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Building a track using this issue’s Samplephonics CM Pack

1 Let’s build a wonky, Four Tet-style house groove using the outstanding sounds from this issue’s Samplephonics collection. We’re using Ableton Live 9 but you can follow along in any host. Begin by copying the Samplephonics CM Pack 2016 folder (find it on the DVD with a print copy or download it from vault.computermusic.co.uk) to your hard drive’s samples folder.

2 We’ll kick off with a percussion loop. Load Surrealism » Drums » 120_QuiteOriental_SP into a 120bpm project, then turn its channel down to -6dB. Remove unwanted bass by highpassing the signal at 180Hz. Next, a kick loop will provide low-end weight and rhythm: drag Alien Beatscapes » Drums » 120_SpaciousBeat_SP_01 onto a new track and set it to -6dB as well.

3 An off-kilter, almost ‘drunken’ bassline will pair nicely with our skipping drums. Load Boutique Hip Hop » Synths » 85_D_SynthMelodic_SP_01 on a new audio track, then use your DAW’s timestretching or warping function to sync the bass loop with the other parts.

4 Although the samples in the pack are pre-processed and ready to use, you may find you need to apply minimal processing to help parts fit within the context of other elements. We’ll use an EQ to high-pass the synth bass at 87Hz, preventing the part from clashing with our sub-heavy kick; then Live’s Saturator – with its Drive at +6.5dB and Output at -4dB – beefs the bass out a little in the mix.

5 Time for a hi-hat part to fill out the groove. Load Beat Inflections » Beat Stems » 72_MandroidHats_01_SP on a new audio track set to -9.5dB, then warp it in time with the other parts. A great way to create your own groove is by chopping out small sections of more complex loops: we’ll isolate the first two beats of the loop, delete the rest, then copy this two-beat section throughout the project.

6 Our simplified hi-hat is a little too simple, but we can use a delay effect to add extra width and groove: load a delay plugin such as Live’s Ping Pong Delay on the hi-hat channel. We’ll set Dry/Wet to 60%, Feedback to 0%, then Sync it with a Division of 2. To filter the rhythmic hat repeats, set the delay Filter’s centre frequency to 1.6kHz and its bandwidth to 4.

7 Let’s accentuate the other parts with a few strategically placed scrapes. Drag Earthly Resonance » Percussion » 104_RhythmicAtrocities_SP_01 onto a new audio track set to -13dB. This loop is a little too busy and interferes with the rest of the groove when played in its entirety, so chop out the scrape that sits between beats 2 and 3 before deleting the rest of the audio.

8 Let’s now add a few quirky vocal cuts. Place Earthly Resonance » Vocals » 124_G_LowKey_SP_01 on a new audio track, turn the channel down to -10dB, then timestretch/warp the loop to fit the track. For an eerie, Burial-esque effect, we’ll pitch the vocal down by -8 semitones, then chop out sections and intersperse them throughout the groove.

9 A good way to generate inspiring new ideas from sample pack sounds is by loading a loop into a sampler and playing in your own riff. We’ll drag Elevated Consciousness » Organic » 70_Cm_ OrganicOrgan_SP_01 onto a new MIDI track in Live to automatically load the sound into Live’s Simpler. Drag Organ Riff.mid (from Tutorial Files) onto the channel to trigger the sample.

10 By using the track’s kick loop to trigger a compressor loaded over this organ channel, we can create intense ducking and inject plenty of pumping rhythm into the melodic part. Insert Live’s Compressor on the organ loop’s channel, then open its Sidechain menu and select the kick loop channel in the Audio From menu.

11 To ensure only the bass element of the kick loop triggers compression over the organ, we’ll activate Compressor’s Sidechain EQ section before setting Freq to 80Hz and Q to 2.6. Now pull Threshold right down to -inf, triggering extreme gain reduction over the pad when each kick hits.

12 Our crooked groove is coming together nicely, but a lo-fi clap element on beat 2 of every bar would improve the track even more. Drag Beat Inflections » Beat Stems » 85_RemotePerc_SP_01 onto a new audio track set to -11.5dB, then delete the second clap from every bar. Now pitch the clap down to -13 semitones to achieve a dull, lo-fi effect.

13 Let’s now add one more rickety percussion loop: drag Futurism » Percussion » 120_GrooveBell_SP_01 onto a new audio track set to -9dB. This loop is a little sharp in context of the other parts, so load Live’s Limiter on the channel and pull Ceiling down to -14dB to flatten the loop’s transients.

14 Next, load an instance of EQ Eight on the channel and pull down a high-shelf cut of -5.5dB at 5.1kHz, pulling down the loop’s high frequencies and allowing space for the other treble-heavy parts in the mix. Let’s now use the kick signal to sidechain compress the loop: copy and paste the organ’s Compressor instance to this channel before setting its Threshold up to -19dB.

15 Another great way to create your own inspiring elements from sample pack sounds is by pushing pitchshifting and/or timestretching processes to extremes. Drag Wondrous Curiosities » Texture Loops » D_AmbianceGtr_SP_01 onto a new audio track, turn the channel down to -32dB, then use Live’s Texture warping algorithm to transpose the sound up to +24 semitones.

16 To add the last sprinkle of texture over the mix, we’ll call up a new audio track, load Live’s Vinyl plugin, then turn its Crackle Volume up to 0.20. This causes the plugin to output makeshift vinyl crackle, which we slot into the mix with an EQ low-cut at 10.4kHz and sidechain compression triggered by the kick loop.

17 To finish, let’s apply some quick ‘n’ dirty master buss processing to gently sculpt and gel the mix’s tone and dynamics. Load an EQ Eight first in the master chain, then apply a high-cut filter at 17.5kHz, a low-cut filter at 33.5Hz and a high-shelf cut of -4.3dB at 7.6kHz. This dulls the mix, removes digital harshness and gives a ‘lo-fi’ tone overall.

18 Load Glue Compressor’s Drum – Full Parallel preset after EQ Eight, then set Dry/Wet to 37% and Makeup to 7dB. Finally, load D16’s Frontier (free in Plugins), and set a Medium Release, Output Volume to -3.5dB and Threshold to -7.5dB. Now it’s over to you to arrange the track – download this issue’s Tutorial Files to hear our effort!