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The Basics: How To Get Started With Producing Music

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Creating music and beats can be a lot of fun, but it also can be a very difficult process to get into. The people who have gotten famous and made a career out of it did not start producing music for that reason, but for their passion for the music itself. They began making music because of the fun they had. Making music isn’t easy either. Many people think that they can just get into the studio, go up to a keyboard, hit a bunch of notes, and then make millions of dollars. Producing music takes years of practice and development and there is no shortcut or way around this.

Here are some tips to get you started in producing music:

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Closer with Santé: What Machines Influence His Sound The Most

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Avotre label boss Santé has just released his long-anticipated second album, Closer.

It comes after nine years of turning out real club dynamite on his own label as well as many other labels such as Rekids, Souvenir, Desolat and Cocoon. The new album is a real artistic development that shows off plenty of new musical maturity, features 13 tracks of essential house music and collaborations from friends like Mathias Kaden, Stickel, Tian Karl, Joaquin De Koen and many more.

Before that, he teases us with a new EP from it that offers three essential new tracks that show off the style to expect from the album.

But what sort of machines influence his sound the most? We caught up with the main man recently to discuss this very subject—and here’s what he had to say:

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Amo: My 5 Most Influential Pieces of Studio Kit

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New York producer Amo, an assiduous beatsmith and go-to force for some of the most eminent names in the game, just delivered a Guest Mix for 6AM following his expert delivery of a stirring four-tracker on Hector’s VL Limited imprint titled Find Turn. An off-shoot of VL Recordings, the sister outpost was launched as a platform for timeless releases with the avid vinyl collector in mind.

Flourishing within New York’s underground house scene in the late 2000s, Amo’s galvanising DJ sets earned him a reputation as a distinguished mixer before he hardened his production skills studying Recording Arts & Music Production. Later he’d establish touring event series GreenRoom Family, drop EPs on NG Trax, Dissonant Records, Brain On Couch and Underyourseat Label, while gaining support from Paco Osuna, Guti, Alex Ground, Rossko, Chad Andrew.

As we listen to his mix, we also asked him to talk us through his 5 most influential pieces of studio gear. Enjoy his suggestions below!

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Matthias Meyer’s Top Tips For Busting Creative Blocks

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Matthias Meyer has a unique sound that has made him stand out as special, amongst a sea of deep house artists; with a love of film soundtracks, his productions incorporate uplifting and orchestral elements, deep tribal grooms and African-influenced rhythms. Over the years he’s made his mark with standout cuts including ‘Reichenbach’, ‘Tout Va Bien’ and ‘November Rain’.

Hit a brick wall with your productions? The German DJ and Watergate resident shares creativity hacking tips on how to get the most out of your studio time.

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Being Self-Disciplined as an Electronic Music Artist

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The life of an electronic music artist looks all fun and glamour from the outside. People have this image of electronic artists getting lost in the music and making people move to the beat; lights glowing and dimming.

The thing is that this glamour and frequent environment that artists are exposed to are tempting. If they don’t give importance to right things, they can easily get lost in that and ultimately lose what they actually stand for. Therefore, the outsider’s thinking is wrong and if they are right, then they are probably looking at a poorly disciplined artist.

A real and dedicated electronic artist is more concerned about manufacturing the right sounds and beautiful rhythms. They hardly pay attention to the tempting environments that are often part of. If they do seem absorbed, then it is rather a thing of the moment. Beyond that stage or club, they have serious issues to think about and realistic goals to meet.

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Q&A: Tim Engelhardt Talks America, Studio and Live Setup while on Debut United States Tour

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One of Cologne’s youngest and brightest electronic music stars on the rise, Tim Engelhardt didn’t crash the scene out of nowhere, but started his path as a young kid, first trying to rewrite the piano pieces he had to practice at the tender age of eight, already showcasing the creative and musical mind that would eventually lead him to become the respected and prolific electronic music producer he is today.

Tim discovered the music of Robert Babicz early on and, under his influence and mentorship, became churning out track after track, growing his portfolio with plenty of releases on labels such as Traum Schallplatten, WIR, Babiczstyle, Amuse Gueule, Ostwind Records, Popart Music, Playmusic Productions, Parquet Recordings, Manual Music and Steve Bug’s iconic Poker Flat Recordings – all in just four short years, before eventually showcasing his music on imprints such as Dixon’s Innervisions and Cityfox.

Currently in the midst of his debut USA Tour, Tim took the time to talk with us in between his successful debut at Cityfox in New York and his stop at Chicago’s Spybar for 3feetdeep tomorrow night.

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A Look Inside Sebastian Mullaert’s Beautiful Studio

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As far as home studios go, Sebastian Mullaert’s home studio is one of the most beautiful studios we’ve seen. It’s the kind of studio every artist dreams to have.

image via FACT

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10 Tips To Succeed in the Music Business: Seth Troxler

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Want to become a better music producer and actually succeed in the music business? Jack of Mastered by Jack has been working in music for the last 20 years, having amassed a great amount of knowledge and experience on what and how music is meant to sound like.

Jack translates this experience into a business by providing mastering and sound engineering services as well as tools and tips for producers to succeed in their production endeavors. As part of this he collects important tips shared by recognized and successful producers/DJs.

First up is Detroit-raised and London-based Seth Troxler, who shares 10 tips on how to succeed in the music business, with emphasis on music production.

Watch the video with Seth below and read on for a bullet-point list of his tips:

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How To Build A Home Studio

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Above pictures show the step-by-step guide of how Inpetto built their home studio

Inpetto are a brotherly duo from Germany with a long history in the world of dance music production and DJing. Making up two thirds of the act Fragma they scored big hits like ‘Toca’s Miracle’ back in the 90’s. Their album, ‘Toca’, proved they were no one-hit wonders yielding further hits including the top five singles ‘Everytime You Need Me’ and ‘You Are Alive’ with more than 2 million records sold worldwide.

The boys have a level of consistency that have made them a clear favorite amongst their peers, with support from Axwell, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Above & Beyond, Paul van Dyk and more elevating them to critical acclaim as producers, remixers and DJs. Since producing their own tunes has always been their strongest asset, unlike so many other producers these days, we decided to ask them how they built their home studio, which they recently finished construction on. Read more

How To Create More Time To Produce More Music

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Time management is one of those easy-to-say-but-hard-to-do phrases. If it’s as easy as a pie to juggle work, family time, social life, and personal hobbies together, we’d all be living in Utopia. Each day we get 24 hours to get things done. That means 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. You see, twenty-four hours don’t seem like a lot of time but if you break it down in seconds, it is a hell lot of time. That is why, it is indeed true that every second counts.

You might be wondering what time management has to do with creating more time to produce more music. Well, a lot!

Music-making can either be a hobby or a career, and to some lucky few, it can be both. Some people swear to live by music. They claim to eat and breathe music and give it all of their time. But the truth is, not everyone has the privilege of spending more than a few hours producing music when they have all these other obligations they need to tend to like day jobs, school, and family time.

This is especially true if you are still starting a career in music. You have to keep a day job to make ends meet, so how do you efficiently manage your schedule and create more time to produce more music?

Here are a few tips that you could follow:

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