IDM help

[Pewter Robot]

How the fuck? Mike Pardinas is an absolute genius. I will never compare to him. But I should at least start by learning the basics of IDM production.
I just tried making IDM and I ended up with this:
https://soundcloud.com/pewter-robot/idm-attempt
So yeah, I need some help.

The most difficult thing for me is the drum patterns. I can't make an IDM style drum pattern for some reason.
If anybody can help me, please do.
I know it takes experience, but I have to at least have a starting point to be able to figure out how people like µ-Ziq do that.

[Navron]

IDM is just a general term to encompass all genres of music that would fall under EDM, yet with more of a progressive approach.

In other words, saying you need help with IDM is like saying you need help with EDM. If you can narrow down a particular genre and/or style you're aiming for, that would help out a lot.

The example you provided seems to have a more break beat oriented drum pattern, with a relatively fast tempo. Most often I hear this kind of drum pattern in Drum & Bass, so if you're struggling with drums, I'd recommend looking up the basics behind Drum & Bass patterns, and work from there.

[DJ NTD]

I'm no breakbeat guru, but I'll try.

One thing to keep in mind for sure is the four different instruments key to every IDM track.
- Kick drum. Based on the model track you gave us, the kick is very light with little-to-no sub-bass underbelly*. This gives the bass freedom to move with no concern over sidechaining.
- Bass synth. I would personally leave no gray area and have connected bass notes 99% of the time. Very rarely have I used staccato bass for my breakbeat stuff. For full bass depth, have your sub bass in the 20-60 Hz range and double it in the 60-150 Hz range.
- Snare. For IDM, I think recorded samples trump synthetic ones. Also, a little bit of reverb never hurt nobody.
- Cymbals. For just about any track I do, I typically use a closed hi-hat and shaker for the smaller note values, an open hat for pulses (usually repeated quarter or eighth notes), and a ride cymbals for more complex rhythms. This isn't always necessary. For example, Camo & Krooked or DJ Fresh sometimes cheat a little and just use white noise. Do whatever it takes to fill the upper percussion range.

As for putting together patterns... I think you just have to go off of what you feel. Some IDM musicians break out a snare drum or trap set and improvise a pattern live, a nod to the jazz origins of the genre. You could always play your synths alone and improvise with your hands on your desk to get a feel for the patterns you want to put together.

For this purpose, I recommend having a high-pass filter around 200 Hz or higher on the kick drum.

I hope this was helpful.

[K3WRO]

"This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds..."
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

anyway, Basically, IDM requires many tempo changes and stylistic variation, for drum beats specifically, get a pre made drum break or a self made recording and speed it up, around 170 - 300 bpm, slice it up and add random velocity on each note, and try to make complex, but effective patterns, make sure it's not TOO random or complex, it still should "fit" into the music

Give me a second, I'll put an example here once I find my abandoned project

[Pewter Robot]

IDM is just a general term to encompass all genres of music that would fall under EDM, yet with more of a progressive approach.

In other words, saying you need help with IDM is like saying you need help with EDM. If you can narrow down a particular genre and/or style you're aiming for, that would help out a lot.

The example you provided seems to have a more break beat oriented drum pattern, with a relatively fast tempo. Most often I hear this kind of drum pattern in Drum & Bass, so if you're struggling with drums, I'd recommend looking up the basics behind Drum & Bass patterns, and work from there.

I was trying to go for the drill n bass sound.

I'm no breakbeat guru, but I'll try.

One thing to keep in mind for sure is the four different instruments key to every IDM track.
- Kick drum. Based on the model track you gave us, the kick is very light with little-to-no sub-bass underbelly*. This gives the bass freedom to move with no concern over sidechaining.
- Bass synth. I would personally leave no gray area and have connected bass notes 99% of the time. Very rarely have I used staccato bass for my breakbeat stuff. For full bass depth, have your sub bass in the 20-60 Hz range and double it in the 60-150 Hz range.
- Snare. For IDM, I think recorded samples trump synthetic ones. Also, a little bit of reverb never hurt nobody.
- Cymbals. For just about any track I do, I typically use a closed hi-hat and shaker for the smaller note values, an open hat for pulses (usually repeated quarter or eighth notes), and a ride cymbals for more complex rhythms. This isn't always necessary. For example, Camo & Krooked or DJ Fresh sometimes cheat a little and just use white noise. Do whatever it takes to fill the upper percussion range.

As for putting together patterns... I think you just have to go off of what you feel. Some IDM musicians break out a snare drum or trap set and improvise a pattern live, a nod to the jazz origins of the genre. You could always play your synths alone and improvise with your hands on your desk to get a feel for the patterns you want to put together.

For this purpose, I recommend having a high-pass filter around 200 Hz or higher on the kick drum.

I hope this was helpful.

I think I'm beginning to figure out how this works. Basically like drum n bass, but faster and glitchier, and with more hats and cymbals. I think I get it. Oh, and I went and put some distortion on the drum rack because cool.
https://soundcloud.com/pewter-robot/drillnbass-attempt
This song is absolute garbage right now. The only synthesizer I can use right now is z3ta+, so I've had to just use shitty presets.
Thanks for the help, though.