Afro house has drawn a lot of attention over the past few years, especially as producers have started incorporating more melodic songwriting, prominent vocals, and detailed synth programming into the genre. For New York-based producer KOTA (BR), that combination has become central to his solo work, which draws on Afro house, melodic house, and the deeper side of electronic music.
His latest single, “Do You Want Me?”, dropped baack on October 30, 2026, through Stereo MC’s Connected label, marking his first official release under the KOTA (BR) name.
KOTA (BR) is also one half of HIGHLOW, and while his solo project represents a different musical direction, he’s been developing that sound for several years. His earlier work includes edits that blend rap, trap, and hip-hop with electronic production, giving him experience with vocal samples and rhythmic arrangements. On “Do You Want Me?”, those influences take a more melodic direction, with piano chords, layered bass sounds, and restrained vocal passages providing much of the musical content.
The production places particular emphasis on the relationship between the organic elements and the electronic processing surrounding them, which is an important consideration when working in this style of house music.
For this installment of Magnetic Magazine’s How It Was Made series, KOTA (BR) explains how he approached the production using a relatively small collection of familiar plugins. Spitfire Audio’s LABS provided the main piano chords, while Serum 2 handled the synth leads, bass programming, and additional effects.
He also relied on Fresh Air, Deelay, and Wider to process the vocals, percussion, and individual sounds throughout the arrangement. Below, he explains how those tools contributed to “Do You Want Me?” and why spending time learning the software you already own can be an important part of developing your production skills.
The rest of the feature is from the artist…
Behind the Track: Do You Want Me?
When I was producing Do You Want Me?, I wanted to create something that blended the grooves of Afro House with more emotional, melodic elements. A big part of my production process is finding the right balance between organic-sounding instruments and electronic elements that give a track its energy.
I tend to keep my plugin selection relatively focused, relying on a handful of tools that I know well and can get creative with. Rather than overcomplicating the process, I like experimenting with different presets, effects, and automation to make familiar sounds feel unique. Here are a few of the plugins that played a major role in shaping the track.
LABS & Serum 2
For the main melody, I built out piano chords using LABS. The “Autograph Grand” preset is the best piano sound I have come across for making powerful, emotional chords that I love using for my afro/melodic house tracks. To make the main piano really pop, I used “Fresh Air” to brighten the sound in general and then also used one of my favourite plug-ins, RC-20 Retro Colour. With so many different presets inside, you’re able to add a bunch of space, distortion, and noise to really make the melody stand out.
For the rest of the melodies, leads, FX, and bass, I used ol’ reliable Serum 2. Serum 2 is probably the most versatile plugin in my production arsenal, with so many different knobs to automate and different special effects to tweak; the possibilities are endless in your sound design. I used Serum to make the classic Afro house lead sound, my sub and reese bass, and also my interpretation of the famous Keiniemusik “whoosh” FX.
Fresh Air
One plugin I love using on vocals, specifically, is Fresh Air. It makes your vocals, or even drums, a lot clearer and pop through the mix. With the vocals I had in my track, Do You Want Me?, I knew I needed it to shine throughout the song, and the brightness this plugin adds really helps. I recommend it heavily if you want clarity, especially in the top end of your mixes/instruments.
Deelay
Deelay is one of my favourite plugins for adding that extra echo and delay to your percussion and vocals. The preset “Light” can be tweaked ever so slightly to add the ping-pong effect for your vocals and give that perfect delay effect. Especially on percussion and drums that may feel robotic and stagnant, this plugin helps the groove and rhythm tremendously.
WIDER
Another one of my favourites is Wider – the plugin literally does what it’s titled; it widens any sound you run it through. This was particularly effective for the “whoosh” FX to add more depth to it, and also using it slightly on the sub bass to add width as well. You don’t want to overuse this because it can make the instrument sound very muddy or strange, but if you use it correctly, it is an absolute weapon.
Final Thoughts
My biggest advice when producing is to get comfortable with the tools you already have. Learn what they can do, experiment with different combinations, and don’t be afraid to push things outside their “intended” use. Sometimes the free plugins that come with your DAW can be used to make the biggest adjustments in your tracks, rather than going out and spending hundreds on plugins. Take this track as a prime example: most of these plugins are free, and the only way you grow is by putting in the hours through trial and error.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
