You don't need special plugins for this. Any DAW with a drum sampler, a basic synth and a piano or pad sound is enough. Set your project to around 122 BPM and work in a 4-bar loop until the groove feels right.
Step 1: Kick and clap
Place a kick on every beat. Choose a kick with a rounded low end rather than a long, booming tail, so the bass has room later. Add a clap or snare on beats 2 and 4, kept a little lower in volume than you would for tech house.
Step 2: Percussion layers
This is the heart of the track. Add three or four parts, one at a time:
- Shaker on sixteenth notes, with velocity varying between hits so it breathes.
- Conga or bongo pattern that leaves gaps. Syncopation matters more than density.
- Rim or wood hit on an off-beat pattern that answers the conga.
- Open hat on the off-beats (between kicks) for lift.
Pan the percussion parts slightly left and right, and nudge some hits a few milliseconds late. Small timing and velocity changes are what make programmed percussion sound played.
Step 3: Bass
Write a simple bassline in a minor key that sits between the kicks. A sine or soft saw with a low-pass filter works well. Keep it mostly below 150 Hz and use sidechain compression or volume ducking from the kick so the two don't fight.
Step 4: Chords and pads
Pick two or three minor chords and hold them across the loop. A warm pad, electric piano or plucked synth suits the style. Cut low frequencies from the chords so they don't muddy the bass.
Step 5: Vocal hook
A short chant or vocal phrase gives the track identity. Record your own, or use a royalty-free vocal sample from a pack you have the license for. Chop it into a rhythmic phrase that repeats every 2 or 4 bars.
Step 6: Arrange
Expand the loop into a full track by adding and removing layers every 8 or 16 bars. A common shape: intro with percussion only, bass enters, chords and vocal arrive, a breakdown without the kick, then the full groove returns.
Need gear advice for this? See headphones vs studio monitors. Hearing a delay when you play notes? Fix it with our latency guide.
About this guide
This guide explains widely used production practice and contains no statistics or product claims that need an outside source. See our editorial standards.
