THE TIME EXTENDER

As always, playing with people’s expectations is a great way of grabbing attention. So what if you go through a build-up but the drop never happens? A great way to squeeze out more tension and anticipation before bringing those beats back is to insert an extra one, two or even four bars after the build-up! This kind of pause can be found in genres such as trance, which have epic melodic breakdowns and powerful riffs that continuously intensify towards the drop. By bolting on an extra gap of silence, the intense melodies and build-up elements can fade away, giving the dancefloor a little breathing room before your beats-and-bass barrage finally slams back in. Be careful, though – tack on too many additional sections throughout the track, and DJs may avoid mixing the record in with more predictably-arranged tracks.