Remixing is a central feature of music production, allowing songs to be reformed into completely different genres from their own. The art form requires a lot of consideration and can be a delicate balancing act between new and existing material, in the attempt to stay faithful to the original track whilst creating something with your own unique sound.

In the second course of the series, Glen Nicholls aka Future Funk Squad returns to the Producertech community to share his wealth of knowledge on the topic, having remixed the likes of The Prodigy, The Crystal Method and Nine Inch Nails and many more. On the course, he works through all of the main areas of focus, as he reworks the stems from Surround Me by Franky Scarlet featuring Ruth Royall into a driving Synthwave track.

Glen begins with a play-through of the original, then a look at the various stems, explaining which ones he plans to use and why. Then, he dives straight into the arrangement, beginning by creating the main groove, with a chunky drum break and classic Moog bassline. The original parts are chopped up to accompany the groove, with the vocal leading the different sections of the track.

In the subsequent production sessions, the chorus is beefed up by shifting to faster rhythms and additional melodies, whilst new synths are used to make background pads, old school arps and plucky leads. Choruses are separated by a breakdown and the arrangement is fleshed out with extra fills for definition and percussion to fatten up the main groove.

Throughout the modules, Glen mixes continuously as the track develops, processing sounds with EQ, compression, reverb, delay and more, directly on channels as well as via send effects on auxiliary tracks. The last module finishes off the mixing with a final review of the levels and frequencies in the mix, to make sure everything is hitting where it needs to.

Enrolling on the course provides instant access to the streamed tutorials, as well as a bonus 100MB pack of Synthwave samples from Loopmasters; providing the skills and materials you need to get making quality remixes today!

Sample Module: Future Funk Squad on the Remix Flex - Adding Arps and Percussion

Course Breakdown

Module 1 - Playthrough and Stems Review
Glen begins by listening to the original and then going through the stems to work out which parts he thinks will work best in his remix.
15.08

Module 2 - Session 1: Creating the Groove
In this first production session, the Groove is put together, adding the drums and bass to the original vocal and synths to lay down the basic foundations of the track.
36.30

Module 3 - Session 2: Developing the Chorus
The next main session produces the chorus, which steps up the energy of the track with faster rhythms across the beats and melodies, whilst new textures are created with additional synths. The arrangement is continued with a breakdown after the chorus, to provide the necessary respite before the chorus returns once more.
38.26

Module 4 - Session 3: Extra Melodies and Layers
The final session embellishes the second chorus with a new arp, whilst adding extra layers to the bass and a new accompanying lead to flow into the breakdown. New percussion is also worked into the arrangement to bulk up the beats and improve the presence and vibe. As with the earlier sessions, all sounds are processed individually with an assortment of insert effects, as well as in groups with devices on auxiliary channels, to ensure the mix sounds sweet.
52.30

Module 5 - Final Mixing
Glen finishes up with a review of the mix, looking at frequencies and levels with EQ and compression, to make sure everything is hitting where it should be.
12.07