I FIGURED OUT PHOTEK'S INSANE DRUMS FROM EARLY DNB!! | Ableton Tutorial

Simple steps to create the intricate drum sounds championed by Photek during the golden era of Jungle / Drum & Bass music. This track is inspired by 'Ni Ten Ichi Ryu'. Bigup Photek the originator.
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0:00 Intro
1:11 The BREAKS
4:58 TAIKO DRUMS
8:40 SAMPLES
10:12 FULL TRACK
10:42 MODERNIZE IT
13:23 MODERN PHOTEK ROLLER
13:47 Final Thoughts

[@STRANJAH]

What is your favourite Photek track? 😀

[@robertsmithshair4199]

Phusion/the water margin

[@scuube7176]

Has to be 'rings around saturn' for me :D

[@donovanlouis3701]

Touching Down ( Studio Pressure )

[@namagenshu]

If I had to pick one it would be Ni Ten Ichi Ryu and Fifth Column. 😉 The Special Forces remix of Inta is fire too.

[@namagenshu]

Oh, and UFO “It’s definitely coming this way…”

[@ManicallyMellow]

I spent several years hunting down the Photek track 'Special Forces - Something Else' after hearing it at a rave. I remember the look of pure disbelief on everyones faces when it dropped, one guy turned to me and said 'holy fucking shit mate, that's just reminded me why the fuck I'm here' and then proceeded to dance like a munted crab.

[@lilykat2000]

😂😂😂Brilliant.

[@ripdangerdolanunsubbedbutn8902]

Yess😂

[@katahdinbeats]

Love this story so much

[@dilatedconciousness]

I heard that Rupert would spend 6 months working on one break, using all the capabilities of the sampler/outboard mixer and resampling back down a single audio file for choppage. Didn’t have the luxury of infinite tracks in the 90’s so this is more like the way they used to bounce multitrack tapes in analogue recording studios. So worth it considering his breaks are still legendary 30 years later. Totally distinctive. Ne Ten Ichi Ryu is 🔥🔥🔥

[@STRANJAH]

Yes, Definitely have a big appreciation for the "artisan" style of producing that he developed!

[@robertsmithshair4199]

Bounced to DAT back then

[@dilatedconciousness]

@@robertsmithshair4199 yes, this is true. I meant bouncing rather than resampling. It’s more like the workflow I see people using to keep the sound design sessions separate from the song writing process. Even using a separate sub-project just for creating new breaks. Then rendering out and using like any other break from a sample pack

[@ultrajayme]

I'll use this technique. Create a break, bounce, resample, chop, bounce, chop. Save patterns from each previous chop, then create 1-3 variations and glue random segments together. Limitless possibilities. I recently bought an S2800. Replacing backlight today and deep diving it so I can truly get some chunky samples

[@cr0wland]

The story back in the day was that every bar in those early tracks was unique, which considering some of these tunes are 6mins+ that must have been a real time burner. I recall reading an interview in a magazine where a fellow producer said if you ever went into the studio with Photek you should bring a sleeping bag.

[@JonMichaelDeShazer]

'Ni Ten Ichi Ryu' and Goldie's 'Inner City Life' were my introductions to Drum & Bass back in 1997 when I picked up a copy of MTV's Amp compilation when I was 19. Photek is amazing. Glad to find a kindred spirit deconstructing these great tunes!

[@mikehill8102]

Photek. The Master. I think nobody pushed the genre more than he did. A lot of guys in the DnB scene were focused on hitting out dancefloor bangers but Photek was more concerned with artistic expression. In many ways he was on the very edge of DnB, partly explaining why he had so many aliases and moved out of DnB into other things eventually - his repertoire was always much wider. I like what you did with the sounds, impressive and interesting. Works well as a remix. For me though, the raw sound of the original was perfection. Sometimes less technology is more, if you know what I mean. We were all listening to Gilles Peterson and Fabio and Grooverider on KissFM and recording shows on tape when this came out. Hard to imagine now. Cheers.

[@ChrisMichael]

Thanks for this ❤

[@Decoy303]

Source Direct I think has a richer back catalogue. All three of them I believe were from Ipswich. Something was in the washer. 😅

[@Swisspastel80]

I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THIS CHANNEL ITS AMAZING WHAT YOU ARE DOING BUT SOME WARRIOR SECRETS MUST BE DISCOVERED ON THE BATTLFIELD

[@Strafuzz]

😂

[@LiquidChrome98]

Ni Ten Ichi Ryu is an essential in my playlist. Love this breakdown so much, Stranjah!!!

[@STRANJAH]

Thank you its a definitive track for sure!

[@VancouverKizomba]

I always use Photek's Signals and Quadrant when testing out headphones, amps and speakers. The tracks have such an amazing balance of deep bass and clear mids & highs.

[@STRANJAH]

Good idea, his tracks were super defined!

[@SidechainStudios]

Quadrant tracks are perfect for testing any audio setup

[@jjwhittle8873]

I'm not wildly into his newer stuff but it is amazingly well put together

[@joebloggs4925]

@@jjwhittle8873 i listened to signals and quadrant and found myself questioning if it was even the same guy, how do people not find them dull? his older stuff like T'Raenon and stuff as the sentinel is just unbeatable

[@SCARFACE69247]

Any good headphone audio finds?

[@Kung_Fu_Jesus]

Photek and Plug taught me the essence of UK DnB, forever grateful for their influence. I remember the excitement of sticking their stuff on the turntables when they were fresh on the shelves. Give Plug’s Drum’n’bass for Papa on, expert programming as much as Photek.

[@cormacjordan7173]

Yep, Luke is a Boss.

[@UberOcelot]

Yeah Drum and Bass For Papa is essential!

[@cormacjordan7173]

@@UberOcelot Some of his Amen Andrews stuff is worth a peep too

[@eriksalholm]

Photek is my favorite. Loved seeing how you broke down his style. Prefer the oldskool take, but then I am old. 😁 Keep on killing it, Stranjah!

[@markshuter8588]

Completely agree mate but I'm an old 90s raver to

[@downhill2k013]

Fell in love with the souls pride break from beep street by squarepusher. One of my favorite breaks

[@SanaSvyazhin]

Photek and Source Direct formed their own special dark style in mid 90. some fav tracks - Knitevision, The Seven Samurai, The Water Margin, Modus Operandi, Yendi

[@01Peebee10]

I remember when Photek first broke into the DnB scene here in the UK, back when Jungle was being phased out by what we know as Drum and Bass today. His sound was so crisp compared to the old Jungle vibes I grew up with.

[@Chuggnuts]

I'm so confused by this, he started releasing tracks in 1992?

[@01Peebee10]

@@Chuggnuts Possibly mid 90s for me then. My dad was a teacher and when he told his students his lad liked The Prodigy at a young age, they threw everything they had at me. I was listening to One in the Jungle on radio 1 and Happy Hardcore mix tapes before I was 10 for sure. I do remember very early Photek. 👍

[@scoobylol1987]

This is a great modern breakdown on how to achieve a similar rhythm, but the most important thing that’s missing is the texture of the samples and the syncopation. Photek used a couple of hits from sample CDs; Jungle Warfare and Junk Percussion I think the name was, aswell as a lot of old Samurai films. He then processed it through outboard, as a lot of guys were doing back then which really glued a lot of the sounds together. If anything the top end was probably rolled off a bit with some lovely artefacts left over from the bit-rate of the samplers and the AD/DA stages. It’s also worth listening to some early tracks by Digital because he used the same break that Photek used and it wasn’t the Soul Pride. In fact I’ve never found out what it is, but it’s a really beautiful crusty airy break.

[@999a0s]

anyone who has attempted to produce UKG or 2step will testify, learning swing, syncopation, and swung drum construction is something you practice for a lifetime. you're essentially taking the ineffable and intuitive concept of "feel" and reconstructing it by hand. "oh, it's simple, you just offset the hits by a certain amount." nope! sounds like shit. no, your loops need "flex", the swing % expanding and contracting over 2, 4, 8 bars. then you learn how the type of rhythm you put down *affects how you perceive time as a listener*. i.e. a bunch of tight 16th notes will seem to "compress" time and pull the next beat towards you, while even a quarter note of open space will expand time and cause the next beat to recede away. then you learn how pitch affects things and how percussion needs to be legitimate melodic phrases that lead the listener, how this itself affects time, how there needs to be movement and balance between inharmonic sounds perceived more as noise than having pitch, and harmonic sounds perceived more as having pitch than noise. THEN you realize that the DAW itself is your enemy because you can't escape quantization to a grid; even when "quantize is off", your rhythms are still being quantized by the pixel as you drag notes around, so if you don't zoom way in to adjust things, you're actually being quantized to a pretty coarse rhythmic grid. with pitch you also gain an understanding of how you need to shape and design the frequency response of each sound, you want things to only constructively interfere where you want them to. this type of production is a gateway drug into the true art of rhythm, and rhythm has historically been extremely undervalued and poorly understood in western music - this persists to the present day and is only now slowly starting to change.

[@danep99]

I love watching your videos! So clear, concise and informative.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

In the middle of the Solaris album, he reverses the direction of the beat and its almost unnoticeable. And how in form and function and modus operandi he does those complex real noise tracks. He is totally diverse and should be combined with Tech Itch to form the Übermensch creature of technical DnB

[@jamespatrickmusic]

Great breakdown and really fun flow on this video! Love all that modus operandi era material so much! Thanks and big ups y'all!

[@AllenJuddMusic]

Great video. I remember buying the Earth series from ltj bukem on vinyl when it came out. Rings around saturn is still absolutely timeless. i was a kid then. Crazy

[@AndyRrayMusic]

Thank you for this great video. I like your clear instruction and use of Ableton shortcuts/tools. Cheers!

[@stevendorey1825]

Sounds great, man! Super interesting! Can't wait to try it out!

[@STRANJAH]

Have fun!

[@hardboiled2000]

Love your tuts man, really nice process

[@Teddy-ez9qq]

Top job man. Love it

[@strayburn9595]

So cool, man. Loving all your videos and teaching style. Definitely going to make my way through all of them and take whatever courses you've made. Just discovered you recently and I'm so glad I did. (I'm just getting back into jungle/d&b, and just getting into trying to produce.) You're like my favourite person in the world right now! Haha! Thanks for everything!

[@aarenalseri3804]

Thanks Alan, excellent video as always!

[@riddimfernandez5139]

Very cool video buddy. I will use some of these hints this weekend.

[@priesttd]

The first time I heard Ni Ten Ichi Ryu was on an MTV Electronic Music Compilation called Amp back in the 1997. Out of all the Tracks, Photeks stood out to me, and for a short period of time I thought he was a Japanese Drum N' Bass artist until I found out later that he was from the UK. So I bought Modus Operandi that same year and it is still one of my favorite albums of all time. I would say KJZ, The Fifth Column and Ni Ten Ichi Ryu are my favorite Photek Tracks.

[@wolfgangrecordings]

ni ten ichi ryu is actually a whole school of swordsmanship rather than a technique, but yeah you're spot on in saying it's based on using two swords simultaneously (katana & wakizashi). this sounds great btw :)

[@STRANJAH]

Thanks for clarifying, bigup

[@craigsteel9736]

Pioneered by Myamoto Musashi, right?

[@johncitizen8828]

Amazing tutorial. Respect to Photek and Stranjah. 👊

[@tovermoran4360]

Great tutorial, very interesting to dive into the piece of history!

[@sutusmihaly]

..awesome 🖤🖤🖤 I love all of the older photek tunes of this era..the hidden camera is a killer album too 🖤🖤🖤

[@atonegames]

Older is way better. He used more analog samples and sounds, so it sounds way more fuller and warm. Digital is too clean, flat and not gritty enough. It loses its grit.

[@RasKitchen]

Yes Stranjah! wicked vid 🔥

[@Raachen]

Fantastic production, the rhythm is on point!!!

[@EmilHoboken]

That's what I've been waiting for. Thx!

[@STRANJAH]

Most welcome!

[@Ninzumecha]

This is superb mate! This is the first example I’ve seen of an dnb producer properly utilising their dnb culture/skills In this way, this seems so logical. I would’ve gone batty for this kind of content in the 90’s. Well done sir 👏 👏 👏

[@nickvledder]

Great tutorial! Love it!

[@DDONNRICARTUR]

Congrats bro, that was an awesome deconstruction

[@jarosawbrodowski1934]

Great video as always. Photek in my opinion is one of the most unique and timeless electronic producers of all time so seeing you capture his style in just one simple loop was really impressive. Also, if I may suggest something- it would be great to see you making tracks in Om Unit or Homemade Weapons style.

[@STRANJAH]

Thank you glad you can appreciate. I am friends with Homemade Weapons, he makes great tunes.

[@jarosawbrodowski1934]

@@STRANJAH That's so cool to hear! I Really like his style which seems to balance on the thin line between dnb and techno. Any chance on having him on the channel to show some of his tricks? :)

[@smashsystem]

Yeah, some Homemade Weapons style tips n tricks would be awesome...

[@chilli.mayonnaise]

@@STRANJAH a homemade wepons tutorial would be amazing. Such a good artist

[@Djpuzzle]

Fun watch! One thing I learned recently after knowing about (and liking) Photek's (Rupert's) music for over 20 years is that he is a composer for several TV shows and movies. That sent me down a rabbit hole for a bit lol.

[@TRUEiMPROrecords]

Photek has the most complex yet groovy, dense yet airy breaks.. master. Loves this exploration into his style, NiTenIchiRuy was my first DnB record I ever bought!

[@higrade_dnb]

God level tutorial as always! Thank you, king!

[@higrade_dnb]

Feeling super inspirated after watching this video!

[@STRANJAH]

Glad you're inspired, good luck in the studio!

[@bigupz6818]

Dope tut Stranjah 👌🏼

[@LIE4ME]

On GP I subscribed based on the video title. Thanks for the deconstructions! Photek is one of the most influential artists in EDM.

[@gustavost86]

Awesome content man!

[@mrshell7592]

Amazing breakdown, thank you. Photek's Ni Ten Ichi Ryu is an incredible track, I hear it as a kind of climax of drums breaking and rearranging in this unique way that only Photek could do. This track has always been haunting me since years, like many other tracks, there was a kind of mystery behind those incredibly complex breaks. There are other gems like The Seventh Samurai or Rings around Saturn, but Ni Ten Ichi Ryu is the pinnacle of drum breaks programming , and even more considering the tools available by the time it was composed. It's almost strange to see the mystery behind Ni Ten breaks being unfolded, but there's no doubt this track will still haunt me for years though !

[@TheOnlyCathyCat]

Ne Ten Ishi Ryu is the quintessential Photek tune, each time I listen to it I feel like I have been through an experience.

[@tarekwayne9193]

Yeah, totally I agree... When I wanna revisit Photek it's my go-to

[@buzzandjim4265]

Good stuff thanks Stranjah

[@STRANJAH]

My pleasure!!

[@TheJonathanlewis1000]

So fucking good . Absolutely nailed that feel. Love it.

[@kaiisensee4892]

thanx for this!!! At the moment I use "Trans 7" as a reference track to make a photek-inspired piece and so your video comes just in time. By the way, I prefer the old and cool drumfunk with authentic and dirty cellar-drums.

[@sjfarrell2.03]

I think you did quite well, Alan. Ne ten Ichi Ryu is a bit of a classic and you did it proud 👌

[@kowalja6]

Great episode! Big up!

[@sramirez1906]

Nobody breaks D&B down like you, man. Big up!

[@Pleazure]

Bigups Stranjah! Been a follower since Freezing Point.

[@InFamousProductions]

OK I'm at the end of your vid, and I dig the shit out of both of the versions. what's really crazy is how good you are at it and do it like it's no big fucking deal . you make some clean ass beats bro.

[@GuitarguyRichard56]

Fantastic work. Photek is great

[@gergotajtyi]

Dear Stanjah! Cool video! Thanks a lot and the snare drum sound you were looking for is Sly and the Family Stone - Rock Dirge... Pitch it up.. so... Awesome videos! Keep going' it! Peace!

[@hymen0callis]

Great tutorial. Sounds legit. As an ambient aficionado my fave Photek track is "Under the Palms". Also "Halogen" from the same album.

[@STRANJAH]

Dope selections

[@johncitizen8828]

Great album. I didn’t like it at first, cause I wanted more Modus Operandi style tracks, but Solaris is amazing in its own right.

[@stephenshannon5793]

So I was first introduced to him on the Wipeout XL soundtrack featuring “Third Sequence”. Fell in love instantly. “UFO” is probably my favorite. There was a show called “Station 19” that kept playing after another show I watch on HULU. It was not my regular type of show but I kept leaving on for some reason… then I caught it in the credits: Music by Photek He does a TON of soundtracks for shows and movies.

[@DjViceroy]

Photek was the don at layering different breaks in a way that worked. King shit

[@STRANJAH]

Serious, so good his drums

[@moonsan7270]

The Rain. Blew my mind back in the day…..and still does!!

[@owenthesoyboy]

Photek love for certain here! As a hardware only guy, I'm honestly amazed how fast you chopped, rearranged and added some parts to get it all done. Using cubase 20 years ago was hilarious to spend an entire day getting the breaks reorganized. I could only say I would love some space in there for a breath to make the call and response of the drums have suspense. Lovely stuff man, sounds great!

[@JurgenKranz]

Doc Scott's Swarm is an utter banger. As is Ni Ten! Props as ever to your tuts man!

[@Rufusdos]

Amazed nobody's mentioned Photek's remix of Loose by Therapy. Amazing amen track. It even had a music video, I believe.

[@MonkeyManRecordings]

Photek- Mind Games, one of my fave artists and tunes

[@lostagain4185]

Have to say, first version is a classic, but the new one sounds like a 2021 VIP. Litah big ups!

[@STRANJAH]

Bigup glad you like that one!

[@djmastergroove946]

Absolutely love Photek incredible producer! My favourite producer's of that intelligent programming though got to be Source Direct! The way them guy's Jim, Phil. Constructed there sounds was just incredible! How Rupert took them lads on and then progressed in creating the most amazing intelligent deep sounds of jungle-drum & bass! Respect.

[@kevincc]

Impressive how you figured out Photek’s beat.

[@christopherkennedy314]

Great subject matter. Loved Photek bk in the day.

[@ahar2563]

Great great tutorial. That way of using Taiko breaks reminds me of Jubei's remix of Goldie - I Think Of You, massive one

[@STRANJAH]

Jubei is sick!

[@AShiga]

Even though I know absolutely nothing about composing, somehow I was hypnotised by this video 👌🏿

[@Captivatebeats]

Great vid Alan! I found Ni Ten Ichi Ryu in a leslieville dollar bin back in my Toronto days hahaha

[@ljt3084]

Good work fella 👊😉

[@turn1210]

A lesser known gem from Photek is Titan, it was on the Wipeout 2097 soundtrack and manages to somehow combine funk and industrial power.

[@rustyshackleford5478]

Seven samurai because it is the first Photek tune that I heard. And I heard it for the first time just yesterday. So sick I gotta learn how to make those breaks. Thanks for your posts.

[@TechCycleRecordings]

These drumz still phenomenal :] Loving both original Ni Ten Ichi Ryu and masterfully crafted TeeBee's remix with a different vibe and energy but sounding shockingly good for its time.

[@deafprof]

Fantastic channel!

[@bigbagboo]

Nice video, fun breakdown of a classic song. Fav Photek tune is a bit of a cheat but love his song Awakening as The Sentinel

[@metarotta]

one of photek's early works, aquarius - aquatic is one of my favourites for sure, really nice tune on both melodies and the breakbeat programming

[@namagenshu]

Oh Yes!!!! Big ups Mr Stranjah!!!

[@STRANJAH]

Thanks for dropping by!

[@d0c70r.m1k3]

Modernized version is sick. Big UP for tutorial.

[@eight-bitz]

Photek is my fvrt dnb person,still since 90s.

[@richwilcox666]

your edits are sweet bro

[@DigitalBard1]

You did a really good job on that. It's all about the poly rhythms. Btw I preferred the Old Skool version

[@peaterrepeater4441]

Legend, and Solaris is still an underappreciated album.

[@jackissocool1]

thanks for the video man this is sick! I started making something while I waited for a taiko konkakt pack and now it's a liquid tune so it's too late.... maybe another day haha!

[@slipziq]

wow, good job!

[@atideva3385]

yo your track is banging fair play

[@GauLB66]

This is awesome!

[@STRANJAH]

Thank you

[@pexsun140]

Thank you for this!

[@marylewis3311]

My most treasured vinyl. Dropping bombs guaranteed dance floor filla.🙏🔥🙏

[@thChrch]

I really Appreciate this video. I grew up on Photek, Panacea, Alec Empire and so many others. I wish I had this video when I was younger.

[@topamen]

looking forward to this

[@STRANJAH]

Good to see u here!

[@carbon1479]

Concealed Identity did something really cool with this recently on The Nightingale Floor.

[@vitriol-labor]

Thank you bro!

[@mattyg499]

Now sample that into an older rack sampler to finish it off resequencing from a keyboard.Amazing how creative the process is.Adding ‘air’and vibe.That was a large part of the sound back then.

[@VIsTheMusic]

"THE RAIN" is my favorite Photek track. I wish we could collab somehow? So inspiring and motivational material here. Always appreciate these so much !! - Vi An MUSIC

[@namagenshu]

Nice one, Stranjah! Had to pull over in the car to watch that live. Haha

[@STRANJAH]

Wow now that's dedication, thank you!

[@Blue_708]

cant believe stranjah has less than 100k dudes literally the best resource out there

[@samwoodcock5426]

Loved the old skool version more! the space in between the poly rhythms has a way nicer groove than the foghorn overkill imo. Love your channel btw! The mysterious Photek drums have always intrigued me. Could you do one on the Tramen? Like about The Calling or the Renegade Terrorist remix? Cheers! peace

[@krookedvulture]

Mr Parkes has never been surpassed imo ... pure, deadly, minimal, perfection.

[@drthunda]

Great video I am new to Ableton and learned a lot from watching. I liked the old skool, the new bass was hurtin I woulda enjoyed a smoother sound