Signature style/sound dilemma

[EarlGrey]

I've been making music for a couple of years and get kinda stuck in which way I wanna go with my music. It started with '90's hip hop beats, then I started getting into soulful downtempo house, glitchy stuff, then I got into the future bass, garage. And It's always been a mixture. Not like I'm goint thru phases. One minute I'm choppin up a jazzy sample and knock out a classic hiphopbeat. The other moment I'm delving into my synths with the BPM around 120. I like doing what I do but I get in a hassle when it comes to finishing and more important putting out stuff.

Any of you struggle with this? Any idea's on how to improve workflow. It's like I'm all over the place.

[squ!L]

+10000
Sometimes i get in a bad mood because i can't stay with one kind of style for more than one track and finish some coherent stuff. Feels like a curse.
Most of the time i try to finish songs as fast as possible to not get bored with them. The next day i think i should work on something real complex and take time to produce a real good thought out tune. Same thing with sound. One day i'm convinced i have to produce some dirty lo-fi shit and the next day i want a clean punchy sound.
Actually i should finish a little EP for a friend's label right now. He would put it out for sure but i have to come up with some mellow instrumental stuff. And i did a lot of this stuff in the last years. But everytime i start something new like this i can't really finish it because i feel the need to be more experimental.

I'm on my way to accept that i have to switch styles to not get bored. But sometimes i envy people who more or less dive into one style of music and fully explore it.
In the end i feel it's ok because if i listen to my tracks later there are enough of them which sound cool to me. But i would like to feel better while producing all this different stuff and work faster to finish an album or ep.

Sorry, no real solution here. I'm thinking a lot about why i feel the need to put something out at all. Can't it be enough to make music and enjoy it? Probably brainwashed from all the media...
Good to hear other people struggling with the same shit.

[nobdy]

just do you. that is your style

[squ!L]

That's true. Already thought about putting out ep's with completely different styles and don't give a damn.

[nobdy]

That's true. Already thought about putting out ep's with completely different styles and don't give a damn.

yeah dude. Just do you and don't give a fuck about being categorized or boxed.

I worked on a project where I just made and shared 1 beat per month when I was feeling really unproductive. It forced me to keep on making stuff. At the end of the year you'll have at least 12 pieces which = a beat tape. That mentality can be applied to any other creative process.

[EarlGrey]

+10000
Sometimes i get in a bad mood because i can't stay with one kind of style for more than one track and finish some coherent stuff. Feels like a curse.
Most of the time i try to finish songs as fast as possible to not get bored with them. The next day i think i should work on something real complex and take time to produce a real good thought out tune. Same thing with sound. One day i'm convinced i have to produce some dirty lo-fi shit and the next day i want a clean punchy sound.
Actually i should finish a little EP for a friend's label right now. He would put it out for sure but i have to come up with some mellow instrumental stuff. And i did a lot of this stuff in the last years. But everytime i start something new like this i can't really finish it because i feel the need to be more experimental.

I'm on my way to accept that i have to switch styles to not get bored. But sometimes i envy people who more or less dive into one style of music and fully explore it.
In the end i feel it's ok because if i listen to my tracks later there are enough of them which sound cool to me. But i would like to feel better while producing all this different stuff and work faster to finish an album or ep.

Sorry, no real solution here. I'm thinking a lot about why i feel the need to put something out at all. Can't it be enough to make music and enjoy it? Probably brainwashed from all the media...
Good to hear other people struggling with the same shit.

Exactly my point. It's like I'm trying to build multiple bridges simultaneously and get the feeling it lacks the body of content. Most of the time the stuff ends up as a dope spontaneous sketch or it becomes a track that I'm spending wayy to much time on and eventually don't feel content with. I'm thinking about categorizing the beats I make into folders. Just so it is separated style wise. And then eventually after a while start to sift out the good/potential material and bundle them into a concept/album/tape.

But still I'm not sure if this is the right way to go or if I should make more choices/sacrifices so my style becomes more specific. Tough call.

[spwarlock]

Its like the OP read my mind.Ive gone from sp type hip hop shit,to DNB,to Garage,to trap,even some ambient ish.Im hoping that as long as I keep making music in some form eventually ill develop my own style regardless of what I'm consciously trying to make.Trying to force myself in one direction or another hasn't really been helpful as far as i can tell.Im slowly learning to go w/ the flow and just make what i want regardless of the style,but it can be tough because I often feel like that is an undisciplined approach but in the end I enjoy it more and since I'm not making money out of this if I'm not having fun then there isn't really a point to even making music:)

[l i f]

There are some really wise ppl around here... everything above is sound advice imo.

My 2cents is that this restless experimentation is all a means to a long-term end and the dilemma described by the OP is one that every creative person grapples with... however at the end of the day the only way forward is to create a body of work over a lifetime. With the genre-hopping within electronic music it struck me that this is probably why a lot of people use different monnikers for different sounds - you really can be a split personality or explore all those varied moods, tempos and influences... I can think of plenty of electronic artists that released really different music under different handles before finally realeasing that first album under their own name.

Then also worth noting is that as an artist finds an individual style and audience it can become a virtual prison of expectation and very hard to break out of... it takes a brave individual to redefine themselves once they are established. But imo we are creative because we evolve and take risks.

My musical background has been 95% collaborative, bands, improv ensembles etc.. only been the past year or so I've been in beat-construction... in contrast working with sample-based music can be (is?) a solitary activity - it could be worth seeking out ppl to play with/jam/collaborate in a face-to-face setting.. build a scene/community that way is one tip I could give, that is learning from others but also giving to others too..

[Dust le Villain]

i just try to find a way to really express what I feel at that time. if there is nothing to express then dont, if there is ..find a way. I try to keep it sincere to myself.
and try to find a nice route to that feeling.
I really think there are a lot of people 'expressing' or mimicking without a real need for it..? but thats probably another subject.
Also, I really wish I could sing.

[ellaguru]

Also, I really wish I could sing.

i do it all the time, i have project in wich i sing, but since some years i do beats instead of tracks, and now i like to move on to origins.
@Kalaba
i remeber your Oil Tape,
my advice is to finalize some of your ideas (not all, that is difficult, but if you succeded, chapeau!) or at least focalize on some of them. Variety is not an enemy, but it could be if many directions tend to make loose the principal ones (also the contrary is true, anyway, it Always depend on us)

[MattCoops]

Do what you feel.
Stay true to yourself.
Don't try to sound like something else. Be original.
Craft your own sound.
Don't be afraid to take chances. Be different.

[Krisso The Great]

don't think .. just do ..

[l i f]

I probably sounds paradoxical, but in the quest to find yourself, your own sound, expression, consciously trying to "be original" can actually lead you away from the goal..... instead you can actually do the exact opposite and "be obvious".

People who aren't hung-up, are truly okay with themselves, who ooze "creativity", who really don't care what others think, who make it all seem effortless... are being obvious. Trying to be original will feel like banging your head against a wall.. it's damn hard work and gives you nothing but a sore head.

When you are obvious, things happen. You are being true to who you are (your 'obvious'is rarely the same as someone elses')
Striving for 'originality' often leads to cleverness or stupidity, which shuts things down.

______

Another word on copying other people... look, you gotta learn from the ground up. There's nothing wrong with trying to emulate the 'great-masters'.. in doing so you will find your own way. This is how everyone who ever made a name for themselves worked it - name any mode of artistic expression throughout history you'll find apprentice -> journeyman -> master.

Too much emphasis these days on turning the process on its head (children need to "express themselves" aristically... oh, they lack the skills to get their ideas out and think it's shit, get discouraged and give up). This is the top-down, adult-oriented, over-thought method prevalent in western education. Rather than teach basic techniques so that people start with a basic toolbox of skills so they are lead to an understanding of the materials and tools and the qualities of each... only then can you freely express yourself.

I'm not saying you need a teacher/mentor to learn; the same process of experimentation/emulation can go on in private (in a lot of cases with 'instruction' you'll just be learning a whole lot of crap it may take a lifetime to un-learn!)

But you need to learn to crawl before you can walk.

[EarlGrey]

Some valid points are made by y'all. It's not even the idea of emulating styles. But it's true what's said about just doing you, without too much looking around. But I guess it has something more to do with a lack of limitations in my case. The whole idea of endless experimenting, learning musical techniques are always there to throw a monkeywrench in the midst of creating an arrangement for instance. For instance how to use compression or eq seems to eat up my time more than ever, because I keep trying out stuff for better results. The downside being most beats are just short well tweaked loops, audio lessons under 1 minute instead of little stories I carved out in 3 minutes.

I just watched this regarding creativity and working. It's very inspirational for musicians (artists in general). Strong points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQ8c19unnM

[ellaguru]

For instance how to use compression or eq seems to eat up my time more than ever, because I keep trying out stuff for better results. The downside being most beats are just short well tweaked loops, audio lessons under 1 minute instead of little stories I carved out in 3 minutes.

Learning to use correctly eq and comp it's yet a great step by itself. After that you will return to make tracks, i'm sure of that