sound effect

[swan_tower]

There’s a particular . . . sound effect? I don’t even know if that’s the right word to apply. It’s a quality sometimes heard in the background beat of techno songs. I have a hard time describing it in words (and can’t think of any examples to link to, since I hate the songs that do this and therefore always turn them off) — it’s kind of this muffled effect at the end of the beat that then slides into the sharp beginning of the next one — but the easiest way for me to summarize it is, it makes me feel like I’m being punched in the eardrums. Repeatedly. Ad nauseam.

I don’t suppose anybody a) knows what I’m talking about and b) can tell me whether it has a specific name?

Originally published at Swan Tower. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[starlady]

I possibly could given an example…I think I know what you're talking about but I'm not sure!

[elizaeffect.livejournal.com]

Do you mean side-chaining? The thing where the other parts of the song are tapered or muted for just the length of the drum-beat to make the drum stand out better? I agree it can be ridiculously overused, but with a subtle hand it really makes a song pop. I don't know if that's what you mean, though.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Based on what I was able to find on Youtube, yes, I think that's what it is.

I'm sure it's fine in moderation, but there are certain songs which crank it up WAY TOO MUCH. It really does feel like I'm being punched in the eardrums.

[spiffikins]

my brothers and I have a shorthand for referring to techno music where we repeat "oontz oontz oontz" over and over again. It's hard to describe, but it's a low noise to start with, and then goes directly into a sharp "TSH" sound - over and over and over again.

it's weird because to us that perfectly epitomizes the general concept of annoying techno music - but the few times when I've used it to describe something to someone who is not related to me, I just get a totally blank look

Longwinded, but yeah, I think I know what you mean - but I don't know what it's called either, other than "annoying"

:)

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

One of my husband's friends calls that "boots music" -- "boots" instead of "oontz," basically. :-) But it appears to be side-chaining that is the specific thing I was after.