Starting off the New Year with a stone-cold classic.. Heliosphan. Huge thanks to everyone who's watched these videos over the past couple of years - I've no idea how something quite so nerdy has grown to over 12k subscribers but it means a lot! Drop a comment below if there's something you want to see covered or jammed and I'll see what I can do within the bounds of the gear I already have on hand, and the Content ID demons at RUclips.. X
Just got myself an AKAI s2000 and have been watching lots of content about 90s sampler stuff.. So I click this video and shit! It's Ben Walker! It's a testament to your talents that many of your viewers won't know that you're best known for making music just about as far away from this as one could get!
@@JohnHirstUK you mean _besides_ Kenny Rogers' "Just dropped in (to see what condition my condition was in)" ??? Peak Aphex for me is probably Vordhosbn. Scratches that itch of being both strongly melodic and still having the ADHD drum programming
Excellent stuff! I heard this LP for the first time in the R&S records office when a cassette arrived. Blew me away then. Still does. And the R8 is the best drum machine ever 😉
Thanks! I listened again to the whole thing recently and it still stands up so well. And yes! The R8 could well be the best drum machine ever 😁 Did you ever manage to get the WaveRex?
Love ur vids! I always look forwards to new uploads. I think the thing is that our nerdy vintage gear/IDM community is small enough its easy to appreciate any content, ofc besides that ur vids genuinely are good and fun Would love to see more Autechre, Squarepusher or BoC stuff, or just some classic IDM techniques
Thanks! I need to sort out a list of things I can feasibly do, that have good tutorial/explainer material tbh... Borgnine might happen though - already got the pattern on the S1 sorted but those drums... 😂😂
I won't say I was hyping myself up for a full Heliosphan cover when I saw the short, but I was definitely hyping myself up for a Heliosphan cover when I saw the short. It's kind of incredible how iconic of an album SAW 85-92 is. Every song feels like it's worth a cover - Richard just dropped it and completely redefined IDM. Also, I should tell you that your videos have done nothing but improve since I started following your projects. As someone who knows comparatively little about the hardware you're using I really love the explanations you give, makes me appreciate the work that goes into this music more than I did previously. :) Great cover & happy New Years!
Thanks for watching! SAW 85-92 really was a groundbreaking album - Part of me doesn't want to break down every track, but then the completionist in me does??! And thanks for noticing the change in videos! It's taken a fair amount of confidence to a) actually say something and then b) actually appear on them, and I think my editing has got a bit better now. barring constant Nvidia driver crashes!!
@@bleepsandboops Well, you already did Xtal which is my all-time favorite song, how about Green Calx for your next cover if you want to stick around in the album? When I first found the album that was actually one of my least favorite songs, but coming back to it I can appreciate how unique it feels compared to the rest of the tracks on the album. It feels significantly more percussive relative to the rest of the tracklist and it might be a fun change of pace for you if you decide to cover the whole album. Also, I know breakcore isn't your focus but Hajnal by Venetian Snares would be an insanely cool cover to tackle if you want to break outside your comfort zone. I'm not sure if you could replicate it with your hardware since I don't know what goes into a breakcore track but I'd wager you're skilled enough to make something work. 😉
@@Vauun Green Calx is awesome - am all about those Robocop samples too... maybe maybe 😁 Venetian Snares could be cool - the Hapax is up to it I think (my Squarepusher video is probably the closest I get to it), just takes a lot of time!!
These recreation videos are great! If you haven't heard the "Heliosphan live" mix he released on his soundcloud dump, check it out. Adds a lot of new elements.
Yeah, people think R-8 is just a sampler for x0x samples. Not at all. I actually used it as a "real drums" for early demos I was recording in the nineties. Having full on drum kit and mics for it took some time to get, so I kinda mastered the R-8, DR 550 and RY10. R-8 Goes way beyond electronic card (although thats what is is mostly known for).
@@bleepsandboops Yes, but I did not know that at the time - I was even annoyed that "we are recording hardcore and punk with electronic machine" ( i was 16 yr old stupiud kid), ofc studio owner first laughed then told me countless "live" bands are using machines on recordings. You always learn something from the previous generation on engineers:) Thats how I got to lear to program entire songs into darn thing :) But yeah I think Steve Vai also used it, I mean God knows how many bands at least layered that "rock snare 2' with the real recording.
This is awesome, I really like these style videos. Great work I noticed something though, and your video reminded me of this theory that popped into my head while watching people who make videos nowadays. I think that the ability to watch our on faces while recording video has shaped the way we make facial expressions and it’s starting to form how we communicate in life. All of these unnaturally weird actor-like facial movements and performative gestures just don’t seem organic. It’s like how tiktok is severely shaping how young women and kids all speak like black drag queens from the late 80s
Thanks! It's really difficult, and being in front of a camera really does change how you talk and act... I mean, my default would be to put some text on a video and be done with it, but faces are what we're programmed to respond to, and it's a visual medium after all. I am, however, trying to avoid the over-caffeinated Kids TV presenter vibe, so if I start wearing wacky jumpers and novelty glasses, please feel free to call it out!!
@@bleepsandboops it's splitting hairs a bit. but do you do the tweaking of the patches with the reverb on ? that'd make more sense to me. I can see that . the string sound kinda turns into something that sounds bit like soft brass, I'd not have imagined that was strings
@@b3astmedia173 sort of. I found it easier to edit the sounds with the reverb off so I could hear what effect my changes were making, add the reverb, compare, take it off, repeat...
@@bleepsandboops One thing that always impressed me about bands from that era is that they could play all these clean, melodic lines while swaying back and forth in sync with each other behind the singer.
Happy new year! Love your videos. Thanks for this classic. I assume you also come up with fantastic music yourself. Is there any way I can listen to it? Cheers!
Hey, thanks! Yes, I do all the backing tracks on all these videos! Might have put them all up as an ever expanding album. I don't have a dedicated electronic persona/thing - have got material but not outlet, hence this channel!! - I do try to squeeze electronics into some of the guitar pieces occasionally, more as an in the folk/contemporary classical crossover. "Rings" is probably a good shout - the video is on my other channel, ruclips.net/video/ByxQl5V88MQ/видео.html and "Neptune" (I never made a video for it but it's on my bandcamp) - benwalkermusic.bandcamp.com/track/neptune Difficult to get IDM fans to listen to a fingerstyle guitarist, and it's difficult to get fingerstyle guitar and folk fans to accept a track if I decide to drop some nasty 303 onto it!!
Roland's PR team? 😂 In all seriousness, I think we're so used to hearing the "classic" X0X and EPROM drum machines that our default is to pick one that sounds a bit like the thing and then resolve the cognitive dissonance at a later date..
The loon sample? Didn't think it was on Heliosphan but I've used it on the background music track. Bit of discussion further in the comments but seems to be a sample that shipped with the Emu II. I found it on Zero G's Datafiles 1 too (along with loads of those early 90s samples)
@@johndoe-nh9sh to be fair, the background _is_ Heliosphan just played on different instruments, with different drums, and bonus 303 and loon sample .😁
Love a bit of MBM - can hear the Content ID bots circling already!! It's a shame - I'd love to do some Chemical Brothers too but considering the hassle I had with sampling Dead Can Dance for the FSOL video, not sure if I can!!... 🙃🙃
Starting off the New Year with a stone-cold classic.. Heliosphan.
Huge thanks to everyone who's watched these videos over the past couple of years - I've no idea how something quite so nerdy has grown to over 12k subscribers but it means a lot!
Drop a comment below if there's something you want to see covered or jammed and I'll see what I can do within the bounds of the gear I already have on hand, and the Content ID demons at RUclips..
X
Well now I'm not surprised your covers are so perfect, you literally look like Aphex Twin
😂😂
Aphex twins😂😂😂
“…And to achieve this we had to source Welsh parents directly from Cornwall, with what most would consider a Baby Boomer vintage…”
Thanks for good job!!! Heliosphan is one of the best Ahex Twin's track, greating from Ukraine
Thank you!! ✊✊
Heyyy I was the guy on reddit!!! Can't thank you enough man🙂↕️🙂↕️ Really, thanks a lot for this!
Hey! No worries and thanks for stopping by!!
Just got myself an AKAI s2000 and have been watching lots of content about 90s sampler stuff.. So I click this video and shit! It's Ben Walker! It's a testament to your talents that many of your viewers won't know that you're best known for making music just about as far away from this as one could get!
Heliosphan is like the best song ever made
100% up there!
What is the best song?
@@JohnHirstUK you mean _besides_ Kenny Rogers' "Just dropped in (to see what condition my condition was in)" ???
Peak Aphex for me is probably Vordhosbn. Scratches that itch of being both strongly melodic and still having the ADHD drum programming
Awesome recreation! That QuadraVerb really adds some special magic :)
Thank you Captain!! Love your channel btw - and yes, the Quadraverb is the not-so-secret sauce!
Mayyybe my all-time fave Aphex track.... up there. Nicely done.
Same! And thanks so much!
Excellent stuff! I heard this LP for the first time in the R&S records office when a cassette arrived. Blew me away then. Still does. And the R8 is the best drum machine ever 😉
Thanks! I listened again to the whole thing recently and it still stands up so well. And yes! The R8 could well be the best drum machine ever 😁 Did you ever manage to get the WaveRex?
@ I didn’t. I should though! Cheers
Absolutely phenomenal. Love these recreation vids!
Thanks so much!
Richard's finest ever IMHO.
It's very much up there! Vordhosbn is mine... need to get into trackers before I try recreating that though... 🤓🤓
I was just watching the other ones because samplers are so cozy during winter, and this pops up 17 min ago.
Glad you're liking them!
So happy i subscribed when i found your videos a while ago. Love the narration and editing on this one.
Awesome, thanks! And welcome aboard!
Brilliant work, mate!
Thanks a lot!
Love ur vids! I always look forwards to new uploads. I think the thing is that our nerdy vintage gear/IDM community is small enough its easy to appreciate any content, ofc besides that ur vids genuinely are good and fun
Would love to see more Autechre, Squarepusher or BoC stuff, or just some classic IDM techniques
Thanks! I need to sort out a list of things I can feasibly do, that have good tutorial/explainer material tbh... Borgnine might happen though - already got the pattern on the S1 sorted but those drums... 😂😂
V I R T U A L A N A L
😂
A forever constant in these recreations
@@therealtony2009 it wasn't ever intentional, but now seems to be a 'thing'..
well done, nice to see the tx81z used, got that one too
Thanks! That TX is great - so much more than just Lately Bass!
I have fond memories of my mate's R5, the R8's baby brother, worn smooth and peppered with bombers from council soapbar.
😂 Sounds like it was well used
Я очень ждал от тебя видео, спасибо❤
Thank you!
I won't say I was hyping myself up for a full Heliosphan cover when I saw the short, but I was definitely hyping myself up for a Heliosphan cover when I saw the short. It's kind of incredible how iconic of an album SAW 85-92 is. Every song feels like it's worth a cover - Richard just dropped it and completely redefined IDM. Also, I should tell you that your videos have done nothing but improve since I started following your projects. As someone who knows comparatively little about the hardware you're using I really love the explanations you give, makes me appreciate the work that goes into this music more than I did previously. :) Great cover & happy New Years!
Thanks for watching! SAW 85-92 really was a groundbreaking album - Part of me doesn't want to break down every track, but then the completionist in me does??! And thanks for noticing the change in videos! It's taken a fair amount of confidence to a) actually say something and then b) actually appear on them, and I think my editing has got a bit better now. barring constant Nvidia driver crashes!!
@@bleepsandboops Well, you already did Xtal which is my all-time favorite song, how about Green Calx for your next cover if you want to stick around in the album? When I first found the album that was actually one of my least favorite songs, but coming back to it I can appreciate how unique it feels compared to the rest of the tracks on the album. It feels significantly more percussive relative to the rest of the tracklist and it might be a fun change of pace for you if you decide to cover the whole album.
Also, I know breakcore isn't your focus but Hajnal by Venetian Snares would be an insanely cool cover to tackle if you want to break outside your comfort zone. I'm not sure if you could replicate it with your hardware since I don't know what goes into a breakcore track but I'd wager you're skilled enough to make something work. 😉
@@Vauun Green Calx is awesome - am all about those Robocop samples too... maybe maybe 😁
Venetian Snares could be cool - the Hapax is up to it I think (my Squarepusher video is probably the closest I get to it), just takes a lot of time!!
I like what I am watching, like, commenting and subscribing
Thank you!!
happy new year!! it's always awesome to see a new video from you!!
HNY! And thanks!!
this is so awesome dude
Thanks! 🙏
Super nice reconstruction man! Keep it up as your videos are standout on RUclips- you have skills… and patience!!! 🔥
Thanks! And will do - 2025 resolutions and all... 😂
These recreation videos are great! If you haven't heard the "Heliosphan live" mix he released on his soundcloud dump, check it out. Adds a lot of new elements.
Thanks! And yeah!! The live take is so so good right?
this is gold.
🙏 Thank you!
Yeah, people think R-8 is just a sampler for x0x samples. Not at all. I actually used it as a "real drums" for early demos I was recording in the nineties. Having full on drum kit and mics for it took some time to get, so I kinda mastered the R-8, DR 550 and RY10. R-8 Goes way beyond electronic card (although thats what is is mostly known for).
It was really popular in the rock scene too iirc... Yngwie used it and I think Kiss did an entire album with one?
@@bleepsandboops Yes, but I did not know that at the time - I was even annoyed that "we are recording hardcore and punk with electronic machine" ( i was 16 yr old stupiud kid), ofc studio owner first laughed then told me countless "live" bands are using machines on recordings. You always learn something from the previous generation on engineers:) Thats how I got to lear to program entire songs into darn thing :) But yeah I think Steve Vai also used it, I mean God knows how many bands at least layered that "rock snare 2' with the real recording.
@@earlsfield ties in with the old joke about only needing to punch the pattern into the drum machine, once... 😂
@bleepsandboops hahaha oh yeah that:)))))) well pinch of truth in there
A monolith of electronic music 🎉 nice.
Thanks! 😎👍
happy 2025
Thank you so much!!
This is very inspiring. Thank you
Thank you! 😊
Mate just love love love this channel, amazing work. Thx for your hard work putting out these brilliant videos ❤ 7\
Thank you! 😎🤘
Great stuff as usual man!
Thanks so much!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
superb cover! ✨
Thank you!
Brill!
😎👍
Brilliant. Jolly good
Thanks very much!
yesss , happy new year !
Thanks! And HNY to you too!
I missed your vids so much!
Aw thanks! It's nice to finally make a new one!
This is awesome, I really like these style videos. Great work
I noticed something though, and your video reminded me of this theory that popped into my head while watching people who make videos nowadays. I think that the ability to watch our on faces while recording video has shaped the way we make facial expressions and it’s starting to form how we communicate in life. All of these unnaturally weird actor-like facial movements and performative gestures just don’t seem organic. It’s like how tiktok is severely shaping how young women and kids all speak like black drag queens from the late 80s
Thanks!
It's really difficult, and being in front of a camera really does change how you talk and act... I mean, my default would be to put some text on a video and be done with it, but faces are what we're programmed to respond to, and it's a visual medium after all. I am, however, trying to avoid the over-caffeinated Kids TV presenter vibe, so if I start wearing wacky jumpers and novelty glasses, please feel free to call it out!!
Amazing! ✊💥
Thanks! 🤘
Lovely!
Thank you!
"apologies for my face" ha ha. great video. I don't know how you managed to tweak those presets to sound so much like the original.
😂😂 A lot of menu diving, and trial and error! Trouble is it doesn't make for very engaging content!!
@@bleepsandboops it's splitting hairs a bit. but do you do the tweaking of the patches with the reverb on ? that'd make more sense to me. I can see that . the string sound kinda turns into something that sounds bit like soft brass, I'd not have imagined that was strings
@@b3astmedia173 sort of. I found it easier to edit the sounds with the reverb off so I could hear what effect my changes were making, add the reverb, compare, take it off, repeat...
[ Content ID match joined the chat… ]
Don't... 😂😂
Super clean and tasteful vibrato on that Apache cover!
Hank Marvin forever ❤️
@@bleepsandboops One thing that always impressed me about bands from that era is that they could play all these clean, melodic lines while swaying back and forth in sync with each other behind the singer.
pretty damn close
😁
🔥
💪😎
awesome
Thanks!
Love this!! You should do Delphium from SAW. That song has always mystified me
Thanks! I feel a cover/breakdown of the whole album coming on... 😂
Happy new year! Love your videos. Thanks for this classic. I assume you also come up with fantastic music yourself. Is there any way I can listen to it? Cheers!
Just found your guitar channel from your about section. Lovely. Do you also create electronic music?
Hey, thanks! Yes, I do all the backing tracks on all these videos! Might have put them all up as an ever expanding album.
I don't have a dedicated electronic persona/thing - have got material but not outlet, hence this channel!! - I do try to squeeze electronics into some of the guitar pieces occasionally, more as an in the folk/contemporary classical crossover. "Rings" is probably a good shout - the video is on my other channel, ruclips.net/video/ByxQl5V88MQ/видео.html and "Neptune" (I never made a video for it but it's on my bandcamp) - benwalkermusic.bandcamp.com/track/neptune
Difficult to get IDM fans to listen to a fingerstyle guitarist, and it's difficult to get fingerstyle guitar and folk fans to accept a track if I decide to drop some nasty 303 onto it!!
the r8 is absolutely the difference-maker here. don't know how anyone can listen to the original track and call it a 909.
Roland's PR team? 😂 In all seriousness, I think we're so used to hearing the "classic" X0X and EPROM drum machines that our default is to pick one that sounds a bit like the thing and then resolve the cognitive dissonance at a later date..
That’s fucking cool.
😎🤘
you should do a basic channel recreation one day!
😂 Some things can only be felt and improvised...
Buy this man a paintbrush .. so he can get to dusting his gear :) - Amazing work recreating the master as usual.
😂😂 Thanks! 🧹
Never liked the paintbrush idea, sweeps all the dust under knobs and into buttons/switches 😬
No loon sample? It was a standard preset on an old synth but I can't remember which one.
The loon sample? Didn't think it was on Heliosphan but I've used it on the background music track. Bit of discussion further in the comments but seems to be a sample that shipped with the Emu II. I found it on Zero G's Datafiles 1 too (along with loads of those early 90s samples)
@@bleepsandboops That's the one (EMU II) and yes, I'm confusing the background with Heliosphan 😵💫
@@johndoe-nh9sh to be fair, the background _is_ Heliosphan just played on different instruments, with different drums, and bonus 303 and loon sample .😁
Love the channel so much man! Would you consider doing a video featuring Duneray by Squarepusher?
Thanks! Ah maaaaann - Everything on Dostrotime is a monster, it'd take me a 4hr video just to chop the Amen up...!!
@bleepsandboops hahaha no problem. Just had to ask. I'll watch whatever you put out anyway!
@@nicholaslebrun4708 🙏 Thanks!
Tinitus intro.
I really need to get that Akai fixed 😁
Maybe it's a tease for a Ventolin recreation? :>
Mine also has that annoying inverter whine
@@bramjurriaan1593 I keep meaning to get the screen replaced with a fancy inverter-less one but ££ etc..
@@bleepsandboops Indeed :) Thanks for the videos, they are great.
Hello, one funny observation: Half-Life track "Tracking device" has the same drum pattern as shown in 3:03.
Great work, man! :) Could you cover any song from Bullitnuts, Baby Mammoth or Fila Brazillia?
Thanks! And possibly!! 🤔
I'd love to see you cover meat beat manifesto sometime (copyright pending haha) maybe something from satyricon 😉
Love a bit of MBM - can hear the Content ID bots circling already!! It's a shame - I'd love to do some Chemical Brothers too but considering the hassle I had with sampling Dead Can Dance for the FSOL video, not sure if I can!!... 🙃🙃
@@bleepsandboopsahh fair enough
How can you emulate the R8 sample editing?
I know... I do think it's a thing though.
you should have showed how you edited the sounds to make the loops... why would you fast forward through that?????
What, shown how to isolate a single sound on the akai? Shown how to edit sounds on the drum machine? Most of that is covered in other videos
cool
😎
cheese
🧀👉
Great vid!!! Thanx
Which synth is the sound of the bird?
Thanks! The bird on the backing track? Zero G Datafiles 1 😎 - ruclips.net/video/Vw5AI-YM0BA/видео.htmlsi=fEdz6L3zJqcBZvGL&t=42
Famous loon sample. I first heard it in Age of Empires (the PC strategy game). Probably most well known from "Pacific" by 808 State.
The loon bird sample is originally from the EMU emulator sample library
@@Vingul The backing track deliberately goes Loon and 909 drums as a nod to 808 State... sort of a "What would Heliosphan sound like if... "
@@OffworldRecords same sample set as the Sledgehammer shakuhachi, no?
id pay for a Patreon
Maybe one day.. it's a lot of pressure, and I don't necessarily want to just churn 'content' for the sake of updates!
Bro had to use aphex twin's name to get some views
Gah, you're on to something here. Ed Sheeran next time
Nice work!...
Thanks!