Native Instruments challenged 24 contemporary producers with a simple challenge: Create a new musical idea using only instruments and effects from Komplete 11.
The result is Komplete Sketches – a series of 24 works-in-progress that celebrate the sound of forward-thinking electronic music in 2016. A new microsite showcases each sketch and offers a rare, self-penned look inside the creative process of each artist alongside specially commissioned visuals from multimedia artist Rainer Kohlberger. Artists were not selected based on their work within any one genre, but rather a shared commitment to unconventional sound design and a blurring of musical boundaries. The featured artists include: Jlin, Chino Amobi, M.E.S.H., Mumdance and Aïsha Devi among others, with labels including Tri Angle, PAN, NON, Planet Mu and STAYCORE represented.
The individual sketches span a full spectrum from the hard-hitting and beat-heavy to the meditative and meandering. Collectively, they offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into varying different techniques and approaches. Accompanying notes, provided by the artists themselves, lift the lid on the creative processes behind each sketch — some even going so far as to name specific presets.
The series stands as a testament to how much can be achieved by adopting a faster and more stripped-back approach to creativity, with most artists choosing to limit their palette to just three or four instruments and effects. Komplete 11’s synths and creative tools feature heavily, with Reaktor 6, FM8, Absynth, Massive and Polyplex heard throughout multiple sketches.
Each Komplete Sketch is accompanied by generative visuals from award-winning Berlin-based artist Rainer Kohlberger. His algorithm-based works confront viewers with an all-out visual assault, achieved through the use of vivid colour fields and free-flowing patterns.
Monte Booker
Backstory: Chicago producer Monte Booker, part of the Zero Fatigue crew, is a late millennial making music for a new millennium. The Soulection-affiliate’s sounds are bespoke, and his beats don’t smack as much as they tumble forth, like tennis balls in a dryer. He puts his generation’s restless energy to work by zapping small clicks and shots of static into his productions, making hip hop and R&B that pings between Flying Lotus’ bulging maximalism and the charming exactitude of Matmos.
P. Morris
Backstory: The Kansas-born, LA-based P. Morris has been praised by Resident Advisor and FACT for his lush melodic compositions with rich textures, trap rhythms, layered synths, and hip hop soul. In addition to producing tracks for Kelela & Le1f and Feist, he’s released music with Night Slugs and Fade To Mind. He released his first mixtape, Debut, on his Bear Club Music Group label, and has since showcased his ear for mash-up magic in the POP.MORRIS mixtape series.
Silk Road Assassins
Backstory: UK act Silk Road Assassins makes music that blurs the borders of video game soundtracks, science fiction, and anime. The trio consists of Chemist, Lovedr0id, and Tom E. Vercetti, who met while studying music technology and composition. Their debut, Reflection Spaces, came out in 2016 on Planet Mu and offers up slow, atmospheric tracks with mournful synth melodies and heavy bass tones.
FrancisGotHeat
Backstory: Rising from the rapidly growing Toronto contemporary R&B scene, Francis Nguyen-Tran, now known as FrancisGotHeat, has been making beats since the tender age of 13. He caught his first break in 2013, with his creations appearing on a Tre Mission album. As his reputation exploded, he worked to expand his production palette beyond R&B to encompass hip hop and trap. Today, he counts the likes of Drake, Roy Woods, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Big Sean, and Eminem among his collaborators.
Jeka Jones
Backstory: Jeka Jones is a London producer whose aural palette ranges from natural and organic to chaotic and busy. Layering diverse found sounds with textures and harmonies inspired by melodic soul, footwork, and experimental beat music, Jeka creates a tripped-out sound world that juxtaposes the feeling of nature and city.
Bamz
Backstory: Bamz is a programmer, producer, and DJ hailing from South-West London. Her musical journey started at the young age of 6, when she started beatboxing, before beginning to produce her own music at the age of 10. In 2011, she had the honour of performing alongside legendary dub-poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and the following year left state schooling to pursue her musical career. Today, she acts as the “right hand producer” and live DJ for rapper Nadia Rose.
Ikonika
Backstory: Ikonika’s release of the classic 2008 single Please introduced her to the world as a key member of the Hyperdub roster. Since then, Ikonika (Sara Chen) has released countless tracks and remixes earning her a slew of accolades. She hosts a monthly show on London station Radar Radio and has contributed mixes to FACT, Serato, SSENSE, Red Bull, Rinse FM, and Triple J. Her third studio album, Distractions , came out in 2017 and incorporates hip hop, R&B, and grime.
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