Skinny Puppy - from bass line to finish line - Music Production and Engineering

[@bcx1138]

i'd never expect a skinny puppy producer to seem so wholesome and boyishly charming

[@williamjosephdunn5879]

Ken getting excited about the Canadian men's curling team winning gold is the most Canadian thing ever. He probably bleeds maple syrup.

[@evanjohnson1815]

Wholesome content achieved

[@te9591]

Curling is a lot like the standing version of that pool hall game where you slide those discs at an edge when there's sand on top.

[@erichusayn]

Wow. Time sure flies. Hard to believe its been 15 years since that came out.

[@Mind_Idiot]

you're not kidding. holy shit.

[@politesociety]

I was still thinking of it as a recent release. :/

[@ProfVonW]

Hard to believe it’s been 8, almost 9 years since Weapon came out.

[@erichusayn]

@@ProfVonW right? That one, by far is my favorite of all their reunited albums. Breaking out all the old 80s gear in the 21st century was genius.

[@SoundDevour]

You're right, this song does turn the house upside down each time. That last tour that rolled through Atlanta was SOOOOOOOOO good. It sounded amazing. Also this album is underrated among puppy fans. I love these insights, its so inspiring and has altered the way I create in so many fun ways.

[@joetuma5930]

Definitely an underrated, underappreciated album. My favorite albums are last rights, too dark park, rabies, cleanse fold and manipulate but I absolutely LOVE everything from from the process to weapon. They constantly reinvent their sound push the envelope, while maintaining their 100% unique sound. There isn't a bad skinny puppy album.

[@Bodytribechip]

Came for Skinny Puppy. Stayed for Canadian curling team. The magic of making random into powerful.

[@ScottGarman]

Amazing! It's like a dream come true to get this kind of insight as to how these tracks were made. I'll watch anything you release related to Skinny Puppy or FLA. Here's a video idea - how have your production techniques changed/evolved over time with these bands? You could give examples of things you did in the early days, and how you improved or changed it in later albums.

[@matttorrence2900]

This is the best channel

[@SynaMax]

Man, that FM loop is amazing!!

[@SergioPellico]

😱😱😱

[@claudiaweier1153]

Ken! My prior dance partner of "the bump" in a Nashville Theatre Isleway as I escorted a dear illuminate soul, musician, mind and PupPy tribe member to his earthly departure and materialized his Make a Wish List! My business partner and gifted aural tone sculptor best friend and I have been enjoying all that you're sharing! We are in final stages of mix of our project from last summer. Can't wait to share! Please keep these coming and thank you for weaving my flute into that PuPpy mishmash a couple years prior under the design of Mark Leonard of Canada! Always Family. ❤

[@discombob93]

Love these mixes... they sound properly glitched-out, with modern frequency balance and punch, and possibly the most complete realization of the sound they were working toward for Mythmaker.

[@Nowheremovies]

lmao that curling sample. How can people even hate Skinny Puppy?!

[@burprobrox9134]

No one hates skinny puppy.

[@joetuma5930]

@@burprobrox9134 I literally said the same thing out loud.

[@viralempire1986]

That curling sample origin is the funniest shit I’ve ever heard. Soooooo Canadian that it’s curling!

[@stanislavzalevskyi3968]

That was amazing, Ken! Mythmaker is my favourite album by Skinny Puppy. How about "Magnifishit" breakdown? That song is so epic and has a ton of interesting layers!

[@FrozenCharlottes]

omg, it has already been 15 years!?!?

[@JackPeloquin]

Last time I saw these guys, was LOUD!!!. When the show was over, I spotted Ken behind the desk. I was both excited and honored. Dude knows what hes doing. Needs more credit(s)!!!

[@richardleveille3254]

Too Dark Park show was one the loudest I’ve ever experienced!

[@te9591]

Man, you're positivity is really neat. That sound mix at 5:00 is awesome.

[@Fredisaviewer]

Awesome Ken. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and learning about all the unique details throughout the song. The Canadian men's curling team winning gold being a part of this song really put a smile on my face.

[@yluko]

OMG! that's how the guitars were done, they are so phenomenal, always loved them!

[@alexlokanin3312]

I love a bit of history like this

[@alienanxiety]

Wow. I had no idea that you brought so much of the samples and sound design to the table. I ignorantly assumed you were more of a mixing/mastering person, but clearly you've brought a tonne of talent to this track. Very cool!

[@genepooll7610]

Awesome session! Thanks for sharing, Ken. (Loved the Easter egg!) Seriously inspiring watching you break this stuff down!

[@jacka55penguin]

Awesome Ken! Thanks for sharing. I've been sharing your channel. I hope you get lots of traffic. Cheers!

[@MrSulfor]

15 years ago... Holy shit.

[@Trig242]

Mythmaker can almost drive a car now

[@sablemarkova2896]

Thank you!

[@haolekoa737]

Love these "behind the scenes" videos... Hugely inspiring! This channel is the best thing on KZbin.

[@InherentLiberation]

Ive been an SP connoisseur since the early 90's & a music composer as well. I want to say thank you a lot for sharing these production videos. It is extremely rare that iconic underground producers such as yourself come out from behind the curtain & share these things! Its awesome to see inside the trax & a little bit of the making! BIG LOVE

[@demanu]

So dope. As always a good way to start the weekend, lunch with a Hiwatt vid! cheers!

[@pinktooth5473]

REALLY cool to see this one from the inside out! Righteous album, Mythmaker. Stay up and keep up the great work, Ken!!

[@LabRatWarfare]

Man, it's incredible getting your insight into producing this track!! Skinny Puppy are my biggest influence in music, so I barely have words to describe just how cool this is!! Thank you Ken, for having a YT channel and doing these awesome videos man!! They are really appreciated and super inspiring!! 😃🐀

[@JacobSkriver]

Wow time flies! But thanks for sharing, loved every second of it 🙏

[@abebloom9540]

This is incredible Ken! I am a Skinny Puppy fan since the late 80s, and also have been a hockey fan and general Canadiophile my whole life. A friend just shared this with me as he knows my interests and I recently started Curling in Chicagoland... that was a great easter egg! I wish someone had thought to try to get the sound of a stone takeout as a percussive sound. Thank you for this video!

[@neveser]

Oh man, killer video Ken! It's always fun (and educational) when you take us through tracks like this. 15 years... wow, just wow. Hard to believe. I saw SP at the House of Blues in Chicago on that tour. I think we were about 3-5 people deep from the front of the stage and when this kicked in... man did we get crushed!!! Good times!!!

[@joeirente]

YEAH, Politkill is one of their best! The moment I heard the first beat I stopped everything I was doing to focus on the video.

[@SergioPellico]

oooH Marvelous!!! Thanks a lot!!! I hope the next LP of SP, its going to be mixed by your hands-brain. I hope sooo

[@Nabocleese]

As a Canadian and big fan of curling, to hear that you sampled the men's team winning gold for this track is ridiculously awesome! So fuckin' cool! Thanks Ken!!

[@bandcontroversial]

good job, Ken! greetings from Controversial

[@stixvane]

Skinny Pup & music have molded my life and I love hearing all your stories about you working with the Kevinz..... brAp oN!

[@agnostek]

12:25 - This is actually really effective...Thank You!

[@agnostek]

I used it on side FX, not vocals...I do feel like I get a more controlled delay...Will be testing this more...Thanks Ken.

[@PandaKattPk]

Love this Channel!!!!!

[@stevejohnson6204]

Your the man moneybags! I miss the studio in North Hills

[@AmbientGlitchesDrones]

A live streaming with Mark Walk would be incredible

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

Mythmaker isn't my favourite album by Puppy, but it does still have a bunch of really solid tracks and this one is one of my all-time favourites.

[@yodathejedi]

Haha, Curling, that's just wonderful! Thanks for this nice vid :)

[@channelite]

I bought this song on itunes a while ago. Cool that you were apart of it. It's an awesome track!

[@AndrewLagowski]

Genius. Thanks for taking us through this Ken.

[@wightclaudia]

Nothing takes me to my comfort zone more than Kens videos. During the thick of the pandemic I felt so uninspired and sort of just depressed over being trapped at home and losing work but anytime I would fire up the Hiwatt videos it would cheer me up and remind me that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel during dark days. I had such a hard time sleeping because I’d worry about my elderly parents at night but I’d be able to fall asleep just listening to him talk shop. It’s hard not to feel a contagious effect from his positive vibes. There are far too many producers out there that are either hard to follow or too dry / nihilistic. Today the restrictions are gone, motivation is high and I can start my mornings with these videos in a completely happier context knowing that I can go into the studio and not be worried about my family. I hope to one day hire Ken to arrange a track.

[@Hysteric_Subjects]

Whoa. Can't believe only now discovering your channel mate. Fantabulousness. So many questions! Your brain must be mincemeat from folks picking at it all the time. Cheers! (always loved this track)

[@VultureCulture]

Once again, I am so impressed by your process and positivity. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us!

[@ImperatorScab]

Dude, awesome session, and such an awesome song. All of you did an excellent job on this track.

[@jjochems]

I can’t imagine how much I would’ve given to see a channel like this when I was starting out as a producer. Living in the sticks in the mid-90’s with nothing to teach me about electronic music except a tiny dictionary for producers to tell me what a filter and an envelope is and a shitty Alesis QS6. I know it makes me sound old but kids these days have NO idea how valuable channels like these are.

[@hiwattmarshall]

Jason, thank you my friend 🙏 Your comment is so inspiring, I hope you (and many others) are able to introduce some of these ideas into your own productions 😊 Be safe, and have an awesome week Jason! -hw

[@jjochems]

@@hiwattmarshall There have been no ventures that have brought more joy into my life than making electronic music. I just love it. I already have used some of those ideas. As a kid growing up Skinny Puppy was the wizard behind the curtain for me.

[@doyalg]

Interesting. I always assumed that Mark was responsible for the sampled guitar sounds. Love these videos.

[@burprobrox9134]

I’ve been gradually putting together a my macs from the past Ken. Got an older powermac with SCSI, and just got a G4 Powerbook running Tiger, which your About this Mac made me think to post. That old powermac takes up so much space, so went PowerBook for the Tiger machine. Thanks for sharing, once again!

[@Rotten13mgOxy]

I LOVE Mythemaker and was addicted to Politikal for YEARS

[@repeat_defender]

How did I not know you made videos?! This is GOLD!!!!!! Thank you, man, for taking the time to do this, I’m just starting out and stuff like this is priceless.

[@distortomanipulo]

AM/FM radio samples are great we used them at times years ago, I think it's time to bring some back!

[@babelbrak]

1 of the coolest vids yet - Hope there can be more track breakdowns like this. Major wish fulfillment for musicians/fans.

[@peternelson4419]

It's so Inspiring to see the nuts and bolts like this, and even though I'm recording at home with a laptop, all of this invaluable information is something that I can apply also. Thank you from Toronto!

[@johangustafsson4843]

That.Was.Amazing! I love it! 🤘😍

[@WORSAW666]

This was amazing!!!!

[@strik979]

Love this soo much

[@chriswilloughby48]

Wow I never dreamt I would see under the hood of these songs like this! Great. Thank you! Illisit is a favourite of mine ;) ;) ;). ....... Just saying, just in case it's laying around!!

[@amberdean1263]

This is solid gold content! Thank you so much for showing us this :)

[@ogrekey2546]

Hi Ken, thx for this deep lookin into creating a SP song. Love this music since the beginning in the 80'th. Hopefully you show more of this insiders. Greeting from good old Germany :)

[@InariAlchemist]

That tip about vocal delays using copy and paste is great, firstly because of the undeniable effect of that particular clip, but also because I often use copy/paste of my tracks and samples out of sheer laziness. Now I can just say that I'm a good producer XD

[@z6nestudio]

Your videos are absolutely priceless Ken! Thank you so much for sharing them with us.

[@MassOvBlack]

I absolutely love this channel! So happy to find it! Love your work!

[@MrBadger]

Really cool video, thank you.

[@hunterdavis3003]

So freaking good!

[@winternightmarecrochet]

This cheered me up so much this morning 🥰

[@beeftwinkle]

Thanks, Ken! Love your videos and all your work with Subcon! I would love to learn more about some Download songs if you are up to it!

[@drakula420_]

Incredibly informative episode here Ken, Thank you. I spent so long thinking about that guitar riff, was sure it was achieved with a slicer. The FM noise loop I thought was achieved by using video game samples. The curling sample, from a horror movie. This type of sound design stuff is the most fascinating. Thanks again.

[@soundpharm]

Absolutely incredible to see how these amazing songs come together. Love hearing the layers isolated and finding out their sources too.

[@doctor_ead]

My favourite album as its the first SP album i heard. Quite strange to find out after many years that its unpopular among fans. I like how uncanny it sounds, always makes me remember the period of life i heard it I always wanted to forget. what a pleasure to torture myself!

[@colinrussell2017]

Creeping up on 8k subs... Go Team Hiwatt!

[@AmbientGlitchesDrones]

In my Access Virus, I have my custom dirty bass patch called 'Politikil'. An immense influence by this amazing track!

[@catheadhawk1973]

Thanks very much for sharing this. I haven't played Mythmaker in awhile, should give it a listen.

[@coffeeknuckles4802]

Cool breakdown. Love your enthusiasm! It's interesting to see how a track like this comes together.

[@nickdestruct]

awesome man! thanks for sharing the insight. seems we all go about similar processes making tracks. used to love using battery and redrum. ive tried doing a few covers of sp songs, but definitely have doing a skinny puppy remix on my bucket list. :P

[@idontcareproductions]

Thank you for sharing. Love these tracks .

[@eternalgoldenvoid6988]

Thanks for this. I absolutely love it!

[@GoodYegg]

I'm sorry...HiWatt has a youtube channel? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME???

[@TheOneTrueAJ]

Love the enthusiasm.

[@nicholasmarshall6361]

insanely awesome.

[@NachtSchreck13]

I have been gettingv away from the method of dipping into my library of original samples via the DAW file/folder viewer. Getting back into creating the sounds for a session during the session itself. If I leave a track and go back to it later, of course I'm using those sounds again, and I'll create and record more audio for use in that track. Browsing my previously recorded files in the browser in a DAW leaves me feeling disconnected from the song I'm working on. Parsing through terabytes of samples collected over 3 decades - milk crates full of floppies, zip drives, seaQuest smartdisks, CDR's and DVDR's, HDD's, jumpdrives, SD cards, SSDCs, etc., it's just too much. It weighs down the creative process (and my heart). Too much time gets spent tinkering with the computer, which I've grown to dislike very intensely. I like the immediacy of making the sounds right there and using only those sounds. It brings me back to the way I started making music with a much more limited setup but which offered infinitely more creative joy.

[@ZeroTorySeats]

What name do you release music under?

[@tristate0mind]

Winning golden... sounds like "We're win..ing Goldddennnn". Yal be syncro kangz. From base line to finish line, to Gold! :D

[@tomroehl5126]

I seem to remember reading stories about how SP used a rack of randomly tuned FM radios in their live shows... was that actually something live? Or was it just something that you sampled in the studio?

[@nikkorocksalot5254]

He addressed this in a video, and iirc, that because some venues would be underground or the FM usage would create interference in the house system, they recorded a bunch of random radio stuff, then manipulated that audio with effects and performance live

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

Search term: Radio Gator! My first exposure to it was on SP's Spasmolytic single- 'Walking on Ice'. Haven't been the same since!

[@maxmatson1578]

Awesome video!👍 I always love hearing breakdowns and discussion of anything cEvin Key does🎹🎧💫😵 I would still very much love to see a video on you breaking down how "the dragon experience" was made in particular "shortwave connector" my favorite track off that album👌 on the topic of this song though I would like to ask.. What is ogre chanting in the chorus? it sort of sounds like "I want to suck" but I'm pretty sure that's not what he's saying😅 something that ends with the word suck? if you could tell me what he's actually saying I very much appreciate it🙏BrAp oN!!¡!✋✌

[@josecortez5213]

Lightyears ahead

[@davidannett3322]

It's kinda crazy to think about how I've heard Skinny Puppy evolve over 40 years now.

[@pscwplb]

What I really want to know is what your hair was like when you were mixing that track.

[@SergioPellico]

😂😂😂

[@XVIV1504]

PLEASE MORE SKINNY PUPPY

[@time4anew1]

always looked for a VST that could emulate a poorly tuned radio. Never quite got there. Interstellar radio eurorack module gets me as close as I've found so far.

[@markm1138]

It comes in pints? / delux..Im getting one.

[@stephent.rinehart2508]

Awesome thx

[@te9591]

It would be really awesome to see you work with an artist like Ellie Berlin.

[@ninfan200]

I feel like having that curling team sample should count towards this song counting twice for CANCON

[@victimasdelspleen]

YES

[@Volt9000]

Thought for sure that screaming sample mid-song was from some war movie. Nope. Canadian curling 🇨🇦🥌

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

Very nearly the same thing!

[@cavhoki]

my favorite tracki is dal i listen to it almost daily

[@viralempire1986]

Might be an odd question but I’ve started making sample instruments and want to start doing walk through videos. How do you record your vids, and how do you sync the screen capture etc? I’m currently using Obs but finding it a little clunky.