The DJ and producer Stanccione recently released his new EP, ‘Natalia’s Theme’, on the label of the legendary club D-EDGE. The release has 3 original and unreleased tracks that reinforce the Brazilian’s relationship with deep house and give even more weight to his catalog, which as a great highlight so far counts with the remix he received from Jimpster on his track ‘Quintana’.
‘Natalia’s Theme’ is a piece directed to the clubs. Not necessarily for peak time, but still with a great depth when thought about its execution in a good soundsystem. This is a solid and mature release, which also strengthens the artist’s relationship with D-EDGE, the club where Stanccione is a resident. Today he shares 5 essential studio tips that were relevant to his production on this release and other projects.
1. Know your room’s sound
It’s very common for producers and aspiring producers to assimilate audio quality with more sophisticated equipment, but this is not always true. Assuming that all rooms have acoustic flaws – including the treated ones – it is essential to know what deficits your space has, treat them, and get used to them. Remember that the most important piece of equipment in the studio is your ear.
2. Positioning matters
Another very common mistake among artists and aspirants is the poor placement of transducers within the room, as well as the chosen listening spot – where you sit to listen. There are some starting points to arrive at the best possible positioning, such as forming a triangle between the boxes and the listening spot, keeping equal distances from the side walls, and using the room at its greatest length, among other formulas. But, again, these are starting points to achieve the best possible sound translation within a room. So don’t be afraid (and lazy) to do a lot of testing until you find one that works for you.
3. Stock rocks
Another taboo that I have always heard in the almost two decades that I have been in the production world, is that native DAW plug-ins are not as good as those from some boutiques. It’s a lie. Native plug-ins deliver excellent results and save tons of processing in most cases. Lose this prejudice that is born right at the beginning of every producer’s journey and try the native ones in your DAW, you won’t regret it.
4. Listen to everything
Another mistake, in my opinion, very often made by less experienced producers, is the habit of listening only to music that belongs to the same sound range that you are aiming for. Believe me, you can learn a lot by listening to techno if you produce house, for example. It’s by going out of your comfort zone that you discover new timbres, ways of conducting and musical development, effects, and everything else that a good song needs to be called a good song.
5. From just what the instrument needs
I know, the urge to ultra-process all the channels in your mix is strong and highly based on other producers’ opinions, after all, we learn by listening and watching lessons on learning platforms or via YouTube. Trust your ear more than the rules, tricks, and presets you find out there. Not always a kick will need to be compressed, and not always a percussion needs to have its resonance peaks cleaned. Each case is unique, and who should decide what to do and when to do it is your ear, not these miracle formulas that we find out there.
Stancionne’s ‘Natalia’s Theme’ EP is out now via D-EDGE. Purchase your copy here.
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