Anatomy Of An EP: Mimesis (Part 1)
This is part 1 of a two-part guest post by Stephen Howe, the DJ/producer behind the newest release on Welt Discos, the Mimesis EP.
In it, he breaks down in loving detail the thought processes, working methods and technology behind the four tracks on the EP — the B-side in part 1 and the A-side in part 2. As a non-producer myself, I confess that most technical jargon about electronic music production goes over my head. But as any of the people I’ve worked with on Welt Discos releases will tell you, I have quite strong feelings about sounds and arrangements and try and find my own way of putting those feelings into useful words.
What I love about Stephen’s writing here is the way he combines those things — technical jargon and non-jargon — into an evocative description of not just the music itself, but also the influences, creative thinking and technical processes that brought it into being. He’s even taken the time to capture some brilliant videos of the machines in his studio reproducing selected elements of the tracks, which really bring what he’s writing about to life. If you’re a producer yourself, or a close listener like me, or if you simply like the music on the EP, you will find plenty of golden nuggets of insight in what Stephen shares here.
So take it away, Stephen!
Intro
Hi, Stephen here. I’m a producer and DJ living in Berlin and am thrilled to have my first EP released on Welt Discos: the Mimesis EP. Not only is it my first EP, but it’s the first time my music has been released on vinyl, so it’s been an eye-opening insight into the rewarding, but challenging, process of releasing on the format.
I’m the first to acknowledge the apparent big-headedness of this blog post. A relatively new producer finishing his first EP and then proceeding to write a tell-all exposé on how he did it might come off as self-indulgent. Having said that, if I heard an interesting new release by another producer, this is exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes insight I'd like to see. I would love to hear about their influences, and the gear and techniques used to bring it to life, so why not proactively do this for my own release? Sharing is caring, and if this helps another producer in any way I’ll be delighted. And for myself, putting this process into words has been quite cathartic.
In the text below there are insights into my writing process, and links to sites and videos I've enjoyed over the years when learning equipment and techniques, as well as a couple of relevant episodes of my Refuge Radio show, SH-101. Additionally, you’ll find videos from my studio providing a glimpse into the sound design process behind various elements in these four tracks.
Background
There is a somewhat romantic idea of a producer shutting themselves in a room for a few days and emerging with a finished collection of works. While I envy those who can pull this off, it’s a process that’s very far from my own, and, I imagine, that of similar part-time and less experienced producers. The Mimesis EP was produced over the span of a year and is rather a collection of demos that were polished up ready for the release.
By early 2021, I had spent endless hours honing my production skills during the covid lockdowns. I was starting to produce a few good tracks (I define “good” as tracks that I would play in a DJ set) so I felt confident enough to start sharing them outside my circle of close, encouraging friends. I began to send some playlists to some of my favourite DJs, with Joe being pretty close to the top of that list. This wasn’t explicitly with the intent of pitching the tracks to labels, more to see if they, like me, thought they were worthy of playing in a set.
I first emailed Joe in May 2021 and, after he had given some insightful feedback, he made the offer to work on an EP for Welt Discos. I was thrilled, especially since the inaugural release by And.rea was one of my favourites from the year prior. This marked the beginning of the track selection process.
Interestingly, none of those first tracks made the final cut. However, the promise of a label release gave me motivation and direction for pumping out new tunes. Over the next few months, I kept sending Joe tracks (thanks for all your ear-time Joe) and by March 2022, ‘Venise Celeste’ and ‘Mimesis’ emerged as strong contenders for the EP.
It was at this point that a parallel process began for the release of my edit of Oklou’s ‘God’s Chariot’, but let’s dive into the two original tracks that make up the B-side of the record.
B side
Venise Celeste
My writing process can begin in a few different ways. Rarely do I start tracks with an idea for the sound I’d like to produce. This usually only happens when I’m specifically trying to imitate a genre or musician with the aim of learning techniques essential to that sound. These genre exercises, as you might expect, rarely result in unique tracks.
In contrast, the tracks which end up sounding the most “me” often start by simply jamming on my equipment. I fire up Ableton and get a few nice patches running in a loop, jotting down some quick rhythms and melodies. During these sessions, it often strikes me that my loop sounds similar to one of my influences, and it’s at this point that I’m able to harness these similarities to provide direction for the track. It’s in these instances that I end up with a much more unique product, where “my sound” is blended with that of the influence in question.
In this case, halfway through building the first loop of ‘Venise Celeste’, the steady, persistent 909 rhythm brought to mind Megalon’s ‘Incantation’, one of my favourite pieces in the Plink Plonk back-catalogue. The samples conjure up memories of the Crash Bandicoot soundtrack while the enchanting bells and that incredible chord drive the track forward. Drawing inspiration from ‘Incantation’, I added the final touches to ‘Venise Celeste’: the pads and the big pew sounds, which propel the track forward at the start of every 2 bars.
From a technical standpoint, this track is a great example of hybrid music production – using both software and hardware tools to construct a track. The drums were entirely built in Ableton using Ableton’s Core 909 Drum Rack. I’m particularly happy with the tom fills (this would become a theme for the EP) and snare rolls. The conga-like pluck that enters at 4:03 is a chord made with Ableton’s Operator synth, which I also employed to make the pad.
The bubbling one-note bassline, which enters at 2:00 and gradually swells up from a sub, is made with my beloved Roland SH-01A, a hardware synth that I sequenced from Ableton. Modelled after the legendary Roland SH-101, this digital recreation comes with all the bells and whistles one might expect of a modern synth, including a full Midi CC implementation. The patch is a classic square-wave acid bass, with the LFO routed to slowly modulate the filter.
The plucky lead that begins and ends the track is a modular patch. It follows the traditional subtractive synthesis signal flow of VCO -> VCF -> VCA, complete with their respective envelopes. Lots of velocity variation in the sequence gives it a pleasant range of dynamics and expression. Modulation of the filter and the AD envelope’s decay was performed live on the knobs across several takes.
To me, what makes this lead patch special is the extra high-frequency layer. The audio signal from the pluck part was multed (duplicated) into a Happy Nerding FX Aid, set to a spectral reverb, and then routed through a filter modulated by an LFO. This signal was then gated using the same gate which originally triggered the pluck envelope.
I’m no modular fanatic, but this kind of patch extensibility is part of why I love my modular synth. Even starting with a conventional subtractive synth patch, the range of possible sounds is limited only by the imagination of the sound designer and the available modules in the rack.
To finish up with ‘Venise Celeste’, the lead accompaniment at 2:45 is a pulse-wave acid patch created using Ableton’s Analog synth, sequenced across octaves of the root note, the background rainforest atmosphere is from the classic Zero-G Datafiles sample CDs, and the big pew sounds were made with a filter sweep of my Behringer Model D, which was sold shortly after to finance the purchase of an Elektron Analog Rytm drum machine. This acquisition would finally allow me to experiment with sequencing drums outside the box.
Mimesis
This track was a direct result of my purchase of the Elektron Analog Rytm. While I was still exploring the machine and its sequencer, I set myself the challenge to try and make something resembling a 2-step UKG rhythm using only the analogue drum synths inside it. While I eventually ended up enlisting its sample-based machines for a couple of sounds (the congas and reversed rimshots) the majority of the final sounds remained fully analogue.
While layering up this beat, it occurred to me that one proponent of weird, minimal UKG beats was Lee Norris under his Metamatics moniker. I quickly put on my copy of his Neo Ouija LP, paying particular attention to ‘Vanishing Point’. As I listened, I took notes of elements that could help develop my Rytm loop into a full track: haunting synths, an ominous bassline and careful use of reverb.
Perhaps a side note: I’m drawn to Metamatics-style beats because the sound design interests me more than lots of other UKG or house beats. UKG production is overwhelmingly sample-based, often with more emphasis put on finding the right collage of relatively unprocessed samples, as opposed to crafting the sounds from scratch. While I have great respect for the art of collage (and can pull it off if I try), I am definitely drawn to works that are centred more around sound design, or at least more creative sample processing. It’s funny, because I’m very aware that hip-hop-style sample-based production tends to have a more direct impact on a dancefloor thanks to its built-in nostalgic references, but in truth, I have less fun working that way and find works in that style less engaging to listen to at home.
For ‘Mimesis’, I directly copied one of my favourite Metamatics synth patches. It’s a beautiful, gliding, soft sound made with two sine oscillators tuned to a 5th, with a generous amount of pitch modulation. Although I originally used Ableton’s Operator to design this sound for ‘Mimesis’, here it is recreated on my Novation Peak for a more tactile demonstration:
The main lead was made with my SH-01A, again sequenced from Ableton. The sequence happens to be completely off-grid, which I think contributes to the bluesy, haunting sound of the track. You can hear me modulating the filter and the square-LFO depth for added effect throughout the take.
For maximum dread, I decided to swap out the stand-in bass that I’d created on the Rytm with a modular patch. This is a technique I still employ today, especially for tracks that I’ve started on the Rytm. I’ll often create quick, placeholder parts and replace them with more elaborate synths later to add depth and expression.
That about wraps up writing the B-side of the record. Joe had selected these two tracks as starters for the EP, so I set about writing more to send over.
(Part 1 ends here. Part 2 can be found here.)
Where to get it
The Mimesis EP is available on vinyl and digital on the Welt Discos Bandcamp, and the vinyl is appearing in shops now.