In The Studio

In the studio with Outis

This week, we catch up with Indianapolis-based rapper Outis!

Jaz from the RepostExchange Team

How long have you been producing music and how did you learn?

Ever since I was born, my father has been a studio musician and engineer so it is a family trade. I grew up around music, live performance, and even a lot of studio work so I was learning through osmosis very early. I would say I’ve been pursuing hip-hop production and performance for the last decade or so. I’ve done some professional studio work which helped expedite my understanding of the work and the level of quality that is expected out of professional productions. The rest has just been a lot of picking apart the sounds and music I love, learning to recreate them to incorporate them in my musical vocabulary, and then trying to say something unique with that vocabulary.

What DAW(s) do you use and why?

I use Cubase because I feel like your options for that level of control and quality are Pro Tools and Cubase; Cubase was what I learned on. There are a ton of programs out there and I am probably not as in the loop as I should be, but my piece of advice/philosophy on DAW(s) and most gear honestly is this: Just pick one and REALLY learn it. The best gear in the world means nothing if you don’t do the work, dig into the functionality, and learn to optimize your creativity in that space.

That being said, some of the more simple DAW’s like FL Studio are a good option for people who are just coming into things or have a more loop-and-sample based mentality.

What are your favourite pieces of gear and why?

I love my new Arturia MicroFreak controller. It may make it onto every single track of my new record Momentum if I’m not careful! It blends wavetable and digital oscillators with analogue filters so it just has a really interesting sound - I can’t stress enough how FULL these sounds are while retaining the sort of ‘grit’ you want in these sorts of sounds. It is an unusual and beautiful board that plays and looks completely unlike anything else you’ve played. I love the poly-aftertouch keyboard because it’s a unique and extremely responsive/expressive way to play, I love the fact that it has a “spice” and “dice” feature that throw random automations and variations into the mix - I could go on and on.

What are your favourite software plugins and why?

I love the Halion Sonic suite honestly which is another Steinburg product. Just excellent sounds and functionality. I would say a large portion of my real-instrument sounds are coming from here unless I’m actually playing the instrument.

Anything from Native Instruments I’m usually into because I feel like they put a priority on giving you all the functionality and versatility in a sound set, even if it makes the process a little more complex.

Other than that it is tough to say… I pull sound from a ton of different places, it depends on what I’m searching for at the time.

How would you summarise your approach/workflow when creating a track?

One unique portion of my process is that I actually often develop the whole arrangement and construct of the song with acapella rough tracks, and then replace with instruments once I am confident in the direction of the song. I think it is easier to be emotive with my voice personally, so doing that lets me explore the expression of each part a little easier before setting things in stone with a real instrument. I have a whole bank of acapella versions of several of my tracks that I kept just as a means of remembering the point A to point B of it all.

Most of the time when I write something, there is a little snippet of the track that comes to me, either organically out of nowhere, or through being coaxed out in a more freeform/brainstorm kind of session. Once I have something that resonates with me whether it be a lyrical concept, melodic idea, tonal quality, sample, WHATEVER it is - I take that and run with it. My main instrument really IS the engineering and production process because I was never formally trained on any of the instruments I play, so it really is a process of, “What is the compelling concept here?” followed by “What tools and techniques do I use to most clearly and creatively present that concept?”

What resources do you use to improve your craft?

YouTube, other musicians, and practice. Some of my favorite YouTube stuff to pull inspiration from and light a fire under yourself with is Rhythm Roulette, Kenny Beats’ The Cave, Remix Lab, etc. I watch tutorials a lot also but I don’t have a certain series I prefer. I typically have a specific technique or piece of gear in mind when I’m looking up tutorials so it’s more of an on the spot resource than something I do all the time.

What is the last YouTube tutorial you watched that you would recommend to other Re-Ex Members?

Liam Bradbury has a video called How To Compose Epic Orchestral Music in Cubase 9 that I thought was useful in Cubase specifically. Might be a little dated by now? I’ve seen several of those videos and while he does more than DAW tutorials he’s pretty thorough so watching him build a track or create a certain effect is a really good way to learn through observation and find features and controls you may have never stumbled upon otherwise. I feel like a lot of the videos I like are like that one though, not so much a tutorial as it is someone figuring the process out in front of you. I zone out if I’m being lectured...

What knowledge or advice do you wish you'd learned earlier?

Not to wait for anything. I think I spent a lot of time waiting for other people or specific opportunities to discover me or something like that… But the reality is that those sort of things start falling into place AFTER you’ve done most of the work on your own two feet. So I guess I would say not to wait on anything and to make the music its reward.

What challenges related to making music do you face and how do you overcome them?

I have two jobs, a start-up, I am engaged, I have my second full-length record coming out in a few months, and I am writing a book so time management is key! I like to plot out the things that I am most-to-least motivated to do and then do those things in an order that keeps the momentum going. Usually, two things I want to do for every one thing I don’t!

I certainly have bad writing days, but don’t think I suffer from writer’s block much anymore. I force myself to write even if I’m not feeling whatever I’m putting out (or even if it’s just nonsense) because at the end of the day it’s just using language to express whatever you’re feeling. So by keeping the writing constant, that writing mindset stays fresh in my mind, and then I just have to wait on what I’m feeling to shift back to something I DO think sounds good conveyed in a song, line, etc.

Can you share any killer tips or techniques?

Sample yourself more often. I have done plenty of crate digging for samples and sounds, and have total respect for the process and the art form, but I have enjoyed playing live instruments lately, and then using the production process to chop them up a bit and give them a more sampled sound. I think doing things this way gives you some serious control over the expression in those sounds. Feels homemade!

Do you use any online tools to assist with the production process?

I would say Splice is my main online resource right now because it’s an easy way to keep getting fresh sounds. They’re always updating the sound banks, so it introduces a little random chance in the process and I like that. I’ve been incorporating a lot of unusual trap sounds into my work lately and Splice is a total goldmine for that stuff.

Do you try and get feedback or suggestions to improve your music? If so, how?

I like getting feedback on my music, especially when it is critical because that is really what pushes you to be better and to be honest with yourself. I think Soundcloud and RepostExchange are probably my biggest resources for this right now. It is an organic way to get honest feedback because its a social space where people care about the music (it’s the whole reason they are there!). It also incentivizes constructive feedback which I love.

Social media has this very transactional nature to it where this “share for a share” mentality means no one is really listening to what the other person has to say, and while the number of followers grows, the REAL followers do not, and that’s not where you want to be. Soundcloud (specifically while using RepostExchange) evolves that moment into a real interaction where you can develop a real supporter and also interact with a lot of people that could be potential collaborators.

Which track are you most proud of and why?

I would say out of the material that has been officially released the track 'F**k Columbus' is one I am extremely proud of. I think it is a unique track because it has this super heavy concept of taking you through the transgressions of European American settlers and then brings you to now and how our current social systems still reflect the ethical issues our country was having when we first started colonizing. I wish that there were more open appreciation and acknowledgement (especially from white artists making music based in black cultural movements) of the fact that we are borrowing ideas and building on something that someone else made.

Both musically and otherwise. It is a huge thing that Americans need to come together on because we’ve spent hundreds of years treating equals like they’re lesser and I hope that more artists that come from the majority (white male cisgender) will start to openly process that and take clear action as an ally.

Has RepostExchange affected the way you make music? If so, how?

RepostExchange has definitely affected the way that I make music in terms of how I consider releasing and promoting it. Where I used to not know much about when to release, how to release, how to group tracks in a release. RepostExchange and the great metrics that you get between it and SoundCloud have helped me dial in the best windows to get the most exposure, as well as just being a great sounding board for what works and what doesn’t. I hope we continue to see RepostExchange grow and maybe even start offering campaigns on additional platforms. There aren't other promotional platforms like it. When I post something to RepostExchange and throw some credits into promotion, I typically have a solid feeling on whether or not the track is worth official release within 48 hours. That’s a really nice resource to have when you are doing things solo and don’t have a ton of organic feedback in your day-to-day.