Farming Beats...One Acre at a Time

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Tack: What's up Beat Farmer! How are the production skills coming along? Last we talked, you were messing around with the software "fruity loops" are you still messing with that? Beat Farmer: Yeah, I still work with fruity loops predominately to create loops, although I usually sequence them with Acid Pro. Recently in fruity loops I have been speeding up the tempo to twice its normal speed and using a palette that's twice as big, giving me more precise control over the sound and allowing me to create my own effects in essence. Tack: Sounds ill, but I never got into the fruity loops program. I've watched and listened to you mess with it for hours! Why does it work for you? What are some of the things you like about that software? Beat Farmer: I guess that the way the program is designed fits well with my analytical mindset. I like having everything organized in little rows and columns. I try out hundreds of combinations of sounds and only keep the few that tickle my fancy. Also, since I've been working with it for so long, I don't even have to think about how to go about it. I just open the program and start making beats. No hassle. It definitely has its limitations, though, which is why I started branching out and learning other programs. My next task is to learn how to use Reason with the same proficiency. Tack: When we got together to make beats in the past, you had a dance/house style and I had a firm hip-hop style...but it worked pretty well together! What kind'a music have you been doing lately? Beat Farmer: In keeping with my style I still do the occasional house/dance beat but my focus has shifted more to experimental rhythms, arrhythmic beats, and drum and bass or breakbeat. Ultimately this is more satisfying since, in my opinion, it creates greater opportunities for different sound fusions. To be completely honest, however, my career as a beatmaker has never fully recovered from the effects of leaving Iowa City and the influences there. Nowadays, it tends to be more of a time-to-time hobby instead of a full-time obsession. Tack: Have you been sampling anything or have been influenced by anything of late? Beat Farmer: My recent influences include RJD2 from Ohio, DJ Shadow, and of course, pop music. As far as sampling goes, I think you should know that you were the greatest influence in finding good samples. Tack: Thanks bro'...but really, I just dig and process little chunks of sound that I can work with. Sometimes I pick good ones! Anyways, so you're not sampling much nowadays? Beat Farmer: Yes, because I currently lack the software to search for and cut samples with as great a precision as I'm accustomed to. Because of this, I've been getting back to my roots, trying to write my own melodies, basslines, and rhythms. On an unrelated note, I recently wrote the words to a song that a friend and I are working out the guitar part for. It's just another stupid love song ballad, but I like the way it sounds and I like working on it. Tack: Nothing wrong with stupid love songs...many artists will continue to write about the emotion...I just think it's easier to leave the cab fare on the table and then write a song about how I have no emotion for the bitch. See ya!

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