This week we had an opportunity to catch up with The_BurFactory. We asked him to tell us about his release “After Hours” and to show us how Splice fits into his production workflow.
What inspired you to share this track with the Splice community?
“After Hours” was the first track I made after joining Splice, and as users may have guessed, it was inspired by the Rooftop After Hours sample pack. I loved the chord progressions and bass lines, and knew they would be great jumping off points for a new track. After the basic structure of the song was done I tried recording my own vocals over the track, and wasn’t so pleased with the results. I shared the first version of the song hoping someone would re-do my vocals – which I think at least one person is currently working on. I ended up finding some chill vocal samples and chopped them up to work with the track instead of my original vocal. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out but released the track to get some feedback from other producers.
Tell us about your approach to writing and production. Any favourite sample packs or plugins?
Music production can be both very frustrating and super rewarding for me at the same time. It took me a long time to feel like I had the technical knowledge to get creative without running into hang-ups. I try to just have fun and make music that I would like to listen to myself. I don’t worry about what genre I’m making, or what I’m going to do with the track when I’m done – I just make music because I enjoy the process. I think sharing and collaborating with other producers is the next step for my music, and Splice seems to be a great place for that.
I’m currently producing on a budget, and pretty much just use what comes with my DAW and Splice. I’d love to expand my studio down the road, but for now I’m just having fun and really learning about what I already have at my disposal.
For sample packs I’m really into all the Black Octopus material. There’s just a ton of inspiring sounds from that company.
I think sharing and collaborating with other producers is the next step for my music, and Splice seems to be a great place for that.
You’re primarily a Logic X user. What is it about Logic that makes it your DAW of choice?
I first got into music production by using Reason 4. I stopped producing electronic music for years because I wanted to focus on fingerstyle guitar, but then ended up using Logic for recording. I was impressed with stock logic synths and plug-ins, and it didn’t take long before I just wanted to make music all the time again. It’s been hard to find enough time to produce music with a job and a one year old who never sleeps!
Overall I’m pretty happy with Logic, and don’t see any obvious limitations. At this point I’d rather spend my time making music than learning a whole new DAW.
How has Splice had an impact on your production process or workflow?
Splice has definitely saved me a lot of time. I can’t afford expensive sample packs, and while I enjoy tweaking knobs from time to time, I’m most certainly not an expert sound designer either. If I hear a sound I like I’m not going to spend hours trying to recreate that sound from scratch – I’m gonna sample that shit! I can find other ways to be creative that I will enjoy more.
I’m not afraid to use presets either, if I like the sound and I can make it work with my track – I’m going to use it. The challenge is how to use it in an original and compelling way.
I also use Splice for inspiration. My most recent song “Telluric Disciples” was inspired from a vocal sample in the “Vocal Atmospheres by Cory Friesenhan” (Black Octopus) sample pack. I just uploaded it to Splice and am hoping people will check it out.
What are your musical influences at the moment?
I’ve been discovering a lot of new music lately from listening to “The EDM Prodcast” and the “EDM Producer Podcast.” That’s actually where I heard about Splice. They were interviewing an artist called Attom who said he was obsessed with Splice, and I really liked his music, so I decided to check it out. I highly recommend checking out those podcasts as a resource for any new producer.
You’ve had quite a few users in the community Splice the project file for “After Hours” – what do you hope that they’ll do with it?
It’s very cool to think that producers from all over the world can open a song that I’ve been working on so intimately in my little studio. As a new producer who’s only put out a handful of songs, the fact that other producers are Splicing the project let’s me know I’m at least making something interesting. It’s motivating for me and I hope other producers use the song in whatever way helps them make dope music.
Where do you think that you music is headed next? Anything else you’d like to share with us?
For now I’m just going to keep trying to build my chops as a producer and having fun. I’m also really interested in creating music for film and other visual productions, and hoping to build any connections that might help make that possible. I haven’t done much in the way of getting my music out there and heard… except maybe this interview. Maybe one day I’ll be able to put out some music on a label, a full album would be a fun challenge. Until then maybe just try to get a few followers on SoundCloud and keep throwing my tracks up on Splice.
We’d like to thank The_BurFactory for taking the time to chat with us and for offering us some insight into his process. We’re looking forward to hearing many more tracks from him! Be sure to keep an eye on his Splice profile at The_BurFactory for all of his latest projects and upcoming releases.
March 23, 2016
