Author Topic: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)  (Read 25682 times)

FarleyCZ

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #30 on: February 22, 2016, 12:03:41 pm »
I like to think that stuff I make is that kind of music you get back to when the party is over. Electronic, still cool a little, but with a story and feelings behind it. If I succeed in that goal, that's for you to judge. :)

Also doubts. In both ways, bad and good. I've been on the internet way too long, seen way too many advices, seen some guys becoming really good at this. It left me with some feelings about which advices are acually valuable and which ones are total bullcrap. And this one is actually one of them. ...and more people worry about it, more bullcrap it gets.
Here's the logic: People who run labels and all the promoters are still people. They all have a taste. Some broad, some narrow, but they have it. It's their role/job to have it. They recieve more and more stuff over time. They can't release a same percentage of it all the time, so they make their selection narrower, but by the same taste they have. So it doesn't actually matter if you're most inovative artist on the planet, or most percise moombathon producer on the planet, unless that particular guy doesn't like your particular track, it makes no difference. So at the end, doing whatever the fu*k you like and hope for the best is probably the best option. :)
« Last Edit: February 22, 2016, 12:05:44 pm by FarleyCZ »
"Earth is round right? Look at it from right angle and you'll be always on top of the world."
...but don't overdo it, because that's called being a d***k.

IKIS

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #31 on: February 22, 2016, 09:30:05 pm »
Nothing. I'm just a regular guy in his 20's dreaming of making it and getting all the money, bitches and fame.

Nadav

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #32 on: February 23, 2016, 03:18:32 am »
I just whittle it down:

Self-consciously holding a conservative view of the world while creating a form of popular music: boom, instant minority status.

Being influenced by cowpunk, West African pop, gamelan, 1990s alternative rock, 1960s jazz, and late-19th-century classical music: probably not too many people combining those things in a subtle and informed way, but I'm sure there are a few out there.

Avoiding any riff or chord progression I've heard anywhere else, changing key a lot, using a ton of odd meter and unconventional structures while still writing songs that are catchy and "hummable": combined with the previous two things, there's maybe a couple guys out there doing this but I haven't heard of 'em.

And yet at the end of the day it's always going to be possible to listen to my music and say "Hey this kinda sounds like [some other thing]." Music is my hobby, not my career, so this doesn't bother me at all. But I'm not sure it would in any case; it makes me feel pretty good to know that whoever else's music my music sounds like, it's probably pretty unusual.

greatwhitegravity

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #33 on: February 23, 2016, 03:47:42 am »
I've been regarded as different my entire life by more or less everyone, from teachers to peers, to employers, my parents, my brother, my friends. In most cases, for better or worst, I'm the odd one out. There have been people that I've met that have been able to operate on the same psychological wavelength as me sincerely, to understand and relate to me; there have been people who have been able to understand my perspective without relating to it directly. That being said, for the most part, I tend to confuse people with the way my mind works. I've been told by quite a few people that they've never met someone like me and that my brain is operating on its own level, and this has intimidated people, it has annoyed people, it has inspired awe, even (I'm not trying to be arrogant, it's just the truth). Usually when I relate to anyone, it's a very intense relation because of how inexplicably rare that is. I barely have any friends because I don't relate to anyone. Relationships are difficult to foster. I often feel alienated by default, and the alienation becomes apparent to everyone involved, very quickly.

I think something that separates me from the general population here is that my musical inspirations and my perspective on what my music should be has existed in my psyche long before I even knew about electronic music. I've noticed that a lot of the music here is an emulation or a refinement of preexisting concepts. People want that Zedd sound, they want the Diplo sound, etc. I understand that inclination and am victim to it to a certain extent. That being said, I don't want to emulate any of the artists I'm inspired by, even remotely. I've had musical ideas in my head for as long as I can remember, and I view my inspirations more so as stepping stones as opposed to ideals that I want to match.

As an artist, personally, I place extreme importance on authenticity and progression. An artist takes the torch from the artist they are inspired by, and hands it off to the next artist, and when you receive that torch, that spark of inspiration, and you can't simply stand there, stagnant, emulating. You have to push forward if you want to change things. I don't want to be my inspirations. I want to completely outdo them to such an extent that they are rendered obsolete. I think it's actually easier to "make it" as an experimental artist that pushes boundaries in the underground world. The mainstream is exclusive and overtly monetary and a product of hyper stagnation and consumerism, based purely on luck, being in the right place at the right time. What separates Skrillex from anyone here? There are producers in sharecube who easily outdo any of those mainstream dance artists but it doesn't matter because the mainstream doesn't care about artistry, rather about branding and marketability. I'm not trying to turn this into an anti mainstream EDM post, I just don't know why any of you strive to be the next Zedd when you could push literal boundaries and actually change electronic music and be a catalyst that it can evolve through. I think that's something that separates me from a lot of people here. The best thing you can tell me when you hear my music is that you've never heard anything like it.

Another thing I think that separates me is the way I view the place of the artist in society. I'm not trying to offend anyone, and I understand the appeal and the enjoyment that comes from EDM and I actually enjoy mainstream, generic EM for what it is, but for me personally, if you aren't using your platform as an artist to incite political or cultural change, you are doing a disservice to humanity. I don't want to be one of those people who cites Ayn Rand and I'm totally not a fan of hers, but she talked about how every role in society is important and vital for civilization to thrive as an ecosystem. When you look at art in that context, one can argue that the role of an artist is to inspire and to incite cultural and political change. Art has probably changed and influenced culture more than any single thing. The only thing I think that rivals art in terms of cultural influence is religion.

I think that art that exists solely to be consumed and enjoyed on a superficial level is rather pointless. We are all very privileged to have these opportunities. There are people who are getting blown up everyday, children who go hungry, people who have no rights, people living in warzones where severe mental illness is just the normality. I honestly don't know how someone can even BE an artist without addressing what is going on the world, whether literally or existentially. I think something that separates me is my belief that if you have an audience, you HAVE to be saying something. It can't be art for art's sake. It NEEDS to be a platform for some underlying message. Art NEEDS to push boundaries -- political boundaries, cultural boundaries, emotional boundaries, and the boundaries of art in of itself. If you have an audience, you are extremely privileged and it is your obligation as a person in a position of privilege to make things easier for people who aren't in that position, or at the very least provide some level of dialogue.

I guess that perspective makes me 'different', although I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said millions of times. I guess my ultimate point is that none of us are really different. We are all hoping to carry that torch. I guess what makes you different is what you do with that torch when the time comes.

I don't think it's necessarily about striving to push boundaries, although that is a good mindset to have, rather the predisposition to do something that pushes these boundaries.

Oa sonic level... if you want to be different, you have to experiment. People who have come up with crazy unique sounds that blew up and started artistic movements achieved that by ignoring normality. That's why Van Gogh said that the paved road is easy, but no flowers bloom there. I think that the definition of artist is a subjective one, but to me, if you aren't going off the beaten path, it's not really artistic expression, rather half-baked emulations, which there isn't anything inherently wrong with, it's just rather useless to society as a whole. I guess my views and my approach to music and my hyper conceptual production style is what makes me different.


I'm such a pretentious asshole lol
« Last Edit: February 23, 2016, 04:04:51 am by greatwhitegravity »

alanisnotcool

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #34 on: February 23, 2016, 08:20:38 am »
Im extremely creative and Im willing to push past the times of failure. there have been many times that I have taken big jumps in my production level when i would just keep producing through the discouragement instead of exiting my DAW.  Theres really something to it and its a consistent theme that I know would work for everyone.

Just like everything in life when you push past the failure, you oddly enough come across a very beneficial outcome on the other side and thats what Ive found out about producing

Lokan

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #35 on: February 23, 2016, 02:26:42 pm »
I've always had a goal of melting some completely different styles of music into one. I haven't been succesful yet but I believe it'll eventually shape my unique style.
No, try again.

greatwhitegravity

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #36 on: February 23, 2016, 10:52:53 pm »
I've always had a goal of melting some completely different styles of music into one. I haven't been succesful yet but I believe it'll eventually shape my unique style.

This is something I think about often as well

Mussar

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #37 on: February 27, 2016, 04:57:05 pm »
If you need to explain to people why you're special, chances are you're not.  ;) Don't forget, actions speak louder than words, and good music speaks louder than a forum post.

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #38 on: February 27, 2016, 08:23:02 pm »
I actually dislike the though of receiving money for music.It seems it makes it impure.It disgust me.If music is not made with beauty and sharing in mind it seems it degrade it.

There was this quote on Mat Zo twitter by some funk or jazz black musician i think about God leaving the room when you start thinking about money when making music,i think this is so true!(if anyone could find or remember this quote would be nice)

I ll probably release a CD soon on a label and if i could i would give the CD to people instead of selling it.But i guess ill use the money i make(if i make any,lol)to finally pay for these plugins  ive been using for so long,lets say...not always in the limits of the law.hehe
I would like to make a living with music but at the same time i dont want to connect music with money in any way what so ever.A bit paradoxal i know...


I also make the darkest music imaginable.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2016, 08:26:58 pm by fxbip »

Lydian

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #39 on: February 28, 2016, 06:52:45 am »
I actually dislike the though of receiving money for music.It seems it makes it impure.It disgust me.If music is not made with beauty and sharing in mind it seems it degrade it.

There was this quote on Mat Zo twitter by some funk or jazz black musician i think about God leaving the room when you start thinking about money when making music,i think this is so true!(if anyone could find or remember this quote would be nice)

I ll probably release a CD soon on a label and if i could i would give the CD to people instead of selling it.But i guess ill use the money i make(if i make any,lol)to finally pay for these plugins  ive been using for so long,lets say...not always in the limits of the law.hehe
I would like to make a living with music but at the same time i dont want to connect music with money in any way what so ever.A bit paradoxal i know...


I also make the darkest music imaginable.

There's nothing impure about receiving money for music. :)
A young 14 year old me with a really bad haircut. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eMbftWV75w

Lydian

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #40 on: February 28, 2016, 07:05:40 am »
Nothing makes me different.  :) I play instruments like many other producers. I have a shitty social life like many other producers. I struggle with the same grind as other producers. I use chords and scales that I've heard other producers use. I copy the sound design of my favorite producers to get better just like other producers.

Absolutely nothing original.
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Wontolla

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Re: What makes you different from everyone else? (Discussion)
« Reply #41 on: February 28, 2016, 07:19:14 am »
If you need to explain to people why you're special, chances are you're not.  ;) Don't forget, actions speak louder than words, and good music speaks louder than a forum post.
True. I'd like to think questions like this are rhetorical; the only real answer is music, not words.
Honestly, a lot of the answers so far don't really make anyone unique. If anything, they've highlighted how many other producers are just pouring out their souls into music and not caring about making it big. And if that's all you're going for, do you even have to be "different"?
« Last Edit: February 28, 2016, 07:23:17 am by Wontolla »