Tech Features
HOW DID FRICTION MAKE THAT?
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- Tech Features
Drum ’n’ bass big dog Friction on making ‘Someone’ (feat McLean)
What was the inspiration for the track?
I wanted to make a dancefloor liquid d’n’b track as I hadn’t made one for a while. I started playing around with some random keys and chords. Usually, if I don’t have a sample to vibe from, this is how I start. If I get something sounding nice I can pretty much build a whole tune around it by adding various samples, FX and musical layers from programmes like Massive, Sylenth etc. I think that’s what’s great about making music, because there are so many options you can choose. These days, less music is built around samples because a lot of classic samples have been used already.
Talk us through how you made it?
I followed the keys by layering together different kick, snare and drum loops. It’s very important that you fill all the different frequency ranges with your drum loops and that they sit nicely with your bass. The mixdown of your drums and bass is so important. A minimal tune with purely these elements and an excellent mixdown can destroy a club! After this came the bass line and then the wonderful voice of McLean. It wasn’t easy as there was a lot going on, which made it hard to get him to sit in the mix, but iZotope’s Ozone plug-in and some good reverbs were very useful!
What tips have you got for aspiring producers?
Reference what you are doing with tracks you admire or want to have the same impact as. This is an important element to my production process and really helps me know whether what I’m doing is going to cut the mustard! I don’t mean copy the tune – you have to have your own sound these days. We get demos coming into Shogun all the time that are basically carbon copies of big tunes but not as well produced.
Friction’s latest Loopmasters pack is available now from www.loopmasters.com
