Jonwayne drops into r/elektron with some octatrack hip-hop

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#64

Consider it serendipity or maybe by reading your response I just had that word in my head when it came to using the term “improper” but I actually was not referring to your post. Maybe I was just using that space for me to vent a bit of my frustrations with the Elektron userbase as a whole in regards to how I’ve seen hip hop get treated as a genre in relation to these boxes.

So many times I’ve seen someone inquire about the Octatrack for hip hop and someone is bound to swoop in and let them know that it would be overkill for such ‘simple’ music and to instead go for something more like a Digitakt. I do at times get a gatekeeping feeling from people who are too obsessed with the potential in these machines, perhaps subconsciously driving people away from even trying. My intention is to be able to democratize understanding…that the OT can not only be used for any genre but also any level of complexity can stand to benefit from the nuance in it’s design.

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#65

I am not sure I’ve seen such thing here. Such attitude is not encouraged :wink:

Btw, don’t hesitate to check the hip-hop battles in the “Mission Briefs” category:

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#66

I agree with Jon’s sentiments here.

I was one of the first owners of a Machinedrum MKI, as I ordered it immediately upon release. That machine had me dreaming of the Octatrack long before it existed. When it eventually materialized, I knew it was something I would enjoy but still managed to bypass it. It was not until I saw a very early video of Jon using the OT that brought me back to the machine.

I love it and should have owned one from the jump.
Thankfully, Jon and his “simple music” got me pointed in the right direction.

I don’t like to recommend music to people, as it’s so massively subjective…but if you love hiphop and haven’t heard Jon’s music, you are missing out.

Start here:

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#67

Rather amazing to have jonwayne posting here. Without sounding like a fanboy you make pretty great beats :slight_smile:

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#68

hell yeah dude i’ve seen ppl use the octatrack for rock music lol, can’t wait to see octatracks at church and synagogues. look at the sp404, that fuckin thing is used everywhere and with so many different types of music. love what you do with the octatrack; I use mine in a completely different way for completely different genres but I still learn new shit from your videos and try to apply it to my workflow. If anything it should be celebrated for how universal the octa is!!

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#69

I just want to say that the conversations we had in this thread were extremely constructive and now I’m looking at my OT a little bit differently. I’m loving the implementation of parts!

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#70

Hey Jon,

Thank you for doing what you’re doing, I subscribed to your twitch streams when I saw you were back to using the octa. At one point, it looked like you were on the older firmware (the stop button is yellow instead of white), but might have just been the camera. Hope you keep making vids. :v:t4:

1 Like
#71

Riding JonWayne’s wave unashamedly:

Jon, the way you use the Octatrack is the main reason why I am currently saving up to get a MKII. Before the end of the year, I will be crossfading between variations of my own dusty pearls.

I’ve looked into the Octatrack probably more than any other hardware sampler you can get, but the way you use it has really opened my mind and taught me so much. Even without an Octatrack in my setup, I have implemented tons of stuff that I learned directly from watching you work and my beats are better for it. I too, really enjoy your whole catalog of work, but your unreleased Octatrack beats from Instagram a while back and the shit you are cooking up lately, with cameras rolling, is God level beat smithing.

Honoring the samples you select by staying true to the original compositions, which is something you have talked about in your videos, is a very refreshing take on boom bap, and one that IMO, should be widely adopted amongst sample-based producers, especially those making Hip-Hop. Sample flipping is high art when it’s done in this way, taking the time to hand chop each sample, nudging things around
in the grid for as long as it takes to get the groove hitting the way you envisioned it. This is the way.

Thank you for everything man, seriously. Idgaf if it comes off as riding your wave either, because it’s really incredible art, and we should tell each other when one of us does something that’s truly dope.

The fact that you are in here studying up and asking questions and are truly humble and engaging, is also toast worthy. The fact that you’re here, in this forum chopping it up with all us weirdos and wizards, is really classy, and just plain cool. The fact that you’re filming your whole process, which allows real students of the game a chance to study your workflow for free or for donation, is a massive blessing to the community. So, yeah, big ups massive to you sir! Thank you for being that guy. And please release this instrumental Magnum Opus you’ve been compiling, once you finish all the new b-sections, of course!

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#72
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#73

What a banger.

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#74

you got a Digitakt Jon, if so how do you feel about the update?

1 Like
#75

I’m super impressed with their willingness to keep their IP alive through these updates. Rather than releasing new iterations like most companies they were super smart in using similar architecture on all their new boxes. The ability to sync loops to tempo and either have a faux time stretch or repitch is really useful in a lot of cases. I feel like the “slice mode” however is little importance outside of random chance it sounds good, sample chaining or chopping up resampled loops.

The exclusion of being able to create your own slices still keeps the Digitakt from being a true lightweight alternative to the OT in my opinion and continues to alienate anyone who wants to chop samples in their music, which I’m sure you know is a cornerstone to genres like hip hop. I know there are workarounds but the whole idea is to provide ease of use over simple functions.

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#76

yeah, it’s hard for me to believe that they won’t update the slicing capability further unless they are saving in-depth capability for a future version, at least that’s what I hope as I think they knew that slicing was a top request for the digitakt for so long that just giving it a cursory nod wouldn’t be enough… the optimist in me hopes there is more to come soon

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#77

@JonMakesBeats (aka Darren), just dropping in for some light arse kissing :joy: Your last youtube beat was an absolute beaut. I’ve been listening since Bowser days. Big up to you you bloody Wayniac.

If anyone hasn’t caught it here’s some free promo:

8 Likes
Jon Wayne makes me want Octatrack again
#78

The added slice mode gets me 90% of the way to what the Octatrack is great at. For me that’s more than enough, and using the two together really completes the two as the ultimate sampler tag team.

#79

Thanks, looms. Trying to capture less of the technical side of music making and more distilling the emotional ride of it. Glad you dig it.

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#80

The Digitakt has turned into a great piece of kit but as someone who has already had the Octatrack 3 different times Darren has made me yearn for papa Octa once again. They say 3rd time is the charm but I’m thinking the fourth time is when all the magic happens.
Any of you guys been checking out his vids on YouTube?

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#81

Yeah his vids are great. I’m still learning mine but his vids are certainly inspirational

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#82

Intrigued - any links?

#83
1 Like