| Nobody can agree on what industrial is, was, or should be. Granted most scenes are like that, but it seems industrial music fans take pride in developing their own list of what constitutes industrial. Going back to the original topic....
Mangling sounds with samplers/filters/distortion is a good start. Experimenting with non-standard arrangements/composition helps. Instead of thinking in terms of drum, baseline, pad, lead, etc. try using different parts of the audio spectrum to carry the melody. In quite a few "industrial" songs the lower voice "bass" instrument caries the main melody, while the higher portion of the spectrum may alternate between a voice elaborating/mirroring the main theme and pads or noises/samples.
As for getting a sound closer to NIN, buy some '80's gear, listen to skinny puppy, chase Al Jurgensen around, and get Adrian Sherwood to teach you to mix. |