<Dubstep><Non-Pony> Drillstep (Battle Stations Mix)

[Navron]

Hey guys, long time no post. Still on deployment, and should be getting back in a little over a month.

On the ship we have a general quarters/battle stations drill every week or so. Basically simulates the ship being in a battle. Anyway, I decided to take some recordings of the intercom system and do a song dedicated to it, so here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/official-navron/drillstep

You'll probably be confused as to what they're saying, so here's a breakdown of how it goes:

"This is the TAO. Set general quarters."
"General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations. Starboard side up and forward, port side down and aft. All stations make manned and ready reports, blah blah blah, etc."

[Callenby]

Hey hey, welcome back!

I've never made dubstep before but this thread seemed really lonely and I wanted it to have at least one reply. I make orchestral music, so take all my advice with a giant grain of salt.

First of all, I like the concept. Turning regular, real life sounds into music takes some real creativity.

The synth (or whatever it is) that you use starting right at the beginning I found pretty distracting. Maybe that's just due to my delicate orchestral sensibilities but I wasn't too fond of it.

I think my main critique would be that the track overall, but especially the buildups at 1:00 and around 2:00, could benefit from some added layers. It sounds a bit bare at the moment. I think you could ratchet up the tension even more before the drop at 2:27 (I know at least that much about dubstep). You could even leave the first buildup/drop mostly as is but gradually adding layers so that the second buildup/drop is that much more tense and different than the first.

Similarly, from around 3:00 it doesn't seem like there's much in the foreground - nothing really for the listener to focus in on. Even though it's winding down from that point on I think it be good to have something that carries the listener's interest the same way the rest of the track did. Otherwise it's kind of like leaving them hanging.

Anyway, I hope at least a little of that was helpful.

[Conduit]

I can't really give any helpful critique, but its catchy, and my head was bobbing the entire song. The samples are great too!

[Injustrial]

I've got this feeling of "jump" in the song, which I'm sure could be brought out even more. Also, the wubs sound a bit weak. Some heavier contrasts might serve you well here, layering some more synths and really pushing what you've got upwards.

I love how you cut up the voice-samples. They remind me of DJ Ötzi (Remember him, anyone?! :D) The buildup at around 2:20 are very cool but since the drop doesn't have enough oomph to it, I feel it loses its potential.

The song I'm linking is a completely different genre, so don't think of recreating the feel here. But notice how, when the "My corps, your corps" kicks in, a lot of unused synths and melodies come in as well, to emphasize the change. Marking the different parts clearly is important in music like this.



(Sorry for not speaking proper jargon, I have no musical training and I'm pretty new at this game)

[Navron]

Thanks for the replies and advice! I agree with most of what you've put out. I have some tweaking to do with the mixing to bring out the mid-range and subbass more.

Don't know when I'll be able to upload a newer mixdown, but expect one over the next few weeks.

[RubyVesper]

A little important thing to note: this is not Dubstep. This is Moombahcore, a popular 100-110BPM urban headbanger genre.

As for the music itself: filter out the low end of the drums a bit in order to reduce ear strain. Then use side-chain compression (google that) in order to have the drums still punch through a bit. It would also be better if mastered properly through software like Ozone.

Google is your friend.