Analysis of S6E02: Nymfo – Inspired By Samples

Second tutorial for Season 6, and Nymfo’s first ever tutorial.

Nymfo’s introduction segment touches on his thoughts on samples, the role of samples in drum & bass production, and the ideas behind this tutorial:
– Samples give your music character
– Nymfo states he is not a technical wizard when it comes to production
– Using non-drum & bass sample packs to get a diverse range/palette of sounds

03:30 – talking about structure to working on music
– Takes a 9 to 5 job approach
– Sets various goals for himself each year

06:55 – looking at a project in Ableton

07:10 – house bass loop, trying at dnb tempo
– Likes the vibe, groove, and space between hits

09:10 – explains effects chain on the sample
– Compression, equalizer x2, distortion, and frequency shifting

11:20 – plays the sketch from the intro to the breakdown, in to the drop

13:45 – explains how different tempos can sometimes make loops fit your project, or even different start points

15:00 – working on bass
– Extract MIDI from audio loop, and start to work on a bass line
– Sometimes you just need one note that sounds good, and work from there to write a bass line

19:40 – need for a midrange bass tone, for non-club listeners (e.g. phones, computer speakers)

23:15 – mentions Bonobo’s interview on Ableton website and how it has affected his own sampling, using various different sources
– Bonobo interview: https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/bonobo-path-to-migration/
– A bonus Bonobo interview on similar subject, goes in to more details: https://www.xlr8r.com/features/artist-tips-bonobo

24:30 – taking a look at Spearhead release
– Wrote track around the sample he covers here in the video
– Found the sample on Looperman
– Said it can take hours of searching on Looperman to find stuff he would use

29:00 – talks about working with vocalist Charlotte

32:05 – Advice: sometimes you have to find the right track for a sample you want to use, don’t put pressure on yourself, and sometimes the right track comes about a while later

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THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS
– Production Wizards vs. Production Workhorses. This is the second or third Genie who has outright said they are not a production wizard, but what’s a good way to describe them? Skilled? And are “wizards” the innovators that set a production standard?

– When Nymfo talked about his 9 to 5 approach, and stated he has stretches of time (weeks) where he does not work on the computer, what is he doing instead? Is this when he’s speaking with other producers at the facility his studio is at? Is he digging for samples? Watching videos? Drawing doodles? I think these stretches some times make me very self deprecating, so it would be interesting to hear how a releasing artist handles these stretches.

– Trying out other genre loops, maybe try chopping out hits if the loop sounds too crowded? Find a use for something that does not immediately sound “right”?

– The point about trying different tempos, take a 172 BPM loop, set to 86 BPM, or even 344. Maybe even try setting a loop to a BPM that would fit a triplet? Not sure of formula, but sometimes a 172 track analyzes in Serato as a 116 or 117 BPM because of triplets in it.