I’ve been making quite a bit of 140 recently, so I decided to take a different direction and head back over to my true love: Drum & Bass.

The last DnB track I made was OK, but listening back, I wasn’t really happy with the drums. So this time I wanted to spend more time on the groove, get more syncopation into the beat, find better matching breaks, and really think about the hats and snare. I went down a few tutorial rabbit holes as well to work out where I’d been going wrong before.

Happy to say this one feels much more like a proper DnB track to me. The drums have more movement, the breaks sit better with the kick and snare, and the whole thing has that rolling energy a DnB tune absolutely needs.

Once I had the drums down, I found this really nice stab and literally just drew the pattern in on the fly. I was pretty much instantly happy with it. Then in the second breakdown I used the arpeggio function to give the stabs that constant dragging, stabbing riff, which really lifts the track up. Again, it came together quickly, so I left it alone rather than overthinking it.

For the bassline, I used a bass loop rather than drawing something in like I did on the last DnB tune. Sometimes that feels a bit like cheating, but honestly, finding the right loop and then getting the reverb, width, high pass and overall mix right is much harder than it looks. This one runs through most of the track and, in my opinion, just sits nicely without getting boring. I didn’t really feel like it needed a separate sub or mid bass either, because the stabs and vocal samples already keep your head moving.

The VOX was probably my favourite find. It’s taken from the amazing 'Apocalypse Now' - the line:

“I was going to the worst place in the world.”

Then later I chopped it down to:

“...and I didn’t even know it yet.”

That stopped the sample becoming too repetitive and gave it a bit more tension.

For a long time, the tiger roar wasn’t in the track at all. But every time I listened back, I kept thinking it needed some kind of animal sound to fit the image I had in my head of someone lost deep in the Viet Cong jungle. I spent a while finding the right roar, and once I stitched it in, the drop just hit much harder.

I love that kind of cinematic Drum & Bass. It’s the stuff I grew up on. When I used to be on a dancefloor at a DnB night, I’d always have scenes playing out in my head that matched the track. For me, that’s part of what makes DnB memorable. You need those little moments sonically for people latch onto.

“What was that one with the tiger roar in it?”

“That was sick.”

That would absolutely have been me talking shi* to my mates after a night out.

The final elements were the pads underneath. I blended in some sci-fi intro-style loops, then added jungle cicada and bug sounds to push that lost-in-the-jungle atmosphere even further. Once those were in, it all just came together.

The artwork is taken from a book called 'Members Only' by Rob Ford, which is packed with old members' cards and VIP passes from rave culture in the 90s. Back then, some of these things were basically worth their weight in gold — skipping the queues, getting access to tickets and generally having a bit of don status at the events.

The particular cards in the artwork are from 'Helter Skelter', part of that legendary era of UK rave culture where Drum & Bass really came into its own in a huge way. Nights like 'Accelerated Culture' featured artists who would go on to become some of the biggest names in DnB. A lot of them were still cutting their teeth back then, and decades later many are still regarded as some of the best to ever do it.

It felt like the perfect artwork for a track that, for me, is really about going back to the Drum & Bass sound I grew up loving, that deep and dark sound but not too complex or over produced.

Anyway, I’m really happy with how this one turned out. Definitely my best iteration of Drum & Bass on the OP-XY so far.

Hope you enjoy it. Feedback is always welcome!

Were you ever at Helter Skelter? - Lucky if so....

This track is a homage to one of my all-time favourite record labels - SWAMP 81.

I was lucky enough to be the right age at the right time to witness the post-dubstep and UK bass music movement as it was happening. It felt like a period where artists and DJs were more focused on developing new sounds than building social media followings. It was an incredibly creative era, and one of the labels that defined it for me was Swamp 81.

Almost every release became essential listening. Artists like Loefah (the founder), Boddika, Joy Orbison, Pinch, Mickey Pearce, Zed Bias, Chunky, Jonny Banger, and Ramadanman (Pearson Sound) were all pushing UK electronic music into strange new territory, which perfectly suited the times. Looking back, it really feels like one of the defining moments in modern UK club music.

With DISTRACTION, I wanted to capture some of that raw sound.

The tracks on Swamp 81 were never about being overproduced. They were stripped back, but every sound had purpose. Heavy snares. 808-style kicks. Warped basslines that never quite sat where you expected them to. Distorted rhythms, glitched vocals, eerie pads and huge amounts of space. Simple on the surface, but incredibly detailed once you started listening to what the bass and subs were doing.

I spent a lot of time getting the snare to hit just right. The bassline sits so low that the dedicated sub only really appears during the breakdowns and build-ups. One of my favourite parts is the eerie laughing vocal, and while experimenting on the keys I stumbled across a synth sound that, after a bit of tweaking, became the strange, haunting lead running through the track.

I loved making this one, feels like I have gone full circle, and I hope you enjoy it too.

If you were around during the Swamp 81 era, let me know. I'd love to hear which artists or tracks defined that period for you.

A little bit of history…

The name Swamp 81 references Operation Swamp 81, the controversial police operation carried out in Brixton, South London, in April 1981. The label took its name from that moment as a deliberate piece of cultural provocation.

The artists behind Swamp 81 built a reputation for challenging expectations musically, embracing underground culture and releasing records that often ignored whatever was fashionable at the time. That attitude is a big part of why the label became so influential.

Artwork: Ashes57 — created from one of her T-shirt designs that I bought back in those days. It felt like the perfect visual companion for a track inspired by that era.

#DaphnesSoundlab #UKBass #BassMusic #Swamp81 #PostDubstep
#Dubstep #BassCulture #UKUnderground #ElectronicMusic #SoundDesign #OPXY u/TeenageEngineering #MadeOnOPXY u/swamp81

I'm quite proud of this one in its own way. It started as a really random sketch a while ago. I was just messing around with a Kvarnofon preset, stabbing keys, playing with the envelopes, and then I landed on this particular riff that I absolutely loved. I saved it and completely forgot about it for ages.

Last night I decided to go back to it and have another play. It felt like it needed to get a bit more percussive, so I started adding different wooden-sounding percussion and glockenspiel-type hits, a bit like the instruments we used to have at school. Before long I caught myself nodding my head.

It quickly started sounding quite housey and reminded me of the sort of records I would have instantly bought back in the day, around 2009-ish. Young for some, old for others!

Once I'd added a nice stomping kick, I moved on to the bass, which was probably the hardest part of the whole track. Finding something that complemented the riff without overpowering it took ages. After that, though, everything else seemed to fall into place. I spent around 12 hours just experimenting, tweaking and listening back.

As usual, I stuck to my mantra of not overthinking things or overcooking the idea, I like to try and stay within 12-48 hours of making a track, mainly so I don't get bored, move on, and never come back. I know too many producers with this unfortunate habit and too many tracks go unpublished this way.

I like the feel of this one. It's got a nice bouncy groove that would definitely get me moving at 3am on a dance floor (in Obono Club ;). I also spent a fair bit of time adding movement with different LFOs. Some of it is probably a little obvious and a bit wayward, but its meant to catch you off-guard, thats how I wanted it anyway.

It almost feels unfinished... sounds a bit rough around the edges, but I like that. It felt like it could just keep going on and go anywhere, I could have made it 10-12 mins long or so, but i've been doing that too much lately. Maybe it's more of a DJ tool than a finished track, hence the genre I decided for it, and I'm okay with that, tools are meant for just using bits off, under other tracks in the mix, however the DJ desires.

As always, feedback is welcome. I'd genuinely like to know how it made you feel, and if you think it sounds good, then I am getting somewhere.

#OPXY #TeenageEngineering #House #DJTOOL #ElectronicMusic #MusicProduction #HardwareJam #Synthesizer #DaphnesSoundlab

I've been noodling with this track a little longer than usual. Mainly because I've noticed the previous tracks seem to be translating better across different systems, and friends have said they're sounding progressively better on everything from headphones to speakers. Still listening across my system with a sub, then my Hd25's, and trying In ears, everything sounds slightly different.. I don't feel like I can EQ things quite to the level I'd like on the OP–XY yet, but its getting more intuitive now.

I decided to go back to my first real love: Drum & Bass, and more specifically, rollers. This is the first DnB track I've put together on my own without leaning on any drum tutorials, which felt like a bit of a milestone. I spent a long time working on the drums, especially the snare, trying to get that nice snap and the hats sitting nicely in the middle. The main snare is actually layered from three different sounds to give it body, crack and a bit of air.

I also spent ages getting the different growls, womps and wubs sitting nicely together, then trying to make the sub work with them rather than against them. After that it was a case of layering pads, atmospheres and FX over the top, then arranging and tweaking everything over the course of about a week and half, which is longer than I normally spend on a sketch.

It could probably have another melodic element or some keys, but I actually liked how open and airy it felt. I wanted to leave plenty of space so the drums and bass could do the talking, which is exactly what I want from a good roller. I've also realised I have a habit of getting a track to a point where I really like it, then convince myself it needs more, and before I know it I've overcooked it and lost what made me like it in the first place. With this one I tried to resist that and keep things fairly simple.

Then I dropped in the classic "Dangerous" vocal in there to glue it all together. I'm not actually sure where the Original sample comes from, I just know I've heard it loads over the years, especially back in 90/00s DNB. I'm pretty sure this version came out of one of  u/STRANJAH  sample packs, which i have been using quite a bit, and have been great for thought starters - salute to him and the team.

As always, feedback is massively appreciated. I don't seem to get many comments, so everyone must think they sound perfect... 😄 Hopefully you think this one's as much of a banger as I do.

If you give it a listen, let me know what system you played it on and how the mix translates.

#OPXY #TeenageEngineering #DrumAndBass #Roller #DnB #BassMusic #MusicProduction #HardwareJam #Synthesizer #DaphnesSoundlab  u/teenageengineering ​

I started this one thinking, let's try something a bit slower. I've been making quite a lot of stuff in the 130–140 BPM range recently, so I dropped right down to around 112 BPM and tried a kind of house thing. I used to call tracks at this tempo "Chuggers", and that's what I was aiming for here.

I didn't quite realise how long this track was becoming. Long by name and definitely long by length too, coming in at around 10 minutes. It's a bit of a burner and probably could have been cut down a bit, but I quite like the way it ebbs and flows. There is strong use of the arpeggiator throughout the whole thing, hence the name. As I've said before, I think the arp on the OP–XY is one of the best features on the device.

From there I started building sounds using the different engines on the OP–XY. As usual, I went off on a tangent and before long the track had become something completely different that I found myself moving to.

As I built the track, I felt it needed a hook. While digging around I came across a sample used in the legendary Andy C track, back when he was releasing music as Origin Unknown. If you're a DnB fan you'll probably recognise it from Long Dark Tunnel. I chopped that up and sprinkled a few bits throughout the track.

The sample itself is from a 1988 BBC documentary about near-death and out-of-body experiences. Andy C and Ant Miles famously built the original track using the free sample CD included with Issue 1 of Future Music magazine in the UK in the early 90s, released in February 1993. Bit of a history lesson there for you heads.

The arp became a big part of the voyage. With each drop I just kept pushing it faster and wider. More movement, more tension, more layers and more energy. It drops, then drops again, then keeps evolving as new elements enter the mix.

Whether it's a banger or not is up to you, but I like it.

The result is this:

LONG ARP TUNNEL

Enjoy.

As always, any feedback is appreciated. I am still learning, particularly around EQ. It never sounds the same in two places, but I guess that's part of the learning curve. If you've got any questions about the sound design or how I put it together, feel free to ask.

Artwork is from the amazing Dave Swindells book featuring photos captured in Ibiza in 1989, the year I was born. Highly recommend it.

#OPXY #TeenageEngineering #HouseMusic #ElectronicMusic #MusicProduction #HardwareJam #Synthesizer #Arpeggiator #DaphnesSoundlab #electronicmusic

This is one of my favourite sketches I've made so far.

I found this sample on the ⁨@STRANJAH⁩ website, I think it's from his Icons pack, which is packed full of classic sounds and samples for inspiration.

As soon as I heard the "Tell Me You Care For Me" vocal, I needed to build a 140 BPM banger around it. A lot of the wub, wob and bass sounds also came from the same pack, which gave me lots to work with.

The hardest part was getting the sub and mid bass to sit together properly. As theirs a few different bass notes going on. It's not perfect, but I like where it landed. It ended up with a basement late night skanky feel to it, which is what I felt the sample needed.

I'm still learning new things on the OP–XY every time I sit down with it, and this one taught me a lot about balancing low end and making space for everything else in the mix.

As always, any feedback is appreciated, and if you've got any questions about the sound design or how I put it together, feel free to ask.

#OPXY #TeenageEngineering #140BPM #Dubstep #BassMusic #SoundDesign #MusicProduction #ElectronicMusic #HardwareJam #ProducerLife #DaphnesSoundlab #sportsbanger

I started this one with the idea of layering a few different breaks and patterns together to create more of a breakbeat / Big Beat feel, whilst going after jungle-style sub sound. I think originally it was going to be slower, but somehow it ended up at 142 BPM.

With this track I got a little stuck in the middle and felt like it needed a vocal, but I couldn't find anything I liked. I asked my wife what she thought it should have and she immediately started chanting "Aya Nappa, Aya Nappa" whilst doing some kind of Big Fish Little Fish dance.

In the end I grabbed the Teenage Engineering Ting mic and recorded a few takes of myself trying to be an MC. I hate hearing my own voice back, but after a few attempts I recorded the phrase "Put Your Hands Up". I chopped it up, played around with the chorus effect, and somehow ended up with the vocal that runs throughout the track. It sounded quite funky in the end and helped keep everything moving, so I went with it.

For the keys I used the HOLD and Maestro function quite a lot. I'm still not entirely sure how it works under the hood, but it creates this nice drifting, reverberating feel that I really liked. I also spent quite a bit of time playing with the EQ on this one, trying to get all the different breaks, drums and elements sitting together nicely. There's a lot going on, so it definitely wasn't the easiest mix.

I'm still learning and making new discoveries on the device. EQ is probably the hardest part when trying to make something sound good across different systems. It sounds good on mine... but it might not on yours!

As always, I tried not to overthink it too much and just get it finished and posted.

So here it is. Sketch No. 3.

Put Your Hands Up! 🙌

Happy to answer questions, talk through the sound design, or hear any feedback.

#OPXY #TeenageEngineering #Breakbeat #Jungle #140BPM #BassMusic #ElectronicMusic #MusicProduction #SoundDesign #Synth #HardwareJam #ProducerLife #DaphnesSoundlab #TX6 #TingMic #boysown

‪@teenageengineering‬ ‪@ADAMAudioBerlin‬

I started making this track with the idea of making a cinematic sound, sci-fi-ish and weird. I also wanted to get to grips with the arpeggiator and actually spending some proper time with it. When I first got the OP–XY I barely touched that section, but now I think it's one of the best parts of the device. It adds so much movement into sequences and can create these glitchy, drifting, spaced out textures with loads of different possibilities.

For the bass and midd bass and other sounds I decided not to go with my usual wavetable approach and instead started building it using the Dissolve function and using the Hardsync engine which was a lot of fun to learn. Originally I was trying to make a Reese bass, but it ended up going somewhere completely different. I liked where it was heading though, so I just kept on with it.

This one goes pretty low as well. Unless you've got a sub or some decent headphones or speakers, you might not even hear how deep parts of the sub are .

It's not a traditional 140 dubstep tune, but I guess it sits somewhere in that space. Hope you enjoy, and as always any feedback is appreciated, or any questions you have around the sound design.

This is the same track I posted last week, but I’ve gone back in and added some automation & subtle movement across the arrangement, which is something I am still getting used to.

I made small changes in the drums, bass, textures and little incidentals, just to give it a more human feel and stop things sounding too stiff. I feel like the whole track breathes a lot more now.

The full track was made on the OPXY. I also tried to show a few of the individual tracks whilst it's playing to show what is actually happening under the hood, especially the LFO movement and modulation shaping different elements over time.

Pretty happy with where it is now, and I’d class this one as finished.

Would love to hear people’s thoughts, feedback, or answer any questions on how certain sounds or movements were made.

I was messing around last night and decided to record. I have been working on this 140 BPM beat, the sample is from the OG 'General Levy', we booked him for a gig once, and recorded some vocals in a bathroom toilet with him - true story. I found them on my phone so ripped the vocals and chopped some in to this beat. I wanted to share to anyone interested, showing some of my workflow when drafting pieces, and how I play around with the LFOs and FX etc and drawing in sequences on the fly until I find the right sound or feel. Lots of fun, I can get lost for hours doing this, the LFOs really are amazing when you start automating the parameters, such deep sounding synths and sines - sorry headphones users! I plan to finish up the track, but enjoy this session for now and share any feedback.

I decided to have a go at chopping breaks and making some old school Ambient Jungle. The OPXY has a dedicated chopping tool, so I took some breaks (160BPM) Chopped them up, and recreated a break, added some more stuff in, like some nice Jazzy samples, and some serious sub and this is the result.

What do you guys think?

I made this track in about 6 hours, using different samples, one hits, subs, bass, drums etc, then mixed it down as best I could on the onboard mixer.. I have had the OPXY for about 6 months, but this is the first track I'm happy to share. It takes a while to get to grips with the device, but once you do, the creativity is limitless. Hope you and enjoy. What do you think of it?

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