Dancers, night-clubs, artists, creators, experiences, visionaries… Every moment and every person along the path of Fabio’s journey from childhood, to nightlife promoter, to present day music producer, creator, disc jockey, nemophilist, brand ambassador, label owner, lover and giver – Has left a deeply rooted and centred impression within the soul and spirit of the Fabio Florido we encounter today. Labels like MINUS, SCI+TEC, SECOND STATE, MOOD, PLUS8 were early to spot Fabio’s signature appeal and harness it for solo and split releases.
In his own words, each of Fabio’s interactions has culminated in him arriving at this exact point: balancing his compulsive passion for music creation with his passionate consumption of nightlife alongside the discovery, admiration and contemplation of natural realms, in constant pursuit of forward-looking sounds, tools and technology. Not to mention becoming the brand ambassador for the forward thinking MODEL1 mixer collective.
In order to celebrate his new release ‘Quiet Disorder’ via RUNA, Fabio Florido shares 5 key studio tips.
1. It is crucial not to rush
True that under pressure you could sometimes deliver more, but to let the mind breathe and get away from the track for some days is a law for me. Every time I reopen the project with fresh ears, I understand what exactly I have to change or fix.
2. Keep it tidy!
Group items, assign different colors, remove unnecessary elements, rename your channels & instruments, delete any FX or devices you don’t need before sending to master. Assign your favorite effects to the return tracks and use them with send/returns instead of overloading each channel with dozens of FX.
3. Watch out for frequencies
Balance means quality. It would be optimal to know Music theory, but the ear and your laser attention, as always, play a great role. Put a VST tuner on the channels (Gtune, Mtuner are free), check where you are going. Adjust the drums to be in harmony with the kick/bass! You may already have all the elements for a great track, but you’ll “scrap” it because the frequencies annihilate themselves and create muffled sounds. Sometimes you just need to adjust the pitches, and with EQing to clean up low-ends or mid freqs.
4. Call me paranoid
But if you use Ableton Live, and of course, it’s built-in Audio/Midi effects, uncheck anything that’s just sitting there without actually working. For example; You have EQs on almost every channel, by default it opens with 4 anchor points, you might use two to sculpt some of the frequencies, deselect the others! It will improve the final mix.
5. Print out a leaflet to stick on the wall with written: ‘Dynamics & Modulations’
Always remember to play with decays, sustains, release, panning, adding randomness to your grooves. Max for live has some nice tools to do that. Try to think outside the box and have fun trying things, combinations, find your own tricks. Try different than 4/16/32 etc on your groove elements, see where it takes you. Unpredictability is cool.
Fabio Florido’s ‘Quiet Disorder’ is now available via RUNA. Grab your copy here.
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