PLUGIN WEEK 2026: Known for reimagining ‘90s and ‘00s dance classics as contemporary pop gems, PinkPantheress has won over both electronic music oldheads and social media-savvy youngsters alike.
Tracks she’s sampled or interpolated into her work include unassailable anthems such as Adam F’s Circles in Break it Off, Basement Jaxx’s Romeo in Girl Like Me, and Sweet Female Attitude’s Flowers in Pain.
One of her biggest tracks, Illegal was based around a sample from Underworld’s progressive techno epic Dark & Long (Dark Train), pitched up and reworked with skippy 2-step garage beats and a beefy 808 bass line. All sounds that are ripe for recreation in software.
On the song, which became a viral smash on TikTok (wherein people would emulate meeting each other and shaking hands) and was the third single from her second mixtape Fancy That, PinkPantheress said, “I definitely was surprised at the reception because I was totally going on a whim, doing the handshake thing,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t really expect anything to come from it, but I was really happy to see people were enjoying it. I thought it was really sick.”
“The sample is quite timeless,” she told NME of its Underworld-cribbing starting point. “I think the power of the beat itself is what people really like about it.”
PinkPantheress expanded on what she loved about the 1990s-era of dance music further; “I enjoyed how emotive it was, and there was more liberation. Music was allowed to be experimental without being put in a box.”
In this guide to getting the PinkPantheress sound we’ll take the song apart and rebuilt it element-by-element with some of our favourite plugins.
1. Techno chords with Serum 2
Underworld’s uplifting techno chords are musically quite simple, and we can get close to their timbre using a preset from Xfer Records Serum 2. Set your DAW’s project tempo to 141 BPM, load up Serum 2 on a MIDI track, and select the Factory > Synth > SY - Jupiter Duality preset.
The filter movement on this sound isn’t that close to the Underworld synth, but we can get a more appropriate feel by setting Filter 1’s mode to Normal > Low 6.
Sequence C minor chords on the first, fifth and eighth 8th notes, followed by F major chords in the second inversion on the last two quarter notes. For the bass, sequence the root note an octave down for the C minor, with the root then the major second for the F major.
2. Garage beats with Triton
Central to Illegal’s 2-step garage-inspired sound is the rimshot snare. The dependable Korg Triton plugin has a suitable sound in its Standard Kit, so load that up.
Start by programming a standard 2-step pattern which comprises C#2 rimshots on the second and fourth beat, with E1 kicks on the first and sixth 8th notes.
Create a two-bar groove by duplicating the pattern out, and add another kick on the final 8th note of the first bar to provide some variation.
Now program some quieter A#4 shakers on 8th notes, adding some yet quieter ghost shakers during the second beat of the second bar. Move these slightly to the right so that they’re swung in classic garage fashion.
Now duplicate the two-bar second to create a fourth bar sequence, and also move the ghost shakers so they occur during the first beat of the fourth bar.
Let’s also add another rim shot on the final 16th note of the second beat of the fourth bar. This gives us a garage-style beat with enough variation to keep it interesting.
The shaker sound is panned to the left quite a bit, so let’s make the audio mono. In Ableton Live we can do this using the Utility effect with the Mono button activated.
Let’s make our beats sound loud and punchy with some clipping. Add Sir Audio Tools StandardCLIP to the track, setting it to Hard Clip Mode with Ceiling on, and an Input Gain of 8.20 dB.
Let’s balance the tracks and turn them down so that we’re not clipping the master. Set the Serum 2 track to -13 dB, and the Triton track to -3 dB.
3. Heavy 808 bass with Massive X
Native Instruments' Massive X comes complete with a selection of heaving 808-style bass presets. Load up the synth on a new MIDI track and select the Jungle Eight preset for a booming bass tone.
Turn this track down to -18.5 dB to balance it with the other elements.
For the most part the Illegal bass line plays the root note for the C minor chord, and the minor second for the F major chord.
4. Pretty pads with Triton
Later in the track, the music switches up to a jungle-style sustained pad chord, and there are few plugins better prepared to create that style of sound than the Korg Triton. Load up the /\Gods Bathtub/\ Combi preset.
The element isn’t too loud, so set the track to -5.5 dB to make it a touch quieter.
Sequence a C minor chord that lasts for four bars.
5. High-pitched ear candy with Diva
This pad is accompanied by a sparking synth tone, and we can create something similar easily with u-he Diva. Add the synth on a new MIDI track, and load up the HS Baroqualog preset.
Set this track to a restrained -18 dB to balance it with the pad.
Copy the melody we’ve used here that plays in the C4 octave to create some high-pitched, sparkly synth tones.
Now we have A and B sections that create the perfect foundation for catchy pop vocals, while still providing big beats and bass.
It’s a close approximation of the Illegal aesthetic, but you can use these retro-tinged sonics to create something new.
It’s this spirit of invention that attracted PinkPantheress to these legacy sounds in the first place; “These days, I worry that artists feel less willing to experiment with sounds ’cause you’re going to be boxed in,” she told NME.
“Genres have become rigid in the last few years, and I think that back in the day, subcultures felt more blended. I could be wrong, but I liked how free everybody felt at the time and how fun everything was.”
