#341: Snakes of Russia, Sound Design, and Process with Joseph Holiday
Oct 4, 2023
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Joseph Holiday, a music producer and sound designer, discusses his workflow and process for his new album, including experimenting with distortion and saturation. He also talks about the importance of taking breaks, gaining perspective, and incorporating real-life experiences and sounds in music production. Joseph explores sound design, collaborations, and the appeal of trailer music. He shares insights on live performance and where to find more information about Snakes of Russia.
Joseph emphasizes the importance of creating music that feels nostalgic yet doesn't rely too heavily on a specific musical era.
Joseph reamps his synth parts through guitar amps and speakers to add character and distortion to his recordings.
Joseph's work in sound design for companies like Spitfire Audio allows him to explore new techniques and bring fresh ideas back to his own music composition process.
Deep dives
Creation of True Surrender
Joseph Holiday, who creates music as Snakes of Russia, discusses the process of creating his album 'True Surrender'. He emphasizes the importance of making music that feels nostalgic yet doesn't lean too heavily on a particular musical era. Joseph highlights his love for saturation and distortion, using techniques like reamping his synth parts through guitar amps and speakers to add character to his recordings. He also shares his preference for a dirty and messy sound, believing that imperfections and flaws in music give it a unique charm.
Joseph's Writing Process
Joseph describes his approach to writing music as a daily exercise in creativity. He starts by getting inspired through walks, listening to music, or reading books. Then, he heads to his studio and opens Ableton to start translating his ideas into reality. Joseph focuses on quickly turning his musical concepts into recorded audio to maintain productivity and commitment. He also emphasizes the importance of discipline in his creative process, setting boundaries, and meeting deadlines to keep the momentum going.
Experimenting with Reamping and Distortion
Joseph shares his experience of going to another studio and working with producer Kurt Ballou to reamp his synth parts through guitar amps and speakers. This process involved playing the synth parts through guitar amps, capturing the room sound, and experimenting with different distortion techniques. The reamping added a new dimension and character to the recordings, allowing for a blend of direct and atmospheric elements in the music. Joseph also mentions using other equipment like tape echo and bucket brigade delays to further enhance the sonic character of his compositions.
Balancing Music Production and Sound Design Work
Aside from his own music, Joseph discusses his work in sound design for companies like Spitfire and Infinite Samples. He talks about the different creative angles and approaches he takes when working on sound for libraries, trailer music, and sample packs. Engaging in sound design work allows Joseph to explore new techniques, expand his creative arsenal, and bring fresh ideas back to his own music composition process.
Adapting to Multiple Projects
The podcast episode discusses the speaker's enjoyment of working on various projects and how it helps break up their routine. They mention working on making samples and loops for different people, as well as providing scoring work and helping other composers with sound design. They find joy in the variety of work and love the challenge of adapting to different projects.
Making Trailer Music and the Freedom of Creativity
The podcast episode explores the speaker's passion for creating trailer music. They discuss the excitement and drama that trailer music should evoke and how they enjoy capturing these emotions. The speaker embraces the freedom to experiment and get as weird as possible with their production, creating standout elements to bring uniqueness to their work. They also mention the importance of balancing tension and space in trailer music arrangements.
Joseph Holiday makes music as Snakes of Russia. His new album, True Surrender, releases on Friday, October 13, 2023. Joseph also creates soundscapes for films and sound design work for Ableton and Spitfire Audio.
For Joseph’s second appearance on the Music Production Podcast, we discussed his workflow and process for his new album. Joseph spoke about traveling to Salem, MA to God City studio where he ran his synths and drum machines through guitar amps and PA loudspeakers. We talked about his favorite gear and plug-ins, as well as how he brings his music to the stage for live performances.
