Side-chain compression left turned on

The technique of using the kick drum as a side-chain to trigger the compression on the bass-line or other tracks is as common in today’s dance music as McDonald’s in the US. But to leave the compression on while turning the kick drum off for the whole track is a bold and innovative move.

If you are wondering what I am babbling about, listen for yourself to the new No Beats Mix version of Stimming’s excellent Kleine Nachtmusik. I’ve been playing the original for some time now (and probably still will be), so I was eager to find out how does the No Beats Mix sound? Surprising for sure! The kick is not there but still it’s triggering the compression and making the listeners dizzy… I didn’t have a chance to listen to the mix, maybe it make sense while player over some beats, but as standalone track it sounds really strange.

The track has been released on Sunday (Oct 26th) as part Buzzin’ Fly’s Chaos Restored Mixed and Messed by Justin Martin compilation/mix cd.

Compression basics by Bryan Evans

Here’s another brilliant guy that you’ve probably never heard of. Well, me neither. I guess that’s the usual case with sound engineers. They’re said to work magic, but they don’t make it to the front pages.

At least Bryan Evans made it to the news section of Sound On Sound and I’m glad he did. They say he has relaunched his website, which seems to be an promotional tool for his studio services. Luckily, Bryan decided to share some of his wisdom for free and put up a free article on the basics of compression. You can grab the PDF from his site. It seems rather basic (5 pages) but the included illustrations make it a good starting point a compression newbie.