"Weird" spanish synth melodies

[Prophän]

Hey guys, i've been trying to figure out how to accomplish those typically spanish melodies or also polegroup melodies, very weird and dissonant if I can say, if you still don't recognize what i'm talking about think of jonas kopp, pfirter, mulero, kwatz, exium and also tolkachev. I'm not asking for a guide how to do it of course, but maybe some pointers that would help get me in the right path, because i've been trying and still can't get it right.

Some examples to illustrate :

youtu.be/XRQi-3mmOBk
youtu.be/2Hs8ssUlxCQ
youtu.be/nU-LMd25szU
youtu.be/ymYKxXNvPis

[Shift_24]

Mmm I don't think stanislav tolkachev and fanon flowers are too spanish xD they are ukrainian and american.

But the nearest I could achieve of that stanislav sound is playing with fm8 arpeggiator. Maybe you can try sequencers too, making loop in 5/4 instead of 4/4...

[Mattias]

- Good synth sound source that you like
- Step Sequence or arpeggiate your melodies, depending on intent, go modal instead of tonal.
- Decrease your decay / sustain and release times as a starting point. Both for the amp and filter section. You want a "closed" sound initially.
- Make use of or do not use poly-rhythms

[Prophän]

Thanks for the quick answers guys

Mmm I don't think stanislav tolkachev and fanon flowers are too spanish xD they are ukrainian and american.

But the nearest I could achieve of that stanislav sound is playing with fm8 arpeggiator. Maybe you can try sequencers too, making loop in 5/4 instead of 4/4...

I was waiting for this one haha, I'm aware of that, but I think they both released at some point in polegroup as well, or collaborated with some of it's artists, thanks for the advice tho !

- Good synth sound source that you like
- Step Sequence or arpeggiate your melodies, depending on intent, go modal instead of tonal.
- Decrease your decay / sustain and release times as a starting point. Both for the amp and filter section. You want a "closed" sound initially.
- Make use of or do not use poly-rhythms

That's exactly what I do, but there is still something missing, something pitch related I think, I can get the sound right, but not the melodies..

[Mattias]

Keep making them. Practice! Read up on music theory etc.

[rsntr]

Can't listen to the clips right now but the first thing a thought of after reading the thread title was that this is about modal scales. You could try to base a melody on the Phrygian dominant scale (or explore modal scales in general):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_dominant_scale

[Prophän]

go modal instead of tonal.

Overlooked that one !

Can't listen to the clips right now but the first thing a thought of after reading the thread title was that this is about modal scales. You could try to base a melody on the Phrygian dominant scale (or explore modal scales in general):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_dominant_scale

thanks man !

seems like this is the missing element

[nomadjames]

The first and second one both sound polyrhythmic. That first one is a great tune, the synth line is building so much tension.

[nomadjames]

Gonna explore to modes more myself. I like how dissonant these arps are...Good stuff here.

[Prophän]

Gonna explore to modes more myself. I like how dissonant these arps are...Good stuff here.

If you happen to find noob-friendly stuff about modes don't hesitate to share it here or via PM , I love the dissonance and twist in those as well

[nomadjames]

I can just pick a mode on the Push2.

[Prophän]

I can just pick a mode on the Push2.

Well...yeah !

[Lost to the Void]

Fuck that.
Get drunk, pass out on the keyboard.
Wake up with your face pressing the keys on the keyboard.
Loop these notes.

Stick a kick drum under it

S`fucking techno innit.

[Prophän]

Fuck that.
Get drunk, pass out on the keyboard.
Wake up with your face pressing the keys on the keyboard.
Loop these notes.

Stick a kick drum under it

S`fucking techno innit.

Well the current method I use is not too far, consists of recording a sequence then smashing the keyboard at random places and see what comes up

[Lost to the Void]

Well the current method I use is not too far, consists of recording a sequence then smashing the keyboard at random places and see what comes up

You would be surprised, or not, at just how common that method is, within techno.

[over9000]

so funny i wanted to make a thread on how to polegroup bleeps too today
thx for reading my mind & thx for the answers
iam more struggling with the first step, on how to make the a sound that sharp and bleepy.
my tries are all going more into acid land and are more fluffy.
and when i pitch it higher it just starts too sound weird.

[Prophän]

so funny i wanted to make a thread on how to polegroup bleeps too today
thx for reading my mind & thx for the answers
iam more struggling with the first step, on how to make the a sound that sharp and bleepy.
my tries are all going more into acid land and are more fluffy.
and when i pitch it higher it just starts too sound weird.

How do you make your sound ? Usually I just use a simple triangle or sine and triangle with some funny processing

[ozias_leduc]

the first fanon track - detune your oscillators so they sound horrible (aka wonderful) , enter some simple notes!

the second fanon track - make a simple melody, then put an ableton frequency shifter after your synth to make it dissonant!

also don't forget to play with the tunings on your synths if supported! sometimes these guys (eg stanislav) are not working with a normal chromatic tuning

[SHIDZO]

I had a look into modes recently. I ended up writing this one in F Phrygian Dominant:

https://soundcloud.com/heifu/buk/s-TI7dn

You're basically shifting your root notes within your scale so you end up getting 7 modes within your key. Very interesting and fun topic!

For example if you have an a minor scale: A-B-C-D-E-F-G each of your mode would start on these following root notes and basically build new scales (musical moods) within your scale. (I think the 5th. mode is the Phrygian one but don't quote me on that they have funny names...)

1. A-B-C-D-E-F-G
2. B-C-D-E-F-G-A
3. C-D-E-F-G-A-B
4. D-E-F-G-A-B-C
5. E-F-G-A-B-C-D
6. F-G-A-B-C-D-E
7. G-A-B-C-D-E-F

[Hades]

iam more struggling with the first step, on how to make the a sound that sharp and bleepy.
my tries are all going more into acid land and are more fluffy.
and when i pitch it higher it just starts too sound weird.

did you check your key tracking of your filter ?
Try messing around with that, so the high pitched sounds don't sound as squeaky as the could sound.