SOLID BUMP RECORDS

Wednesday – it’s the nerdiest day of the week. We are going to embrace our inner geek on hump day and talk about production stuff. Maybe it will be mix down tips, maybe a piece of gear, or whatever. So without further adieu…

Last week there was a Rolling Stone article circulating on twitter amongst DJ folks about the death of high fidelity. Dance music in the last 10 years has been a serious victim of the “Loudness War” and Solid Bump has always had to find a balance. On one hand, you want your track to sound competitive in the club but the catch is that in the last few years tracks are getting compressed to such an insane point that they are becoming a block of squashed noise.  Last year I bought a track from Beatport that was so compressed it was actually distorting – this was on a big label by a very respected producer. It was unplayable and really bummed me out.

So what is the loudness war? Peep this youtube to see how it applies to pop music.  Loud is good.  Distorted is bad.  Ultimately every DJ mixer has a gain knob.  In my opinion – turn it up yourself.

Everything on Solid Bump comes off vinyl and while it is already compressed in some form through mastering, we want the dynamic of the record or recording to breath… Especially on a release like Laberge’s This Feeling EP . The sound Laberge is going for needs dynamics. At the same time, a harder track like the forthcoming Funk Music Remix by White Girl Lust can push harder and still retain a dynamic feel.

As Kool Keith says, ” That shit don’t sound right, the mix down ain’t right, your vocals are too low, your fuckin’ cadence is off, your stage show is weak… Fuck you.”