How are FMT creating tracks?
Here's how FMT are creating our tracks (first written by TI in January 2020):
(The first notation of "Things Are Unstable", titled "7 8th hiphop" at the time.)
* Studio One's built-in sound source and effects are very substantial. I can do just about anything we want.
While we are working, we do not work together at the same place. We have been friends for over 30 years and exchange daily on Facebook Messenger, but haven't met for 3 years :)
We only use MuseScore (free software) and Studio One, which I bought for about US$200 on a Black Friday sale.
I have both, TM MuseScore only. (TM: Sometimes I use the free version of Studio One, but it’s for editing sampling data in “Nested Quartets” and so on. For “Cyber-Excavating The Ruins” I used it for more orchestral version just for myself.)
TM has an electronic drum kit at home and TI has only one keyboard, but it is not connected to a PC, it is played by myself, my son and daughter, and FURICO does not use it at all. (TM: well, although my family has a piano, keyboard, bass and drum kit at home, I don’t even touch them for FMT.)
(TM: As for composition, we usually write directly onto the notation without playing any instruments. FMT value composition on notations, as we believe it’s our best means to create uniqueness for the track. Otherwise the style would depend upon our instrument play and thereby could hardly be widened or freed. Our music is in all the process just digital data, only except just in front of your ears. This is very important as TI writes in "What Is FMT's Music? An Essay by TI."
1. Either TM or TI creates (usually very short) motifs with MuseScore (free music notation software) and sends to the other.
2. While adding parts to this and adding more instruments, we exchange like a catch ball and complete it as a score.
3. Export MuseScore data to MIDI and import it into Presonus Studio One.
4. Mix it using Studio One's built-in sound source* and (very rich) effects, and mix it down. The track is almost complete.
* Studio One's built-in sound source and effects are very substantial. I can do just about anything we want.
5. Send the completed file to for mastering.
(At times we ask for free mastering of LANDR or other excellent musicians.)While we are working, we do not work together at the same place. We have been friends for over 30 years and exchange daily on Facebook Messenger, but haven't met for 3 years :)
We only use MuseScore (free software) and Studio One, which I bought for about US$200 on a Black Friday sale.
I have both, TM MuseScore only. (TM: Sometimes I use the free version of Studio One, but it’s for editing sampling data in “Nested Quartets” and so on. For “Cyber-Excavating The Ruins” I used it for more orchestral version just for myself.)
TM has an electronic drum kit at home and TI has only one keyboard, but it is not connected to a PC, it is played by myself, my son and daughter, and FURICO does not use it at all. (TM: well, although my family has a piano, keyboard, bass and drum kit at home, I don’t even touch them for FMT.)
When we compose a phrase, we add it after the existing phrases. In many cases, we make phrases for multiple parts simultaneously at this stage, rather than a single part phrase. For instance, in the recent cases, from the beginnings we used preset orchestra notation for “Cyber-Excavating The Ruins” and three parts for “Hyper Chase For The Ruins.” After that, I restructure the phrases.)
When I mix with Studio One, TM sends me messages like a producer sitting back on a studio leather sofa. (TM: Even though I review the mixdowns from the producer's viewpoints, in reality I'm not that arrogant for sure...)
And he often rewrites MuseScore data. Of course TI will rewrite it. Import it into Studio One again. And the number of tracks increases more and more :)
My PC is a Windows machine (DELL PC with i5, which I bought 3 years ago). If we need live recordings, we can use the recording functions on our Smart Phones.
We don't use loops at all. Everything is controlled by MuseScore scores.
Sometimes we sample from famous songs (like in “Deconstructing Motown”), but we always chop up the phrases and write them again, to get them far from the original tracks. Never steal royalties :)
The tone at the time of composition in MuseScore is a tone "imagining the completed form at that time". But it's just a completed form imagined ”at the time”, so when it's finished it may turn completely different.
In Studio One, I can use the exact same sound that I used in MuseScore, but strangely, it often doesn't sound exactly the same. And even while working on Studio One, we constantly rewrite the phrases and harmonies, so the tone I originally thought would not always match.
When I mix with Studio One, TM sends me messages like a producer sitting back on a studio leather sofa. (TM: Even though I review the mixdowns from the producer's viewpoints, in reality I'm not that arrogant for sure...)
And he often rewrites MuseScore data. Of course TI will rewrite it. Import it into Studio One again. And the number of tracks increases more and more :)
My PC is a Windows machine (DELL PC with i5, which I bought 3 years ago). If we need live recordings, we can use the recording functions on our Smart Phones.
We don't use loops at all. Everything is controlled by MuseScore scores.
Sometimes we sample from famous songs (like in “Deconstructing Motown”), but we always chop up the phrases and write them again, to get them far from the original tracks. Never steal royalties :)
The tone at the time of composition in MuseScore is a tone "imagining the completed form at that time". But it's just a completed form imagined ”at the time”, so when it's finished it may turn completely different.
In Studio One, I can use the exact same sound that I used in MuseScore, but strangely, it often doesn't sound exactly the same. And even while working on Studio One, we constantly rewrite the phrases and harmonies, so the tone I originally thought would not always match.
See also the "The Root Of FMT's Style" for how this process and style were established and "What Is FMT's Music", in which TI states our rationale behind the tracks.