COMBINE: The Alchemy of Music Creation

In this week's newsletter, we explore COMBINE – the final and most magical piece of the puzzle in our Basic Elements of Creativity series: Copy → Transform → Combine

Previously we explored:

• Copy: The art of learning from the best. "Don't just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don't want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes."

• Transform: How to take something that already exists and recontextualize it – the art of making something your own.

THE PROBLEM: Breaking Through the Noise

Let's start with the struggle many of us music producers face in this day and age: how to break through in a heavily saturated music market. The million-dollar question haunts us all:

How do we find our own unique, distinct sound?

A signature sound that exists nowhere else. That only you have developed, tucked away in monk mode in your music lab. That attracts listeners, captures the attention of your peers, develops a following, and breaks through the noise.

How do we avoid sounding like everyone else? Working with the same familiar tools and sounds everyone else is using often leads to generic productions that blend into the background of endless streaming platforms.

THE ANSWER: Combination - Your Secret Weapon

Could COMBINE be the answer? I believe it's definitely a powerful idea that will go a long way toward a solution!

Here's the paradox: electronic music thrives on combination, yet many producers hesitate to boldly combine.

So let's explore combination as the key to finding your own unique sound – blending elements, being BOLD, trying things out like a mad scientist experimenting with weird, strange, and wonderful combinations.

It's time to think outside the box!

THE SOLUTION: Start With Your Ears

Before we roll up our sleeves and deep dive into all the technical fun stuff, I want to propose a way to begin thinking about COMBINE in music:

Be open-minded with your approach to listening.

Start by exploring genres outside of your normal listening habits. Yes, even those you dislike – they can trigger some combination inspiration magic!

Think about how many of the crossovers and historic moments in electronic music came about when someone thought, "What if we combine this genre with that one?" And voilà – a new genre was born!

Genre-Defining Moments Through Combination

Here are some defining examples in electronic music history where COMBINING genres spawned entirely new musical directions:

• Trip-Hop Formation (early 1990s) - Bristol artists like Massive Attack and Portishead combined hip-hop rhythms with dub production techniques, film score atmospherics, and soul/jazz samples.

• Jungle/Drum & Bass Evolution (1991-1994) - Emerged when UK producers sped up breakbeats from hip-hop records, combined them with elements from reggae soundsystem culture, and added sub-bass from dub music.

• Detroit Techno Origins (mid-1980s) - Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson combined the mechanical funk of Kraftwerk with elements of Chicago house, disco, and funk.

• UK Garage Development (mid-1990s) - Formed when DJs began pitching up and remixing US house and garage tracks, adding distinctive shuffling percussion patterns and R&B/soul vocal samples.

• Dubstep Creation (late 1990s/early 2000s) - Producers in South London combined UK garage's 2-step rhythms with the bassweight of dub reggae and the dark atmospherics of drum & bass.

• IDM Formation (early 1990s) - Artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre combined techno and house structures with experimental composition techniques, avant-garde electronics, and ambient textures.

Boundary-Breaking Artists Who Mastered Combination

These groundbreaking artists created new sub-genres through unexpected combinations:

Burial

• Archangel

• Combined: UK garage rhythms, ambient soundscapes, field recordings, pitched R&B vocals, lo-fi production aesthetics, and melancholic film soundtrack elements

• Created a blueprint for future "post-dubstep" artists

Four Tet

• Rounds (2003)

• Combined: Folk and jazz samples with electronic production techniques, organic instruments with digital processing, acoustic textures with club rhythms

• Often cited as a landmark in the "folktronica" genre

• Showcases Four Tet's ability to combine acoustic samples, intricate rhythms, and electronic textures into a cohesive, emotionally resonant whole

Flying Lotus

• Combined: Jazz fusion elements from his great-aunt Alice Coltrane's legacy, Dilla-inspired hip-hop beat construction, glitchy IDM programming, and cinematic sound design

• Created the "Los Angeles beat scene" sound that influenced countless producers

Aphex Twin

• Combined: Techno and house structures with experimental composition techniques, avant-garde electronics, and ambient textures

• Redefined what electronic music could be

The Continuous Evolution Through Cross-Pollination

Electronic music continuously reinvents itself through cross-pollination:

• UK Bass Music Evolution - The continuum from jungle → drum & bass → UK garage → dubstep → post-dubstep → UK funky → bass music shows constant cross-pollination

• Berlin-Detroit Techno Exchange - The ongoing dialogue between Detroit originators and Berlin techno producers created a feedback loop of innovation

Check out this fantastic guide to how electronic music genres evolved through COMBINATION and cross-pollination: Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

Technical Approaches: Put On Your Mad Scientist Lab Coat

Now for the more technical stuff I promised. Let's don our mad scientist lab coats and dive into practical approaches to COMBINE!

Layering as Combination

A classic tried-and-tested combination is bringing acoustic and electronic elements together. This creates that magical intersection where the real world meets futuristic soundscapes.

I love using found sounds and field recordings to create complex, magical-sounding layers with a depth that's hard to describe. I enjoy making sounds using these techniques that often end up sounding like multiple instruments playing together, when in reality it might just be a clever combination of a couple of sounds – creating a fuller, more complex texture.

Think outside the box! Layer several synths to achieve a unique lead or pad sound, or combine multiple drum sounds to craft a distinct percussive hit.

In electronic music, using 5 different claps to make one isn't really all that strange, or creating a Frankenstein kick by blending the body of an 808 with the attack of a 909.

A word of caution: If you layer, layer to make something new and unique. Make it a conscious decision to create something fresh – not just because you saw artist XYZ do it! Layering sounds has its perils, and if handled incorrectly, it can make the end result worse than what you began with, or simply louder rather than interesting and unique. (More on how to execute that technique another day. Just watch out for your different layers being out of phase with each other, which will cause phase cancellation...)

The "1+1=3" Phenomenon

This is a term referring to the magical effect that occurs when two sounds are combined to create something that feels greater than the sum of its parts. Rather than simply hearing both original elements side by side, we experience an entirely new sonic entity with qualities that neither original sound possessed on its own. Lovely stuff!!

One of my favourite music lab experiments is creating new instruments through these combinations:

• A clean sine wave bass + distorted mid-range synth = a perceived single bass instrument with both weight and character

• Analog drum machine + field recording of metal impact = a hybrid percussion sound that feels both electronic and organic

• String sample + digital granular texture = cinematic hybrid that suggests "technological emotion"

Classic "1+1=3" Techniques in Action

• The "Supersaw": Combining multiple slightly detuned sawtooth waves creates a massive sound that feels like more than just stacked oscillators

• Layered Drums: A pristine electronic kick + a processed acoustic kick often creates a "super kick" with both punch and character

• Vocal Stacking: Multiple takes of the same vocal line combined create a richness and presence beyond what any single take offers

Memoirs

"I vividly remember my breakthrough moment with combination while creating sounds for a sample pack that would later be released on Loopmasters. I was hitting a creative wall until I started layering field recordings with synthesized elements. When I combined the sounds and recordings of nature like insects, wind and rain with a synthesized percussion hit I got the feeling—this was a sound that couldn't exist without layering, it felt organic and alive. That single "1+1=3" moment changed my approach forever, leading to my most successful sample pack and teaching me that our most powerful creative tool isn't expensive gear or the latest plugin—it's the courage to combine elements that don't obviously belong together."

Why This Matters: The Power of Combination

What does a good understanding and willingness to embrace COMBINE allow us as artists to do? Here's how it's helped me develop my own unique sound and create unique sounds for others through my sample packs:

• Create unique signature sounds that can't be easily replicated

• Build complex textures with relatively few elements

• Develop distinctive sonic fingerprints through personal combination approaches

• Transcend the limitations of individual sound sources

• Create emotional depth through textural complexity

This phenomenon is at the heart of what makes electronic music production an art form rather than merely an assembly process. The most innovative producers are often those who discover unexpected combinations that create these magical "1+1=3" moments.

Finding Contrast: The Secret to Interesting Combinations

The most interesting results often come from combining seemingly disparate elements. Why? Because combining similar elements creates less interesting results than disparate ones. Challenge yourself to identify complementary contrasts in your music.

Developing Your Signature Sound Through Combination

• Your unique combinations become your artistic fingerprint

• Develop a framework for intentional combination experiments

• Build a personal "combination palette," racks, or template

Parallel Processing and Effects Chains

By combining dry and processed versions of a sound (parallel compression, reverb, etc.), you can add depth and character. Try experimenting with different combinations of effects to enhance your sounds.

Recycle and Reimagine

COMBINE can also be a great opportunity to revisit those abandoned, shelved music projects! Search for sounds, instruments, MIDI patterns, racks, and effect chains that can be combined, recycled, or reimagined in your current project or a future one.

This Week's COMBINE Challenge: The 3×3×3 Method

I'd love to start making creative challenges within the newsletter and sharing the results in a community section. Here's your first challenge!

Choose three elements from different musical traditions:

• A rhythmic pattern (e.g., tresillo rhythm, breakbeat, four-on-the-floor)

• A harmonic approach (e.g., jazz chord progressions, modal scales, microtonal)

• A timbral palette (e.g., analog synths, found sounds, orchestral instruments)

Select three production techniques from different eras/approaches:

• A processing technique (e.g., granular synthesis, convolution reverb, distortion)

• A structural approach (e.g., dub mixing techniques, IDM-style programming, pop arrangement)

• A spatial technique (e.g., binaural recording, extreme panning, ambient field recordings)

Incorporate three contextual influences:

• An emotional quality (e.g., melancholy, euphoria, tension)

• A non-musical influence (e.g., architecture, film, natural phenomenon)

• A functional purpose (e.g., headphone listening, club system, meditative)

Create a piece combining these nine elements, documenting which combinations yielded the most interesting results. Share your results with me in 4BAR Audio Loop format!

What do you think about this idea? I'd love to hear your feedback!

Artists to Check Out for Combination Inspiration

Jon Hopkins - SoundCloud | YouTube

• Combines classical piano with heavily processed electronic sounds

• Uses contact microphones to sample everyday objects as percussion

• Merges ambient music techniques with club rhythms

• Key albums: "Immunity" and "Singularity"

Amon Tobin - YouTube

• Pioneer of transforming field recordings into musical elements

• Combined jazz samples with drum & bass in early work

• Later developed technique of sampling physical objects and reshaping them

• Key albums: "Supermodified" and "ISAM"

Nicolas Jaar - SoundCloud | YouTube Music

• Merges minimal techno with South American folk influences

• Combines extremely slow tempos with dance music elements

• Incorporates political speech and found sound into club contexts

• Key albums: "Space Is Only Noise" and "Sirens"

By the way, check out my most recent sample and MIDI pack exclusively here:
Distinct Soundz by Heath Holme - Electronica Sample & MIDI Pack Vol. 1
Newsletter Subscribers special offer, take 20% off at check out with the code: THINKINGALOUD

Until next time,

Heath

P.S. I'd love to hear about your experiences with combining! What's your favourite technique for combining sounds? Reply to this email and let me know!