oli xl - twitter q&a for ri,se from 2019
compiled in late oct 2024, partly with the help of internet archive to fill in missing gaps. excluding unanswered questions and unrelated unanswered replies to answers. for now no particular order, but each tweet has its link, could one day sort by status id...
oli xl (x)
if u have any q's about the sounds & production on the album - ask away, I'm an open book!!! 🧸
@qwizzz (x)
i just want u to make a bootleg against the clock but dont worry about the clock
oli xl (x)
had an idea of doing an against the clock where I get up from my chair, go out in a garden and sow an empty usb... 10 mins later a cute lily has sprouted from the usb - I pull it from the ground and put in the usb and now there are sick trax on it
@qwizzz (x)
please do this
@qwizzz (x)
can i see ur kick eq/comp chain?
i mean usually it's just the kick... maybe some minor eq (just logic default) into a drum chain with just one compressor (also logic default)... nothing magic there
here's clumsy lol
@qwizzz (x)
damn it also sounds so good
@acidangel__ (x)
What was your inspiration for the stripped-back minimal sound? 👁
it's interesting I never thought of it as minimalist, but some people seem to hear it that way - didn't have any strict inspo but this is what I've been listening to:
basement jaxx, laurel halo, source direct, early weather report, ssx3 soundtrack, herbie hancock weirdo fusion period (sextant to mwandishi), a ton of trip hop (mezzanine, maxinquaye... nothing deep just the classics lol), tirzah, m.e.s.h, early 00s madonna
oh and towa tei!!!
@acidangel__ (x)
Taste! If you want to dig deeper into trip hop here are some reccs (first one is Jaku by DJ Krush)
oli xl (x)
really appreciate it!!
@viaapp_ (x)
That sub bass engineering 🤤🤤 howww did u process it and/or what synth/softsynth u use? Thank u for the album it’s so beauty
that means a lot to hear!!
funny u say that, have felt like the bass is the weakest link, I’ve was so afraid of making it too bassy hahaI haven’t done much with it tbh!! on most tracks it’s probably the logic sampler default sound which is a sinewave... that’s it. sometimes I maybe put a lil dist (either the drive knob in the sampler or decapitator) and filter down...
or sometimes it can be a sample i heavily filtered down... tbh I think the sub is less about the sub and more about all the other sounds relation to it - I don't keep the sub on the drum channels but like the idea of sounds crunching up a tiny bit when the sub comes in
and since I don't compress or dist the sub with any other sounds and just keep it super clean, sometimes I just automate a a tiny tremolo coming in on the drums whenever the sub hits, so it gets that crunch without fucking up the sub
i have no idea what im doing though
@parris_dj (x)
do any of us lol
@sissel (x)
så mysig tråd
oli xl (x)
eller hur!!
@twistwithaglitc (x)
You should post the lyrics somewhere! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
oli xl (x)
that's classified im sorry
@twistwithaglitc (x)
omg don't be sorry! I will just hum and sing what I think you're saying in small sections lol
oli xl (x)
that's the way to do it lol
@pxshv (x)
can we get lyrics for Hesitate 😶🙏
oli xl (x)
no im sorry that's classified
@pxshv (x)
understandable sir, have a nice day 😫✌️
@lowres240_p (x)
What was the collaborative process on Hesitate like ? It’s easily one of my favorite tracks on the record.
oli xl (x)
cute it's one of my favs too! 🥰 I literally just sent the beat to zak in messenger and he sent back a voice dm of him singing on top of it & it sounded so sick (makes me think of aftermath by tricky) so I just put the voice dm in the track
@ornine (x)
was this an inspiration or am i imagining it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94IdL3djJVU [detroit grand pubahs - sandwiches]
oli xl (x)
@MinorScience told me 2 check this 1 out a few weeks ago lol i see the similarity
@zcohent (x)
What an amazing opportunity to contact you!
I don't know if I hear correctly but there is something special happening at the high end of your sound...
If I'm correct, what is happening there? panning side/center editing? specific plugins?
oli xl (x)
dunno! nothin conscious at least but yeah I do like my music really wide, read somewhere that panning should b like a V where bass is the nottom and highs is the top, so I often hard pan highs & also flanger is nice on highs tbh flanger is nice on everything
@zcohent (x)
Thank you!!
Looking forward to seeing you live.
Especially in Berlin :)))
@ps2saveicon (x)
no q's just thank you for the album (^_^)
oli xl (x)
🌸🌸
@scarredlungs (x)
there’s a beck sample on ‘clumsy’?
oli xl (x)
noo that's me singing
@scarredlungs (x)
🥰
@oscar8teen (x)
Is it ecco’s vocals on hesitate or did he produce?
oli xl (x)
it's zak in the outro!
@georgiemcvicar (x)
Would love to know how you went about processing vocals!
oli xl (x)
spring reverb it, pitch it, flange it, gate it
modulation delay plugin in logic is also nice
only had a zoom h1 to record them with in my bedroom so that probably played into the sound too
@georgiemcvicar (x)
Thanks!
@mech_combat (x)
did you sample the “scratching” type sounds from turntables or something like traktor? or use something like a tape stop plugin and reversed samples to get the effect? it’s the biggest thing that stuck out to me production-wise on the album and I’m still wondering about it
oli xl (x)
prob a better way to do it haha but yeah I put instrumentals & stems in traktor and "scratched" with a shitty midi dj-controller lol
@brints_life (x)
Love ur album! Were u working on headphones or speakers when making it? Do u have a preference? I love how it works on both headphones and my soundsystem !
oli xl (x)
thank u for listening! headphones 100%
@umfang (x)
logic ableton hardware all or ....
oli xl (x)
logic and I hate it!! everything takes so much time! have some hardware but never touch it these days... software wise traktor & audio hijack is a big part of the production too... traktor to scratch sounds & audio hijack to record the computer output
@umfang (x)
i was motivated to learn how to produce on ableton for real after listening to this, i just assumed it was made in ableton lmao thank you
oli xl (x)
I mean, as a logic user I'd 100% recommend ableton instead haha
@juulcd (x)
I've seen people do crazy things with both, it's honestly about whichever you know how to use and is accessible to you
(off the original answer)
@exploitedbody (x)
I’ve used Logic for 12 years now, it’s super unintuitive, although I’ve figured out a workflow that suits me. That being said, I’m always blown away by the fact that other people, like yourself, use it too and make such intruiging compositions with it!
oli xl (x)
yeah same here been on it for like 8 years now and hated every second but too deep in it in terms of workflow to change now...
@aircode_ (x)
i’ve thought about this a lot and i almost find logic more giving in what it allows, the piano roll grid feels less restricting than the bar based grid in ableton. (used logic for the last five years but use ableton to play life through)
oli xl (x)
yeah true tbh, I actually mostly put samples directly on the timeline though and never really touch the piano roll... my problems mostly stem from how limited sample manipulation is in logic - the exs24 is fucking trash, hate that I can't just pull a sample in and play around
@aircode_ (x)
yeh thats tru its a mission, guess ive just got a workflow around all the weaknesses
@croatianamor (x)
what was the inspiration behind the lyrics? are the vocals heavily distorted or quite close to your real voice?
I don't actively listen to lyrics, other than snapping up random phrases I resonate with ona pretty abstract level.. the lyrics on the record are mostly there for me to sing something, but they still for me carry emotional importance in how the sound of my voice bends around them
with that said I can find lyrics really beautiful on a kinda nonsensical & surreal level... laurel halo's dust was a big inspo, it has so many beautiful weird phrases but can also be really hilarious
@croatianamor (x)
that's a really nice approach to it <33 I had noticed that even thought they might sound unintelligible every sentence has this special quality
@djhimera (x)
“give me candy or i’ll scream” spoke to me
oli xl (x)
there's a whole verse on it I deleted so it makes less sense now but it's supposed to be from the perspective of an ai teddy bear that is sick and tired of it's 4 year old masters abuse
@croatianamor (x)
holy shit thats insane
@djhimera (x)
deep. What was the og lyric?
oli xl (x)
classified but it has the bar "thread and plush but still got a screw loose" haha
@djhimera (x)
BARS !!!!!
@tom_sobolik (x)
How much mixing do u do after the first session(s) where you’re initially writing the tracks? Is everything mostly put in place in the mix as you go or do u spend a lot of time going back and fixing things?
oli xl (x)
I try to mix as I go along but often when I go back I start hearing problems I didn't think about b4 - the album had a ton of mixing problems, mainly due to it almost being exclusively random found samples (often of bad quality), even drums, which makes it much harder to mix imo
@tom_sobolik (x)
Thanks!!!!
@tiishaku(x)
Did you intentionally avoid using the classic kick-snare-kick-snare drum pattern to make the tracks more interesting? I always pay attention to the drums first and hearing those unusual rhythms in your album was refreshing AF
10/10 album BTW, can't wait to hear more <3
oli xl (x)
thank u!! 🌸 I mean it wasn't that intentional, 4 on the floor is just not very interesting 2 me
I want 2 make music that's free from genre associations, but still can be poppy and clubby - that said I tried to make a 4by4 track with orchid itch but it didn't really work out lol
@digitalage20xx (x)
did ecco2k do the vocals on hesitate?
oli xl (x)
it's zak in the outro
@cruikk (x)
do you use a sound pack? and what would you recommend for those looking to record and use their own for a track?
I have this app on my computer called audio hijack that lets u record the sound output, so anytime I'm watching some dumb shit on youtube or watching a movie or listening to some music and hear a sound I like, I just record it
been doing this for many years now, so whenever I want to make music I have huge sample libraries with random weird sounds... I always try to twist the samples enough to be impossible to recognize though, which means I resample everything
@cruikk (x)
that's so sick I never thought of that, thank u. I'm a v massive fan of ur work! congrats on the album
@slavanomics (x)
Any plans for physical release 🙏
oli xl (x)
coming very soon!!!
[sneek comment: (very sharp sigh)]
@tacoqueenldn (x)
If this thread is still active I’d love to know how you went about making the whooshy filtered pads on Flower Circuit?
hey :) I've written a bit about how my process is very sample heavy in other answers, the Flower Circuit pads are several different samples I've resampled with fx on and twisted around etc, but the source sample will still be very important for the sound
maybe should be quiet about this but think the original samples were an etienne de crecy sample & a morton feldman sample
oh and an effect that's heavily featured on the pad is a tape delay (echoboy) where I have a random lfo on the time knob, so it gets this silly bouncy pitch effect