Music Production: Helpful Quotes From Established Producers

"You need energy. You need people around you so you don't get stuck in the main frame, in the matrix, you need people around you to be like "Dude that was tight" and you also need people around you when you're tweaking the synth to be like "What the hell are you doing, no one's going to hear that", and you need that, and that's why you need to work around people. Because not to get all scientologist on you or something, but energy, and energy is what sells a song. You play your song, nobody listens to all of the intricacies that you put hours of work into, they might be able to retain two things. It's like a top line and if the beat was catchy. You just gotta really be focused on the end product and the energy. When somebody hears a song, they're not thinking about it the same way you are. They're not thinking about the mixing guy or the mastering guy or you when you made the beat, they're just thinking about the energy that it gave them, so keep people around you all the time" - Niles Dhar (AKA The Cataracs & KSHMR)

"Things like the little computer beeps and stuff like that, it's great for sort of-just put em in once or twice and it makes a loop that loops around every four bars and loop around every sixteen bars, each one's got a different zap, or a different (sound effect) or whatever. It just makes it slightly more interesting for the listener, and if you can get all of these bits in when you're making the drums, and if you're making the drums sound interesting to yourself, before you've even put anything else in, it's already good. It's not just a drum track. If you've got all the bits in you can listen to the drums and the effects looping on their own, round and round and round, for hours and it sounds good. You know, that's already the start. A lot of people just get basics down then go and throw in the bass and synths and that kind of stuff, but I tend to think if you can get all of that in, if you can make it interesting when there's no melody in there yet, like, it's already, it's a good start. You're going to have a more interesting and vibrant track."- Rusko

"Maybe there are magic techniques out there that I don't know about, but I think mastering is something that's given too much credit. I always get people asking me about my mastering techniques and where I get my stuff mastered, but for me it's more about getting the mix right. Mastering, for me, literally consists of an iZotope Maximizer, maybe with a little bit of EQ and harmonic excitement, but that's it. It's all about what makes you smile at the end of day." -Skrillex

"It really is quality control. Another example is like DJ Snake is on Mad Decent and we did a bunch of records with him and then I think Turn Down For What is like the record that just owns that whole genre, that whole tempo, so that's the record that you want to invest, I think it's on Interscope now, you want to invest like a hundred thousands, two hundred thousand dollars on that song, because it's worth it. It's the strongest record out of that style, you know, so when you have one that's worth it put everything in that. You know, it's like put all of your chips in that record, but until you have that just keep working until you know it and eventually your tastes are gonna just build until you know it's a good record." - Diplo