(This stemmed from reading on a music forum a post about a producer feeling exhausted and “lost” with his [only] genre.)

Ever feel “lost” making your music genre?
My tip: don’t just stick to one genre.

I can say that in my career, I’ve definitely experienced the pain that comes from trying to force one style too much at one point. I have also seen that in many others, who I’ve later on tried to encourage to do whatever. And every now and then I hear “a D&B producer” break out of his shell and “loving making music again” etc.

I guess on one level one part of you has reasons for pushing one style (maybe it’s gained you some recognition, you realize you have the talent for it, or maybe one particular style has gained you a few bucks) Continue reading If you feel “lost” with your musical genre →

First, a few words about me in case you are not familiar with what I do, as it is somewhat relevant in terms of this blog post.
My name is Janne Hatula, and I have been making electronic music for around 25 years. I have made and released most of my music as Fanu, and I also make a bit of hip hop as FatGyver and some slower tempo electronic stuff under my real name.

In addition to making music, what keeps me busy is being a mixing and mastering engineer and running my own company for it. I am also an Ableton Certified Trainer. And I like to blog/Instagram about music stuff quite a bit. So all I do has to do with music; it is a situation I have worked a whole lot for, and that makes me happy.

I have been out there as an artist for a good while; my first proper release came out around 2002. I started making music in 1992 as far as I can recall. So it has been a journey, for sure, and it ain’t stopping.

That is why I receive questions relating to making music often, and one question I get asked a lot is, ”What tips would you give to a new producer?” Continue reading Advice for young producers →

Hello, all music makers!

Many of those who have been yours truly probably know well I’m really into using Ableton Live.
Also, what I know about many music makers out there based on asking them what’s challenging to them about making music is that many of them often say that finishing a song is one of the hardest parts when it comes to making music – or, coming up with enough ideas so that the song would be easy to finish. Seems many are struggling with 16-bar loops (or loops of any length that are not forming into songs).

I wanted to share with you what’s been helping me tremendously in terms of actually being able to write songs instead of those frustrating loops. Continue reading Productivity: easily create songs with Ableton Live’s session view →

Here it is: my first-ever Max For Live device. And, dear god, it sucks!
But you know what – that’s exactly what I wanted to achieve: a simple delay that can give you really dirty results if you want.
So there’s nothing special about it? Not really, but it gives you two filters, feedback + delay + an audio degradation section, which should be good for your delay needs. It’s mono – in proper dub delay fashion!
Basically, this was my first exercise in programming things in Max For Live and combining a few things. Watch out – more sucky shit is probably coming!
So what does it do? Continue reading Free and sucky Max For Live device by Fanu: Dub Delay! →

I recently became an Ableton Certified Trainer, and wanted to celebrate that somehow. I did a new video on Ableton Live / Push 2.
I’m often asked why I like Live so much, and whether Push 2 is worth it in my opinion. I did a video demonstrating some Push 2 features I like.

In this video, I’ll show you how to:
-convert an audio clip to Simpler
-use different Simpler modes (classic, oneshot, slicing)
-use different warping modes in Simpler
-make beats using the Push 2 step sequencer
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

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