How to Make a Diynamic-Style Track in Ableton (Full Breakdown)
The Diynamic style, a progressive, emotional melodic lead over groovy indie dance drums, has been blowing up, with artists like Ugo Banchi and Solomun himself releasing tracks in it. In this video, Niek from The Producer School builds a full track in that style from scratch in Ableton Live, start to finish, in about an hour. All the sounds and the project file come from the Fiction pack, our indie dance producer pack.
Start with the groove: kick, snare and hats
The workflow here is groove first. Laying down the kick, snare and an acoustic hat loop before anything else makes the synth work much easier. The track is set to 126 BPM with a punchy kick that suits the style, a big-hitting acoustic snare (shortened a little) and a hat loop for swing. A touch of reverb on the snare and a gentle low-end cut keeps room for everything else.
The lead that carries the track
The lead is a short Serum 2 pluck from the pack: two saw waves layered with a little detuning, kept very short. That shortness is the point, because it leaves room to shape the arrangement, staying tight and filtered in the intro and opening up longer at the drop. It is processed with saturation, a multiband compressor for a subtle crisp top, a slap delay and convolution reverb.
Writing the melody: jumping in octaves
Diynamic-style melodies are defined by jumping in octaves. The method is to pick a root note, build a rhythm with that bass note in the piano roll, then add higher notes on top that jump around. Adding a little swing and paying close attention to note lengths, one of the most undervalued things in both melodies and basslines, is what makes it groove and sound clean.
The offbeat bass
The bass is simple and deep, almost a sub, kept clean and filtered. It plays offbeat, roughly every eighth note, so it interlocks with the top melody and gives that signature bounce. Follow the bass notes from your melody, link velocity so the first hit of each phrase is more prominent, roll off the highs, make it mono and add a subtle sidechain. Nothing overdone.
Extra energy: the stab
For lift, a simple saw wave with noise and some release works as a stab. Strip its low end, beef it up with Decapitator and a little reverb, and keep any sidechain subtle. It is a small element, but it adds impact when the drop hits.
Arrangement and tension
Most of the character comes from the arrangement. Automate the lead's filter to open on the drop, and automate its note length and decay. Do not give away the full progression early: start with just bass and a drone, automate the low end in, and use drones sparingly with volume and filter moves to add body.
Use the classic tricks, a shorter kick for the intro, texture loops and subtle crackle for atmosphere, risers and uplifters into the drops, and several bars with no kick to build tension on the main melody. Deleting the higher melody notes near the end makes a strong outro. That is how Niek gets to a full four and a half minute arrangement in about an hour.
Frequently asked questions
What BPM is a Diynamic-style track?
The track in this video is built at 126 BPM, which is the up-tempo end of melodic and indie dance where the groove still swings and the melody drives.
What DAW is used?
The whole track is built in Ableton Live, from the groove and sound design through to the full arrangement.
Who makes this style?
Artists like Ugo Banchi and Solomun have been releasing tracks in this style. The Diynamic name comes from Solomun's Hamburg label, which the sound is named after.
What is the main lead sound?
A short Serum 2 pluck made of two detuned saw waves, processed with saturation, a multiband compressor, a slap delay and convolution reverb. The melody jumps in octaves, and the note lengths are shaped carefully for groove.
Related reading: Create a Solomun and Max Styler style track, How Brunello makes indie dance, and the Fiction sample pack.
Every sound and the project file in this video are from Fiction, our indie dance producer pack.
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