SONIC CONTORTION - Part 1: Carving and Sculpting Sound with KAVARI

SONIC CONTORTION

Part 1: Carving and Sculpting Sound with KAVARI

In this Lux Cache tutorial series, we look into methods, techniques and mindset that can completely transform a sound from its source signal - training the muscle of drastic sound design and the application of these sounds into a musical context. For the first part, we invite KAVARI to showcase some of her extreme approaches to creating otherworldly and club-driven sounds inside Ableton Live.

We ask you kindly to not share Lux Cache content outside of the Patreon, our contributors rely on your donations. All preview sounds/clips mentioned in this tutorial can be found in this private SoundCloud playlist or this accompanying Google Drive folder.

• Serum Presets for the sounds mentioned in the tutorial are available for Premium Subscribers on the Lux Cache Patreon.

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Introduction

I’ll be breaking down 4 sounds I’ve made along with giving some insight into my creative process. When it comes to synthesis I like to think of sounds as a malleable material that I’m carving and sculpting with audio effects. I like to tear, bend, and warp sounds to contort a broad range of frequencies, and then slowly carve away what I don’t like with further processing. I love the concept of taking a sound and ripping it apart into fragments and rearranging them into something new, almost like when a sound oscillates at very low frequencies and you can hear the individual ‘clicks’ of the waveform which when sped up create a solid surface of sound and depending on so many factors and how you work; the texture of that surface can be anything from silky, coarse, liquid-like, or airy. You can even make ambiguous sounding forms of matter. Really exciting. I tend to stick to the same few processes when making sounds:

Pitch Shifting

Granular Synthesis

Delays

Slip-Stick Synthesis

Resampling

Heavy Compression

Layering

Clipping & Distortion

I encourage anyone reading this to use your ear when it comes to sound design, it’s the most personally unique tool you have. Don’t do things because you think you are meant to or it’s just what you’ve seen others do, do them because they sound good to YOU. You’d be amazed what can come from happy accidents when messing around with synthesis.

All sounds have been made in Ableton Live 10 Suite, although similar techniques can be used in other DAWs.

SOUND 1 – Roar 808

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 1 – Roar 808.wav

FX Chain –

EQ Eight

Saturator

LFO

iZotope Trash 2

Grain Delay

Utility

Saturator

Amp

Overview:

Ever since I heard the 808s in Vince Staples – Yeah Right (produced by SOPHIE), I’ve had an obsession with 808s that sound like they’re vibrating or have almost vocal-like qualities to them. Jimmy Edgar’s 808s are sometimes also another good example of this, such as in his song ‘Cheetah ft. Semma’. This can be done in a few ways with delays and such but I’m going to break down the best way I’ve personally found to create a guttural roar-like 808 effect.

Base:

I started with a really basic sine wave 808 in the note C3. Then I added an EQ to take out around 56Hz, as I try to keep the 808 as clean as possible for later distortion. I always aim to have the sub of the 808 (or any bass sound) at around 40Hz. I find this specific frequency allows for nice sounding harmonic distortion on things. You can go lower with 20-30Hz also which creates heavy amounts of phasing and adds to that ripple-like texture. Phasing is when 2 waveform’s troughs or peaks sync with each other, which either amplifies them or cancels them out creating quite an erratic sound. One of the key processes I use on distorted sounds specifically I’ve noticed is EQ > Distort > EQ > Distort and so on until I’m happy. Depending on the level of certain frequencies that get through into the distortion process it can wildly affect the texture. So EQing a lot as you go can help sculpt the sound with more control.

Processing:

I added an Ableton Saturator with soft clipping turned on and pumped up the Drive by 12dB. This just beefs up the sound, almost like a pre-amp. I use the Ableton stock Saturator with soft clipping A LOT, I just like how it allows for me to clip as much as I like without drastically altering the timbre. Do not listen to tutorials that tell you not to clip or claim clipping is something to be avoided at all costs. Clipping is an amazing tool and creates some very surreal textures onto sounds. I also mapped a basic LFO to the Base with it being set to ‘Random’. This added some movement to the sound along with some more unpredictability. Sometimes you need to turn the Smooth up a little also on LFOs as a sudden jump from one value to the next adds a nasty click sound. I like to add as much randomness to sounds as possible so that every time I press play there’s the added fun that the same exact sound will never come out twice.

Then I threw on a favourite distortion plugin of mine: iZotope Trash 2. Trash 2’s aptly named ‘Sandpaper’ preset in the ‘Distort’ folder specifically. I clipped it by turning the input gain up to the max and turning up the drive to 5. I’m not sure what this preset does exactly (something to do with aliasing I think?) but I use it a lot as it sounds like it’s tearing the sound and adds a nice coarse texture. I’m no expert on the technicalities behind distortion, I’m just tweaking by ear until something I like comes out and I encourage anyone reading this to do the same. It can be really fun seeing how far you can push the sound.

This is where most of the sound begins to form: I added Ableton Grain Delay. Grain delay is a big favourite of mine, and granular synthesis in general. One trick I’ve learned is that by using this setting:

It creates a gorgeous hollow-sounding metallic resonance. You can also modulate the Spray, Frequency, and Delay Time for some wilder effects and textures. I’m basically trying to add a layer to the low frequencies of the 808 that sound like scraping so that they can merge. The Utility was just set to -1dB of gain and I turned the Width down to 27%. This bass sounds great in stereo or mono. I turned down the Width as a mixing choice but feel free to keep it as stereo as you want. The additional Saturator was left on the default preset but with Soft Clipping turned on to bring down the level a bit and to keep the tension of the sound before distorting it again through the Amp.

Finally, I added an Amp with these settings:

This creates some additional abrasive qualities; it distorts the sound into an almost lion-like roar. I turned down the Middle a little as the Heavy setting can distort the mid-range a little too much. I chopped up and arranged the 808 a little into a pattern I was happy with and then resampled it into an Audio Channel below.

This next bit is optional but gives some more additional creative choices. I duplicated the Audio Channel, layered the Clips, and grouped them. One channel’s audio clip was left at 0st, the other was set to the ‘Beats’ Warp Function and pitched up by 7st.

Taking a sound and layering it with a pitched up or pitched down version of itself can add a lot of girth and impact I find. The ‘Beats’ Warp Function can create some really interesting rhythms and intricacies. From what I understand it fills in the gaps when speeding up or slowing down a clip by repeating a section of it and you can change the repetition qualities by changing the Preserve to match either the Transients or a time signature of your choice. Along with the length and direction of the repetition using the arrows and 0-100 slider. I did a little more EQing to take out some muddy low end and added another Saturator with soft clipping to keep the level nice.

Final result:

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 1 – Roar 808 (LAYERED).wav

You can tweak so many of the previously mentioned parameters within this chain to create a lot of variation to this. Do what sounds right to you and fits within the context of what you want to create. Sound crazy as a drum & bass roller also –

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 1 – Roar 808 (D&B DEMO) 87BPM.wav

SOUND 2 – Heartbeat Drums

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 2 – Heartbeat Drums.wav

FX Chain:

Sting64 by SKINNERBOX

Simpler

Grain Delay

OTT

EQ Eight

EQ Eight

Amp

Overview:

The next sound I’ll be breaking down is something I call ‘Heartbeat Drums’. These are drums you can feel within your chest. Deep, visceral, impactful, overbearing (but in a good way). I used them a lot in my mixtape ‘Passive Memory Rejection’.

Base:

The base for this sound was a recorded sample of me slapping a filled rubber water bottle with my hand that I recorded on my iPhone. You just need a base sound with a very clean transient like a kick, tom, or even a random percussive hit. I loaded this into a Simpler and turned the release all the way up.

I then paired this with a free Max For Live 303 acid pattern generator called ‘STING64 by SKINNERBOX’. Sometimes programming drums can be frustrating if you can’t come up with something you’re fond of, so another trick I use a lot is note generators. They output different note patterns on a MIDI channel that run into any virtual instrument you see fit and at the click of a button output a brand-new random sequence every time. They’re meant to be used for melodic sounds, but I find using them for drums can create quick and easy rhythms that you can layer into your songs.

Processing:

I then added Grain Delay with the following settings for some stereo width:

Grain Delay doesn’t get enough love in my opinion, I literally use it on everything. It’s power to deconstruct sounds into tiny particles that you can reform and contort to your own will is so beautiful. I could literally write an essay on why I love Granular Synthesis. I added OTT after this as it helps bring out some definition in the sound. Raw OTT (OTT left at default) is another effect I use on almost everything. I really like the whispery static effect it puts on things. It’s a multiband compressor, meaning it splits the sound into frequency bands and individually compresses them which you can then bring up or down. Adding it after Grain Delay helps bring out those little particles and some nice high end. I then did some EQing to take out anything below 30Hz and around 500Hz. Around 500Hz is usually where a lot of the fundamentals for instruments lay, so I try to take it out of my drums a lot of the time as to not let it clash. This depends on the song I’m creating though. I just take out what I feel doesn’t sit right.

Finally, I added an Amp on the Heavy setting with the gain set to 1.43. This again just adds some additional grit.

I resampled it all into an Audio Channel below and then pitched it down by 12st using the ‘Beats’ Warp Function and turned up the volume of the clip to 5dB. This takes the drums down to the depths and creates that thuddy heartbeat-esque texture. Pitching down your drums is a good way of adding more thud. Not even in an extreme way, just a semitone or two can make a big difference. This is the sound pretty much completed. I did some additional EQing and added a Utility to make it a little more mono but other than that the rest is down to how you would like it mixed.

I also added a little extra effect in the final demo example of this sound. I call it the ‘Cave Effect’ but I’m not sure if there’s another correct term for it. It’s when you turn up Reverb in between drums or samples to 100% and drop it when another sound comes in. Like this:

I think it sounds almost like the last drum before the gap has been dropped in a hole or thrown into a cave. Can be really fun to use. You can use it rhythmically also in place of something like hi-hats or rides.

Final Result:

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 2 – Heartbeat Drums (DEMO) 75BPM

In this demo I’ve just chopped and rearranged the drums to my liking.

Sound 3 – Droplets

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 3 – Droplets.wav

FX Chain:

STING64 by SKINNERBOX

Xfer Serum

Delay

Grain Delay

OTT

Saturator

Overview:

This sound was created with the concept of it falling apart and reconstructing itself from droplets. Fluid metal-esque, heavily inspired by the resonant squishy bass sounds of Autechre.

Base:

The base for this was a preset I had created in Xfer’s Serum Synthesiser. You can hear it on a recent collaboration of mine with TAAHLIAH titled ‘Transdimensional’ and in multiple files of my sample pack. The preset looks like this:

The skin is ‘Promethium’ by Lance Thackeray if you’re wondering.

This preset was not in any way methodical. I was trying to make things as randomised and glitchy as possible. 1 saw wave, 1 square wave. The saw is being FMed (Frequency Modulated) from the square wave. I find saw waves in conjunction with square waves layer really nicely. I mapped a bunch of pitch and FM parameters to a couple of LFOs that have been set in an 8bar stepped pattern. LFO 2 is mapped to the Octaves of OSC B to change the pitch. Added a low pass filter which is mapped to a short Envelope to create a pluck sound. Along with these additional FX.

Processing:

Compressor set to Multiband to bring out some detail and high end and a Comb Filter for some movement and additional metallic texture. I was going for a lot of unpredictability in this preset. I then have a Delay set to this:

With the Time being modulated so that it goes from 4.83ms to 30.2ms in 1 bar and 4.83ms to 223ms in the next. Increasing the Delay Time like this gives that effect of the sound falling to pieces. Almost like spilling a basket full of squishy iridescent beads. I then have a Grain Delay set like so:

The Dry/Wet is being modulated within the 4bar loop, the last 2 bars have it at 100% and the first 2 have it at 0% like so:

This adds more variation and texture to the sound. I then threw on raw OTT for some additional compression and a Saturator with soft clipping turned on.

Additionally, I resampled the sound into an Audio Channel below, pitched it down by 12st in the ‘Beats’ Warp Function, and Reversed it, to layer it with the original like so:

Final Result:

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 3 – Droplets (REVS).wav

This sound is very versatile. You can use it for percussive sounds, basslines, or make all kinds of rhythmic elements.

Sound 4 – Sap

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 4 – Sap

Overview:

The final sound I’m going to break down is noise I can only describe as sounding like tree sap. Thick, viscous, and slowly moving. I use it a lot as a rhythmic element. I used a variant of it as the main bass sound in my song ‘Laser Rays’.

FX Chain:

Xfer Serum

EQ Eight

Vocoder

EQ Eight

Saturator

OTT

OTT

Auto Filter

OTT

Convolution Reverb Pro

Saturator

Base:

The base for this sound was a Serum preset I had made:

I was going for something ‘squishy’. I used the ‘ICanHasKick’ wavetable found in the ‘Digital’ folder as this wavetable is really interesting. When played at low octaves it oscillates at such a low frequency that it creates these guttural bass clicks. I’ve mapped the wavetable position to an LFO going extremely fast and also added a Comb Filter with the resonance up to add a cleaner high end. I also had these FX mapped to the same LFO:

Multiband compressor to bring out more definition and an Equaliser. The Equaliser has 2 curves moving in time with the LFO that adds some additional mid-range movement. I then EQed out everything below 30Hz, took down 116Hz, and boosted around 2.15kHz. I then had a vocoder set to this:

This was to add more ‘wetness’ and bass frequencies. I turned the formant down to 12.4 to add more guttural qualities. As well as turning the depth up to reduce some of the decay. I then EQed out below 30Hz again to remove any unnecessary low end. I then used Overdrive to add more warmth and energy:

More EQing to take out some low-mids that the Overdrive pumped up a little too much, and again my all-time favourite of a Saturator with soft clipping turned on. I also had the Drive on the Saturator increased by 5dB. I then added 2 OTTs, the first being set with the Depth at 70% and the low band turned up quite high. The second with the depth at 38%. This was to define the edges a little more. I then used the Auto Filter to cut out the highs above 555Hz and turn the resonance up by 23%. I originally had this Auto Filter being automated to decline from 20kHz to 20Hz in time with the notes to add a pluckier shape but settled on leaving it in the middle un-automated. Another OTT to define it even more. Then Convolution Reverb Pro set to the ‘RLND Plastic Reverse LR’ setting in the ‘Experiment’ folder:

Convolution Reverb works by taking the tail of a reverberated sound space and layering it with your sound to add varied spatial effects. I use it often to make sounds appear to be in seemingly impossible environments or to make synthetic sounds feel more real. This one in particular is a reversed tube-like delay. This adds that soft dissonant layer. Finally, a Saturator with soft clipping turned on and 6dB of gain.

I added some additional things to show the context of how I would use this:

🔊Sonic Contortion Sound 4 – Sap (DEMO) 120BPM.wav

In this demo the sound has been stretched to double the original BPM in the Complex Warp mode.

Conclusion

I’ve included the Serum presets mentioned within, along with all sounds & demos created. These sounds can be taken in so many directions so don’t feel limited to following this to the word. I hope this gave some useful tips and tricks for your own creativity and sound design knowledge.

With love,

KAVARI <3

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KAVARI is a musician, sound engineer, and visual artist. Her recent EP, 'If The Benign Was to Ever Be So Pure’ is available on streaming and Bandcamp.

You can follow her on Twitter @KAVARI_ and Instagram @kavari_____