French house imposter L’Etranger presents his latest four-track EP ‘For The Floor’, an impeccable homage to disco-tinged, filtered house music in all its uplifting technicolor glory.
Photo Credit: L’Etranger – Official
L’Etranger – translated to ‘The Outsider’ – relates to Ben Thomas’ musical approaches as an Englishman producing French-inspired house music. His latest EP, ‘For The Floor’, is a captivating four-track record that blends filtered French house with disco samples, resulting in an energetic and unpredictable musical journey.
With a nod to the golden era of disco, the artist skilfully crafts each track with infectious rhythms, captivating melodies, and soulful nuances, with joy and celebration permeating every aspect of its production.
Now, to celebrate the release of ‘For The Floor’, L’Etranger shares 5 studio tips to make the most out of each session.
1. Relish the pre-production
For me, pre-production is the most exciting stage of a project. When an idea is in its infancy and taking shape before your very eyes is where the magic happens. Finalizing the arrangement and structure of the composition is important before heading into a session. It’s also good practice to sit down with the artist or collaborator you’ll be working with to find out what they want to achieve, and where you both envision the song going. Ask questions and get to know them. Prepare your session beforehand. For example, create markers so you can see the structure of the song. Record scratch tracks for reference. I always like to bring along a notepad and pen so I can jot ideas down. It’s also worth noting down the key signature you’re working in as well as being aware of the chord sequence you’re using.
2. Getting the source right
Try and get the overall tone of the audio you’re recording in as close to how you finally want it to sound as possible. Whilst it can be tempting to rely on tinkering after the fact, it can save you significant time when it comes to mixing. I find it much more inspiring when I’m tracking a record and it comes to life before the mixing process has begun. Gain staging, using pre-amps, and tasteful EQ and compression to accurately capture the performance you’re recording in can achieve this.
3. Capture a performance
I think with digital comping it’s easy to get into the habit of relying on editing, when recording is about capturing a musical performance at a specific time. I like to be mindful and think I’m capturing a performance that will only ever exist live once. It may sound cliched, but I’d encourage anyone to try it out next time you’re tracking a guitar part or vocal. It helps you get in the right head space to ask questions and supply the artist with the right conditions to give that great performance.
4. Train your ears
Your ears are the most powerful tool in your arsenal and especially once you’re familiar with your speakers and room. A recent tip I discovered is an ear-training exercise using vowel sounds to label frequencies between the 250Hz — 4kHz range. I imagine if I’d discovered this exercise when I was starting out, I’d quickly be able to identify problem frequencies in a mix without relying on an EQ visualizer. Carry out critical listening. Use songs you think have been particularly well produced and mixed. Sit down and identify what is happening in the arrangement, and what is it about that specific mix that works.
5. Feedback is golden
I found once I started being more and more receptive to feedback and let go of that ‘ownership’ of an idea, that my compositions and mixes really started to improve. It can be very helpful to gain critical feedback on your work, especially when that feedback is supported by some reasoning behind it or a potential solution. At the same time, it’s also important to have confidence in your own decision-making and understand why a specific idea works. Great music is rarely created in a vacuum and I believe everything is a collaboration.
L’Etranger’s ‘For The Floor’ EP is out now via Thomorrow Records. Stream and download here.
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