Double-O On Making “Spirit Animal” [VIDEO]
January 19, 2011
Diddy may have taken the last train to Paris but Double-O caught the last flight. “After we finished the next Kidz In The Hall EP I stepped back to do my own thing for a while,” he says from his home studio in New York. “I went to Paris and got inspired. I came back and put some emotion into some keys.”
In part 1 of Nodfactor.com’s interview he talks about his new solo project Spirit Animal and shows us what he uses to put together a live show. “When Naledge and I do a show it’s not about two turntables and a mic anymore, because it’s boring.”
Check out a sneak peek of a new Kidz In The Hall track “So Amzin’”
Master Of The Mix Talib Remix Battle [VIDEO]
December 23, 2010
Smirnoff’s Master of The Mix wrapped with DJ Scratch declared the winner. However, this was one of the coolest parts of the series, when the three DJ/producers had to remix a Talib Kweli acapella.
Viewers were given a sneak peak inside of their respective recording spaces, including Scratch’s lab Area-51.
See more videos and full episodes at MasterOfTheMix.com
Drake’s Producer 40: “Kanye Cussed Me Out One Day For Jacking His Sound”
November 17, 2010
While my cover story with Dr. Dre got the most attention in the 2010 Juice issue of Vibe, buried somewhere in the back was a one-pager I did with Drake’s producers 40 and Boi-1da. Though it wasn’t the first time I’d interviewed Boi-1da (Read that interview here) it was my first time chatting with Noah “40″ Shebib, so I had a lot of questions. Some of our conversation was a little too gear-heavy for the readers of Vibe so you know I had to save those jewels for the Nodfactor faithful.
With the fam at Vibe well onto their next issue I now present the full transcript of my interview with 40 where he goes into detail about how he got into engineering, production, “biting” Kanye West and what exactly he uses to make his beats sound the way they do.
“I spend a lot of time manipulating my sounds. A lot of the time people think I’m using a Pad and I’m really using a totally distorted and EQ’d, reverbed, tricked out delayed piano”- 40
Nodfactor.com: Starting from the beginning….How did you get the name 40?
40: The first major label project I did in Canada was for this artist named Jelly Stone. He was like a super gangster rapper up here. And those guys didn’t really use government names too much. I gotta nickname hanging around that project pretty quick and that was my first major label project so all of my first credits were credited as 40 and I kept it that way ever since. It’s “40 Days and 40 Nights.” Those guys used to fall asleep in the studio knocking out and wake up at ten am and I’d still be working. And they’d be “your work never stops. You work for 40 Days and 40 Nights.” Plus my name is Noah, right. So then with the Noah’s Ark (raining for 40 Days) and they named me 40.
When did you start making music professionally?
I’ve been playing piano since I was 5 years old and I’ve been into mathematics and physics my whole life. Hooking up the VCRs when I was 8 years old was my job around the house. I was a professional actor when I was young. I did a lot of American feature films when I was young. By the time I was 13 I was able to afford equipment and was self-taught. By the time I was 18…I grew up in a good neighborhood that bordered on a really bad one. I went to a school in Toronto called Trevis which is a local audio engineering school. I was there for about half a course when I realized that I was ahead of a lot of the stuff I was doing. The guy that created the curriculum there is a guy named Gadget. He’s a legendary Toronto hip-hop Godfather. He’s this tall Jamaica dude with dreds who ran the scene up here forever and I got him to mix four songs on Thank Me Later:”Light Up,”" Shut It Dwon,” “Miss Me” and “Unforgettable.”
When I was 19 or 20 Gadg was looking for an intern. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and because I had the highest marks in the school and my teacher came to me and said “I think you’re the most qualified and you actually know ProTools” do you want to do it? I said of course. So he taught me everything I know from mixing and engineering and tracking and working with artists and etiquette and the business. Gadget worked for Chris Smith, who is Nellie Furtado’s manager. Chris Smith is probably the most powerful black man in the Canadian music industry and Gadget was his A&R and his set of ears, so I came up in that company professionally working with Nellie, FEFE Dobson and Jelly Stone.
What kind of acting did you do?
I was in Sophia Copalla’s first feature film The Virgin Suicide’s. I actually got a lead in that. I shot 30 of the 31 days. My character was Parkie Denton. If you watch the Virgin Suicide’s you’ll definitely see 40. There’s a bunch of other shit but nothing notable. Not much commercial work. The Sprite commercial was the only one I’ve ever done.
I stopped acting when I was about 18 because I was too busy smoking dope before auditions and not actually giving a fuck and being more concerned with music. Plus these other kids were actually studying their lines and getting acting coaches.
Me and Drake laugh about it all the time that we’re both professional actors and that is a point of interest. I understand what he went through but I don’t think it was relevant at all in our music.
What is the secret to the Sound of 40 ?
There is a secret but I can’t tell you. Nobody’s figured it out. I don’t know why because it’s so simple. You know who else does it? There’s only one other person I’ve seen do it with my own eyes. I had their sessions and I knew what their engineer was doing. And That’s Kanye’s engineer Drew. When I got the “Find Your Love” session I said “Oh shit you guys do it too?” I hope they don’t think I’m biting them.
There are more similarities between me and Ye on 808s and So Far Gone than to Thank Me Later. Ye cussed me out one day about jacking his sound. “40 I don’t think you should be in the studio right now because you might just hear my new shit and subconsciously steal my new shit and it wouldn’t even be your fault.” I can’t even be mad at him because the last CD I listened to was 808s & Heartbrteak before I started doing So Far Gone. I swear to God I haven’t listened to a CD since other than Erykah Badu’s new album which I love. That’s it. I try not to listen to too much music because I don’t want to be subconsciously influenced and he’s 100% right about that. But at the end of the day I think that’s what music is. We take influence from different people and we put it all together the best we can. Ye has been an influence to me but not too much. Not in my drum programming or anything. I just think he hit something for me on “Say You Will” that I fell in love with. I think I’ve been running with it a little bit, I’m not afraid to admit that. But to say that I haven’t brought my own swag to it? My favorite shit is Jodeci. Ye doesn’t make fuckin slow jams. I make R&B music. Even if I do take his sound a little bit I don’t think he’s done anything that sounds like “Successful.” That’s me liking Jermaine Dupri throwback R&B records and 90s records like Ginuwine.
So what exactly do you do then?
I spend a lot of time manipulating my sounds. A lot of the time people think I’m using a Pad and I’m really using a totally distorted and EQ’d, reverbed, tricked out delayed piano. But I do use a lot of Pads. I don’t pitch my drums. That’s a misinterpretation of what I’m actually doing. I’m not really heavy on reverb. I keep Drake’s vocals dry. I don’t use arpeggiators. I play all of my arpeggiations myself. I actually have the dexterity to run up and down the piano like a jazz solo. When it comes to hitting an arpeggiator I’d rather just play myself.
I’m so unorthodox it’s not even funny. I’m a diehard Protools user. I exclusively used Pro Tools for all of my productions. I create and build all of my midi sequences in ProTools. I use a lot of soft synths. To be honest with you pretty much the only synth I use is Xpand, which is a stock ProTools plugin. “Successful,” “Houstalantavegas” “Unforgettable” came out of Xpand 2 in Pro tools 8. The point is Xpand is a very simple stock ProTools synthesizer that they give you for free with Pro Tools. But because I spend so much time editing and tweaking my sounds I’m able to get them to a [certain place.]
What’s it like mixing Boi 1da?
It’s way more fun mixing someone else’s beat. It’s much harder to mix your own material. You have your own perception of what the beat is supposed to sound like so it’s harder to take it where it needs to go. Because 1der has a lack of engineering background he gives me a lot of room to play with so I just go off on his shit. I’ve mixed a lot of his records. Me and Drake actually met for the very first time working with an artist named Divine Brown who was also on Chris Smith’s roster. I got my first gold record with her. I produced three songs on her album and we did a remix with Boi 1da and we put Drake on it. That’s the first time I met Drake.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in the studio and how did you fix it?
I’m an engineer, not a careless producer. So I’ve never made an irreversible mistake. Not recorded a vocal , never missed a take. The worst thing I ever did on this album is that I recorded vocals in a 48K session with my clock set to 44 so when I played it back it was playing way fast. So to fix that you have to do some maneuvering within ProTools as far as exporting the file at the wrong sample rate and then reimporting it back at a different sample rate to trick it and make it do the conversion. That took about 25 minutes or half and hour and I had to turn to Drake when he said “ why the fuck does this sound like that?” and I said “Chill, it’s at the wrong sample rate give me ten minutes.”
At first I was like “I need two rigs; one running at 44, one running at 48 and I’m gonna do a dump and it’s gonna match up.” But there was an easier way that I figured out. Drake is super spoiled. The bastard won’t work with anyone else. I will track him til the day I die.
How important is it for an artist to work with one engineer/producer?
First thing is that I’ve been with Drake since the very beginning of his career and I didn’t produce anything. Like on Come Back Season I didn’t produce one fucking thing except the intro. That wasn’t my role.
We started looking for this music and he was turning down hundreds of beats and I realized what sound he was going for. So I said fuck it I might as well do it. I didn’t have a reason to make beats until then. Finally I had a reason. That coupled with the fact that I control all of Drake’s music. I have all of his drives and his entire catalog from day one. No one has ever touched his sessions. So at the end of the day the responsibility of A&Ring and gathering his projects has always been mine whether I was producing it or not. So producing became an easy progression. We have a great level of trust because I’ve been doing it since day one. Most engineers suffer from artists telling them what to do though they’ve never touched a fucking EQ. We have a very different dynamic that way. Even if I don’t produce something I put a twist on it to make sure it fits. None of this was premeditated.
Have you tailored this sound for Drake?
At this point in time the only rappers I have any interest in working with outside of Drake are Wayne and Jay. And that’s from Drake’s mouth. I think Drake has been so instrumental in creating that sound that I have a commitment to him. If he doesn’t’ want me to give it away I won’t. Me and Wonda differ that way very much so. Wonder’s trying to place records and expand his reach in the world of hip-hop. But my ambitions are to stay focused with Drake and when it comes time to start developing another artist I’ll make that move at that point. But going after placements is definitely not my M.O. I don’t like that game. I haven’t signed a publishing deal yet. Every publishing company in the United States is having a nervous breakdown. What are you gonna do for me other than lend me money? And I have way too many friends in the hood that can lend me just as much and their interest rates are way better. Why am I gonna take money from you? If Universal Music publishing is already working “Successful” why do I need them to work on my side? They’re already working it. I have a very unorthodox attitude toward the whole business and even my situation.
Do you at least have a manager?
Hip-Hop since 1978 represents me. You always need management. This business is a mob. Better be part of it if you wanna win. IE Alicia Keys, please believe if G Roberson wasn’t my manager, they would have had Drake in to write and I wouldn’t have done the record. But because they represent me they said we want 40 to produce the record. I need ‘em. I need ‘em bad. Me and G and Al really see eye-to-eye musically and creatively and it’s really refreshing.
I feel blessed. I’m a kid from Toronto. I’ve been driving my mom’s station wagon for the last 8 years for real. I’m not in this for all the bullshit. I’m trying to make a career for myself and not flush it down the toilet. I’m not saying what 1da’s doing is wrong we’re just different that way. I’m cool where I’m at.
Stadium Red Breathes New Life Into New York Hip-Hop Scene[VIDEO]
October 2, 2010
The Recording studio is dead, long live the recording studio.
There is a new renaissance brewing in Harlem. On the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue the studio space originally opened by Jazz great Ornette Coleman is making a bold leap into the future.
On this night musicians, songwriters and producers are gathered at Stadium Red to celebrate the studio’s expansion and to formally welcome it’s newest occupant, Just Blaze.
“10 hours ago this was a construction war zone,” says a sleepy Just Blaze in the midst of a celebration at Stadium Red. “There was dust and tools and parts. These walls were all taken down so we could install the monitoring system. I’m running on 90 minutes of sleep.”
Over the years advances in recording technology have made large recording studios less necessary and cost effective causing many to close down. Late last year Just Blaze officially shut down the studio Roc-A-Fella Records made famous, Baseline, leaving a gaping hole in the creative community that gave birth to hip-hop. But looking to the future Just moved his entire operation uptown to Stadium Red.
“The interesting thing about closing Baseline…a lot of studios were closing because they couldn’t pay their rent and the changes in the music industry. We weren’t at that point but I had to look ahead,” says Just. “Where are we going to be in five or ten years? These answers you really don’t know so it came to a point where I said I might shut this down but what we do has to go on.”
As providence would have it his old friend and fellow engineer Ariel Borujow (Resident Ask The Pro Specialist) put Just in touch with Claude Zdanow, owner of Stadium Red who was looking to expand. The result is a fully expanded facility with some modern touches that still pays homage to the past.
Innovations like actual monitors in the recording booths instead of two-way glass will allow the studio to be completely networked.
“We don’t have to worry about sound bouncing off of glass while they’re recording their vocals. You can be in any room and have a direct line of site to the engineer. If you want to do drums in the live room and record them in my room, no problem.”
While Just was concerned that folks wouldn’t make the hike all the way uptown so they added personal touches like a full service kitchen with a chef to make it the ultimate “destination spot.”
“I just come and getaway from the girlfriend,” jokes Double-O. “This is what I call the Superman cave. It’s one of the best studios in the city. Plus everyone in Harlem wants to be an MC so you know it’ll stay open!”
While Double is having some fun there is a hope that what he says is true. Already artists like Donnie Goines have made the studio their home and Omen has been part of the Stadium Red in-house team for years.
“We’ll be making some more enhancements,” says Omen, who has just added the Native Instruments Maschine to his production arsenal. “So look out for an enhancement party soon.”
Watch Nodfactor.com’s exclusive video from the Stadium Red expansion party:
Apollo Brown Makes A Beat From Scratch [VIDEO]
September 1, 2010
Apollo Brown gives fans an intimate look at what goes on in the box when he lays down his highly sought-after beats. He takes the audience through a step-by-step lesson on how he puts together a beat starting with the sampling and building all the way up to a polished beat. He starts off with a soulful throwback hook for a sample and blends with a basic but raw drum beats that blend fluidly into another hit for the always-busy producer.
Download The Reset Instrumentals for free here:
http://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/the-reset-instrumentals
Lee Majors Talks Ricky Rozay’s “Free Mason”
August 10, 2010
BTS: Rick Ross - Free Mason feat. Jay-Z & John Legend from Duy Nguyen on Vimeo.
In this very brief clip Lee Majors of “The Inkredibles” gives a little background info on
how he got into producing and talks about the beat that turned out to be Ross’s
“Free Mason”.
Bun B & DJ Premier, “Let ‘Em Know” [VIDEO]
July 30, 2010
Promo video for Bun B’s “Let Em Know” produced by DJ Premier. Trill O.G. is in stores August 3rd. (props to 2dopeboyz)
VIDEO: Show Plays Beats in the Studio w/ Preemo
June 29, 2010
DITC’s Show (B-I-Z) plays some instrumentals from his upcoming LP, Risk Taker, while DJ Premier busts down some dinner. The dude went and flipped The Halo video game background music into a beat. Crazy.
SHOWBIZ PLAYING BEATZ! W/ DJ PREMIER from A/V PRENEURS on Vimeo.
Ask The Pro #3 “Phase O”
April 13, 2010
Even the best producers need help and with the constant changes and updates to music production software and hardware the most dedicated novice can become frustrated. In Nodfactor.com’s continued dedication to developing and showcasing the best production talent we have resurrected ASK THE PRO Question and Answer series previously published in Scratch magazine. One of the original contributing engineers, Ariel Borujow, will be answering your technical questions with speed and accuracy. So send them over to [email protected] with the subject “Ask The Pro” and keep checking back to Nodfactor.com for Ariel’s answers. You can also follow Ariel on Twitter @arielborujow and hit him with questions there as well!
Send your mixing and mastering questions to [email protected] with the subject line “Ask The Pro”
Ask The Pro #2 “Muddy Waters”
March 8, 2010
Even the best producers need help and with the constant changes and updates to music production software and hardware the most dedicated novice can become frustrated. In Nodfactor.com’s continued dedication to developing and showcasing the best production talent we have resurrected ASK THE PRO Question and Answer series previously published in Scratch magazine. One of the original contributing engineers, Ariel Borujow, will be answering your technical questions with speed and accuracy. So send them over to [email protected] with the subject “Ask The Pro” and keep checking back to Nodfactor.com for Ariel’s answers.
How the heck do I put sub bass in a track without getting that “muddy” sound?
There are some variables that help determine how the sub will get mixed. The one being most important is the sounds that you choose in the production phase of the song. I can’t stress this enough. It all starts off with the right sounds and arrangement. Plenty of times i get songs that have so much going on in the low frequency range that I suggest to the producer to cut certain things out depending on the working relationship we have. For instance if there are 2 types of 808 then a bass that covers the same frequency range, it would be really hard to distinguish what is going on in the low end. Other times if the kick drum occupies the same frequencies as the sub I would then use a high pass filter on the kick and get rid of the sub frequencies (maybe 60 Hz and below). Also the right amount of compression helps tame the low end tremendously. I don’t usually use too much compression on my mixes but even if I add anywhere from 2:1-4:1 ratio, medium to slow attack and slow release it helps control the peaks without over compressing therefore the low end “breathes” more.
How can I tell if my vocals/mix is “in phase?
I have to assume that what you are talking about is background vocals because that is the one thing that people have trouble with when it comes to phasing. The easiest way to check this is to reference your mix in mono. What you will hear once you do that is your vocals will cancel out which mean you will not hear them. Sometimes this happens because you might be over using an imaging plug in such as the S1. The wider you go on the imaging with the plug in, you will notice this more. When i mix, and i use the imager what i do is listen in mono as frequently as possible. Mixes as a whole occupy and 3 dimensional field of hearing. Be very concious about your panning and keeping things within that dimension. As long as you keep all this into consideration, you should have no problem with phasing. Its takes time to learn but the more practice and mixes you accomplish, the more apparent all this becomes.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER