Today, hard-dance maven SaraLandry’s imprint Hekate Records welcomes UK artists Alex Farell and MXGN for “ComfortInChaos.” The release marks MXGN’s debut on Hekate and a return to the label for Alex Farell, who has made multiple appearances, including standout collaborations “Prisoner” and “On My Mind” with label boss Sara Landry.
Coinciding with the pair’s b2b set at Teletech x Gotec in Karlsruhe, Germany, the hard-hitting collaboration drops officially on Friday, May 1, via Hekate. “Comfort In Chaos” was a key feature during Sara Landry’s weekend of shows at Ultra Music Festival.
First featured in the Hekate label stage takeover and followed by her closing of the Resistance stage alongside fellow hard techno icon Amelie Lens, there couldn’t be a more fitting moment for a record built for peak-time impact.
Main Plugin Or Synth
For the main lead, we used Vital, which is a synth that processes dark-driven leads and melodies. We used the initial preset and tweaked around with the OSCs, resulting in a crunchy, analog-sounding techno stab.
After tweaking the sound to taste, we made a punchy pattern that bounces off the kick and bass, similar to the acid pattern on the build. We then processed this lead with multiple guitar amps, saturators, and OTTs before adding a sidechain to give it extra punch on the overall mix.
A clever trick we found with this plug-in is to use the built-in effects. For example, we spent a lot of time tweaking the distortion effect to give it more drive. We also played around with the built-in chorus effect to give it more clarity and width. The plug-in is very effective and has many stock plug-ins that sound solid.
Non-Synth Plugin (mixing plugin, creative plugin, etc) #1
This is a stock Ableton plug-in called Parallel Notch Filter. We used this on the main lead to give it an LFO-style movement. It is simple but very effective in the overall mix.
We automated the frequency spectrum to drop up and down every 8 bars, which gives the LFO a slight movement and keeps the stab pattern interesting. We also adjusted the dry-wet signal to keep it tight with the kick and bass.
I would recommend this to any producer as a clean tool to give certain synths / leads a weird movement; it works best with analog, dark, driven sounds.
Non-Synth Plugin (mixing plugin, creative plugin, etc) #2
This is a very powerful Glue compressor by SSL called SSLComp, it is a remake of the original SSL hardware. We used this on the kick and bass group to keep both elements tight together, giving it that overall punch for the big sound systems.
We raised the threshold high and kept the attack low; it makes a huge difference to the kick and bass and is a vital element in the mixdown process.
This is a plug-in that we both use religiously on our kick and basses. SSL has made compressors for years, and we really trust the results the plug-in / VST gives.
Non-Synth Plugin (mixing plugin, creative plugin, etc) #3
Another great plug-in we used is called PORTAL, which is a very well-known granular synthesis FX. We used this plug-in for most of our leads in the track to add a glitchy rhythmic layer.
There are loads of great presets that you can play around with, but for this track, we stuck with the Initial preset. We tweak around with the rates and dry wet signals to give our leads a chaotic pitch effect.
This plug-in works great on 303 Acid leads as it adds extra layers that you often won’t hear in other acid tracks. It keeps it sounding fresh and unique.
Quick Fire Tips For Making This Genre
Tip #1: There is no rush; we tend to slow the bpm down to 145 so we can build a tight groove that really breathes.
Tip #2: The kick and bass are the core to our tracks, we spend the most time on them.
Tip #3: Experiment with new sounds, the weird/unusual ones often turn out to be the best
Tip #4: Process your sounds in the mix; they may sound good on their own, but they need to work with the rest of the track.
Tip #5: Always check your mix in mono; most club sound systems run Mono.
