How It Was Made: Jeff Nang - Rollin' EP [Fuzzball]

Every producer has their own way of doing things. Even if they use the exact same tools as everyone else, how they use them is what separates them from others. In our on-going feature How It Was Made, artists break down their tools and habits they use to create the music we all love so much. With the release of his latest EP Rollin', available now via his imprint Fuzzball, we invited Jeff Nang to give us an inside look into its creation. 

Words and photos by Jeff Nang

From studio sessions, late nights and everything else in between, "Rollin’" and "Fidget" were created off the back of some sporadic bursts of creative moments. I’ll give you a quick insight into the process of how I created these tracks.

Firstly, my choice of DAW is Logic X.

I usually start by carving out the drums. I play around with methods to get punchier sounds that suit the track and give it a crispy sound by using distortion saturators like Fabfilter’s Saturn. I love the control you have with the drive and frequencies to attain that crunch.

Soon after messing around with endless drum sounds, percussive elements using Arcade's Extra Percs.

I also add my two fave instruments, a tambourine and my sacred Djembe, simply to add more life to the rhythm.

To shape the bassline for "Rollin’" I used Serum, just a simple sine-wave with a few dynamic attributes customized for a nice snappy, almost real-sounding bass. 

When it comes to synth sounds I love using Reaktor 6’s Razor. I find the formant knob gives each sound a unique edge.

The pad sounds are from my MicroKorgXL, it’s a powerful little beast, the patches on it are great if you’re after some unique warm retro sounds.