Ukrainian duo Cyborgs have returned to Producertech.com to share their techniques for creating Future House & Pop anthems, this time in Ableton Live. In this 5-hour tutorial series, they go from an empty project to a mastered track, ready to be sent to a label or uploaded to SoundCloud.

Cyborgs have been producing professionally since 2014 and had releases on huge labels like Sony and Armada Music, with support from Tiesto and many other international DJs. Their sound encompasses many styles of popular dance music, from heavy Bass House to mainstream Pop.

The course begins by constructing beats using a number of loops from one of their Loopmasters sample packs. They then add the main chords hook and design a bassline from the ground up with Xfer Serum. Once all of the main elements are in place, they embellish the intro, break and drop sections with a plethora of melodic accompaniment, including guitar, strings, piano and various pads. Finally, a multitude of FX and additional percussion are used to add the necessary dressing.

After the initial arranging is complete, the duo embark on a trilogy of detailed mixing modules, working on drums, drop melodies and then sounds from the intro and break. Techniques include shaping frequencies with EQ and filtering, and adding multi-band compression and saturation. The course ends by tweaking the arrangement to add fills and automation that improve the flow and keep things interesting, before providing a comprehensive mastering module working with iZotope Ozone.

Signing up to the course grants immediate access to 5 hours of streamed tutorials, as well as links for downloading the project and track from the course plus a bonus 50MB pack of Future House samples from Loopmasters. Check out the free sample module before signing up for an example of the course content and listen to the completed arrangement on the Producertech SoundCloud page embedded below.

Sample Module - Future House & Pop Lead Design

Course Breakdown

Module 1 - Drums
The main drums elements are imported onto the timeline and laid out to form the basic structure of the track.
8.27

Module 2 - Main Hook & Bass
After importing a MIDI pattern for the main hook and using it to play a Kontakt instrument, a bass is designed from scratch with Serum. Both parts are then added to the beats in the arrangement.
10.38

Module 3 - Vocal Chops
Kontakt instruments are used to add vocal chops to the arrangement. Melodic lines are created and different effects used to process and mix the sound.
17.41

Module 4 - Intro Melodies
The main chords hook is used as a basis for 3 different melodic sounds, which are all designed from the ground up with Serum to form the intro of the track.
19.15

Module 5 - Break Melodies
More instrumental parts are added to create further textures and melodic elements in the break sections. These sounds include a guitar, piano, pluck and strings, designed with Serum and VPS Avenger synths.
17.00

Module 6 - Drop Arrangement & Sound Design
An engaging new lead is designed for the drop section, and the bass is given some additional layers to help it stand out in the mix.
21.42

Module 7 - Optimising Performance
Some tips are given for improving CPU load in a big project, including adjusting instrument settings and Ableton Live audio preferences.
8.33

Module 8 - Adding FX
An abundance of effects samples are added to the arrangement to improve transitions, atmosphere and flow, including ambience, sweeps, risers, percussion, impacts and lots more.
13.22

Module 9 - Mixing Part 1 - Drums
The drums are processed with a number of effects, including saturators, dynamic shapers, filtering and EQ.
24.33

Module 10 - Mixing Part 2 - Drop Melodies
The Cyborgs continue mixing parts, moving onto the drop elements, with bass, marimba, vocals and the drop lead.
23.51

Module 11 - Mixing Part 3 - Break Melodies
Effects are applied to the remaining parts, with compression, saturation, EQ and filtering used to process the melodic elements in the break section.
27.08

Module 12 - Final Mixing & Automation
Automation is added to several of the main parts to help them develop throughout the arrangement. Fills are added, additional effects applied and also some master channel treatment to help balance the dynamics.
20.07

Module 13 - Mastering
A detailed look at how to master the arrangement using iZotope Ozone.
34.01

Bonus Module - Creating Melodic Elements from Scratch
A comprehensive bonus lesson, showing how a main chords progression and all the subsequent melodies can be created from scratch.
28.03