Step Theory

Last track I'm going to manage for FAWM this year, so I figured I'd go out on a high. I haven't written any proper DnB for a while, and it's very much in my blood, so I figured I'd take a swing. In terms of my learning process for FAWM this year, I've taken the opportunity to lean on some kit and some assets I don't always use to their fullest. I made a choice to focus on nearly discordant sounds, with a lot of the lines moving between semitones rather than making more melodic combinations, I wanted to bring some claustrophobia and tension. The breaks were written on my Novation Rhythm and my Sonicware CyDrums (the slower, more loping beat). I'm finding this combination an absolute banger: samples from a dedicated sample machine Sound Better. The architecture of that sampler has been tuned to sound better than just slamming wavs into your DAW. But SO MUCH richer is the drum synthesis from the CyDrums. If you want some rich analogue feel - and some ABSOLUTE WEIRDNESS, man, that thing's a beauty. If you can't afford that one, I also highly recommend the Korg Volca Drum, which is also drum synthesis, if less capable (but cheap AF). The mix of BOTH samples AND drum synths really lands for me, something I wanna do lots more of. Bass wubs were largely from NI Massive, which I realise is far from groundbreaking(!), but I don't use it enough, it's still one of the most capable, incredible VSTs on the market and there's a lot of talented people doing audio design there, so I shopped for some presets to get me off the blocks then fiddled with what I found. I've recently discovered KAN's sample packs (and presets) and there is some EXCELLENT stuff in there. I'm not quick to praise packs as quality is so variable, but these folks do really solid work at affordable prices. Other misc samples came from Public Enemy, Monty Python and Danny Dyer. Not even kidding :) "Filth". Hope it makes you tap your feet.