Now here's a real treat. At 21 years
old Garrix is a master in the game right now. Garrix created the first big room house turned pop record which was one of the only instrumental
hits that ever made it into the top 10 of pop radio. That game-changing and career-breaking record was
called "Animals." The man himself breaks down the creative process behind the most successful record
in his career and he does it track by track in this insightful video. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfCmoEixxro
Here are some highlights:
Garrix starts out by explaining that he is from a musical family. This is crucial. Although I noticed him laying melodies on the grid and inputting them with a mouse rather than a keyboard he knows chord structure as evidenced by his arrangement of the hook.
With regards to sound design Garrix breaks down his phat synth sound on the hook (this starts at 9:00.) He uses the Sylenth plug-in and Vandalism presets within Sylenth. According to this video he only seems to use 3 layers, two of which are simple saws in which he cuts out everything but the mid/low end (a.k.a. a low pass filter.) The third and loudest layer is what Garrix calls the “good sound” in this video. It is the sound that characterizes the track. This is crucial guidance from the man that had the first big room hit in the market!
He also mentioned in passing that he uses a lot of reverb and automation.
He used the following plug-ins in his first hit record “Animals."
Soundgoodizer (Listen to how he uses this on the snare at 15:06):
https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/Soundgoodizer.htm
I don’t use FL loops (where this plug-in is found) like Garrix does but I have since found that sausage fattener by Dada Life works in a similar fashion if I use the fatten knob.
He also uses Vocodex:
https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/Vocodex_tutorial.htm
..and Camel Phat and Camel Crusher:
http://www.kvraudio.com/product/camelphat-by-camel-audio
He found the loop in the first 16 bars of the intro in Vengeance.
He uses Ozone for mastering and discloses his preferred preset. I use Ozone 6 myself and I like to use the preset called "Classic Dynamics."
The description regarding the composition of the synth really helped me to produce the hook in my soon to be released record "On My Own." When you watch Garrix's video you can't help wondering whether he should be handing out secrets so readily but then again, as a music producer I have to remind myself just how hard it is to put together a compelling record no matter how much training you receive. You have to have a sensitivity which can't always be taught and Garrix's sensitivity abounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfCmoEixxro
Here are some highlights:
Garrix starts out by explaining that he is from a musical family. This is crucial. Although I noticed him laying melodies on the grid and inputting them with a mouse rather than a keyboard he knows chord structure as evidenced by his arrangement of the hook.
With regards to sound design Garrix breaks down his phat synth sound on the hook (this starts at 9:00.) He uses the Sylenth plug-in and Vandalism presets within Sylenth. According to this video he only seems to use 3 layers, two of which are simple saws in which he cuts out everything but the mid/low end (a.k.a. a low pass filter.) The third and loudest layer is what Garrix calls the “good sound” in this video. It is the sound that characterizes the track. This is crucial guidance from the man that had the first big room hit in the market!
He also mentioned in passing that he uses a lot of reverb and automation.
He used the following plug-ins in his first hit record “Animals."
Soundgoodizer (Listen to how he uses this on the snare at 15:06):
https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/Soundgoodizer.htm
I don’t use FL loops (where this plug-in is found) like Garrix does but I have since found that sausage fattener by Dada Life works in a similar fashion if I use the fatten knob.
He also uses Vocodex:
https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/Vocodex_tutorial.htm
..and Camel Phat and Camel Crusher:
http://www.kvraudio.com/product/camelphat-by-camel-audio
He found the loop in the first 16 bars of the intro in Vengeance.
He uses Ozone for mastering and discloses his preferred preset. I use Ozone 6 myself and I like to use the preset called "Classic Dynamics."
The description regarding the composition of the synth really helped me to produce the hook in my soon to be released record "On My Own." When you watch Garrix's video you can't help wondering whether he should be handing out secrets so readily but then again, as a music producer I have to remind myself just how hard it is to put together a compelling record no matter how much training you receive. You have to have a sensitivity which can't always be taught and Garrix's sensitivity abounds.
I'll be back soon and in the meantime please connect with me on my social media pages via my website www.mackiemusic.com and subscribe to my blog!
