Quadeca - GODSTAINED: Organic Sound In The Digital Age
- Joaquin Diversiev
- Jul 6
- 4 min read
Written By Joaquin Diversiev
Quadeca is a producer, artist, and multi-instrumentalist who continues to surprise his audience with every song he releases. The new single, “GODSTAINED”, steps into new territory for Quadeca. He moves towards more natural sounds and away from the more heavily processed and synthesized sounds from his previous records. His evolution in sound, particularly his use of organic elements, sets him apart in today’s digital music world.
Quadeca began his career playing FIFA on Youtube. He gained popularity when he started making music videos about turning random strangers into rappers and doing impressions of famous rappers. Although he had success on YouTube, he did not have much success when he started taking his own music seriously. His first album, “Voice Memos”, was a flop on release1. Quadeca needed to switch things up and he did with his second album, From Me To You (FMTY), which received a much more positive response2. Throughout the years that followed, Quadeca released 2 more albums I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You (IDMTHY) and SCRAPYARD.
IDMTHY and SCRAPYARD were both a major step up from FMTY, showing Quadeca’s development as a producer and artist. From the production to his vocal performance, you hear a massive improvement between FMTY and his next two albums. On these records, Quadeca combines influences from The Beatles (“Born Yesterday”, “WHAT’S IT TO HIM?”) and experimental modern production from artists like Duster, Björk, Jane Remover and Caroline Polachek3.
The organic sounds on his new single are what stood out to me when I listened to it for the first time. It was a complete change in sound compared to his previous releases. I did some research about sound and its different mediums and I started learning about three main categories: organic, analog, and digital.
Organic sounds are created physically and travel through the air like a drum, acoustic guitars, birds chirping and the human voice.
Analog sounds are sounds and vibrations represented as (or converted to) electrical signals like electric guitars, old synthesizers and microphones. Or when those electrical signals are printed to physical media like vinyl and tape.
Digital sounds are created or processed by computers using code, like MIDI instruments, audio files (.mp3, .wav, etc.), and software-based effects.
“GODSTAINED” uses organic sounds like the swells of real strings or piano parts played by Quadeca himself. Then, these sounds are recorded through analog microphones. Allegedly, Quadeca uses Logic Pro (a DAW - digital audio workstation) with digital plugins to produce his music4. It’s possible he recorded at Trend Def Studios in LA where they use analog outboard gear and other analog equipment.5
In music production, organic sounds are typically recorded and converted into an analog signal and then converted into a digital signal. Before digital production (1990s) the conversion process stopped at analog and people consumed music through analog mediums like vinyls and cassettes. In today's pop production most sounds are created digitally, they never existed in the real world. Analog or digital signals may sound very similar, but they are fundamentally made and stored in different ways and have subtle differences. Analog signals reproduce real-world sonic information, while digital signals convert this into a binary form.6
This is similar to digital photography versus film photography. Digital photography is an image stored as a collection of pixels. While film photography is, put simply (I’ve never used a film camera), an image projected onto light sensitive film and then developed and printed using chemical processes. In music, photography and cinema, analog media is usually described as having warmth and character but can be expensive and time consuming. Digital media can create incredibly accurate recreations of what they capture and are easy to share on computers and phones which is why they're so prevalent today.
We are in the golden age of digital music production. Mainstream music is mostly produced digitally. Anyone with a computer has access to digital music production and advancements in AI removes skill and creativity based barriers to entry. Simulated instruments (VSTs), sampling and digital effects mean you can produce songs without getting up from your computer or turning on a microphone. Because of how simple and cheap producing music has become, the overall quality of music has diminished. However, there are people like Quadeca who embrace digital production as a strength rather than a weakness.
“GODSTAINED” and Quadeca’s two most recent tracks “MONDAY” and “FORGONE” all have this organic sound that isn’t commonly heard in most mainstream music. Quadeca pulls from his background as producer in the digital realm to create complex arrangements and imaginative soundscapes. Listening to the incorporation of organic sounds in “GODSTAINED” was refreshing – like drinking water when you wake up in the middle of the night. Anyone can make great music if they have the creativity and courage to create it.
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