If you see me talking about anything involving Reaktor it has to be pretty cool, and this is pretty cool. So how cool is it really? How does it sound? In addition to the fx, there’s a bunch of step modulation available for the parameters… It even has a slot where you can plugin your own external Reaktor fx if you wish. It’s basically a real-time, modular stype multi effect that made to be used inside of Reaktor 5 However, Matt Cellitti let me know about an FX ensemble from Twisted Tools, so I had to check it out! I do like some of the premade ensembles by third parties though, and even the stuff like The Mouth or The Finger from NI.īut on a whole, I usually steer clear of Reaktor, just not my thing. That live instrumentation feel in my music.You may have noticed I do not do much with Reaktor, honestly, I’m not much of a fan of it. It almost sounds like the drums were played live, know what I mean? So yeah, that’s where I’m headed. For example, if I want to play a live percussion part it allows me to really give that live feel to my production. That would be my Maschine, because the thing is just damn accurate. What’s your favourite production gear to work with?
Ever since I heard their music, I really got inspired by them and it turned me into a beat freak. I actually sold it about a year ago, but kinda miss them… Listening to your work, I think it’s safe to say Dilla is a big influence to you, right? How exactly did he ‘change your life’?ĭilla did have a big influence on me, because when I was 15 and just started making beats, a homie in school put me onto cats like Dilla, Madlib and Flying Lotus. A few years ago my mom said she needed some space in the room, so my drum set was the first thing to go. I did own a drum set with two snare drums for a few years. We also spotted a drum on your Instagram (yes, we’re creeping). The record contains a sample from Biggie’s track “Nasty Girl”, which I really dig. My most prized possession would have to be Deodato’s “Night Cruiser”, whic was the very first record I bought. Later on I started buying my own vinyl in record stores and now I love digging. He had Funk and Soul records by James Brown, M.J, Al Green, Barry white and Rick James. That really drove me to use samples in my beats, and at that time I started listening to LPs from my dad’s collection. Yeah, definitely! When I started making hip hop beats, I always listened to Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus and similar artists. Especially the way that they flipped samples was just completely new to me. Do you consider yourself to be a crate digger? What are your most prized possessions? We spotted some vinyl records on your Instagram page. I do really notice improvements, so that’s positive. Currently I’m studying from different sources all by myself, and I learn a lot each day. I feel like I still need to step that up. That would be my mixing and mastering game.
Which skill would you like to improve still as a beatmaker? However, you should never copy a certain style.
I also think it’s good to listen to what other beatmakers are creating. For example by setting up your own library with sounds that inspire you. I think that the main focus is to try and create your own sound. How do you strive to stay original in an already oversaturated world of beatmakers? Now I pretty much make music that inspires me. I started out producing hip hop beats in particular, but after some years I started to try to shape my own sound.
I’m a 22 year old beat maker born and raised in Enschede, in the very east of the Netherlands. I’ve been making beats for like four years now. For those who don’t know, who is AJ Beats? Let’s kick off with the most unoriginal question imaginable. We had the pleasure to catch up with AJ to talk about his werk. AJ is busy making stuff for Soulection, and even though his Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages are still relatively empty, we’re pretty sure he’s one to watch. After Moods and Singularis, the latest edition is with Dutch beatmaker AJ Beats and vocalist Gerson Rafael. The idea behind the project is to put together different producers from the lowlands on a compilation, by letting them produce one track within one day at Red Bull Studios, a state-of-the-art recording and production facility in Amsterdam.
Werk Space is a new video series presented by fellow Dutch music site MOOVMNT.