In the Studio With Noisia

By: Ben Gomori

When you think of the best, most talented, innovative and inspiring producers in electronic music, Dutch trip Noisia have got to be up there. Gatecrashing the D&B scene in the mid-'00s ("Dutch D&B? Really? Don't they make gabba and trance?"), their prolific output, hard-hitting sound and intricate production skills fast earned them a name as ones to really push the boundaries of a sound which was at that time, becoming rather stale. Forays into breaks andelectro showed them to be equally adapt at smashing up the rule book and creating tracks that made you feel like you were being smashed over the head with a big filthy hammer.


Their debut album this year, Split The Atom, proved them to be more than just 12" churners, and the title of the album really nailed what they area all about - dissecting the intrinsic parts of sound, smashing them apart and creating something entirely fresh out of all the remains. If you've ever wondered how they create that gnarly, hyperactive, ribshaking sound, you're in luck - as they gave DT a belated goodie to their studio essentials.


Cubase
We started using this a long, long time ago and our brains have grown into a synergetic relationship with this creature. We use it for almost everything - tracking vocals, arranging, remastering bounced WAVs, sound creation, recording samples from vinyl, processing sounds, arranging tracks and so on.


ADAM S3A / P-22A Active monitor speakers
We're currently giving the S3A a go again. We used to use the P-22's mostly before we re-did the studio a few weeks ago. We love the ADAM sound, the ribbon tweater gives such a detailed sound. Very good to work on fast transients. We might go back to the P-22's. They're not as precise, but they sound more like loud speakers when you turn up the volume, which is not desirable for mixes, but it is more enjoyable when you're making a tune that sounds really fat coming from the speakers. When it sounds fat on a P22-A it will still sound good everywhere.


Native Instruments FM8
Very precise synth. Good if you want ultimate control. Can sync oscillators, so they always start from the same start point in the oscillation cycle. Easy to add and exaggerate harmonics. Flexible envelopes are a godsend.


Access Virus TI
Virus sound - need we say more?


Xbox 360 & 42 inch TV
Right now we're playing Just Cause 2, Fifa 2009 and Trials HD. Martijn is an absolute demon with that.


Herman Miller Mirra chairs
Because we just got them and they are expensive.


Air conditioning
Before we had it it would be insanely hot in summer and also rather cold in winter. It is a bit noisy however.


Korg SV-1
We set out to buy a versatile workstation with as many stock sounds as possible and then we came across this beauty. It only does a few sounds but it does them so well and its such a joy to play.


Studio couch
It's a couch.


Neumann TLM102 - Audient Mico - RME multiface
Our vocal chain. Still getting to grips with it but the preamp has a harmonics knob so you know it's good.

Will Mastering Save Your Tracks?

You've written your track, mixed it down, compressed, bussed and EQ'd until you're sure you can't take it any further - but it still doesn't sound quite right. In fact, it sounds slightly like a dustbin falling down the stairs. But they'll fix all that in mastering. Won't they?

There seems to be a common, and increasing, misconception about what mastering really does, and how it will affect a track. It's pretty often that I get a track from a budding producer who offers it up with the caveat that "it's not mastered yet, so the drums don't really sound great, and it doesn't have too much punch..." Unfortunately, in most cases like this, mastering will do little to help. It's sad, but it's true. So what will it do? Well, in brief, since you've no doubt heard this before, it's the last little polish on a track before release. It may fix some rogue volume peaks, squeeze a bit more volume/stereo/bass out of your mixdown, or balance things up a touch. With luck, the mastering engineer should also be able to sweeten things up a little with some EQ or a dab of compression, but these are subtle, subtle solutions and won't massively change the feel of your track. Bear in mind that in theory, if you did the perfect mixdown, it wouldn't need mastering at all!

So after all that, is there any point to mastering? Undoubtedly. A good mastering engineer will have a fantastic set-up, from room acoustics, to monitors, to high end valve equipment, and, more importantly, will have spent the last 20 years engineering and listening critically to music for 8 hours a day. The upshot of that is that he'll be far better placed to catch any mixdown issues you might have missed while you were deep in the zone. The high end equipment will also enable him to push a limiter slightly harder, or be more accurate with corrective EQ, than you might be able to in your home studio. Even just the process of running the track through some high end valve kit will help add warmth to your beats.

So, the important thing to remember is that mastering won't make a poor sounding track into a great one. But it can make a good track sound better.

In terms of what you need to be doing at the mixdown stage then, this all basically means that there are no short cuts. If your drums lack punch, then it's best to go back, take the compressor off and have another look. If you're lacking clarity at the top end, then examine each of the elements individually.... you get the picture. Basically, if you think something doesn't sound as good as it could, then don't leave it to the mastering engineer to fix!

Some important things to consider before sending a track to be mastered are to not have compression on your master output (unless you write through a compressor from the start). Make sure the track is not peaking at 0dB either - the engineer will need headroom to boost EQ's and so on; -6dB is a more sensible level.

If you can manage it, a the best thing would be to attend a mastering session. This will really give you an impression of exactly what mastering does, but more importantly, what it's capable of, and how you can better tailor your tracks to the needs of an engineer, so you can get the best result possible. Even if it's in the next city, it will be well worth the cost of the train ride for the insight you'll gain. If you're arranging this, be aware that there is currently something of a price-war going on in mastering these days; new options are springing up very frequently, offering ever-cheaper prices. Many of these will be run by great engineers, but not all - so make sure you get a couple of recommendations first. If you're going to attend a session, it may be worth paying slightly more to go to a big studio where you can see all the expensive kit first hand!

Once you get your mastered track back, it's useful to reference it against your original mixdown, so you can see what he thought was necessary. Listen closely - did the engineer take a scoop out of the mix at 200Hz, or perhaps boost the treble? This will have been done for specific reasons, so bear it in mind when you're next mixing down a track!

Hopefully this article has given you a small insight into what mastering really means to a producer, and how it's not a magic bullet that will fix all your mixdown mistakes, but can give you that last 5% on top of your already good mix. Now go back and take another look at those drums!

Hardware v Software - the View From 2011

Back in the old days, when the internet was still in black and white, a debate used to rage. Hardware or software? Which is better? Well, now it's 2011, software is amazing these days, and we can all put that particular argument to bed. Right? Let's just take it back a little bit - maybe a decade, to 2001.

Let's take it back and marvel. At this time, hardware music equipment,

and here we're talking about samplers, synthesizers, compressors and so on, were undoubtedly better than their software equivalents. Software was still kind of primitive. They were also very expensive; a decent sampler could cost you thousands (and would have memory measured in MB) and you'd still need a computer to control them all.

The upshot of all this was that even a simple bedroom setup would cost an awful lot of money to assemble, and it was actually pretty tricky to get everything working. MIDI was (and still is) unreliable and complicated, using your one compressor on more than a single track would require tedious multi-tracking... and then you have to try and squeeze a decent mixdown out of this budget equipment. Yep, it was hard work.

So there's a clear argument for software, right there. Load up a DAW today on your budget laptop and you can have compressors and reverbs coming out of your ears. You can have a dozen samplers running, each ten times more powerful than something that a decade ago required a fan to cool the CPU. What's more - they all sound great! No hiss, no earth hum, quality processing on every channel.

This, then, makes software a brilliant starting point, and a great way to learn the tricks of the trade. It's cheap, easy to set up, and

you can get good results straight out of the box. So where's the problem?

Well, the flipside to this, is that because it's so easy to create a clear, crisp and straightforward mixdown, everyone does just that. With only a handful of DAWs out there, and a huge number of bedroom producers, we're getting to the situation where everyone has pretty much the same tools, that are all equally capable of creating the same clear, crisp and straightforward mixdowns. And what that can lead to, if we're not careful, is a lot of samey, bland sounding recordings. Anyone who's on a few promo lists can testify to that.

So maybe we should look at using hardware in a different light? Of course, as a pro engineer will tell you, the best hardware will still outperform the best software. They'll show you a valve EQ that costs more than your house and can make a grown man cry tears of joy. They'll point to a dull looking box that only has one dial, costs more than the GDP of Venezuela and sounds like heaven itself. But this is beyond the reach of mere mortals like us, and we should be looking to more accessible means.

What hardware can offer though, and what it's important to consider now, is a difference in sound, a character, a combination of equipment that you don't get from staying 'in the box'. And this is starting to become a real factor in acquiring a distinctive sonic signature, now that we're all starting out from the same point.

It's all about the flaws, the quirks, and the mistakes you make along the way. For instance, you might have an old synth with an input - you could run your drum track through it, overdriven, to get that crunchy distortion sound without resorting to the same old vintage warmer plugs everyone else uses. Or, instead of overdriving, have the gain super-low so you get noise and hiss for a lo-fi, retro feel. Indeed, just play the thing in, without quantising, chop up the audio and build an idea around the groove that results.

Once you start thinking like this, anything is fair game, and it opens up a whole new world of production possibilities. Borrow a guitar pedal off a friend and run your bassline through it for some fiendish distortion. Even better, get an amplifier, mic it up, and put your drums or lead line through it. It doesn't need to be expensive, classy kit - because to get your productions to stand out, you want weird, quirky, interesting. If it makes a noise, use it. Just got a mic? Record some tambourine loops, or whack some cardboard boxes, or just get out on the street and see what you can find. It's not all just about sounding 'interesting' either - when you start to produce like this, you'll get a whole new set of ideas that wouldn't occur from sitting down at the controller keyboard and firing up the same old synths in the same old DAW, and you can really spark some new inspiration.

Having said all that, you can of course use hardware to beef up your mixdowns too, without breaking the bank. If you have the funds to step up from the 'garden shed' vibes mentioned above, then splashing some cash on just a single good quality piece ofkit, like an outboard compressor or EQ will give you the chance to make your tracks shine like little else. The current generation of DAWs now have superb latency compensation qualities, which make it a piece of cake to run an audio track out through some gear and take it back in the box for final tweaking; in short, to incorporate hardware into your existing setup.

All in all, then, can we really say that the hardware vs software debate was ever really 'won'? Well, no. It looks like a careful balance of both is what really wins in a good, creative setup. So, what have you got lying around and how can you make music with it? Get stuck in!

Signing Tracks & the New Label Landscape

You've written and mixed down your new track, and you're certain it's a surefire hit. Well, you're pretty sure it's quite good, anyway. Time to get it signed to a label, right?

Well, perhaps. Let's take a look at the whole business of getting tracks signed, from demo to release, and consider some advice for newcomers to the business.

The beginning, of course, is to get your demo out there. We can forget the old days, when everything was black and white and people used to send CDs out. Now, you can do it quickly and easily via email. But the problem is that everyone does just that - so you need to help the label as much as you can. They get overwhelmed with demos now, so there are a few things you should cover in your submission.

First, make sure you include a personal element in the email. Acknowledge the name of the label, or the guy running it, or say why you like their sound. Something that lets them know you haven't just spammed the same message out to hundreds of people. Next, you need to give them an idea of what the demo will sound like. Hopefully, this will pique their curiosity and make someone click on through. If you can, include the names of people who've been playing it out.

Then - and this one is absolutely crucial - you should have a link to a simple, clear, streaming preview of the track, without popups and delays. Soundcloud is ideal; zShare is usually terrible. But you certainly don't want to make someone wait 45 seconds to click a download link on MegaRapid.com and wait for a .zip file to come down before they can hear your sound. They'll be onto the next demo long before that happens.

You don't need to have your tracks mastered, a simple limiter on the master out (just taking off 2 or 3dB) will cover it for now.

But you do need to make sure that your contact details are everywhere: in the email, in the filenames, and in the ID3 tags on the files. It's incredible, in 2010, that people still send out tracks with no artist name, no email address, sometimes not even a trackname. But they do. Don't be that person!

So, let's fast-forward a touch, and assume for a moment that you've had an offer from a label who would lke to sign your tracks. The jackpot! Yes?

At this point, it's worthwhile to think how much the music industry in general, and dance music in particular, has changed in the last 4 or 5 years. Way back when, all labels released on vinyl, which meant that to release your track they basically had to pony up at least a thousand pounds before you were even in the shops. That's quite a commitment. There were a lot of labels, but most tracks managed to get themselves a review in one of the national magazines, maybe even a spot of radio play.

Now? For a start, it's only a significant (and shrinking) minority who still release on vinyl. There are also ten times more labels than there were back in, say, 2006 - which means a lot more product competing for the consumer's dollar. That also means it's a lot harder to get your stuff noticed, whether as an artist or a label. The fact a digital label doesn't need to invest financially - digital mastering services come very cheap these days - means that they don't necessarily need to make a large commitment to your release. Magazines don't have a hope of reviewing everything that comes out, although there are now plentiful blogs that may cover new releases. One upshot of all this is that it is now much easier to generate hype without having contacts in the old world of magazines and radio. But another is that it's now perfectly possible for a release to, basically, sink without a trace.

Of course, this doesn't mean that getting a release, even if it's digital-only, is pointless. But it does mean that you should consider your options carefully, because we are no longer in a situation where 'any release is better than no release'.

The main thing, now, is to think what the label can do for you. As mentioned, a release doesn't necessarily mean that you'll make money, or boost your profile; but a good label will make both of these things happen. So look at the artists they've released before - how are they doing now? Look at the label's soundcloud page - does it have many followers, do their tracks have many plays? Do you see much evidence of effective PR work - did they get the tracks to the magazines, or on blogs?

Have they tried any clever or innovative ideas to drive sales or publicity?

Of course, just the absence of a track record does not always mean bad news, and it's best to chat to the label owners to see what their plans are. Often, the best labels grow with their artists - see Hyperdub and Burial; both started out together, as unknowns.

If your track really is good, then you'll likely be able to find more than one label that wants to take it on, so you shouldn't just jump at the first offer that comes up. Bear in mind that when you sign a track to a label, you'll usually be signing away the ownership of the track. So be sure that you're signing it to someone who'll do a good job of getting you the hype you deserve!

Hopefully this has given you some food for thought regarding the brave new internet-based world of dance music labels. So, have you got your demo ready to go? A list of labels perfectly suited to your sound? Then let's go...

10 Questions with: Ben Jay - Prime Loops CEO

What's been your biggest achievement of the year?
Wow! There's been so much that's happened in 2010, picking one event is gonna be hard! Hmmmmmm... I would say having our Sound Libraries used on game soundtracks like GTA IV, by producers likes Jack D Elliot (Britney Spears, Stevie Wonder, Christina Milian, Kelly Rowland ect) and featured on huge London underground breakthrough tracks like 'Giggs feat: Mike Skinner - Slow Songs' was all very exciting!

You can visit my website for more details btw! Here: Ben Jay

What moments will you never forget?
Ha! Accidentally putting salt in tea at a meeting...ooops!

Who's been your favourite newcomer of the year?
Nero's dubstep is really innovative...they're taking it to a whole new level, Innocence was a great track- shout to the boys!

Who's been the artist of the year for you?
Wow - loads, just one? Chase & Status have smashed it! Shouts!

What's been your favourite label of the year?
That's a really hard one, there been so much hot stuff this year. Do I really have to choose one? hmmmm....I'll go with a safe choice then, these guys aren't new but....I'd like to big up Ninja Tunes, year after year they put out great stuff and this year has been no exception!

What do you think has been the best track of the year?
I'll have to give a shout to the Noisia boys - great production all-round, 'Foreign Beggaz feat: Noisia - Contact was a great track ;-)

What's been your favourite event of the year?
Exit Fest in Serbia!

What's the funniest thing that's happened to you?
At work? Hahahha! One day we had a guy burst through the door at our office, at first we couldn't understand what he was saying, we are not used to people coming into the office unannounced, so it took me a second to realize that he was deaf! He was saying 'I wanna buy loops' and started reaching for his pocket to give money! I had to slowly explain to him him that we are not a shop, and that he can download our products from the website!! He must have got our address from Yellow pages or something! Madness! Once he had left, Rene Steuns, our Product Manager, who had been very quiet the whole time while this deaf guy was in the office said to me "Ben I have a confession to make, I can do sign language!" Hahah!

What do you have planned for the next year?
2011 is going to be a huge year for the Prime Loops Team, we can't say too much, but we've got some major deals on the way which we are really looking forward too, we added a whole line of music production video tutorials from our new partners 'Groove3' in December, and we've got plenty more exciting content deals lined up for the new year...plus a whole new string of ultra-streamlined sample pack releases,we are pushing each release to new levels and we're really enjoying it!

Anything more you want to tell us?

Did i tell you how much I love sushi? I could tell you about how to cook the rice and....ohhhhh,...don't get me started we'll be here for hours!!!!

How to Make a Killer Mix - On Headphones!

Have you been getting complaints from the neighbours about blaring your tunes at all hours? Or perhaps you've got a smaller setup where a decent-sized pair of monitors just isn't feasible? Maybe it's time to think about working on headphones a little bit more. It's possible, but there are a few things to consider first. So read on...

First of all, it may seem obvious, but of course you'll need an appropriate pair of headphones. Fortunately, in terms of quality and accuracy of sound, cans are cheaper than a corresponding pair of speakers - for the price of some pretty budget studio monitors you can get a very high quality pair of headphones.

When looking for headphones, it's important to think how you're going to work on them - are you going to write and lay out tracks, or will you also be wanting to mix down? Mixdowns will require a substantially better headphone, and will also want to be open-backed for a more natural sound. If you're just writing, you'll be able to get away with a cheaper, and perhaps more coloured pair. DJ headphones, for instance, often have big bass, a closed-in sound, and detail sacrificed in the name of impact that will punch through a club soundsystem. If you're writing a house track, they'll probably be a lot of fun to write with; but your mixdowns would soon become very difficult!

While we're on the subject of choosing headphones, you should also consider researching the frequency response. The following link allows you to compare graphs for different sets of cans (remember, a flatter line is better) and shows some interesting results. You can see for example that although Sennheiser HD25's are something of an industry standard for DJs, they have a big hole around 4kHz which may result in overcompensating with some very 'toppy' mixes.

http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php

When you come to the actual writing process, it's important to take into account the differences between headphones and speakers. Headphones offer you a very 'spacious' soundscape, where every detail can be heard, every reverb tail can be followed through to its conclusion, every delay can be panned and placed exactly. Which is great, but it can very easily lead you to over-do it on the effects; an intricate soundscape may be beautiful to listen to on the right cans, but when you play it on a club system, the detail can lead to a muddied and confusing mixdown. So, it's important to reference your tracks on other speakers as often as you can.

Another factor that is extremely important to bear in mind is to look after your ears! This is something you should be doing at all times, of course, but it's particularly easy to go mad when you've got the headphones on. You want to write a club banger, you crank up the volume to get the vibes flowing a bit more, and the next thing you know, you're battering your poor eardrums with pressure levels you'd never be able to get out of a pair of studio monitors.

This is bad for lots of reasons - first and foremost, you're damaging your ears. But on top of that, you'll be making it harder to judge what you're doing with the mix, since you'll desensitize yourself to certain frequencies (so take regular breaks), and you'll also bring the scary sounding Fletcher-Munson curves into effect. You can look these up if you like, but in layman's terms it means that different frequencies can dominate (or not) depending on what volume you're listening at. All the more reason to keep everything at a nice, balanced level. If you're going to be doing a lot of headphone writing, it may be worth getting a cheap decibel meter from an electronics shop and testing your listening levels to make sure you won't be doing any damage.

Last of all, we should talk hardware. Headphone choice is personal preference, but some of the most popular for writing and mixing down are AKG702, Sennheiser HD650, or Beyerdynamic DT990 - all of which will give you excellent results for the money. You'll need a good amplifier too - there's no point spending that kind of money on cans if you're just going to run them off the socket on your laptop (which will have to be cranked to power a big set like the AKGs). Finally, you'll need some sort of crossfeed box, which will feed a little bit of the right signal into the left channel, and vice-versa. This is because when you're listening on speakers, room reflections mean you'll still hear some of the right signal in your left ear - so a crossfeed unit will make things sound that bit more natural.

So, that's a brief summary of how to approach the writing process on headphones. It's not as scary as it might sound, and with some brief consideration you should be able to produce quality mixes as easily as you could with speakers. And your neighbours will love you for it!

In the Studio with Magnetic Man

You've got to respect anyone who manages to bag credible Top 10 hits while continuing to churn out resolutely underground bangers, and full-length albums to boot. Skream & Benga's continually prolific output and ongoing contribution to the dubstep scene has never been in doubt, and now their Magnetic Man project with one of the scene's godfathers, Artwork, is taking on a life of its own - showing the dancemusic world at large that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. 


Dubstep has grown so big that a dubstep act can now get in the Top 10 without compromising their style. OK, so we've not had a dubstep track in the charts without a vocal, but who cares when the vocals they're using are top-notch?

I digress. I Feel Air might be a bit too poppy for some, but after a listen to the debut Magnetic Man album, it's clear that this is no throwaway, cash-grabbing exercise. They've found themselves a label who are willing to back them withou

t making them water things down, and we're all the better for it. If you've heard Mad, you'll know the raw power they're capable of; if you've heard next single Perfect Stranger, you'll know they can do the anthem thing no problem. We caught up with them at London's Shoreditch House to discuss studio business, production tips, and their attitudes towards making music. . .

OK, first question - for people who are just getting started or on a budget, what should be your first purchases? What are the best things to spend your hard-earned cash on?

Benga: Erm, what did I get first? FL Studio?

Skream: I'd say a good soundcard, you can record in and get outs out of. . .

Benga: . . .'cos whatever sounds you can't make inside your computer you can make with your mouth. It's a good one I guess. What else do you need? You just need a program, you need a sequencer so you need FL Studio which is just massive and you can do so much stuff with it.

Do you all use FL Studio?

Skream: No I use it. But if you're on a tight budget then for me it's the best. I'm gonna say it 'cos I use it but it's the easiest to actually understand how to work a DAW.

Benga: No but I think it's actually the best program like for drum programming and stuff and getting in like. You don't wanna use Logic for your first go, let's put it that way.

Artwork: I would say the most important thing to buy is music, 'cos you need to be listening to so much stuff. If you're starting out making music you need to be listening to music 24 hours a day.

I was going to say, for inspiration is that all you guys do - just constantly listen to new stuff - or is it like "we need some ideas let's sit here and listen to a few new things"?

Artwork: You should just always be listening to good music, do you know what I mean? It's so important to keep listening, not just listening to your own stuff all the time.

But there's definitely been a lot of the kind of most legendary producers have been people who made music in a bubble and they don't listen to...they ignore everything else...

Benga: But they wear themselves out.

Skream: Yeah, but that's like a select few over god knows how long.

Artwork: I mean for a period if you're gonna go in and write something yeah fine, but most of the time when you're driving home or whatever or if you're sitting around at home, don't watch the telly - listen to music? You should be listening all the time.

Skream: 'Cos then the thing is, like what happened with me and Benny, you listen to stuff and you actually try and make it but you're not... you can't, and then you sort of end up with your own thing from it.

Was that the same experience for all three of you when you started making music? Were you trying to emulate something?

Artwork: Yeah definitely. When I first started out one of the most important things was I'd get a track that I loved and I'd try and recreate it. And in the process you learn so much 'cos you're listening to how he's done that and how he's done this, and you just try and copy it exactly, and in that process you'll learn so much, and you'll find your own way of getting that sorta sound - and then you just build your own sorta sound.

Following on from that, do you think when you sit down and start making tunes you should concentrate on trying to get your own sound, your own style or should you just make whatever kinda comes out naturally?

Skream: You can't get your own style or sound until you've learnt the basics, until you've built your way up 'cos you don't know what you're looking for until you find it - if that makes sense. If you try and start by looking for your own . . . I don't think it works, you need to...

I've phrased that badly, more once you've done that should you focus on, "OK I'm just going to make quite a narrow style so I kinda get my name known and my sound known" or do you think it's not so important, is it more important just to make whatever you want?

Skream: See what you're more comfortable making.

Artwork: If you're gonna be really successful you have to come up with something new. You have to come with a different sound. You do see these people that kinda do well because they sound like someone else, but then everybody knows they sound like that person.

Benga: But then you can never be as big as the person that you sound like.

Artwork: No, so you really should just try and make something different. Listen to everything else... but, yeah make something different.

Alright then let's get down to the nitty gritty, kicks and snares, talk to me. . .

Benga: Kicks and snares...I guess you've just got to find the best packs you can, because when it comes to kicks and snares there can be so much processing that you'll go round, and I guess if you just find the best recorded kicks and snares it'll help you out so much.

Skream: It'll save so much time.

Artwork: Yeah if you can get something, if you can get like a kick that sounds amazing without any EQ on it then you know you're on a winner? Rather than getting one and thinking ah well I'm guna boost the bottom end, I'm guna cut that very low end off and try and find it in and so and so. . .

. . . you're wasting more time. . .

Artwork: You waste a lot of time, yeah

Benga: And then again, sorry to cut you out, when you do EQ stuff, once you do find your way around EQ and stuff you have a sound, that's how you get your sound, mix-wise...processing.

Do you guys kinda stick to a certain number of kicks and snares do you just always go back to (what you did) or do you look at new ones all the time?

Skream: I don't I. it's whatever mood I'm in really. If I'm in a tinny mood, if I'm in a 909 mood. I think it just comes down to what you want. Like you sort of know an area in the packs that I think you know you tend to work from a bit more than others.

Moving onto bass that's something that people often say is the hardest kinda thing to master so what are your biggest challenges in that area?

Skream: Mine's still the same as level erm with levelling it out with the kick, that's always been my one. 'Cos I like a bass-heavy kick and a bass-heavy sub. So...

Benga: Get your side-chaining out!

Skream: Yeah.

So you can have a nice lot of low end in both of them?

Artwork: Yep.

When you're making you know music that does really focus onto your dance music (focusing days) specifically that's one of the lead things, is it essential to have some subs on your set up?

Artwork: Yes.

Benga: Yeah.

Skream: Oh no, oh no no no no... subs in the room? I haven't got no subs in the room - I can't work with them. I find it really hard working with them but I guess that's me, 'cos these two both do.

Benga: Yeah we're different.

Artwork: Yeah I use them.

What monitors do you all use?

Skream: I've got Dynaudios. BM1. . .

Benga/Artwork: BM6As

Artwork: Yeah I've got the same as that and some Genelec 1032As as well.

Benga: I got the same as them. . .

When you hear other people's productions and what other people... what's the most common mistakes or kinda shortcomings that you hear?

Skream: Mastering tracks themselves and limiting the fucking life out of it so when you open it up on a screen there's a block, with no peaks.

Artwork: And no dynamics. . .

Benga: It's really hard to master again after that, you can't get in. . .

Artwork: You can't master (it again).

Skream: I've had stuff I've been mastering for my label and it's been sent back and stuff gets sent back because he [the mastering engineer] knows exactly what you've used: he's like you've ultra maximised it, you've put a multiband compressor on it duh duh duh - and they know. And it's like, cool, but if it' . . .they can make it sound dynamically so much better for press. . . .

Benga: Just don't start your tune with anything on a master.

Favourite bits of kit and software please?

Benga: Ooh well to be fair I'm not telling anyone anything anymore. Nah only joking. I use, my favourite bit of kit at the moment. . .nah I can't say that. I just gotta give you an EQ. Er my favourite EQ at the moment is the Neve on my UAD card. It's one of the best things I've ever purchased, ever.

Artwork: One thing I've learnt is that the EQs on Logic are - when you get a lot of them - if you've got like 24 tracks and you've got Logic EQ's, on all of them, the bottom end is really really funny in the mix and you'll find it really hard to control what's going on. They do something down the bottom end so just switch it up, just try another one, try some different EQ's you don't have to go for. . .

Benga: It's lighter as well innit.

Artwork: Yeah you don't have to go for like the really high high, you know thousand quid EQs but if you just...

Skream: Find one you can run with well. . .

Artwork: Find one you can control easily and then use that instead, 'cos the bottom end of your mix will be a lot cleaner.

Skream: My favourite bit of kit at the moment. . .

Artwork: Kettle?

Skream: Is. . .

Benga: Oooh. . .

Skream: It's the Moog Little Phatty at the moment. I've been using it a lot at the moment as well for my bass. It's nice.

Do you guys use a lot of outboard stuff?

Skream: I've just got a couple of synths. To be honest,, I use different things for different style of tunes. I generally use the Moog when I'm going for something with a deeper sound, rather than if I'm going to do something mental I'll use a plugin, just for the different shapes/waveforms.

Again, you might not want to give too much away here but your favourite recently learned little tricks, or something that you would share?

Benga: Wow something that I'd share with the world. Erm, what would I share? 'Cos I know sharing's caring and all that. . .

Skream: Not in this game haha!

Benga: Yeah not in this game. Er, do I wanna give anything away? Does anyone else wanna give anything away?

Artwork: I'm trying to think of something useful.

The thing is at the end of the day you can give loads of stuff away but if you haven't got the tunes or haven't got the ideas. . .

Benga: I guess the biggest thing is right - and this might sound like the dumbest thing - but it's like. . .

Skream: Sorry that's censored haha!

Benga: Hah . . .get the arrangement up right. Get everything you need up and then actually start to filter what's not really necessary. . .

Skream: Just take it out like. . .

Benga: Yeah 'cos there's too much things going on in the mix. Use the most rhythmic things, and the things that add so much to like the power of the song, and the rest of it, just get rid of it.

Artwork: The most important thing is that kick and bass. Give it it's own space, d'you know what I mean? It sounds obvious but to people that probably, you know, are just getting into mixing or whatever the most important thing is finding a place. Look at it like a picture - you can see that the bass is gonna sit down there and you're gonna have your kick up there or your gonna have your kick down there and your bass a bit higher, but give them their own place to live or whatever

Benga: Mask as they call it

Artwork: Yeah yeah, exactly.

When you started collaborating or rather when you collaborate now, how does it work? Does it get crowded sometimes or is there always a specific role, how does it work?

Artwork: It's different for every record I think. It's like, you know, it's starting things together and then splitting off then someone will take it, do a bit more to it, you know move around - it doesn't matter. But one thing we kinda worked out from the start was that if one person doesn't like it, it doesn't go in. Rather than "oh well, two people like it and one person don't so that's that you know it's going to go in" - that can't happen. If one person doesn't like it, that's it.

That's when you get the split of creative differences. . .

Artwork: It's out..

Benga: Ha ha. . .

Artwork: But it's quite good, it's really good because you not only do you not have any arguments, you get a better product' 'cos you got three people that like that thing. So if you are gonna work in a group I would say that's a good way of doing it.

Quality control. . .

Artwork: Yeah.

When you made I Need Air did you have radio in mind and different dynamics to the usual club records, cos it's kinda less focused on the bottom end a bit. . .

Artwork: No not at all.

Skream: If you think about it – she [Angela Hunte] picked the tune. . .

Artwork: Yeah I mean the thing is when you've got a vocal that's as big as that is, it would have been difficult to put a massive top, mid-rangey bassline in there as well and hear all the words quite as clearly as it is, and it's a song. It is a song, it's not a. . .

That's a key element. . .

Artwork: Yeah, the key element of that record is that vocal. And you have to respect that, you know you have to with all these things and if you was making a track that was just about baselines then you wouldn't try and put a vocal in there. And it's the same. . .

Benga: How you mix, when you leave things out 'cos you know it's gonna clog up the space. . .

You've got to let it breath. . .

Benga: Yeah.

Artwork: You've gotta look at every record separately and say: "what is it in this record that is 'the thing?'" And in that thing it was the vocal.

And last thing who did the vocal on The Bug?

All: Sam Frank.

OK 'cos it didn't say on the promo version and I thought it may have been one of you guys or something. . .

Skream: No there was a rumour going out there that it was me or Benny... we started off saying it was Barry White and then I think Benny said it was me, and I think 'cos I didn't clarify and say it wasn't me it got out that everyone was saying it was me, but no it's Sam Frank.

I'll make sure people know. . .

Interview by Ben Gomori