Subaqueous has released Tides of Twilight Templates, a collection of ten free Ableton Live packs which are based on his new album “Tides of Twilight”.
The templates are provided as open source material, meaning that you can explore them and use them in any way you like (except of course simply exporting the exact same tunes and claiming them as your own). The free version of the template pack is a completely free download, although donations are welcome. There are two more versions available, both of which are commercial and contain additional material such as bonus presets and in-depth tutorial videos.
We really liked the idea of having complete behind the scenes access to an entire music album, so we asked Subaqueous to give us more details about the project and tell us more about how this unique release came about. Read the interview below and visit Subaqueous’ official website to download the free Ableton Live packs.
More info: Tides of Twilight Templates
The Interview
BPB: Hi Isaac, thanks for joining us for this interview! Your latest project “Tides of Twililght” looks very cool. It’s basically an entire music album which has been transformed into Live Packs, right? Can you tell us a bit more about what the users who download the free version get in the download pack?
Subaqueous: Thanks Tomislav for checking it out. What I did for these packs is take all ten tracks from my “Tides of Twilight” album and package them into Live Sets. What this means is anyone can open up the Live project and see all the techniques and sounds used in making the tracks. It’s like advance remix stems, because you can then change the beat or modulate the synths, or you name it. All of this comes in the free (donations welcomed) download pack.
BPB: There are two more versions with additional features – can you tell us a bit more about those?
Subaqueous: After I made the Live Sets, I wanted to add a little more information and violate to it. I sat down and created a bunch of videos of me walking through my process with each track. I also created some videos on what I did to create the remix album. This includes making stems of my music, working with musicians, and the business side of remixing. I have then packaged that up with all the Live Sets and the original music. So now the Premium pack is full of added content, videos, music, and more.
BPB: What’s really awesome about this release is that it’s open source. The material is royalty free, is that correct?
Subaqueous: Exactly. As long as it’s not straight up the exact song, you can use it any way you want. You can grab the beat and use it in your tracks, or save the Live Template and use the ideas in your own making. Each Live Set, or track, is not only set up in the Arrangement View, but it’s also rebuilt in Session View. This way you could grab some of the clips and use them in your own live performances.
BPB: Are you planning to do something similar with your future albums? Because this really seems like a fantastic way to help Ableton Live users learn more about music production.
Subaqueous: I might. I spent over 50+ hours creating these live sets, uploading them, beta testing them for ease of use, and such. If I feel like enough people are interested, and enough donations come in to make it worth it I will do it again for sure. I love the idea and am so glad I did it. I just need to make sure I balance all my projects. I am constantly coming out with new Ableton Live tools for free of my site, subaqueousmusic.com, so if not this exact thing than other ideas in the making.
BPB: Speaking of Ableton Live, what’s its biggest advantage when compared to other DAWs in your opinion?
Subaqueous: The workflow is just fantastic. It lets me easily get ideas down, loop them, manipulate them, and move on. Really easy to use. Besides, it is the cornerstone of my live sets as well.
BPB: You’re an Ableton Live Certified Trainer – what other materials on your website would you recommend to our readers who would like to learn more about using Ableton Live?
Subaqueous: I have over 200 free articles on my site around creating music. Not a lot of 101 stuff, I do private lessons for that, but a lot of helpful information for upcoming producers. For instance, here is an article on the basics of Live’s Compressor. I also have a blog that is centered around the creative process. It’s more about how we stay creative, skills needed to be productive, and other words of wisdom on being a musician. It’s not Ableton Centered, but a wider picture to help musicians. All this can be found at Subaqueous Music.
BPB: Please share a music production trick or a sound design technique which you like using!
Subaqueous: I have been doing some vocal editing of late. I really enjoy using Complex Pro mode to manipulate the voice. So when you are in Complex Pro Mode you get some extra parameters. Format and Envelop. Complex Pro is specifically designed to help keep the human voice more realistic if you transpose the sample. So if you pitch the sound by lets say -5 steps, if you were in regular complex mode it would sound a little strange. In Complex Pro you then transpose the voice, but keeping the upper harmonics of the human voice.
Your formants lets you sweep those harmonics. I put not only the voice, but also synth sounds and transpose them in Complex Pro. It adds some really cool harmonics and strange effects. It’s also a great way to make a female vocal sound like a male. Really fun stuff to be had.
BPB: Thanks again for the interview and for the awesome freebie release. Looking forward to more stuff from you in the future!
Subaqueous: Thanks a lot Tomislav. Really appreciate you checking out the creative endeavors, I am up to. I am all about filling the world with good music, and helping music producers do the same. Thanks again.
