Following the release of ‘Ascending Lights’ in May, Sudam Recordings boss Kintar is back on his label this July as he delivers a club-focused remix of the emotive ‘Uthando Lungihlulile’ by Drizzy Sam Feat. OHP Sage & Puntsa. Speaking on ‘Uthando Lungihlulile’, Kintar explained how the “first time I listened to the original, I fell in love and was convinced I could turn this emotional track into my own club version”. Keeping the beauty and emotion of the original track intact, Kintar achieves exactly this as he delivers a delicate remix that is finely tuned for euphoric dancefloor moments.
To celebrate the drop of his new remix for Sudam Recordings, Kintar invites EG into the studio for 5 advanced production tips:
1. How to create unique kicks
Let’s call it ‘Kick Base’ (where I work the sub and punch) and the ‘Kick Click’ where I work the transient. For example, on the Kick Base, I always cut the hi-end with an LPF, so I can make space for the Click sample that I’m using. Same with the Click, I use an HPF to cut unnecessary low and mid frequencies. Make a group with both, and you can also glue them with a compressor to get a better impact of both working together.
2. How to organize your tracks for mixing
The best option is to organize them into groups that work in the same space and range. Kick, Drums, Bass, Vocals, Percussions, Pads and Strings, Synths and Sounds Effects (Risers, Crash, Downfillers). When we have all of them separated we can control them as groups. Easier to analyze the balance or glue them together if they need (Use a G Bus compressor type).
3. Reverb on vocals
Send the vocal to a return channel with a plate reverb. After the reverb, add a sidechain compression to trigger with the same vocal. Reverb will appear after the vocal ends. Just find the perfect gain reduction.
4. How to sound like your favorite artist
Create a channel in your DAW and drop your favorite track of the moment. Check the track every 20 minutes to understand everything about the track. A trick that I use while producing is to add a limiter on the master. I normally mix using the kick as MASTER level so it could be -8 Dbs. The rest of the tracks will be following the kick level. I increase the level of the input on the limiter to reach 0. I’m doing this to understand the mix, if something is not well placed you will notice instantly.
5. How to get a loud master
Use the Sonnox Limiter to increase the input, and shape it with the pre-process (work the attack, release, and also the soft knee for the signal to reduce its gain). Use “Enhance” to make the track even louder without causing sample overvalues. Don’t push the “Enhance” button too much, a maximum of 50 %. And the output at -1 Db.
Later add FabFilter Pro L2 to recover the signal with the “Gain” and shape again with the attack and release. Do not forget to activate the oversampling (I Recommend 16x, or if your PC is not new between 4x or 8x). Check the gain reduction on the master. I usually try to push between -3db and -6db. Always trust your ears. Hope it works for you!
‘Drizzy Sam feat. Ohp Sage & Puntsa’s ‘Uthando Lungihlulile (Kintar Remix)’ is available via Sudam Recordings. Purchase your copy here.
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