How Frank Ocean producer Malay creates lo-fi textures

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Malay (Frank Ocean, Lorde, Amine) is known for the vintage, warm soundscapes of lo-fi he brings to his productions, a signature he's crafted in works like Blonde or Channel Orange. His textures are due in no small part to the Arturia V Collection, with its candy store of faithful vintage synthesizer recreations popping up in nearly every track he's ever done. To celebrate the release of the full V Collection and his pack on Splice, join us in Malay's studio as he walks us through how he creates his signature sound and plays with a few of his favorite patches (like the VOX Continental Organ or the Minimoog) from V Collection.
Arturia V Collection 7 has 24 instruments in total featuring recreations of iconic instruments such as the Mellotron, Synthi AKS, Jupiter 8, Buchla Music Easel, Minimoog, Prophet 5, Modular Moog & many more.
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#frankocean #malay #lofi

[@splice]

What do you want on Splice Rent-to-Own next?

[@soundfarmsg]

Omnisphere

[@Pyroific]

@@soundfarmsg Agreed!

[@tindomul3645]

Omnisphere

[@ricardopalacios5968]

Omnisphere

[@NateBarrass]

Nexus2

[@attentionlabel]

What an age to be alive, when we can watch great minds like these for free.

[@aranyak1881]

Yeah, it's fun but also scary. The more knowledge we have access too, the tougher the competition is.

[@terrencewilsonpoopoo]

Competition has no place in art.

[@isaimtz-cmcho688]

@@terrencewilsonpoopoo word, you can’t realistically put a price on art; only influence.

[@SVN62534]

as soon as he dropped that minimoog bass on the track, went instant classic.

[@Harrypotter4456]

Literally was thinking the same thing man. Vintage synths are just so beautiful

[@hv2623]

Sound like a Frank throwaway track... meaning a 9/10

[@mquagrainie]

Facts 😂

[@donatosample4840]

Nah this shit sounds like the worst song Frank has ever done.. i'll give it a light 9.9/10

[@hv2623]

@@donatosample4840 lol

[@sevay]

Donato Sample 😄

[@somethingmaki3129]

I think he might of used it on endless or could've been a throwaway he's just like "eh it's a masterpiece, fucking scrap it"

[@DGlaky]

He's clearly the lovechild of Jordan Peele and Noel Miller.

[@internetexplorer1593]

This comment is too underrated

[@whichadrian]

sugar gay

[@Ricky-zf9cv]

He sounds kinda like noel as well

[@mysteretsym]

Hes a chubby noel

[@clxs8091]

I see Bobby Lee and James Corden's love child 😅

[@siddhantpetkar9728]

Man I so wanted to see Malays process, there're very few videos of him, such a great producer. Thank you Splice!

[@whoismedicate8083]

Siddhant Petkar I definitely want more

[@moscoenterprise8586]

Mix with the masters has a great video with him

[@Melo2k7]

This guy is a genius. The soundscape on Pyramids is out of this world, perfect mix between authentic instruments and synths and even after all this years I cant stop listen to it thanks to Frank and Malay. You're a phenomenal producer when you make a 10min beat and it still feels too short lul^^

[@anothergoodnight]

the guitar he's using - a gretsch, white falcon - was at one time considered the second most expensive guitar available, he's using it to make his hats lmaooo

[@TurkundJDizzl]

do you know what the blue light pick thing is? thx in advance

[@neonnight123]

@@TurkundJDizzl It´s an E-bow. It has some magnets or whatever inside it to make the string move and make sound without the attack of the string if that makes sense.

[@spyfox9796]

Nice fun fact 🙏🏼

[@anothergoodnight]

@@TurkundJDizzl when does it pop up?

[@brave7033]

@@anothergoodnightaround 0.47

[@Origamibeats]

this is beautiful man

[@thequantumgate3260]

The music or the man?

[@michaelclark1811]

Yes

[@Ikiddkriss]

honestly never have i listened to frank ocean and thought "this lofi"

[@jamilnichols1558]

djweedsmoke the instrumentals for his songs have always been textured and “lo-fi” lol

[@ryuman757]

A lot of Channel Orange and Blonde have some minimalist beats with different raw sounding instruments, and then the little bit of ambiance that's thrown in can give the songs a very lofi feel to it. But I can agree that I would never have really thought Frank Ocean would be on any of the recent lofi Spotify playlists, lol.

[@ginseng1287]

not all lofi is the type of lofi you "study and chill" to

[@Ikiddkriss]

half of the time lofi hiphop doesn't even live up to the name, but definitions change ig and honestly frank oceans shit sounds pretty clean to me. dude has the resources to make a clean mix n it shows. cutting a mix at 8 hz doesn't make it lofi lol

[@Amangiechsin]

lo fi just means lo fidelity which means that there are intentional sort of errors within the song itself that emulate a DIY aesthetic. death grips is considered lo fi because of the clipping and glitch, actually. lo fidelity essentially indicates that it's supposed to sound shitty

[@ninety_ldn]

I was doing a remake of frank's DHL in 2019, and this video was my starting place - it came to mind because of how similar the beat and sounds are. When I looked it up later it turned out Malay had nothing to do with DHL. I was convinced someone watched this and it inspired the DHL beat

[@stopmotionpoetryband]

Love just watching other people work.

[@IanBandeau]

How in all my years of producing did I never think to use a muted guitar string as a hi-hat? Fuck that's brilliant.

[@jtmmontgomery91]

This Man really just causally snapped on this beat! Crazy!

[@jayce3839]

BlackPCGamer that’s what happens when you work on your craft every day for 1000 hours lol.

[@junatan25]

If Jordan Peele is a musician and is vaguely asian

[@mikolajm9175]

scrolled just for this comment

[@kidinPJs]

bro holy shit you’re right

[@AudioPervert1]

Oh Well Splice and its litany of mediocrity. Given there are thousands of more ingenious, original and native producers allover the world - They most remain outside this treadmill of sample-bank cut-paste content makers.

[@itsnotch64]

@@AudioPervert1 shut yo salty "never gonna make it" ass up.

[@bryan8191]

i was just about to comment this right here

[@anthonydimeo3536]

Malay's splice pack is ILL - his drums have been a go to for me when I need to find something quick that sounds good

[@TheNicoDavis]

The production on Blonde and Channel Orange always interested me and I wondered for a while how they did it

[@lucaha7359]

if you haven't watched it yet check it the podcast Dissect. They made a whole season on blonde. Shit blew my mind

[@cheirinhodepacoca]

@@lucaha7359 who produced channel orange? Ommas?

[@R_I_Peter_]

the real question is can I chill/study to it?

[@3moryk]

LOLW

[@BellaB27]

Just feel it

[@SDItalo1]

He basically teach us how to get an aesthetic in a 6 min vid that we've searched for by years. That's crazy

[@Thurnishaley6969]

THIS WAS AMAZING THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! ALWAYS WANTED THIS SORT OF INSIGHT FROM MALAY

[@jonretotal2445]

wow this is nuts, i was just listening to pyramids before this and looked up the info who produced it cause the track is timeless. TY SPLICE.

[@jonathankvam3740]

the percussion intro in super rich kids is from arturia arp-2600

[@jamesdoctor8079]

kevin makes music damn didn’t know that do you know what preset

[@dormaettu302]

thanks !!!

[@jonathankvam3740]

@@dormaettu302 np, the preset is bossa nova under sequences

[@dormaettu302]

@@jonathankvam3740 nice !

[@robeyyy]

This guy needs to make more videos like this

[@JustinDon]

lofi textures. These two words go together so perfectly idek what a lofi texture is but I know it’s gonna b 🔥

[@nanoooooo]

Godamn shut the fuck up

[@quilll2808]

this is fire wow, made me want to create all day

[@Liaam]

that synth is CRAZYY

[@whoisvahid]

I like how this video edited, they intro song is just what he created at the end.

[@futur_sunds]

That kick sounds so natural!

[@MaybeAnt]

Saw "Splice Presents" and got ready to Skip Ad, but then realized I clicked on the video LOL

[@theambientlight6390]

Cool stuff, never heard of him before but now I'm gonna dig into what he's worked on.

[@splice]

Check out his full discography on our Instagram! instagram.com/p/BwkNOVsnKOC/

[@breeziemcfreezie]

i keep coming back to this for the beat he made

[@ahnafisBEAST]

Brooo finally a Malay producing video, man is a legend

[@Blootoid]

I need this as a full song!!

[@will8043]

using a minilogue as a midi keyboard is like using a nuclear reactor to power a toaster

[@theyoungpoetmusic6936]

That track NEEDS to go to Kid Cudi!

[@armandosoria7993]

Fuck yeah!

[@cashboii_]

that bassline is dope

[@KOSMIKFEADRECORDS]

Excellent best demo, beat session. Really loved it!

[@MarcelTrindade]

Is it just me or he resembles Jordan Peele a lot?

[@thefizzbizz]

He does lol. I thought he looked like ilovemakonnen too

[@mlrdmn]

is he malaysian?

[@xuem19]

@@mlrdmn Chinese-Malaysian

[@magz7139]

He is just one of his many characters

[@joshxkerrigan]

Loops/samples/drum kits are all extremely valuable but underrated resources for modern producers.

[@miisher]

joshxkerrigan if used interestingly. People abuse loops especially to cheat

[@pilgrimbeats]

So much respect for this dude

[@josiabosien]

Legend says there are still No Elastic Audio Clips selected

[@wubwilson1318]

Haha and I thought I was the only one who used that air spring reverb. Love this guys creative process.

[@BodyOfPlayMusic]

Dope video

[@RaffyBite]

so talented bruv 🙌🏽

[@kriator8348]

that hoodie is gorgeous

[@RRAREBEAR]

vibes all day 🌴🌴

[@patchstein810]

Beat block cured ☺️

[@bhargavchavda1478]

Same

[@ConstantThrowing]

I love messing around. And I see that in this guy and a lot of producers nowadays. Loads of technical knowledge (which is something I haven't got), but also a whole lot of messing around.

[@yellosmoothie]

best e-mail i've received this year

[@fromcodex]

I LOVE THIS THANK YOU SPLICE ! 🖤🖤🖤

[@Sanktev]

this guy loves music so bad he got waveforms hoodie

[@abtonytheartist]

This is so beautiful. Sheesh 🤦🏾‍♂️🙌🏾🔥

[@smiksmagger3446]

Cool beats. Amazing hair.

[@sophiav4335]

I love this channel fr ❤️

[@beckabest]

wowza there needs to be more content like this

[@thereallegend4lyfe]

This is really cool stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[@CallMeMicahT]

Making a hi-hat from a guitar string 🕯 < low key fire

[@wa7saka]

that is crazy that this guy worked on blonde and channel orange wow

[@frankmagalona]

4:53 THAT CHANNEL ORANGE VIBE

[@swanebrokendeep]

just awesome beat! hit hat with guitare strings blow my mind! thanks a lot splice!

[@fwd0120]

1:16 = RIP Wii shop channel

[@onlineoccurrences8021]

hahahaha deadass

[@austonobita1858]

Geeeez... that's an actual sick melody.

[@thomasburton2896]

Thanks, can you please also upload the "how to play the whole music industry at it's own game like Frank Ocean" tutorial

[@GManmusiq]

that's a once in. generation type thing lol

[@kaywop7582]

3 years later, i just wanted to let you know i laughed out loud at this 😭

[@swanarima1858]

every time I see the word splice I can't help but think of the actual movie named Splice...

[@bodhid]

Amazing producer. I played Channel Orange to death.

[@not2bconfusedwithmaeo]

lovelyyy🥺✨

[@avinashramachandran1586]

First 10 seconds of the video with the background music genuinely sound like a rap song!

[@jeyy1220]

So im gonna dive into my pack

[@suavemelon9683]

Malay has worked with Ruban Nielson, and I can see the influences on both sides with their lofi techs, love Ruban and psyche

[@mrspook21]

I can hear Andre 3000 on this

[@youfkntubez]

Love your sound. Classy !

[@kenziegunn4769]

Great vid!

[@budsworld1104]

So creative!

[@MrFedemoral]

i want more frome this guy!, awesome

[@ripwinter562]

This guy is so amazing wow

[@zacharyariasmusic]

when he added that minimoog bass

[@innerbliss108]

Crazy talented

[@eraserqueen297]

why tf is no one talking about this beat? I could astral project to this shit 😂

[@milothecity6373]

Simply perfect!

[@croomba]

I just wanna hear someone on this groovy track.

[@EDMProd]

Super interesting video!

[@beenmicrophone5817]

great vid..!!! I give it four thumbs up 👍👍👍👍

[@tommyjmagnum]

Wow! How much you can add with texture 😎

[@LV_gang]

you can easily hear frank ocean on it 💞⚡

[@syahirashri5214]

That minimoog set that shit offfffff🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@liquidgordon]

Sounds like a Son Lux track!

[@unreallincoln]

This is crazy incredible🔥🔥🔥

[@DrunkenBeats]

„Sweet“

[@dafingaz]

Dope stuff!

[@meggiemoo2955]

im gonna need him to drop this track

[@x3Mau5]

Using a trackball, thats some skills right there lmao

[@msld_sound]

brb gonna go back to calling Robert "Vogue" Moog's creations Mooooooogs 🐄🐄🐄

[@synthcurry]

recently learned that bob's family pronounced it both ways: the "oo" sound ("poo") and the "oh" sound ("vogue"). we're all winners!

[@msld_sound]

Haha. It's true. There's just that one video where he says "my wife and I decided to go for the Mohg pronunciation" and I was like THE LORD HAS SPOKEN

[@zibbybone]

They made a synth called the Moog Rogue (rhymes), not Moog Roog.

[@andrewnibbi]

zibbybone but at the same time the MoogerFooger pedals seem to make a lot more sense if you pronounce it the wrong way (the mooooooooog). Still, Bob asked for Mohg so we will say Mohg.

[@DocHegs]

I'm a simple man. I see Frank Ocean in the title, I click

[@rickrubin5538]

Who knows, where i can hear full version of this instrumental? Or maybe track on this production? Simple, but realy great!

[@DanGeezyPresents]

Rick Rubin it’s probably just a Throwaway not intended for release because he made it on the spot specifically for this video

[@rickrubin5538]

@@DanGeezyPresents Thank's man. I got it

[@garrettmasters6024]

homie really out here using protools 😭😭

[@thesputnikhd6220]

Garrett Masters most professionals use protools especially when working with vocals, it has some really dope features.. and im sayin this as an ableton die hard

[@jamietaylor8663]

@@thesputnikhd6220 im ableton til death baby, but yeah protools (and logic sometimes) is the industry standard. But it needs a UI facelift really bad IMO

[@onlineoccurrences8021]

some people prefer the traditional daw structure. hell i use samplitude which is the best of both worlds.

[@srbotero]

Pro tools shines at mixing but for creating I think ableton logic fl are better

[@blahblah606]

I've been using Pro Tools for 20 years. The interface still looks the same. I kinda dig it's outdated look. I use hardware, no plug ins, virtual synths, any of that. And yes for tracking and editing it's pretty untouchable.

[@animanoir]

this is quite a nice beat actually

[@mtrps_]

Malaysia representtt

[@jo_ey]

Inspiring!

[@valeale2812]

really sick man he is and extremely talented ofc

[@Jim-op5fv]

Get Cubeatz, Frank Dukes, Jake one or G-Koop and I’ll sign up for sure!!