Inside The Mix | Music Production and Mixing Tips for Music Producers and Artists

#58: The 12 Days of Synthmas | Synth Pals Pub

December 20, 2022 Various Season 2 Episode 35
Inside The Mix | Music Production and Mixing Tips for Music Producers and Artists
#58: The 12 Days of Synthmas | Synth Pals Pub
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THE SYNTH PALS VIRTUAL PUB
This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow artists, network, and share ideas. At least one question and a pub-based beverage or snack are mandatory.
If you would like to join me and my synth pals at the next Synth Pals Virtual Pub, book your seat here: https://calendly.com/synth_music_mastering/synth-pals-virtual-pub

To follow Neon Highway, click here: https://linktr.ee/neonhighway
To follow Aisle9, click here: https://aisle9music.co.uk/
To follow Totta, click here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tottasvoice/
To follow Typherion, click here: http://typherion.bandcamp.com
To follow Your Friend Esteves, click here: https://yourfriendesteves.com/

To listen to Totta 'Angels Sing', click here: Totta 'Angels Sing'
To listen to Aisle9 'Christmas '84', click here: Aisle9 ' Christmas '94'
To listen to Marc Matthews 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)', click here: Marc Matthews 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'

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Marc Matthews:

You are listening to the Inside The Mix podcast with your host, Mark Matthews. Hello and welcome to the Inside the Mix podcast. I'm Mark Matthews, your host, musician, producer, and mix and mastering engineer. You've come to the right place if you want to know more about your favorite synth music artist, music, engineering, and production, songwriting, and the music industry. I've been writing, producing, mixing, and mastering music for over 15 years, and I wanna share what I've learnt with you. Hey folks. Welcome back to the Insider the Mix podcast. If you are a new insider mix podcast listener, welcome and I forget to hit the subscribe button. And if you are a returning listener, welcome back. Now. This is You, a Christmas themed episode. If you're watching this on YouTube, you'll be able to tell hopefully from the Christmas hats and the various Christmas, uh, bits and pieces that people have in their videos here. So this is aptly named the 12 Days of Synths. And the way this is gonna work is I've got 12 questions and I've got a spinning wheel of names. Um, so I'm gonna ask each one of these questions and I'm gonna pick a name at random and then we've got, or they have five minutes to answer the question. So 12 questions in total. But before we do that, let's go around and see who we have today. So let's start with aisle nine. Welcome. How are you?

Aisle9:

Uh, I'm very well. I'm feeling a bit out of focus, but I dunno if that's honestly true, but yes, I'm fine. I'm very good. Thanks. Marc Matthews: Fantastic stuff. I believe that is the, uh, the server. It's, uh, low quality while we're recording, but don't worry in the light in the end it will be good. Neon Highway. How are you?

Neon Highway:

Yeah, I'm doing good, thanks. Doing good. Not only to say name Filo Focus Bay, but it looks a little bit focus as well. I wonder what it's like to feel out of focus.. . Marc Matthews: Maybe Towards the end., maybe. I'm . How are you doing?

Typherion:

Good, man. Yeah. I also feel pixelated, um, as well. I dunno if I look pixelated in real life, but hopefully it's just a virtual, Hey, you look, you look good. like it's just the pink fluorescent lighting.. Marc Matthews: I had from, uh, from R nine. Um, now this is the first time we've got, uh, a new, uh, producer musician on the, um, not on the podcast, but on the synth palaces virtual pub. We've got your friend Esteve Joo. How are you?

Your Friend Esteves:

Hello everyone. Welcome me to the show. Thank you for

Marc Matthews:

welcoming me as well. Fantastic stuff. I do go back and check the episode that I did with Joo. Uh, I think it's episode 53 if memory serves. That's two weeks ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also the, uh, the EP that dropped as well. So do go check that one out. Um, we'll have a chance to, um, name drop or plug that rather later in the episode. And then Tota, how are you? Hi. Yeah.

Totta:

Doing good as always. Pleasure to be

Marc Matthews:

back. Yes. Yeah. You guys are now becoming sort of like the, uh, the furniture of the, uh, the sy files virtual pub, which is fantastic. It means I've got someone to chat to when I do these things, you know? Um, what I wanna do is for the, if you're watching this on YouTube, I just wanna go around and see what people, jumpers people have. So we're gonna start with Neon Highway. Um, can you just show the, the, uh, the viewers on YouTube, what jumper you have there? Yes. There. It's Ghostbusters,

Neon Highway:

Ghostbusters, Christmas jumper. Yeah, the first one, cuz the ghost is not doing it too. Marc Matthews: So if you're not it is, um, is the, uh, a ghostbuster themed t-shirt with a ghost from Ghostbusters with a, with a W Reef around it. Uh, very inventive. And then we've got a joo who has, uh, a really, really cool jumper. So, uh, we've got like a synth wave style Christmas jumper. I knew

Your Friend Esteves:

this come handy. I bought it maybe three years ago and I knew one day. Aisle9: Yeah,

Marc Matthews:

this will come handy. No, we've, uh, we've got two hats. So I'm wearing a Christmas hat and so is tota. Uh, Tim did have one, but uh, it turned out it was quite small, so he's not there. He's put it on now. So if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see this side little hat that is a dawning his head at the top there. And, um, just to, to wrap this off, I do have a Christmas jumper, um, and I'm a football fan, admittedly, uh, being English as well. And it says it's coming home. Ho ho, ho. But after the result, um, a few days ago, I, um, I feel a bit silly wearing this jumper, but bajo, you never know. Um, so what we're gonna do is we're gonna dive straight into, uh, the 12 days of sys. Don't

Aisle9:

forget typhoon's rib mug. That was Oh yeah, yeah. Apologies. Lotty.

Typherion:

Lot of effort, uh, put into finding this. So, uh, thank.

Marc Matthews:

Now what's great about this is with this platform, uh, we're gonna now move on to our next segment. Okay, there we go. Let's look at that sound effects. And this is the 12 Days of sys. And, um, the first question is, uh, this question is one of mine. So is, what is your favorite plugin of the year and why? So I'm gonna spin this magic wheel here. Oh, neon Highway. Is that, it's, uh, ended on you. So Neon Highway. Oh, it's clapping my end. You can't hear that. Um, , what is your favorite plugin of the year and why?

Neon Highway:

Uh, was that plugin of the year, was it then? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm.. Um, so , I don't buy a lot of plugins or download a lot. Uh, I certainly haven't taken many this year, but, um, I did opt in for the Ozone 10 trial a few weeks ago when Isotope released it. Um, I've used I a isotope, ozone nine before. Fantastic piece of software, um, even if you're not using it for is mastering capabilities. The module of plugins are absolutely phenomenal on it. Um, ozone 10 kind of steps up a bit. It adds a few extra features in there. It's got some great little modules that are plugged into it. Um, for the, the new release, it makes things so much smoother. Um, it's got that automatic set of referencing, um, that you can load in when you do your in on it. Um, I like to use it as a starting point. You know, we, we let the algorithm do it this bit, but I, I firmly believe that you shouldn't be just letting an algorithm do your complete master. So that's a great starting point. Um, And then you can sort of tweak it using each of the modules and you can add modules and then take them away. Um, it's a fantastic piece of software. I don't think I can talk about it for five minutes because it was just the 10 day trial version that I got . Um, but I think I spoke to Mark about it. I'm pretty sure Mark ended up buying it as well. Mm-hmm. Um, it's, it, there is a slight difference for, for those that are maybe thinking should go from Ozone nine, if you've got it up to Ozone 10. Um, the war is a slight difference. I took a track that I had mastered a few weeks ago. Um, I did same with Ozone 10. And it was a much richer, almost harmonic content. It was, it was a wider mix. It was clearer. Um, it was just beautiful sounding. So, um, if it, if anything, you know, it's, it's the only one that I've taken in the last year, but also I think it's a fantastic piece of software. It's my favorite plugin that I've, I've had a look at and brought into the, into set my work stream there.

Aisle9:

But ozone 11 will go one more. It'll go up to 11, won't it? So that'll be better. Yeah.

Neon Highway:

it. It can only go one more . Um, but not, I mean, seriously, it's, it's, it's, it is very visual as well. So it appeals to different people, different ways of working. Some people were, you know, love that visual element. Being able to see what everything is it, the visual element really lets you sort of pick out a lot of stuff and, cause it's all sitting within work within one suite, although it's different modules, it just works seamlessly. You know, everything's at your fingertips. From stereo imaging to the compressors, the EQs Dynamic EQs, vintage EQs, uh, the matching EQ module, um, is particularly good. It's, it's, it's fantastic.

Marc Matthews:

Honestly, you, you're doing well. Neon Highway, um, trying to fill the five minutes. It's brilliant. Um, yeah, I've, uh, used, uh, or been using the isotope stuff here for, for years now, and, um, I'm a, I'm a really big fan of them, particularly. I love the stereo imager. I love that plugin. Um, but they've recently released the audio lens. Have you tried that? The, um, where you can go in, uh, I say go in, you open it and it will capture whatever is playing on your desktop and then you can use it. Uh, it's quite crude at the moment, but you can use it in the master in process, but it's very limited in the way you can use it. But you can still get a capture of, of an EQ, freq, uh, frequency response of a track. Have you tried it?

Neon Highway:

I, I tried downloading it. Uh, for some reason I couldn't load it into my, my door, but, um, it does look good and it was a free download. So once I kinda get past the initial kinda setup challenges, then I'm sure it'll be fantastic. I know we've talked about it. It does look like software. I'm big fan of top stuff. Um, I've never had a poor isotope experience everything that I've got from them, from the vocal synth, um, to good choice. Some of the other stuff that's kinda sitting in there. Do you know it's, it's, uh, and, I got vocal synth last year. If I'd got it this year, then that would be number one. It's, it's, again, it's isotope. It's just, I think the flawless, when they put out stuff, they really are very creative, very smart, and they marketer really well

Marc Matthews:

as well. Fantastic folks. There we go. That

Aisle9:

is the fake plug. You're not endorsed, are you?

Neon Highway:

We're trying to get marks on endorsement here

Marc Matthews:

aren't.

Typherion:

Yes. What's your, what's the promo code? I'll check out.

Marc Matthews:

Exactly. That's what we want. Um, so we'll move on to the next one. That is, well, thank you for that Neon highway car. Thank you very much. So this next one is from Tyrian. So this is, how do you overcome writer's block? So I can give you a bit of time to think while I spin the magic wheel. So that's how do you overcome writer's block? And let's do the transition. And it's spinning. Okay. It's laddered on you. Urian, but you answer the question. So I'm gonna spin it again.. Ooh. And it is your friend. Estevez Joo. So how do you overcome writer's Block? Joo. All right.

Your Friend Esteves:

How do you overcome writer's

Totta:

block? Well,

Your Friend Esteves:

you just have to write more write. It's kind of one of those things that, um, you just have to sit at a desk and. Write out crap until it becomes better. Uh, and it's, I think it's the same for writers as well as for musicians as well as for anything that involves creativity. You just have to sit there for eight hours a day. Well, if it's your full-time job and just keep trying out stuff. And some of it will be crap, some of it will be good. Um, the, but I'd also say, at least with me, I, I need a break every now and then as well. So I might just take a, a side project. So, and, and I say co completely away from, from music, let's say if I'm not feeling inspired, I'll just sometimes just close that laptop and take on a long hike or take on a different project, go for a long run or something like that. And, uh, that's just to refresh your brain to see something different, um, to talk to other people. I mean, go to the pub, go talk to random folks. And I, I think., any type of lock, sometimes just it means two things. Either you need to work harder or you need to work less. Um, it's, it's hard to know which one is the best one to take when you, when you're at that, uh, junction. But, uh, but, um, yeah, with me, I tend to, to actually take a break and do other stuff for a while. I mean, it's not my full-time job, so I can afford that. Um, and, and just come back when I feel better.. Um, but if, if it's a case of I feel like, you know, I've had enough rests and I really need to produce something, I'll just sit down and actually book some hours a day and I just sit in the studio nonstop and I kind of like try to look for sounds that will inspire me to create, uh, to create a song. And sometimes it's going through the scent and like, uh, oh, what does this do? And Oh, that's a cool sound. Oh, let's say explore a preset that I've never played with before. And even the ones I, I normally think, oh, this, I'll never use this. Try to figure out, okay, let me shape this differently. What could we do with this? Um, sometimes what I do is also. Try to do covers, um, just to overcome that initial, um, block that when, when you feel like, oh, I, I can't think about doing anything of my own. Yeah, why not do a cover. Do a cover, just play with your instruments. At least you're still feeling productive. Um, even if it's just for yourself and, and, and play with it. Or just do a jam or, or just take on some silly TikTok challenge and write a couple of songs. Um, what matters is that you keep having fun. You keep producing something, and then that, those jams that usually make make up the stuff that you release, they will come in time. Speaking

Aisle9:

of time,

Marc Matthews:

how am I doing in. No, no, you're good. You're good. I could really do with the timer on the screen, couldn't I? No. Um, we're good. Um, so basically what you're saying is sort of like reay is taking, taking a step back and stepping away from whatever it is you're working on. Um, and I'm a sinner for not doing that. I'll be, I'll get so engrossed in, in music production or a mix or something and then realize hours have gone by and then whatever I'm doing is not helping whatsoever. So I need to be more disciplined in that respect. And actually take a, take a take a break and, and move away from it. And do what you said there. Go for a walk, go to the pub. Yeah.

Your Friend Esteves:

Sometimes one of these, you

Marc Matthews:

know. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Is that, is that strong, strong bow? Uh, no,

Your Friend Esteves:

this is,

Marc Matthews:

uh, Guinness. Oh wow. I got that totally wrong, didn't I? It's the, um, yeah, the golden horn . Yeah. I dunno why I thought it was strong by. Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you very much. Your friend. Estevez. So that's overcoming writer's block. So we're rattling through these now.. The next question is, what is the best music production lesson you learned this year? So just give you a bit of time to think. I'll repeat it again. The best music production or songwriting. We'll say songwriting as well. Lesson that you learned this year. Okay. And I'll just do my little transition and I've gotta spin this. And this was asked by Karma Noodles who couldn't make it today. So, uh, who's it gonna fall on? And it's full on, on tota. So the best music production or songwriting lesson? Um,

Totta:

well, I guess since I'm, I'm more of a songwriter than a, a producer as such. Even though I produce my tracks fully, I always send them to an engineer to actually balance it out and, uh, yeah, balance it out for me cuz I need that help. Um, but I guess not, uh, not judging my, I always call it that I. We use in Sweden, this, uh, gaffa tape, silver tape, really thick tape. Oh yeah. And it's like if you can't fix things as an actual handyman, you just fucking put that tape on everything. And I usually come up with solutions for sound issues by using Gaffa tape. Uh, Virtually, like if I can't sound, find a noise for a siren, I will squeal into the mic and uh, kind of just play around with that sound until it sounds like what I want. I did, I couldn't find a piano sound that was eighties enough for the, the Christmas song that we're gonna listen to later on today. So I found two really trashy presets and I put them on top of each other and that somehow balanced it out. And instead of going and thinking that like, oh, it's too shabby to figure it out like this cuz it's just too shitty. Presets actually been okay with like, okay, this was, this was my solution and it actually sounds the way that I want. So I judge how I got there. So to be a bit more open with that. And, uh, I guess it's, I'm, I'm moving on to multiple lessons now, but the next one is a very concrete like, Straight up actual tip for songwriting and that is to use more sixth as harmonies tonally go use the sixes to get the drama in an eighties type chorus. It's just, um, I dunno. It's, I feel like it's underutilized for how much drama it can bring. Tony. And I've been, I've been thrown in, um, a couple of my recent projects, um, I think yeah, as well in the, in the Christmas song too, that we're gonna listen to later. Um, but it's just, yeah, it's a really, I don't wanna say a cheap trick, but like, if I could give every synth wave producer one thing to go home and try is just make a chorus melody that has the sixths as the harmonies. Uh, it brings, it brings all the drama. Cause you can move it around as much as you want and it just sounds

Marc Matthews:

top notch. Fantastic. So there we go folks. How am I doing on time? No, that, that's, that's perfectly fine. Um, what I'll say folks is if, if you're approaching five minutes, I'll, um, I'll, I'll just say, um, you're approaching five minutes or you got like 30 seconds left. Um, so yeah, so the first, going back to the first bit there, you mentioned about, I think it's quite important what you said there about if you're looking for a particular sound, it's being open to using different things, like you said, coming up with a siren and using your own voice and finding all these different sounds. Cuz once again, I, I know I've done this and through the podcast it's sort of helped me develop as a. As a songwriter and a producer in that I don't get hung up now on the first initial sound and thinking it's gotta be perfect straight away. And that's what's always, I think, held me back personally from putting out more music is thinking, I've got this down now and it's gotta be perfect straight away. So yeah, I, I totally agree with the, the gaffer tape side of things. We call it gaffer tape over here as well, or elephant tape. I think it might be called Elephant Tape as well. I dunno, I might be making that up. Um, fantastic. Thank you to just, so the next question is from your friend Estevez, and this is, who do you send a project, like a work in progress to, for feedback and why? To basically to get feedback on whether or not it's something that you should pursue as a project. So who do you send a project to for feedback or who would you recommend sending it to? So let's do this. Spin the wheel. And it's ended up on aisle nine. So Tim, what is your process? If you are stuck on something, on a track or a project and you dunno whether you should continue, what is your process? What would you recommend doing? Hmm.

Aisle9:

Uh, yeah, I mean, I, I tend to sort of only send things out or like contact people when I'm a bit worried that there's something sort of not right about something and I'm unsure whether I, you know, my ears are playing tricks on me. I've been mixing a long time or something, and I've just like sort of., am I right about this? Is this Soundy a bit dodge or not? You know, so that tends to be the point where I maybe sort of pick some producers like yourself. Mark. I've sent, I've two, I've sent stuff to, um, I think I've sent stuff to Neon Highway. I've sent some stuff to you. I've sent some stuff to Mark. I've sent, you know, to, to sort of other people I know who you know, um, who might sort of like just give it a listen. But, um, yeah, if I'm stuck on a tune, that's probably not what I do because like I sort of, yeah, I don't, I mean sometimes, but I think mainly I sort of, um, wrestle with it myself a little bit, like, uh, um, Your friend Estevez is saying, you know, like, um, you know, I think, uh, I, I, I think I sort of wrestle with it to sort of, I just go, well, I haven't written it right yet. I'm not happy with this. And just sort of sit with it and struggle with it manfully on until I give up and go and have a beer. You know? But like, I sort of, um, yeah, I, I sometimes, so I actually get my, my wife to come in and have a listen cuz she's got loads of really good ideas and she does sort of hear it afresh and she'll just sometimes say like, you know, oh that, yeah, that's really good. That's really working. That's sort of, or she'll get a feeling from it or a vibe from it. And then I think like, okay, so if still problems with it, it's still worth working on. Cause someone's getting a vibe from this and sometimes I can tell that she's just not feeling anything from it, you know? And, and then I begin to think like, I'm having problems with this. She's not feeling anything from it. I think it's time to just park it and go somewhere else. Go leave it behind for a bit. So sometimes I think, I mean, she d she um, is musical, but like she, you know, it's not her main thing that she does, but like, you know, um, I think she comes at it still, well, she used to DJ a lot, so she comes at it with her DJ ears on, and I sort of think that's good in a way. She sort of sees it in a different way than I'm seeing it, you know, like, To say, sort of thinking about a major sixth, I'll be thinking about something like that in the track and she won't automatically go to those kind of things. She'll see it as an overall thing or something, or go like, oh, that, you know, there's something really weird going on in the, and she won't know what it is, but in the base or something, you know, I mean, something will be bothering her and it might just give me a clue as to what areas to look at. So, yeah, my other half actually is very good in those circumstances. So there we go. You know, there we go. And, and you are much better when I want to know whether the EQ knees changing or not.. Marc Matthews: I was, yeah. Well that was good this week, wasn't it? The notes I sent back. Um, I'm, I'm glad they married up with what you were thinking. Um, that makes me feel a lot better, um, when I'm, yeah, they were fantastic. Yeah. Re they were, you gave me some feedback, which was absolutely spot on, exactly what I was thinking, but it really did help to get that back from you. because then I was like, yeah, it's not just me thinking these things. And uh, you know, cuz you can, you can listen to something so many times you've just lost focus on it. Yeah. So it could be really good at that point definitely to send it someone else and get their feedback. But you do have to be wary that sometimes you have to ignore their feedback cuz they're wrong.

Marc Matthews:

Mm-hmm.. . Aisle9: Yeah. Yeah. If that makes sense. I know that sounds funny, but like, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally agree with that. Yeah.. Yeah., they'll go, no, no, I don't like this. And you, you go away and go, no, I still like that. That's the whole point of the tune. Yeah. No, it's staying in go away. But then you've at least made that as a decision, you know what I mean? You, you've not just fallen into it, you've gone No, I'm sticking in that part. And if everyone else doesn't like it, damn them. You know, so it's, you know, it can be good to sort of stand your ground as well, I think, you know? Does that make sense? Most definitely. Uh, we're approaching the five minutes now, but that, that, that's good that, that's, that's great advice. Um, RNA Tim. Um, and also what I find really useful about that process is if, I know if I hung up on something in a, in a mix or a production and I really unsure about it, if nobody else picks up on it, I find that quite useful as well. Cuz it may, that makes me think actually, it's probably not as bad as I think it is and it's probably, cuz I've been sat with it far too long and I'm really being really nitpicky. Yeah. Um, so it is useful in that respect as well. So the next question is, this is from total, so this is, what is your preferred release format? Single EP album. And why, so what is your preferred release format? Single EP album. And why So let's, uh, spin, actually I think we've only got one person left. Ty Ethereum. Might as well just go straight to yourself. I've done everyone else. Um, so Ty Ethereum, what is your preferred release format? Single EP or album and why? Um, I

Typherion:

think I've only ever released eps, but I have nothing against singles. But I think I prefer eps mainly because a lot of my sound, or a lot of my music is very thematic. Cause I'm always inspired by other pieces of fiction. So I find that I can't encapsulate like one theme in one song. Um, there's like a range of emotions that I'm trying to capture in a body of work, and that's why I find like an EP is pretty useful. But when it comes to like, this generation that we're in right now with like the TikTok generation and people's attention, you know, like it's, I releasing like a 12 song album doesn't make sense to me. Um, I, I, I also, I can't warrant that kind of attention from people. I don't, I I, I'm just an independent artist. I don't do this full-time, right? Like, so I, I, I think just an eps usually around right now I've been doing three song eps. And, uh, I, I think that's probably the, and each song is around five minutes long, and I think that just makes sense to just keep people's attentions focused, uh, and also be able to capture the, I guess, or at least maintain the artistic integrity. Um,

Marc Matthews:

yeah. Yeah, yeah. So with your eps then, do, do they have a, you mentioned themes in the thematics, so your three tracks then mm-hmm., they're, they're designed to be listened to sequentially, 1, 2, 3, is that right?

Typherion:

Yeah. Yeah. Usually. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, a lot of the times it, because I, a lot of my sound is very cyber punk, dark synth, so I, I do a lot of like, existentialism, uh, the usual kind of stuff that's in, that's in cyberpunk stuff, um, man and machine kind of stuff. Uh, . Um, I also have like a lot of anime inspiration stuff that I, I, I look into, like there's a, my favorite piece of fiction is, is berserk. Uh, and there's like a ton of different things from, from, uh, like philosophical concepts, from, from guys like Nietzche and things like that, that are, that are really, really powerful, um, that I try to capturing the sound. And it's difficult because you don't have, I don't have any human voice, right? So it's, it's all instrumental. So how do you capture that through, through a, a waveform, right? So that, that's always fun and, and, and, and kind of puzzling, but

Marc Matthews:

yeah. What about singles then? Do you, what, what are, what are the, what's your thoughts on putting out singles? Or would you just solely do the, the eps or, I mean, cuz I mean, I predominantly pass singles purely because my workflow is so bloody slow. Um, but when it, when it comes to. The gaps in between the eps. Do you put singles out in between or do you just leave it solely in

Typherion:

ep? I've, I've been thinking about that because I, I have such an absurd writing process. It takes me forever to write. And so, uh, I've been thinking, cuz I have so many unfinished ideas, I, I talked about this last time, so I figured like maybe I can just like barf out one as a single in between my eps, right? Mm-hmm.. Um, I have nothing against singles. It's just, yeah, it, I, I guess because I've always viewed my work as something to do thematically. Um, I just have trouble capturing it in one

Marc Matthews:

song. Yeah, I, I would agree with that. And I think I'd put, I, I've been banging on about putting out an EP for quite some time now, and it's, and it's just a slow, slow process for me. But I'm definitely in favor of ep. I've put albums out when I was in a metal band. Um, purely cause it was the thing we did, we, there was no sensing us putting out a single, so we put out these albums and it would take us two or three years to put the album together and then record it. But you've got this, this product at the end. And I do like the album, but I'm certainly in favor of the ep. Um, fantastic. Thank you very much. Typh, Farian. So that's, um, that's almost up to the five minutes on that one then. So the next question then, this pretty much just leaves me for this one. So I'll, and I'll like this question as well. This is from, um, aisle L nine. Um, and I'll be quick because I'll be intrigued to, um, now get somebody else's, um, thoughts on this one. So what is the one thing about producing music that you would like to put into Room 1 0 1, which I've now switched to Room 8 0 8. So if you're not familiar with Room 1 0 1, it is a, uh, a uk it's not a talk show. It's, it's not, it is not a comedy show really, is it? It's kind of, no, it's a chat show, isn't it? It's like an interview, um, whereby you select something that sort of grinds your gears that you don't particularly, you're not particularly fond of, and you can put it into this hole or this room called Room 1 0 1, and it goes there and you don't see it again. So that's, that's the premise or the, the idea behind it. So my thoughts on this one, And actually I think this will be quite good, make it really quick. Cause I'd like to go around and get everybody's else's, uh, sort of room. The one thing they'd like to get rid of about producing or songwriting. Um, and mine is drum programming because I'm not a drummer. Um, and I find it tedious drum programming. So this is why I've now moved on to, uh, I've got my midi, my MIDI keyboard, and I've got my, my pads as well. And I'm triggering sounds and I'm triggering drum sounds. And I've moved to that because I find using a mouse and triggering samples and drum programming, it's, um, tedious. Yeah, that, that's what I would put into room 8 0 8 purely because it's time consuming. And for me, whenever I do it, it just doesn't sound the way I particularly want it. Um, so that's me. That's my room. 8 0 8. So let's correctly go around then. So R nine, what would you put into room 8 0 8 for songwriting and music?. No, it was a very,

Aisle9:

very producer comment, but like, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've gone for a frequency band. It's just like it, yeah. Harshness in that, that sort of frequency. Actually, it's not just the two, it's the harsh bits that sit in the upper mid and the lower mid mud that sits the, and the, they're just like, they sort of, you know, if I could just magically get rid of them instead of having to spend my entire time working out where they're coming from in mixes and how much of them I need in a guitar of the two kilohertz to kind of get it to cut or a voice to get it to cut two to four kilohertz. And yet, if it is too much of it, it's too harsh and I don't like it, you know, so it's.. Marc Matthews: Yeah. Sort of EQing. No, I'm with you on that one. Issues. Fantastic. Uh, neon Highway Room 8 0 8. What would you chuck in there? I don't really know. You can't

Neon Highway:

say Russell. I'm gonna go with . , I'm gonna go with what though. I should never comment electronic music, and I know there can be applications for this, and it works if it's used really well, but autotune, I just autotune says is giving me shivers. It's make my shoulders go up just now. Just if it is used in a really creative manner, then yes, it's, it's great. Unfortunately, 90% of the time it's used. Fuck, just as a gimmick, you know, ever since Cher released, um, that believe song in 1998 or whatever, ever since that time, it's just like, oh God. Did it as again, auto tune.

Aisle9:

Do you mean that kind of reading auto tune sort of the, you mean the auto tune sound When's

Neon Highway:

overused? Yeah.

Aisle9:

When it's over, not the kind of sort of seamless, you know, sort of Yeah. You know, use of it in the background where you don't really know it was ever on it, you know?

Neon Highway:

A hundred percent. I think, you know, when it is used, well, it's, it can be really nice and sometimes it can be used, some, I like it when people just put in, in one phrase or even one syllable if a, if a word analytics and it just emphasizes that and gives it that punch, um, in certain songs. And you like, that's that one half a second I remember of that song as being a bit, that makes me want to go back to the start and play it again just so I can arrive at all over again. But when it's just overused and that way in pop music that, that I can't, that needs to go in 1 0 1. Over

Marc Matthews:

here, . Fantastic. Okay. So, uh, thank you. So we've

Aisle9:

got, uh, Ian k would've never used it., . Marc Matthews: We've got frequency bands, we've got low mids and, and presence frequencies as well. So two kilos. We've got, uh, we've got Auto Tune Typher. What would you, what, what sort of grinds your gears with songwriting and producing that you'd like to eliminate? Yeah.

Typherion:

Um, so this is a do, so, sorry, what are the rooms again? 1 0 1 and eight. Oh eight. Are they both?

Marc Matthews:

Yeah. Yeah. We're flicking between the two here, aren't we? So they're both the same room. They've just got two different numbers. Okay.. Okay. Cool. All

Typherion:

right. All right. Um, this is a double-edged sword, but I think, uh, side chain compression. I'd throw it in there bec. I use it a lot and I think a lot of people do, but sometimes it's so overdone that it's like, , there's too much bounce. There's like too much suctioning happening that I'm like, oh my ears. Like, I can, I, it's just, I can't listen to any of the melodies in the song when all I hear is like, kick ba, kick ba like over and over again. And it's too, it's, it's like such an ins, I don't know what it is. I think the ratio or it's too high and, uh, and that like, it just, it actually like annoys me. And so like, I'm, I'm like, I, I, I, I can't, I can't do this. Um, but I, I use it a lot too. I maybe my stuff sounds like that. I don't know.

Marc Matthews:

So, oh no, I, uh, I agree with you on that one. And I've heard, um, I've had mixes sent over to me where there's a bit too much like try side chain compression. It is very distracting. Um, so yeah, I'm, I'm with you on that. I think I use it quite a lot as well. I say quite a lot. I use it with most tracks. Um, but I think you have to be sparing with it, otherwise you just get this. Throughout the whole thing, and yeah, I'm with you on that one. Um, so Jo, uh, what, what yourself, what would you chuck into, uh, room 1 0 1 or 8 0 8, whatever we're calling it at the moment, what would you chuck in there?

Your Friend Esteves:

I love the part where I write the songs and then they're just roughly mixed and then there's like a good amount of hours left until they sound okay. If I could just like give it to Mark, Hey Mark, do this for me, really and, uh, not, and it comes up pristine and beautiful and I don't have to spend endless hours figuring out what's annoying or why does this track the snare sound so good? And that track is the exact same NICU settings and it's just all the instruments around it. Just mo and yeah. Um, I, yeah, I'll have a bit of that. But let's say, and going back to what, uh, Ty was saying before, it's fine if you're launching like three tracks if you're. Producing like eight trucks, it can take so long and by the end of it, you're, yeah, you're just consumed by it and you don't want to see mixing ever again, uh, until next year. Um, so yeah, I check that part of the process if I could. It's nice for a little bit if you're have to wait songs. It's a

Aisle9:

pain. Yeah,

Marc Matthews:

yeah, yeah. So you're going from, um, sort of moving from that, that's mixing is creative, but you're going from that songwriter element to then the actual mixing part. And it is, it is a time consuming part. And I think when you are mixing your own music as well, I know I take infinitely longer doing my own stuff purely because I'm so picky with my own music. Whereas the stuff I've, the mixers I do for other people probably sound better because. I'm not going in and moving things around that I don't need to. So, um, I, I'm with you on that one. Um, so the final one, uh, tota, what would you, uh, sort of like to chuck into this void that we've created, um, with regards to songwriting or music production?

Totta:

Uh, so mine's a bit outta place, but we're, that's the thing that makes me wanna fucking chuck it in there, and it's fucking marketing on social media. Yeah., when I wanna be a fucking musician, don't make me try to do fucking tos like. Just let me make music, let me perform my music. But why do I have to sell myself and fucking educate myself on fucking Instagram algorithms when I'd rather learn how to fucking record drums? You know, like the, the way that marketing just kind of bottlenecks. all music now is just, it. It has such a choke hold on me. I, I hate, yeah, definitely hate that part. Um, I see now what, like how good I had it in my band with, you know, an actual, um, agency and such, like backing us and getting the word out there. Sorry to cut you off.

Typherion:

Figure it out. Can I, can I change my answer? Cause that's a hundred percent. That's . That's my biggest That's a

Aisle9:

great, like it's the best answer, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I also have to, it's a completely unrelated thing, but I have to tell you, mark that with your center hat on, on your headphones, you do look a bit like Ali G, but there we go. That's alright.

Marc Matthews:

Jesus was it sa, Sasha Baron Cohen. Wow. Yeah. Wow., that's a, that's a, that's a, uh, that's a reference if anyone gets that. What's that? Like circa north, like 2003, 2004, something like that.

Aisle9:

Yeah. Wow, man. I will now add a little bit of sample. Yeah, yeah.

Marc Matthews:

I totally agree. Marketing is, is an incredibly time consuming process. And, um, doing the podcast, the music as well. I have to div, divvy out my time and ba I just put it all into market into the podcast now, cuz there's only so many hours in the day. But it is like when you want to be creating or writing something and then, yeah. Yeah. Just creating something just, just because you feel like you should have to put something on social media to, to have a presence. It is tiring. I, I would chuck that in there as well. I, I, looking at the nodding faces here, I think everybody would agree.. This probably is the number one. So what will, uh, I'm gonna jump ahead a bit because of, cuz of time, cause we went on a slight detour there. But there is one question that I wanna, I wanna throw, um, out there. And um, this is the one that, this is one that Tim came up with and it is, uh, slightly off top. It's not off topic, but it is, is there a gap for musical theater synth wave? And if so, what musical, or rather maybe what film would you adapt into a musical that would be synth wave based? So it could be any film or TV program, I guess, or maybe an event, um, that you would like to adapt for a synth wave musical theater. Um, so I'm gonna do the, uh, the, I'm sorry. Oh, I can't wait for this . Here we go. Let's do the so synth wave musical theater. And it's ended on me, but I've just answered.

Aisle9:

I will set these questions and I dunno what to answer them myself. Haven't thought about, we'll

Marc Matthews:

spin again. Oh no, it has, it is ended up on you. R r nine. Um, so I'll spin again, , and so I get someone who has a beat on, uh, neon Highway. There we go. There we go. So, neon Highway. What film would you adapt? All TV program into a synth wave Musical. Neon Highway Lab.. Neon Highway: Oh, I mean, I, do you know what Let it's. It's amazing already. It, it, it is. Got a great story to it. And we did that theater really well musically. You've got some crazy stuff going on with synthesizers in the movie already. The soundtrack's got all these really kinda dissonant arps going on and uh, all that kind of stuff in the background. You know, David Bowie songs aside, which are amazing. And that could be your cover versions. So I wouldn't like to have a go at trying to cover David Bowie, you know, do it at Disservice. Um, but all that, all that other stuff, the incidental music and the transitional stuff, some great santhy stuff in there already. Um, it would be an amazing piece of musical theater. And you've got the puppetry, you know, that people would just love all that stuff. Puppets jumping about the stage. You've got the, the chili on down song with the guys, with the red heads getting throwing up in the air. Oh, that's so cool. Amazing. Yeah, absolutely Amazing. No, that's a great choice. I never thought of labyrinth. Um, is it Jim, Jim Henson, isn't it? I'm sure it is. It does the puppetry in, in. Yes. Could be wrong. Yes. Yep. It is, isn't it? Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you on that one. If I had to choose, actually I would. Um, this is quite apt actually, cuz you've got the, the jumper there. I'd go with the Ghostbusters. I'd love to see like a synth wave. Ghostbusters like musical. Especially Ghostbusters too as well with Prince Vigo. I think Prince Vigo with some sort of like neon. It would be so good.. Neon Highway: It'd be, it'd and Ragner Rock, wouldn't he? It'd be like, it'd be more up into that kind of visual Prince vgo with these silver kinda high collars and, you know, Yeah, you can imagine the Statue of Liberty as well, or like lit up as when it, when it comes in at the end. Um, I totally go Ghostbusters too. I'll do one more spin. Uh, we'll get another one. Let's do another spin aisle L nine. There we go. All right. R nine. We'll, we'll let you answer your own question on this one cause I don't wanna spin it again. Um, , what would you select?

Aisle9:

Uh, I keep on thinking of sort of things that I, I'm just being obtuse and thinking of ones that really wouldn't work. Like sort of classic Charles Dickens and like sort of pride and prejudice and old sort of style. Like, you know, sort of like Dsy turns up and like, you know, by the lake or something, like these sort of things. And then suddenly it's just loads of cyber punk or something, you know, I just like sort of, I like the idea of just something that doesn't naturally fit the genre, but, you know, maybe we could do a synthy version of et I don't know. Um, but like, uh, you know, it's, it's, you know, some, some sort of all like, Yeah. And, and everything I think of is, is, is obtuse and wouldn't work, but like, you know, so that's not very helpful, is it? Like I said, the sound of music earlier, the synth way version.. . I'll leave it at that. That's Christmasy enough that, that actually reminded

Your Friend Esteves:

me of, uh, uh, if you guys watched, uh, Bridgeton and yeah,

Aisle9:

the song Bridge and the way they've made it, that that's a great choice.

Your Friend Esteves:

Yeah. So you could have actually replaced all those, uh, contemporary songs that they've played with, uh, classic arrangements, but do like a neon sinwei version of Bridger and

Aisle9:

uh, well mean that was an interesting point though, cuz Oh, there was another one that they did, there was a period drum where they did quite a lot of this kind of modern stuff like music in it. And, and I did actually really like it. It's funny, it's like, you know, Bridgeton was quite groundbreaking in lots of ways in that way, like trying to break a lot of boundaries. I think it bizarrely it works really well, you know, so maybe, yeah. The next way up is to sort of take something like that period drama and mix it up and put lots of dystopian weirdness in it. Yeah, that'd be good. And Neon Loveliness combo. The two. Yeah.. Yeah.

Marc Matthews:

I like, I like some of that. And going back to the Pride and Prejudice as well. I'm sure there was a like a, a zombie version of that. I'm sure there is or something. So I'm sure, I'm sure there is . Uh, I, I'm not the look, it's really popular.

Totta:

Yeah. I, I knew there was Pride and Prejudice and was zombies.

Marc Matthews:

Yeah. Yeah. I, I thought, I thought I wasn't going crazy. I knew it existed. Sorry. I mean, it, it's been adopted another way, so I'm sure it can be done. There you go. That's a challenge for 2023. Find, find someone who's willing to do or find someone else who'll do all that work. And you say, yeah, I'll score it for you. That's what you want some Is that something along those lines? That'd be, that'd be good. Um. folks because at the end I want to play the Christmas Jing, not jingles, that's disservice size. Christmas songs from Tota and Aisle nine. I'm just, um, we'll include that in the 12 days of synths. It's, it's a loose 12, this number. Um, as, as time is getting away from us. But there is one question that I wanna throw in there, and this is, um, quite, quite, quite a good one. What music production or songwriting tool or technique could you not live without and why? So what music production, songwriting tool or technique could you not live without and why? Excluding a D A W. Cause I put this out on the Facebook community and somebody came out with d a w and I shot myself in the foot. So, uh, so eliminating the door, you cannot, you cannot use door. Um, so I've gotta spit it. Oh, it's got, it is ended up on you, Tim. So I've gotta spin it again cause you just answered.

Neon Highway:

You've right Estem. It's just like that. You kicked me, kicked me off the podcast.. Totta: Well, yeah. Oh

Marc Matthews:

yeah. Sorry, . It's just, just on your friend Estevez. It was gonna go I nine again. Um, your friend Estevez as Jao, what music production tool or technique or songwriting could you not live without or hardware? We check hardware in there as well. Cause you've got a lot there.

Your Friend Esteves:

Yeah. Um, I could live without the hardware. I mean, you could, you only need is the computer. Uh, now that you've eliminated that answer and the door have to go deeper, um, I, I

Aisle9:

was

Your Friend Esteves:

thinking. I'm gonna exclude hardware because I can definitely live without, but within the doll there are certain vsts that absolutely have to be there. They're just make life so much easier. Um, and I was trying to figure out which one do I love the most? And I'm gonna go really basic for a moment, but you have to remember life before you have virtual instruments where you could like just compose. Nowadays, I, I, I grab a mini keyboard and like get something there and change the sound until I hit the sound. I like for that particular phrase for me, like, now rewind 40 years without that, and then you all of a sudden you have this, it sounds like magic. And I think that for me, and uh, and since I've started writing music, that has been the thing that I absolutely love the most. And it's just priceless. Uh, especially when you. To, to complete my answer. I do work with a lot of analog gear and so I experience the pain of sometimes not having that. So when, when I feel lazy, I just do that and God, it's so much easier, . But, uh, yeah, I still, I still love the hardware. Marc Matthews: Fantastic. Great answer there. Yeah, um, I would agree on that. I don't have any hardware unfortunately. Um, so I'm, I'm totally in the box, but yeah, I, I, I'd very much be the same. I think when I have had instances where hardware has been available more so with regards to like mixing when I've had, uh, sort of, um, hardware compressors and hardware reverb units and stuff, and I still find myself. Sat in front of the computer at a big SSL duality desk and I was still using Waves plugins, you know, um, for me, I'm gonna answer that question. I think the one, um, VST actually that I wouldn't, I couldn't live without and I use on pretty much every mix I do, is the SSL Mix Bus Compressor By Waves. Absolutely love that plugin. Same. Um, fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. I thought you were an average user. It's brilliant, isn't it? And it's on every mix bus. It is. Um, I, I absolutely love it. It's such, such a, and it's so cheap as well. It's like 29 point 99, um, dollars, I think. Wait, that equates to, um, we'll do another spin. We'll get another, we'll get another one from someone. Oh, Typhon Typhoon. What, uh, could you not live without?

Typherion:

Um, my guitar, cuz uh, my workflow is so heavily dependent on me starting out there and then keying in everything into midi, um, because I don't have any keyboards or anything like that. So my guitar is essentially my keyboard.. And so if I don't have that, then I'm essentially handicapped. Like I can't, I I wouldn't be able to like hop into a mid editor and I don't use any preset arps either. I write all mine from scratch. So yeah, it, it would've to be my guitar. Yeah.

Marc Matthews:

Yeah. That's so cool. So you're writing all your a from scratch, so you're writing the a, I remember having this conversation I saw online where you mentioned A and Egio, cuz being a guitarist as well. Yes. Um, I knew exactly what you meant . So you're writing Yeah. You're writing them on guitar and then transposing them into, into MIDI and doing it that way. Yeah,

Typherion:

yeah, yeah. I just write the, the, the riffs or Arps or something like that, and then I just put them into midi because I don't know, I just have so much more control over the sound if I just write it myself and then, yeah. I, I don't know, I, I'm just so much more comfortable with the guitar as well. Mm. So, uh, yeah, it just, it just makes sense.

Aisle9:

Yeah.

Neon Highway:

Is your, is your guitar acting like a hard, is acting like a hardware controller in the same way that I sent with, is that how you're inputting it into

Marc Matthews:

medic?

Typherion:

Uh, no. So actually I just, I actually just jam out on the guitar and then I use my mouse to just open up the key editor and I just click into, I, I have my guitar hold, I hold it and I just like figure out the note and then I put each individual note in like

Aisle9:

that. Um, at some point, at some point Typhoon, I will have to send you, there's, there's, there's a plugin that I've tried once, which is a mid jamming sort of plugin type thing and I've forgotten which one it is now. Cause some of them are terrible. But this one I tried and you can basically just play your guitar and it converts it into mid with no extra bits at all. Nothing, no, you know, extra hardware. and it didn't, it surprisingly good job of it. And I was like, I really ought to be using this more often.

Typherion:

You know, I, I've, I've been on the market for like, I've been looking at like mid pickups and things like that, that I can get installed into my guitar, but that also seems like a bit of a hassle, but this actually sounds pretty cool. Okay, cool. Am I, am I

Aisle9:

message you then? Yeah. On that? Yeah. Yeah. If I can find remember what it is, yeah. It might be worth it.

Marc Matthews:

Cool, cool. Fantastic. Thanks, Tye. Yeah, that's, um, I, I need to do more of that, man. I need to being a, I dunno why I don't do it. Having played guitar for, since I was 14, so almost 20 years. And when I'm songwriting, I've sat here with a mini keyboard. I'm not even a pianist and I play guitar. I'm like, why, why don't I just play guitar? I'm like, and do that. I need to do more of that. Um, so we're coming towards the hour mark. So as part of the 12 days of synth, um, we've got two Christmas songs and, um, We will, uh, let's go with, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna ask you just to sort of introduce the song and the name of the song and maybe just a tiny bit about it. So we've got two, uh, so we've got one from to, and we've got one from aisle nine. So we're gonna play them all the way through and then, um, play the next one all the way through, uh, with a bit of a chat in between. So let's go, uh, tota. So do you wanna tell the audience a bit about your Christmas song, when maybe when it's gonna be released, or the release date? Cause this is probably gonna come out afterwards. And the name of the track and a bit about

Totta:

it. Right, so the track is called Angels Singh. Uh, very not creative because it's all I sing in the chorus. I feel like, uh, it's getting officially released on the 1st of December, so this is a bit of a sneak preview premiere and some fun facts. I guess. I finally, I am, well, I know I spoke about killing your darlings and earlier episodes and such, and being all like, oh, cut, cut out things that you don't need. Uh, try to keep it tight, but I'm fucking obsessed with vocals and I'm fucking obsessed with harmonies and I'm fucking obsessed with choirs. So I finally gathered an I R L choir for this. I just got all of my friends that could sing, made him come to my studio, made my audio engineer come record and sing himself in that choir too. Um, and tried to build my own little Christmas choir out of them. There are only seven people, but found cool ways to manipulate it, to add layers of them on top of each other. So just, yeah, I'm really proud of my friends for joining. Sounds really corny. Uh, no,

Marc Matthews:

that's b. Okay, so I'm gonna play it now. This is the first time I've ever played a song back using this platform. So if it doesn't work, if you don't hear anything, just holler. I'm hoping it will. This is the first time we've done this, so let's give it a go now. The transitions have been working, so let's see it. So this is Angels Sing.

Totta:

Our stars wait for Christmas time. It's quiet. Yes, we see the. I'll be wait for Christmas time. You fall. Everybody now come on down. Come on down, down on, down on. Come on. Down, down.

Marc Matthews:

Yeah. There we go. Excellent. Uh, apologies. So done. Awesome. Thank you. Fantastic.. Awesome. So good. Having never done that before, um, I should give us some sort of activity to do or something other the screens. Cuz to be it's very odd. I've never played music back on the podcast before so I don't really know what to do while it's playing. Um, but that was brilliant. I love that, that bit at the end there as well. Totally caught me off guard. That's fantastic. I feel it incredibly festive. Oh, I love it. Right. That's absolutely brilliant. Yeah. There we go. So that is Angels. I'll put a link in in the episode description in show notes for, for that as well so the audience can go and check it out. Um, cuz I think this episode's gonna come out after the release date, but, uh, we'll, we'll, we'll chuck that in there. No, that's fantastic. There we go. All right. R nine, you've got, um, you are the one coming up next. Uh, let's a bit a bit about your music, a bit about your Christmas song, Tim. What have we got?

Aisle9:

Well, it was, it is called Christmas 84. It's coming out on the 2nd of December, so on the Friday. Um, and it, it's, . It's basically a look back at what Christmas was like in my memory, certainly from 1984, which I actually do remember just about. So there we go. Um, and, uh, it was, it was that kind of sort of thing of like a little bit like, I think we look at these things with Rose Center spectacle was obviously because nostalgia is like that a little bit, which is kind of good. It's kind of nice. So I was sort of thinking about that a little bit and, and the nostalgia vibes of Christmas. But also like, there are a few lyrics in there about like, things like the minor strike and things like that. Things that we were going through that weren't, weren't nice, you know, it wasn't all, um, a, a lovely time, but like, so it's a bit. Bit of a mixture of those things. It also managed to get in absolutely loads of eighties song references in there. So you can try and pick out as many of them out of the lyrics as you can find. And you know, there's definitely a lot of eighties like influence on it, like sort of retro pop influence on it there. But like, yeah, I've never written a Christmas song before. I hate them. So I dunno what got me into it. But like I somehow got caught up in it all. Toto was writing what Mark said, and I just thought, duh, stop being sort of funny about this. And maybe just like write something and enjoy it. And I really did enjoy it. So there we go. And my daughter sort of sung on it as well. She helped me with a bit of vocals on the, um, chorus. Mainly just so that cool. Maui couldn't say that I was singing like a girl, cuz he mainly says that. So I just thought like, I'll, I'll actually get a girl to sing it , you know, then he can't say that, you know? Um, but , no. So it was great fun. It was really good. And um, you know, I, I think it's a little bit, it's a very Christmasy song, but with a slight twist with the lyrical kind of thing. So I think, but you know, somebody wants, somebody said to me, worryingly, I dunno if this is good or bad, they said it's like Eurasia made a Christmas album and this was the title track and I thought, I'm not sure if I'm happy with that comment or not, but there we go. I

Neon Highway:

think it sounds very O md.

Aisle9:

Omd. That's better. I'll take omd anytime.. Marc Matthews: Right This is, um, I remember that, I think that was one of the Instagram lies we having in this conversation about Christmas songs. And I think off the back of it, I decided I was gonna do something. Um, Much to my behas now cause it's absorbed my life. Um, yeah, this is Christmas 84 by aisle nine.

Totta:

A photograph from Christmas, just a young boy standing in the will. I remember when try know it's Christmas cry with no women dancing in the dark underneath that in a. Photograph from

Aisle9:

Christmas. In

Totta:

the glass still looks like mine. Looks like mine. And

Aisle9:

fancy free

Totta:

with music and guitars to fill. Precious call hanging stockings on the wall from I've watched the Queen three pool on

Marc Matthews:

tv.

Aisle9:

Fall asleep with

Totta:

mic. So,

Marc Matthews:

Yeah. There we go. Very, very good. Thank you. Some, some fantastic. I say some. It's two. Two fantastic Christmas songs there. Um, those squidgy electronics. Tim, what are they? Forgot. No, which was it? Like I, I, yeah, in the breakdown there's like some squidgy electronic thing. This is R nine, just, um, neon Iwi described it as Squidge Electronics, and that's what it sounds like. It's like I can't even make the noise. Yeah.. Aisle9: Yeah. Yeah. Weird shit. I know. Yeah. Sort of Is it since basically Yeah. Yeah. But like, yeah, here we go. And for me, some guitars and stuff, but yeah. Squidgy Electronics is a good description. Yeah.

Typherion:

Mark, on your next song, you gotta go wheel. Neon Highway: That seems Charlie the Cat. Remember? Totta: Carly says

Your Friend Esteves:

this is why Mark doesn't have any hardware. He doesn't need. Yeah.

Totta:

I don't need it. I've

Aisle9:

got me. I felt like the bvs weren't quite as exciting as the entire choir of Angels from Tokyo. It's like I was trying to do a choir of angels on my own, you know? It wasn't really quite as impressive. Yeah, sounded great. Yeah, I like that. That I, I mean that's one of the things, isn't it? Like vocal choirs are great fun to do that kind

Marc Matthews:

of thing. That was fantastic. Um, thank you both for sharing. It's, it's great to, to play that back on the podcast and I think it's something of maybe by these Sy Powell's virtual pub things we incorporate a bit more cuz um, it's not a function that I thought was available on this platform that I use and now I know it is. Um, if anyone ever has like, maybe we, this Christmas, we'll do the full song. Maybe it's just like a snippet of a track that they're releasing or something. I think that might be quite cool to check at the end, but, uh, we can discuss that off there. Um, so as usual with this we'll just, we'll just go round and then you can do the usual where they, cuz if it we're not gonna hear your track. Listen to the podcast now. Well, we're not gonna hear yours. Oh, it's not ready. Oh, it's not ready. It's not ready. Unfortunately, what I'll do is I will put it at the end maybe of this. It's um, it's a labor of love now. It really is. Still Daddy Quey.

Neon Highway:

Bit. Marc Matthews: I know. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go back to it. And Jo, I'm gonna get rid of Johnny's guitar. Sailor, just have me going over the whole thing instead.. He'll love that. Or maybe harmonize with it. I'll probably harmonize with his guitar. Maybe. I don't know. Um, Tim, where can our audience find you online?

Aisle9:

Um, at Nine Music. Um, if you are looking for my socials, basically you find me pretty much everywhere apart from Twitter, which is at Aisle nine, synth Wave. Um, uh, then, um, they can find me on aisle nine, Spotify, apple Diesel, wherever you want to be.

Marc Matthews:

Fantastic, uh, neon Highway. Same question at

Neon Highway:

Neon Highway Sy on Instagram, and pretty much everything goes from there.

Marc Matthews:

Fantastic. Uh, tota, you'll find

Totta:

out my music on any streaming platform, Spotify, apple Music and such. Just under Tota and any of my social media's is Tata's Voice.

Marc Matthews:

Fantastic. Uh, your friend Estevez,

Your Friend Esteves:

your friend Estevez with an S at the end and and except for Twitter because it's a really long tag. So it's yf Estevez and yeah, same thing, all streaming services, but I do encourage people to go to bank, come first and support artists there.

Marc Matthews:

Fantastic. And finally, last but know least Tyrian. Yeah.

Typherion:

Um, all streaming services, uh, on Instagram is tyrian dot exe. Um, and then. Uh, yeah, everywhere else Typhoon. If you Google search Typhoon, I think I'm the first thing that comes up, which is cool. You'd think like a gladiator would come up or something. Right? But, uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's just me. So, Marc Matthews: sorry, folks. Big thank you for this. Um, it's been fantastic. It's a new way of doing things, um, and it's been great and I hope you have a great Christmas and I'll catch up with you all soon. Hi, this is Philip from Year of the Fall. Um, my favorite episode of the Inside the Mix podcast is episode number 33 with the amazing artist Tata, because I felt, um, yeah, very inspired when she talked about her concept album Pool House dot exe, which is centered around the storyline of a, um, yeah, simulation program gone wrong, and the person going on a journey through different levels of this simulation program and who's unable to, to wake up. And it's an amazing album with, uh, great music and inspiring lyrics. But yeah, the fact that the entire album takes place in this imaginary space adds such an interesting dimension to the music and the lyrics. So, yeah. Congratulations, Tata, to this amazing album and congratulations, mark, to this amazing podcast in which you keep finding inspiring artists like Tata.

Totta:

Come down happy home, but it's not like Christmas.

Introductions
What is your favourite plugin of 2022? (Neon Highway)
How do you overcome writer's block? (Your Friend Esteves)
What is the best music production or songwriting lesson you learned in 2022? (Totta)
How do you get constructive feedback on a song? (Aisle9)
What is your preferred release format (single, EP, album) and why? (Typherion)
Room 101 with the Synth Pals Pub
Is there a gap for musical theatre in synthwave and what film/TV/event would you adapt? (Neon Highway)
What music production tool or technique could you not live without and why? (Your Friend Esteves)
Connect with the featured artists

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