ARTCORE OffSonar VA Vol.2

Part 1 of a special Track by Track examines the production techniques behind ARTCORE OffSonar VA Vol.2.

If you're eager to learn how to make modern techno music, you've come to the right place. Indira Paganotto's label, ARTCORE, has just released Volume 2 of a compilation featuring various top-tier techno artists. We asked these artists to guide us through the production process of their tracks.

'Ninja World' was born with the idea of having a powerful Samurai feeling. I made it back in 2023 using Cubase 12.5 as the main DAW, the bass line I created on my Roland System 100, which is a mega-powerful on the sub-bass. I love how it made this particular track fast as hell.

The chords and harmonies on the track popped out when I was sitting in the studio for a couple of days. I used a sample vocal of ‘Naruto’ chapter. The layering bassline with Serum as the main lead as well as using Diva from u-he to make some arpeggiators as a second melody.

I used OMNIA, a Kontakt instrument, to make the main chorus, and all of the hi-hats come from my lovely Nord Drum 2, which gives a mega analogue texture. Every time I play this track, it adds something special to my sets.

Find Interactive Noise on Instagram.

Space Travel was born from a careful and wise use of the power of the new VST. The main instruments involved in the track's drafting are kick 909 drums, while the bass line and synth come from the powerful and versatile VST, DUNE, widely used in the genre. To create fascinating chains of psychedelic effects, I used the powerful sounds of Xfer-Serum and exploited several Moogerfooger pedals. 

Among the pedals used are the MF-101 low-pass filter, the MF-102 ring modulator, the MF-103 12-stage phaser, the MF-104 analog delay, the MF-105 MuRF, the MF-107 FreqBox and the MF-108M Cluster Flux all NOT in physical format but VST. At 3.11 m in the bass layer also appears a ROLAND TB 303 typical of Acid techno while at 3.37 you can unmistakably hear a synth sound typical emulation of Clavia Nord Lead A1 made precisely by DUNE. 

Find Valentinø on Instagram.

‘On the Road’ takes its name from our vital journey. In order to explain more clearly the life that gains meaning with freedom, we recorded the vocal "Truth is in its Freedom" with my friend Polina.

I combined the kicks with two kicks I created with Analog Rytm, by adding some reverb effect to the first beat, I created an extension that combines with the tom and gives similar features.

The other beat was a harder, shorter drum sound. Combining these two allowed me to get a drum sound that was stronger and had the tone I wanted. For psytrance bass, I used short strokes and effective psi bass. In general, I filtered the psi bass that I created before and used it for the main sound with Analog Four.

The shortened version I use is the cut version of my female vocal voice that we hear from the beginning to the end of the piece. I generally used four main effects that continue throughout the rest of the track. Vital was obtained with Spiral plug-ins, and by changing the cutoff and resonance part, I got a slightly more striking sound.

I've used this with Analog Four, Analog Rytm, Serum, Vital, Spire, and Shure microphones for vocals. This piece was created about a year ago. I like to use hard techno drums, psytrance fx, and bass in my songs. It was important for me that the work was about freedom, which is one of the most important elements of our lives, and that it took a name that represented our vital journey. Apart from what I mentioned, I used Analog Rytm on the drums.

Find SUMIA on Instagram.

I had these couple of vocals that sounded pretty fresh to me (also gives the name to the track) and started the project from there.

I'm a Logic Studio guy, and have been using it since my early days in production, the workflow is perfect for me. I selected a couple of kicks from my personal library and made the hi-hats and percussion from there, using Maschine.

For the FX and synths, and most of the rest, I worked with Komplete from Native Instruments, specifically "Analog Dreams" (a new one in the latest version of Komplete) and Massive, which is one of my favorites if not the most favorite soft synth.

I manage all this with Komplete Kontrol. It's the perfect combo for me. I control all the parameters and make the automation easily.

Then I tested the track many times at my gigs and went back to the studio for a few touch-ups and changes before I got the final version. Pobla Studio did the final mastering and took the sound to the next level.

Find Ramiro Lopez on Instagram.

The track 'Hell Flags' features a simple arrangement but a complex soundscape, with around fifty audio tracks and numerous one-shots to keep listeners engaged. 

The primary elements are the arpeggiated lead and rap vocals. The kick and bass evoke the rolling beats of psytrance and drive the track at a brisk 150 bpm. Additional psychedelic elements enhance the overall feel. 

Most of the drums are sampled, the bassline was crafted with the Roland SE-02, and the main lead, along with most one-shot effects, was created using the Access Virus TI. For the vocals, a short rap verse was sped up by about 40 bpm. This vocal track was then pitched up by +5 and +7 semitones and panned left and right. 

The mix was processed entirely in-the-box using UAD plugins. LA-2A optical compressors were applied in parallel on vocals and melodies, while the API 2500 compressor was used on the drums. 

Contrary to typical practices, the kick and bass were given a stereo treatment, with only frequencies from 80Hz and below kept in mono. This approach softened the kick and bass while maintaining the punchiness of the drums. 

Hell Flags blends multiple styles, incorporating elements of psytrance, trance, techno, and rap.

Find R.Korner on Instagram.

ARTCORE OffSonar VA Vol.2 is out now. Listen on Spotify.

ARTCORE OffSonar VA Vol.1 is also available on Spotify.

Find ARTCORE on Instagram.

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