PSFMer - Headquarters [Techno]

Get this song free on Bandcamp (type $0 after clicking buy): https://psfmer.bandcamp.com/track/headquarters I like imagining there's an underground techno scene in Ponyville, where anyone can go and lose themselves in pounding bass and hypnotic rhythms. I haven't heard much of this sort of techno in this fandom, so I decided to give it a try. I've been into techno for quite a while now (think Perc, Nina Kraviz, Jeff Mills, Slam etc.), so I've had quite a few ideas. Specifically wanted to try out using polyrhythms like in Detroit techno. Also paid special attention to making it as DJ friendly as possible (although I'm pretty sure it won't get played in a set lol). Big thanks to bank pain for his help with some DC offset issues I've encountered. Also massive thanks to alias for technical feedback. I note there's some slight audio glitching in this Youtube version (some random hissing). This doesn't seem to be an issue in the Bandcamp upload. Probably some weird glitch in Sony Vegas. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/psfmer Art by yours truly: https://www.deviantart.com/psfmer/art/Headquarters-843564812 Big thanks to Makenshi for supporting it on EQD and Horse Music Herald!! https://horsemusicherald.com/2020/06/01/psfmer-headquarters/ https://www.equestriadaily.com/2020/05/ponyville-underground-techno-scene.html I ramble some technical stuff below: The mix was quite challenging to get to an acceptable standard, because I kept ending up with too much sizzling high end, or too much rumbling low end. The 909 hat is really really powerful up there and it took some work to tame it and get it to fit somewhat within the track. Learned quite a lot on mixing high end. The rolling bassline also took some work to minimise muddiness and increase clarity. There was 3 layered kicks over the rolling bassline, so it took quite a bit of time to experiment with EQs to get the muddiness out. Also discovered that high passing the low end at 20hz, takes lots of energy out of the audible rumbling frequencies. This runs contrary to some advice I've heard, which is to cut frequencies below 20hz to get more headroom. Some further research tells me that doing a low cut introduces some sort of phasing issue, and that it would be better to use a low shelf if you need to take some energy out of the sub frequencies. Some behind the scenes if you're interested: /watch/EdXKXqtnnLcnK

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