It’s been over a year since the world of music plunged into uncertainty as a result of the pandemic, and for many in the music industry, the situation is still chaotic.

But, like life, music finds a way, and as we adapt to the new world of music being online, we’re finding new ways to create and collaborate despite the distance.

We reached out to Oli Wiseman, the drummer for Anne-Marie, to help us create a safe, socially distanced, promotion for our V-Drums Acoustic Design (VAD) series, and to show that, even with the distance, you can keep the beats flowing.

PLANNING THE PROJECT

Take us through the process of how you got started on this project, how did you start writing remotely?

“Originally the project was going to be a fairly standard promo track and video. When the lockdown hit, we had to adapt quite a lot of stuff. It started with me working on some drum ideas and a pattern loop, which I sent to a producer friend of mine in Southern France; Andy from Sector Seven Studios.”

“We decided we wanted to do a rock song to show off what the VAD was capable of. As we sent tracks back and forth, the song developed.”

Did you try streaming or rehearsal programs?

“We tried streaming to show off ideas, but it just introduced latency and problems. We decided sharing tracks was going to be easier. The VAD let me send him master outputs, but also MIDI tracks too, so if he wanted to do anything else with it, he could just drop a VST on top and go from there.”

How did you share tracks and ideas?

“I’d send Andy something, he’d send me a response, I’d head down to my drums, come up with something, send it back, and within an hour or two, we had something. Most of it was actually done on Whatsapp, he’d send me a track, ask how I felt about it, I’d drag it into Logic and start playing. Quick, efficient, like we were in the studio together, but he’s in France, and I’m in Basingstoke.”

Did it take long to create the drum track?

“Developing the drum part only took about three days.”

For those that are used to writing or jamming together in a rehearsal room, creating music remotely might seem unusual. Was it a natural process to make music this way?

“The song ended up being something completely different to how it began, which shows that it is possible to develop a track remotely. There was some delay compared to a face-to-face studio session, but since I didn’t need to go back and forth to an acoustic kit, set up mics, test the sound, and create a full studio set-up, it was an easy thing to do. It was a case of getting an idea, get behind the kit, record to DAW, export, then send it to Andy.”

“Most of it was actually done on Whatsapp, he’d send me a track, ask how I felt about it, I’d drag it into Logic and start playing.”

RECORDING THE TRACK

How did you record the drums and was it harder than being in the studio?

“The track was recorded at home directly to my laptop. You can record both the MIDI and audio at the same time, which sped things up. It’s impressive how easy the VAD makes it. It’s like a little studio in a box. I feel like people don’t always realise that with V-Drums, and it’s a big bonus, especially when you can’t get together.”

“Because it looks, feels, and plays like a real kit, the tracks end up sounding like a real kit – you get an accurate performance. You hook the VAD up to Logic and go. There’s no fiddling around, no plugging or unplugging anything, it’s doing it all. From a drummer’s perspective, it’s simple.”

Did you use any other gear besides the VAD506 and a DAW (digital audio workstation)?

“Kit to laptop. That’s it. I wanted to test what this kit could do by itself to get that live sound.”

Did you use any production techniques to get a better sound?

“We wanted to keep a sound that was true to the drums out of the box. On the TD-27 module, you can say “I really like this sound, but I want to tune it differently.” and do it on the module. The sounds are there, and they’re there to be tweaked.”

“We put a bit of parallel compression on the snare and overheads, and then a touch of it on the master mix to bring out the snare more. We then took the snare sample out of the module, EQed it with a big spike at 200hz, compressed it a little, then put it back in for that extra bang needed in this type of music. It was actually quite easy to do it…”

“…And the cymbals too. I compressed them for that rock production, just to sit nicely on the mix, and… that was it. It’s not designed to be a huge over-produced track and video, but actually a realistic live recording of the kit.”

DRUMMING IN LOCKDOWN

For many working musicians, they might be put off by the price of an e-kit. Would you say it’s a worthy investment during the pandemic?

“You get a lot of people who come along and say “yeah, I’ve got an acoustic kit for a grand that’ll do the same” – but that acoustic kit, for a grand, it doesn’t do what we’ve done, and when you’re a full-time musician in lockdown, the flexibility it gives you, and the ability to create music and keep the bills paid… that warrants the price tag.”

“And the sound too, with everybody working from home, when are they meant to practice? I work in a soundproof room, but it’s soundproof to a degree. With people working at home, it’s not really possible to play and record acoustic kits without disrupting somebody. To get no sound coming out at all you’d need a world war 2 bunker.”

“People say it’s expensive, but to do the same thing with an acoustic, you’re looking at a £25000 investment for the kit, the room, the mics, and equipment. For this kit, at a fraction of the price, you’re getting all that and you’re not pissing anybody off.”

Do you think this approach to music production is going to be the norm going forward?

“To a degree, I think it already is. Getting together in the studio is good, but at the moment that’s not possible. A lot of drummers are sat at home with nothing to do and no ability to play. That’s where those drummers are suffering at the moment, and that’s where this kit shines. You’ve still got a workstation at home to create from, and it’s remarkably easy to do.”

“People come along and say “yeah, I’ve got an acoustic kit for a grand that’ll do the same” – but that acoustic kit, for a grand, it doesn’t do what we’ve done…”

 

Find out how Oli made a music video during Covid

Photos supplied by: @iancoulsonmedia