Future Music, Computer Music, and Music Tech Magazines
Greg Kocis Early Music Production Education
During the early 2000s, Greg Kocis developed much of his practical knowledge of music production, recording, mixing, sampling, and sound design through music technology magazines and the sample libraries that accompanied them.
Among the most influential publications during this period were Future Music, Computer Music, and Music Tech.
These magazines became an important part of Kocis’s musical education at a time when home recording and computer-based music production were rapidly evolving. The magazines provided tutorials, production techniques, equipment reviews, software information, mixing advice, and—perhaps most importantly—large collections of samples, loops, instruments, and sound-design material distributed on the CDs and DVDs that accompanied many issues.
Rather than being a traditional classroom education, this was a largely self-directed approach to learning. Each issue offered new techniques to experiment with, new sounds to work with, and new ways of approaching music production.
The magazines were not the only publications Kocis read during this period, but Future Music, Computer Music, and Music Tech are the primary focus of this part of his musical history.
The Magazines
Future Music
Future Music was one of the major music technology magazines that Kocis followed during this period.
The magazine covered subjects related to electronic music production, recording, synthesizers, samplers, effects, mixing, and computer-based production.
The accompanying sample discs provided a valuable resource for experimentation. They contained drum sounds, loops, instruments, effects, and genre-specific material that could be incorporated into productions or used as a way to study different types of sounds and production material.
Computer Music
Computer Music was another important source of production knowledge during the early 2000s.
The magazine focused heavily on computer-based music creation and provided tutorials and information covering software instruments, effects, sequencing, recording, mixing, and sound design.
Its accompanying discs contained extensive collections of samples and production tools. Among the sample media collected by Kocis was Computer Music Sound Tools Volume 1, along with numerous other sample collections.
Music Tech
Music Tech was another influential publication in Kocis’s early production education.
Like the other magazines, Music Tech combined production tutorials and technical information with software, samples, loops, and other production resources distributed on accompanying media.
The magazine would eventually become significant to Kocis’s own production history when a collection of his drum loops was featured on the DVD accompanying the May 2009 issue of Music Tech.
Learning Through Samples
One of the most valuable aspects of these magazines was the physical media that accompanied them.
During the early-to-mid 2000s, Kocis accumulated a substantial collection of CDs and DVDs containing sample libraries and production material.
The collection represented a snapshot of the resources available to computer-based music producers during this period.
The discs included material covering a wide range of production applications, including:
- Drum samples
- Drum loops
- Kicks and percussion
- Funk loops
- Dance music
- Hip-hop
- Disco
- Guitar effects
- Brass instruments
- Woodwinds
- Strings
- Ethnic instruments
- Sound effects
- Urban sounds
- Genre-specific loops
- Synthesizer sounds
- Sampled instruments
Some individual discs contained thousands of samples, creating an enormous library of sounds available for experimentation, beat making, sampling, and sound design.
Examples from the collection included Ultimate Kicks, Computer Music Sound Tools Volume 1, and Urban Sound Sources Volume 2.
Learning Mixing and Production Techniques
The value of these magazines went beyond the samples themselves.
The tutorials and articles provided practical exposure to many of the fundamentals involved in music production and mixing, including:
- Recording techniques
- Mixing
- EQ
- Compression
- Reverb and effects
- Stereo imaging
- Drum processing
- Sound selection
- Arrangement
- Sampling
- Beat production
- Synthesizers
- Software instruments
- Audio editing
- Sound design
For a developing producer, these resources provided an opportunity to learn how experienced producers and engineers approached different aspects of recording and production.
The process was highly experimental. Techniques learned from one article could be applied to the samples and production tools from another issue, creating an ongoing cycle of learning, experimenting, listening, and producing.
In many ways, these magazines functioned as a form of self-directed home study in music production.
The Early-2000s Sample Collection
The physical sample collection accumulated by Kocis primarily dates from approximately 2001 through 2006, although the exact dates vary from disc to disc.
One example in the collection is dated 2003, while other discs appear to come from the surrounding early-to-mid-2000s period.
The collection included both CD-style releases and DVD releases, reflecting the different formats used for magazine cover media during the period.
The discs contained a wide variety of production material, including drum sounds, loops, instruments, effects, and genre-specific sample libraries.
Although much of the software that accompanied these magazines is now outdated, the audio material itself represents a historical record of the sounds and production resources available to computer-based producers during the early 2000s.
From Sample User to Sample Creator
An important part of this story is that Kocis eventually moved from being a consumer of sample libraries to creating production material of his own.
During the early 2000s and following years, Kocis produced a substantial amount of drum-loop and sample material under the production name Phat Beat Productions.
His production work extended beyond the material eventually featured by Music Tech. He created additional drum loops and other sample material for different applications and formats, including Reason Refills and Apple Loops.
The 530 drum loops that appeared with Music Tech were therefore only one specific collection of loops produced for that particular magazine release, rather than representing the total amount of drum-loop material Kocis created.
Music Tech — May 2009
eaturing drum loops from Greg Kocis
The connection between Kocis and Music Tech came full circle several years later.
A collection of 530 drum loops produced by Kocis under the name Phat Beat Productions was featured on the DVD accompanying the May 2009 issue of Music Tech magazine.
These particular loops were created for Reason Refills.
The 530 loops represented the material produced specifically for that Music Tech release. They were not Kocis’s complete collection of drum loops.
In addition to the Music Tech material, Kocis produced other drum loops and sample content, including material created for Apple Loops.
This creates an interesting connection between Kocis’s early education and his later production work:
Learning from music technology magazines → experimenting with production techniques and sample libraries → creating original production material → having that material featured by Music Tech.
What began as a way of learning music production eventually led to Kocis contributing original production material to the same broader music-technology community that had helped educate him.
Documenting the Sample Collection
Kocis eventually created a video documenting the large physical collection of sample CDs and DVDs that he had accumulated during this period.
The video provides a visual record of the collection as it existed at the time. It shows the various magazine discs, sample-library titles, CD and DVD packaging, and the wide range of production material contained within the collection.
The collection was eventually sold, and Kocis no longer owns the physical CDs and DVDs shown in the video.
The video, however, remains available and serves as an archival record of the collection.
The video is therefore best viewed as documentation of a collection that was once part of Kocis’s music-production history, rather than a catalog of material he currently owns.
Video Chapters
| Time | Chapter | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Early-2000s Sample Collection | Introduction to the collection of sample CDs and DVDs accumulated during the early 2000s |
| 0:07 | Future Music & Computer Music | Introduction to the magazines and their accompanying sample media |
| 0:23 | Hundreds of Sample CDs | Overview of the large collection and the enormous number of samples it contained |
| 0:34 | Sample Categories | Examples including kicks, guitar effects, classic drum loops, funk, brass, and woodwinds |
| 0:54 | CD-ROMs & DVDs | Discussion of the different physical formats used for magazine sample releases |
| 1:02 | What’s Actually Included | Overview of the sample content and production material contained on the discs |
| 1:38 | Sample Library Highlights | Examples including Computer Music Sound Tools Volume 1 |
| 1:53 | Urban Sound Sources | Look at Urban Sound Sources Volume 2 and its collection of urban production samples |
| 2:03 | Drum & Instrument Samples | Additional examples including drum styles, strings, and other sampled instruments |
| 2:14 | Ethnic Sounds & More | Examples of ethnic instruments and additional sound libraries |
| 2:37 | Dating the Collection | Discussion of the approximate 2001–2006 period represented by the collection |
| 3:02 | Collection History | Information about the collection and its eventual sale |
| 3:22 | Full Collection Slideshow | Photographic overview of the collection |
A Record of Early Music Production Education
The magazines and sample discs discussed on this page represent an important part of Kocis’s early self-directed music-production education.
Future Music, Computer Music, and Music Tech provided access to production tutorials, technical information, equipment reviews, software, samples, loops, and other resources during a period when computer-based music production was rapidly developing.
The physical sample collection documented in the video is no longer in Kocis’s possession, but the video preserves a record of the material he collected and worked with during this period.
More importantly, the influence of these resources extended beyond the physical discs themselves. The techniques, sounds, and production concepts encountered through these magazines became part of Kocis’s continuing development as a producer.
That development eventually went in the other direction as well. Kocis began creating production material of his own, including drum loops, Reason Refills, and Apple Loops.
In May 2009, a collection of 530 Phat Beat Productions drum loops was featured on the DVD accompanying Music Tech magazine.
The story therefore comes full circle:
From learning music production through music technology magazines, to creating original production material, to having that material featured in one of the same magazines that had helped shape his early education.
Related Pages
- Music Timeline — Main timeline of Greg Kocis’s musical history
- Phat Beat Productions — Documentation of the production name and early sample-production work
- Music Production & Recording — Additional documentation of production techniques, equipment, and software
- Songwriting & Production — Later developments in Kocis’s songwriting and production work