Why minimalism will help your production skills

I remember when Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’ was released. I wasn’t all that sure what had happened. It was very different, confusing and I wasn’t sure if it was me or Kanye that had lost their minds!

Myself and another engineer listened to a few of the tracks together in the studio and I remember saying:

“I know this is really good but I don’t understand why yet”.

Now, Kanye West is a polarising figure and if you don’t like him or his music, that’s completely fine. For the record, I am a massive fan of his music and anything he produces. But the point of this article goes deeper than Kanye West. He’s just a perfect example of what I want to talk about. Let me explain…

I read some articles about the production of ‘Yeezus’ after its release. Included in that, were some great interviews with Rick Rubin. If you’re not a fan of Kanye West, I can forgive you. But if you don’t rate Rick Rubin, then there’s not much I can do for you! Here’s a quote from an interview with Rick Rubin from The Wall Street Journal at the time:

“Kanye came over to play me what I assumed was going to be the finished album at three weeks before the last possible delivery date. We ended up listening to three hours of partially finished pieces. The raw material was very strong but hadn’t yet come into focus. Many of the vocals hadn’t been recorded yet, and many of those still didn’t have lyrics. From what he played me, it sounded like several months more work had to be done. I joined the project because after discussing what he had played for me, he asked if I would be open to taking all of the raw material on and help him finish it.”

So, it’s pretty clear to see that as Executive Producer, Rick Rubin had his work cut out for him. In fact, according to ‘Noisey’, here’s a list of everything he removed from ‘Yeezus’:
 
TRACK: On Sight
REMOVED: a bass drum, Mortal Kombat samples, the sound of Justice crying softly

TRACK: Black Skinhead
REMOVED: an extra six rounds of tape saturation, ambient noise from a minor league baseball game

TRACK: I Am A God
REMOVED: the invocation of Yahweh’s full name, launch codes, an atonal piano line played by Trent Reznor

TRACK: New Slaves
REMOVED: a Beatles sample, drums

TRACK: Hold My Liquor
REMOVED: additional vocals from Juice, Capital D and the dude from Iron and Wine

TRACK: I’m In It
REMOVED: ragtime piano, the “Think” break, swag

TRACK: Blood On The Leaves
REMOVED: Trapaholics drops

TRACK: Guilt Trip
REMOVED: bass solo by Victor Wooten, the sound of burning sage leaves, theremin

TRACK: Send It Up
REMOVED: percussion by Einstürzende Neubauten, clocks, wind

TRACK: Bound 2
REMOVED: nothing, although they opted not to use the take where Charlie Wilson’s soul briefly left this dimension
 
 
When you think of an incomplete record, most would assume that more elements need to be added to finish the job. The beauty of ‘Yeezus’ is that Kanye West embraced minimalism. Rick Rubin is known for using minimalism as a cornerstone of his production style. Before ‘Yeezus’, Kanye’s style was not all that minimalist.

Now, I used to think that the key to great production was what you can add to a song or a mix. I used to add extra guitar parts, drums, pads and whatever else I felt was needed to complete the production. But then there were so many parts I needed to fit into the mix that it all became more difficult than I had expected.

Over the years, I’ve embraced minimalism in my music and in my life in general. If I feel something is excessive, I’ll remove it. More is not always better. It’s that simple.

There are, of course, times when you do need to add to a mix. But as you’re reaching to set up a new track, it is worth asking yourself, “Do I really need this?”

By asking yourself that question, you’ll focus more on creative, critical thinking as you move through a project. That, in turn, will produce better results.

This type of thinking is not limited to adding new tracks. When you think about how many plugins you use in your mixes, it can highlight another great use of this question:

“Do I really need this?”

Once you’ve got your mix nicely balanced, you should have a yes or no answer to that question for every plugin decision. You don’t always need to EQ and compress everything. Your kick drum might sound fine left alone.

That applies to both stock plugins and premium plugins. And remember… premium plugins beat stock plugins because they exist to make your life easier and get closer to the finished product, with less steps taken.

If you really can’t stop yourself from using lots of plugins, then I have an alternative approach for you. If you do feel the need to use 5 or 6 inserts on each track, you can always make sure that each plugin is doing a small amount of processing. No single plugin should be doing the “heavy lifting”.

Like I’ve already said, this doesn’t only apply to plugins. It applies to every step along the way.

By taking the time to focus on the essentials of production and mixing, you can eliminate most of the things that will cause you unnecessary stress, waste your time and negatively effect your music.

Taking a minimalist approach and engaging your brain in the type of critical thinking above can result in some very big wins for your music. If you don’t believe me, then ask Rick Rubin.

Now, I’d love to know…

Do you take a minimalist approach to music production?
 
Leave a comment below!

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