Tape Talks - Podcast for the Recording Artist
Tape Talks - Podcast for the Recording Artist
Recording Bass and Beyond: Talk with Dominik Krämer
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Chris Kling talking with Dominik Krämer (Bassist for Stefan Raab/Heavytones, Joy Denalane, Freundeskreis, Maxim, The Voice of Germany, Sing mein Song, and many more...)
After speaking about the duties of a good bass player, we covered bad jokes about bassists (and where they come from), the sweetness of a decent midrange, "pocket" and assets of nonliear tempo, what we are losing in music - and why it is all about making everybody happy!
So Hello, and welcome to the next episode of tape talks. And today we have a guest, which is not a mastering engineer, which is a bassist. I'd like to welcome Dominik Krämer. Hello, Dominik.
Dominik Krämer :Hello, thanks for having me on your podca st, how you doing this evening? I'm doing really good. I just took a day off because I was just coming back yesterday, from a long pre recording for the Voice of Germany. And it's usually a pretty intense time and long days. So yeah, I was taking a day off today. And I'm feeling good.
Chris Kling :That's cool. Nice to hear that. Sounds like an intere sting time. So you had a very intense days and period of was it recording or just rehearsing?
Dominik Krämer :The voice of Germany is split into four sections, actually, which is the blind auditions, which is probably the most popular part were the jury don't see the candidates or talents, as they're called in the show. And then come the battles and to sing offs. And then the live shows, and it's all pre recorded, except of the live shows. That wouldn't be called live shows if it wasn't live. But the rest of the shows are usually pre recorded. And so we have sections of rehearsal days with the band. Rehearsals with the talents and the recording days, which is they usually follow directly afterwards.
Chris Kling :Okay, sounds interesting. So you had an intense time and maybe that's a good opportunity to present who you are. So you actually don't only play for this TV show. So you well known for playing in Stefan Raabs TV Total and the band within that late night show called the heavy tones and you had some gigs with that band together with Kylie Minogue. Lionel Richie. Em inem, Backstreet Boys just Tone, Joe Cocker, Jamie cullum, Gregory Porter, which is quite some big names among them. Wow.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, that was an amazing time. I hadn't really finished my studies. I was studying electric bass for jazz and popular music in Mannheim, when I had a phone call. Hey, would you be interested in getting in the noted the band and do an audition to be the next bass player for the TV show
Chris Kling :Wow. And you said no.
Dominik Krämer :Actually, I didn't take it too serious, because I was just 23. And I was of course, I knew the show because it was so popular at the time. And it was a big fan of the band and the show and yeah, it's nice. They asked me to do the audition, but I never imagined it would work out and they would really ask me to join the band, which was an amazing and intense time.
Chris Kling :I bet that brought your name up for the other TV shows that he played and right Sing my song and the voice of Germany. But you also toured with Cassandra Steen Jordan ilani. max herre, Freundeskreis. Stefanie heinzmann Maxime lena meyer-landrut, I mean, honestly, that's like the who is who of the German pop music, right?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, well, I like to stay busy. Besides all that TV shows stuff. I like to play concert because it's just two completely different things. And two completely approaches to music and playing a concert where one song follows the other and you have an interaction and the concert feeling with the audience is a totally different thing than playing bass on a TV show, where you might play one song, and then wait for 15 minutes for the next commercial break to happen.
Chris Kling :No, I bet that's a completely different thing to play the live shows and to play the TV shows. And yeah, I mean, you said you'd like to be busy. And I think maybe that's good that we have this podcast because at least we keep you busy today, apart from the last remote sessions we had or the last time is that you were in the studio, which is quite already. How long is that ago again? Two years I think or something right?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah. Must be two years now that we first got to work with each other.
Chris Kling :Yes, that's quite a while. So your basis. So let's talk about bass. You know, interestingly enough, we had the last podcast episodes with mastering engineers and the last one was also a vinyl cutting engineer in LA. so bass was always a topic because you know, some people say it's like it's the connection of the body to the music. And you know, there's so many things to say about bass, the instrument and also the frequency range. But I have sometimes the impression Dominic that among musicians, but also amongst the layman's There is a different perception. So first of all, let me ask you a question. How are the people called that always hang around with musicians?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah. You want me to say bass players?
Chris Kling :That's the old joke that we know. So
Dominik Krämer :that's the old joke. Yeah. And
Chris Kling :I don't want to drag you too much into it.
Dominik Krämer :Actually, no, no, no, I totally understand where it comes from. I mean, a lot of people when they asked me what I do, and I say, I'm a bass player, and I say, Ah, yeah, okay, you doing the doom Doom doom. Doom. Doom. And it's partly true. That's what I do. But not obviously, an important instrument for most of the people that don't know what the role is. And it might not be the most attractive instrument because it's usually more in the background, working and it doesn't get too much solo spots, where it is obvious for the audience, which sound comes from that instrument. And, yeah, I think that's where the joke comes from. But of course, we don't have to discuss that. It's just a bad joke. and musicians should be just as good as the other instrumentalists.
Chris Kling :Yeah. I mean, what I tried to say before with the mastering engineers, I mean, me as a producer, or the mastering engineer, as such, we are well aware of the basis being very important. And I would put it that way. I had so many experiences. I think, among the productions, I have run in the studio, I think it's the most ghosted instrument of the production side. I think it's so underrated actually. Because if the bass doesn't match the guitar and the groove of the bass drum, or what so ever, it's the combination of I would go as far as the rhythm and the harmonics, basically,
Dominik Krämer :yes, that's how I think about it as well. It's the bridge between pure rhythmic information that mostly comes from the drums and the harmonic content coming from keyboard, vocals, guitars and harmony instruments. And it's such an interesting role to fill. And I like that very much. And sometimes I think it's very much how I am as a person
Chris Kling :bridging the gap. Are you one of those negotiators that always tries to make everything possible?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, or please people. Somehow, there's always the question, do I choose my instrument because I have a certain character? And then choose the instrument that fits to that character? Or do I change the character because I play the instrument too long?
Chris Kling :That's a interesting question.
Dominik Krämer :Because I'm in the role in the band, for example,
Chris Kling :what was I mean, before you just talked about all how under estimated bass is, and it's obviously not the instrument that most people look at, or the instrument are listed, most people look at when they are in front of a stage. But I mean, you said in the seventh year of your life, you actually had education as a classical guitarist. But then with 13, you changed to the electric bass. I mean, 13 is the age that you do start to care about, you know, how it goes with girls and stages. So what was your incentive to change the base, then?
Dominik Krämer :Well, for me, it was my uncle. Because he's a bass player, too. And it was just some family meeting on Christmas. And he handed me over his old Music Man bass. And I was only used to those light, classical guitars, and then comes this nine pound heavyweight of an electric bass. And it was so impressive. And my uncle was always an impressive character to me. He was really tall and always funny, and just the cool guy. So I thought, well, if he's playing the bass, that must be something cool. I might want to try. And then it must have been around the same time that I tried to apply for the school band. But they already had like five guitar players. But he said well, but the bass player is gonna leave school in one year. So if you want to just grab a bass learn from him for the next year, and yeah, see how it goes. And that's how I ended up being a happy bass player.
Chris Kling :I like that you put the word happy in it as if that was not obvious. But that's cool, because I had the next question also about your idols. You know, everybody has some idols, especially with 13. But that is obviously your uncle in the first place, right? Was he kind of your idol? Or did you also idolize other bass players along the way, tell me.
Dominik Krämer :It was also my uncle, but whenever we met, he brought CDs for me to listen to. So he definitely had an impact on the music that I would go and listen to, which was Jacopo soils, Marcus Miller Jamiroquai, actually mostly like funky music, bass oriented music. yeah And I soaked it all up, I was totally interested in that kind of music and the style of playing that instrument. But I think when I turned like 20, something, it changed to more song oriented music. I remember that I was sitting in front of the record player, like maybe five years old and listening to Beatles records. And that's where my heart belongs. I like the Songwriters. It changed a bit, if you ask me now, what kind of bass players I like. it's smaller bass players that play songs, but still have a unique sound to their playing. That's how my approach to listening to bass players changed among the years.
Chris Kling :While working with you in the studio, for these few sessions we had already which I highly value about your playing, you are so in love, always with the song and not with the own playing, and you try to please the song so much. But still, I mean, I have the impression that what you also said that bassist always has a sound individually to him. And I feel that bass playing and the bassist has to do a lot of things with sound. And I would like to know, what do you think talking about sound, What do you think is the most important factor to sound in regard of record making? What do you think? Is it the finger? Is it the gear? Is it the bass? Is it the mind? It's a tricky one. I know. And there is no definite answer to it. But let's try.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, I think a lot of things have an influence on the sound. And I think the least part is the gear. That's what I really believe. Yeah, it's the music that you listen to that influences the sounds that you love. And as a musician, you will try to reproduce these sounds. And a lot of that doesn't happen consciously, I think you listened to records over and over again. And that's how you think, that's how a bass should sound. Or at least you love the sound, or love the songs and you listen to the music all the time. And it becomes part of what you think how it should be or the way you like it, and you will try to recreate it with your fingers and not so much with the gear. I mean, gear is just a small part of it. Of course, you will need a good instrument. But yeah, the touch of your fingers, your vision, the sound that you want to hear, come out of that instrument, your choice of notes, or how you get from one note to the other. Sometimes I do experiments with myself, I write down on a sheet of music liner paper, for example, a C and a G and try to come up with as many possibilities to get from that C to the G
Chris Kling :on the fretboard. You mean?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, on the fretboard. And I write them down just to expand my vocabulary. And there's millions of possibilities to get from one node to the other. you could just play a C and then a G immediately or you can slide into the second note. And that alone offers so many possibilities, like how fast do you slide? Do you really hit the second note again? Or do you just slide into it and don't hit the string again? I mean, you can go on for hours with that. And things like that are much more important to the sound. I mean, your choice of notes and how to get from one note to the other. I think it's more important and is more unique, then the choice of your gear
Chris Kling :Yes,
Dominik Krämer :because most of the bass players nowadays they will have a Precision Bass or a jazz bass or one of the classic instruments, but still, they all sound so different. So where does it come from? It comes from the hands, the fingers that touch the choice of notes, the way they hit the strings, how hard they pick. So I think that has much more influence on the sound than the gear itself.
Chris Kling :It's true, and I definitely agree with that. And that's also a weak spot among so many semi professional or even amateur bands is the bass because it's something I believe that sometimes in the rehearsal room, if you're not professionally into it, it's harder to perceive if it's correct or not, because it's so low and some bad acoustics in rehearsal rooms, do the last bit of it and then in the studio. Sometimes you always take a DI signal and sometimes in the mix, you tend to use that one, especially in pop productions. I'm a big fan if the DI signal is good, but I have the impression that listening to the DI signal where the finger rests on the fretboard while playing the bass has much more impact than the amp at all.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, well, a bass amp usually covers a lot of stuff. like a lot of transients will be a lot smoother, than through di signal.
Chris Kling :If the DI signal is good, it's usually because the bassist is good. on the last production I love to work with the DI signal only. Yeah, because it had all the harmonics in it, I switched back to the bass signal that we had. And there was no need for covering anything up. but what's your favorite? Do you have like a go to gear choice that you think that you usually go to when you don't know what awaits you? What would you pick?
Dominik Krämer :I usually bring enough stuff to cover up a variety of sounds. if you want going into a Foo Fighters direction. So that already gave me a couple of hints. But still, I will not just bring one bass that I think well, he said it's rock. So I'll just bring one bass with bright strings on it. Because you never know, things can change, especially in the studio. That's the moment where a lot of choices are being made. So I like to bring enough stuff to cover a broader variety of sounds. So I will usually I'm a big fan of Precision Bass, it's because they feel good to me. And they sound right in the mixes for me, and most producers like it as well. So I usually bring one with flat rounds for like really vintagey sounds, I will bring one with bright newer round rounds for super bright sounds and for distorted sounds played with a pic because the distortion pedals will work much better with round rounds. And I actually love basses with old strings as well with old roundwound strings that don't have too much top end anymore.
Chris Kling :Ah, I love it. I had like some bad experiences. There was one band we actually met for pre production. And it was all sounding good. And they had some questions. If there's anything they want to bring in and I said Yeah, no, it's all good. But then they showed up in the studio. And the bass was sounding awful. I said like, last time it was okay. What did you change? Yeah, I thought I would go to the studio and I changed my strings to new ones. No,
Dominik Krämer :yeah, it doesn't necessarily have to be the right choice. A lot of bands like, Coldplay, it's a great band and like the bass player in the bass parts. And to me, it sounds like really, really old Round Round strings on a Precision Bass. And that's it.
Chris Kling :It's so rich. Yeah. And you don't have to cut anything.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, yeah. And you don't need the highs. Usually you don't need them if the bass is not in the front mix wise, because they will be covered anyways by guitars and pianos and all the instruments that naturally cover up the higher frequencies. So there's no need to have it on the bass. So I'd rather go for good mid range, and a lowend of course, but the mid range usually gives the character sweetness, a character of the bass is more transported by the mid range. I mean, the bass usually is what it is, if it's tight enough, the low end it's cool, but yeah, what what makes the character is the overtones in the sound. And on the bass. I think it's the mid range character that's making it interesting.
Chris Kling :Yeah, are you into elexir, by the way, to coded strings?
Dominik Krämer :I used to be endorsing elixir strings, but I'm not playing round bound string so much anymore. I have a lot of bases that have flatwound strings on it, because I like the feel. And I like the sound and I like what they do to basses in the final mix. And the rest of the basses have either old roundwound strings on which are fine. If it's a good instrument. It will still sound great with older strings. That's what I found. If the bass isn't really good, it will sound fine with superbright strings, but it will loose if the strings get older. And the good bass will still sound good with old strings. So I try to keep the strings on as long as possible until the intonation goes off or it sounds too dull. In the low end. Yeah.
Chris Kling :Speaking about studio work, is it possible for you to name like one most important thing? What matters most for recording the bass in the studio?
Dominik Krämer :Well, a good DI box. I experienced it wasn't a studio gig but it was a live gig where I had a great vintage 70s ampeg SVT, a fantastic amp, and one of the cheapest di boxes on this planet. So my bass before it went to that fantastic amp went through the DI box. And you think well what can go wrong? It's just input and through go into the amp, but it sounded so thin as well. Something is wrong with my bass, something is broken inside. Yeah, I figured out it was just the DI box. And then I went on the search of good di boxes and I went to a local music shop. And I said, Well, of course I can't try them out here. I have to take them home to do some recordings with it and I checked out five different di boxes. Me personally, I ended up liking the radial di boxes the most, especially for life or for the TV stuff that I do. I mean, I have them now for I don't know, 15 years and they work day in day out. So I don't think I have to worry about them breaking.
Chris Kling :But in the studio, the last production you sent me in it was from the red di right.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, it's a tube DI box. And I like what it does to bass. usually in the studio, I use this one. But there's not a big difference between it. It's just a bit of , it doesn't really sound like tube, maybe it's just a bit warmer than the J 48. But both greate di boxes.
Chris Kling :Yeah, I agree. And I really liked that signal that you sent me. you even sent me the signal from the B 15. I think that you have at home. But I ended up using the red DI. I am currently in the mix for that production.
Dominik Krämer :It's pretty good. Usually for pop production. I'm super fine with a DI sound because it's usually tight, and it got all the frequencies that you need. And you can still shape it in the mix how you need it. And yeah, an AMP can be too lazy. Sometimes. For the sounds that you need. Sometimes you just want a cleaner, faster, tight sound. And that's usually if you have a good DI box, it will sound super fine in the mix.
Chris Kling :Yeah, exactly. That's true. So you said you don't really mind about the DI box? But tell me, do you have some really bad experience? So what makes you mad? Is there something when you go to the studio? What do you say?
Dominik Krämer :usually not I mean, I try to make it work. lucky enough. I've got enough experience in recording myself at home or from other studio jobs that I had through two years. So I can usually make it work somehow. or help out with ideas or solutions. If there are technical problems. I didn't have really bad experiences. I mean, you get used to not hearing yourself too well in studios that happens sometimes.
Chris Kling :And soft skill wise, is there anything that you can think of? I mean, I have the impression that most of the time in the studio, this is what really matters, right? If people are stressed out because of anything. But if the shit hits the fan, it's mostly because of I have the impression lack of communication or wrong communication. If you can say that, like people not speaking up because of anything like that, or maybe arrangement or time management issues like soft skills, stuff like that, right?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah. Time management is... Yeah, when I go to studio, I don't try to have anything else in the calendar that day. Because it can always take longer. And I know how it is if an artist is working on a song, and it will usually take a bit longer than everybody thinks. And it's super fine with me. I don't care about it anymore. I want a good end result. And I want everybody to be happy in the end, including me. So
Chris Kling :now we're back in your role. Yeah.
Dominik Krämer :And the other things that you said, I mean, it's probably because I'm so lucky to always work with like super good musicians in super good surroundings. All issues fixed before we arrive. Like it was in your studio. There wasn't a second of unnecessary waiting. It was super fast how we work and It was the first time that the band actually met a new drummer, or we knew each other but we had never played before. So there is no time to figure stuff out. But we had good days and a good time and a good result and great music and yeah,
Chris Kling :It was super efficient. Yeah,
Dominik Krämer :great vibe. And yeah, maybe I'm just lucky enough to have that all the time.
Chris Kling :That's good. Glad to hear that. But getting back again to the monitoring situation. I feel that the bass has sometimes more challenges because the bass is the instrument, which is the hardest to replicate on the headphones under high volumes, because usually you feel the bass quite good on the stage. But on the headphones, yeah, the membrane will distort if you put it too loud. So I ended up making like a high cut sometimes if the basis needed any louder to get rid of some 20 hertz or whatever is going on there with the headphone is otherwise distorting. But also I remarked that if it's not accurate, sometimes latencies is an issue even may it be like 20 milliseconds. If the drummer and bassist are not looking at each other properly, I always have the impression. If they're standing next to each other, looking at each other, it's even tighter and faster than they only are listening to each other. Do you have something like that going on? Do you usually stand next to the drummer in the studio? What's your favorite position?
Dominik Krämer :At least I like it. I don't get it always that position. But that's definitely the position that I like most. But yeah, I thought it was always more like an energetic thing. Like, I see and feel the energy of the arm, moving upwards, and then hitting the cymbal is a different thing. If I can only hear it on the headphones. If I experienced that impact and the movements, we're gonna have a different energy. So I usually try to stand as close as possible to the drums because I like the energy.
Chris Kling :Yeah.
Dominik Krämer :I don't know if it's a latency thing. I mean, I know that I'm usually pretty aware of latency. For example, I had one gig, where I played with a DI box. And I had an AMP on stage, and the digital monitor desk. And when I turned off the amp, I had a super fat sound on my ears. And if I put the AMP on just a little bit, it felt like all the mids were scooped out
Chris Kling :phase issues?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, it was a phase issue of the digital monitor desk.
Chris Kling :That sucks.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, well, I just had to keep the AMP off.
Chris Kling :It's always a thing, right? I mean, if you have like di signal versus the AMP signal, there will always be some phase issuses, usually, I mean, in the studio, it's not that much of a deal as live, because you can always adjust time and delay it a bit. But the phase issuses will always be there. But I feel like in the bass, it's most striking because like in a physical sense, there's so much energy down there. And it gets more obvious. Yeah, you know, because in the guitars, you will sometimes even low cut below whatever, 50 hertz, if it's just like funky line, so all the dirt down there, so you have a more narrow frequency range, but in the bass, you know, he will immediately realize, oh, something is fishy. But back to the monitoring situation. I wanted to ask you one thing, do you think it makes an impact standing next to the person because you see the arm of the drummer, before it hits the drum head? You can anticipate like something of that. Is that an issue to you as well?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, I think so. And even if the drummer sees me move somehow, or if he experiences me having fun and smiling at him, because he just played a great fill. He's probably gonna feel better, I think, yeah, the interaction of a live performance, it can't be reproduced and it can't be replicated. Yeah, I experienced it was always great to have a live band in the room. if the production and the style of music allows, it's always great to have that. Because the energy and the interaction is always great.
Chris Kling :Plus one on that. I even end up doing that. Even if I know I'm going to dub the guitars or dub the vocals or even dup the bass, I still want it to be there in the room. Because if we keep the drums on that session, we still know that the musicians will give the drummer the energy to make his best performance. As well as not on prefabricated guide tracks.
Dominik Krämer :I think that's usually the case. For my experience, you put a whole band in the room, and only basic tracks will make the way on the record, like drums and bass and Maybe yes, maybe one of the guitars. usually, it's just the energy for the drums and the bass, you know, to feel the song a bit more to have like a longer wave throughout the song and not just play the patterns and the parts of the song. But to have a more natural feeling of the wave and the energy that the song takes while it goes.
Chris Kling :Yeah. And that leads us to a gigantic term that is out there among professional musicians. And I have the impression that everybody defines it a bit differently. And this is you know, the ominous pocket, playing into the pocket. I mean, I'm sure you've heard the term before. but goes what's your take on this? What is what do you think? How would you define it? Did you ever come up with some words? on how you describe that term or feeling? Or whatever it is?
Dominik Krämer :You know, of course, I know what it is about. But pockets. Yeah, I think everybody's got its own pocket and an own perception when music feels good. And that's what I think, is the pocket. I mean, if you tell me, can you play a bit more pushy? Or can you lay back? I think I can control that in a way. But actually in the studio, I try not to think about it. But I try to keep my natural feeling to the music.
Chris Kling :That's a good take of it.
Dominik Krämer :I will practice things like that at home. I'm not saying there's no need to practice because you feel the music the way you feel. I don't believe in that. Everything takes time to develop and everything needs practice. But I will usually keep that for the practice at home.
Chris Kling :How do you practice that?
Dominik Krämer :I practice with a click track or drum track. I mean, there's so many possibilities nowadays, technology is so good and so cheap.
Chris Kling :But you would agree on the definition that pocket is more than just being tight, right?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, I mean, what is tight? tight is something else for everybody. it can be a different thing. I think pocket is where you feel comfortable, where the music feels good to you. And raggear bass players will have a different pocket than rock n roll bass players. I'm pretty sure. Because the music just works differently. And the bass on a regular tune will usually feel better if it sits more behind the beat than it does on a rock tune. pocket. I would define it as it's where the feel of a musical piece feels natural to you. Yeah, that's your personal pocket.
Chris Kling :I think that's a really good definition of that. And also, I think, because so many times, it's a big awareness thing I feel, especially in pop music, where so many things get produced on grid, some things get programmed. And some things you know how it is some things just get booked as a remote session, blah, blah, blah. So you have this, this grid and the grid will always be there. And I have read in an interview of some famous producer who also produced chili peppers records and say he said the pocket. I mean, he realized that if everybody is just on time, it's sometimes impossible to mix the track, because the frequencies on the timing measure will add up so much that for his definition, the pocket is where all should be. So if the bass drum is exactly on the transient of the bass as well, that would be so much overload on that, that the limited will take it away. And so it should be either a little bit before, you know, either the bass drum triggers the bass note or the other way around, but never ever, on top of each other. And he defined pocket as something physical, you put the note inside the pocket between, let's say, the bass drum and the guitar note or something like that. Which is, he took it very literally with that concept. But I felt that this is something that feel like even some produces. And sometimes I got like a production for mixing. And it was all on the grid. But it's lifeless and be it's hard to handle.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, all the transitions. Yeah. For me, it just doesn't feel right. So when I don't think about it and I play, and then I look on my recording, I will usually sit a bit behind the bass drum. Usually that's where it feels good to me. And from there, I can still move it a bit. I can say well, I need to follow the electric guitar because we have the same pattern that we're playing. So I got to line up with that rhythmical pattern more than with the drums, or I can put my my baseline even a bit more back to make it sound a bit more settled or lazy or laid back. But usually I will sit behind the bass drum a little bit. Anyways, that's just my natural feeling. But I remember it changed. It wasn't always like that. Yeah, it's something I trained. I trained my ears through listening to records and I trained myself to feel it that way because I wanted to achieve a certain feeling in the music.
Chris Kling :Do you think it comes from the genrial you're playing? Or was it just that you felt a person?
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, I developed I mean, I grew up playing in that school band and then in local rock bands. So my tendency was More on the pushy side. I think when I started to study in Mannheim and played with a lot of soul and r&b bands for the local American army club scene, it didn't feel like it was the right field for that music. So I felt I need to work on a more laid back soul r&b feeling. yeah, you can easily train it with drum loops, recording yourself listening back to it. listening to a lot of records. That's Yeah, and now it changed now it's, it's really a bit harder for me to push it. Though in general, I get more and more routines to push it in certain directions, where the producer wants it, where the artist wants it.
Chris Kling :on the grid is not good, always so edited, needs that it needs that tension. To make it interesting. To get that feel of Wow, this song is going straight forward. You know, it really drags you away with the rhythm. You know, the groove comes from the tension between the instruments and not of being in time.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, sometimes I think because of all that on grid production, we are losing a bit of ways to express ourselves, because we're just putting samples in and they are perfectly in sync, and perfectly on grid. And we have our four bar loops that are put in the arrangement. And we're not used to have so much life in the instruments and the samples that we use, we're living in a time with a lot of perfect production perfectly on the grid, perfectly intonation. In the same moment, we're losing ways to express ourselves. And what I feel is a part of music, as well. like not being perfect, but being expressive.
Chris Kling :But out of these experiences, do you feel that this is a general tendency? Because you just said like, these are big words, right, that we are losing something? Or is it just as it always was that you have to learn that among your career?
Dominik Krämer :That's hard to say, I mean, music develops, and the time is like it is now. And music will change again. I'm pretty sure for example, all that super tuned vocals, it's a style, or it was a style in the last two or three years, and it's already over. Now again, I have the feeling so good. Yeah, it's the music is constantly changing. So I try to adapt to the modern production ways and the things that producers want from me. But I will always try to put in my influences that are probably a bit more old school, but I think are pretty, pretty modern as well. Again, like the old sounds like vintage bass sounds. They're super popular now, again. I mean, the biggest hits right at the moment. Dua lipa songs is like a bass right in your face. And not a super bright sound. But actually more vintagey funky sound from the 70s I would say. I know. It's programmed, but the sound that they want that the production wanted and achieved is for me, vintage sound.
Chris Kling :I totally read what you mean. But speaking about future and technology, I mean, most of the changes in style of music or not to say most but let's at least say many of them were actually spiked by new technologies coming up. Listen, you know, like Eric Clapton with john Mayall and the bluesbreakers, kind of getting the most out of his martial and getting into the electric blues, which was a big thing for Marshall amps and the rock music to evolve. And let's say the recording technology with the Beatles that we brought up, I mean, they were the first band of not performing anymore, because they say we want to do that in the studio, blah, blah, blah. So a lot of changes in technology lead to different sounds led to different music and so on. And now, I mean, we're talking about temporarily, special times because of the Coronavirus and people having a hard time gathering to make music during the lockdown and also not performing live that much anymore. At least for the moment. And plus, I mean, also the last production we did it was a remote job. So yes, you receive the live tracks and you had to replace the bass. So what do you think of that doing so much remotely? Is this the general tendency that will be with us for good?
Dominik Krämer :It's hard to say because I still like to connect with people directly. It's much easier for me to play something and then look into your face and see you smiling or nodding the head and get a direct feedback because it will directly change the way I play or the effect what I offer you in my playing. And this is not so easy. on the remote session, I will play it like I think how it is cool. And then I will send it to you and wait for the response. But sometimes it takes more time and takes to the finished track than if we would have been sitting next to each other. On the other hand, it opens up a whole new world to collaborate overseas as well. I did a couple of recording sessions with friends in Los Angeles, that wouldn't be possible without the internet and modern technology. So yeah, I like to sit together with people in a recording studio, or in a rehearsal room and not just do it by myself. It's a lonesome work to record yourself,
Chris Kling :yes.
Dominik Krämer :It can be nice as well, because the Time management is on your side. Usually, for example, you would say, Well, I need it in two days. And I say yeah, it's no problem. But if I do it 10 in the morning, or if I do it at two at night, you wouldn't care. I can do it whenever I feel I have come up with a great idea. And that's not possible. If you've booked in the studio at a certain time, then you just have to deliver what is needed for the track. Yeah, there's a lot of pro and cons on both sides. I think.
Chris Kling :Are there certain styles of music that are not possible would you say to do in a remote session?
Dominik Krämer :The more the style requires interaction, the more difficult it gets to do it remotely. Like I can't imagine a jazz band playing jazz standards in a remote session. I mean, it's doesn't make sense, because it's music based on interaction, much more than a pop tune. So,
Chris Kling :yes, definitely.
Dominik Krämer :Yeah, there's limits to remote recording sessions.
Chris Kling :Yes, I guess so. Yeah, we will see what the future holds up for us. And if life music is coming back into the extent that we used to know it, right, yeah. Dominik was so good talking to you. We touched so many interesting topics on this one and I'm really glad you took your time to speak with me
Dominik Krämer :more than welcome. was a pleasure for me.
Chris Kling :Yes. pleasure for me as well. And I m looking forward for our next production together, hopefully rather soon. Yeah,
Dominik Krämer :hopefully face to face.
Chris Kling :Yes, hopefully a face to face production. And I think we can all agree that this is the nicest experience one can have.
Dominik Krämer :It is of course. music should be played together and produced as well.
Chris Kling :So there it is our nice closing word. Thank you for this. I think this is a good, good thing to agree on.