INSIGHT 004
NONCOMPLIANT
MFA: Thanks for taking the time for this. So what inspired you to start producing music? And how has your creative journey evolved since then?
Noncompliant: It took me a long time to start producing music. I had been a DJ for at least a decade and played guitar and bass in punk bands before that. But I really rejected the idea that I should make music “to get DJ gigs” for the longest time. I didn’t want to make music unless I felt like I had something to express or just wanted to enjoy the process. I also just really love DJing and I communicate better in that way, I think.
Once I dipped my toes into the water though, it was really neat to get to make music in a way I had not experienced before. Not always fun (making music by myself is a struggle, especially with ADHD), but usually interesting.
I’m actually really interested to learn more about different types of neurodivergence and how they approach music production. My hunch would be most producers have at least some neurodivergency in play. So then can you walk us through your creative process when starting a new project? How do you find and develop your ideas?
I don’t generally have any solid ideas of what I want to do other than “play with noises.” Inevitably, where I started is not where I end up. Many times I just start by noodling with weird sounds and seeing where they take me. Or just trying to make a killer beat and then filling in the blanks.
Filling in the blanks - I love that. It makes so much sense but I never heard it phrased like that. So do you find a need to balance technical skills with creativity in your productions? Are there any specific techniques, tools, or processes that you rely on?
That is the eternal struggle for me. I get really annoyed with the technical stuff sometimes, because I just want to get an idea out. A sound, a groove, whatever. And many times all the obstacles in place are technical ones. I am not an expert producer. I am person who likes music and wants to make it, but ends up having to learn a bunch of technical jargon to make that happen.
Lately the key to that is to simplify. Am I trying to have too many things going? I have just started making whole songs on one drum machine sitting in my living room. Or just use Maschine. Having too much in front of me can really clutter the whole process, so streamlining can really help get me started faster.
One process I do enjoy is making sure I do some sessions that aren’t writing, but are just for making sounds or loops. My favorite is to take some percussive loops and run them through interesting effects chains with a lot of randomizing capability. I like having the rhythmic basis of those to create textures and movements as the bed of songs, but using enough effects that they’re no longer recognizable as drums. Taking my own drums beats, rendering those and then running them through this process creates some fun as well, especially when you then mess with start and end points to see how that effects the groove.
I think it’s so important to set aside sessions like this for pure experimentation. But so what happens when you hit a wall in the studio? What are your strategies for getting unstuck?
Stop. Go read a book. Take a walk. I hit those walls a lot and the main thing is to step away. I can’t just push through it or I become really angry at myself and a lot of really bad self deprecation talk starts happening in my head. The thing is, it’s really useless to blame oneself for struggling with creative endeavors. It’s better to put it down and come back later and give yourself some grace. This is a constant learning endeavor for me. I sometimes have to put it down for months and come back later.
I am still working on the “how to get unstuck” part. Sometimes it really is “put it down and come back later” and sometimes it’s “work on something else entirely” whether that’s a different piece of music or a different instrument or maybe it’s just go write or draw something.
Touch grass, as they say - especially important when your production brain gets a little too lost in the digital clouds! So can you maybe share a particular project or track that challenged you creatively, and how you overcame those challenges?
I was doing a remix for a friend and their piece was a very slow, melodic piece. I wasn’t really sure what to do with it, but the name of it reminded me of an old KRS-One song lyric so I started listening to that song and focused in on the line and that put me in a direction I wanted to go with. I may or may not have also sampled that line.
That’s such a great, organic approach to revisit (and possibly reinterpret) the source. So how do you stay inspired? What fuels your creative appetite?
Honestly, reading books and watching movies is where most of my inspiration comes from lately. I haven’t been listening to much techno music at all, because it’s easy to really sound like everything else that way.
I totally get that. Back to the studio, how do you integrate new technologies, hardware, and software into your workflow? And how do they impact your creative output?
I cycle through a lot of things. My studio is a combo of Ableton and interesting plugins along with Maschine and various MIDI controllers, and also several hardware drum machines and synths. I go back and forth, with certain things taking center stage and then moving to other things for a while.
I never really have the same workflow because sometimes I just wanna turn the knobs on the DFAM and sometimes I just want to play with Arturia Pigments and a bunch of VSTs. I try to just see how I am feeling or what sound is in my head and roll with whatever I think is going to get me to where I want to be.
Yeah, I think that’s so much of what drives a lot of producers - arriving at one sonic destination or another. So what’s your latest tool or technique you discovered that helped you get somewhere sonically?
I have been really digging back into Maschine lately. It’s such a versatile tool, good for beats or weird experimentation, while still having the ability to dig deep in a DAW and edit the shit out of it easily. The NI sounds and plugins are wild. If you haven’t had some quality time with the Playbox plugin, I urge you to do so. It’s sonically fascinating with the weirdest yet coolest GUI.
Sounds fun, I’ll have to check it out. So what advice would you give to aspiring music producers who are just starting out? Are there any common pitfalls to avoid?
Skip the questions about “can I make genre X with DAW/synth/instrument Y.” You can make anything with just about any DAW/synth/instrument. Pick a thing and learn it. There are more online tutorials now than at any other time in history. Watch a few. Try the things. I highly recommend Attack Magazine’s Beat Dissected and Deconstruction series for getting to hear specific artists’ beats or songs broken down and made easy to try to recreate as practice.
Speaking of that, go listen to a favorite song, no matter what the genre, and try to make a “cover version” of it. I once made an electronic version of Bratmobile’s cover of The Runaways’ Cherry Bomb just to do it. Recently I had a lot of fun just making instrumental covers of The Cure. This is a fun way to exercise your ears and listen specifically to different instrumentation parts and really understand how they work together.
Also: there are no shortcuts. This is a long learning process, but a little effort goes a long way. Don’t try to skip the line, just put your head down and do the work.
Agreed - it’s a lifelong process in my experience. And so what about advice for ongoing practitioners? Any tips for staying engaged with the process of production?
Don’t let yourself get stuck in a genre rut. Make all kinds of sounds and songs. You don’t have to release everything you make, of course. But try to make different things just for fun and learning.
Totally - the joy of producing as an act unto itself, not tied to any commercial release framework, is so vital and important. You’ve been quite generous with your time here - can you share any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about? What can we expect from you in the future?
At some point in the next century I will put out the second release on my label Giant Arm. I have a few remixes either finished or in the works as well, including one I am really proud of that I did for Kage’s Michigander label.
Right now my output has slowed because I work full-time and my brain is fried by 5pm. But also I am trying to give myself some grace and just let things happen at an organic rate that is not dictated by the idea of “release music all the time to please the algorithm gods”, especially since with all that music, no one is actually listening to any of it.
I would rather spend a little more time and make something of quality than try to force a level of prolific output that is stressful and unsustainable.
LATELY THE KEY ... IS TO SIMPLIFY. AM I TRYING TO HAVE TOO MANY THINGS GOING? ... HAVING TOO MUCH IN FRONT OF ME CAN REALLY CLUTTER THE WHOLE PROCESS, SO STREAMLINING CAN REALLY HELP ME GET STARTED FASTER.
MY FAVORITE IS TO TAKE SOME PERCUSSIVE LOOPS AND RUN THEM THROUGH INTERESTING EFFECTS CHAINS WITH A LOT OF RANDOMIZING CAPABILITY. I LIKE HAVING THE RHYTHMIC BASIS OF THOSE TO CREATE TEXTURES AND MOVEMENTS AS THE BED OF SONGS, BUT USING ENOUGH EFFECTS THEY’RE NO LONGER RECOGNIZABLE AS DRUMS.
I TRY TO JUST SEE HOW I AM FEELING OR WHAT SOUND IS IN MY HEAD AND ROLL WITH WHATEVER I THINK IS GOING TO GET ME TO WHERE I WANT TO BE.
ALSO: THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. THIS IS A LONG LEARNING PROCESS, BUT A LITTLE EFFORT GOES A LONG WAY. DON’T TRY TO SKIP THE LINE, JUST PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN AND DO THE WORK.
Learn more about Noncompliant on her website, and follow her on Instagram and Soundcloud.