Dark room and bright ideas merge in this essential collection of studio tips from Forbidden Fruit Recordings founder Dark Room Robot.
Photo credit: Dark Room Robot – Official
As an artist whose tracks have earned acclaim from BBC Radio 1’s TSHA and Sarah Story, and regular rotation from DJs like Anja Schneider, Skream, Paul Woolford and Jamie Jones, Dark Room Robot shares invaluable insights into the creative process.
From concept development to final production, these studio tips offer a practical framework for both emerging and established producers looking to elevate their craft.
Just days after releasing his latest EP ‘Strobe Lights Vol. 7’, featuring club-ready tracks that showcase his signature blend of house, techno and bass music, Dark Room Robot breaks down five essential approaches to music production that have shaped his distinctive sound.
1. Concept
Aim to start a song or jam session with even a loose concept of the end outcome in mind, often the energy or a vocal line. I find visual images via Pinterest are great for capturing a vibe I want to fit into. Having this concept will allow you to better audition sounds, tempo, vocals, and instruments to ensure the ones you pick will fit the vibe and not detract from it or take the sound down another path. If you’re making a bassline-focused peak time track at 140bpm, then you know the tempo and style is going to dictate the amount of notes in a riff, the ideal musical key to use (F and D are good for low punch bass, for example) and the type of kick that will work with the low bassline.
2. Studio Organizing
Spend some time regularly organizing and optimizing your studio setup so that when you’re in the flow, you know how everything works and where to reach for those go-to sounds to get the ideas down fast. Set an hour or two every couple of weeks and do housekeeping.
For example, in your DAW create some racks of your best kicks, best snares, and best percussion sounds. So you know that when you use them they will sound good in a track. Have your go-to bass and sub bass sounds, lead synths. Ableton is great for its 5 favorite lists. Use these to give you quick access to samples, sounds and FX that you know how to use and will work. Get rid of poor-quality sounds or instruments that you don’t use. Minimize to maximize.
3. Learn to play some classic songs – Stevie Wonder / Beatles / The Jam
Learning how to play (even if it’s badly) some classic pop/rock songs is a great way to level up your musicality. YouTube is your friend here. There are loads of simple piano tutorials on great songs. Pick one you love and learn it for a month. Most of us are kinesthetic learners, so this is the way you will absorb the knowledge best. Plus it’s great fun, especially if you can get someone to sing along with your playing.
4. Wait and listen with someone else
Patience is a virtue we all desire, not least me. It really does pay to put a track aside once you have created a finished arrangement and mix down. Leave it for a few weeks. Then listen again with fresh ears; it’s surprising how different you will hear it — more like a first time. It’s even better if you can listen to it with someone else in the room. It’s strange, but you listen to a track like it isn’t yours, and it gives you more the impression someone else will have when they too hear your music for the first time.
5. Mix the track in a DJ Set
Another trick to do at this stage to find any quality imperfections or issues in your track is to mix it into another commercial release that you’re vibing with. This will straight away tell you if the energy is flowing on a macro level, if the percussion is too low or loud, etc., how the intro and outro of the arrangement will gel with other tracks in your style. It’s good to have a folder of other artists’ productions you love, which you can test how yours mixes into, to see how it flows.
Dark Room Robot’s ‘Strobe Lights, Vol. 7’ is out now on Forbidden Fruit Recordings. Stream and download here.
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