Can I make a techno liveset? (first attempt)

[@OscarUnderdog]

Oscar's courses ► courses.underdog.brussels Underdog Mailing List ► eepurl.com/gZmNbv Patreon ► www.patreon.com/underdogmusicschool Discord ► discord.gg/trDbVcDHB3 Torc techno project ► soundcloud.com/torcaudio XYS label ► xysecret.bandcamp.com/

[@stephenswope3346]

I took Surco's live performance class a few months ago. It really changed my approach to performance, highly recommended.

[@wickeddubz]

Which approach you used before the class and what you came up with at the moment? I played some tunes from a single mc-101 few days ago, so i’m generally interested in other people’s solutions.

[@stephenswope3346]

@ beforehand I rehearsed individual "songs" with an intro, a and b sections, and an outro. Each w it's own tempo, key., And chord progressions. Now it's more a single tempo and key with more live improvised elements. Will probably combine the two approaches next time

[@wickeddubz]

@ thanks! Your answer gave me food for thoughts. I feel i need to keep certain key for at least few segments.

[@gonemadsynths]

@@stephenswope3346 I am thinking I need to add a little bit more preplanning but I really enjoy just building on the fly. Unfortunately, always ends in mixed results.

[@SURCOlive]

Love the excitement. Can't wait to jam together when I get over there again!

[@yerko_squadrito]

Lovely to see you on the hardware & dawless realm! I've learend tons of techno production tips from this channel that I've applied also to my dawless setup.

[@aaronjenkins385]

Yes!!! I am so excited for you to be doing this! Really looking forward to more content like this. Surcos videos have changed the way I was going about things with my set up, I'm really looking forward to hearing about what you discover and your take on things as well!

[@joeljae]

Awesome! Nice groove right out of the gate. Transitions between "songs" are also something I've been working on for a long time. There are lots of things I've tried. Some things that are only possible on modular, like organically transitioning between two sequencers using a bunch of utility modules and a joystick. But essentially, the trick was to realize that hard transitions are better left to DJs and that the strength of making the music live is that you can change small things all the time. When Colin Benders plays, I find it very hard to discern where his themes start and end, which I really enjoy. One thing that might fit in with what you want is a granular sampler. Great for adding atmosphere and transitions. Used as end of chain, it can be a cheat code for quickly remixing everything while obscoring some rough changes you're making in the background.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Great minds think alike! I started experimenting with the mutable instruments clouds for exactly this!

[@keithlow3056]

Belgium beer and techno sounds like a good plan

[@sebastiennesp1978]

What a great pair of enthusiastic guys. Love it!

[@cmaignan35]

Making a whole track / set with hardware is so fun 🙂, thanks for your shared. Thanks also for Surco which is a great artist too 👍

[@PLaoss]

Awesome to see you so exited! Thats why i love modular and hardware stuff too! All i need is a Dawless jam. ❤ Great content Oscar!

[@Andrew-rz7qt]

I remember going to see my brother in the early 90's when he was studying in Newcastle and him and his friends shared a small warehouse that lived in and would use the space for creating the things they made. One of his friends had all his music gear set up in there and on one wall he had loads of Polaroids of his patches so he could come back to them later.

[@Nyhde]

Okay, this seems like a worthwhile project, and I for one would definitely be interested in seeing more!

[@pivA00]

Love seeing you getting into live techno, your videos have taught me a lot that I re-adapted to how I like to make music (live jams, recorded), and now seeing this content getting closer to what I love to do inspired me even more to keep doing it :) One tip I have is: try to use some looper (a RC-505 or the Octatrack, or whatever else fits you), it is very liberating to be able to "freeze" an improvised loop into the looper and free the instrument to go in a completely different direction, transitions between tracks become much easier as well. Cheers, Oscar! Hoping to see you playing live at some point! :D

[@nntblst]

I play live techno in clubs with a modular system and I think the best way to approach this is to answer this question (wich i heard from mylar melodies a long time ago) “what is techno and what is the minimum viable party you need to do it??” This question is gonna take you into planning and see what works or doesnt.

[@dammills]

Welcome to the club! As an avid WMD module user, I have a suggestion for the mixer. I personally use one of the mono sends out to my reverb and then send it back into one of the stereo channels. This way it works as a send with fader control. I also have the Channels expander for it, so that helps with more stereo inputs.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Genius. So instead of a stereo aux send you effectively have two aux channels. Thats so useful omg. Thank you!

[@dammills]

Yeah, but you can still have it come back to the channel in stereo which is nice. While this technique does take up a stereo channel, I can still use the master send/return for things to glue everything together. I’ll use my WMD MSCL as a limiter, or sometimes even put a subtle reverb on the chain. What’s cool about the technique with the stereo channel is that I can take an effect like a big washy reverb and choose what channels I want it to effect and bring it in with the fader. That way I can keep my kick and hihat out of it if I want.

[@OscarUnderdog]

@@dammills WMD MSCL also a good shout, hadn't heard of it! Do you find it's helpful? I'm definitely ending up with audio that's a bit sub-bass-heavy so perhaps that helps?

[@dammills]

@@OscarUnderdog I think the MSCL is a great end of chain limiter or compressor. Plus it’s only 4hp. If you are looking to clean up sub bass you should look into the Shakmat HiPass which is a 2hp fixed hipass filter. Very useful, but needs some attenuation with hotter signals. I believe there is also a sidechain output from the Battering Ram that you could use to duck the bass too. Or use the VCA control on the Performance Mixer. So many possibilities!

[@KanzeNYC]

Love the enthusiasm and good will. Also if you have several groove boxes you can use the Cioks power supplier to power multiple boxes with one outlet. I use mine to power my Octatrack, Peak, Db01 (Erica Synths), Vongon Polyphase delay and more. For MIDI to become way more efficient I intend to use the MRCC from Conductive Labs. Connects everything with one box. Love the vids Rock'n'Roll 🤟

[@deca5002]

I get your reaction on the idea of all gear performance! It's so much fun and exiting to work without an computer screen and just f*ck around with all machines in the room! Fun watching you fiddle and amaze yourself about what's happening when you turn the knobs, Keep going! 🤗

[@lasoute5638]

Surco always has the good words ! 💪

[@OhNoTechno]

Love seeing this. As for switching or transitioning motifs: Just do it! Just turn some knobs and "let'r rip tater chip". I've done this so many times, works great, and most importantly it is FUN!

[@johnnorthtribe]

It looks like my Reason Studio template setup with all the virtual hardware and cables :D Nice live set and nice music!

[@christophremmery4520]

+10 for the Alphabase ❤

[@atticroom8965]

How to switch between motifs, this is one of the main questions I'm thinking about a lot. It's good to hear that it's not only me who's thinking about this problem 🙂

[@rnx317]

super nice as always my man! ❤

[@skinlayers]

This is so relevant to what I've been working on!

[@Gryzmee]

Great to see you're going dawless. I actually use hints from you to make my dawless music ... so I feel like its going to be even more relevant soon !!!!

[@DISCOTEKED]

sharing immediately, my friends need to see this :)

[@jamesthelemonademaker]

I would make a trip for that B2B🔥

[@manuelrioslopez]

Surco’s footprint all over the place and I don’t blame you, he’s the master of systems optimisation when it comes of techno live performance gear: minimum size, user friendliness, inviting for improvisation, failproof and fucking shit loads of horse power to make those kicks fat and nasty. and I have to say that I’m really enjoying your teaching style on this subject, very clear and illustrative, ableton is amazing but some of us spent too much time in front of the computer and want to keep ableton for the minimum and use some cool toys to create the music instead! You can incorporate into that set a cheeky elektron box like the Syntakt or Digitakt 2 or digitone 2! At the end of your chain you can also add an Otto Machines Boum or an analog heat (Oora music has very good videos of both) I’m interested in controlling the dfam as well to be able to make 128 steps sequences or polyrhythms Big up man!

[@subtorq]

Welcome to Soundwave Surfing 😎 Enjoy riding the waves!

[@cleanwave4336]

Some good sounds on the get go. Something to uncover, hurry up n launch

[@luvinfunvan]

Dude, I dig your music.

[@JimJohnMarks]

You may want to look at the work Ronnie Martin did through his project Joy Electric in the 1990’s in which he tried this kind of thing. Particularly with a focus on modular, analog, non-piano-roll driven set ups.

[@dithernet_music]

re: changing motifs, i reckon you'd get a lot out of a looper ( like the 3ms single looping delay ) which is a great way to snapshot a motif, allow you time to prep something else, and then fade between

[@mnpl_music]

So cool to see you going to the hardware side! We're also playing live improvised modular techno in belgium, if you ever wanna jam let us know 🔥

[@OscarUnderdog]

Hell yeah! I see on your channel, im down for that for sure. Message me on IG?

[@mnpl_music]

@OscarUnderdog ça marche !

[@julienbloit8527]

Let's go Oscar! You can count me in the audience for your next dawless gig in Brussels!

[@iqnill]

I've played modular live for a while and always used the Octa as mixer and FX box. The case was divided into two parts allowing to adjust the modules using CUE on the Octa and crossfade between "tracks". Apart from long atmos set to random on the Octa everything else has always been live-experimentation/patching.

[@drwho3216]

I know exactly how that works: Berghain, then a few hours in Schneidersladen basement….and I walk out and declare bankruptcy 😂😂😂 And I have a distinct feeling we were at the Hain at the same time: Rodhad’s WSNWG session with Jako, Starlight, Vril and Fadi (and Barker later on)…they did exactly what you’re talking about.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Yeeeeep yep yep yep. Thats the one. And then in Amsterdam going to Stoor really cemented it for me.

[@drwho3216]

I know exactly what you're talking about 🤩🤩🤩​@@OscarUnderdog

[@nlpascal]

Not using the Jomox kick is a sin.😉. I love that drum machine. Although Magneto sounds amazing and can do so much for me the Make Noise Mimeophon delay is much easier to use creatively in a live setting. I run my live rig through live which acts as a compressor/mixer. This really gives you a lot of control over the dynamics. I'm looking forward to seeing how your live rig develops over time. 👍

[@OscarUnderdog]

Ahhh mineophon, good recommendation! Yeah the magneto is bulky, but its giving me good options with its volume control, its feedback and its reverb, so i dont wanna replace it w something less capable. Will investigate the mimeophon!

[@potsandjacks]

I strongly recomend looking at the PlayDifferently Model1. It makes an awesome partner to Eurorack. I had both the performance mixer and model1 at the same time. Ended up selling the WMD. Using sub mix modules to send 4-5 sterio outs to the Model1 leaving me room for a media play for DJing. The channel filters and sends are just to pream.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Interesting advice! I have access to an Allen & Heath mixer as well and could do something similar, but for now I'd like to build something I can pick up & transport more easily. Surco was also recommending the BoredBrain performance mixer which has multitrack output for recording! For now I feel I need to honour the purchase of the WMD mixer though by practicing a whole bunch on it :D

[@potsandjacks]

@@OscarUnderdog Thats exacly what I did, Used it for about 2 years before I let it go. Im sure you got a good deal on it. Its an awesome module.

[@johnbaptiste3565]

Tesseract Tex mix is also worth looking at. And very affordable!

[@potsandjacks]

@@johnbaptiste3565 Channel EQs/filters?

[@bernardojunqueira2392]

Awesome!!!🎉❤

[@1music_1mic]

How fun! 😀

[@pinkmouse4863]

Have you seen Analog Kitchen's channel ? He does lots of live stuff, not so much modular based, but he has great ideas on building sets and using tech live.

[@ElectronicWitchcraft]

His videos are good (have some of his old proggier tunes too!) but lack the explanation that someone like Oscar delves deeper into, in my opinion.

[@pinkmouse4863]

@@ElectronicWitchcraft They do different things, yes, but both well worth watching. Just as I also watch Will, Alice and Bthelick and learn from them all! :-D

[@dithernet_music]

very excited for this video! have been a long term fan of this channel & patreon, but never a fan of the DAW, only live improv!

[@oliviera5988]

More hardware videos!!!🔥

[@gonemadsynths]

This is very much my style these days. Sit down, no plan, press record, profit?!? (fun at least)

[@stevebriggs6469]

Thanks for another awesome vid. You do have the best Beer and Chocolate. And dare I say the best record label too: R&S :)

[@OscarUnderdog]

You know whats up

[@andytuke8986]

You need to get some self adhesive velcro to stick those drum machines safely to the top of the cabinet.

[@gacstibi]

Music Thing Modular has some fully transistor based distortion modules, maybe those can beef up the thin bleeps

[@bbugl]

i'd suggest some kind of transparent brickwall limiter at the end before the master volume to catch any mistakes. for your ears and those of your audience.

[@Emillionbuxify]

Befaco morphader is good for transitions. Makes any modular to a octatrack workflow.

[@wickeddubz]

I wonder if you make your modular setup smaller after you get really comfortable with it. For instance, one intellijel palette and one synth/sampler. Alpha Base is a very strange beast for me. Many people say it sounds good, but it doesn’t look performance oriented like tr8s, analog rhytm, etc.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Yeah ive got to explore it more! It can do a lot, though i have a feeling it might be duplicative of the rytm. But its early days now, i can try a lot of things before slimming things down 😄👍

[@drfluffy3983]

My Hardware Techno Setup is at the moment Digitakt And Digitone both MK1, Moog DFAM, Behringer Edge and Boss RC 505. Extra fx pedals at the moment are GFI Specular Tempus and Microcosm. I want to exchange the Boss RC 505 somewhen with a Octatrack MK2, but no idea when that will happen. At the Event i request for Hardware sets a A&H Xone 96 mixer and can so easy create a few send / return chains and play with them. My sidechain i do with Midi CC controlled from the Digitakt.

[@flrn84791]

So much stuff... long live dawless and GAS...

[@hut48]

Yessssss welcome to the dawless dark side 😅

[@fumpmaster]

Add a mixer.... you can go crazy with that

[@OscarUnderdog]

Well I just added the WMD performance mixer, and it's unlocked a huge amount of flow already. Or you mean a DJ mixer?

[@fumpmaster]

I missed that. Was buisy cooking food. But yeah something with eq stuff on it. Although i have been little out of the modular game lately

[@OscarUnderdog]

@@fumpmaster Yeah having EQ per voice would be pretty sick. But so far my tests are telling me that if you choose the right sounds, the EQ matters less than I would have imagined. (Of course if you want to release it as a track, maybe it's another story)

[@tru7hhimself]

nice! we can see you're having fun and it does looks like it works great for a liveset. have you tried some fm on the dfam in that context? i think that would get you the "dirt" needed there. and again, the battering ram really shines.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Yeah, for this demo I wish I had taken a bit more time and found a better sweetspot on the DFAM, while editing it I couldn't get over how beepy and naive it sounded 😅 But overall given the size of the DFAM, I'll switch it out for something else for a more portable live rig I think. I'm aiming at a functional 2x106hp rack, plus currently 2 external drum machines (a bit overkill but it's in the name of science 😁)

[@tru7hhimself]

@@OscarUnderdog everything sounds a whole lot better while you're tweaking it ;-). really? i was always impressed how easily the people in the videos come up with nice rhytmic sequences using the dfam. if i was to make techno instead of psy i'd probably swap out my mother32 for a dfam. so you want to downsize from 9U to 6U? gear purchases are always justified it it's in the name of science! 😜 but really, it doesn't sound like overkill to me.

[@senseibullish1803]

Niiice 👌🏾

[@Garethduffy707]

“You perverts” 😂

[@testRobot_overlord]

When are you coming to Amsterdam with that set??

[@OscarUnderdog]

ASAP baby 👹

[@ccmp23]

Oscar, what is your ‘why’? Why do you want to do live sets? What’s your USP? That’s what people always miss when they think playing live is what they should do; it’s not about the gear, it’s about what you bring to the table: how are you entertaining people? Watching someone just play techno with gear isn’t enough imo, it needs more. That’s what separates hobbyists from artists. I’m not asking to just be a d*ck, I wish you luck with the project!

[@Vincent-Vega24]

Bro...... All you need now is MORE COWBELL!!!!!!!! Love all your videos, im trying to build a modular myself. Watching you makes it look easy to get good sounds out of it, However, we all know its not that easy so you been doing this awhile right?????

[@OscarUnderdog]

I mean, ive been working with techno for a loooong time and have had many small explorations into modular land, just never really got to the point where i could jam in a flow for a whole hour. That part is new for me :)

[@Vincent-Vega24]

@@OscarUnderdog I enjoyed every second of your video!!! Like i said, you really made it look easy with your experience. Im 51, ive been producing since i was around 16 and have been afraid of modular synthesis for some reason. Your an inspiration for sure!!! Maybe you could do some videos of how you get to a sound such as a snare or hi hat sound????? Anyways, you def have a new sub!!!!!!

[@KurtLorenz]

🖤🖤🖤

[@MuffinMachine]

1:11 yup

[@bramenplukker5098]

So how long before we see you live on STOOR?

[@OscarUnderdog]

One can dream ✨

[@AlexanderCook87]

Do you get much sound bleeding between the channels with the Akido? I get a bit on mine.

[@mlprod6202]

Hi oscar, do you know approximatively how many cost this setup ?, thank you.

[@charlesbronson2806]

I'd say around 8 grand.

[@OscarUnderdog]

Yeah all the bits accumulated come to quite a lot. It's been a process of almost ten years though, picking up bits and pieces along the way. You wouldn't jump in to the deep end with this much stuff from nothing.

[@astro_poly]

jomox is the best thing you could have own the xbase 999 for 10 years now, can't part from it and use it every time i make music

[@deniswastaken]

How was your experience at berghain? I always wanna visit that place, people say that it has limited entrance but it's a cool place to visit for underground techno fans, is it?

[@stephenmctowelie3501]

Can you make a metropolix tutorial

[@ItsPainnz]

looks like classic bleep ben back

[@opticalman6417]

i wonder if it easier to use than my rd-9

[@marcus268]

Out of tune quiete a bit, maybe the hz voltage needs tuning Can be intentional ofc.

[@OscarUnderdog]

It's the DFAM with only one oscillator tracking the pitch sequence - the goal was not to be too concerned with pitch but rather focus on timbre. My overall conclusion though is that the DFAM is too much like a simplistic sawtooth wave and will sound thin and buzzy unless I make it explicitly sound like acid 303. So I've already moved on to exploring other voices. Currently the Plonk is taking that role very nicely actually :) And I have my eye on the Shakmat archer's rig too.

[@ghostinplainsight4803]

In tune Techno sounds like Trance. Techno is about tension and more tension, no better way to do that than staying out of scale or sticking harsher modes.

[@jaroskavibes]

ok i am cleaning dust from my modular. lets give it a chance.

[@DennisHartmann]

Do you have a Pink beard on that Polaroid?

[@85ringostar]

Happy to be a pervert 😂

[@OfficialSiriusmusic]

im a perv

[@carstenneuhaus6090]

:D

[@magnuswootton6181]

gods deleting his music.

[@potsandjacks]

pfft /facepalm an alpha bass. Look out!

[@OscarUnderdog]

Not a fan of the alphabase?

[@potsandjacks]

@@OscarUnderdog the alpha bass kicks but! Wish I had one.

[@rondorfer9709]

i love the silverbox Holy McBride or Rob Acid sends my regards I love it maybe you can sum it up in a little formula 909