Recreating the pulsating beep NY state of mind

Creations & Ideas
1

This beat is one of my favourites from DJ premier, I am just trying to get the first part of the song right i.e the pulsating beep, not able to get a sound close to it :frowning: any help is appreciated

I was able to put together the rest of the song! beats, bassline and the piano

use_bpm 90

beep_note = :elec_ping
live_loop :beep do
  ##| stop
  with_fx :flanger do
    3.times do
      sample beep_note, pitch: 3, amp: 6
      sleep 0.75
    end
    sleep 0.25
    2.times do
      sample beep_note, pitch: 3, amp: 6
      sleep 0.75
    end
  end
end

grid1 = [
  1,0,0,0,
  2,0,0,0,
  0,2,1,0,
  2,0,0,1,
  1,0,1,0,
  2,0,0,0,
  0,2,1,0,
  2,0,0,0
]

live_loop :drum1 do
  32.times do |index|
    puts index, grid1[index]
    with_fx :reverb, mix: 0.3 do
      sample :drum_heavy_kick, release: 0.8 if grid1[index] == 1
      sample :drum_snare_hard, amp: 0.5, release: 0.1 if grid1[index] == 2
    end
    sleep 0.25
  end
end

I have also uploaded my full example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPaE8j3YJC4

3 Likes
2

Love seeing the attempt to recreate some classic hip hop beats!

I can’t help in regards to the beep (you might just wanna look into using the actual sample)
but I tinkered around with the drumbeat you have. The original beat has some bounce to it that works better if you are subdividing your grid into groups of 6 instead of 4 which has a more even feel that doesn’t swing like it does in the Preemo beat.

Check this out

use_bpm 80

grid1 = [
  1,0,0,0,0,0,
  2,0,0,0,0,0,
  0,0,2,1,0,0,
  2,0,0,0,0,1,
  1,0,0,1,0,0,
  2,0,0,0,0,0,
  0,0,2,1,0,0,
  2,0,0,0,0,0
]

#for faint accents on the hihat
hh = [2, 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, 38, 44]

live_loop :drum1 do
  48.times do |index|
    puts index, grid1[index]
    with_fx :reverb, mix: 0.3 do
      sample :drum_heavy_kick, release: 0.8 if grid1[index] == 1
      sample :drum_snare_hard, amp: 0.5, release: 0.1 if grid1[index] == 2
      sample :drum_cymbal_closed if index % 3 == 0
      hh.length.times do |i|
        sample :drum_cymbal_closed, amp: 0.05 if index == hh[i]
      end
    end
    sleep 1/6.0
  end
end

You could try this with the bass and piano parts to capture the bouncy feel of the original too.

3 Likes
3

OMG yes much bouncier! I love it, thanks so much

1 Like
4

Hey thanks for this - I loved the nuanced vibe compared with my beginner elephantine stomping :smiley: and wanted to understand how the grid worked musically (not being a coder). So worked out it was a 6/8 bar and then had a play around and put a bass on it.

Funny - when I stopped the run, there was a weird distant after-music which sounded like the rhythm of the Tardis taking off.

Then I tried this with the grid. It worked!:

/// 2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
2,1,1,2,0,1,
///

Maybe not your vibe :smiley: but your generous code above has helped me to learn a lot. Thanks! Also Chat GPT was v helpful in explaining ‘what’s the code structure doing in musical terms?’ Hope it was OK to paste in in there - do let’s know if not.