Subaqueous News, Events and Music – Subaqueous Music

Starting Successful Music Goals this New Year

Subaqueous — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 01:09:30 +0000

New Years is the perfect time to evaluate your strengths and weakness and make a plan to make it to the next level. It’s a great opportunity to make impactful goals that will lead us to success. You will never make it as a musician if you don’t have solid goals.

How will you reach your musical goals this year?

When you first think about goal setting, the idea of just writing out some statement and posting it on your wall comes to mind. That is why so many people fail at there goals. There is a science… no, an art to writing great goals.

Good goals make you feel good, great goals propel you to your achievement.

Setting Great Goals for Sucess

To start make sure any goal is SMART which is; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Here is a breakdown of what makes a great goal.

Specific – It is much better to say you will know how to play one song on the guitar then to “be great at music”. Be as specific as you can.
Measurable – Set what will be the meter for success. Is it learning one song? Is it your first gig? Can’t really finish your goal unless you have the finish line set.
Achievable – A little bit of introspection goes a long way. Ask yourself how realistic are the goals based on your life, skill set, and financial factors.
Relevant – You probably have bigger life goals. You should make sure that this goal really matters to you and can fit within your bigger life goals.
Timely – This is often the most overlooked. You can’t wrap your head around something that is open-ended. Having a set deadline is important.

Once you got your SMART goal you are all set to succeed. Right? Well, there are a few other things that increase your chance for success.

Following Through With Your Goals

There are a few proven things to help you accomplish your goals. Research has shown us that having accountability partners as a huge motivating force. Having a weekly check-in with someone massively increases your likelihood of doing it. You’re not just letting yourself down, but you’re letting someone else down.

You also want to add Forming Habits. You can’t just add a goal, you need it to be habitual. There are three R’s to habits; routine, reward, and reminder. When you have the trifecta of these forces, you are guaranteeing your goal to become a habit.

To help reinforce your goals, I put together an 8-week email course on goal setting. It is free for those interested in getting a routine of working on their goals. Seriously… I don’t want people to just join this course and not do anything. It takes me time and money to send these things out. If you join, commit to your future music and achieving your goals.

Join the email course for worksheets, creative prompts, and more. Let’s bring this new year in right.

8 of the Best Free Ableton Live Packs and Effects (2018 rundown)

Subaqueous — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 23:45:55 +0000

Having access to great sounds makes the whole music making the process so much faster. That is why I am always on a hunt for good Live Packs. I’ve collected my top favorite free Live Packs and Instrument Racks. Download each of these for free. If it opens up a Gumroad page, just put “0” in the name your price to grab it for free.

Singularities for that synthy goodness

First on our list is an official Live Pack from Ableton, Singularities. This Live pack is freaking amazing. As they say on the website;

Singularities makes use of single samples and finely tuned, expressive parameters to capture the sound and feel of classic synths and samplers. Included are 40 Instrument Racks, plus MIDI clips and drum kits – all the parts you need for a complete track.

I love the collection of synths and instrument racks in this Live Pack. Check out the sounds of Singularities below.

Smashed Snapple Can Just For Fun

If you have read this blog, you know I am a fan of AfroDjMac. He is constantly coming out with Live Packs and Instrument Racks. I didn’t want to litter the list with all his releases, but this is one of his highlights.

The Smashed Snapple Can Live Rack is just that… A smashed can. AfroDjMac showed this instrument off at Loop this year. Here is what he said about the instrument rack:

I created these while monitoring the In-School Suspension room at the high school where I work. A bored and belligerent student was amusing himself by causing a disruption. He was blowing into a crushed Snapple to make some kind of dying animal sound. Here is the sample:

Unaware of who was supervising the room, the student was a bit surprised when I asked him to do it again so I could record it. After recording it, I processed the sound in Ableton Live and made the three instruments I am sharing with you today.

I love the context this gives to the samples. Freaking hilarious. Download the Live Pack Here.

LATE 80’s DIGITAL – Retro Synth

I couldn’t help myself, let’s stick with AfroDjMac for one more. This Instrument Rack was made with the Roland D-05. He recorded this, processed, and built a really amazing Instrument Rack. Easy to manipulate and add to your tracks.

Download the Late 80’s Digital Instrument Rack from AfroDjMac’s website. While you are at it, look through his extensive collection. There were a lot more goodies in there I wanted to post in this list but didn’t want to look too much like a fanboy.

Three Planters – Because Plant’s are Cool

Here is another quirky one. I found this instrument rack in some back alley forum on the dark web. Zombie Fights Shark has been releasing a few really cool instrument racks and sample libraries. My favorite is the Three Planters He literally took 3 planters from his yard and turned their samples into an instrument rack. On top of that, it sounds good. Take a listen to this example:

Download the Three Platers Ableton Live Pack. It’s an incredibly creative sound.

SOUND DESIGN TOOLS // Kalimba

Next up we have a Kalimba by Sound Design Tools. The Kalimba is a pretty simple instrument. The tones of the instrument are so clear that they can cut through the mix in a really interesting way. I love this Live Pack because Sound Design Tools took there Instrument Rack one step further by adding a bunch of cool effects. It’s really easy to manipulate the instrument and come up with some unexpected sounds. Check out the Kalimba Instrument Rack.

Lo-Fi Synth for that VCR Goodness

I just can’t help myself and share at least 2 of my own favorite Instrument Racks I created this year. Vintage retro sounds from the 80’s have been my jam. There is just something really evocative about the sound. That’s why things got a little strange this summer when I went down the rabbit hole and ended up buying a bunch of VCR’s. Yes… VCR’s. I was taking synth sounds and running them through the tape and messing with the tap head to get unique sounds.

Of course, what do I do next… Record them and turn them into instrument racks for the masses. This is how the Lo-Fi Synth Instrument Rack was born.

This Live pack includes just 7 Synths from a much bigger Vintage Synth Live Pack at the Subaqueous Store. But hey… that is 7 free vintage instruments. Check out the Lo-Fi Synth Instrument Rack.

Bongo Percussion Samples and Drum Racks

Another of my own favorites is the Bongo Percussion Drum Racks. I made this by recording a Bongo Drum and chopped them up in Ableton Live and made easy to use Drum Racks. I worked hard to add lots of expression with samples for different velocities and regions of the drum. This gives it as realistic of a sound as I could.

Download Live Pack and Samples

Pre-Columbian America Instruments

Everything on this list was released in 2018, except this one. I made a rule for this article to only share Instrument Racks released in 2018… well… I am going to break that rule. Besides, I found this instrument rack in 2018 so it counts.

Charly Fariseo, a producer and Ableton Live trainer, recorded instruments from The Metaphor of Sound, a recent exhibition at the Museo del Oro in Costa Rica. He made this live set a collection of the ancient instrument from a time before colonialization of the Americas. I love the richness of sounds and you can feel the history in these instruments.

Download The Metaphor of Sounds by Charly Fariseo to play with these amazing instruments.

Want the biggest collection of Live Packs and Live Instruments in one click?

The Subaqueous Archive is a collection of all my free / by donation live packs in one massive collection. It’s orginized and easy to add to your Live User Library. Inludes thick drum racks, deep 808’s, rare world instruments, and more.

Grab this Massive Collection!

Get Epic Songwriting Ideas Fast

Subaqueous — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 06:02:30 +0000

Sometimes a track just spills out of you and other times it is an epic battle equaled to the fight on the mountains of Mordor. Through the years I have figured out some techniques to get me out of those ruts. Once and a while you just need a little creative nudge to finish that idea or come up with a new one.

One technique that has helped me a lot, I call the title question. The idea is you start with a title and start exploring questions and answers that it envokes. I know… seems cheesy. Well, it is but it works.

1. Start with the track title. Usually, when I start a track the title is the last thing on my mind. I usually don’t even have the name until I send it out for mastering. But when I am lost on ideas to get a track started, this technique is a lifesaver. One of the best ways to come up with an idea is to start with an action. Like running, fighting, breaking, and so on. Then add something else to give it context, and you have an evocative name.

2. Start to question the title. Now that you have a title, start asking yourself what it might mean. Make a list of questions you might ask to unlock the meaning of the title. Things like: When did this happen? Who was there? How does it make me feel? What will happen next? Try to get at least 3 questions, but 4-5 is better.

3. Answer the questions in the music. This is when it starts making sense. Take one of the questions and answer it in the verse. Try to either build lyrics or musical elements (if instrumental) to start answering that question. An example would be a question of “what caused this to happen?” could be answered by lyrics that bring in a backstory to why your crying on the floor. You know… classic love lost.

Then take another question for the chorus and use that section to answer it. This is an easy way to start building a story and context.

4. Different questions for different verses. The chorus is pretty much going to stay the same. The verse is what really drives the story. So for each new verse, ask a different question or give another answer to the original question. This will start to fill in the story and give it different reference points between the chorus and keep the listener engaged.

If you are working on instrumental music, think of the instruments as lyrics. How are they pushing the story of this track forward? You can play with the feel of each solo or instrumental part. Maybe the A (or verse part) is getting more and more frantic. Then maybe the B part (chorus) is a calming force. It can go back and forth with variations.

5. Building the bridge with a new idea If this is a classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge type of song, then by the time the bridge comes in things are getting a little old. The bridge is designed to give you a whole new perspective. Both musically as well as lyrically. I like to think of this as a new camera angle or character perspective. If the story has been told by one character, what if there was another character that could chime in? Or another idea is what if you change the timing of things and answer these same questions from a year in the past or future? Use the bridge as an opportunity to bring in a whole new idea.

This can also be an “Aha” moment. Maybe a vital piece of the story or context hasn’t been revealed until this moment.

The exploration of questions and answers can get the ideas flowing. It’s a great way to go a little abstract for a moment and let your mind freely wonder until something evolves. Here is an image of a typical Verse-Chorus type of track.

Trap Moster Example

As an example, let’s call the name of the track “Trap Monster“.

With this technique, you would start with the verse as an answer to the question of who is the Trap Monster. The chorus could then explain what the Trap Monster is going “TRAAAP Monster is burner-nating the countryside”. The verse would then answer another question of what is happening to everyone else in the scene. Then back to “TRAAAP Monster is burner-nating the countryside” and so on. It starts to build out this ridiculous idea.

Ok… for real… I totally want someone to make that into a track. I will add it to this post and give you mad props.

This technique has been a life saver for me when I have had big deadlines for some tracks or just needed a kickstart. If you have any techniques or ideas to share around songwriting, please join in the comment section below.

As the trap monster always says, party on.

Do you get frustrated with finishing tracks?

The Fast Songwriting Online Course gives you the tools and knowledge to finish your track FAST! I’ll teach you all the tips and tricks that have helped me release over 80 tracks on labels across the world. If your stuck or want to speed up your workflow, this is for you.

Learn More About Epic Songwriting

Free Goal Hacking Course! ????????

Subaqueous — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 20:18:49 +0000

Goals are a funny thing. We love improving ourselves and finding the next best ever, but sometimes we get stuck. You might ask yourself:

Why do I never finish my goals?

How can I stop from getting stuck in a rut?

Where do I even start?

I get it, we all get these thoughts sometimes. Luckily, there has been lots of research on goal setting and achieving them. These three things are major factors:

Being Accountable to Others

Regular Scheduled Updates

A Solid Action Plan

That is why I put together a free email course on Goal Hacking. I will be sharing a whole system of setting great goals and achieving them. If you join I will send you an email once a week, for 8-weeks, with activities and techniques.

I don’t want to give too much away, but let me say that I am really proud of what I have created to help people set their goals for the new year. It has worksheets I have created, interactivity with other creatives, and more.

Ok… I need to stop before too many spoilers. If you are down and want to dedicate to your future, join me and an amazing community of artist.

Looking forward to bringing in the year with more art and collaboration

Isaac Cotec
aka Subaqueous

Spirit Rose Music Video with Marya Stark and Tiare Tashnick

Subaqueous — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 00:01:04 +0000

I have always dreamed of making this exact video. Something provocative, emotional, and meaningful to me. When Marya Stark and Tiare Tashnick reached out to me about collaborating, I was elated. Well, actually I was uncontrollably grinning and dancing around.

I am honored to present this new music video.

To give you a glimps on my creative process, here are some words I write about this video.

Our world is asking us to rise to greatness. We can no longer hide from the shadow or get lost in illusion. We are being asked to shatter the spells, to empower ourselves with love, and make this world a better place. Will you rise to the challenge?

I started to vision with Marya and Tiare Tashnick on how this can grow into an immersive experience. How could we breathe further life into the transformative fire? Beyond elated to work with such a talented creator as Tiare. This video was our first step in an evolving epic of music, visuals, art, ritual, and movement. We will rise to the challenge and hope to stand beside you.

The song is Spirit Rose featuring Khatchadour Khatchadourian on Duduk and Marya Stark on vocals.

Loop 2018 Music Sumit

Subaqueous — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 00:01:07 +0000

Coming back from Ableton Loop Event and feeling hella inspired. Just set up my studio again and started making music… because isn’t that the point?

The classes and workshops were really mind-blowing. I took classes on making synths with paper, Artifical Intelligence in music, the art of listening, and so much more.

Here is a video I made of my experience at Loop 2018. You can see how excited I was and pick up some of what I learned. Also… there is a little teaser in there for something amazing.

My overall experience was great at Loop. Ableton really goes all out with these events. I got to hang out with other teachers I admire, meet new musicians, pick up new skills, and come out with new ideas to put into my tracks. So yeah… a success for sure. Next year I hope it’s back in LA, it’s a lot easier of a trip then Berlin, but either way, I hope to make it out.

If you went, I would love to hear in the comments what your favorite part of Loop was.