At the risk of pointing out something mind-blowingly obvious, dance music is all about one thing – making people dance. How successful your track is at achieving this goal can be affected by a myriad of factors. Composition plays a big role; you need to find the right groove, a decent hook, the perfect driving bassline… It’s important not to overlook a few basic production considerations too though.
For a track to sound at its best on a club sound system, it needs to sound tight at certain key frequencies. You need powerful bass that avoids being muddy and overblown, you need highs that will cut through without sounding tinny. In this issue’s Mixing For The Club cover feature, we’ll help you get your tracks club-ready. We’ll look at how to make sure they’ll sound great on any system, and how to prepare your creations to slot perfectly into a DJ set.
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Interviews
Orbital – The Hartnoll brothers are back with new album Monsters Exist. We catch up with them in their Brighton studio
Iron Curtis – The minimalist house master tells us about latest album Upstream Colour
Cinthie – The Watergate resident and Berlin house stalwart shows us around her newly completed studio
The Track: Third Son – Breaking down the driving beats and ominous basslines behind his moody techno cut, Counterculture
Classic Album – Booka Shade on creating their eclectic LP Movements
Technique
Mixing For The Club – We show you how to create tracks that can make the leap from studio to dancefloor, with everything from stereo and mono optimisation to creating perfecting builds
Producer’s Guide – Get more from Live Suite with our guide to Max For Live Devices
Modular Monthly – Out-there reverb with the Make Noise Erbe-Verb
Toolkit – How to create textures with granular synths
Reviews
IK Multimedia UNO
Arturia DrumBrute Impact
Mod Duo
Sonicsmith Squaver P1+ and Convertor+
Roundup: Pultec emulation plugins
Adam T5V monitors
Native Instruments TRK-01
And more...
Samples
Stereo Selection – We get creative with stereo wideners and multi-channel modulators for a pack of extra-wide FX, rhythmic loops and ambience
Acid House Workout – Hard-hitting, distorted beats and resonant, raspy basslines. This pack is all about resurrecting the iconic sounds of old-school acid
Access the FM sample archive: Download the ‘Archive’ packs and get over 12GB of loops, hits and instruments from our back catalogue of high-quality and royalty-free samples. From vintage synths and drum machines to esoteric instruments and FX – think of it as our best of. All the samples you need to create great music!