Discognition is one of the most talented names in the Denver melodic house music scene. That’s saying something because the Denver music scene is among the best in the United States. If you can make serious waves in that city, you’re bound for stardom on a much larger scale. He recently released a remix on Magnetic Magazine Recordings and has more projects in the pipeline with us. So, we wanted to take this moment between releases to pick his brain about how he works his magic in the studio and in his digital audio workstation (DAW).

We invited him to chat about the plugins he uses, share quick tips on making breakbeat melodic house music, and much more. You’ll learn all about how he uses and processes his strings, how he uses Ableton stock plugins to get his organic sound, and other insights. Listen to the track a few times below to acclimate your ears to the style we’ll be discussing, and then dive into the latest iteration of how it was made. Beige – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix), is out now on Magnetic Magazine Recordings.

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Beije – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix)

Novo: Modern Strings + Solo Textures

Beije – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix)

NOVO is a deeply sampled orchestral strings VST. It’s mainly geared toward film and TV scoring
but works in a variety of settings. It comes loaded with tons of stock patches and loops but gives
you the creative freedom to “design” your own with string designer. Solo Textures focuses more
on individual instrumentation within a string ensemble such as the cello, viola, and violin.

In this track I’ve used Novo for a variety of applications. The string swells and chords you hear
as well as a violin lead in the first section of the track. The main piece that really sets this track a
part from others is a string trio I’ve arranged in the breakdown which consists of a Cello, Viola
and Violin. I’ve automated the velocity in ways that make this feel more humanized but the joy of
a natural sounding VST that samples real recorded musicians is that I don’t have to do much
with it. I’ve also used some

If you’re making similar music as this track, deeper progressive house or organic house, this
VST can allow you to really flex your songwriting chops in a natural sounding way. It’s a great
way to bring some orchestral life to your tracks without going straight for splice.

Vast [Heavyocity]

Beije – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix)

Vast is a convolution reverb and delay tool that can transform sounds and put them into
impossible spaces. While being able to tweak things in your own way it comes with a variety of
presets that are designed for specific sounds and instruments such as vocals or guitar.

In this track I’ve used this to add further depth and space to the string elements to give them just
a bit more life. It works as any convolution reverb or delay but this one is my favorite. A lot
people use Valhalla but I find this works better for the sound I like.

A little goes a long way here so I use this one sparingly so as to not muddy up the mixdown. I
wouldn’t use this as a normal reverb but more so when you want to really exaggerate the sense
of space.

Ableton Stock Plugins

I use a variety of stock plugins in all of my projects. In this one I’ve used the native
Compression, EQ, Autopan, Reverb, Delay, Lowpass and Highpass filters and many others. I
bring this up because my philosophy in production in general is you don’t need a ton of fancy
plugins and hardware to make a good, professional sounding tune.

Using these stock plugins can get you 90% of the way there as long as you are very intentional
about how and WHY you are using them. Be very specific about what you’re EQing and
compressing. Learn these native plugins, inside and out and you will find that these stock
plugins can actually be better than some out there that you have to buy.

Izotope Trash 2

Beije – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix)

Trash is a saturation tool that helps breathe life into your sounds. Saturation is key to making
your track sound full without over layering.

In this track, I’ve used saturation on almost every single channel. Most channels have a more
subtle use of saturation but on the progressive lead in the back half of the track I’ve used a bit
more aggressive saturation to bring out the grittiness of the synths.

When you’re working in progressive house, big FULL synths are key and saturation is the best
way to get there. When layering synths, make sure each layer serves a purpose sonically rather
than just using them to try to “beef” up your sound. Beef up your sound by using saturation.

Quick Tips

Tip 1: Less is More. Progressive House can get muddy very quickly. Use EQ and Saturation
effectively to make your track sound full without layering in synths too much.
Tip 2: Instrumentation is everything. Strings and Piano are emotional instruments. Reach for
acoustic instruments when wanting to bring out emotion in a track.
Tip 3: “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.” In Breaks, groove is everything. Stick to tried and true drum
patterns and save your creativity for the melodic elements in the track.
Tip 4: Use Reference Tracks. Have a couple of tracks in your arsenal with various elements you
like to compare with your track.

The post How It Was Made: Beije – Ecdysis (Discognition Remix) [Magnetic Magazine Recordings] appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.