Well, Kai Andresen A.K.A Coresplittaz. I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer questions about you and your Drum & Bass productions. We here in Atlanta, Georgia - United States are huge fans of your work and keep up with everything you do on a very regular basis so this is very much an honor to be interviewing you today. For those of you who are into the hard, Synthetic, Dark form of Drum & Bass then you probably know Coresplittaz signature sounds. those very hard breathing and rolling twisting synths and basses and very clean and powerful breaks and drum edits. If you have never heard of or listened to Coresplittaz tunes then you are in for a real treat as his tunes are really well produced and will probably make you check his website for new tunes often. My friend Jon Kirst (who actually introduced me to Coresplittaz tracks a long time ago) and I have a few things we'd like to ask Kai about his music production in hopes of not only giving Kai some very much deserved recognition for his hard production work but also blessing your ears with some of our most favorite tracks in Drum & Bass. This is truly an honor Kai.
Below are some of Coreplittaz Tracks:
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First, I would like to start by asking you to tell about yourself Kai.
How old are you? Where do you live? What events in your life made you who you are today?
What attracted you to D&B? Who are your influences? For example did tech Itch or anyone for that matter really influence you?
Anything we as readers should know about you that is not already on your website before we get to some in depth questions about your music? I'm sure most people interested in you have already read your bio on your website so anything beyond that is just awesome!
First of all, I have to thank you for the nice words you said in the introduction. Feedback like this is the best thing on earth you can give me and that alone makes it worth all the time and work.
I am actually 33 years old, I live and work in Cologne, Germany. I moved to Cologne, about 10 years ago and I am really happy to live here. It is a great city with a quite big dnb scene, very friendly people and many nice clubs and locations. As you might have read on my webpage, I started my experiences as a musician as guitar player in a hardcore band. This is the root of all my work. The energy of this kind of music always was and still is one of the the most influencing things to me. I want to create the same feeling with my tracks as a fat halftime double bass mosh part, or a fast part in a hardcore tune would do. They are using the same options to create a heavy tune as we do in Drum n Bass. For example they use the same notes as we do often to create a dark atmosphere in the main melody of a certain part or the use of double bass patterns in the drums. When I first heard a break beat tune, we still played with our band but we all directly loved the energy of those beats. It all started with a copy of a happy break beat tape that somehow found its way to me. This was somewhere about 1991. In those days the feeling that was transported by this sound was the complete opposite of our hardcore sound. But that was also why I loved it. The break beats and sub basses really kicked me. So, I de-dusted my old Amiga 500 and started to program some beats and melodies. For me it changed quite fast from just happy piano and synth parts to a combination of the happy melodies with dark parts. That was about the time when I got my first release. It was a 7" with 2 tracks on a Noise Core label called AIPR, released in 1996. Some years later the happy parts completely disappeared. I produced many tunes over the years and mostly did it just for me and my friends for several years. I was working for the synthesizer company Waldorf those years and so I had a good connection to get equipment for quite nice prices, what helped me a lot building up my studio. I was dreaming of releasing records, but i produced my tunes because because I loved doin it.
You asked for Technical Itch as a possible influence: Technical Itch was definitely inspiring me, but I mean I don't want to be a copy of tech itch. It is mostly the techniques he uses and the results he got which were inspiring me to research that of my own to find new ways of sound shaping. He was and still is my producer god. I was always looking up to the level of production he has and I am a nobody compared to him or others I am looking up to.
There a lot of guys I really respect for their productions, as for example (alphabetical order) Currrent Value, Evol Intent, G-I-S, Limewax, Mumblz, Nanotek, Norman Wax, Of god, SPL, the Panacea, TZA, and many others whose tunes give me the same feeling I want to have in my own tunes.
I always wanted to have my tunes sound as clean and powerful as possible. Sounding like HiFi sound at home and fuckin fat in the clubs. I was never completely satisfied with my tunes, but that is also what kept me goin on. It is a little like a computer game where you play with sounds, but you can never reach the final enemy as the game is always developing itself. The more you learn, the more new things come up to be explored.
From the first time I heard break beats and started to program my own, I always wanted to combine break beats with dirty acid 303 sounds. Some years ago I bought Subwave´s “the Visions” on TI037 and this tune just blow me away as it exactly sounds like I always wanted it to sound. Deff one of my favorite records.
For me it is sometimes a strange (but great) feeling to hear that there are people outside who think about me like a "big name dnb producer". I don´t feel at all to be somebody like this, I am just a very small player on the dnb playground. I mean the release situation gets better but it is not easy to get everything new signed. I think that´s normal, but as in your home city everybody knows you as a friend you never have the same importance than elsewhere, where people just know you from a record they found in their record shop. Here in Cologne I don´t play very often and the local heroes in the clubs here are definitely others than me because the main party crowd is not so much into the very hard sound. But that´s ok, I am no main stream and I never wanted to be. That´s why it is so crazy to speak with people from foreign countries who love my music.
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What Software do you use? This seems to be an issue among some producers out there. But if you would like to share with us what tools you use and why it would be sick. I personally would love to hear what you use and how you use these tools. For instance do you spend a lot of time on synth sounds in one tool and drums in another? How do you process your drums?
I started producing on tracker styled sequencers. The last I used was Octamed on my old Amiga 1200. Then I switched to Cubase when the first SX version was released. Actually I am working on Sx3. I love this program for all the possibilities it gives to me. I use to start to work with short loops of 4-8 bars. Sometimes I just take a 1/8 hihat as a click and start to arrange a melody I got in my head. Or I start to build a beat and then look which synth I will use to build me a new sound. But this is just for the first 30 minutes or so. Once I got the first synth sound and rhythm structure, I use to work on both ping pong wise until I have the feeling that one of both is ok for this phase of production. The way I place and shape the synths is influencing the patterns and sound of the beats and vice versa. I use to work a lot on a synth until I got the sound I want. I love to develop new sounds that haven't been heard before. Sometimes it is really easy and fast and sometimes I spend hours or days with turning knobs in several synths to find what I want. Same for the beats. I dont use any loops or parts of loops as layers or something like that anymore. I start building a new drum kit each time I start a new tune. For me it is really great when I got a new drum kit and beat which is rolling and going forward as a 70s funk loop would do, but it sounds much cleaner and I can use much sicker drums. This also takes a lot of time usually until I am completely happy with the sound of the beats. But at the end I am quite satisfied with the result normally, so it is worth the time. I use compressors and tube emulations to get my beats shaped. I usually have all the kicks, snares, hihats, rides and percussions on separate audio outputs in the sampler to be able to EQ and compress them all separately. then I use a group bus to process the complete beat. I have my drum sounds in Halion and the synths are many plug-ins that are often changing. I am searching through all the freeware synths a lot and found many nice tools I used for a certain sound in a specific tune. I don't have a special super plug-ins that creates all my bass lines ;) I also export a lot of sounds I shaped when I was working on a new tune but didn't use that sound. So I also got those sounds I processed and then use them to process them once again in my sampler. Additionally I shape sounds with the hardware synths I still got and resample those to use them in Halion.
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How do you master your tracks? Is this something you take a lot of time doing or do you get someone with unbiased ears to perform your masters? How long does a track usually take for you?
I spend a lot of time for the mastering too, yes. For me this starts with the first 4-8 bar loop. I always try to have the mix as good as possible before I start arranging. For me it is easier to EQ and level everything when I am still got short loops that I’ll use to build the arrangement. When I have the loop sounding like I want it, I start arranging the tune, which usually takes about 1-4 days. When the arranging is finished I normally wait a week and then load the tune once again to hear if the arrangement is feeling good. Then it normally takes another 2-4 days just sitting in front of the monitors, switching through every track of the tune and try to get the them all sound as clean as possible and have the best possible leveling. Then I reload it again some days later to hear if it sounds good.
Building a tune can take 1 day + some days of finaly mastering. But it also can take some months. It depends on how many time I got to be creative and how the work flows.
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There are lots of aspiring Drum and Bass producers out there who are constantly looking for any advice or tips they can get. I being one of them have some questions regarding your initial process of production. Do you have a predefined song structure you go by for your tracks. What I mean by this is do you open a default project that has say a 64 bar intro/build up and then drop etc... every time and the tweak it or do you always make sure something is playing in 16 bar increments? If you could clarify for any readers D&B headz and faithful Coresplittaz fans out there what a typical dj friendly format is for a track. How do the bars usually read out in your sequencer? What BPM do you produce with? Fav Synths? Automation Techniques?
I start each time with a totally empty project. I just know how most of the tunes work and how I use to play them.
Most tunes have intros between 45 seconds and 1m25sec. Then there is a break or the tune directly drops into the main part. Mostly there is a middle break and a second part with an outro. For example a standard arrangement would be 65 bars intro (or 32 bars), 16 bars break, 96 bars main part (or 64 bars), 16 bars break, 96 parts main part (or 64 bars) including outro. But nothing is predefined, I mean you can build tunes without a middle break or with several breaks or how ever it feels good. For me the main reason for the breaks is to have the tension built up again and let it drop more than just one/two times. Additionally for me as a DJ I know that I want to mix the tunes quite fast before it gets boring. So a break is always a good point to mix into the next tune. I mostly play the tracks about 2-3 minutes and then switch to the next record. So I try to have my middle breaks as nice as possible to make it worth to let the record play longer than just to the middle. Little breaks and edits at the end of all 8-16 bars are also a nice tool for DJ’s to play with. Some years ago my tunes were about 6-7 minutes, now they are about 5-6 minutes long as I wanted to have the arrangement more compact.
My sequencer displays the bars and the time. I need both to arrange the tunes. Most of my tunes are produced on 180 bpm. I feel quite happy at this speed, but I use to play them a little faster. I use automations manly for the filters and effects or the shape of my synths. So, when I start building a tune, I am setting the automations for the synths within the main loop I am working on, which will be copied and edited for each time this part will play. In the arrangement most of the automation is for filters and effects in all the breaks and edits. My favorite synths are still my hardware synths, for example the access virus, the Waldorf microwaves I & II and the old OSCar and the Prophet 600. I use to sample those, but I manly use software synths as it is more comfortable to work with them. I like for example the Komplexer, as it a kind of software enhancement of the Waldorf micro Q, the NI synths and the software version of my OSCar. But as I said, I try out a lot of freeware stuff and found many sick tools. Unfortunately I don’t have a hardware 303, but there are lots of quite nice software emulations.
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In your mind Kai what characteristics define a good D&B track to you personally.What is it in a track that makes you want to play a track over and over again. I know this is a matter of opinion but that's exactly what we want is your honest opinion.
It is the feeling that the track produces in me when I hear it. I needs to kick me in the ass, shout in my face, make my hands rise and let me jump on the dance floor. Or it is just such a nice melody that it sends shivers down your spine. I need to feel the track, for me it is not a good tune if it doesn't´t move me somehow.
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It seems Drum & Bass is a pretty generic term. We all know people like to put things into categories and define things but really when we talk about your music specifically it is definitely on the darker side and is very different than the majority of most peoples view of drum and bass. What is your are trying to express? How would you describe your sound in your own words.
For me, my sound is kind of a translation of the feeling of the Hardcore / Metalcore / Death Metal whatever tracks I like to an electronical level. With other instruments and rhythm structures. That's why I call it "hardcore visionz of dnb".
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It seems like you live in an area in Germany with quite a few DJ's and Producers but for me you are the one that stands out the most in my opinion. But I know Norman Wax, DJ G-I-S, etc.. live out there. What is it like being in an area so rich with musical talent and diversity? Does this affect you in any way? Do you collaborate with other D&B artists?
We have a lot of talented producers directly here in Cologne or the surrounding cites. For example Dizplay, Phace, Henree, Norman Wax, the Green Man, Xplorer. Just to name a few who are releasing records. G-I-S lives about 200km from here but that´s not so far either. It is great to have so many people around which are working on the same problems and trying to find solutions. But I also share my ideas and problems with friends all over the globe via aim (hello darren ;]). Some are real friends for me and we use to exchange experiences with tools and processing or new tunes. For me it is always exiting to hear what their creativity brings up and to understand
how they work on it. I did some collabs and I like doin that, it is mostly the time we need to have together that complicates collabs for me. That s why I didn't do more collabs so far. I mean ok, in times of internet i could do much more collabs also with artist from other side of the world, but the problem is that i even don't have enough time for my own tunes. So i concentrated on my own stuff first and that is already problematic in the last years.
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Do you have any other passions beside music? What do you do with most of your days?
I loved skateboarding and did that for about 15 years, but my bones are wrecked and I can t go on. I don't have much time during the week, so I just hang in a little or play games sometimes. On the university, I used to make music and then play games for some hours just to relax and then return to producing. Like this I keep my ears fresh and my mind relaxed. Since I am working full time, I don't have the time anymore, so I just concentrate on music most of the weekends, but sometimes I just need to relax and watch movies or play some rounds. My time is really rare in the last years. I also love to go to the dnb parties here and just celebrate the music, have a great time with all the party people you meet on each party. It is exhausting, but good for my soul. It is also important for me to hear the tunes I like in the clubs, because you can hear how it sounds on a big system and see how the crowd reacts and at what points they freak out or if the tune doesn't transport the feeling it should have done and why it is like that.
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Just so you know Dark Storm is my all time fav track. Really I'm dead serious. I absolutely love this track Kai. Can you explain your process for Dark Storm?
Well .. I wanted a dark tune with a great melody element and a "coulourfull" pad that perhaps wouldn’t be heard in many just hard and dark tunes. So I turned on my Microwave II cause I knew there is the perfect pad sound, loaded it into my sampler and made me a bass line with a plug-in. I used a combination of completely own beats and parts of drum loops to switch between. I found the vocal samples and for me they fitted perfectly to the atmosphere of the tune so I processed and used them and spoke the distorted dark storm vocal of my own to have something for the main part. I use a lot of own voice samples in many of my tunes. I remember that the melody of the pad had some more
notes in the first versions of the tune. I deleted some until the feeling was perfect for me. It was nice before,
but the atmosphere wasn’t that dark when the melody played more notes. When I am working on a tune and I finished working a part of some bars and i don´t know how it will go on, I use to chill on my couch and listen to the arrangement that is done already. Normally I will jump up at after some times of listening and head to the computer to add what i feel to be the next bars in the arrangement. Dark storm was one of the tunes that had a quite good workflow, it developed itself.
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What advice would you give new upcoming D&B producers? Is there anything you have learned through your experiences that you could share with us that would help new D&B headz?
Separate the frequencies, avoid clippings, use compressors to shape the sounds, develop your own sounds and beats, experiment with freaky tools to get new interesting sounds, but keep the overall sound of the tune as clean as possible. Presets usually don´t have to sounds we need, so play around with the synths and all kinds of effects
and hear what comes out. If it feels good, keep it and try it out. Sometimes you will hear, that it sounds great alone but doesn't work in a tune with a beat and other sounds,like this you will learn how to use them.
Bounce your sounds and collect those to use and process them again.
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Do you often play at parties and shows? If so which ones are your favorites and why? Anything new and upcoming our readers should know about?
I don't play too often, mostly I get booked from far away or from foreign countries. The really hard sound has an audience but it is not everywhere easy to play it if you are not a really big name. Last year in November I was in Jena, that was really nice. I played in Berlin once, that was also great, but there were 5 other dnb parties that night and the club wasn't completely full...well. But it was funny night. I played on some illegal outdoor parties here in Cologne this summer, that was really fun too. I don´t have a favorite show, I enjoyed them all. It is nice to play in foreign countries or cities but it is also nice to play at home and celebrate the night with all your friends.
Here in Cologne, the best party crowd is celebrating on harder neuro / technoid style sounds (for example from Seba tunes, over axiom, Rregula, Optiv, Spor to Audio) and I also like that stuff (how ever it may be called). I understand that not everyone understands the patterns of the beats that are used in hard drum n bass, i like both. Production wise just concerning the beats, i prefer the sick rhythms to play with it. But I like to work on technoid sounds. For me neuro / techniod stuff just could be a little "dirtier" and darker sometimes and that´s why I started a project with one of my best friends, Stefan aka 4802. It is called "code4" and I hope that name will be heard often too in the future. 4802 is a member of the Quake crew which is organizing a regular party called "Quake!", here in Cologne. They have a great team behind the scenes and on the decks, with much love for the whole thing and I think that´s why the atmosphere on their parties made them famous here. If you want an impression of the parties here you should visit www.quake-inc.com. They have a great video online. I love it there and that made it easy for me to decide to work on such tunes too and thats what we are doin with code4. I add a little dirt and darkness to the basslines and sounds and the combination of 4802's and my output works fine. We have 3 tunes finished and some more to come. We ll see what lable might be intrested in our output. We will finish some more tunes and then make the round and see what happens. But this is completely independent of my work as Coresplittaz.
The work on new stuff from myself is also in progress. I am working on some new tunes and actually on a remix for a death metal band phlatcat. This is really fun, i can play with their sounds and replace them by my own .. I’m looking forward to the finished remix.
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I think this is the final question Kai, I am already grateful for you taking the time to answer these questions so I'll let you be after this, But in conclusion, my last question is this: Do you make a living from Drum and Bass? I ask this because Jon Kirst and I love your music so much that we sure as hell hope you get paid for all your hard work. Supporting you and others like you is something I really feel strongly about and would like to know how you are able to keep making music. You are an inspiration to so many (Probably more than you know) and your time today has been greatly appreciated Kai :)
I am working from Monday to Friday, 48 hours a week and only have time for serious work on my music on Saturdays or Friday nights.I earn money to be able to make music on Saturdays, buying records and go out on parties or play in clubs when I m booked. The releases don´t pay my life, not at all. But I also don´t do it for the money. This is the less important thing for me about being an artist. I am just fuckin proud each time I got a new release in my hands and extremely happy when I play in clubs and people celebrate my tunes or people writing comments on MySpace or elsewhere.
I just do it, because I love the music and producing it, for the feeling I get when I got a new tune finished, for the feedback of the audience ... and because I wanted to leave some traces for the time I’ll be gone. It is my passion to make music and feel the feedback of the audience. I mean sure it would be so great to be able to live from the music and just be creative, but i am also happy to have this possibility during the weekends. Not everything is just fun, but the result is what keeps me working on each level of the production. The final mastering for example is not really funny. It is hard work to get the tunes sound as good as I want it and I can´t stop until it is nearly perfect for me. (I never get a result which is perfect for me.) But I love it having a tune finished, so I do it.
I think I will never stop making music, it just depends on how much time I have, how much output I will have.
Styles may change in music, but it will always be my love to play with sounds and rhythms.
Music is my soul food and one of the most important things in my life, so I won´t stop.
To conclude, I have to thank everybody out there who is supporting me and especially the labels
which are releasing my tunes for believing in me and my tunes. I am really happy to have the possibility to
release records and spread my music over the globe, thank you all very much.
Intransigent Recordings, Pressure-Chamber Recordings, Manticore, Section 8, DRKLND, Order in Kaos Recordings and VGBR.
http://www.myspace.com/coresplittaz
