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What is “Colour Bass / color bass”?

A categorisation of bass music that focuses on melody, emotion and vibrancy alongside the weight and aggression often associated with dubstep. The sub-genre aims to fill the void equidistant between dark and light that has largely been left vacant in the scene, drawing on the best elements of both sides and exploring the fascinating possibilities of fusing tonality with midrange bass sound design.

It was a term I coined around 2016 to describe my own music that started to be picked up by other Rushdown artists before making a slightly more mainstream appearance from 2020 onwards with uses from artists like Virtual Riot, Flux Pavilion & Au5.

I originally envisioned it being a catch-all term to refer to any bass music that has both melodic and heavy elements. In that case early colour bass artists would include 501, Gemini, Xilent, Au5 & Flux Pavilion to name a few. I’d even say that “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites” alongside other tracks Skrillex from that era were an important catalyst for the style. More recently though it’s become a shorthand for sound design techniques that merge tonality into traditional, midrange dubstep basses. Common techniques for this include vocoding, convolution with chord impulses, use of Zynaptiq Pitchmap, Morph plugins among many others. This takes the melodic + heavy ethos much more literally and I think, is an amazing and exciting advancement of the style. I’m very proud to have my term associated with this!

The best way to get a feel for the sub-genre is by checking out my Colour Bass Essentials Spotify playlist.

What DAW, plugins and equipment DO YOU USE?

DAW:

  • Logic X

  • previously Logic 9 and Garageband in the early days

Synth Plugins:

  • Native Instruments - Massive

  • Xfer - Serum

FX Plugins:

  • Cableguys - ShaperBox (for side-chaining)

  • Xfer - OTT, SerumFX, Dimension Expander

  • Kilohearts (various) - most notably: Frequency Shifter, Resonator

  • MeldaProduction (various) - most notably: MFreeformPhase, MFreqShifter, MMorph

  • iZotope - Ozone 5 (yes I like this old one for some reason), Trash 2

  • Valhalla - VintageVerb, Shimmer

  • oeksound - soothe2

  • DBlu - Glitch2

  • Goodhertz - Lossy

  • Sonic Charge - Echobode

  • Bertom - Denoiser

  • Xenakios - PaulXStretch

  • zplane - Retune

  • Zynaptiq - Pitchmap

  • Onboard Logic plugins - most notably: Space Designer (convolution reverb) + Bitcrusher

Equipment: (this really doesn’t matter too much but people want to know this all the time) 🤷‍♂️

  • Laptop: MacBook Pro 2020

  • Production / DJ headphones: KRK KNS8400s

  • Monitors: Don’t use em! I mix solely on headphones

  • Microphone: SE X1 Condenser Microphone / HyperX Quadcast (the rainbow one 🌈)

How and why did you come up with the name “Chime”?

When I decided to change my alias from “Dec3mber” back in 2015 I began collecting ideas for new names that could fit my brighter sound of dubstep. There were a few contenders but “Chime” ultimately won out once I came up with the idea to integrate a wind chime into the logo. Wind chimes and bells make some of my favourite sounds along with anything twinkly or sparkly so I thought this name would fit well with what already felt like a part of my signature sound. I’ve also been a fan of elemental themes from video games and other media all my life too and so choosing something to represent the wind / air element seemed fitting for a musical project (since sound is in essence the movement of air).

The name came to me from a previous track I’d made called “Chimes”.

How Long have you been producing?

Since around 2010.

DID you go by any previous aliases?

Yes! I started off making music around 2010 with my cousin as “Caution & Crisis” before working solo as “Dec3mber” and the rebranding to “Chime” in 2015.

How old are you?

I was born in 1994 - yes really. Still waiting to age.

How much time on average do you spend writing a track?

This is a tough question to answer since it varies so much. Some tracks like “Double Jump” were completed within 24 hours but others - often collabs - can be chipped away at over the course of years. I also work on multiple projects at once and jump between them.

Can you give me feedback on my track?

Yes! I offer track feedback for supporters on Patreon on the Hurricane tier. If you’d like some more in-depth advice then you can head up to the Tuition tab where you can find details about booking one-on-one tuition sessions.

HOW do I get a release on Rushdown?

Check out our demo submission guide!

What’s your favourite track that you’ve written?

Definitely “Starstorm”. I feel like it captures the essence of the Chime project the best I’ve been able to yet 🌟

What is your best advice for aspiring producers?

Don’t expect to learn how to produce overnight! I’ve been producing for 10+ years now and I’m still constantly learning and improving. At the beginning production and mixdown skills should be your number-one priority before anything else.

Are you gonna come to my city to play a show?

It totally depends on if there’s enough of a dubstep scene and enough of my fans there to make the show viable. I’ve played shows across Europe, North America and parts of Asia so far. Other than Australia - where I’m yet to play - if your city is outside of these continents it’s unfortunately unlikely I’ll be playing there.

Question not answered?

Tweet at me!: https://twitter.com/ChimeTunes