of the most unique soundscapes I have ever made and drops like a champ. The bass is fucking wonky and super glitched out. The sound design is so unique, it’s very weird to listen to it in different environments. But so far, the tests have all come back positive!
Lucid and Digital Eternityare both Bass oriented tracks that I really want to play live. They have certain rhythms to them that are very unique, kinda remind me of REZZ. I am definitely hoping that this album helps me to get live at local festivals and stuff like that. Here’s to detachment from results.
HAZE EP
HyperDrive – Electro-House
Lucid – Future Trap
Escape Endor – Tropical House
Digital Eternity – Future Trap
Force – Complextro-House
Entering Orbit – Glitch-Hop
8R0K3 – Glitch-Hop
Acid Urine – Dubstep/Trap
Cybertron – Dubstep
Exoskeleton – Techno-House
Expect sounds that you have never heard before and some mixing techniques that will get those speakers bouncing. These tracks are great dance tracks and I can’t wait to release them. First release is coming soon, get stoked!
Proko drops First Contact to unsuspecting humans everywhere. Troy Prokopowich is most certainly an upcoming artist to pay attention to, moreso than anyone (imho) except for his buddies G Jones, Yheti, Nasty Nasty and Bleep Bloop of whom equal attention ought to be paid. Proko released First Contact 3 days ago to a tremendous amount of support from the underground community on soundcloud. He’s been touring with G Jones for a while now and BassNectar is playing his tracks at live shows due to the incredible amount of bass and the ultra heavy riddims are ultra stupid dope yo.
I actually saw Proko live last year before Nasty Nasty and Proko’s show was great, though a bit unmemorable at the time. Honestly, I don’t remember him playing, I just remember really liking all the music right before dancing my ass off to Nasty Nasty. The event was in Colfax with this sweet, very new production company called Modern Illusion. Those kids throw a party, can’t wait to watch them evolve their events. Check ’em out in Colfax. The crowd was most certainly waiting for the headliner (NastyNasty), so I’m not super surprise I didn’t notice him as much. I don’t think his music was as evolved as this latest EP First Contact back then. But you know, maybe I was just not really paying attention.
Fast-forward a year and Proko’s dropping some of the best bass tunes out there, including his Abduction Mixtape. I like some of the songs even more than G Jones tracks, the basses are just so fresh and interlaced with spicy melodies and groovy drum beats. Check out PROKO’s EP on the soon-to-die platform(just kiiiiiidddddding) Soundcloud.
The First Contact EP
TFF – An intro to the sound of the album, this track is as grimey as it is heavy. A great introduction to the sound design of the album, this track will get you movin.
First Contact – The primary track of the album doesn’t disappoint in any way. The complexity of the sound design is nothing short of sensational. The alien vibes are all too apparent in the track’s sound design. A lot of the sound design reminds me of G Jones, but with a unique spin. This is my favorite track of the album, so much so that I might have to remix it…
Block Streets – Block Streets was release a few weeks earlier than the album and sets the standard for the entire EP. Heavy reverb punctuates nearly every sound and a definite feel of alien voices speaking to you.
Flip it – Flip it is a trippy psychedelic track that continues Proko’s style of alien leads and grimey reese basslines, this track is yyyyuge!! Check out that future trap!
Loud (ft. Nasty Nasty) – Loud is a track to listen to over and over; Nasty Nasty brings his sound to compliment Proko’s. Together they’ve created an illustrious bass-scape that leaves you wondering where the fuck your mind just went.
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