randombeats.com » Music

NIN – The Beginning of the End(Karl D Mix)

karl — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:36:04 +0000

The latest focus for my efforts has been another Nine Inch Nails song. Of the material available for producers on the NIN site, the two songs I was most interested in remixing were “Lights in the Sky“, and “The Beginning of the End”. “Lights in the Sky” was a pretty experimental project and took some time to develop, but “The Beginning” I knew almost right away how I wanted it to sound. It’s taken a while to get my vision tracked accurately, but this is pretty representative of how I originally thought about my remix. The ghostly sounding pads’ melody for the chorus is an element I knew I would add right away, and it sounds almost exactly the way it did in my head.

The tempo is maintained at the original 140 BPM in this mix, replacing guitars for a glitchy, persistent bassline which I think adds a “marchy” quality to the song. I really like the breakdown near the end which then tears back in to the main chorus’ melody, without Trent’s vocals on the second round. Short and sweet, but not short on excitement.

NIN – The Beginning Of The End(Karl D mix)

Update: This remix is now also live on the NIN official remix site here: http://remix.nin.com/play/mix?id=20407

Old Tracks: Funk Phenomena

karl — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:13:51 +0000

An early experiment with jungle, using a well-known Redman sample. I love the big bass hits in here, and the keyboard gives a really old-school feel. Lots of complex amen breaks, from a time when I thought it was important to make them that complex.

Karl D – Funk Phenomena

NIN – Lights in the Sky(Karl D Ambient Dub)

karl — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:04:00 +0000

“Finally”, you shout at the computer, “Some new content on randombeats.com!”

I’ve been working on this for quite some time now, probably since the last piece of music that was posted here. I wanted to start doing more remixes of other artists’ work, and with NIN having some of the most accessible source material around, I decided to start there.

I wanted to start with “Lights in the Sky” because it was my favorite track from The Slip. “Lights in the Sky” is an incredibly challenging piece of music to work with, firstly because of the slow 55 BPM tempo, and because of the dull chords throughout the track. I’ve heard one or two other really neat mixes of this song, but my mix adds(rather than subtracts) to the track in very subtle ways. I added some bass effects throughout the track, with some extra-deep bass during the chorus. Trent’s vocals also have a slight glitch effect applied to them, which gives the song a much more synthetic feel to it.

NIN – Lights in the Sky(Karl D mix)

Update: This remix is now also live on the NIN official remix site here: http://remix.nin.com/play/mix?id=19799

I am working on another NIN remix, but I won’t say what or when it’s coming! Be on the lookout!

By the numbers

karl — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:03:51 +0000

Yes, it’s been a while since the last update here. That dosen’t mean I’m not working hard on bringing you some more fresh new music!

In the meantime, I thought I’d sum up our journey together so far. It’s pretty amazing to me what has happened with this site; it’s been through a total of 3 iterations over the years, including a music-news centric site, to a dj-mix focused site, to this. This current version of the site, focusing on production, has been the most comfortable for me.

So far, I have published 61 individual random beats spread among 5 volumes. This alone counts for about 2 and a half hours of free music. When you count all the EPs that have been released(both as standalones, like Red Time, as well as the 2 remix EPs for Existential Funk), the total amount of music on this site is over 4 hours. That’s not even counting the Old Tracks or any of the other material.

I hope you’ve enjoyed all of the content so far. It is my intention to broadcast as much free material as I can for as long as possible, so be on the lookout for some new audio soon!

P.S. Got something you’re looking forward to hearing more of? Remixes, random beats, specific genres? Let me know in the comments!

5_11

karl — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:47:03 +0000

This tech-trance random beat started simply enough, with the rhythm section and the grumbling bass. It took an interesting turn as I continued to work on it. Frankly, I didn’t mean for it to be quite as melodically uplifting(yet melancholy) as it came to be in the end. Once I got the lead synth created, it all seemed to quickly come together.

Bear with me as you listen to this track. Yes, they’ve been getting longer, but more rewarding in their dramatic progression.

This latest beat brings Vol. 5 to 29 minutes, 42 seconds, just short of the guideline of 30 minutes per volume. This will therefore bring Vol. 5 to a close. That being said, the whole volume is now available for download in the Free Downloads section.

5_10

karl — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:20:21 +0000

I’ve been pondering the direction I wanted to take random beats vol. 5 since the last update. After careful consideration, I have selected the following for 5_10.

Much more straightforward(not to mention mellow) than the last several posts, this one combines few elements to make something I find quite pleasant.

5_09

karl — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:47:38 +0000

This is one EPIC-sized random beat! Sometimes a track needs the extra time to evolve properly. Lots of big sound in here, but I feel like I’m not sure everyone will appreciate the complexity. Admittedly, there’s a lot going on.

I kept thinking about how very Hybrid-esque it sounded to me while I was making it. Of course, I’m a huge fan, so it’s certain they’ve become a significant influence.

5_08

karl — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:44:32 +0000

This track is like a random beats 2-for-1 sale. Starting out as a uniform techno stomper, the tempo is modulated midway through to transform this minimal caterpillar into a paranoid dubstep butterfly. There is sharp contrast between the two parts, despite using the same bass instrument.

5_07

karl — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:44:22 +0000

This glitchy techno track has some great space to it. The first instrument that comes in has a very spooky sound. Once the sharp synth comes in, the track is very noticeably disrupted, but the spookiness continues.

5_06

karl — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:51:51 +0000

Simple in it’s execution, but not without some technicality, this chilled-out dubstep track has 2 dueling basslines which compete for superiority while the electric piano adds some great texture.

5_05

karl — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:26:20 +0000

After a short break, the random beats series is back!

Granted, this is not the longest random beat in this volume, but I think the livelihood of this very old-school sounding jungle roller makes up for its few faults. I really like the fills that come in during the second half of the track.

Old Tracks: Afraid of What You’ll Say

karl — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:47:42 +0000

Looking back, “Afraid of What You’ll Say” is another favorite of mine that is easily overlooked. This track is pretty representative of a period where I was really growing into the dark trip-hop that I think is most representative of my style as a whole.

The lead melody was originally concocted with lyrics in mind; however, they’ve never left the confines of my brain. About half were since forgotten anyway.

Karl D – Afraid of What You’ll Say

Old Tracks: Love Theme

karl — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:55:44 +0000

Today’s journey into the archives is one that I had forgotten how much I liked. “Love Theme” is certainly one of the more melodic songs I’ve ever composed.

“Love Theme”, like several songs I’ve produced, was inspired by what I imagine I might have written for a film score.

Karl D – Love Theme

12/26/09 – Whoops, forgot the download link. -KD

Old Tracks: Black

karl — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:55:35 +0000

I sense a depression in the amount of material I will release in the next several weeks. I will instead fill you in on some other old tracks I still have in my cache.

This first track is from about 6 years ago, I suppose. You may not think I might be crazy enough to do hardhouse covers of Sevendust songs, but you’d be wrong.

Sevendust has been for a long time one of my favorite metal bands, and Black has always been one of my favorite songs. I’ve always been surprised to hear how much people liked this song. Even people not really into electronic music or Sevendust have reported really enjoying this song.

Karl D – Black

12/26/09 – Whoops, forgot the download link. -KD

5_04

karl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:55:09 +0000

We’ve got some seriously spooky dubstep on tap today, and its melodic wobbly bassline is in the spotlight. The lack of variation in the wobble means this isn’t the most complex or “intelligent” dubstep track, but I made the choice to keep it simple. Other sounds put in just for the sake of excitement would have threatened the chilled-out nature of this track.