Brian Eno: How to Make A Drum Loop Interesting And Human - BBC Click

BBC Click's Spencer Kelly finds out how to make constantly changing drum loops and funk, using probabilities and complicated maths, from music legend Brian Eno.
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[@anrque]

Brian has a future selling DAW software at Guitar Center.

[@afusake]

ahahhahaha

[@ElectricFarmerCh]

Eno's simply giving the BBC the juice they want. I'm sure he's aware of many artists doing this but it wouldn't make the BBC look good if he said "Oh yeah, people have been doing this for years but never on the BBC because you're always a bit behind with cultural and artistic developments"

[@stephenharvey6808]

I'm sure he's aware that Logics built in drummer does basically this, without having to have a script making you look all advanced and techy.

[@desiolle2874]

@@stephenharvey6808 I was going to ask....I've played around with Logic a bit...can you get the random rolls like he did without needing to go outside the software? Reducing the occurrences seems easy enough....

[@keaganweaver8723]

@@stephenharvey6808 there are a like 10 ways to do everything in logic. You gotta keep in mind he's been doing this for so long, a random logic update with automated drummers isn't going to make him rework his whole work flow.

[@IDontReadReplies42069]

Your dad showing his friend how to use facebook

[@chuffpup]

Except, if your dad was Mark Zuckerberg, and the friend was still this other guy.

[@j.c7719]

I hope you know that’s one of the most influential and accomplished musicians to ever grace the earth

[@IDontReadReplies42069]

@@j.c7719 So? doesn't mean he was able to keep up with the times. He's been far surpassed.

[@j.c7719]

@@IDontReadReplies42069 So that means his entire catalogue should be overlooked? Aside from that you only have to look at his discography to know that’s not true. Who has far surpassed him?

[@IDontReadReplies42069]

@@j.c7719 lol, classic. Eno is baby's first experimental music. branch out buddy. No where did I say his catalogue should be overlooked I have no idea where you got that lol. Me simply making a little joke triggered you to high heavens. Take a deep breath and calm down, eno is not god, he's not even the best in his field.

[@MrDaoJones]

This interviewer is like an amazed child.

[@atomaalatonal]

MrDaoJones he s a typical white middleclass dude with no clue whats happening. And mostly any interest in it other than career related. He really thinks eno took him to the final frontier...

[@scharlesworth93]

Maybe he's amazed

[@dengo4849]

i'd look like an amazed child too if i was booling with brian eno

[@LenProbert]

Yes, and Eno is pulling this guy's leg the entire interview, once Eno realized the guy did not do any research for the interview and knows nothing about Eno, Ambient music or any of Eno's work.

[@shineyourlight9036]

a bumf

[@CultureDTCTV]

"We're always one step behind him , he's Brian Eno !" ~MGMT

[@Joseph-nh6in]

Amazing band. Amazing album. Thank you for the reference. It boggles my mind how Metanoia and the entire Congratulations album are not known as instant classics. They came out like 8 years ago now and I already feel a 1970s nostalgic vibe and gratitude for them.

[@scharlesworth93]

Tom Scharpling and Dan Bejar have a theory there's an alternate timeline where 'Congratulations' got the recognition it deserved and the world is a much better place...

[@TokyoUnderworld]

That interviewer looks way too excited, I bet he went straight home and downloaded the FL studio demo 😂

[@ohdippity]

2:19 Hunter S Thompson is alive and films Eno for a living.

[@derrylbrooks6541]

God gave everyone a twin. But damn

[@Autogenification]

Well I guess Brian Eno wasn't aware of the world of algoraves or live coded music at the time of this interview - it's a scene of programming artists who manipulate loops and sounds with live coding, with some really amazing results! It's been around since, well Eno himself really brought about the first wave of it in the 70s with his style of electronic generative music! And of course not to forget about all the IDM artists (Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre etc.) who also have used these techniques in their productions. It's odd seeing this demonstration and realising that he's unaware of the amazing spaces in electronic music that he's helped shape

[@MrBam79]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Oh man, this is what I love about social media. That random guy who thinks he knows more about an industry than the actual professional who has worked in it for the best part of half a century. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Autogenification]

@@MrBam79 ah yes and the other random social media guy that thinks he knows exactly what Brian Eno knows and doesn't know 😂

[@MrBam79]

​@@Autogenification Well, I mean, neither of us truly knows the extent of Eno's knowledge of music industry developments, but let's look at the evidence: First we have Exhibit A - A three minute clip of Brian giving an accessible, noob-level demonstration for a daytime BBC magazine show. Based on this, some seem to be drawing the conclusion that he's a doddery old man who likes to potter about in his shed with a few dusty old synthesisers from the 1970s, and has only just discovered these magic boxes called "computers". Then there's Exhibit B - An almost entire adult lifetime in the industry, working with many of the greatest artists and producers, and being widely regarded as a pioneer across multiple genres of music. Hmmm, that's two very convincing cases there. It's difficult to know which one gives the best insight, and would allow someone to make a reasonable assumption as to Mr Eno's level of expertise... 🤔

[@Autogenification]

​@@MrBam79I almost completely agree with your first statement but the evidence is in the video where Eno literally says "not as far as I know", in response to the interviewer asking "Is anyone else doing this?", so while your arguments are well written and thought out, I don't think your reasoning goes that far. You also seem to think that I've extrapolated Eno's entire expertise from this video (or at least your comment is written to imply that), which just isn't true. While I don't have his entire biography recited, I gotta tell you, I KNOW he's not just living in some 70's dawn-of-computers world, seething at any modern music technology advancement. I know Eno embraces new concepts and ideas in music technology, he seems like a very open-minded person. The nuance here is in conflating his experience, expertise, and open-mindedness to being omniscient (to all things in his field and their subfields), and this is where you have to be realistic. Eno's not going to know every single technology from every subfield that he's help to establish, and I'm certain that the Algorave scene is an example of a concept in generative music that he doesn't know much of (if at all), but would be very interested in/greatly appreciate it. How did I come to this conclusion? I've watched a fair bit of Eno's interviews, listened to a fair amount of his work, never have I seen/heard of Algorave stuff in his world. Am I incorrect in this conclusion? The chances are very low, but my postulation is not founded on nearly the level of ignorance that you're claiming that it is.

[@MrBam79]

​@@AutogenificationApologies, I think off the back of another mocking comment, I took yours to be a bit condescending and disrespectful towards Eno, but I realise now that I was mistaken and my sarcastic tone was probably a bit uncalled for.

[@TheGroovySideOftheTube]

Brian Eno - Creator of the "Oblique strategies" card deck.. (look it up if you don't know about it), producer of the Windows 95 Microsoft Sounds... produced Bowie, DEVO, Talking Heads best albums, co-producer credit on U2s The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind, also Coldplay.. his ambient works and solo albums are fantastic, AND he's a gentleman too.

[@pipeandslippersman]

trans: 'just fiddle with it a bit'. actually - that might be eno's entire career in 6 words!

[@greenatom]

The way to really use something like this is to use it to generate lots of possibilities, listen, choose those which sound good, and further refine and modify so that it communicates your feelings, as a human, to other humans.

[@simonfarrell6585]

ENO is a genius.. Introduced me to ambient music as a teenager, absolute legend... but this is nothing special to be honest

[@erin79]

Yeah, this should be titled, "otherwise talented dude has first mess-around with EZDrummer."

[@Joseph-nh6in]

Agreed. I find it somewhat hard to wrap my mind around that this is the same man who wrote Taking Tiger Mountain and Another Green World. Even for just messing around... the fact there are cameras on I would expect something more... Enoish. I'm just a random guy and I would be disgusted if I made something this pedestrian, even while just screwing around.

[@808j3]

....lol...it’s not hard. No random tricks needed if you have skill and know what you want.

[@Tony-kc5fi]

Don't no much of enos work to be honest... But I suspect he's just doing exactly exactly what he's always done... just messed around with technology the difference is technology has caught up and is available to the masses.. so anyone with a passing interest in music and technology has probably messed with this program and others like it...

[@auino5147]

to be fair he admitted himself that this was pretty crappy, I think the fact that is was presented as being extraordinary is the program leaders fault

[@matthewdotson2186]

This is an interesting writing prompt. Obviously Eno would continue messing around and collect the great bits and then remix those into a more refined song. Reminds me of David Bowie's "Verbasizer" which is a word/sentence randomizer that David Bowie used to come up with interesting word combos. It's a creative jumping off point.

[@mikelee1906]

I was doing this with Cubase in 2003 with drums and midi instruments. (Probably was possible 6 or 7 years prior) Ableton has all of these features available with the stock effects. So is anyone else doing this? yes. Ever 14 year old kid around the world!

[@geompon6505]

Ηey can I ask what did u use for the scripts in cubase? I want to add some randomness to my music and i also use cubase

[@mikelee1906]

To achieve a similar effect to the video use the density midi insert. At over 100% it adds notes. Under it subtracts notes. 120% will add very little while 400% will be extreme. 90% again will be subtle while 10% will be extreme. Using transformer and logical presets will give you options for randomness for pitch position velocity and length . Easy way to do it is use the midi modifier midi insert. The transformer will allow you to do tasks such as add volume 0 to end of note, change cc's to note and vice versa.The arpeggiators have random settings also. A lot of the midi inserts have not so known random options.Logical presets (under standard set)include the options to randomize notes and velocity,and a lot of odd ones like deleting every 5th note. From what I remember their was an experimental pull down menu under Logical presets I used quite a bit. I would mess around with the transformer until I came up with a new setting for altering the midi. It has been a little while since I used it. I started using it when it was first available to the public. However when (Ableton and) Max For Live came out I found myself barely using Cubase. For generative and random/ assisted/controlled random music MaxforLive is mind blowing. On maxforlive.com their are hundreds of free tools for creating this type of music. Amazing random riff and pattern generators.And a lot of unique devices. Also developers such as Isotonik who sell great ready made setups for Launchpads and Push. Checkout Arcade Series One and Arcade Series returns. isotonikstudios.com/product/arcade-series-one/ Good luck!!!

[@janeway1111]

which stock effects in Ableton do this ?

[@mikelee1906]

Under Midi effects- Random. Also in Experimental - Scale driver(add some random)Their are a lot of free random generator midi effects available. I have Max for live and the Ableton Suite so I forget which effects came from which version. I probably have around 500. Between the ones I have tried out and made. I use about 30 Generative devices regularly. Here is a link to a pretty good tutorial which includes a free Live set download ask.audio/articles/generative-music-in-ableton-live-part-1 Here is another good tutorial kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmmygGCGmNONftU This guy has a website and many great videos on generative music with Ableton subaqueousmusic.com/generative-music-with-abelton-live-and-randomization/ Have fun!!!!

[@DaveBessell]

As Mike says something similar has been possible in Cubase for many many years - no scripting necessary. In fact if you go right back to the interactive phrase synthesizer in earlier versions of cubase on the Atari (!) it could do more sophisticated things than Eno shows here. Of course there are now thousands of people out there with eurorack systems also experimenting with probabalistic triggering of drum sounds and various forms of randomness.

[@positronikiss]

Mr Brian Eno. Dreamcatcher, splendid aural painter, superb sonic psychologist. Such a wonderful musician.

[@erkkieras-jorma1814]

Brian Eno just invented JAZZ?

[@harryvincent]

Thought this was master chef for a second from the thumbnail..

[@jayaybe1]

Awesome clip, but why is the camera work so obtrusively bad?

[@stevewills735]

The James Bond of writing music that is timeless. Everyone should be listening!!!

[@CommodoreCrush]

Eats spaghetti, "have you tried this?!"

[@soloharmonicsrobj8246]

The computer monitor script showing the pattern reminds me of the CNC machines at my workplace. Brian definitely makes rhythm and drum "machining" interesting!

[@philipditullio4548]

Back in the Atari STe days Dr.T's KCS sequencer had a module called the PVG (programable variation generator) these edits were all programmed in. I can't believe that these tools weren't ported over to the modern DAWs .

[@christoroppolo8742]

We all love brother Brian. Peace Christo

[@JJASalazar]

Miss a drum by accident? I know that wasn't actually what was meant there, but really... how many drummers do you know who will miss the snare and somehow hit the middle tom? That's a hell of a miss.

[@capcussa]

its just an example. you could potentially set 100s of tiny alterations of the same hi hat sound to play randomly so that it's never the exact same sound. you can let the program create it's own fills instead of programming them yourself. its automated improvisation

[@domage]

made me think of this: search for 'nate smith drops stick' .. might just be the other way around; he looses a stick but misses nothing :)

[@MrJohnnyWalker2001]

It’s not a simulation of what a drummer might do, it’s just an attempt to turn it into something more interesting to listen to. The host was just making a joke when he said that.

[@edglue6138]

Haha. Stevie Wonder plays drums, so anything is possible

[@kassemir]

Yeah, but I did see an interview with a producer once who said he had a bit of a habbit of accidentally hitting the drum mics by mistake. He had to sort of sort out the spacial properties of the kit before he could really let it rip, as a drum kit isn't like keys on a keyboard, it'll always be a little different every time you take it down and set it up again.

[@remoman]

This should be titled "Brian Eno fucks around with a VSTi".

[@michaelraycampos9246]

"you could be killing human positions by doing this" "too many of them anyway" Savage af

[@StuartRochabrunt]

Nothing surprising or really new here. This is so common that's even boring to show, but of course, it's Brian Eno, not the unknown bedroom-musicians-producers all over the world.

[@thedrumunkey8582]

"Is anyone else doing this?""Not that I know" Reeeeeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy? Apparently Mr Eno is unaware of the internets... Forums, KZbin, etc. he should really get out more.

[@geluix69]

unlike the younger generation , he probably doesn't give a rat ass about the internet or social media.

[@thedrumunkey8582]

Which for a dude who's entire musical career is enabled by technology would seem somewhat myopic, don't you think?

[@delinquentdialect5869]

hes clearly lying

[@lambd01d]

I wrote a script in Chuck a few years ago that assigned various probabilities to steps. I made beats that sounded like old Autechre before they went to the dark side of glitch and I'm sure that they are doing far more advanced things than Eno is doing with Max/MSP. It's not a novel or revolutionary idea at all, and it's been possible to do it since random number generators have been around ie forever in computer years.

[@johnnycorvo]

Hello, The Drümünkey. Could you give me some examples of the music you're referring to?

[@YongaSun]

@1:31 „..turns into Jazz..“ 😂

[@ellcee1934]

I'd say plenty of other people in electronic music these days are "doing this" :p Probabilistic triggers are integrated into various hardware instruments too, like the Electron Analog Rytm. But what's the utilty/host software he's using? (Beyond BFD or whatever drum sample virtual instrument.)

[@NikFarr]

It's Groove Agent. He's been using it for quite some time.

[@synthmorph]

Probably he meant Groove Agent 4.x makes the same... as it does.

[@tattoso1]

After reading some of the criticism about this vid, I think one should consider the target audience : general people interested in science yet not necessarily electronic musicians. I'm sure quantum physicists on shows like this don't talk like they would with other peers but seek to explain something fun to the uninitiated.

[@bencolemanart]

It's quite refreshing to see Eno being a dork and not some impossibly cool paragon of sonic genius.

[@blondeeagles]

People dragging Eno but I never knew about real time scripts that transpose and randomize, especially using garageband so that's pretty interesting

[@cedardreamsLLC]

3:30 is the greatest Eno quote ever

[@dashwig]

This is a good video - for introducing my grandparents "look, this is what you can also do with a computer" and by the hosts reaction it was also made for such an audience. No disrespect, Mr. Eno, but it sounds robotic. But I guess he knows that.

[@duppykitoon]

Logic Pro X's Drummer plugin makes it fairly easy to do this type of stuff. Technology is nuts!

[@jakeritmiller]

brian eno really using Logic. you love to see it

[@MrDudumassa]

somebody knows an alternative tool for Ableton?

[@stevenlebeau]

Literally all of the MIDI effects + Max For Live devices

[@mr.wetdream5277]

Wow he's fucking around with Logic Pro! How innovative.

[@TheManualk]

thats exactly what I need, any script examples available to get into this or getting started guides?

[@HatredPrime]

Sounds like 80s Skinny Puppy, and probably they were doing this.

[@Rhuggins]

Love the Pradas. Eno has good taste

[@888Vomitorius888]

1987 this was?

[@deefman]

WOW, we are witnessing the birth of IDM!! Thanks Mr. Eno!

[@CameronSpencer]

Interesting dance music? :P

[@KaizerBeatz-vf9wf]

Nobody would dance to this bruh

[@dominichawken8215]

Irrelevant Drum Machine

[@NathanChisholm041]

Awesome stuff! Cheers....

[@noiselabproject9659]

This is pretty cool and that looks like one of the Abby Road drum libraries in the Software Kontakt sampler. How ever to make the drums bespoke to a song then you still have to really program accents, fills and variations in yourself. I know because I`ve done it for Metal and it is worth it but still hard work and you still have to try to think like a drummer to get away with it too.

[@DARKSIDEOFURANUS]

The fundamental way to make drums sound more interesting and human is to introduce a shuffle (swing) or funky (soul) groove. This video only covers modification of straight beats that don't have any groove. You can't program a funky groove on Garage band, Logic or Ableton anyway.

[@ozten]

I wish they had used screen recording software, instead of trying to focus a hand held camera to get a screen capture.

[@DarioMiticocchio]

Dear Elektron, please give mr Eno an Octatrack...or at least Digitakt. It seems like he’d enjoy it

[@ModularLanding]

Ha! Yes - what a brilliant idea.

[@marcusmanzoni]

Does anyone knows which plugin he is working in this video?

[@spfiros]

3:29 aouch !!!!!

[@krankykubby]

ENO you wizard!

[@RED_indiemusic]

Lovely! I wonder if you can do this with Reason. Anybody know? Cheers!

[@FerranK68]

A Brian Eno a veces también se le va la olla... La suerte que tiene es que él se lo puede permitir... El es Brian Eno. Al igual que su amigo Robert Fripp , a estas alturas haga lo que haga será una genialidad... Es sólo cuestión de mandar a la mierda el espíritu crítico y recordar su Ambient1, Music for films o Discreet Music.... Con ese bagaje.... todo lo demás es impresionante. Lo mismo con el amigo Fripp... Tras su virtuosismo demostrado con KC, RFSQ, The league of gentlemen, etc etc.. puede editar mil CDs de frippertronics y no ruborizarse... Genios ambos!

[@archiveselection7656]

Anyone who might know the size of those Cinema Displays / Monitors?

[@youmertz]

It's great when the BBC get an interviewer to conduct an interview on a topic they are clueless about. "Is anyone else doing this?" You mean groove quantizing and randomizing drum loops and beat samples? Well, maybe just a few million people doing it. Since, you know, the 90s. And apparently Brian Eno thinks he's the only one doing it? What a couple of clowns.

[@coyoteserranoband]

THAT IS LIT!

[@Bati_]

How can he edit the sound with code? Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!

[@outofscenes]

well, what could you spect from the BBC this years??

[@Kidraver555]

The Emperor of the Empirical method, just changing the pitch on a midi track in the inspector sectioin with a drum vsti on it will give you variations that can be cool, I do this with battery, changing the pitch changes the selection of the sounds on those notes not the pitch itself.

[@philippendletonmusic]

How many records have you sold?

[@tobycanrun]

Where’s the tape machine and mixer

[@d0ntbeevil]

Is this a script he had created for him? Which library is this, anyone?

[@spenzakwsx4430]

i wish something like "Script" wojld exist for ableton..

[@MarcadamiaNut]

Making drums more human by introducing a computer script?

[@DandamanV]

And he doesn't even mention what the script is called! This video tells me nothing except that Eno likes computers.

[@wxxxbattle]

most drums your hear in songs from upcoming artists are programmed on the computer or recorded with a midi drum kit especially metal drums. it saves money going too a studio too record drums are expensive asf.

[@alejacome356]

He made the original beat more human when he changed it ,that's what he meant.

[@silverlight2004db]

well yes, a computer script can give more life than nothing to a repeating loop by introducing random variation that is more than no variation at all...of course a simple program like this cannot match the 'humanity' of a human drummer but it can 'humanize' to a greater degree that which was originally even more machine like...

[@CaptainCabers-nickmccabemusic]

Logic's "scripter" plugin - bundled 'probability gate' is the first one,, 2nd possibly one of the remappers.

[@Barefoot67]

how do you do this in Cubase?

[@RyanInLA]

eno has a unique way of relating with great artists and pushing them to think out of their comfort zones. acts like Bowie and U2 were basically at a standstill until they met Eno. but he's a producer, not a solo act. he's only a "genius" when he's collaborating.

[@RyanInLA]

I'm aware of Eno's solo material and have heard most all of it. I'm simply saying he's not as effective when solo.

[@DoubleDeckerDave]

@@RyanInLAhe's great when he's solo - have you not heard before and after science? - but bear in mind that he collabs with people even then, e.g. robert fripp on most of his "solo" efforts.

[@reidelliot1972]

What is the function he uses to choose % of beats played

[@tomitstube]

he's making this look way easier than it is. eno definitely has a real good idea of what he's doing.

[@Matthew1981]

*Old rock legend uses Ableton*

[@lemonderangello]

logic, not Ableton

[@Fe-Ree]

That’s logic why do you say ableton when you don’t know it

[@gunn66628]

I’m pretty sure he’s using GarageBand y’all.

[@norwegiansniper9713]

Gunnar Isbert Nope, drum designer is not on GarageBand.

[@Thebridge232]

I don't know why anyone would be surprised. Brian Eno has been experimenting with new technology for decades.

[@emilemariani8655]

eno about to make some breakcore my man

[@looppool]

"Is anyone else doing this? "Not that I know" errrrr. FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops) has extensive constrainable randomization capabilities for every single instrument in a 'loop'. There are tons of software drum machines on the market that use constrainable randomness to 'humanize' drum beats. I personally, have been using the constraint of randomness (as evidenced in things like Boid Algorithms, which are the mathematical 'chaos' patterns of birds flocking) for almost 20 years now in my drum computer programming. I am a gigantic fan of Eno's creativity. One could really say I'm almost a 'slavish' fan, but he's not the only creative person out there doing things.

[@tecumseh01]

i was thinking just what you said,,,,,lol

[@TheAris621]

LOL. I'm so sorry for you that Eno didn't know of your existence. He should really be ashamed of himself....

[@MichaelAmidei]

Next up, Brian Eno takes the BBC on a tour of the mixing board...

[@pierceclegg825]

Me teaching my mom how ableton works

[@TheBassHeavy]

There are lots of people doing this. This is like first-year of a computer composition module on an undergraduate degree.

[@turnipjuice2626]

Are we human, or are we dad dancing? The reporter reminds me of that "Big Train" antiques dealer character who informs old ladies their rubbish is worth millions and then tries to kiss them!

[@Hubs88]

Eno changes everything for the good.

[@RioTTesa]

IF in this software one instrument can interact with others, as in harmony VS contrast to rhythm and melody, say 30% harmony between drums and strings, 60% harmony between bass and all else, 20% harmony between guitar and all else, could he make some automated jazz ?

[@lundsweden]

Yeah, it's a good beat, different. But still he ain't no Dilla or Yusef Dayes!

[@BillyBatsonMarvel]

This could have been a very nice tutorial on beat variation had they given us screen shots instead of headshots.

[@starlust6726]

Holy shit... the comments here are astounding.... yes the video is absolutely mundane and not sure what it's point of being here is, but damn.... either the majority of people commenting don't have a fucking clue who Brian Eno is, or (more likely) the majority of commenters are boring modern EDM-bedroom "producers" who know far less than their naive arrogance suggests. The guy could run circles around everyone in a real studio. He's made billions off real production, and is responsible for the fact that you could produce a track in your bedroom today. If you know the minimal history of electronic music production, then you would show respect to one of the guys that paved the way for giving you the convenience of the current electronic age of today.

[@gianste4481]

How to make this on ableton?

[@Ibnmichael]

What is the point of this video? To show viewers the reaction of the reporter that, judging by his reaction and commentary, knows next to nothing about music production? Why is there minimal time spent on the screen where Eno is actually teaching, making this “how to” video all the more unsuccessful. No reason I need to see the reporters and the cameramen and their outfits and what not... just don’t be misleading with the title. I did learn a couple tips but know nothing about how to achieve those tips and will go use another source to get the information this video was basically supposed to teach

[@stevenlebeau]

This show, Click, is not meant for music experts but for the general public, who probably don't know anywhere near as much about music production as the people commenting here.

[@gnoelalexmay]

"Is anyone else doing this?" "Not as far as I know" I luv Brian Eno, but ....WTF!?! I feel the Max/MSP users might want a word.

[@greenatom]

This is pretty impressive if you're not into things like skill, creativity, or communication.

[@nostaticatall]

The real way to make a drum loop sound more interesting and human is to actually know how to play the drums. To understand how to use velocity and timing to know where to put the accents and NOT quantize absolutely everything. Studying the way real drummers play, even if you don't play, and applying those observations will give the beat a human feel or groove, even though it's played on a virtual instrument. I love Brian Eno but sorry, this is lame, and it doesn't sound remotely interesting or human to me.

[@chrisjdgrady]

Thanks for telling Eno how to make his art. I'm sure he'll take your advice next time he sits down at a computer.

[@nostaticatall]

I wasn't talking to Eno himself since, as I said, I love the guy and he certainly has nothing to learn from me - I was just thinking out loud. If that drum loop sounds "interesting" or "human" to you that's fine. It doesn't sound like an interesting loop or great advice to me and I'm not too much of a sycophant to say so. I stand by what I said.

[@MarcV_IndieGameDev]

well said.

[@MrJohnnyWalker2001]

That would require becoming good at drumming, which is a completely different video

[@MarcV_IndieGameDev]

I've played drums for around 5 years, and recently installed music software - and making drum loops is my main interest. Having the core fundamentals from drumming helps when creating a computer generated drum loop. I go one step more and only create what I could play in real life lol but that's just me making barriers. It's good advice Nostatic Atall is passing, You don't have to be a good drummer but understanding the fundamentals is essential. and at the end of the day you learn new skills which is a win for everyone :)

[@dan_s_higginson]

Does anyone know what scripts he’s using?

[@kevinpires2307]

scripter, a midi fx of logic pro x

[@spaceshipable]

It's javascript in Logic Pro X I believe

[@DJB323]

fun fact: this video did not show me how to make a drum loop interesting

[@thenowhere]

Not to mention that these kinds of randomisation / humanisation probability effects are widely available and built in to various stages of midi programming workflow, from plug ins, piano roll inputs and beat repeaters etc - saying that this kind of thing requires specialist scripting or MAX/MSP etc is like using logic from 10 years ago. Also the fundamental idea that music is usually an unchanging drum loop and that that is remedied by Eno's secret specialist computer randomisation scripting is such a straw man....people actually rarely, if ever, program or play unchanging rhythms without fills, dynamics, sound design etc, and in the genres of music where that is particularly common, that repetition is a key feature of the sound (i.e ambient techno etc)

[@pauwalters]

can't you achieve the same basically making an interesting drum loop, or swing in ableton? or layering fucking loops?

[@strizzyl]

cmon eno. Autechre done flexed that idea

[@rzLl_pz5]

Retitle to "Geezer thinks he's a genius for knowing the very basics of drum programming"

[@joestrik1911]

More like. interviewer impressed by Eno just fucking around with program

[@MattScottMusic]

Much as I love Brian Eno, this is not a good example of his creativity, or anyones!

[@MattScottMusic]

“anyone’s”

[@dennisristow2102]

If I had to guess I'd say his comment at the end has inspired all these trolls... too many musicians anyway, that really cracked me up :-) I guess I'm too old... I come from a time before computers when you actually had to learn to play an instrument!

[@JGS007]

Christ, where is Richard Spaven when you need him?

[@EBMZEQUENZER]

Hey Eno ! Don't fuck it up for us !

[@drumrit]

WHOA you could seriously practise some syncopation with this. WATCH OUT CARTER BEAUFORD HERE I COME!!

[@electriceyeswatching4415]

The obvious answer is use a drummer

[@cygnusfloyd]

To someone like this interviewer who knows nothing about how music is made it's like watching magic!

[@danieldemayo6209]

This is a feature in logic?

[@HatredPrime]

Basically 80s Skinny Puppy.