by Native Instruments

Sketching with EGL

Watch the Tokyo-based producer deconstruct industrial-beats.

EGL (pronounced “eagle”) is a Tokyo-based producer at the forefront of a new wave of bass music in Japan. His sound incorporates a wide spectrum of genres and influences, from trap, to psycho moombahton, bouncy club-meets-techno, and mainstage hype. His sketch layers riffs from MASSIVE with FX and ambience from REAKTOR 6 over a trap-style beat made with BATTERY 4.

Watch the video below to find out how EGL built his sketch, then read on to learn more about the rising beatmaker.

What did you want to achieve with your sketch?

I wanted to minimize the number of sounds I used, and combine them to make a track that’s very simple, but still sounds cool – that meant choosing very carefully. I think in total I used about 10 different sounds, as opposed to the 30 or so that I’d normally use.

I’m pleased with how this sketch turned out – I think the weird FX sound at the beginning is my favorite part. One day I’d like to finish it by adding a rap over the beat.

 

If you could pick literally anyone, from anywhere, who would you choose to rap on this beat?

A$AP Rocky, maybe.

 

What’s your reason for making music?

I’ve always loved creating things. I went to an industrial school and loved drawing and the manual arts. At some point I found music and became enthralled by that instead – that was the most fun. I began with DJing when I was 16, then started to create mashups and make my own tracks at around 17. Nowadays I only focus on my own music.

 

What does sketching mean to you?

I often make sketches, or demos, to remember ideas that I’ve had. Whenever I have an idea, I write it down and save it – even in a rough form. I have a lot of ideas stored up, but I’m very quick to delete things if I listen the next day and it doesn’t sound so cool any more. It’s not worth keeping those tracks around.

 

What was the best production advice you ever received?

I think it’s important not to get bogged down by being too strict with yourself or by setting impossible standards. Often, I’ve found that music I made very quickly and purely on a whim was very well received by others. When I search online and find that foreign artists are using and enjoying those tracks, I realize how important it is just to enjoy making music.

Click below to hear 24 other works-in-progress from 2018’s brightest beat-making talents.

Get inspired.

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