Jordan Kibbey plays the claviatur of airy bass music like one of the greats. His compositions always seem mature and original and often hold surprises and changes of direction for the discerning listener. For that alone he deserves our respect and admiration. Hats off to Kibbey

Interview:

About Kibbey :

I am from Cleveland Ohio and I have been on the site for around 7 years. I like to make chiptune the most but recently I've been getting my grubby hands into House. Bass House, Bass Music, Downtempo, and other stuff. All time favorite style of pizza is Barbecue Chicken. But if I happen to get sick of nothing but Barbecue Chicken pizza's (which I have as of recent), I'm fine with just cheese. Sometimes less is more.

Which artist has had the most influence on you (on and/or outside Audiotool)?

On and off of Audiotool; looks and Jafu, respectfully. looks is well known for making music in what I'd like to call the "Golden Age" of the site. Around this time people were pioneers and making marks with their styles because the site was still new to a wide audience. looks, or at the time Luxior, was one of these pioneers. His content dabbles in a lot of genres at once and it's hard to say which one it captures as a whole. It's energetic, experimental, and very enjoyable. He's inspired many people to do what they want and to get weird with it. I found Jafu on Bandcamp, and their stuff is awesome. It's a broad mix of House, Techno, Bass, Downtempo, Jazz, and other stuff occasionally. Super satisfying music, very groovy, and overall a great experience to run through one of their albums.

Who would you like to work /collaborate with on and outside Audiotool, and why?

I think my answers would be looks and AstroLizard. If I'm gonna collaborate to make a good chiptune banger, I already know I can count on Jetdarc. We have collaborated a few times in the past and we work really well together. But, with the other two, I wanna learn how they do what they do best, what makes them tick, so that I can use their inspiration and techniques to better myself and my own work. looks has crazy arrangements and compositional ideas, and AstroLizard is a dubstep artist I found on Spotify that creates ideally what I want to create in Bass Music/Dubstep.

Which film/game would you like to produce the score for or contribute a song to?

This would be a split between Undertale and the Borderlands franchise. Undertale's chiptune soundtrack is nearly flawless in it's execution and to be able to contribute to that would not only be an honor but an intense learning experience. The Borderlands series has a nostalgic place in my heart and I feel right now I am best suited to make something for one of those games. There's actually a track I already made called Deadlock which I could slap right onto a space station level and call it a day.

Have you ever had a writer's block? If so, how did you deal with it and what do you recommend to your colleagues?

Yes, I have had it a lot. What usually works for me is finding some piece or pieces of music that you think you want to work up to making at some point, and listening through them. Try to do this, take said music apart in your head, and find ideas you could implement into your music. It's more motivating when you know that something you have in your music is something the "pros" use.

What has helped you the most on Audiotool to improve and widen your musical horizon?

Listening to the charts is a very easy way. It's not always gonna be the same three ideas that make up those Top 10 tracks. It's nice to dip your toes a little and see what everyone's been craving recently. And if you want to explore a genre from those Top 10 a little more, there are always the genre charts to look at for further investigation.

What do you like most about Audiotool? Is there anything you would like to suggest?

I think the multitude of ways you can collaborate and work off of each other is amazing. If anyone starting out needs a helping hand there are thousands of hands out there waiting for you. This includes samples, collaborations, remixing, effect presets, synth presets, asking for feedback, board posts, and others. One of the only things I'd suggest is a standalone device to pitch-shift audio. There's many ways you can get around it, but they each have their own limitations or side effects. A dedicated device for it would be nice.

Your message to the community:

Be yourself! As long as there are a few people enjoying what you make there is no reason to change how you produce based on trends or other factors. And if you need help, use the recourses mentioned to get a HUGE head start in developing your sound.

Social/Musical Links:

https://twitter.com/JordanKibbey

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6kYl9IaKjiau5Hbs7cLMFM?si=0rbL9ZtfTqiBo5Ae14EPcw&dl_branch=1

https://kibbey.bandcamp.com/

Audiotool: Kibbey

Album

Of course we also asked Jordan to put together an album of the five most important Audiotool tracks for him and to present his signature work as the sixth track. Enjoy!

Track #1:

specific ocean by opaqity

opaqity always made "complete" works. Works that always had a definitive start and end to them. This may not be the best example but this is one of my favorite opaqity tracks.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/specific_ocean/]]

Track #2:

Acid Factory by Jetdarc

Jetdarc is, hands down, my favorite chiptune producer ever. Nowadays they work with other genres but in the heat of their chiptune era they did some amazing work. This track specifically is one of my all time favorites. I strive whenever I make chiptune tracks to make them as big and grand as this track.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/st5pcqqy2wq7/]]

Track #3:

arrow arrow by five

This track is a good reminder if you do it right, a melody can last an entire song if it's good and catchy enough. It's also just a baller track.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/c1pdtpenlz88z7utgnjucbaavofhm8/]]

Track #4:

feel something (HOME OFFICE) by rai. and five

This track is an example of being ok with getting weird. If you're producing and you think in your head, "Man, what if I turn this into house mid track," what's stopping you?

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/aor3i40z/]]

Track #5:

maroon gate by laevent

You don't have to go this far with chord progressions, but man, this is endgame for me. If I get to this level I will never move. Another reason laevent is a mastermind.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/wb8av7v2wp/]]

Track #6:

Schizophrenic Turtles by Kibbey

Here's my track. There's not much to say except I made this, I am really proud of it, and I hope you enjoy it.

[[EMBED:https://www.audiotool.com/track/ukjf7taw/]]

The album in it's full splendor

Edition Audiotool: Kibbey

• a-records

37

about 3 years ago

1		specific ocean opaqity	opaqity	7587
2		Acid Factory Jetdarc	Jetdarc	3458
3		arrow arrow five	five	708
4		feel something (HOME OFFICE) rai. five	rai. five	4932
5		maroon gate LAEVENT labs ⚡️	LAEVENT labs ⚡️	5807
6		Schizophrenic Turtles Kibbey	Kibbey	413