A change of scenery's nice, but is that what you need? In the trajectory of an artist's career, Audiotool is often seen as a first creative flicker to ignite the glorious trail they'll soon leave behind them. They get their bearings and learn the ropes for a few years as they slowly close in on their ambitions, then they migrate to somewhere more mainstream in pursuit of something greater. "(Moved)" stamps their name while their account grows cobwebs; you're probably familiar with the trend. There's nothing inherently wrong with this choice, because a different workflow or even just a different-looking set of tools might excite your creativity. But you've got it all wrong if you think moving on from Audiotool will singlehandedly make you better, because a skilled artist never blames their tools.

In this essay, three excellent pre-Next tracks emphasize what the studio is capable of. If they could do it then, you can certainly do it now!

EVENT HORIZON

The first track off of opaqity 's timeless apogee EP perfectly exemplifies his producing talent. His trademark sound packs so much atmosphere, detail, and emotion into otherwise strikingly simple arrangements. In this track, the percussion offers a crisp timbre to the mix that compliments the warmth of the chords and fills the gaps left by each stab of the track's tip-toeing baritone melody. Something insightful I noticed while studying the draft was that the mix is crafted almost entirely through his sound design, and other than some sidechaining he hasn't made many mix decisions independent of shaping each sound. The faders on the centroid are untouched! event horizon is a testiment to the mixing philosphy that if you start with quality sounds, the track will practically mix itself. [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/2qymmd10/]] (note: this track was made in the Next beta, but it uses exclusively pre-Next tools.)

MOTH CHAMBER

Under her previous alias as zelvo , experimental legend ✧*laevent ✧* shook the site with this glitchy drum & bass banger. The devil is in the details; many ticks and clicks and subtle textures sell an otherworldly atmosphere and a delicious mix. The track's layers effectively define a foreground and background that sum into an immersive environment--achieving depth. The morphing bass, snappy drums, and some panned hi-fi clicks retain their crispy high frequencies and assert themselves in the foreground with their volume. The vocal chops, beeps & boops, reverbed clicks, and other accompanying sfx offer their support in the distance as dampened and quiet suggestions. The chords and a wacky lead dance between the two planes to blur their rigid separation. Moth Chamber is a masterclass in crafting an iconic, convincing atmosphere. [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/moth_chamber/]]

LONESOME

With a single 303, literal one-hit-wonder Someone produced a 9-minute emotive masterpiece. And they did it in 2015! The technical prowess of this track is too crazy for me to understand let alone explain, but remix is open if you'd dare to take a crack at parsing it yourself. Lonesome's legendary status is earned from its ability to tell two stories at once: the real-life story of Someone's impressive feat and the fictional story of the 303's loneliness. The result of Someone's story is the format through which the 303's is told; it's an insanely creative mode of storytelling! Lonesome stylishly demonstrates music's power as a tool of communication--even without a single word sung. What stories will you tell? [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/lonesome-Xl0seF]] What is TINYGAIN?: Connect >> Chitchat >> TINYGAIN: an Audiotool Magazine