Raised in a musically immersed family, Utrecht-born SVNX began producing hip-hop before transitioning into electronic music — a shift that shaped his bold, gritty sonic identity.
Photo credit: SVNX – Official
His productions are characterized by noisy textures, detailed sound design, and a sharp, modern approach that blends nostalgic warmth with contemporary edge.
Now releasing his latest EP ‘Beneath It All’ on Otium Records, SVNX offers three raw techno cuts built for darker dance floors. From the eerie pads and modulated vocals of the title track to the punchy minimalism of ‘Creature’ and the relentless tension of ‘Energy Emanation’, the EP also features remixes from DJ SUN, Rødig, and Kabay, each expanding the source material with their own rhythmic intensity and atmospheric depth.
With the EP landing on October 29th, SVNX shares five personal studio tips that help shape his creative process.
1. Adding Movement to Static Loops
If your loop feels too stiff, load it into Granulator II and stretch it slightly. Modulate the Grain Size, envelope, or Spray with a slow LFO to introduce natural movement. Try automating the Grain Position over 4 or 8 bars; this keeps the texture evolving so it never sounds identical twice. Perfect for background layers that dance around underneath your main groove.
2. Warming Up Digital Sounds
Run your sound through RC-20 Retro Color with a touch of Wobble and Magnetic for analog-style depth. Low-pass the output slightly and balance the mix around 30–40%. This gives your sound that subtle drift and warmth without washing it out. This is great for pads, vocals, synths, textures, and even drums sometimes, and can be done with other plugins that do the same thing.
3. Controlled Chaos with Distortion
When using distortion plugins like Thermal, Saturn, or even Roar in Ableton, automate the Mix or Drive amount subtly throughout your arrangement. Even a few percent of variation per phrase adds life and energy. Combine that with filtering on the low end to keep things tight and punchy when using it on synths or any other element that isn’t supposed to have too much low end.
4. Building a Creative Template
Start your sessions with a base template: a low-end bus, hat bus, FX return for reverb/delay, etc. Having this ready lets you focus on creativity instead of setup, you’ll spend more time designing sounds and less time routing tracks. This really saves me a lot of time and allows me to be creative as soon as I open my DAW.
5. Learn to Mix, But Don’t Over-Mix
Spend time learning the basics of cleaning up your mix: EQing the low end, controlling harshness, and leaving space for each element. But don’t stress about perfection: sometimes a bit of mess or overlap adds character and vibe. If everything sounds too clean, you might lose the energy that made the idea exciting in the first place. Balance is key; learn the rules so you can break them when it feels right.
SVNX’s ‘Beneath It All’ is out October 29th on Otium Records. Pre-order here.
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