BLKLBL is an enigmatic masked DJ originating from the vibrant city of Los Angeles. Adorned with a sleek carbon fiber mask, this mysterious artist has taken the underground electronic music scene by storm, delivering awe-inspiring performances at warehouse raves. Drawing inspiration from genres such as bass, trap, and dubstep, their sets are a seamless fusion of pulsating beats, infectious rhythms, and mind-bending drops. The normally secretive artist took time to discuss the process behind creating their new GALAXIAS Scene Packs.
Modern Electronic Bass
When I started creating the ideas and concepts for this pack, I had to revisit my inner sound designer and get back to basics. Most producers and sound designers forget that when hardware synths became more available to the public from the ’70s through the ’80s, many of the features now available in soft synths weren’t possible. This meant the user had to think creatively with basic shapes, filters, and envelopes.
Using Roland Cloud’s “true to form” software versions of their legendary synths made me have to go back to this thinking process. It made me ask the question, “How would I make modern heavy bass sounds that are sought after in the electronic world with the tools and features only available back then?”
From there, I figured out odd things you can do with sound by taking two synths and overdriving the signals to create the effect of frequency modulation through harmonic distortion, which is not necessarily accurate frequency modulation. Still, it has a close effect of mimicking it. In addition, I could take the SYSTEM-100 sync-out feature from VCO 1 into the CV input on VCO 2 and play with the CV amount to create an FM type of sound that I use on saw-based basses in most of my production.
"It made me ask the question, 'How would I make modern heavy bass sounds that are sought after in the electronic world with the tools and features only available back then?'"
These are just two examples of how I had to think about how to make these heavy, modulated sounds that I love so much. The next step was distortion; some of the legendary synths have distortion built into the effects section that I would use, but to get that heavy overdrive, I found using the RE-201 mic input, turned all the way up with the reverb and delay turned down gave me the heavy drive I was looking for. I often focused on designing the sounds inside each synth, getting the balance right between each synth, and for the final polish, dropping a RE-201 on and boom, and the sound was perfect.
I used the SYSTEM-1 and SYSTEM-8 for the more classic FM sounds, which have available FM features. These are where I would get the classic UK garage basses and leads, which allowed me to make very modern, almost wave-scanning-type sounds, either by routing a macro with an LFO on or using the synth’s internal LFO or envelope to modulate the cross-mod and other parameters to give the user that evolving bass sound.
Modern Electronic Leads and Plucks
Many of the things I learned and fundamentals I developed while creating for Modern Electronic Leads and Plucks made creating Scenes go much faster. In my style of music, many of the leads are actually the basses. We just call them mid-bass because they play the same line as the bass. They have the lows rolled off and are used as a layer to complement the bass and cut through on the high end.
"I wanted to take some of that sound and create versions that serve the same purpose but fit my production style."
However, I also wanted these to be playable as leads separate from the basses, such as in intros, builds, and breakdowns. Sometimes, these sounds would follow the bass in the first half of the drop and then, in the second half, separate themselves from the bass line progression and play a counter melody on top. Hence, some sounds have an ARP macro routed so the user can use the scene for both aspects. Automate the ARP macro, which will give off the effect of two different sounds, making it less processor-intensive by using only one instance of GALAXIAS instead of multiple ones.
Modern Electronic Soundscapes
This pack took some serious thinking for a few reasons. I grew up using many physical versions of Roland keyboards and modules. That said, on the JV, XV, and things like the FANTOM, the stock soundscape patches have a very distinct Roland approach to their sound. Although it would be easy to replicate this through all the pieces available in Roland Cloud, I wanted to take some of that sound and create versions that serve the same purpose but fit my production style.
Soundscapes and ambient sounds are essential to my production. Often, they get used to intros, but especially breakdowns, to create substantial emotional moments and counter the insane drop that just happened. As with my DJ sets, I like to give the listener a chance to breathe in my production style. Also, creating this space makes the second drop hit a lot harder. When you remove all the heavy stuff and create this void, the next heavy part will have such an intense impact.
"Soundscapes and ambient sounds are essential to my production. Often, they get used to intros, but especially breakdowns, to create substantial emotional moments and counter an insane drop."
I like soundscapes that are both utilitarian and pretty—ones that get the job done with the flexibility of the macros, which can be adjusted and give the user the ability to sculpt the sound. In breakdowns, many times, the sound needs to evolve over a 4- or 8-bar section to signify a change is happening, and that is where most of the ideas came from when designing.
ABOUT GALAXIAS
GALAXIAS brings 50 years of legendary Roland synths and drum machines together into one powerful Super Instrument. It enables access to thousands of iconic sounds and dozens of authentic Roland instruments, from vintage to modern, which you can freely combine. GALAXIAS is the interface to Roland Cloud instruments, effects, and sounds and the host environment for the Tone Explorer technology preview.
