Artist Stories: Tim Hildebrand

This week we had the opportunity to catch up with American producer Tim Hildebrand, better known to the Splice community as timmysurvive. We asked him to tell us about his latest release Party Everywhere and to show us how Splice fits into his production workflow.

What inspired you to share this track with the Splice community?

I’ve always believed that music should be about collaboration and not competition.  Whenever I listen to music, I’m almost always trying to decode it.  How did the producer make a particular sound? How could I recreate it with my DAW using the tools that I own?  It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am with my productions, and I feel like I still have a lot further to go. I’ve always loved that with Splice, if someone is listening to my track and gets curious about something, they can just snag the project file and see how it was created.  I wanted to take part in that, so I decided to share this project. Splice has been one of my best promotional tools – I’ve received more plays and downloads on Splice than on any other platform.


“I’ve always loved that with Splice, if someone is listening to my track and gets curious about something, they can just snag the project file and see how it was created.”


Tell us about your approach to production. Any favorite sample packs or plugins?

For me it’s all about the energy of the drop. I usually start out with the beat and decide what key the song will be in. I find that it makes my job a lot easier if I don’t even consider moving on until the beat alone has me grooving in my chair. I highly recommend Leviathan from Black Octopus for high quality pre-tuned 808’s and kicks. From there I usually start on my lead for the drop.  Lately I almost always use Image-Line’s Harmor or Lennar Digital’s Sylenth 1.  If I had to pick one favorite plugin, I’d have to go with Harmor.  It sounds amazing, and the possibilities are seemingly limitless. I can design sound with its oscillators or throw any sample into it to break it down in a million different ways. There hasn’t been a project I’ve done that hasn’t included at least one instance of Harmor in the past two years. Once I have a drop more or less constructed, I’ll begin to work on an intro and an outro, slowly beginning the arrangement process while adding effects and impacts throughout the song to accent transitions or to keep things from getting stale. When everything is done, I mix everything down and throw on Image-Line’s Maximus for a quick master.

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You’re primarily an FL Studio user. What is it about FL Studio that makes it your DAW of choice?

When I started producing music I began with just a demo version of FL Studio 10.  I couldn’t save any of my projects, but as long as I didn’t shut down my computer I could keep working and writing music. I eventually got tired of that, purchased the signature version, and haven’t looked back since. It came with Sytrus, Harmor, Maximus, Edison, and more – everything I would need to start creating professional quality tracks right away. There was something about the workflow that seemed very natural and intuitive to me. Whenever I have an idea, I know I can create whatever I’m imagining using FL Studio. Add that to the fact that you get free updates for life, and I was sold.

How has Splice had an impact on your production process or workflow?

Lately Splice has been an integral part of my creative process. I’ve been trying to focus on writing songs lately that have a strong vocal. I recently discovered Splice Sounds and it’s a godsend.  It’s the starting point for a lot of my recent projects. I hop on there and scroll through the vocals for a while until I find one that stands out to me and it sparks a voice in my head that says “Yeah, I can do something with that.”  That’s actually exactly how this project began. I found the vocal hook on Splice Sounds and decided to see what I could make with it.


“I recently discovered Splice Sounds and it’s a godsend.  It’s the starting point for a lot of my recent projects.”


What are some of your musical influences at the moment?

Right now I’d have to say that Kill The Noise is one of my biggest influences. He came from my hometown and is currently signed to OWSLA records. His bass design is out of this world and the energy he brings with him is through the roof.  Skrillex and Dillon Francis have also been huge inspirations for me – I love the energy that they create and always try to reflect that in my own productions. Of course last but not least there’s SeamlessR – the guy taught me almost everything I know about sound design.

You’ve had quite a few users in the community Splice the project file for “Party Everywhere” – what do you hope that they’ll do with it?

Create! Like I said, I have always believed that music should be about collaboration and not competition.  I look forward to seeing remixes, edits, DJ mixes, whatever.  Even if it’s just used as an inspirational tool,  as long as it’s helped to create music, I’m happy. I’m just happy to share my music with everyone.

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Where do you think that music is headed next?

That’s a tough question to answer because the music industry is so rapidly evolving and changing.  I’m a huge music technology nut, so my social media feed is constantly filled with “Music’s next big thing!” – all I know is that whatever the future holds, I’m excited to be a part of it.

We’d like to thank Tim 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 timmysurvive for all of his latest projects and upcoming releases.

 

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October 30, 2015