The Devin Townsend Challenge - live stream
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Get a unique insight into Devin Townsend's creative process in this two-hour video where he records a completely new track from scratch. This event originally streamed live from the Toontrack USA offices on November 19, 2015 as part of Toontrack's Metal Month. Big thanks to Devin for taking part in this!
www.toontrack.com | toontrack | toontrack | @toontrack
Here i am in 2019, discovering Devy (and prog metal in general) , coming from an electronic music background. I am blown away. Outreagous amount of talent, an accurate perfectionnist yet quick and dirty here, AND he is hilarious and so chill. My musical world has shifted, I just bought ticket to see him in a couple of months, never been to a metal (nor rock) concert in my life. Thank you youtube algorythm.
for the Empath tour? :)
I hope u had a life changing experience at the show and I highly recommend u see more large venue metal shows (slipknot and Rammstein come to mind as some amazingly mind blowing live performers)
Also kudos on taking such an extreme dive into new territory! I made the reverse transition from more of a prog/metal background and learning to love Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, Time Exile etc and learning as much as I can about recording and now I program most of my music and use any guitar as a midi controller with Reaktor etc. so electronic music has really opened up my concept of what the musicians toolbox contains and expanded it to the point where I need to set limits for myself before I write but the transition to loving both genres was an amazing an necessary one. 👍
How did the show go? :)
How was the concert?
Best thing to read. Music is only limited to those who limit themselves to certain genres
Watched this enough to think that timestamps could be useful:
00:00 intro
00:23 1st question: What advice do you have for recording newcomers?
01:53 2nd question: How much time do you spend playing guitar a day?
04:11 3rd question: Do you ever write music w/o an instrument in hand?
05:45 From Rikk: why Toontrack?
08:30 Mission Statement of the Challenge
09:33 “Should we start?” / Ground rules
11:30 Actual start / sponsors / soundchecking
16:51 First play through of the song’s riffs
18:29 Setting tempo for scratch guitar track
20:27 First pass for scratch guitar
25:15 Adding drums with Superior Drummer “illustrating it”
30:50 PT crashes / Adele’s trip
33:45 PT back up and running / editing MIDI for SD3 loops
37:25 rhythm guitars for choruses
41:26 1st question during challenge: real amps or Fractals?
44:27 rhythm guitars for prechoruses
47:03 reverby rhythm guitar for midsection
50:44 improv over breakdown and outdo chorus
53:06 heavy rhythm guitars over 2nd half midsection
56:38 choruses an octave up with “gross/washy” sound / edits
57:47 2nd question during challenge: how much does having the tones correct influence the process/creativity
1:03:05 prechorus improv
1:06:39 fuzz guitars for breakdown chorus
1:08:47 “There! Bam! I played piano!“
1:10:02 acoustic guitars for verse
1:14:54 12-string / “We have questions but we’re not gonna ask them”
1:17:27 bass
1:29:27 Omnisphere
1:31:42 Motu
1:32:13 Vox process explained
1:33:53 Chorus vox
1:43:25 Rehearsing chorus vox harmony
1:45:15 Chorus vox harmony
1:51:13 Prechorus vox
1:55:21 verse vox
1:59:22 Bridge / end “screaming thing”
2:02:13 Edits / Bridge guitar / Triton
2:07:16 “Stars” debut
2:12:04 post Q&A / Bluetooth keyboard & Epiphone laments
2:13:28 1st question: what’s the emotional impact of sharing the process?
2:15:19 2nd question: how important is keeping things moving?
2:16:49 3rd question: if you were at home doing this, what would the follow up be?
2:20:17 4th question: does everything go from your studio to a “real” studio?
2:22:37 5th question: dialing in tone
2:24:22 6th question: do you write music or lyrics first?
2:27:46 7th question: any creative fallbacks?
2:28:51 8th question: do you know which group a song will go to?
2:30:05 last question: how do you think the challenge went?
Thanks!!
Devin is the Bob Ross of music recording.
+NunSuperior now we just need to get Devin to start a weekly Twitch stream! :D
+NunSuperior Pretty sly there penguin.
I misread your comment and thought it said "Devin Townsend is the Bob Rock of music recording". I immediately thought "NO. YOU DID NOT JUST FUCKING SAY THAT!". Then I misread it. Ahh yes...Bob Ross...We're cool now.
*Then I reread it
I don't know about everyone else, but I'd love to see Devin instruct painting in a calm voice.
1:14-1:18 reminds me of a great quote: "the difference between a novice and a master is that the master has failed more times than the novice has tried."
100% true
That's pretty much it. As in 'you miss every shot you don't take'.
That guys a genius. Even when hanging in his chair like a sloth and recording great vocals...
+quietriot Yep,Devin is something else.
quietriot I know huh?
My favourite thing about this video is just how normal he is, he loves, understands, and yells at his tools just like everyone else. Actually makes me feel less weird for the way I work
@@thecianinator yes, thats amazing, makes us feel more confortable working on our music (im newbie and never tried to record anything, but anyway, it makes me feel more confortable doing noob things :v)
Why am I only seeing this in 2024!? The greatest window into the process I've ever witnessed. Amazing!
I really hope the Devin Townsend Challenge becomes a trending thing. It'd be really interesting to watch other solo musicians try and record/produce a song from scratch on their own in just two hours.
Thoughts?
+Wrist Covers I write and record first versions of my songs about that fast. If it takes longer there is usually something not working right in the track.
+Wrist Covers I second that. Would like to see it way more than EMGTV playthroughs
totally agree dude, i'd love to watch a pop singer doing the same
+Gowge Bloob but is anything you do as good as anything Dev does?
absoltely dude! but im sorry to see, theres no followup yet, or at least I couldnt find one. id be interested in a lot of musicians doing this
For someone like me who hasn't got a single fibre of musicality in her body (sob) this was mindboggling to watch. Absolutely incredible. And that VOICE, are you kidding me? While slouching on a chair like me during the 3564th weekly zoom meeting? I don't care how cheesy this sounds, but this man is made of music. If you analyzed his DNA you wouldn't see your standard double helix but a helical set of staves. And I just loved how he grabbed his emotional support-bass during the interview at the end.^^
Writes the whole song,
That’s how I will start
Hey I just watched Metallica live-stream their recording process on RUclips. Unfortunately I missed a bit in the middle as I went to University and got a degree, met a girl, got married and had a kid. When he was older and started school I had a bit more spare time on my hands so I came back onto RUclips and thankfully they hadn't finished yet so I managed to catch the end. I hear Tool are doing one too. I'll probably give that a miss.
I would actually quite like to see Tool's recording process but the video would be released about 2040 knowing how busy they all are!
Hahahah
Tool has actually released an album since the 4 years ago when u posted! Devin has released like 3. Most of Metallica has Alzheimer’s
all these years later.. this is still amazing! ,, its pure talent ...
"I see my face all the time".............Devin, you are getting the well deserved recognition for the last 30 years of sweat. Stay on your track, keep doing what your doing, and you'll come out the other side as the legend you already are to your fans.
Don't ever worry about your appearance or self-loathing, but at the same time don't start to like it _too much_ . Your appearance is almost iconic, stage presence phenomenal, humour perfectly placed, and for once someone who isn't constantly going 'look at me' without giving anything in return. Quite the opposite...we owe you.
One of the most underrated musicians/ writers/ producers/ engineers in music today. I dont think Devin knows how genius he is, but then again, maybe he does.
Hell yes he does! He’s just smart enough to do a great job at keeping his ego in check! Lol. It’s something he seems to talk about a lot. Modest as he may seem, he surely knows where he stands
Wow , I knew Devon was nit-picky, but he's absolutely focused on every single harmony and transistion !! What happens when your that kind of perfectionist , well you come as close possible to perfection !!! Hands Clapping Devon !!! Well Done !!!
Not a fan of Rick kinda needing to be a “personality” in this, but I’m a HUGE fan of him letting the process play out, with all of the gear problems. Keep in mind, this is Toontrack’s studio, and a lesser person would’ve been all, “Stop the video! It needs to be perfect.” Listening to Dev fight through the things that will happen to you in the recording process was great.
1:09:13 "There! BAM! I played piano!" ahahaha. What a legend he is. I love his sense of humor and quirk comments
Hi, you know how it's done?
he hates piano.
pre-recorded that part
UNBELIEVABLE.
I’m very grateful for this artist right now. His music snapped me out of a 7-year rut. Thank you Devin.
This might be the best thing I have ever seen on RUclips...
dude when this starts playing on Transcendence I get chills!
amazing!!
I watched the whole video
what a genius
+LaKustick twice XD
SHIIIIIITT! Devy just seems like a solid dude with some serious skills. *mind blown*
2:28:06
This moment really shows a lot of wisdom, and insight into his method and his approach to music. It's a lot like the Buddhist sand mandalas; the monks spend hours and hours over several days creating a beautiful "painting" out of sand, only to blow it away forever, the idea being that nothing is permanent. I don't know if Devin himself is Buddhist, but there's a lot of Buddhism in the way he thinks and works.
Thank you for reminding me of the Mandala process! That really helped me deal with a crippling perfectionism years ago and I really needed to be reminded of that concept to get through a psychotic obsessive tendency right now. So thanks so much from 3 years in the future :)
1:37:48 i was just thinking "how he's gonna sing after the drink" and... XD
1:37:55 - .....and THAT'S why Devy is the best in the biz ;)
haha ^^
How about another one of these type of deals. This was a great watch very informative
Wow, this is a great idea! Would like to see more musicians do something similar. Great respect for Dev for sharing! The interviewer/host was great, too!
I found this in 2020 during the corona virus stay-cation. Dev is awesome. I am surprised how unstable this PT system is though. In 2020, my PC system is pretty darn stable. Crashing once every few weeks at most. With that said, wow. Wow. This guy is genuine. Toontrack - going to have to give their tools a try. I've been a IKmultimedia and Additictive drums guy for a while now. New tools to look forward to. Thanks Toontrack.
Check out his twitch, he sometimes does hangouts with viewers, sometimes playing/singing and sometimes working on editing WIP stuff. Recently he was going through a demo he called Precious Sardine. It was as weird as you would expect it to be. Week after, he covered something sounding more synth wave. It's just awesome to see him work.
Of the 46000 to "watch" this....I went front to back. This is an amazing video. This guy is a true fucking talent!
He nailed it take after take, and has one of the best processes I've ever seen.
I'm speechless. Just saw this video for the first time. I'm sorry that I didn't see this live back then but even if I didn't, these last 2 and a half hours have been among the best in my whole life. Thank you.
1:44:55 I love this little internal debate he has with himself right here, because he's pondering whether or not to replace the word "light" with "rise" in his lyrics, and as we know from the final song he ends up going with "rise" even though at this moment he doesn't like that idea.
Man, huge props to Dev for pulling this off. And a huge thanks to Toontrack, their products (EZ Drummer, EZ Mix and EZ Keys) are the foundation of my creative and production processes. I would be so freakin lost without them. That aside, anyone know how Dev did that slow down trick at 48:40? Thanks again.
+brian patrick Looks like he's using a plugin called 'Vari-fi' (I think!). I'm not sure if it's native to Pro Tools or not however!
+Andy Robison Cool. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.
This is just fantastic. Never been so entertained and inspired cracked up to laughter. What an entertainer this Dev dude is!
Dev is the Best!
Christ, he makes it look so easy.
How fucking awesome is that? Thank you Devin and Toontrack!
Finished watching and when he played the finished product I was in tears, such an incredible talent.
Great video. Very inspiring! Its great to see how Devin works on a song that actually made it to the latest record. This is "Stars". Great song.
Holy Crap, I'm so frigging inspired right now! :D I'm currently taking a music technology course and would love to make an album. This is definetly motivating me :)
Great to see Devin on here. (Fellow BC'er)
It's hard to find a drummer, let alone a good one. For the product, EzDrummer has been indispensable to me (and my lead guitarist) to write out songs for demos.
Keep pausing this to open up my DAW and start working. It's taking me days to get through it. As if Devin wasn't already inspiration enough, this insight into his mind at work is, to say the least, magical.
"Alright, I'm gonna mark that down under that'll have to do" @1:57:09 LOL. It's so easy to see the passion and pleasure he gets from his trip.
One of the best things I've seen in a long time!
this is the most amazing thing I have ever seen or heard
One of the best RUclips moment I've ever experienced, by far.Many thanks to you, Toontrack. And Dev. You rule !
Bruh this man is amazing
The dude holding the camera in Devin's face when he starts singing doesn't even crack a smile at most of Devin's nervous humour. How is that possible
ChiefFalque he’s a robot!
Thanks for letting us into your process Devin.
What a nice thing, fucking love Devin for being so humble, what a beautiful human being, cheers to you! Sharing something as intimate as composing a song, neverminding if its a complex or a simple song, this is how we musicians relate to each other, i've been a Toontrack customer for years and I gotta say, this is exactly why I love their products it is because they are a direct link to musicians need to be a part of something, thanks to you all for sharing this!
Christ, his display of nervosity before singing is relatable beyond words. I get exactly as hyper when showing someone the shit I make and always assumed this meant I would die on stage, but maybe not, then.
Oh, that's STARS !!!
My favourite !!!! ( watch this space guys, you will know what i am saying when 'transcendence' will release :p )
Stars re-recording is a let down
+WeWantYouToStay Man !!! why you didn't like it ??
anyways, which tracks do you like from transcendence ?
+WeWantYouToStay Man !!! why you didn't like it ??
anyways, which tracks do you like from transcendence ?
+Panncham Kamdar because he got rid of the incredible screaming at the climax of the song, by far the best part. The screams recorded here were some of devs best and most impassioned ever. Also the guitars are muffled in the mix and the tone isn't as good as here, I was bitterly disappointed. The ween cover is absolutely fantastic as it was already a great song, and Higher, secret sciences and failure are all great too! Got a few songs left to check out, truth re-recording also pales in comparison to original, but outro is great
+1 totally feel you man :( i was so excited to see it on the album, then it was just a huge letdown :( other than that the album is great but id rather swap the album-stars with this stars even if its not really mixed and all but its just 1000 times more intense and interesting
@Toontrack Thank you guys again so much for hosting this
Devin's songs are like onions, they have layers
Thanks to everyone who where a part of this! The interviewer was a real pro cheering on and asking great questions during the interview, and Devin was and is continually an inspiration.
The coolest part of this whole gig is right after it was over. After he got done recording and playing the song for everyone he immediately grabbed that bass and started dicking around with it. He’s still caught on the high of creative mode and he is itchy. Pretty cool little demonstration.
My son says, "Sharing is caring" I don't even make music but appreciate Devin's sharing his experience to help others shine their light. Too much light? Nope just enough Dev, just enough :)
What I love and respect the most about Devin is that he is always his unapologetic self. Second in place his is his amazing and inspiring flow of unbridled creative energy. He's an example of what we ALL can become.
And the fact that he'll tell us to "suck it" randomly. Epic. LOL.
this is amazing! i watched the whole thing! what a lesson
fuckin awesome this guy is a genius great to see the recording process from start to finish... would be nice to see how every bus/ track is routed and what patches he uses etc a bit more in depth creating the template from scratch but I am definitely gonna watch this over and over haha! For every song writer out there or bands, toontrack makes life so much EZer and Devin just makes it look effortless!! Thanks!!
Thanks to Dev,i discover a world of everlast inspiration,i started in 2009,make music on PC,reaching always to do my best,It is about patience,and imagination,there is so many options to do something that is yours,and that have no price! In the end,remember,it's all about you!
This was utterly beautiful to witness
Toontrack and Devin thanks for sharing.
This is wonderful!
Thanks Devin master!
I love his humility, in my opinion there is no more talented musician in the world than Devin, yet from his perspective he works with those more talented than him to learn from them... what a great guy
Inspiration overload!
I've watched this numerous times and I'm always amazed by the fact that his screams at the end are perfectly in tune. No Pro-Tools to adjust the pitch, he simply nails it.
impressive!!! Made me spit my beer out on the monitor though a couple of times...lolol
simply the best, period, this is what a real talented musician is, he needs nothing more than his talent to create something. Clever artist.
watching this vid makes me appreciate my setup even more. thank god for wired keyboards and trackballs! :D
excellent vid, toontrack... and even more excellent tune, devin!
i cant believe i skimmed over this when i saw it livestreaming on twitter a few months back THE REGRET
This is literally so great.
He IS the Deadpool of metal...
I'm just sitting here by myself (still in quarantine) laughing, because just the way Devin talks to himself, and the things that annoy him, are exactly like me. Devy was also my last concert before this pandemic. I was lucky to see him in Toronto!!
I love how alot of DTP's songs have many layers.
There is no other video on Der Tube that has done something like this. So human, so in depth, so sharing of his soul and his professionalism. Beyond fucking epic...DT goes GALACTIC! :)
I am discovering that video today. Transcendence is in my albums "Top 10" albums. Even though Devin was obviously prepared, it's quite impressive and humbling to watch him record such a song in two hours when you are yourself struggling to record on you DAW a simple 3 minutes drum/guitar/bass/keyboard/vocal song in 10 hours.
My all time favorite musician. Awesome to see his creative process!
Its cool to come back and re-watch this after hearing it on the new album.
I would love Devin to stream this without necessarily a time limit, i'd watch this process for hours.
Absolutely Awesome and Inspiring! Thank Devin Townsend and Toontrack a lot!
Why TF ... haven’t I seen this before ?!?!?
So amazing seeing the writing process , gives me hope ! He’s so amazing !!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Such an honor to see this, thank you Devin for being a Metal God as per usual xD also thank you Toontrack! You got yourselves a new sub :D \m/
If Buckethead did this I would literally shit my pants.
+Bert But Buckethead would reacord a whole album instead of one song
+Bert check the Polipoli8 channel bro ;)
Creating an album in two hours. Sounds like a cool challenge.
I would die
Do one with Periphery!
Dev, your creative "work in progress" is more compelling than most bands whole careers! Thank you for the awesomeness!!
I love this idea and I can't believe I get to see Devin's recording process, but I wish that he could have gotten properly set up so he didn't have to deal with as many technical difficulties. He handled everything like a champ.
I am not surprised by the genius of this, one of my all time favourite people!
The match in Ryan Reynolds energy is amazing haha
Thanks to Rick (from toontrack) and Devin (as himself) for doing a new song in 2 hour in front of a bunch of fans and musicians on the net worldwide! A fantastic idea to show how a true artist actually do, and explain us why doing that and what next. I learn more by seeing and listening to this than last year together haha. I have mostly loved to make a new song, instead of actually mixing down a singel song oops. I have a lot to thank Devin for helping me keep on rocking, stay alive and heavy and inspired to make music my self after I have stopped working hahaha, Thanks for sharing! Peace, love and respect eternal!
Oh hey, that question about if he always writes with an instrument in hand was mine :D
he is a genius!
2 hours18 mins he makes a great point. What a cool fella.
Just heard this on the new album!!
Beautiful and inspiring to watch! The track is great, too. Now I'm going to fuck around with my guitar a while. :)
Mind blown ...
one of best rock-vocalists ever ! Since VAI I've been following him , ( other greatest vocals in rock: Maynard, RJ Dio, Cornell ( based on their sound / style / technique ) )
Lol, I just discovered this video but didn't notice the date. He started playing the riffs and I was like, "he's just doing Stars all over again, this isn't new!" Cool to see that an idea like this made it onto the album!
Lol, that's more or less what I thought! My reaction was, "Wait up, he already did this song on Transcendance!" Then I noticed the date.
Second thought: that main riff is so damn awesome, but it's kinda buried in the mix on the album. Sometimes I wish Dev would ease up on the wall of sound thing.
This is.. sickening!! This man is a machine. I am beyond impressed.
love you all! thank you Devin!
That Triton patch is just epic, no wonder why my rack is all 80s/90s gear.
I'm so proud to get to know this person on my generation! THERE IS GOD. AND HIS NAME IS DEVIN!
Best Video I've watched in RUclips.Learned a lot from a 2:30 Hrs Video.Please Toontrack make more video like this.