How to Make Your Music Slap

Singer-songwriter says he's not sure of the definition of "slap," but it means different things in different subgenres. Slap for sampled hip hop and boom-bap is one thing, slap for Yacht Rock is another. He found that when Benny first heard some of these live drum loops slapping, like when he first heard them with a lot of gain on them, run through different pieces of gear,. Different plugins and compression he wasn't used to.

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In this episode John catches up with Benny Sings and producer Kenny Beats to talk about how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Young Hearts’.

Linking in from their studios in Amsterdam and LA, Benny and Kenny look back on their time spent writing and how each environment had an impact on the music. From experiencing the ‘Kenny Beats Thing’ in LA along with his wealth of collaborators, to spending a solitary week writing in Amsterdam locked in the studio with Covid.

As well as sharing the voice notes that initially inspired Kenny to become involved in the project, the duo dig deep into the lessons they’ve picked up over the years. We’re treated to some tips and tricks behind effortless lyric writing, stock plugin gold, along with a deep dive into mixing and balancing drums and bass.

Listen to find out how to create definition between yourself and a character within a song, how to efficiently keep track of all your sessions, and what the definitive definition of ‘slap’ is.

Tracks discussed: Young Hearts, Pyjamas, Distance

LINKS TO EVERYTHING TAPE NOTES

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Listen to ‘Young Hearts’ here.

Stones Throw Records

Intro Music - Sunshine Buddy, Laurel Collective

GEAR MENTIONS

Goodhertz Vulf Compressor

Eventide Instant Phaser Plugin

Eventide Instant Phaser Outboard

Oliver Samples Packs

Beyerdynamic M500 Mic

Altec Outboard Mixer

Roland TR-55 Rhythm King Drum Machine

Ableton Drum Buss - Stock Plugin

Splice

OUR GEAR

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HELP SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you'd like to help support the show you can donate as little or as much as you'd like here, (we really appreciate your contributions :)