Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
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What did you listen to that made you go, I need to do this.
I was reading what genre of music do you make, and I got to thinking about how I even got to this spot. I am currently arguing with myself between the first time I heard Men at Works Cargo, I wanted to learn how to play sax, or Tricky’s Maxinquaye, and the song Ponderosa which is why I went after the MC505
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Fugazi
John McGeogh.
Faking being a producer: Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails and Crystal Method (first experiments was with an arranger keyboard, bass pedal and 4 track)
Playing bass: most of funk/disco/soul and similar stuff. Mainly the Meters, KC & the Sunshine Band, Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder
I was 7 years old when I saw Dick Contino play accordion on Ed Sullivan. It knocked me out! I looked at mom and she said, “Would you like to play the accordian like that, Paulie?”. Within in a few months, I was one of Dolores Jacklin’s Junior Accordionaires! We would play at PTA meetings, church functions, recitals, company picnics, etc. I loved playing for an audience. When I was 12, I switched to piano and did that for about 40+ years, as well as bass and a little guitar. I gave it all up in 2004. Long sad story. I discovered the iPad in 2020 and, as Jack Nicholson said… Wendy, I’m home.
In terms of becoming a musician, it was hearing Joe Satriani doing the soundtrack for an early Burton snowboard film. I had never heard solo guitar like that, I was hooked instantly.
When it comes to producing and the engineering side of things, then probably early NIN and hearing the song "Download" by Skinny Puppy. Just crazy noise music, but it fascinated me and I wanted to learn how they did it. Side note, more than 20 years later and I still have no idea how they did that.
It started with what Zappa did in the mid to late 70s, followed by Saga and Level 42.
Over time, my choice of enjoyable listens has broadened a lot in terms of styles.
@Tarekith Can you give me an example of a NIN song that you wanted to find out how they did it?
I gave "Closer" a try a while ago, while I learned to use Groove Rider GR16 😉
Pretty much anything off The Downward Spiral is excellent imo, but even Pretty Hate Machine caught my attention for how clean it was (white still being dark) compared to other industrial music I was into back then.
When I was a preteen, I listened to all sorts of Eurodance and House music. A lot of them were on compilation cassettes and CDs since importing the singles and albums costed way too much back then.
Then on one of those compilations I heard this exact song...
...which intrigued me, so I bought the Sash! album "It's My Life". When I heard "Ecuador" on that album...
...I knew then and there this is what I wanted to do professionally. It was (and is) simply the most mindblowing Dance anthem I've ever heard, and it created a strong core memory.
(I mean granted, Sash! wasn't my only musical influence as I also grew up with Jazz and Bossa Nova, Classical, Rock, Pop, Electronic like Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre, South American Flute Music by groups such as Wayanay and Ecuador Manta, and so much great music my parents loved. I also listened to a lot of HipHop (usually the censored versions of the albums my parents bought me as my parents were pretty strict. 😆 )
I didn't know anything about producing, let alone hardware, but when my parents bought me MTV Music Generator 2000 for my PS1, I started creating Dance music! The music sounded shite, but the ideas were there.
The closest thing to MTV Music Generator for PC back in those days was FL Studio back when it was called Fruity Loops, which is where I truly cut my music production teeth. (FL Studio's old "lego blocks" sequencer was very similar to MTV Music Generator's sequencer.) FL Studio and I grew up musically at the same time. 😂
Then again I've branched out beyond simply Dance music as an iOS producer, trying out new genres and such, as my list of musical influences constantly expands and branches out. (Christsake, if you would've told me in 2002 that I'd have a "Summer of Ambient" 20 years in the future, I'd have asked "What's Ambient?" 😬🤣)
And yes, I've been strictly a software user up until 6 months ago when I bought my first hardware - the OP-1 Field.
But my music production journey all began with "Ecuador".
Stevie Wonder’s “Talking Book” 1972. He used a Moog Synth for the bass and some leads. But the songwriting was what pulled me in. I wanted to do that.
I've realized that it could be something for me after I've seen my record dealer making a beat on an old iMac next to the box in the record store. Then I've realized that you don't have to become a musician to make good music and that most of the stuff I've liked and bought on Vinyl was actually sampled and looped.
I don’t think I have a single thing that triggered this. I’ve been listening to music since I was small (bought my first single when I was 6, I think), and I listen across a wide variety of genres.
That said, my first exposure to electronic music was almost certainly Delia Derbyshire’s original realisation of the Dr Who theme.
I used to think I had to write “songs”, but that isn’t actually what I’m good at or hugely interested in. I’m crap at lyrics, for a start!
Key discoveries that pushed my own music to where it is now:
Tangerine Dream (first heard in early 70s)
Eno - particularly Music for Airports
Klaus Schulze (who managed to transition to digital instruments without just becoming shiny tunes, unlike TD)
Hainbach
Those are just the turning points, and definitely not the whole picture.
My Dad was born in 1950, so he was 17 during the Summer of Love. He in turn had an incredible vinyl collection full of great music. All the HOF 60's bands, lots of blues and even jazz & classical. I listened to a lot of his records as a little kid, playing them on my little turntable.
I loved all the 60's & 70's bands but gravitated towards the Beatles, especially when I got the Beatles Recording Sessions book by Mark Lewisohn. Reading about the recording process fascinated me and I eventually got a Tascam 424 PortaStudio and began to record demos, etc.
Since I was doing the multi instrumentalist/producer "one man band" bit that is so common now, I also got inspiration from McCartney's solo stuff, Pete Townshend, Prince and Stevie Wonder- cats who were self contained music machines.
Keyboard in cover bands: Dream Theater
Guitar in hxc bands: The Postman Syndrome, Thursday
Acoustic in indie bands: Mates of State, Spoon
Exposure to Ableton: Daedelus
Dj’ing: Gaslamp Killer, Kutmah
Beatmaking/exposure to sp404: Flying Lotus, Dibiase, Knxledge, Ras G, Devonwho
Exposure to iOS: Mike Gao
Sound Design: Telefon Tel Aviv
Bass Playing: Pastorius
What did it for me was hearing Chicory Tip in the charts, and also hearing Hawkwind’s Silver Machine in the charts, and from then on the difficult tedious painful struggle of being taught piano by a domineering ruler-thwacking grandmother staying with us was replaced by the true higher calling of making silly noises instead
That just triggered me to revisit that one. Damn. You did an amazing work
I remember giving some NIN, Stabbing Westward and Prodigy a try on Beatmaker 2
Only got somewhat successful with Voodoo People, but lost the project files
The voices in my head.
Ha, yes! But for me it was:
That was the start of my love for synthesizers, followed by "studying" a whole lot of Depeche Mode...
The 2nd song I ever wrote sounded a lot like a B-side from NIN's Pretty Hate Machine, though.
Loved that album. Men At Work was the first band I got obsessed with.
I don't remember who or what exactly inspired me to want to play an instrument. But this was one of them, which aired around the same time Men At Work started having Top 40 hits. I thought Chick and "Screech" (actually Scott Henderson) were having a keytar vs. guitar duel which looked so fun.
gotta wonder if Chick was inspired by his friend Herbie's smash hit video. Herbie was indeed one of those players that made me want to play keys.
A couple of years later, my aunt came to live with us because the school she wanted to attend was in the area. She turned me on to her favorite band. They were thought to had broken up by that time, which bummed me out a bit, but she had me listen to their first album Can't Buy a Thrill and that was enough to get me hooked. Those guys definitely contributed to my interest in learning to play an instrument.
This is an interesting thread, I'm enjoying it.
My grandfather was a fiddle player who owned a bar that had live music. If I helped him clean up the place on Saturday and Sunday mornings, in the afternoon he would let me play in the music room where he kept all the band equipment, instruments, and a reel to reel tape recorder. He also taught me scales and chords.
The two records that influenced me most when I was young were Radiohead Kid A and William Orbit My Oracle Lives Uptown. If I try every day for the rest of my life I will never be that good.
Thank you all for sharing your nostalgia. @abf those albums are forces.
MJQ European Tour, Dave Brubeck Take Five.
How to use a modular synth:
An intro to sampling:
Mixing electronic minimalism with originality:
Great!
Are you familiar with “Dick Contino’s Blues” by James Ellroy?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Nocturnes
Lately, I've been listening to classic Paul Van Dyk albums (namely "Out There and Back" and "Reflections"). This inspo has me working on a new album (mostly Trance music with a couple other surprises) that I hope to release on 31 August. I'm currently doing a surprise remix of "S4! Sash!" for my mate Sascha of Sash!
I had not heard of that, and it sounds like a good read! I didn't know that about him. He was always sort of a hero to me. I always wanted to play accordian surrounded by adoring ladies. I was glad to hear that he received a full presidential pardon. I still have my accordian. Maybe I will get it out this weekend. The last time I played was at my uncle's funeral 20 years ago. He was Irish, and I played Danny Boy at the grave site. It was a lovely send off.
Here's the album that really got me going, musically. Made me want to get serious with the trumpet. I was an early teenager and found this album used at a thrift shop. Was looking for a Maynard Ferguson album but they didn't have any. The shop owner talked me into buying this album. Never heard of Doc. Took it home and was blown away at the control and range this guy had. Made the trumpet sing. I had to play like this guy!
CCR’s “Up Around The Bend” was used in the American Bandstand weekly dance contest when I was a little kid. I wanted to make the electricguitar sound like that. Hello world of bottlenecks and open tunings!