So I tried to make a "Trap/Drill" beat...
...Admittedly I'm not a particular fan of trap and thought it would be a good way to challenge myself. Through the process I realized making these styles of beats is actually quite a lot of fun. Also, it's not as easy at it seems. Working at 140 BPM with a half time feel really messed up my sense of groove. I listened to a fair amount of UK Drill and more modern stuff and picked out what I thought were the key elements of a "Trap/Drill" beat:
- 808 Drums (duh!)
- Deep sub basses
- Texture
- Dark, simple melodies
There are a few key items I couldn't quite get a grip on. Those being the pitched snare ratchets/fills and 808 Kicks for bass. While the melody is fairly simple, it took a lot of layering to get the right sound. Maschine's lofi plugin and a slow moving filter helped get the right texture once the melody was figured out.
What really gave me a hard time was finding the right bass tone - and the overall mix. I cut a lot of low end anywhere I could and used mid-side EQ. Even still, I think the it's too bottom heavy - which is a mind fuck because I feel like the Kicks could still hard a bit harder. Ultimately, this was a worthwhile study of the genre and the process. I'm not entirely converted but I definitely have more appreciation for the genre than I did before.
Let me know how poorly I did lol
