MassiveSynth Interview: Felix Weber
We have just had the chance to sit down (virtually, of course) with three of our MassiveSynth community members who recently won a contest which resulted in them receiving an advance copy of the sounds all of you just unlocked during the Facebook challenge earlier this week.
All three were asked the same series of questions, and we hope they do a good job of allowing you to get to get to know them better. Over the next few days we will be bringing you special posts showcasing each of them and the music they created using those new sounds. All three were challenged to write a song and produce it in just one week so we could have the opportunity to share with all of you this unique collection of sounds in action. Please take a moment after reading the interviews and listening to the songs to let these guys know what you thought! Feedback is everything in the music world, as most of you already know, and I know all three of them would love to hear from you!
OhmLab: Can you share a little about yourself? Where are you from? What do you do? Etc.
Felix: HI! I’m from Paris, France. I’ve just finished an audiovisual school. It took me 3 years to finish it and I’m currently looking for a job .
OhmLab: How did you get started?
Felix: I was playing the guitar in a rock/metal band during highschool and then I discovered electronic music through french dub music with Hightone, and that pushed me to learn how to do electronic dub on a computer. Three years ago I went to a dub/dubstep party and when i heard my first dubstep song i thought “this is dub music of the future”. So it got me into it.
OhmLab: What kind of music do you make normally?
Felix: I normally make dubstep, and from time to time I make some triphop/electronica tunes.
OhmLab: How long have you been using NI Massive?
Felix: Good question. I have used massive for about a year and a half now. I remember that I started using it at the same time I joined dubstepforum and saw everybody was using it.
OhmLab: How has MassiveSynth.com helped you in your ability to produce music?
Felix: A lot! I nearly read and did every tutorial taht are posted on the website. There is always something useful I learn from it (that I didn’t know yet).
OhmLab: What did you think of these sounds you won and got to work with before anyone else?
Felix: They are great sounds, there is a lot of interesting textures in it. In my opinion the only challenge you might have in using them is that some are detuned quite heavily, and for me those sorts of sounds are difficult to insert into music like mine. But the macro are nice and I learned a lot through reverse engineering and about the way I could use massive!
OhmLab: How challenging was it to produce the song in a week?
Felix: That was quite challenging! But for me the biggest challenge in producing a song in a week is to find the inspiration needed to write the tune. Once the tune is written, everything left you need to do is more technical. So it needs less inspiration than the writing process. However having the presets before beginning the writing of the tune helped a lot.
OhmLab: How did you use the sounds and did you change them in any way while producing your song?
Felix: For the tune I produced for the contest I mainly used them to create atmosphere for the intro and the breakdown/build up. The only change I’ve made to them (beside Eqing, etc…) is taking out the phasing from the detuning for some presets, nothing more!
OhmLab: What is your main DAW?
Felix: My main DAW is Ableton live 8 and I find it way easier to use for composition than other DAW.
OhmLab: What other programs and plugins do you use?
Felix: I use a lot Ohmicide (from OhmForce) for any fat distortion, Kombinat (from audio damage) for a more digital and precise distortion. I use also a lot the PSP vintage warmer (PSP audioware)for beefing up any sound in the mixing process and Theok Dark Mass for adding bass and body to the sound (http://www.theodorkrueger.com/home.htm).
Now for synths besides Massive, I use operator (Ableton) a lot. It’s quite a powerfull synth and it’s a bit underestimated by many. It can produce very nasty sounds. Actually it’s the synth that got me into synthesis because it’s very simple to use. I also have begun to use FM8 which seems to be an operator on steroids and sounds very fat but its learning curve seems to be quite big.
OhmLab: What else do you hope to learn from your involvement with this community?
Felix: I hope to learn more and more about Massive and master the synth to produce any sound I want with it^^. I’m quite fond of the MassiveSynth Knowledge Bank. I think it’s a very good idea, even if it needs more contributors.
OhmLab: What do you feel you can share with the community to help others along in their music making?
Felix: One piece of advice I can share with the Massive community, I read on the Q&A of Noisia on DOA (very good forum too) to keep the fun in anything you do when you produce. And I sometimes forget it! So anything you do is more interesting and doesn’t’t result in frustration because you can’t achieve that sound or that riff, etc.
OhmLab: Can you share any insights about how you work in Massive? Any techniques you’d be willing to share?
Felix: When I work with Massive creating a preset I try to map every macro to give me more control on the sound. It makes you understand what parameter will truly have an impact on the sound. A technique I use, which is very useful, is to write the automation inside your DAW to give you more control on the sound you want. For instance, for a wobble sound if you write the cutoff automation and it allows you to do exactly what you want and gets the rhythm done more precisely. This technique can be used on any parameter and every sound. It helps a lot to create a unique sound. Another tip I can share, to create a riser feeling on any sound just put one of your OSC on formant and a very slow LFO on it. This OSC will slowly rise from low to high (due to the formant settings) and keep the tuning good.
OhmLab: If we were to look at your iPod right now, what would we find?
Felix: Actually if you look in my iPod right now you will find mainly rock metal dub and some dubstep. But currently I’m listening to souls of mischiefs (hip-hop), noisia and kode 9.
Happy producing!!
Hyperion by Felix Weber by Massive Synth
Well, that’s it folks. Please join me in thanking Felix for taking the time to share with us a bit about himself, his music and how he goes about making it and of course, his song! Make sure to leave him a comment below and on the SoundCloud player, as well. Stay tuned for the next interview and song release tomorrow!
Cheers,
ΩhmLab
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