How to make an Avicii Seek Bromance synth sound

(Image credit: RD/ Kabik/Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Why it works

Seek Bromance has a huge trance anthem sound and has been massive across Europe. The Ibiza-friendly floor slamming lift in the middle of the track brings it all together.

So what makes it work? It’s all about the intro and main drop in the middle, fooling us into thinking that the track is going in one rhythmic direction and then fooling us again when the four-four drops. Try it yourself; it’s a clever and satisfying trick...

Hip to be square

Step 1: Enter the simple and smooth ES1 synth in Logic. From left to right, the oscillator is set to an 8’ square wave which for this sound is perfect. The mix is bright so we’ll only use the wave sounds, eliminating any sub. Set the LFO rate somewhere in the middle.

Moving to the middle, drive and cutoff are set high and the filter on the fat setting at 24dB. Resonance is low, velocity envelope is centralised and the amplifier high. Attack is short, sustain and decay high with the release turned up enough so the notes have a tail. Mod envelope and router are set to FM (frequency modulation).

Piano layer

Step 2: Go for a classic sharp piano sound. We’re using a sampled sound from Logic's EXS24 here. We’ve dramatically brightened up the sound in the filter section, turned up the drive and cutoff, added a bit of resonance and finally changed the tuning up an octave, which has given the sound a sense of urgency.

Adding effects

Step 3: The inserts on channel two (ES1) are: Stereo Spread to widen the sound; Space Designer Reverb to create space; and a Compressor to even them all out. On channel 3 (EXS24) the Silver Compressor gives the piano more punch and the Apple Aumatrix reverb is a simple favourite for many tasks and again provides space for the piano.