Doing Music

Poetic production with Ebonie Smith

In the studio, where do the technical tasks end and the creative work begin? In this episode of Doing Music, Ebonie Smith talks to Craig Schuftan about her work as an engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. Ebonie's varied career covers a lot of ground, and she describes the influence she draws from cinema soundtracks and celebrates the ingenuity of contemporary hip-hop and trap producers. From the unique challenges of working with spoken word performers to amplifying the voices of Black women, poets and political figures, Ebonie offers unique insight into the top tier of major label production and the artistry you can bring to the most technical jobs. 
Explore further:
Danny Elfman - The Nightmare Before Christmas OST
101 Dalmatians OST
Alice Randall
Phillis Wheatley - On Imagination 
Kris Bowers - Bridgerton OST
Kesha Lee & Lil Uzi Vert
Recording Unhinged Book About Unconventional Techniques By Sylvia Massy And Chris Johnson
 
Keep up with Ebonie Smith on Instagram, on YouTube and via her website. 
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
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Technical Tools for Creative Results with Chuck Sutton

When does a technical challenge become an artistic act? In this episode of Doing Music, producer and educator Chuck Sutton talks to Craig Schuftan about the musical results he gets from creative problem solving. As a teacher with a busy YouTube channel, Chuck has lots to say about bridging the gap between accessible information for beginners and compelling insights for experienced Live users. His enthusiasm for the hidden character in the most universal tools made him the perfect choice to make the demo song for Live 12, bringing the newest features to life and squeezing surprises out of familiar devices.
Explore further:
Susan Sontag - Reborn: Journals and Notebooks 1947-1963
La Roux - In For The Kill (Skrillex Remix)
Art FX - Chopping vocals like the pros!
TroyBoi - Medusa Dayz
Chuck Sutton - Transform Your Mic into ANY Instrument
 
Keep up with Chuck Sutton on Instagram and YouTube.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Escaping The Concert Hall With Emily Hopkins

How hard is it to break the cultural coding around an instrument and realize its true potential? In this episode of Doing Music, Emily Hopkins talks to Craig Schuftan about her life-long relationship with the harp and her exploration of the instrument's experimental possibilities. Joined by her partner and sound engineer Russ, Emily details the various electro-acoustic methods she uses, the deep well of sound that comes from running her harps through pedals and her desire to inspire with her successful YouTube channel. As a classically-trained player now scoring high-profile soundtracks on her own terms, Emily's story is a relatable quest to maintain her own identity with an instrument everyone thinks they know.
Explore further:
Edmar Castaneda 
The Emotron - Life Without Horses
Wah Pedal on Harp is Ridiculous
Addi & Jacq
Zeena Parkins
 
Keep up with Emily Hopkins on YouTube, Instagram and via her website.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Reveling in absurdity with MGMT

How hard is it to retain the irreverent spark that started a musical partnership nearly 20 years ago? In this episode of Doing Music, MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser talk to Craig Schuftan and Christa Belle about their instinct for the absurd throughout the course of their career. We learn about their roots in musical academia and their love of strange, disgusting music, and their learned experience that the weirdest sound you make might be the best one. From relishing the plasticity of early virtual-analog synths to avoiding over-thinking the creative process, Andrew and Ben take us into what makes MGMT such a psychedelic force in the field of pop-rock. 
Explore further:
Alvin Lucier
Anthony Braxton 
Situationist International
Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves
Royal Trux - Accelerator
Seeburg 1000
 
Keep up with MGMT on their website, Instagram and YouTube. Their latest album, Loss Of Life, is out now. 
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Making sonic collages with L'Rain

When does self-doubt overtake the creative process? On this episode of Doing Music, L'Rain's Taja Cheek tells Craig Schuftan and co-host Christa Belle about the doubt she faces down when committing her musical ideas to a recording, especially when she’s working with others. A New York-based multi-instrumentalist with a mercurial twist on electronic soul, Cheek tells us about the various stages of her music making, from quick-fire voice notes and being alone in busy places to her love of lo-fi sound. It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a musician who prizes the patient art of the album to convey her ideas more deeply. 
Explore further:
National Sawdust Artists in Residence Program
Terry Riley - Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band
Everybody Shut Up by DJ Pacman
 
Keep up with L’Rain on Instagram and via her website — and check out her music on Bandcamp.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Crossover sweet spots with Malibu Babie

When you flip a sample for a Hot 100 hit, are you trading on nostalgia or breaking an iconic sound to the next generation? In this episode of Doing Music, Malibu Babie tells Craig Schuftan how she approached the big samples that turned into big hits for artists like Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion. As a producer toying with the space between pop, rap and club music, she explains the exciting results that come from crossing over styles and shopping them out to unlikely artists, and the ways she'll try to get a collaborator in the right headspace before getting into the beats.
Explore further:
I’ll Never Write My Memoirs by Grace Jones and Paul Morley
Elizabeth Gilbert - Big Magic and her Ted Talk
Lil Jon feat. E-40 and Sean Paul - Snap Yo Fingers 
WhoSampled: Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop - Lose Control
 
Keep up with Malibu Babie on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Re-sample yourself with Lukid

For Lukid, bouncing out unfinished sketches is an essential part of the music-making process. In this episode of Doing Music, host Craig Shuftan finds out how Luke Blair drew on a well-stocked archive of ideas to revive a past project after a 10-year hiatus. Along with his untrained melodic process and many-sided approach to sampling, Blair opens up about the existential dread that pushed him towards finishing new music, the art of forgetting and the strange allure of working within constraints. 
Explore further:
Philip Guston - Paint What I Want to See
The KLF - The Manual 
 
Keep up with Lukid on Twitter, Instagram and Bandcamp — and check out his latest album TILT.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Teaching Blacktronika with King Britt

How do you go about teaching a history of electronic music which fairly credits Black innovators? In this episode of Doing Music, King Britt talks to Craig Schuftan and Christa Belle about his groundbreaking Blacktronika course at University of California San Diego. In the process of educating students about seminal music movements pioneered by Black communities—from funk and disco through Chicago house and Detroit techno on to drum & bass and beyond—the acclaimed US producer reveals the positive impact being an educator and instigator has had on his own music making. Learn about the importance of nurturing community and hear illuminating stories from a lifelong devotee to the culture. 
Explore further:
Blacktronika on Instagram
Lynnée Denise
Juan Atkins
Alvin Toffler - Future Shock
Kodwo Eshun - More Brilliant than The Sun
DeForrest Brown Jr. - Assembling A Black Counter Culture
Bob Gluck - You’ll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band
 
Keep up with King Britt on Instagram, Twitter and via his website.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.

Realizing Fantasy with Zora Jones

If you could design the perfect clubbing experience, what would you put in it? Zora Jones explores that idea in her audio-visual world-building projects, where the technological wonder of the virtual collides with the human connectivity of community. In this episode of Doing Music, Zora tells Craig Schuftan about how she toys with fantasy and reality in her modernist bass-heavy productions. As an ever-evolving artist, she delves into her development as a singer and songwriter, her appreciation for devoted fandom and the enduring influence of golden-era MTV. 
Explore further:
Gorge Music
Recording Unhinged Book About Unconventional Techniques By Sylvia Massy And Chris Johnson
The Lives of the Surrealists by Desmond Morris
Eroge Video Games
Busta Rymes ft. Janet Jackson - What’s It Gonna Be?!
 
Keep up with Zora Jones on Instagram, Bandcamp and via her label Fractal Fantasy.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.
 

Learning Music with Dennis DeSantis

How do you design music education that’s engaging for beginners and experienced users? That’s the challenge Dennis DeSantis faces as head of Ableton’s Learning Team. In this conversation with Craig Schuftan, Dennis talks about the importance of play and interactivity in learning and making music, as well as the value of simplifying complex concepts for beginners. Along the way we hear about his own musical journey, the power of diverse influences and debates around pitch and tuning systems.
 
Explore further:
Learning Music
Learning Synths
Making Music: 74 Strategies for Electronic Producers by Dennis DeSantis
Première Poème Symphonique, György Ligeti 1963
Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots (Official Video) 
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azzerad
 
Keep up with Dennis DeSantis on Instagram, YouTube and via his website.
 
Tell us what you think of this episode: doingmusic@ableton.com
Doing Music is brought to you by Ableton. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.