MXP4 Creator : The Creative Process
I have been using the MXP4 Creator for a while now and have found it most liberating and inspiring. I would like to use this opportunity and encourage fellow musicians to try it out as it is very straightforward and rewarding once you understand the logic behind the MXP4. Think interactivity and forget about static music !
First and foremost you need to understand that the MXP4 Creator is NOT a recording software ! It's a post production creative tool that enables you to take your recorded music to another level. This is an unprecedented format so don't waste your time looking around for similar tools, they just don't exist.
Well, I guess you've gathered it, you need to set your mind on futuristic mode.
Welcome to the world of innovative music-making !
Let's start with a general understanding of the MXP4 creative process and to do this, I am going to tell you how I put the 'The World Needs A New Hero' together, which can be found on my website www.margauxmusic.com
It's a very easy process :
1) I recorded my songs in an external software (Logic or GarageBand) and then either exported the whole song mixed in one single file, or exported all the tracks one by one. I then imported the audio (WAV or AIF files) into the Bounce section of the MXP4 Creator and started dividing my project into Patterns.
The division of Patterns are determined in bars (the tempo needs to be set at the beginning) - you can opt for 8 bar, 4 bar, 12 bar divisions or 2, 3 , 5 bars etc within your project... that's up to you. To make sense, a musician would probably want to stick to the structure of the song and divide the project into intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, middle-eight, chorus etc, although this is not a prerequisite and I have experimented cutting my MXP4 project in an unconventional way and found that it sounds quite amazing ! It's entirely left up to the artist.
2) I then created 4 different skins called 'Original', 'Spookydubois', 'The Blind Raven' and 'Halloween'
3) The 'Original' skin is in fact the song 'The World Needs A New Hero', which is a definitive single mix
4) 'Spookydubois' is what I call a multitrack skin, which I find particurlarly interesting. 'Spookydubois' comprises 15 stem mixes of all the separate parts of my original song : vocals, basslines, different guitar riffs, drums etc... imported from the recording software. I configured some repetitions and permutations to occur at certain times within each Pattern and on specific parts (called soundbytes). I also added anacruses and tails. On playback, you won't ever hear the same combination of instruments.
5) The skins 'Halloween' and 'The Blind Raven' are alternative arrangements I have recorded in my recording software using the foundation and the structure of 'The World Needs A New Hero'. These two skins are single audio files.
When you flick through the four skins in the MXP4 player, they all sound cohesive, yet they are different, and that's the beauty of it.
Lastly, I configured the transition matrix and made it linear. I could have gone mad with the Pattern to Pattern transition matrix and it would have added to the surprising and unpredictable effect but decided to keep that one under my sleeve for another project, which I intend to transform using everything that the software offers to turn it into the ultimate MXP4 experience ! More on that one later.
If you are a musician, why don't you give it a try and download the MXP4 Creator software for free on www.mxp4.com and post your MXP4 creations on their MXP4 Cafe community site www.mxp4.com/community
You are also very welcome to listen to my MXP4 album 'Spookydubois At Corfe Castle' for free on my website www.margauxmusic.com
December 2008
Review Raver Margaux
