[stem collector]

not even in a bad mood and this thread bothers me

[NExS]

Originally Posted by Benwaa

in fact:

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.

In that sense, however, you can only be "totally into something" for limited periods of time. There's absolutely no way you can remain the same level of ecstatic, non-stop, 24/7/365.

[aeoR]

Originally Posted by NExS

In that sense, however, you can only be "totally into something" for limited periods of time. There's absolutely no way you can remain the same level of ecstatic, non-stop, 24/7/365.

I know people who are ecstatically assholes 24/7/365

[plus3]

You should have a Brand / Image / Sound so people know what they're getting... If every album from an artist you like was a different genre, it would just be confusing and frustrating. People generally want more (but "new") music like the kind that attracted them in the first place. Last album was fantastic! Can't wait to see what else they come up with!

As a musician, however, you should not intentionally confine & restrict your style to anything. You should make whatever you want--be as free & creative as you please.

Just keep in mind when you release it publicly, people are expecting some level of consistencey. So if you Rap, produce Ambient Drone, & play Fiddle in the London Sympony Orchestra, that's fine--but it'd probably be more practical to release under different aliases so the fans of each of those indivdual sounds can actually follow you.

[Slipstreamer]

The interesting thing is that quite a lot of the big buzz-names in electronic music seem to produce a very eclectic array of music... usually under pseudonyms, admittedly, but generally everyone knows the name behind the pseudonym in any case. Think of guys like Paul Rose (Scuba/SCB) or Dan Snaith (Manitoba/Caribou/Daphni). Even Jamie xx, who's known for his work with the xx but whose solo work bears only a passing resemblance to it...

[Dr Insano]

Personality is more important than identity. The main problem with everyone nowadays is that they try and develop a style and then just produce in that, so their identity stales and you stop caring. A personality can change over time and improve or try new things.

[Arnage]

Originally Posted by Dr Insano

Personality is more important than identity. The main problem with everyone nowadays is that they try and develop a style and then just produce in that, so their identity stales and you stop caring. A personality can change over time and improve or try new things.

Well said

[Digit]

yeah, the word "eclectic" has been said twice so far... so i'll say it a third [or does this now count as fourth] time:

eclectic

it can indeed pay off to have a tenticle in many target audiences (yuck, i sound like i'm back in my "marketing or advertising" work), and then be a bridge of a sort for them to find other artists, which of course, might be statistically less significant a foot traffic return as keeping a closer-nit vibe, but people have broad tastes, we like diversity, so maybe you offering something different each time, could just be the variety to spice up life in folks ears.

idk, maybe it's one of those "wrong question"s.
maybe it's worse than a non-issue, but one which if becomes your focus, you lose track of what's important... and isnt it just joyously creating awesome stuff what's important? unfettered creativity? ... or maybe image and PR and identity and all the rest of that stuff really is important, and i should go back to helping do that for clients...

i say, create what you may create, and let the chips fall where they may. and if in doubt, have a dose or two of eckhart tolle.

PS,
oh, unless you're creating an identity as a work of art in itself... then i think it's ok, then i dont think bill hicks will tell you to kill yourself. like was mentioned... release under many monikers. that way you can have the diversity in your creativity, and consistency within discogs of each artist name.

[DChowski]

Originally Posted by Artifiseer

Well, there's nothing wrong with dabbling in different styles of music, but you should have some kind of production flourishes or stylistic tendencies that identify you as a producer. Notice how all the big-name producers are easily identified by their music, that's your goal.

I think the goal is to be able to bridge the gap of all styles, and not have people be able to identify your music just because you have that certain sound you like to reuse I.e. that "growl" signature sound or whatever tendency it may be, but to have people be able to know its a song by you just because you surpass other artists. I know that if i had a certain sound that people could identify me by i would want it want it to be out of the sheer fact that they know theres no way anyone else could produce some weird shit like that without being dchowski.

and then 5 years down the road some 13 yr old steps in and does it 20 times better.

but thats in my perfect world, and i'm still an amateur, and sometimes you have to learn how other people do things before you can branch off and find your own way.

[Renz]

Who cares so long as your music is badass and you feel like a badass making it?

[Surgical]

Originally Posted by Renz

Who cares so long as your music is badass and you feel like a badass making it?

This!^^^^^^

[DChowski]

i care. music can be so much more than that. people seem to forget that music is one of the few things that can really affect people in all sorts of ways.

"after silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

I wanna see a producer that figures out how to capture the energy that dance music is known for, and still be able to draw on the emotion that so many live artists/bands have been able to produce as well. raving, and feeling like a badass is great, but drawing out something that can make people cry like babies while humping and grinding would be that much better.

[RFJ]

When the music speaks for itself there's really no need for gimmicks.

[saamjaam]

Forget producer identity, forget going for a signature sound.
If you enjoy producing then that is the most important thing. Just remember to challenge yourself regularly. Be aware of the ways in which you usually produce and do the opposite every now and then. We all too easily form habits in everything we do including production and composing so watch yourself!
That's my hypocritical pseudo-advice stolen from someone else no doubt.
*goes back to producing in the same way he usually does*

[neyus]

^
lol

Well there is nothing wrong with creating a signature sound really because once you do nobody can sound like you. But it is not easy to do and you'll pretty much need a eureka moment to achieve it. It's pretty damn worth it though.

[gbsr]

Is it OK to not have an identity as a producer

yes.

thing is, once you are comfortable with yourself and your workflow, your production identity will simply come on it's own.
also, what happens if you work with others? if you are so hung up on this, what happens when you get new influences?

your producer identity should be your workflow, not whether or not you sound like "you".
the point with mainstream artists sounding in a certain way is because they usually a: have other people writing their songs for them, b: have access to certain mastering houses which DOES have a signature sound, c: have legal obligations to fulfill (as in a contract stating for example another album in this or that style (yes, it does happen)), d: need to sell so they are opting for familiarity.

but then consider this: how many of the big mainstream artists are actually being listened to if you are not counting promotional stunts, radio, tv-ads etc?
the whole idea of popularity in music is based around the payola system.

top charts means nothing these days at all.

is it ok for you to not have a producers identity?
the question should be:
why should it not be ok? can you give me one good reason?

familiarity? there's familiarity in doing all types of genres too, and besides, when you are comfortable with your workflow your signature sound will grow out on it's own because you do certain processing and you work in certain ways which will alter your sound anyways.

[statisticquill]

Originally Posted by gbsr

yes.

thing is, once you are comfortable with yourself and your workflow, your production identity will simply come on it's own.

This is what I think.
You don't need a really cool artistic image or anything. Look at deadmau5, he has the stupidest image ever, its based around his cat and a giant plastic mouse head with lights on it. But the music is good (in my opinion hahaa, dont hate me!), so he's successful.

I was in a vocal jazz group in high school briefly, they always told me to smile while I was singing but fuck that, I was giving the music all the attention. You see classical performers all the time playing the most amazing, inspiring music with stone cold poker faces; they let the music speak for itself, so can you.
(that sounded really cliche, but seriously. its true.)

[mimicry]

The mouse mask is probably a big part of why he's famous. For an average person, there's a lot of dance music out there, but only one guy with a huge stupid mouse mask, so that's what they'll remember.

You don't need anything, nobody is expecting anything of you. But if popularity is important to you, you have to remember that people remember, and associate with, characters and narratives. You can't be a guy, you have to be THAT guy.

[vt100]

you can be yourself, you can have some moniker. I guess I sort of like the idea of my artistic front being someone different than my personal front. I like that separation (granted, i'm hardly famous etc). Some artists seem to go the route of creating a new 'personality' for every genre they want to get into - this sort of goes into the world of branding and brand image (producer N is a trance producer, producer J is jungle).

I think it depends on what you want to do, at the end of the day though your music will speak for itself. Have fun with it.

[benelli3000]

dabbling is fine but forgoing an identiy is not ok in my book.