David Mårtenson is the Swedish EDM funkateer who hails by the moniker, Vudvuzela, and has recently released a glitch hoppy neuro-bass-heavy album on Adapted Records called, ‘Zombi EP,’ – and you’re definitely going to want to check it out! It’s as exciting as a KOAN Sound release, except… uh… shreddier?
What I mean is, David plays in a metal band, and comes to electronic music from a different perspective than some. You can definitely hear it in his electronic compositions; his tunes are funky, bouncy, extremely easy to dance to – and yet they lean, here and there, on some very intense and hardcore sounds and noises.
Vudvuzela: “Yeah that’s right about metal music. I enjoy ‘shredding’ and more progressive stuff like Periphery, Animals As Leaders, The Dillinger Escape Plan to mention a few.”
I’m not personally a sports fan – European or American – but I thought Vudvuzela sounded familiar, so I asked David if that’s what they call those horns people blow in Futbol games…
“Nah,” he said, “that’s a ‘Vuvuzela.’ So my name is more like a pun or mixture. I’m sometimes called ‘Davud.’ Vud is also Hebrew or something for the word, ‘crazy/mad,’ I believe I’ve read that somewhere.”
Ok, well, my mistake. I told ya I wasn’t much of a sports fan…
V: “No worries, man. I hate fotball/soccer. So it’s a bit ironic that my name is what it is.”
Anyway, I love that the track “silly,” has a fun swinging funky neuro sound, are you going more into that direction with your new one?
V: “Thank you. Silly is my favorite track from that EP. I guess some of the tracks is a little bit more to that direction. The most important part for me with my songs is that they have some sense of playfulness to them, if you know what I mean?”
Yea definitely, they seem playful and fun.
V: “It’s supposed to sound fun, interesting and colorful. Also preferably with a sense of “hit music” since I come from that background a bit.”
Hit music? You a top 40 supastaaaaa?
V: “I’ve been playing guitar in a radio friendly metal band. Also built with a lot of layers and stuff, so it’s pretty closely connected to each other. I enjoy the “science” behind top 40 music, hahah.”
So I was wondering about the sound of the really punchy synth that keeps showing up in the mix, are you sidechaining to a kick, or is it just a secret ultra-punchy synth ? …and that snare, too. Any hints for producers trying to make fun, punchy colorful tunes in the Vudvuzela tradition – as far as types of drum machine used, fx/automation?
V: “I do a lot of sidechaining and volume automations on everything usually… Hmm… Tips for making punchy colorful tunes? I don’t know, really. I try to keep it interesting by doing small variations on bounced basslines using Ableton’s Warp Engine, using a lot of different filtering automations. Mostly Sugar Bytes Wow. Macros is also great. I usually have about five automation lanes for every bass/synth-track. But as far as getting it colorful and fun I guess it’s mostly about finding what works best for you! Do a lot experimenting and keep trying new things is my advice.”
So what is your setup, your DAW, etc?
V: “I only use my old Macbook Pro from ‘09 and a pair of bad Sony headphones. I think that in these days when you can do so much with plugins, that’s pretty much all you need. Look at Koan Sound and Skrillex. That’s only laptop and headphones. Or at least it used to be. I hear they are both building proper studios on their own now. But there’s still a lot you can do with a simple setup like that. The most important thing is just to know what you’re doing with the things you have.”
How long have you been making electronic music – and music in general?
V: “I’ve been making music all my life in different forms. But I guess my more serious attempts started in 7th grade when I started to do hiphop and downtempo ambient stuff. That ended up in two full length albums. But they were really shit, to be honest . Just found the cd’s a few weeks ago when I moved. After that I started playing in more serious bands and my focus was more on metal and stuff like that. But I still did different forms of EDM on the side.”
Ah.. Yea, I think we’ve all got some shitty hip hop from 7th grade we can’t believe we made..
V: “Hehe yeah. It’s pretty classic. But I also did a lot of drum and bass back then. That was my biggest fascination. But it was a lot more difficult to make than hiphop.”
So making music is a passion of yours – do you gig, or go for strictly releasing music?
V: “yes it’s definitely my passion in life. I haven’t played out much with Vudvuzela yet. Just some local smaller club gigs as a regular DJ. But Im planning on making it a live show. I’ve done a whole lot of gigs with my band though. Over a 100 shows, so that’s a situation Im more used to.”
So, what are your favorite artists right now, if you could bump anyone’s music?
V: “Hmm let’s see… In EDM music, Savant is definitely one of my favorites right now. Truly inspiring guy and talented as fuck at everything he does (you’ll love him. He’s the next big thing. Released four full length albums and five EP’s last year. All of them great.) Justice and Daft Punk are my all-time favorites, though.”
Hmm.. I’ll have to look that guy up.
V: “Yea, he’s awesome… (talking about Savant, I mean, not DP and Justice…)”
Ha, ‘DP.’
V: “Hehe… I’ve also been listening to a lot of trap recently. It’s fun with “new” genres. I know some people feel it’s just an evolution from southern hip hop, but as long as it feels fresh and interesting it’s always nice. I enjoy everything by Hudson Mohawke. And his new project TNGHT is fucking awesome!”
Fuck yea man, TNGHT is the shit!!
V: “I’ve actually remixed ‘Higher Ground’ by them, so that’s available right now.”
It just came out a few hours before this posting, so I figured I’d post a video of it, as it REALLY does show how David gave TNGHT a sonic workout.
It really is a remix in a much grander sense than what we’ve seen so much of in the last few years – namely, some moombah beat thrown atop a tune, “remixing,” it, or adding a couple of wobbles and a drop, dumbstepping it out…. Vudvuzela’s remix of ‘Higher Ground’ by TNGHT really adds Vud’s characteristic bouncy but thrashy (and tripped out) aesthetic, and sucks up Lunice and HudMo like a goddamn vacuum, spitting out their material in a whirlwind of funk and controlled chaos. Spectacular!
So you think you might be going in a trappy direction then?
V: “I’ve been experimenting some with trap lately. Not sure how Vudvuzela-related it’s gonna be though. But I have a few remixes coming out under that genre. I released a trappy/hiphop-remix of Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools a few days ago. It’s up on youtube. Im also working on a more proper trap remix of a Die Antwoord song.”
Nice. So, I wanted to ask you about the cover graphic for your last EP – I love the cartoon graphics! Are you going for the same style with your new release as that cartoon city you had – and did you do that graphic work yourself?
V: “No, I have a few friends who does that for me. But the new EP is gonna be in the same cartoonish-style. Also introducing a new character to the Vudvuzela-Universe. I feel that cartoons really fit my music; the playfulness of it, and all the colors.”
Oooh a new character! Nice. Those cartoon images remind of Parliament Funkadelic . I’ve been hearing that funky sound more and more lately too, which I’m excited about.
V: “Yeah it’s really growing.”
So, here’s, ‘Silly,’ off of ‘Zombi EP,’ by Vudvuzela. It’ll give you an idea about what I’m talking about when I say it’s grindy and thrasy – but that it’s also a bouncy, funky ravey groove.
Alright, so, here are some of the places you can go to find Vud’s tunes:
This is a demo pack for “StrangeFlow and Simteks’ North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz From Outer Space.”
If you enjoy these FREE BASS BOMBZ – i.e. if these bass bombz are bombin’ enough for ya, please consider getting the full package..
The entire package is about 450 MB – which is, to say the least, an extraorinary value for $20 USD. The full package includes all of the samples found in THIS demo package, offered below – as well as many more samples – (except, instead of being piled together, one after another, they’re organized by folder – because there are TONS of bass bombz in the complete package, and you gotta’ keep your bass bombz organized, after all!)
To check out some of the specifications for this package, go HERE…
Below is a tune that Simteks created with the full package of “StrangeFlow and Simteks’ North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz From Outer Space.” Its a test track to guide you through the arsenal of bass bombz available, and hopefully you’ll enjoy some of the sounds you hear!
AND THEN….
If you like what you hear, feel free to check out the full package, which is available here. Like stated earlier, the full package is being offered for just $20 USD.
Well, the title of this article pretty much sums it up nicely.. Simteks drops demo tune to show off the massiveness that is the ‘StrangeFlow and Simteks Present… North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz From Outer Space,” – a sample pack filled with tons of electrified and funktastic beat, bass, and one shot drum samples!! The entire kit, including EVERYTHING in the package, weighs in at around 450 MB… which is pretty fucking hefty.. Anytime you can get close to half a gigs worth of usable audio material (much of which can be used to create music in the style of Opiuo, Tipper, or KOAN Sound) and only pay $20 USD, you pretty much have to consider it.
Here’s the incredible demo tune, below:
Below is the sample pack that Simteks used (and helped CREATE!) to make his demo that you’re likely listening to right now in that soundcloud widget above. All the samples are in WAV format, and for specific details, click the image below!
Yep, you heard correct! The illustrious Simteks (who not only mods GlitchHopForum.com but also invented SimteksMusic.com) has teamed up with StrangeFlow (creator of Bassadelic, and inventor of many funky glitch hoppy bass gems) to give the world something truly special.
So, the story goes like this… Strange and Sims journeyed to East Asia, specifically, to North Korea. Why? In search of bass bombz, of course! I can’t legally say that these two are spies, but… well… they’re spies… space-spies…
They captured the bass bombz, and as it turns out they’re not weapons of mass destruction, they’re weapons of mass neuro-tastic funkgasmic bass! And They want to offer them, now, to the public!
StrangeFlow and Simtek’s North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz From Outer Space!
A variety of .WAV samples by StrangeFlow and Simteks, including..
-27 Bass Sustains
-71 Drum Samples (including 27 premium / original beats)
-44 Neuro Bass Riffs (organized by key)
-20 Rizers
-Bonus Reese Samples, Funky Snares, and other Misc Goodies !
Want more information? Well, here’s the write-up Strange did for these super-destructive loops of chaos!
Question: Who is responsible for this filth?
Answer: Simteks and StrangeFlow, champions of music production and music blogging!
We have teamed up, in this most-unholiest of sample products, North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz From Outer Space!
Simteks is known for his incredible music production website (SimteksMusic.com) as well as for his high-powered bass-killing electronic music – and for his skills in the field of audio
mastering. StrangeFlow is known for his funkified and forward-thinking electronic music, as well as for his website (Bassadelic.com) a blog for music producers.
The two teamed up to put these North Korean Neuro Bass Bombz into a series of .WAV files, and these samples are ready to be plugged into your DAW immediately, and shoot insane bass-fire
out onto your dancefloor!
It was our mission to capture a specific sound of modern electronic music… something on the funkier and bass-heavy side of things, including bass riffs and sustains with oscillations, frequency changes and overal sound progressions typical to much of what is considered the,neuro sound.
We have also taken great influence from many artists, including KOAN Sound and Opiuo, just to name a couple. We have nothing but props for these musicians, and for all musicians who
continue to push the boundaries and exptectations of music and sound!
We have added a number of beats and drum samples, as well. All the beats, as well as the bass loops and riffs, are in the 100 BPM to 106 BPM range, allowing the producer the ability to
create funky / neuro midtempo grooves as quickly as possible. Though, it should be noted that you can, of course, speed up the tempos when using these loops, if you want to, and that 100 to 106 BPM is merely the speed at which these sounds were recorded at, and you will find that most of them sound best when played closer to their original tempo (or faster).
In addition to everything else, a number of bass one-shots have been added which are solid and easy to use in production.
We have included some bonus material, as well, which is mostly unrelated to the neuro theme of this package, though these extra samples can be used however you see fit.
These are all .WAV samples, and are compatible with all major devices that allow for use of .WAV files.
There’s nothing else quite like this sample pack out there, and we really hope you enjoy these samples and find them useful!
So how much is this incredible fucking sample pack, StrangeFlow and Simteks?!! We Need to KNOW!
You can pick this thing up for a mere 20 dollars USD.
In case you’re asking, “SIMTEKS, STRANGEFLOW! This all sounds too good to be true but.. wait, what do you mean by ‘neuro’ exactly? Can you give me an example of a song that already exists that reflects the funky/neuro/midtempo – ish bassy electronic aesthetic you guys were going for?”
OF COURSE! Here, listen to some to these sounds below, and you’ll get an idea of what we mean when we’re talking about the neurofunk / bassy midtempo electronic stuff…
SimTeks & StrangeFlow are teaming up to drop the dopest neuro samples possible, on an unsuspecting world… get ready…
That’s right, its coming, and its coming soon! Be the first to know by clicking the FOLLOW button now! :)
Inspired by the work of KOAN SOUND and OPIOU (just to name a couple) Strange and Sim are putting their skills to work, developing something that will be incredibly fun and helpful for aspiring EDM musicians. It is going to be an incredible package, designed for producers in need of some samples and sounds to help them in their music production endeavors.
Stay tuned for more details. They’re going to drop this bomb very soon!
Bassadelic.com :: #1 samples source online! We help electronic / hip hop producers with sounds, resources, tutz, theory, interviews & more! 