There are many steps in the creative process, each of them prone to their own unique pit-falls and barriers.
Most of us at some point will have been sat there, the killer beat you created on loop, poised to lay down a bassline or lead riff, and then… nothing. Your feeble clicks on the piano roll sounding dull and mechanical. A bad riff day, we all get them, finally it looks like there may well be a solution.
We discovered Midi Madness, and thought it looked like a great idea for blowing away those creative mind blocks. This tool is designed to generate midi clips based on extensive parameter settings provided by the user. This means you can generate infinite clips tailored to your needs until you find exactly what you are looking for. We caught up with the programs developer to learn a little more about it.
Tell us a little bit about your background, your involvement in music, and software/plug in development.
My name is James Urquhart, and I’ve just turned 30. I have always been into music ( especially dance ). I started DJ’ing when i was 14. when i was 16 i did an evening course in music tech. I got the production bug. Ever since then Ive been making music. I have released several records now under different names ( for different styles ) . Id say my biggest achievement was getting on a Hed Kandi comp a few months back. I have never had anything to do with software development. But about two years ago i started getting excited by an Idea i had ‘MidiMadness’.
Can you tell us a bit about Midi Madness, the idea behind it, and for those that don’t know what it does.
Midi madness generates random midi data. However, there are multiple features to hone the loops you get. You can tighten it up and have similar results each time , or just go crazy (see what happens). The ethos behind it is that sometimes the best things are unplanned or mistakes. You can generate loops all day and you’ll never get the same thing twice. just lots different loops to play with.
Who can benefit from the plug in?
Any one can benefit from Midi Madness. Amateurs through to pros. Just have fun with it and keep experimenting!
What response have you had from it so far?
So far the response has been good. Although not as many people have commented as i expected.
I’m all set to use midi madness in my new project, how would you advise I fit it in to a real world production?
Maybe you want a killer bass line for a track. Find a synth sound you like, set up your parameters as you want, the bash that GO button until you get something you like. or maybe lay out a beat and make some crazy lead or bass hooks.
Have you had any people concerned that, by using this, they are some how less involved in the creative process?
Using Midi Madness is creative! there’s no rules to making music. free you mind, try things.
Do you think that this could also be used as a tool for people wishing to gain an understanding of music theory/key/chords etc?
I hope so, In the ‘ Electro’ era. this plug-in should be in every dance musicians studio
The plan for version 2 is very exciting. the 2 main new features will be Chord progressions and live streaming!!!! Crazy Chords will generate random harmonized loops ( with the option of a lead line with it) and live streaming will be phenomenal! lay a beat out for 10 minutes, setup Midi Madness, and let it go off on one!! just grab bits you like.
When can we expect to see a mac version?
The mac version is on its way, its taken longer than id hoped. I will post on the web site when its ready.
Any other projects in the pipeline?
No other projects yet except MM 2. which will rock you peoples world!!
Check out Midi Madness in more detail here: www.midimadness.co.uk
Related posts:
Add A Comment