Comments on: Mixing and Mastering Analysis of “Kids” by MGMT

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:26:55 +0000

Thanks a lot for the speedy reply and advice. I suppose this is why I like electronic influenced music, the sounds can be very unique. Keep up the good work on the blog!

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:03:12 +0000

@Kyle- unfortunately yes it’s hard to pinpoint what a sound is if you don’t have an in depth knowledge of synthesizers and synthesis software–there is no easy way to reproduce any given sound in the universe. My guess is that with time we will start to see more “convolution” software that can copy a sound and recreate it through synthesis. We already have this technology being applied to reverbs, EQs, and guitar amps. Usually the best way to find out is still to check out videos on YouTube and see what they use live, if you have that available to you. Another good thing to do is familiarize yourself with the most common synthesizers out there (Prophet 5, Mini Moog) and organs and electric pianos (Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Clavinet, Hammond B3) as a starting point.

For samples, oftentimes the artist WANTS to obscure the source so that they can have the most original sounds possible. Again, I think technology will make this recognition easier in the future, with smartphone apps like Shazam or Soundhound which can hear a person singing a melody and tell you what song it is (to varying degrees of success, but it’s only going to get better).

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:24:51 +0000

I very much enjoy your blog and analyses. Electronic music is my favorite genre, and I was disappointed that the instrumentation was only explored as deep as mentioning they are “mostly monophonic synthesizers” (though the comment on the phasing was neat). So here’s my question: when it comes to synthesizers and samplers, how hard is it to identify and reproduce many of the sounds you hear in electronic music? From sources like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU5Dn-WaElI, it would appear to be a very difficult task. Thank you very much for this blog!

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:31:41 +0000

Heywood: You are definitely right about the bass synth being similar to Tribulations. It is an 8th note pattern played in alternating octaves. I’m fairly sure that both are MiniMoog synths or emulators. They follow different progressions but are indeed very similar.

Mike: I wholeheartedly agree. Throughout the week we had been trying to underscore the importance of great production as executed by David Fridmann. If anything I thought we might have gone too far and denied any credit at all to MGMT who did write the song. But I think our series has definitely tried to emphasize the value of production rather than the singular genius of the band.

I think it is wise to just come out and say that Keith and I are music nerds. We are the type of people who can find things to talk about in any song no matter how complex or simple it might be. As such, it is important not to confuse the length of the article with giving praise to the individual artist. We could probably write a dissertation about a I-V progression (*note for future article?)

We are simply taking songs that are out there now, that people are listening to now, that are relevant now, and trying to distill any lessons, techniques, or novelties for anybody who’d be interested in reading about it.

Thanks for the comments and we love to hear from you guys!

By: mike

mike — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:06:32 +0000

i don’t know. these guys aren’t that talented. i think the magic is in the production. haven’t heard or seen a good bit of them live and there’s a lot out there..

By: heywood kenobi

heywood kenobi — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:02:44 +0000

This song sounds very much like a LCD Soundsystem song called Tribulations…the synth part at least.