Welcome back to another installment of How It Was Made!
Today, we’re excited to welcome American producer Entel. His new remix of “Better Days” by Seizmic has been in our heads ever since we first heard it, and its crystal clear production stands out.
For those who are unfamiliar with his work, Entel’s music is a masterful blend of progressive house and melodic techno, and he is known for his blend of, in his words, “cinematic sounds, driving rhythms, and hypnotizing musical themes.” He has been on labels such as Deep State Recordings and Anjunadeep, has played massive shows all over the world, and now runs his own imprint, Entelect, which now serves as the main home for what he refers to as his “audiovisual storytelling.” Needless to say, he’s a master of his craft and we’re lucky to be able to share some of his best music production tips.
We poked the producer’s brain to find out just how he put this track together, and he also provided some great tips to assist you in your own productions. Make sure to check out his remix and grab a copy here, then come back here and find out just how he put it together.
u-he Diva
Diva’s a digital Synthesizer that emulates analog warmth better than almost any other synth on the market I’ve used. On top of that it’s fully customizable allowing you to mix and match custom panels modeled after award winning synths. It’s a really powerful tool that allows for endless creativity. It’s a synth I’ve really grown to love and after years of use, it’s never gotten stale.
For my Better Days remix, I used Diva to craft the lead saw synths in the drop sections, as well as the wavey synth during the breakdown. For the drop sections, I kept a tight attack and release for some nice trancey plucks. I added in H Delay to widen things a bit, as well as Black Box for some additional warmth.
In the breakdowns, I repeated most of this, but opened up the ADSR so the synth would sustain. I paired it with an LFO that is automated to open throughout the progression.
I love Diva because it has so many different use cases. I’ve used it for bright progressive leads, gritty driving bass lines, as well as soft atmospheric pads. It’s a broad use case for progressive house, but if you go into sound design with intention, this synth can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Make sure to keep things simple, it’s easy to get carried away layering things on top of each other which can cause phase issues. You’d be surprised how much better one great lead can sound instead of multiple sounds on top of each other.
Izotope Neutron
Neutron is a plugin for mixing and mastering. I love it because it’s everything I need in one place. From eq’s to compressors, to transient shapers and exciters it has everything I look for when dialing in a sound. Each feature also comes as a stand alone plug in which I really enjoy.
I use Neutron on everything from individual channels to group mixing. I tend to use the stand alone plugins when working on individual instruments, but for groupings I use the suite. I love the mutliband compression, as well as the exciter that has a few different options for warming sounds up.
I’ve found this plugin to be my go to for drum bussing, especially hi hats. The transient shaper paired with some tape excitement really brings out warm tones without making things too harsh. I’ve learned it’s really easy to over do it with the exicter, so make sure to keep it subtle. Less is more some times.
Waves H Delay
H Delay is a plugin by Waves. It’s my favorite delay plug in, offering a lot of different options for dialing in tones you want. A sneaky cool feature is the analog knob that gives some unique saturation to sounds passing through it.
I mainly use this plug in on my lead sounds to help give them depth in the mix. I use the ping pong feature to widen things, and just generally help them find their own pocket to sing through. For synths that sound a bit digital, the lo-fi or analogue settings can help give things a unique tone that isn’t as ‘computerized.’
H Delay is great for vocals and lead sounds. It has a certain warmth to it that is hard to capture in the digital world. With some fine tuning it really gives this subtle character to sounds I really enjoy.
Alliance Black Box Analog Design
Black Box is a tube saturator plugin. It’s great for adding some grit and analogue warmth to sounds. It brings out harmonics boosting the sound without over gaining things too much.
I use this plugin to help give synths that sound a bit too digital more warmth and depth. It’s also great for helping lead melodies shine through on tracks without having to go to crazy on processing.
This one’s pretty straightforward. I’d put this on sounds you want to be the main focus of your song. Be careful not to slap it on everything though or your track and get this over compressed type of feeling from everything fighting for space. A secret I use this for as well is my hi hat / drum processing. Just a hint of saturation helps them punch through the mix a bit more clear.
Pro Tips from Entel
Tip #1: Keep your melodies simple. The typical ear can only focus on 3-5 sounds at a time
so be intentional with your writing and sound design.
Tip #2: Make sure to have a solid drum mix. A melody may typically be the most
memorable part of a song, but if you can’t dance to it, it probably won’t make it to a
dance floor.
Tip #3: Don’t be afraid to keep melodies a bit imperfect. In the age of computers we all
have a tendency to grid things perfectly on a piano roll, but don’t negate the feeling of
the natural human element. It can bring a groove into a track your computer can’t re-
create.
Tip #4: Collaborate! Being in the studio with other producers can bring about fresh ideas.
The post How It Was Made: Seizmic – Better Days (Entel Remix) [Magnetic Magazine Recordings] appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.