who's the most technically masterful producer?

[zaxl]

Lately I've been listening to a lot of really detailed, glitchy, heavily edited music, and I was wondering who you guys would list as the most technically awesome producer in EDM.

I nominate Dave Tipper. The amount of detail, inventiveness, and sheer sonic weight of his music just blows my mind. Who would you rank?

here's a tune from his new EP

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[mantis]

this is one of those topics where everyone will have a complete different opinion. It would be hard to pin it down as to who is the best technical producer as it is hard to know exactly what they did when they produced the track.

[Celestial]

Skism hands down in my opinion, the dude's sound designing is out of this world

[zaxl]

this is one of those topics where everyone will have a complete different opinion. It would be hard to pin it down as to who is the best technical producer as it is hard to know exactly what they did when they produced the track.

oh for sure, it's all a matter of opinion. i'm hoping that some DJF opinions might turn me on to some excellent producers who i may have missed :)


Skism hands down in my opinion, the dude's sound designing is out of this world

awesome man, thanks! top notch sound design is a huge plus :tup:

[Rek_Aviles]

Yah, this will come down to preference, but here's some ppl who stand out for me. I'm not even a fan of all their work, but you know qualiy when you hear it.

Arty (Skilled producer, yet gets no mentions. :shrug: )
Robert Babicz (interesting tracks)
Carlo Lio
Miguel Migs
Wolfgang Gartner
Marcus Schssow (this guy is a beast! but his sound is too big for my style)

[zaxl]

Yah, this will come down to preference, but here's some ppl who stand out for me. I'm not even a fan of all their work, but you know qualiy when you hear it.

Arty (Skilled producer, yet gets no mentions. :shrug: )
Robert Babicz (interesting tracks)
Carlo Lio
Miguel Migs
Wolfgang Gartner
Marcus Schssow (this guy is a beast! but his sound is too big for my style)

i know a couple of those names, but some are new to me. gonna check em out, thank you :tup:

[Mahatma Coat]

Any of the artists on Prologue, really detailed techno from Italy/Berlin

Here's an example, though you need a good system/decent copies of the music to feel the full effects:

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I like Shed too, the sounds he was coming up with on his first album were incredible

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There's some great sound design going on techno generally really.

[login]

Simon Posford, Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VREsnmhFmlQ

[zaxl]

Any of the artists on Prologue, really detailed techno from Italy/Berlin

Here's an example, though you need a good system/decent copies of the music to feel the full effects:

I like Shed too, the sounds he was coming up with on his first album were incredible

There's some great sound design going on techno generally really.

awesome man, thanks! i know almost nothing about techno, i'm looking forward to getting schooled on these :school:

[zaxl]

Simon Posford, Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VREsnmhFmlQ

this Shpongle CD is in my car at all times :love:

i'm with you on Simon and Aphex being mad geniuses, i need to spend more time with Amon Tobin :)

[Mahatma Coat]

Yeah, who said Aphex Twin?! Got to be one of the best producers be anyone's standards really, amazingly creative, influential and orginal. The guy is an absolute genious.

Whilst we're on about innovaters, what about Franie Knuckles?

[zaxl]

i don't know much about Frankie Knuckles. would you say his studio technique was groundbreaking? if so, do you have any examples?

[mostapha]

IMHO, BT. Apart from creating Stutter Edit (after doing the vocal from Somnabulist the same way manually and making it into the Guinness book of world records for it) and being instrumental in defining the era of trance that I really liked (the last good epic sounds from 2003-2005ish), ghost producing for half the world, doing movie sound tracks, composing/recording/etc. symphonies, and constantly pushing technology……he's just kind of awesome. House, Trance, Techno, Hip Hop, classical, Rock, Metal……he does a lot.

Apparently his performances are really hit or miss, but in the studio, the guy's a genius.

My vote is for Brian Transeau without hesitation.

[thehadgi]

My vote is for Brian Transeau without hesitation.

Came to mind for me also.

Plus, the dude is happy times like a billion. I feel like he's one of those guys that brightens up a room when he walks in. Always saying how grateful he is for everything

[sss18734]

Definitely Soulja Boy

[mostapha]

Came to mind for me also.

Plus, the dude is happy times like a billion. I feel like he's one of those guys that brightens up a room when he walks in. Always saying how grateful he is for everything

Yeah. Kinda got a man crush on the guy when I watched Be773r living through Circuitry for the first time. The guy is effing crazy, but damn can he make music.


Definitely Soulja Boy

oooh…you touch my trolllolol.

[ezelkow1]

Apparently his performances are really hit or miss, but in the studio, the guy's a genius.

My vote is for Brian Transeau without hesitation.

+1

However I cant really say Ive ever seen him do a bad performance. His laptop symphonies and when he used more controllers and such I thought sounded better and were more impressive, but even him just doing a regular cdj set is still good stuff

[drop1]

I Love BT . Also I'm a huge fan of the Crystal Method. There older stuff more so.

[thehadgi]

Now that I think of it, dang there are so many. I want to add 16 bit. They're stuff is so intelligent and diverse, they place every sound in a specific way that blows my mind. Also I agree with skism. There is a french guy named LeBelgeElectrode that has some crazy stuff. Although I haven't heard much of noisias original stuff, I read their q&a on DOA and they have some pretty advanced techniques.

Does thievery corp count? They are talented as f*ck :slayer:

[login]

I will add to the bunch Minilogue/Son kite

[Jalapeno]

nero's newest album is a masterpiece of production

[Will SwoO]

+1 Aphex Twin
Trentemoller
Chemical Brothers, the "come with us" album especially
Yello, maybe some of you older fellas will know these guys, but they paved the way for more than most realize in the world of electronic music.

[zaxl]

i've been listening to Amon Tobin's ISAM and all i can say is WOW, you guys are right. the production quality is ridiculous! i checked out his live setup on Youtube for the ISAM tour and it's some serious next-level stuff. good call :D

[thehadgi]

Orbital has some pretty crazy stuff. Esp for all the analogueness they had

Oh Daft Punk too. deh :facepalm:

[Minksy]

IMHO, BT. Apart from creating Stutter Edit (after doing the vocal from Somnabulist the same way manually and making it into the Guinness book of world records for it) and being instrumental in defining the era of trance that I really liked (the last good epic sounds from 2003-2005ish), ghost producing for half the world, doing movie sound tracks, composing/recording/etc. symphonies, and constantly pushing technology……he's just kind of awesome. House, Trance, Techno, Hip Hop, classical, Rock, Metal……he does a lot.

Apparently his performances are really hit or miss, but in the studio, the guy's a genius.

My vote is for Brian Transeau without hesitation.

I've read a lot about him, listened to a lot of his production, and after doing so ... it's hard to disagree with you.

[elctromn]

I think just electronic music in general Flying Lotus would be very high on my list. He's not everyone's cup of tea and he also doesn't design a lot of sound, he mainly works with samples but damn his stuff is out there. Also the commercials he makes for Adult Swim are trippy and awesome.

As far as more clubby music, I'm always impressed with Wolfgang Gartner's tracks and a lot of stuff by Crookers (the Dr. Gonzo album was cool) as well as Diplo/Major Lazer. Diplo is probably the producer I respect the most, he embraces pretty much every form of EDM and mashes it into his sets.

[Sixfour]

Rockwell - outstanding drum programming, regarded in the majority of the DNB world as the premier drum/perc/whatever arranger, makes some SERIOUSLY forward thinking songs (Reverse Engineering)

tie with Noisia & Phace for sheer mastery of in Delta Heavy's words "getting their music louder and hitting harder than anybody in the industry"

[jonistaken]

+1 Chem brothers or Jean Michel Jarre

[Atomisk]

Wolfgang Gartner
And assuming that SHM produces their own stuff, They're up there too. Their sound design has always struck me as really cutting edge & clean. It just has that "perfect" sound to it.

[Divercity]

- Steve Duda by far...Don't believe me go do some research :P
- Aphex Twin
- Autechre
- Squarepusher
- Telefon Tel Aviv

[Daniel S]

i don't know much about Frankie Knuckles. would you say his studio technique was groundbreaking? if so, do you have any examples?

Are you kidding? He only helped in developing a new style of music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Knuckles
I wouldn't say he was really groundbreaking with his studio techniques, since many others did what he did, but that's the case with almost everybody mentioned in this thread so far. It's just that they made a slightly different sound and got more attention than others.

In most cases though, there's evolution rather than revolution, so not many producers come up with a whole new sound at once just like that. Of the people mentioned so far I'd say Aphex Twin is the most revolutionary one, like his style or not. The real revolutionary work was made long ago by people like Arthur Baker and Trevor Horn. With today's many genres and styles it would really take a lot to move the boundaries enough to say somebody is really revolutionary.

[Tektonix]

Avicii and Skrillex For Sure C:

[Divercity]

Avicii and Skrillex For Sure C:





:hahano:






someone had to call it right?

[Phi]

Janek Schaefer :blank:

But seriously, Aphex Twin is still the only producer that I can be truly inspired by upon repeated listenings.

I've been one a Natural self, Jenova 7, and Backini kick recently...some of the best instrumental hip-hop, trip-hop and weird shiz out there. If I could die and be reincarnated as a drum beat, it would be the beat from Sidewalk Flower.

[Manu]

Aphex twin
Kraftwerk
Daft Punk
Jean Michel Jarre
Chemical Bros
Sin
Orbital



Janek Schaefer :blank:

I met that guy, seen his works and attended his master classes. He does a lot of conceptual ambient and architectural art but I wouldn't class him as best producer. Cool dude though he behaves like if he was on caffeine overload all the time.

[zaxl]

Rockwell - outstanding drum programming, regarded in the majority of the DNB world as the premier drum/perc/whatever arranger, makes some SERIOUSLY forward thinking songs (Reverse Engineering)

tie with Noisia & Phace for sheer mastery of in Delta Heavy's words "getting their music louder and hitting harder than anybody in the industry"

i listened to some Rockwell last night- you're spot on, exactly the kind of thing i'm looking for. he sounds similar to Tipper, but of course a different genre. his sound design and programming are equally impressive :tup:

[zaxl]

- Steve Duda by far...Don't believe me go do some research :P
- Aphex Twin
- Autechre
- Squarepusher
- Telefon Tel Aviv

if you're mentioning Duda in the same list as Squarepusher, Autechre, and Aphex, i'll definitely give him a listen.

i honestly haven't liked Autechre's recent work, but Incunabula still sounds amazing and they did that ish in like '93 :worship:

[zaxl]

I think just electronic music in general Flying Lotus would be very high on my list. He's not everyone's cup of tea and he also doesn't design a lot of sound, he mainly works with samples but damn his stuff is out there. Also the commercials he makes for Adult Swim are trippy and awesome.

As far as more clubby music, I'm always impressed with Wolfgang Gartner's tracks and a lot of stuff by Crookers (the Dr. Gonzo album was cool) as well as Diplo/Major Lazer. Diplo is probably the producer I respect the most, he embraces pretty much every form of EDM and mashes it into his sets.

i love FlyLo but i feel like his whole game is to turn everything up super loud, and compress it super hard and let the instruments fight for loudness among the heavy compression. it sounds trippy and all but it fatigues my ears after awhile. he nails the vibe though. i would maybe put him in a category with Burial and other people who are awesome at building moods with lo fi parts.

[Lazy O]

Joey(fackin) YOUNGMAN!!!!!!!! :music::love::dance: ......alos known as Wolfgang Gartner......JOEY!!!!! COME BACK!!! :emo:
.

[Celestial]

best producer? tektonix :zany:

[Tektonix]

best producer? tektonix :zany:

Wooooord ;)

[Mike Steed]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Liam Howlett. The man is a genius and as far as I'm concerned can do no wrong.

[Divercity]

Joey(fackin) YOUNGMAN!!!!!!!! :music::love::dance: ......alos known as Wolfgang Gartner......JOEY!!!!! COME BACK!!! :emo:
.

Ehhh? was he on the DJforums along time ago?

[oliosky]

Brian Eno
DJ Shadow
Phil Spector
Flying Lotus
Aphex Twin
Clark
RJD2
MAW
Andy Wetherall
Liam Howlett
Danger Mouse
Dilla
Andy Page
Nathan Fake

Just off the top of my head

[drumpusher]

Depends on your style. Since the influx of Beatport cheese and all stuff digi being brickwalled and polished to death I've been more inclined to go for a more rugged almost unpolished sound. Think Basic Channel type stuff with the white noise running through the track, not just dub techno, but all the stuff I buy has to have a bit of 'dirt'.

[disparate]

Actress is near the top of the electronic music game just now, can't wait for his new album to drop tomorrow...

Drumpusher - I know exactly what you mean. I'm craving a bit of rawness, whether it's simple Basic Channel background hiss, or saturated analogue production (a la Vinalog/Appointment), or even a bit of dynamic range once in a while...

[Hygro]

Um, Dr. Luke? Timbaland? Quincy Jones?

[zaxl]

Um, Dr. Luke? Timbaland? Quincy Jones?

Quincy, YES!! i have a handful of his records plus of course the classics he produced for others like MJ, The Brothers Johnson, Heatwave, et. al

he's probably my favorite old school producer, and a top notch composer/arranger

[Atomisk]

Um, Dr. Luke? Timbaland? Quincy Jones?

I retract my previous statement and go with Liam Howlett, Quincy Jones, Kraftwerk and The chemical brothers.

Oh, and Robert Moog or almost any Audio Engineer (I mean The kind that engineers with sound, not a dude mixing stuff down.

[disparate]

I was thinking about this the other day... Rollo and Sister Bliss of Faithless. And also Massive Attack.

Back in the 90s when the production quality of electronic/dance music was mostly quite average they were making stunningly polished and well-composed (from a music theory POV) stuff, along with great sound design and engineering. Some Faithless stuff in particular is a bit overplayed but you can't deny the talent.

[thehadgi]

derailing from producers, bob katz - mastering genius

[mostapha]

Massive Attack.

:bing:

I stand by BT as at least being competitive with the best of these lists, but they deserve a spot too. So does Portishead. But they're bands, not producers. So I guess it depends on where you draw the line.

[recon2]

imo Dusty Kid is up there his tracks are intricate, complex, and like 12minutes on average so yea
also Jon Gaiser :tup:

[Hygro]

Gorgio Moroder? Patrick Cowley?

[drumpusher]

Phil Spector and his wall of sound.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRmRBrnQq8o

[stentorian]

Future Sound of London

[Fincken]

I believe William Bevan, also known as Burial at least deserves to be mentioned here. I find his productions extremely good, and he has an incredible sound to his tracks.

From his new EP:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC16FJTI6XM

Some older stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS38JBh5gcw

[Paulie65m]

There are so many producers from Trentemollor, Dj Shadow to Amon Tobin , Minilouge But My Favorite gotta be........
Ricardo Villalobos....You really need to listen to his music on some high quality canz or monitors to really appreciate the details in his music...
Vv9KmuzerRo
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AND.....
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AND.....
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[Dr. Kamikazi]

Brian eno for sure. also carbon based lifeforms shit is incredible.


also i know its a band but DEVO were pioneers back in the day

also again ISAM is the most amazing live setup ever.

[Divercity]

Vaetxh...My god..


Heard this today:
http://soundcloud.com/robclouth/vaetxh-recursion-tree-clip