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Stark
Raving Beats
Introduction
The original idea behind this library was
pretty straightforward. We wanted to make a drum loops collection
that focused on fast, modern grooves with tight sounds that would
later be manipulated and remixed. However, as with most sample libraries
worth their salt, the beauty is not only in the conception, but
also in the execution, and what started out as a simple idea ended
up being a rich and dynamic process of creation with opposing influences,
both organic and synthetic, passive and aggressive.
The first step involved a long and intensive recording session at
Music Grinder with Chris O’Brien at the drum kit and Dan Garcia
and Mark Hiskey behind the glass. Chris had his main Pearl kit there
along with a large collection of alternate snares and cymbals. We
recorded dozens of grooves that day, all inspired by a vast repertoire
of ideas Chris had stored up on a scratch cassette tape, while in
between takes we’d play around with mic positions and take
multisamples of the various drums, to collect a little more grist
for the mill.
We didn’t really worry about mixes that day, we walked out
with a few multi-track ADAT tapes and Chris set about the task of
weeding through the material and transferring the individual drum
tracks into Logic Audio. At that point, it was a matter of applying
enough elbow grease to organize and clean up the takes so we could
assemble a collection of rough mixes and make the final cut. What
started as around a hundred groove ideas ended up being about 35.
We picked the best feeling and most “stark raving” of
the bunch, notably looking for fast tempos over the 100 BPM mark.
These final grooves laid the foundation for what was to come, Chris’
embellishments with real and virtual percussion, plug-in and effects
manipulation, and a little bit of beefing up with some nice analog
EQs, pre-amps and compression. The result is over 370 impactive
and flexible groove mixes and elements.
Of course, Chris put our Groove Control process to good use, using
its features to make feel and tempo adjustments, and even to improve
isolation between the tracks. (More info on Groove Control appears
later in this booklet.) But we made a point of not destroying the
live feel of Chris’ original grooves by over-quantizing. While
we wanted a modern sound suitable for the dance scene, we also strove
to maintain the natural feel and character of the live performance.
After all was said and done, we think we ended up with a unique
set of high-energy loops and a great reflection of Chris O’Brien’s
individual groove style.
THE LAYOUT
The grooves are arranged according to tempo, slowest to fastest.
All of them are presented in Construction Kit format, meaning that
you’re provided with both complete mixes and all of the isolated,
individual elements that make up those mixes. In the case of this
library, the isolation is at an unprecedented level since we used
Groove Control in the production phase to search and replace “dirty”
samples. For example, if the snare mic had an abundance of leakage
from a nearby hihat, we’d replace or remove every errant hihat
sample until the snare track was clean as could be. In essence,
the Groove Control process we used in creating this library afforded
us a very high precision noise gate while preserving the musicality
and flow of a live drum kit performance.
For the user, when working with the Groove Control version of Stark
Raving Beats, this focus on isolation means it’s a breeze to
cross-breed elements between totally different grooves, or even
different Groove Control libraries, without having to worry about
cleaning up the tracks. Experiment with replacing the kick track
from one groove with that of a different groove. Swap out snare
parts or mix and match percussion elements. In no time you’ll
be creating whole new drum loops we’d never dreamed of!
Note that you have to have the CD-ROM version of Stark Raving Beats
to get this flexibility–the CD-Audio version doesn’t give
you any of the benefits of Groove Control. Contact ILIO for upgrade
information.
On the sampler CD-ROM, each groove begins with a menu patch, the
full and small mixes assigned to C4 and D4, followed by the mix
elements assigned to subsequent keys. By-in-large, the mix elements
include a kick drum track, snare drum, hihat and/or shaker, a room
or room effects mix, and a few percussion or remixed element tracks.
All can be played together to recreate the full mix that appears
on C4, or you can take your pick to make your own mix.
This layout applies to both the standard loops and the Groove Control
versions, in that you get both the full mix and a small mix plus
all of the constituent elements. You’ll also find Drum and
Percussion multi-sample menus on the CD-ROM version. These are essentially
slices from the GC programs arranged into categories like snare
sounds, kicks, percussion and effects, so you have an even deeper
creative well to draw from.
A NOTE ABOUT THE MIXES
The full and small mixes in this library were mastered, meaning
that not only were the elements combined, mixed and panned, but
they were also professionally polished at a top-notch mastering
studio to create a finished, CD-ready high-impact sound. For this
reason, you may notice a slight difference between the sound of
the mixes and your initial attempts at combining the elements to
recreate them. Using a little EQ and multi-band compression will
make your mixes really pop, but even without these tools, the fidelity
of these elements will combine to create fantastic sounding tracks.
GEAR
The original drum tracks were recorded through an API console with
Pultec EQs straight to ADAT. The editing and remixing platform was
Logic Audio equipped with a vast assortment of plugins. Percussion
from all corners of the globe was recorded at ILIO, in addition
to a Korg Wavedrum and a few toys from the front office. During
the creation phase, we employed many plugin effects, a TC Electronic
Fireworx processor and other more obscure devices. A Manley Massive
Passive EQ and a pair of Summit MPC100A’s were brought in at
the mixing stage. Mastering was done through a Sonic Solutions™
system and TC’s Finalizer.
Chris O’Brien’s Respect
and Inspiration Department
Mike O'Brien, Phil Gould, Mark King, Jerry Marotta, Phil Collins,
Bill Bruford, Omar Hakim, Pat Mastelloto, Tony Thompson, Gary McCracken,
Neil Peart, Steve Jansen, Iki Levy, Steve Ferrone, Chester Thompson,
Martin Deller, Manu Katche, Stewart Copeland, Prarie Prince, Vinx.
THANKS TO
My beautiful loving wife Lee for years of putting up with my noise,
Mom & Dad, Jack & Yvonne Kempf, Gerald, Wayne and the entire
O’Brien family, Mark, Shelly and the oh-so happenin’ ILIO
Gang, Eric Persing, John Lehmkuhl, Bob Daspit, Bob Wilson, Dan Garcia,
Alfie Zappacosta, Mike Stanutz, Jerry “The Mozz” Mosby,
Ed Wilson, Jim Burgess and everyone at Saved By Technology, Dave
Roach, Peter Gannon, Russ Jones, Ray Williams, Hydra Tech, Music
Media Technologies, Dave Tyson, Christopher Ward, Brian and Susan
Wakil, Duane Neillson, Norm Jones, Wayne Lothian, Doug Macaskill,
Dominic Messenger, Ron Rogers, Debra Giles, Kevin Gershan, Randy
Stern, Greg Phillinganes and Steve Ferrone.
CHRIS O’BRIEN ’S CREDENTIALS
As a drummer, Chris has collaborated with several well-known artists
including Zappacosta, Duane Neillson, Harem Scarem, Idiot Bliss,
and Norm “with a Serious” Jones. He’s also performed
on recordings for noted songwriters Gerald O’Brien, Christopher
Ward, Steve Booker, Eddie Schwartz, and Dave Tyson and scored for
various TV shows including Entertainment Tonight, Hard Copy, The
Hippo Tub Company and MTV’s Spyder Games among others. He’s
also an experienced drum and MIDI programmer for Michael Jackson,
Amy Grant, Lionel Richie, Michael W. Smith, Billie Myers and Tina
Arena. Chris is a long time programmer and sound designer for ILIO
Entertainments, having contributed greatly to TranceFusion and Ethno
Techno, and his name can be found on almost every ILIO product.
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