Use filters as a subtle tool for arrangement

A filter is one of the most useful tools for shaping a track’s progression over time. Obvious low-pass filter movement over drums, chords or other elements will create Daft Punk-style ‘nightclub toilet’ underwater sweeps and builds, of course, but filters can structure in much more subtle ways. A very gentle low-pass filter over your drum group (at, say, 10-15kHz) during an intro can provide subsconscious contrast against the drop, when it’s removed. Or, gently carve away the lowest sub frequencies (40-60Hz) of your entire track during a breakdown, then slam the bass back in when everything kicks back in.