Small Update

Heya guys!

We've been very busy lately and are happy to inform you that:

- Our Get Closer remix (original by mayday and mr moody) will be released the 23th of February on Miami Records!

- We're currently doing another remix for Miami Records, Tuna - Get Up is the track we're remixing this time, going to be a nice Progressive remix. We are going to show them what Progressive is!

- We started a new track with Shibbstarr, we're probably going to enter the Defected competition with this one!

- The Sunset remixes are coming along nicely aswell. Alex N.V and Niala'Kil are currently working on them!

- We've made some nice bootleg/edits to give away!

- Our first liveset will be online soon!

Well.. hope that's enough information for now, make sure to stay tuned for more updates regarding our tracks etc ;)

Snippets and free giveaways will be posted on http://militovdk.hyves.nl and http://jeroen-funk.hyves.nl

Love,

Deeplife <3

Mixdowns etc

Time for another post! We've recieved quite some questions regarding our mixdowns etc. How we do it, what we recommend etc and as it's all a bit to much to explain I will post something that I found very usefull.

14 ways to freshen up your mixes

1. Change the level

One of the simplest ways to gain better perspective is to monitor at different levels. You'll find this works best if you stay at one level for a spell (say 20 minutes), then shift. As ever, extremes (loud and quiet) can be fun, but will likely yield less useful results.

2. Compare and contrast

To really crack the sound of a specific genre, you need to compare your track to similar commercially available music. Often the simplest way to do this is to actually load a few examples into your session - but remember, you need to match the levels for reliable comparison.

3. Try headphones

To mix solely on headphones isn't recommended. As an alternative they can certainly help identify detail, however, and to stay in line with the iPod generation, at least one listen-through is worthwhile. If headphones are your only option, plug-ins such as Redline Monitor from 112dB can be enormously helpful.

4. Listen on computer speakers

Although a good set of monitors is vital for producing reliable mixes, cheaper speakers give you an additional perspective. In the interests of simplicity and cost, try an affordable set of self-powered computer speakers. These will give you a perfect idea of how your mix is going to sound to internet music buyers.

5. Move around

When you're working up close to your monitors, it's easy to get so focused that you lose track of the whole. For a different perspective, stand in a different part of the room or even just outside the door. Try mentally combining the impression you get up close and from further away to help with mixing decisions.

6. Carry out spot checks

If you're working on a long track, it can be hard to achieve consistency from beginning to end. One useful trick is to spot-check short sections of the track. Work your way through listening to five-second segments, concentrating on the levels of the lead instruments. This will give you an overview of mix consistency.

7. Go mono

Although we mix in stereo, music often gets reproduced in mono, so it's important that your track works in this form. Throughout the mix process it's worth periodically switching over to mono. Listen out for any big differences in individual levels. If these exist, consider reducing the stereo spread of problem sounds.

8. Test limiting

Like it or not, pretty much all music now gets heavily maximised as part of the mastering process. To get an idea of how this will affect your mix, try temporarily using a mastering limiter across your mix output. If you can't get your mix as loud as the competition, focus on the bottom end.

9. Phase check

If you're planning on cutting your track to vinyl, it's useful to consider the track's overall phase consistency. Typically, sudden switches in phase, particularly at low frequencies, can cause problems for the cutting needle. Seek out a decent plug-in meter like the freebie Stereo Tool from Flux.

10. Meters

Your meters provide assistance to your ears. Most DAWs tend to have peak meters. If these are slamming zero and your mix sounds lifeless, try turning all faders down. Also consider using an RMS or VU-style meter on your main output to provide some additional perspective.

11. Consider sub-bass

Low frequencies can be the hardest to judge on small monitors, so if you have the chance to listen to your mix elsewhere, such as a car stereo or traditional hi-fi, take some time to compare the low-frequency balance to that of similar commercial mixes.

12. Spectrum analyse

Most monitoring systems are compromised in some way, but you can always get a reliable dynamic representation of frequency content using a spectrum analyser. Often these include a hold or freeze function so that you capture a specific section. Try seeing how your track stands up against a comparable commercial mix.

13. Take a break

Listening intently is part of mixing, but you can easily get used to things that aren't quite right. What's more, long listening spells can be tiring or even damaging to your hearing. Don't be afraid to take a break, rest your ears and come back refreshed.

14. The car stereo test

You can listen to your mix on various alternative systems, but one of the most humbling has got to be the car stereo. The ambient noise produced in a car results in people tweaking their stereos, often heavily boosting the top and bottom. If either extreme is problematic in your mix, the car stereo test will highlight it.

Hope this helped ;)

The Techno vs. Dutch-House Discussion

Hey guys,

It's 8am, just woke up and I'm sick as hell.. perfect time to start a discussion!

So I've recently been reading several forums, blogs etc and it seems like there's a huge well.. battle going on between the techno/progressive/minimal-scene and dutch-house scene here in Holland. So I've decided to take arguments from both camps and find out why this discussion is going on in the first place. My first task was to find out what triggered it all, and after asking people from both sides I found out that nobody actually knew (what a surprise!). So I went on to my second task which was collecting the actual arguments from both sides. I'll start off with the techno/progressive/minimal arguments:

Dutch-House is:
- Lack of originality (All the tracks are vague copies of other dutch-house tracks)
- Easy to make (People are out to finish projects quickly so the quality is lower)
- Awful mixdowns/mastering (It's all about the bass!)

Now the Dutch-House arguments:

Techno/progressive/minimal is:
- Boring (It's no real club music)
- Underground mentality (People that listen to Dutch-house don't know what real music is, tech is all!)

So, what do you guys think? Is Dutch-House really as crap as people say it is? Is Techno really as boring as they say it is? I personally kind of agree with the techno/progressive/minimal arguments because I see tracks getting released on a daily basis that are almost exact copies of other dutch-house releases. I think it's a shame that people take the easy way and are affraid to try something new. (Although I know that there are a lot of good dutch-house producers out there)

So here's Milio's lesson for today:
Think outside the box and don't be affraid to try something new!


Okay I think I'm done now, feel free to discuss this in the comments, I'd love to hear other sides of this story ;-)

Thanks for reading!

Deeplife (Milio)

Personal top 10's!

Time for a little update ;)

We've decided to post two seperate top 10's!

Milio's top 10:

1. Bedrock - Emerald (Original Mix)
2. Joris Voorn - We're all clean (Original Mix)
3. Pitto - Feelin' (Joris Voorn Can't Click This Feelin' When it Hits Mix)
4. Federico Grazzini - Tokyo (Original Mix)
5. Umek - Slap (Original Mix)
6. Pirupa, Pigi - Sweet Devil (Original Mix)
7. Deeplife - Midnight (Original Mix)
8. Dennis Ferrer - Hey Hey (Vox Mix)
9. Nick Muir and John Digweed - Tangent (Original Mix)
10.Stojche - Air of Djibuti (Original Mix)

Jeroen's top 10 !

1. Umek - Slap
2. Cicada - One beat away (Arno Cost remix)
3. Avicii - Dukkha
4. Deeplife - Sunset
5. Deeplife - Midnight
6. Calvin Harris - Flashback
7. Cookie Monsta - Me want cookie (Yeah, I love Dubstep!)
8. Exclusiv J - Analog
9. David Guetta - One love (Avicii remix)
10. Federico Grazzini - Tokyo

Upcoming releases

Hey guys,

Time for a little update regarding our releases!

We've recently signed some new tracks and I'm happy to announce that:

Deeplife - Sunset (Original Mix) + remixes will be released on Patchy Recordings!

Deeplife - Technique (Original Mix) + remixes will be released on Groovemasters Recordings!

Deeplife - Midnight (Original Mix) + remixes will be released on Inspiration Records!

Deeplife pres. Munisian - Munich (Original Mix) + remixes will be released on Inspiration Records!

We also have some surprises regarding our tracks: Deeplife - Sunrise (Original Mix) and an old track Del Valle & Vergara ft. Deeplife - Santiago (Yes, we've changed the name to Deeplife on that last one) so stay tuned for updates!

Oh and before I forget...

For the ones wanting to know where you can find us:

Myspace:
www.myspace.com/deeplife
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/deeplifemusic
G-Mail:
Deeplifemusic.info@gmail.com
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/deeplife
Youtube:
DeeplifeMusicChannel
Hyves:
http://jeroen-funk.hyves.nl
http://militovdk.hyves.nl

Deeplife on Blogspot!

People!

As you can see, we've created a blog! I've been wanting one for ages but never found time and patience enough to actually create one, but time has changed and I'm writing this with a huge smile on my face! We'll update this blog on a weekly, if not daily basis so stay tuned for a sh*tload of Deeplife updates!

Love,

Milio & Jeroen (Deeplife)