Q&A - Time for Answers!

This took a little longer than expected, but I’ve managed to get through the questions now! ^^;
I’ve tried to sort the questions by length, so the shorter ones are first, and the longer more complex ones are at the end. A few questions were kind of similar, so I decided to just answer both together. Hope that’s alright ;D

How old are you?
I’m from 1993, so I’m 24 years old.

It's ridiculous but do you have a beard? If yes: full beard or a short one?
Nope, I do not have a beard xD

If money wasn't a problem would you rather work as a video game music composer or something related to your physics education?
I would definitely want to work as a video game music composer, no doubt about it!

You produced some original songs in the past. Do you consider to make more or is this something you are not that much into?
I have considered it, and it really is something I want to get around to do in the future!

Do you have some kind of dream or one thing you want to do at least once in your life? Like a trip to a special country, place or maybe a skydive…
Unsurprisingly, most of my dreams are related to music and/or video games xD
The first thing that comes to mind is to work as a composer for a game ^^

TheGameBoyMaster asks: F-Zero remix in the works?
I think about it a lot, and it’s definitely something I’ll do sometime, but I haven’t started anything yet. Still don’t know whether to do Mute City or Big Blue first though! ;D

Evan asks: What song are you most proud of?
Right now, I think that would have to be my Metroid Prime Main Menu remix (https://youtu.be/uZM1Nk2eRZE)
It turned out exactly as I hoped it would when I started making it, and there are no elements that I regret adding or wish I had added when I listen to it now. I also got to put some emotion into the mix as well, which was nice!

There's also an unreleased original track from 2012 that I'm really proud of, as I feel it's one of my first really alright songs c:

Neopolitan asks: How long on average do you work on a song? Also Mac OS or Windows? 

1. That time used to be around 3 weeks, but by actively finding things to do that increases my workflow, that average is now sitting at around 1-2 weeks depending on the song and complexity of it.
2. I use Windows. I’ve spent the majority of my life with Windows machines, so that’s where I’m comfortable.

What do you use for mixing your music?
I sequence everything in Studio One, and mixing-wise I use Fabfilter Pro-Q, Pro-C and Pro-MB in pretty much everything everything I make.

What’s your favourite game?  
+
Your favourite game of all time? (the one you would always play again no matter how old/shitty it is)
There are a lot of games that I absolutely love, and that I end up playing from time to time if I need to cheer up, clear my head, or just relax in general. Choosing one would be pretty much impossible for me, so instead here are the first 5 games that came to mind when I thought of games that I love:

Banjo-Kazooie
Pokémon Silver
Super Mario 64
Mario Party
DuckTales: The Quest for Gold

PC or console?
Nowadays I play multi-platform games on console, but I used to mostly play them on PC before that. I acknowledge that PC can be far superior performance-wise, but often when I want to play games, I’d rather just collapse onto a couch and relax, rather than sitting in the same chair I sit in for hours when I make music c:

Any game/movie/series/book/song/music artist you think is totally underrated and should get more (our) attention?

Game: “E.V.O.: Search for Eden”, and “No One Lives Forever 2”

Movie:” Winners and Sinners/Five Lucky Stars” and “Tais Toi!” (Ruby & Quentin) 

Series: The IT Crowd / Black Books

Music: Everdune

What brought you to remixing/music making? Or simple: how did Qumu started?
Music has been a big part of my life for a long time, but I first started really looking into music production software in 2009 during the whole rhythm game/Guitar Hero craze. I had started playing guitar because of it, and wanted try recording some guitar and violin for fun. I was pointed in the right direction by my brothers, who had a license for Reason, and I started playing around with the software.

While the guitar didn’t stick around, the music production did, and I’ve been making making music ever since! ^^

I love your style of music, was it inspired by something or did you just make it yourself?
+
Is there a musician/band (music artist in general) who is an inspiration or even a model to you?

I think my style is just a combination of different weird inspirations, mixed together with my own inability to properly recreate the styles and genres I want to make xD
As strange as it might sound, I think my greatest source of musical inspiration might be Infected Mushroom. Ever since I first heard their music, I’ve admired how they treat genres, and their music taught me that electronic music can be both crazy experimental, melodic and awesome at the same time. I also love Caravan Palace, so any and all electro swing elements in my music come pretty much directly from listening to their music.

I’m also very inspired by video game music, but I think that goes without saying ;D

If you would have the chance to work or just meet another musician ("small" creators like you or even music legends) which one would you choose?
I honestly don’t know! I’m a very introverted person, so I don’t think about meeting people a lot :P
I wouldn't know what to say or do in a situation like that ^^;
I guess it’d have to be Infected Mushroom though, I’ve seen a couple of their vlogs, and they seem like fun people c:

A weird question but what kind of music do you like to listen to? Any favourite artists or songs? If you want to go into detail feel free to do so…
Good question, I listen to all kinds of different music and artists, but I’ll try to be less generic and talk about what I want to hear when I listen to music c:
First of all, I love melodic music! I don’t particularly enjoy overly complex melodic phrases that bend the fabric of music theory, but I want the melody of a song to make me feel something when I listen to it.
I also love when music has a lot of interesting sounds and/or details put into it. It could be anything really, from a well-built harmonically rich synth, to a guitar pluck that hits just right.

I really really like music that can make me relax, but I also gravitate towards, foot tapping bouncy music, as well as any kind of music that gives me some kind of nostalgia.
It’s a plus if the music is progressive, but not if the progression gets too experimental in terms of rhythm and signature changes. I have a pretty high tolerance for heavy stuff, but I will not sit down and listen to music that is busier/noisier/heavier than than for instance, psytrance or hardstyle.

Some artists I listen to from time to time:
Caravan Palace
Infected Mushroom
Everdune
Bob Marley
Dire Straits
Freedom Call
Savage (the Italo Disco artist)

Some of my favourite songs:
Infected Mushroom - Jeenge
Caravan Palace - Queens
Xploding Plastix - The Cave In Proper
Fall, the remix by M83 Vs Big Black Delta on the Tron Legacy album

Which game/movie/series had the most emotional impact on you?

I honestly don’t know! The first movies that come to mind are The Lion King and The Iron Giant at least. Those movies get me every time...

I get very emotionally invested in games and series in general though, so pretty much everything remotely emotional has an emotional impact on me xD

If I had to pick one game, I think I’d say Mass Effect 3. It might’ve lost some of its magic after the first playthrough, and I don’t know how I’ll feel if I play through it again. I was completely immersed in the story of the game when I was playing it for the first time though, and it really hit hard whenever I lost someone that had been on my team.


Also, I think Wesley from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel deserves an honourable mention!

Are you nervous when you release a new remix? Are you maybe afraid that people could not like your work?
I’m always excited about releasing something new, but I’m also always nervous every single time. I don’t know whether I have a reason to be nervous or not, as I’m very lucky to have nice and considerate listeners/followers, but yeah, I'm always worried that people won't like my work.
The majority of “negative” comments I get are either people politely saying that everything I make isn’t to their taste, or they give me good constructive criticism if they feel something is wrong, so again, I'm very lucky ^^

What do you think about your own music? Please be honest…,
If I try to be objective... I guess it could be worse, and it could be better, so it’s alright I guess! I’d probably listen to my own music if I wasn’t the one making it.
Subjectively though?... To be honest, I’m very self-conscious, and I’m definitely my own worst critic. I don’t really know how to describe how I feel about my own music other than that I feel it’s... “off” compared to music from other artists, if that makes any kind of sense. I’m also very critical of my earlier work, and when listening to it, I almost always start to think that there are things I could’ve done better or at least differently :/

Dolphy asks: Hey Qumu! Been listening for a couple of years, love your work! I've finally started poking around FL Studio myself in the past month or so. Still a total novice, but I have put together a couple of basic remixes. However, I struggle to derive "good-sounding" instruments from VSTs - everything sounds flat and MIDI-like. How do I get the individual notes to "pop" like in your music? More volume variation? Better VSTs? Any tips you can provide (or tutorials you can link to) would be super appreciated!

Yay! c:

Awesome to hear that you’re trying music production! It takes time to get to grips with it, but if you keep at it, it can be very rewarding!

To just quickly answer your question. Yes, and yes.

And oooh boy! This is going to be a long one!
If it’s about sample instruments, I know the exact problem. It’s a very common one (usually fixed by having an actual musician come in and play the part), but I’ve been obsessed with trying to fix it the hard way ever since I started making music. Mixing goes a long way towards making instruments (both synths and virtual instruments) sound good in a song, but won’t fix that “midi sound” completely. I honestly haven’t found a good tutorial on how to make virtual instruments sound better, so I’ll just write down some of my own experiences and tips instead.

1. Modulation is a must
I can’t stress this enough. You *have* to use the midi CC parameters and keyswitches (KS) supported by your sample library / virtual instrument, there’s just no way around it. I go over every single note and note transition to make sure they all sound as good as I can make them. It takes a lot of time, but It’s worth it in the end in my opinion.
The most common and important parameters to think about are usually velocity, pitch bend, the modwheel (CC1) for vibrato, and expression (CC11) to control volume. Of course there are instruments like the piano that doesn’t need vibrato or expression, but for those instruments you have to think about the velocity and placement of each note. 

If you’re ever wondering about how exactly to modulate or “tune” your instrument when making a part, you can try thinking about how a real person playing the instrument would play it. Keeping playstyles and limitations of instruments in mind can be very helpful.

2. Sample libraries and VSTs
While you have to modulate in order to get a good result, you also kind of have to have a somewhat decent sample-library in order to get close to a convincing sound. Basic sample libraries and virtual instruments tend to be a lot about “plug-and-play”, while the more advanced virtual instruments tend to be far less so, and will sound absolutely terrible if you don’t modulate them. It may sound tedious, but if you decide to get a more advanced instrument, you should definitely take some time to get to know it, read the instruction manual, and practice making parts for it.

If you’re looking for solo instruments I can definitely recommend both Embertone and Sample Modeling.

Sample Modeling has some fantastic physically modeled solo brass and woodwinds instruments, while Embertone has the best sampled solo string instruments I’ve heard (They require a lot of timing adjustments because of bow changes though, but the work is totally worth it in the end).

If you’re just looking for a great pack with a lot of good instruments in general, you should check out Native Instruments’ “Komplete” if you haven’t checked it out already. It’s an investment (especially Komplete Ultimate), but it includes a ton of great instruments and effects, ranging from synths to sampled instruments. A lot of the stuff I use come from there, and there are VST instruments, sample libraries and effects from Komplete that I use in every single mix I make.

A little something about synths
If you want some general tips about synths, I’m probably not the person to ask, as there are a lot more tutorials out there. I’ve found SeamlessR’s tutorials on bass and synths to be very nice. He works in FL Studio (which is good for you if you’re using FL). He has an incredible understanding of how synths work, and he’s very good at explaining what he does with the synths that he uses, instead of just telling the viewer where the knobs are supposed to point to make a certain sound. Basically, if you learn the principles behind synths rather than just following an exact tutorial on how to make a particular sound, it can make things a lot easier for you if you want to experiment with synths on your own.

I know I’m just scratching the surface here, but still, I hope it helps a little bit!