Josh Gabriel Reveals ‘Summit’: an interview

Josh Gabriel Reveals ‘Summit’: an interview

15 November, 2007 | 5.07PM

• Written by: francispreve
• Filed under: Music News: gabriel and dresden, interview, josh gabriel, organized nature

Josh Gabriel, award winning producer, songwriter, DJ and (yes, folks) inventor, just released ‘Summit’, the first single from his upcoming debut artist album.

Most clubbers know the San Francisco-based producer’s name from his longtime collaboration with partner Dave Dresden.

As Gabriel & Dresden, the pair are responsible for a string of Billboard number ones, starting their own record label (Organized Nature) and winning the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for “Best American DJ” at this year’s Winter Music Conference in Miami.

For the better part of 2007, ‘Summit’ has been a staple in big room sets by the world’s top DJs.

In many ways, it is the ultimate transitional track, serving as the perfect bridge for getting from point A to point B in a set.

John Digweed described the track as “massive”.

Armin Van Buuren called it “techno evolved”, and Sander Kleinenberg believes that, “with this stormer, he has nothing less than delivered a future classic. Brilliant.”

I caught up with Josh last week and interrogated him on the intricacies of producing this soon-to-be-legendary track, and here’s what he had to say.

’Summit’ is a major departure from your Gabriel & Dresden sound, yet it’s been widely embraced by everyone from Digweed to Sander Kleinenberg. What was the inspiration for the track?

I think of music like a graphic designer.

I see the shapes of the sounds and the story that I am telling. I wanted to make a track that was like an audio rollercoaster, taking you from big to small and back again.

So, the idea was simple; get big, get small, get big, get small and then take you somewhere you did not expect – and then the ride is over.

What software and hardware did you use to create the track?

I started the track by messing around with some sounds in Ableton Live.

Once I had enough stuff to play with, I rendered the tracks and finished in Logic.

That’s an interesting approach. What made you start in Live?

Live enables me to be more fluid and to just try things out, which really helps with experimentation.

There are a lot of really cool features under the hood that – when tapped – can make for some really interesting sound design tools.

For ‘Summit’, I really exploited the clip automation feature.

On to the technical specifics… What’s doing the vocal riff that forms the basis for the intro and outro?

Well, that is a really mangled sample of a hit song from 1984 — I can’t tell you which song.

But let’s just say, you would never recognize it.

I made extensive use of clip automation to change the pitch of each step and sculpt the sound with lots of plug-ins.

Do you recall which effects you used?

I can’t remember, but I know it was all things that come in Live.

And the alternating synth part that comes in halfway through the track?

That’s from the same track, just processed very differently in Live.

Those parts are followed by a classic analog synth sequence. What’s the source of that?

That was the Moog Voyager.

Can’t beat it for bass.

Then there’s the “jet take off” combined with the rising ride cymbal that happens a few times. How did that come about?

Well, as part of the idea of making you feel like the sound was going from big to small, I wanted to morph from a big noise/synth cloud to just tiny delicate cymbals.

Also, in a club, when things start rising, it gives you a feeling of reaching up.

For the rides, I used a 909 and clip automation in Live to pitch it up slowly.

The jet sound was a jet sample with FX. I just wanted a bit of organic
noise, which is why I used a jet instead of white noise.

The original mix has a more intense progressive sound, but your Josh Gabriel Remix has a groovy tech sound. What was your approach for that version?

The original version is 132 BPM techno and fits in big room sets.

I wanted to make something that could also work for DJs that just don’t go there.

I knew the idea would translate, so I started with a much more swingy groove and worked from there.

The payoff is much more minimal, but just as surprising.

The remix was done 100% in Live.

Christopher Norman and Dusty Kid also did remixes, which take a whole different approach.

Before we close, do you have any tips or advice for Beatport producers looking to take their tracks to the next level?

Listen to the Top 10 in the genre you think you fit in and see how your favorite tracks are holding up.

Then keep an eye on the DJ charts and send your track to the DJs that are closest to your sound.

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