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Articles by Will Vance
Joey Daniel Explains Why Better Producers Listen Differently
I think one of the easiest ways to limit yourself as a producer is to listen exclusively to the type of music you’re trying to make. Reference tracks are important, and there’s plenty to learn from studying successful records within your genre, but some of the most interesting production decisions come from listening to music you’d never consider making yourself.
Relinquo Explains How He Developed His Cinematic Techno Sound
I think one of the harder things about developing your own sound as an electronic music producer is figuring out which parts of your musical interests deserve to become permanent features of your records. It’s easy enough to identify producers you admire, study their arrangements, and experiment with the techniques that make their music recognizable.
emesh Takes Hypnotic Techno Into Spiritual Territory on Purkana
Antonio Muñoz has spent decades exploring electronic music from several different perspectives. He began DJing in Spain during the late 1980s, eventually performing at Madrid venues including Mondo and Círculo de Bellas Artes, before developing a production catalog that includes ambient, dub techno, and experimental electronic music.
Exile, Medicine and Emma Banner Take Vocal DnB Into Heavier Territory
One of the things I appreciated about Medicine’s “Just Walk Away,” which I covered back in September, was how much room the production gave the vocal without sacrificing the percussion and bass that make Drum & Bass work in a club. It’s a balance that can be surprisingly difficult to maintain, particularly when producers start adding heavier synthesizers and more complicated rhythmic programming.
Audeze’s Black Friday Sale Drops Maxwell Below $200
All Images Courtesy Of Audeze I spend a considerable amount of time reviewing headphones, and one thing I’ve learned is that the price of a good pair can be difficult to justify when you’re already investing in studio monitors, audio interfaces, software, and the rest of your production setup.
Mahony Explains How To Send Better Demos
I’ve been on the receiving end of enough demo submissions to know that getting your music heard shouldn’t require a complicated process. Yet I still receive emails containing twenty unfinished tracks, broken download links, and several paragraphs explaining why an artist deserves to be signed.
Influur Pulse 2.0 Wants to Replace Your Music Marketing Team
One of the most frustrating parts of running an independent record label is how much time you spend on promotion before anyone actually hears the music. Finding creators who might connect with a new release, researching their audiences, tracking down contact information, negotiating rates, and coordinating posts can consume an unreasonable amount of time, especially when you’re working with a small team and trying to give each release the attention it deserves.
XS Nightclub Enters a New Era: Inside the Reimagining of a Las Vegas Nightlife Icon
(XS nightlife enters a bold new chapter. Credit: Robert Miller) This article was written by guest contributor Candese Charles XS Nightclub holds iconic EDM memories for people worldwide, and its recent comeback has added another notch to that belt.
Kataria On Returning To Music On Her Own Terms
I think one of the hardest parts of building a career in music is accepting that the amount of work you put into something doesn’t necessarily determine what happens afterward. You can spend years developing your voice, working on your songwriting, and doing everything you believe an artist is supposed to do, only to discover that the industry has its own ideas about who deserves an opportunity.
Glenn Davis Returns to Ascension on Wax With A New Day EP
There’s something interesting about a label returning to the artist who started its catalog, particularly when that first release helped establish a recognizable musical direction. Independent record labels spend a considerable amount of time developing relationships with producers, building an audience, and figuring out what kind of music they want to represent, and those initial releases tend to become increasingly important as the catalog grows.
Why Einmusik Thinks Opening Sets Still Matter
I think one of the more interesting things about DJing today is how much easier the technical side of performing has become, while some of the decisions that actually make a good DJ set haven’t necessarily become any easier.
Aleksander Kostopoulos On Fango, Collaboration, And Creative Freedom
I think one of the interesting things about working with electronic music is how much the technology can influence the decisions you make before you’ve even considered what you’re trying to communicate. You open a DAW, choose an instrument, start experimenting with a few sounds, and pretty quickly find yourself working within the possibilities of whatever equipment or software happens to be in front of you.
Pole Folder, Christian Hornbostel, and Night Breeze Remix Dias Ridge’s “Balance”
We’ve been working with Dias Ridge for a few years now, and today we’re excited to share the next release in his growing catalog on Magnetic Magazine Recordings, this time bringing Pole Folder, Christian Hornbostel, and Night Breeze together for a new remix package of his single “Balance.” It’s officially out today, November 13, and seeing these names on the same release is particularly exciting for us, considering how much history we already have with each of these artists.
How PETRU Designed Its Latest Vinyl Audio Visualizer
One thing I appreciate about collecting records is how much attention goes into everything around the actual listening experience. You’ve got the turntable, speakers, amplifier, and eventually a collection of albums you probably spent years putting together, but there’s also something to be said for how you display the record you’re currently listening to.
Fuse Audio Labs Just Released a Free British Guitar Amp
Guitar amp simulation has reached a point where producers can access enormous collections of modeled amplifiers, cabinets, microphones, pedals, and effects without leaving their DAWs. Some of those collections are genuinely impressive, and I’ve spent plenty of time experimenting with them, particularly when recording guitars or processing synthesizers through amplifier-style distortion.
Osmosis Jones On Records, Community, And REALM
I think one of the more interesting things about becoming a professional DJ is how easily what originally drew you to music can become secondary to the responsibilities of maintaining a career. When you’re playing several shows a week, traveling regularly, preparing new music, and trying to keep your production schedule moving, you can find yourself spending considerably less time actually enjoying the records that made you want to start DJing in the first place.
Alfonsvs Explains Why Genre Labels Are Holding Electronic Music Back
For Portuguese DJ and producer Alfonsvs, electronic music has always been about exploring the space between house and techno. Over the past 14 years, he has carved out a distinctive sound that balances driving rhythms, hypnotic depth and an instinct for the dancefloor, earning support from influential figures including Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, Luciano and Pete Tong along the way.
Zaor’s Black Friday Sale Cuts Studio Desks by $1,440
All Images Used Credit To Zaor Most producers are happy to spend a considerable amount of money on new synthesizers, plugins, audio interfaces, and studio monitors, but the desk holding all that equipment tends to receive considerably less attention. I’ve been guilty of that myself, though spending enough time working at a computer eventually makes you appreciate how much a studio’s physical layout affects your daily routine.
20 Best Free Electro Sample Packs That Absolutely Belong in Your Production Library
Finding the best free electro sample packs can take a little digging, especially when the term electro gets applied to everything from old-school drum-machine music to modern electro house.
Audient’s New iD Interfaces Bring Room Correction and Analogue Processing to Your Studio
Audio interfaces have become remarkably capable over the past few years, and producers can now get excellent recording quality, reliable microphone preamps, and plenty of connectivity without spending a fortune. The problem is that most interfaces still concentrate on getting audio into and out of your computer, leaving important parts of the production process to additional hardware or software.
Why TIEKS Sidelined His Preamps for Focusrite’s ISA C8X
Spend enough years producing music and you’ll probably accumulate equipment that was purchased for a specific project, recording technique, or problem you needed to solve. Some of it becomes essential to your process, while other pieces gradually stop getting used. The difficult part is deciding which equipment deserves a permanent place in the studio and which can be replaced by something that makes the day-to-day recording process easier.
How It Was Made: C.Vogt & Sofian – Girl Got Lashes (Lauren Ritter Remix) (Constant Circles + Deep House)
New York producer and DJ Lauren Ritter (@djlaurenritter) has spent years developing a production style that draws from house music’s deeper, more hypnotic influences, with a particular interest in hardware sequencing, analog synthesis, and the small rhythmic decisions that can completely change how a track feels.
DJ.Studio 5.0 Fixes a Problem Harmonic Mixing Can’t
Most DJs understand the importance of matching tempo and key, but anyone who’s spent time building longer mixes knows those calculations only get you part of the way there. You can have two tracks sitting comfortably in the same key, their rhythms perfectly synchronized, and still end up with an awkward transition because the second track enters at the wrong point in the arrangement. Maybe the incoming record introduces its main melodic phrase before the outgoing one has finished.
Ableton Live 13 Finally Adds Features Producers Wanted for Years
Ableton Live has been a central production platform in electronic music for years, but that doesn’t mean producers have stopped asking for features available in other DAWs. ARA integration has been a recurring request, dedicated step sequencing has often required additional devices or workarounds, and detailed mixing tasks can still involve moving between several parts of the interface.
Acon Digital’s $69 Audio Repair Suite Picks Its Own Fixes
There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with receiving a vocal recording that’s exactly what the track needs, only to discover background hiss, electrical interference, or clipping that nobody noticed during the session. Sometimes those problems are relatively easy to identify. Other times, you’ll spend an hour adjusting noise-reduction settings, trying different processors, and checking whether the cleanup removes important details along with the unwanted audio.
Modbap’s $30 Vinyl Plugin Gets Dirtier as Records Play
Vinyl emulation plugins have been around long enough that most producers probably own at least one. Some concentrate on adding noise and pitch instability, while others combine saturation, filtering, and mechanical imperfections to make a clean recording resemble something sampled from an older record. They’re popular for good reason, particularly when you’re working with synthesizers, percussion, and sampled instruments that need a little additional movement or coloration.
SoundBoost.ai Review: A Different Way For Music Videos (And When To Use Them In Your Marketing)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how independent artists can use AI-generated visuals to promote their music, especially when you consider how much content we’re expected to produce around a single release. You finish your record, get the mastering sorted, prepare your artwork, and then suddenly you’re thinking about Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and all the other places where you need something interesting for people to watch while they’re listening to your music.
Alfaaz by Hamza Malik & Zain Zohaib Lyrics and Meaning: Why Love Can Leave Us Without Words
There is a good chance you have heard “Alfaaz” by Hamza Malik and Zain Zohaib by now, especially with how far the song has traveled since its release on July 23, 2026. The Urdu and Punjabi love song has passed 50 million streams on Spotify, reached number one in Pakistan and India, and climbed into Spotify’s Global Top 50. It also reached number two on the UK’s Official Asian Music Chart and caught the attention of Alan Walker and James Arthur, who began working on a new version of the track.
Edifier’s Black Friday Sale Cuts Desktop Speakers by 28%
Black Friday is a good opportunity to reconsider some of the smaller pieces of equipment we use every day, particularly the speakers sitting next to our computers. Most producers already have a primary monitoring setup, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to use those speakers for casual listening, gaming, or watching videos when they’ve finished working.
Schmidt’s €18,900 Analog Synth Gets a Final Edition
There are plenty of expensive synthesizers on the market, but relatively few manufacturers have attempted something as ambitious as the Schmidt Eightvoice. Introduced in 2012, the German-built instrument combined eight voices of discrete analog synthesis with extensive modulation, multiple filter circuits, and an enormous collection of dedicated controls.
Universal Audio’s $49 Delay Started as Garden Hose
Most producers are familiar with tape delays, analog bucket-brigade circuits, and the clean digital processors included with their DAWs. Each approaches the same basic task differently, introducing time between the original signal and its repetitions. But there’s a much less conventional approach to delay that Universal Audio helped develop in the early 1970s, and it involved sending sound through lengths of actual garden hose.
Thirty Years in the Making: Mike Risk on His Debut Album Now Is Forever
Thirty years is a long time to wait to release your debut album, but Mike Risk has hardly been sitting around. From organising illegal parties in Amsterdam and bringing Chicago house pioneers to the Netherlands in the early ’90s to DJing, promoting and running his own projects, he’s spent much of his adult life immersed in house music. Now, after three decades in the scene, he’s finally put his name to a full-length record.
Traffic on I-77 N through Charleston detouring after overnight crash
Charleston, WV (WOWK) – Traffic on I-77 North through Charleston is being detoured through downtown after an overnight crash. That crash before 5 a.m. Wednesday involved two vehicles. No word on injuries at this time. Traffic on I-77 North is being detoured off the interstate at Leon Sullivan Way into downtown Charleston. Expect delays in this area. No time estimate has been given on when the road may reopen. Stay with 13 News for updates on this developing story.
Omary On Why Tourat Needed Human Collaboration
You can spend an entire afternoon experimenting with sampled instruments, vocal recordings, and different rhythmic patterns, but there’s a point where working with another musician can give you an understanding of the music that you wouldn’t necessarily arrive at on your own.
Sleepwalk Confront Social Anxiety on New Single “Shell”
Getting older can change how comfortable you feel around other people, especially when the desire to maintain relationships starts conflicting with the anxiety that comes from actually being around them. It’s a frustrating contradiction because understanding the problem doesn’t necessarily make it easier to address. You can recognize that you’re becoming increasingly withdrawn, want to change that behavior, and still find yourself repeating it.
AlphaTheta’s $1,599 DJM-A7 Has Something Its Flagship Doesn’t
There’s a pretty large difference between the equipment DJs want to use and what smaller venues can reasonably afford to install. Walk into a major nightclub and you’ll generally find equipment that accommodates multiple performers, complicated changeovers, and a dedicated sound system.
Freqport Dual FO1 Review: Making Analog Hardware Easier (… But Is It Worth $1,175?)
I’ve spent enough time working with hardware synthesizers, external effects, and analog processors to know that owning a piece of equipment and actually incorporating it into your music regularly are two completely different things. And while I love having physical controls available when I’m producing, there are plenty of situations where opening another plugin is simply easier than sorting through cables, configuring inputs and outputs, and making sure everything returns to the DAW correctly.
Freqport Launches FreqLift With 25% Off and New Tube Collection
The relationship between compression, saturation, and clipping is something I spend a lot of time thinking about when mixing electronic music. Each process changes how a recording behaves, and combining them can produce considerably different results depending on the order, intensity, and frequency range being processed. The challenge is getting those individual stages to work together without unnecessarily complicating a session or introducing problems elsewhere in the frequency spectrum.
Audio Damage Launches Sandbender and 50% Black Friday Sale
FM synthesis has a reputation for producing some incredibly interesting sounds while requiring a fair amount of patience to program. The relationship between operators, modulation depths, and harmonic content can make relatively simple adjustments produce unexpectedly large changes. That’s part of what makes FM interesting, although it also explains why plenty of producers end up relying on presets rather than developing their own patches.
SoundBoost.ai Expands Beyond Mastering With AI Music Videos
Independent musicians have access to an enormous collection of production tools, and getting a professional recording together has become considerably easier than it was a decade ago. The problem is that finishing the music still leaves a long list of additional responsibilities, particularly for artists who release without a large label or management team.
7 Of The Best Reverb Plugins for Electronic Music Producers, According to the Pros
This article got incredibly long by the time I finished writing, so I won’t get too wordy in the intro and will dive right into the nitty-gritty on which plugins I think are the best reverb plugins for electronic music producers these days. I’ve reviewed about fifty reverb plugins and spoken with hundreds of professional, touring, and working producers, and here’s an in-depth look at what I found (…hopefully it’s not too in the weeds).
winterburn Questions Where Melodic Techno’s Emotion Went
Electronic music has become incredibly efficient at getting to the most immediately recognizable parts of a record. Intros are shorter, arrangements frequently reach their central idea quickly, and producers have countless opportunities to compare their work against what’s currently performing well on streaming platforms.
SessionbloX Review: Transform Your Studio With Excellent Modular Acoustic Treatment
For producers, engineers, musicians, and anyone who spends serious time listening critically to music, the room in which you are listening is part of the monitoring chain. SessionDesk’s SessionbloX takes a different approach to controlling that room, offering a modular acoustic treatment system that can be configured, moved, and expanded as your studio needs change.
ANDØLD return with hypnotic new indie dance single ‘Mantra’
Following the release of their debut single ‘Dive’, ANDØLD return with ‘Mantra’, a gorgeous, emotion-rich, hypnotic indie dance track that continues to establish the sound of the new electronic trio and their independent label, ØBSCURE RECORDS. Written in Stockholm by Harold van Lennep, Andreas Ahrnberg and Matilda Thompson, ‘Mantra’ combines insistent rhythms, warm electronic textures and atmospheric vocals, balancing the weight of its production with a distinctly uplifting feel.
Junior Jack, Mark Knight and James Hurr deliver fresh take on iconic ‘My Feeling’
Junior Jack teams up with Toolroom boss Mark Knight and James Hurr to deliver a fresh take on Jack’s iconic ‘My Feeling’, bringing one of House music’s enduring classics firmly into the present day. Originally released in 1999, ‘My Feeling’ has long been a staple for House heads around the globe, and this new version retains the character and energy of the original while giving it the modern Toolroom treatment.
Kabi On Touring, New Music, And Melbourne
One of the things I appreciate about progressive house is how much room a DJ has to introduce different musical ideas without completely changing the direction of a set. You can spend an hour developing a particular mood, introduce something from another genre, and discover that it works better than the record you originally intended to play.
Steven Boom Explores Summer Romance on “End of the High”
There’s something interesting about dance-pop records that address the uncertainty of falling in love rather than concentrating entirely on the excitement. Meeting someone new can change your daily routine almost immediately, particularly during summer when travel, social events, and time away from work create opportunities that might not exist throughout the rest of the year.
Apos Black Friday 2026: Five Audio Deals Worth Checking
Black Friday is usually when I start looking at the equipment I’ve been considering all year, especially headphones, desktop audio gear, and smaller accessories that don’t always justify their regular retail prices. Plenty of discounted products compete for attention, but the best deals address a real need in your studio or listening setup rather than pushing a purchase just because the percentage looks impressive.
XS Nightclub Reopens With Calvin Harris, RÜFÜS DU SOL and More
All Images Courtesy Of Wynn Nightlife Las Vegas nightclubs have spent years competing over artist residencies, production technology, and increasingly elaborate spaces, but there’s an interesting challenge that comes with operating one of the Strip’s established venues. At some point, maintaining the same experience becomes a limitation, even as the club continues to attract major DJs and sell tickets.
Carl Stefan Brings Live Saxophone Into House on “MOVE”
There are plenty of house tracks that incorporate saxophone, although the instrument often ends up occupying a fairly predictable role. It appears during a breakdown, provides a recognizable melodic phrase, and disappears when the main club arrangement returns.
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