Our massively popular Electronic Music Production Short Course has a new course facilitator and we are very excited to welcome Kevin Ribbans to the team.
Kevin is no stranger to the Cape Town and indeed the South African electronic music scene.
He is one half of the productions duos, Mix ‘n Blend and LAZERSHARKK.
Kevin has produced for CODA, Rumspringer and We Set Sail and collaborated with Sannie Fox, Spoek Mathambo, Fletcher, Ruffest and many others. He is an in-demand remixer too, with notable remixes for Gazelle, Sibot, Rudimentals, Haezer, Mr Sakitumi and Grimehouse under his belt and has been nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA) on two occasions.
An experienced Ableton user, the platform is Kevin’s DAW of choice for all his production work for more than 10 years now.
LEARN MORE THAN HOW TO USE A DAW
Electronic Music Production courses often focus primarily on how to use the software and how to operate plugin instruments and effects but seldom concentrate on an area most are more interested in gaining knowledge; the basics of how to compose a track from beginning to end, both musically and from a production perspective.
This says Kevin is an integral part of the SAE EMP course;
“I often see the issue where guys have incredible engineering skills, but have very little musical theory, or musically trained people coming up short due to a lack of engineering knowledge. A gap I intend for this course to help close.”
WHAT ABOUT NON-ABLETON USERS?
The Electronic Music Production course is indeed based around Ableton so users of this platform will no doubt feel the most comfortable from the outset.
But Kevin says he has considered this and encourages users of any DAW looking for formal training in electronic music production to attend.
“My view is that no matter what DAW you use, if you don’t know the basics of production and engineering of a track, you won’t get a good sound.
So a major part of the course for me, is that I want people to not only know how to use Ableton, but go away with an understanding of how sound fits together regardless of DAW.”
NEW LECTURER, SAME PROVEN CURRICULUM
Speaking of curriculum Kevin has big shoes to fill replacing previous lecturer and course designer Fletcher Beadon.
“Fletcher was very kind in leaving me with a very good course curriculum which already covers all aspects that a comprehensive EMP course should.
I intend to take an ‘end goal’ approach by establishing what each student’s desired outcome is and filling in all the parts they need for him or her to attain it via the curriculum.
I also have a few cool ideas which I’m toying with that I intend on implementing such as introducing students to the scene itself by letting them experience their progress out in the real world and not just in the classroom.”
WHAT TO EXPECT…
This will be Kevin’s first time lecturing at SAE Institute (although he does have previous teaching experience). What is he expecting from the course?
“Nerds in the Front…cool kids in the back?” [Laughs]
“I’m not sure what to expect really. I’m hoping anyone who loves music, regardless of age or level of experience, who just wants to put their love [for music] into practice, will join us.
You don’t have to want to be a successful DJ or producer necessarily, you just need to want to be able to put your love of music from your head into the speakers.”
MESSAGE TO THE STUDENTS
“You will have fun, you will make some rad friends and you may even get to hang out with some of your favourite producers.”
But most importantly, Kevin says…
“You will walk away being able to go, ‘Screw Justin Bieber, screw commercialized music, screw that crappy DJ at the club last night…I’ll just make my own beats’” [laughs].
Grab all the Electronic Music Production Short Course info here