Posts Tagged ‘breaks’

randombeats.com Mix Series 05: SHOCKED – The Electro House and Breaks Connection

Posted 23 Apr 2013 — by karl
Category Music

“That’s the thing about house,” a friend once said to me at a party, “It sure is reliable”.

I think he was right, and the same can be said about breakbeat. Fads come and go, but house and breaks are the pillars that hold up electronic music.

Simple ideas are typically the ones that don’t need changing. The way electronic music has survived over the years is by keeping to the basics.

The first movement of this mix represents a modern interpretation of electro – an exciting set of mid-tempo, aggressive house. You’ll notice a couple of remixes in this half especially that were created just for this mix(and will be released on this site for general download soon).
Halfway through, this mix switches gears, going into breaks territory. The tracks in this set all are quite modern from a production standpoint, but all owe a great deal to the original electro-breaks sound of the 1980s that gave birth to modern electronic music culture.

This is SHOCKED.

1st Movement:  Electro House

  1. (0:00)      Karl D – Dante’s Revenge
  2. (02:25)    Karl D – Logic Bomb
  3. (05:05)    Karl D – Reactor(Remix)
  4. (06:41)     Karl D – Shocking
  5. (10:57)     Robyn – Dancing on My Own

2nd Movement:  Electro Breaks

  1.  (15:34)     Karl D – 4_07(from random beats, vol. 4)
  2. (17:58)     Karl D – So Many Different People
  3. (20:23)     Karl D – 3_11(from random beats, vol. 3)
  4. (24:14)      Above and Beyond – Indonesia
  5. (26:38)     Karl D – Typhoon

 

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Karl D – Shocked(Right click and choose Save As to download)

Karl D – Typhoon

Posted 09 May 2012 — by karl
Category Music

The theme for today’s selection is “Subdued Club Music”.  That said, maybe “Subdued” isn’t giving the big bassline enough credit.

 

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Karl D – Typhoon

randombeats.com Mix Series 03: Night Terrors – The Sound of Minimal Drum and Bass

Posted 15 Mar 2012 — by karl
Category Music

About once a month for the last year or so, I wake up in the night with what I understand to be night terrors.  These small episodes can best be described as “waking nightmares”.  More common in children, they actually started for me in adulthood. Although quite shocking at the moment, I tend to get more entertainment than terror from remembering that I did something ridiculous the night before(like searching the room for giant animals).

Night terrors can be terrifying, vivid and yet fleeting.  The tracks compiled for this mix all fit that description as well.  Some of the tracks(the untitled ones) are less fully-formed compositions, and more of a coagulation of electronic elements.  These will never be released singularly – they will only be available as part of this mix.

You will be terrified.  You will be thrilled.  When it’s over, you will have no idea what happened.  This is Night Terrors. 

  1. (0:00) (untitled)
  2. (1:30) (untitled)
  3. (4:10) (untitled)
  4. (6:00) Karl D – Aeon
  5. (10:00) Karl D – 3_07(From random beats, vol. 3)
  6. (12:00) (untitled)
  7. (14:25) Karl D – Turbulence
  8. (17:21) Karl D – Momentary(Dark Breaks Mix)
  9. (20:26) Karl D – Hiding in Plain Sight

Karl D Presents – Night Terrors(Download – Right click and select “Save As”)

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Karl D – So Many Different People

Posted 21 Oct 2011 — by karl
Category Music

This track got shelved on several occasions.  At one point, it got deleted entirely before completion, because I didn’t think I could make it work.  After doing so, the melody kept coming back to me, so I found a way.

There were several directions I ultimately wanted to go, which led to the inclusion of the Kraftwerkian electro break near the middle.  At one point during production, this variation might have built the entire song, but a little variety gives this track a robust character.

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Karl D – So Many Different People

Karl D – Like, Haunted

Posted 20 Sep 2011 — by karl
Category Music

The title is pronounced like Alicia Silverstone would in the movie Clueless.

Spacey breaks characterize this cinematic track.  Also, the “Shitty Strings” make a reappearance here, to great effect.  Two variations in the main melody maintain a feeling of dread throughout the song.

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Karl D – Like, Haunted

Karl D – Dum Spiro Spero

Posted 03 Jan 2011 — by karl
Category Music

The title is Latin, and might as well be called “The one that has a name I can’t remember”.

This production is raw, dirty, and admittedly busy.  At first I wanted this to sound cleaner as a whole, but I think it sounds good with a little dirt on it.  The contrast between the general grit of the track with the clean, ethereal synth providing the chords was very interesting to me.  That kind of contrast has been fundamental to several key productions of mine over the years, so this track in a way felt like a “return to my roots”.

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Karl D – Dum Spiro Spero

Karl D – Momentary(Dark Breaks mix)

Posted 29 Sep 2009 — by karl
Category Music

This mix of “Momentary” is the next track to be included in the soon-to-be available “Electronic Monk” EP. Like the last two remixes, a drastic change in tempo changes the feeling of the track.

The track has the same overall structure of the D&B original, but changes were made to the bass, drums, and FX which all contribute to the change in flow of the track. The vocal sample that is included in this mix was originally meant to be in the original, but I felt the minimalist approach to the original mix worked best. It definitely pumps up the excitement in this mix!


Karl D – Momentary(Dark Breaks mix)

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4_07

Posted 15 Aug 2009 — by karl
Category Music

This post includes one of a few songs that I considered compiling as part of a concept EP with “Toxin“.  After careful consideration, I decided to make them random beats instead.

Here we have the prestigious return of the “Shitty Strings“, along with some underwater-sounding sound FX and synthesizers.  I really like the technical melody, flow, and patient pace of this track.

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