Mainroom Future House Production

Combining rolling basslines and heavy beats with vibrant melodies and pounding chords, Future House has become one of the most prominent styles in modern Electronic Dance Music, and the contrasts with light and dark are no better represented than with Ukrainian duo Cyborgs. On this course, they show how samples from their recent Loopmasters pack, along with a smattering of sound design, can be artfully combined into a winning arrangement, with all the necessary components to deliver an engaging breakdown and satisfying drop.

Going right from the very beginning, the initial tutorials show how all of the main elements are constructed, including a slamming drum groove, dynamic bassline and catchy chord progression. These parts are woven together into a main drop section, then embellished with additional melodic lines, brass, vocals and FX. Parts are made in a variety of ways, such as sample manipulation and editing, as well as designing from the ground up with synths.

The second half of the course moves on to the breakdown, which introduces the harmony from the drop, whilst building tension and energy, with supporting rhythms and FX. Melodic parts are again created from scratch, or taken from the drop section and edited to help unify the arrangement and smooth transitions as the song develops. After some final tweaks, the mix and arrangement are completed and some mastering is carried out, largely with Ozone 8.

The track is made in FL Studio and uses an assortment of 3rd party plugins, including Serum and Avenger soft synths, but all techniques can be easily transferred over to whatever DAW you use. Signing up gets you immediate access to the streamed tutorials, plus the FL Studio project and a bonus pack of Future House samples to download and use in your music. Check out the free sample lesson and listen to the track on the Producertech SoundCloud page, before signing up and being on your way to producing quality Future House of your own.

Samples Module

Course Breakdown

Module 1 - Drum Creation 

Drum and percussion samples are laid out into a basic groove, which is then processed with compression and EQ.

• Lesson 1 - Laying down the Groove - 8.26
• Lesson 2 - Mixing the Drums - 9.50

Module 2 - Bass Creation

A bassline is created using a Serum preset, which is sequenced into an interesting 4-bar phrase, and then processed with a variety of effects, including compression, EQ, distortion, saturation and ducking (9.10).

Module 3 - Adding a Chords Hook

A simple lead patch is designed with Serum, then sequenced into a chord progression, processed with a multitude of effects, then layered with additional instruments, with automation to add extra movement and interest.

• Lesson 1 - Designing and Sequencing the Chords - 12.10
• Lesson 2 - Mixing the Chords - 14.10
• Lesson 3 - Adding Extra Layers - 9.03

Module 4 - Adding FX

The Drop is embellished with risers, impacts and high-frequency shimmers, which are laid down and then mixed and processed with effects.

• Lesson 1 - Adding Samples - 7.46
• Lesson 2 - Mixing and Processing the FX - 7.13

Module 5 - Brass

Brass Stabs are added to the arrangement using Kontakt, then various effects processing applied, as well as bouncing and reversing a reverberant stab to create custom FX (9.44).

Module 6 - Vocal

A vocal loop is chopped up and re-sequenced, processed with effects and then laid out across the arrangement, with automation helping build tension at the end of the drop (8.18).

Module 7 - Creating Intro Bass

A Reece patch is made using Serum, then sequenced to form a repeating 4-bar phrase, which forms the basis of the intro. This is then processed with multiple effects, including saturators and multi-band compressors (9.56).

Module 8 - Saving CPU

To help reduce CPU overload due to large numbers of 3rd party plugins, several tracks are bounced to audio (5.26).

Module 9 - Intro Melodies Part 1

A factory Avenger patch and a custom made Serum patch are combined to form the two main rhythmic leads that develop across the intro. Both parts are mixed and automated (13.24).

Module 10 - Intro Melodies Part 2

Piano and Strings parts are added using Kontakt, which are sequenced, mixed and automated across the intro (10.58).

Module 11 - Intro Drums 

Drums are added to the intro to form 3 separate sections, with a basic snap, breakbeat groove and classic snare roll.

• Lesson 1 - Sequencing the Drums - 9.57
• Lesson 2 - Mixing and Processing the Drums - 11.53

Module 12 - Improving Transitions

Each part of the intro is filled out with FX to manage tension levels, with crashes, risers, reverse FX and more (6.49).

Module 13 - Adding Intro Vocals and Brass

Vocals and Brass from the main drop are incorporated into the intro, sequenced by unique phrases and processed with a number of automated effects (13.19).

Module 14 - Intro Finishing Touches

A spark of creativity leads to the creation of another LFO-modulated leadline, which is laid down in the breakdown, as well as some final, additional FX (12.20).

Module 15 - Completion of Arrangement 

The entire arrangement is doubled and then many edits made to the first breakdown, to create a greatly simplified and shorter intro to the track (11.18).

Module 16 - Mastering 

A bounce of the mix is mastered, mostly using Ozone 8, as well as a couple of extra limiters, to achieve the fullest sound and an appropriate RMS level (8.42).

Features

• 3 hours of Pro EDM Production Tips
• Completed Future House Track
• FL Studio Project from the Course
• 100 MB Bonus EDM Sample

Note: This course available for streaming only and is not downloadable.