Known for his trademark sound, a fusion of uplifting and tech trance, Sneijder is becoming one of the most in demand artists in the trance scene. Here he joins Chris to chat about his new album 'Everything Changes' his development as a producer and his career defining gigs.
Thanks Chris and Sneijder! This has inspired me tremendously! :-)
Great interview!! I really liked how Sneijder talks about the process of learning to produce. He said that there are a lot of producers out there that have great ideas, but that the production value is not very good yet. I have been a Sonic Academy subscriber for three years and have watched a lot of Logic "How to Make" & " Guest Artist" tutorials. I have a pretty good handle on how to write and arrange a dance track, But My production quality is not where I want it. I have made great progress from where I began, (Believe me) but I still have a ways to go. The problem is, I can't find anyone to give me real honest feed back. I think that guys are afraid of hurting other persons feelings or something. I would love it if someone said, "Dude! nice track but theres too much mud in the mix" or "Too many elements in the arrangement". I would love to get some feedback from fellow producers! So here is an example of my work. It's actually released on a small label, but I'm not trying to promote sales here at all. If anyone has time to listen and tell me what you think, I would appreciate it.
Cheers,
Rob Behrens (Artist moniker: "Some College")
@Some College.
Bro! I just heard your track you posted... It's dope! Honestly! Your on the right track... For that specific track.... My taste would be a little quicker tempo just a tad and tighter kick that pokes out a little more! Overall thought its hot! @fter the 2:30 min mark you should kill it with a killer saw lead on top of the piano and it would give it that hands up club fill.
I'm listening through AKG K712 Pro Headphones and a Focusrite Scarlet 18i8 audio interface as we speak! Wicked track bro!
I'm jelly!!!
Thank you so much! I appreciated the feedback! I think I am more critical of my own work. I was really amazed by the story that Sneijder told about how he QUIT HIS DAY JOB and then worked all day every day on producing. That's real commitment huh? I try to put in as much time as I can. My day job demands 55-60 hours a week, so my producing is limited to a couple hours (Maybe) after work and my days off. I just think that tracks by top level producers sound bigger and more open than mine. But I will definitely keep trying. Sonic Academy is my favorite on-line tutorial company by far. They're the real deal for learning to produce electronic dance music. BTW, I am using AKG 702's right now :-) I have had them for at least a couple of years and I love them. But I have noticed that when choosing and mixing a kick, I need my monitors.
Thanks again bro!
Cheers,
Rob Behrens
BTW, on the kick, I was trying for the kick sound that Genix has on his track "Breather". I don't know how close I got but I was going for that "Knock" sound and then a low bass wave otherwise. I was also trying for that "Anjunabeats" style. I noticed that lately the kicks on ABGT's trance tracks are real short "Thumpy"? I'm kind of wondering how they get that sound. I like it.
Rob
:) Keep up the great work! I totally understand were your coming from on being to hard on yourself. LOL...
I had the AKG 702's very nice but on the bright side. Look into the AKG's 712 Pro if you have the ability to. It has the low end your looking for when mixing with headphones. I just left my job and I'm studing EDM music production everyday through websites. I found this video motivating... and honestly listening to your track as well inspired me. I'm new to Sonic Academy and I'm lost on were to start watching for Trance music production. I'm dieing to learn after so many years of wanting to produce....lol... :-) My journey begins Now!
Hey Rob,
Had a listen now, great great track, and some great feedback left on your soundcloud page. You are not far away dude, musically (which is always the hardest) you are there, just think some more experience and your tracks will get better and better. For someoen who works a 50-60 hour week and is still able to produce this, is pretty phenomenal. Areas I think you could improve - is mix. All sounds a little squashed to me, back off on all the compression and let the track breathe a little. I also find all the perc element (hats, claps ride) are a little thin. I know people alway like to remove lows, but think to much has been remove here. I always like to hear the weight of a clap come through and indeed the hats. Also would love also the hear the bass move after it all kicks in (the drop I believe the kids call it these days) It holds on the down note for two bars before changing - I'd like to hear it move after at least one bar, if not following the main riff - if you get what I mean. The drum fill is great and overall the track is pretty epic - really really good work, you should be encouraged and be glad that you want to strive on and improve!
Hey Chris,
Thank you very much for the reply! It really means a lot hearing that you think that I'm not far away. I have been really working hard on this for the past three years. Sonic Academy has been a huge part of my learning process. To have you, (a guy who talks to producers like Chicane), listen to my work, and say that it's great, made my whole year!!! You're also a trance legend yourself! I'm so thrilled!
You are right about the hats and claps. I was wondering if I was cutting too many lows. Drums are one of my weak spots. I will also work on letting my tracks breathe more. I think I still need more experience to develop a true professional ear in that area. I'm so glad that you are impressed with my work musically. I do agree that it is the hardest part, and the most important part as well. Good songwriting is what makes a track "great". I have fully accepted that I have to sound great to get signed to a big label. My tracks can't just be "pretty good".
Thank you again Chris! As always, I'll be looking forward to the next tutorial. Hope to have more conversations with you in the future!
Cheers,
Rob Behrens
Good luck on your journey! It has been a fun ride for me! As far as where to start at Sonic Academy? I would take a look at Chris Agnelli's 'How to make" tutorials. They are really great. I don't know what DAW you use, but I watch tutorials regardless of which DAW is used. I would also recommend tutorials by Jupiter Ace, Activa, and 7 Skies. I also think that sound design is important, so that you can at least learn to shape your sound if need be. Also check out the trance 2.0 fast track build tutorial. It's great. I also watch the interviews to try to learn to think like a producer. I think it's important to learn the "beliefs" of top level producers. Priceless info bro!
Good luck and feel free to message me on my SoundCloud page if you want to talk about producing.
Cheers,
Rob Behrens
Great interview, i would love to see some videos on how you guys get the most out of the stock programs in logic. It was nice to hear that not everyone has stacks of 3rd party plugins and preset packs.
I agree with @disqus_IShCMmWNNN:disqus and @somecollege:disqus , it's very interesting and inspiring interview, mainly not because of technical questions described, but by the discussion of more general, still very important things, sharing the experience and not always fully successful way as a musician.
I personally have been trying to make music for many years, I managed to enter and finish the University and get some skills to have a nice job in quite different area, but still I can't "get that sound", I still can't make the track of proper quality. It appears to be really long way to go.
And there're still some hesitation and questions like "fine, I like this sound I just got, but hey, I'll now compare it to some production-quality track and we will all see that it's simply not there at all". Indeed it's very important to trust yourself and it's harder the more you work without any success or positive feedback.
For me, the main influence of Sonic Academy is in support and some kind of returning this confidence. Simply speaking it's like: "It's OK, look here and we'll show you". It makes me enjoy my music experiments and like the process itself again. Even if it won't result in something worth hearing :)
Alexey,
I struggled for years trying to make music for film and television. I was all over the place musically. I then decided to focus exclusively on producing dance music in 2012. Once I narrowed my focus to dance music, I steadily improved. I also made sure that I was producing dance music the right way. I started watching tutorials on Sonic Academy. I also listen to dance music for hours and hours every day at work. I made sure that I focused on the music and compositional aspects of professional dance tracks, as much as the techniques being used. I import professional tracks into Logic and analyze them section by section. I do this by setting 4, 8, and 16 bar cycle regions. Doing this really helped me identify all of the small details that I didn't even realize were there. It's all of these little details that add up to a great dance track. Dance music is way more complex than people realize. Just listen to a BT track and you'll get what I mean. (I may get to his level in about 20 years...LOL)
Keep trying. It just takes time.
Cheers,
Rob
Thanks for sharing your experience, Rob.
I think, you're right, production quality tracks are indeed much more complex, that one can think of it. For me it also turned to be quite confusing in that I would hardly hear by myself many of the small, but very important details which are discussed in tutorials here in Sonic Academy. I mean I tried to listen and listen to the tracks I like for a long time, as you described, and really learn several things, but generally it just didn't work for me. Maybe it's a bit too pompous to say, but in fact I put all these on hold and stopped to try anything until I subscribed. And yes, now it's quite interesting for me to keep trying again.
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