MUSIC REVIEWS & ARTICLES

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How to Mix Electronic [Dance] Music [EDM] 101: Tricks, Tips and Winning

How To Mix Electronic [Dance Music] Sonaris Music

I get this question a lot and I’ve posted about the difference between mixing and mastering before (update 2019: article is no longer archived on the site), but I figured I’d throw together some thoughts, and [my own] secrets – if you will, in this short article on mixing electronic music. There are lots of tutorials out there, but this one is unique because this is how I mix my own tracks and I pretty much learned most of it by trial and error, so my techniques may be different than what you’ve seen out there. Continue reading “How to Mix Electronic [Dance] Music [EDM] 101: Tricks, Tips and Winning”

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Free Music Pack: Sonaris Music Deluxe Samples

New, premium sample sound pack 29 high quality 30 second and 60 second loops loops. For licensing info/iqnuiries (more on this below) please contact Elite Sync Lab.

If you decide to download the pack, here is what you can and cannot do with the music in these packs:

CAN DO WITH THIS MUSIC:
* Use this music for your personal website
* Play this music at your gym, restaurant, bar, salon, small business
* Sample this music for your own music project as long as you’re not selling it
* Listen however you feel like, on your music player, in the car, etc…
* Give to your friends or strangers to listen to
* DJs may drop any of this music in your set
* Enjoy

Sonaris Music LogoCANNOT DO WITH THIS MUSIC:
* Sell any of the files to anyone or any organization
* Use the music for a commercial website
* Use for any sort of advertising
* Use for any video project which brings in revenue
* Use for any show (TV or Internet) or film
* Play on the radio or internet radio
* Sample any of the music for a commercial release music project

Basically, as long as you are not making money off of my work, it’s all good.

If you do want to use any of this music for commercial purposes, e.g. advertising, TV, films, videos, website, radio etc… you can license the music for a small and yet very reasonable sum.

You will need a .zip extractor to open the archive and extract the mp3 files.
You can find one for free online (I recommend 7Zip).

What’s in the packs?
In total there are 37 tracks and loops in the three files.
The first two packs , Full Length or Minute Plus are either full length finished tracks or near finished tracks, 27 total. The last pack, Shorter Samples & Loops is a pack of 30 second – 1 minute clips of music, 10 total. The music contained in the packs is of all sorts of various genres: progressive house, dubstep, downtempo, electro house + more.

Sonaris Music Deluxe Music Pack > [Right Click To Download]

My earlier sample packs are available for licensing here:
Elite Sync Lab at AudioSparx

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Sonaris Definition

Sonaris Music LogoI’ve had a few people ask me how the name Sonaris came about, so I decided to write a short post on it. Even though I wasn’t the first to come up with this word, I was the first to use it as a music alias, to the best of my knowledge. I was certainly the first, and still the only one — at this point, to release an album using this alias.

The definition of Sonaris, as I intended it, is an entity which finds or discovers sound.

One of the biggest things for me, as a producer, has always been to “find my own sound”. It’s something I had been focusing on, even before I officially changed my production name from EJ Lirik to Sonaris.

How it came about: As I felt my music start to mature, I wanted a name which would reflect the evolution of myself as an artist. I had come up with many names, but one really stuck. One of my favorite films when I was growing up in the Soviet Union had been “Solaris” — by Andrei Tarkvosky (not the George Clooney remake, but the 70’s original).  In the film, there is an ocean which (spoiler alert, to some extent) turns out to be a sentient being. I’ve always felt that music is something which flows through me freely, and I’ve chosen myself to be a mere conduit. Thus, Sonaris isn’t me, as a person, but an entity which picks music out of a vast ocean of sounds and aligns them to sound in a particularl, sometimes pleasing way.  A “sonar” is a device which detects objects. “Sonus” is “sound” — in Latin. Thus, a combination of these words made perfect sense, as an alias for music production.

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New Release: Sonaris’ Pepel EP is out on Beatport, Amazon and iTunes

Sonaris Pepel EP CoverThe big day is here! Finally, my newest EP, Pepel is out for everyone to enjoy. This one has been a while in the making, and is one I am the most of proud of, at this point. The EP has four tracks, all with their own attitude and mood, but all with a common theme — to make you feel something.

Pepel is a club-bound progressive house track which you can enjoy in your car, in your headphones or on the dancefloor. At 128 bpm, the slightly extended cut is ready to be mixed into a set. The Pryda-esque melodies and pads will keep you entertained from start to finish.

Pathfinder is a slighly lower tempo (125 bpm) house track with a deep melody, ready for your enjoyment. The bouncy bassline is sure to catch your attention! Relax and enjoy this sweet club-ready track.

Bittersweet is an ode to Royksopp or early Deadmau5 chillout/downtempo productions. Deep atmosphere and relaxing vibes, infused with emotion are sure to captivate you. Whether you’re meditating with your eyes closed or relaxing by the pool, this piece is sure to bring a calmness to your world.

Pepel (Gerald The Genius Remix) is a powerful electro house ode to the original, and is a club-ready banger. This track is ready to be mixed into a set for your dance party.

No matter how you look at it, you can’t go wrong with this release! Please grab a copy and support independent music. As always 100% of the proceeds go to improving my audio software and hardware.

Beatport Link

Amazon Link

Sidenote: I know not everyone is able to afford spending money on music, so if that’s you, and you find a pirated copy, grab it! I make music so it can be heard, and of course it’s great to get some support back,  to at least try to cover some costs — but I’d much rather you just enjoy the music.

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New Sonaris Releases: Sabotage You // Pepel // Glowing // Just The Beginning // Free and on Beatport, iTunes and Amazon

Sabotage You Cover - Sonaris // h perkinsHere’s what I’ve been up to in the last month or so:

I’ve got a new original EP out on Beatport, called Sabotage You (with h. perkins) – an eclectic mix of breaks, progressive house and electro house. Check it out and pick up a copy, if it’s your “cup of tea”.

I’ve also got a couple of new FREE downloads. One is a deep house track called Just The Beginning and a short, fun variation on Lute of Noah from Final Fantasy III.

Last but certainly not least, my new original EP — Pepel — is coming out on Beatport, iTunes and Amazon on Wednesday, August 1st! You can preview three of the four tracks on the EP, on my Sonaris Soundcloud page. It’s a combination of two brand new original progressive house tunes, one deep chillout track and a great electro remix of Pepel by Gerald The Genius. Bittersweet is a Royksopp-like jump into deep, emotional chillout. Pepel is a Eric Prydz or Pryda-like adventure into melodic club progressive house. Finally, Pathfinder is a bouncy progressive house tune with it’s stand-alone unique vibe.

Not enough? I’m also finishing up a 2012 re-edit of axisONE’s track Sincerely (with vocals by dJessa). Basically I’ve mixed the track down again, from scratch, swapped out the bassline, replaced a few instruments and made the vocals shine like they had never before. No firm word yet on when or how this will be released, but I am excited for you to hear it, that’s for sure!

I am also working on a remix of Onisu’s track Glowing at the moment, which will be another awesome progressive house release.

Needless to say I’ve been busy, but moving full speed ahead. Having recently signed Onisu and Equal Numbers to Addictive Vibe Records I am confident in the strength of the label and the growing team.

Stay tuned for more, and as always, thank you for the support! My dreams wouldn’t be achievable without it.

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Sonaris – Haestrom Conspiracy (Original Mix)

New free download techno track out! It’s taken a few weeks to finish up this techno release, bunch of time spent on working out the sounds to sound how I want. The result is a driven, militaristic tune, heavily inspired by the Geth race in the Mass Effect series. The track turned out to sound about as futuristic as I had hoped, with some robotic feel thrown in there for good measure. No actual samples or themes from Mass Effect were used for the track. I wound up either picking out or creating the sounds I wanted for this project, so it’s all-original.

Free download for the time being. Enjoy!

Sonaris – Haestrom Conspiracy (Original Mix) [FREE DOWNLOAD]