Earlier this year, Techno giants Fjaak held a remix contest for their album Fjaak The System, and after a huge number of submissions, Argentina’s West Code came out on top with a pumping club-focused remix of Redemption. Not only did he win the contest, but his remix was featured alongside legendary artists Robert Hood and Shed.
The remix competition of ‘Redemption’ drew an overwhelming response from producers worldwide, which made it very difficult to choose a winner. Even though West Code’s interpretation was the chosen remix, four other interpretations were so good that FJAAK decided to showcase the talent of Helsmoortel, Genex, Ay Din, and Your friend daao by including their reworks on an exclusive Bandcamp-only EP, highlighting the duo’s ongoing commitment to the underground.
Berliners Felix Wagner and Aaron Röbig have been shaping their unique sound since they were young, consistently pushing limits since the late 2000s. Renowned for their rebellious attitude and hardware-only live sets, they’ve injected new energy into the club scene with high-impact performances and DJ gigs.
Their 2024 album, ‘FJAAK THE SYSTEM’, broke genre boundaries by blending UK breakbeat, techno, drum & bass, jungle and more. Collaborations with artists like Modeselektor and Skee Mask helped define this daring release, opening a fresh chapter for the pair.
DIVA and SAMPLE LAYERING
The main sound source for this track was an Instrument Rack made of three layers: Diva and two Simpler instances in Slice mode, loaded with audio clips from FJAAK’s original synth recordings. This rack became the core of the track, blending the essence of the original with my own style. Diva brought a warm, classic character to the mix, with its rich oscillators and shaping options providing the perfect foundation to further process and sculpt the main element.
For this track, I created an Instrument Rack called SYN1, layering Diva with two sliced Simpler tracks. In Diva, I used the preset “Square Echo Bass,” which is quite minimal, but shifting semitones and octaves higher gave it a more hypnotic and driving feel. Combined with FJAAK’s synth layers, it created a hybrid between a 303 with open cutoffs and a brighter, more sustained synth floor from Diva. Using the MDD Snake V3 sequencer, I built a repeating pattern that avoided monotony by leaving space for the percussive elements to breathe. After shaping the sequence, I processed it with distortion and saturation tools like Amp, Guitar Rig 7, EchoBoy, and Rift, followed by EQ (Pro-Q4) and compression (SSL Comp) to fine-tune the mix, balancing or enhancing certain frequencies. A strong sidechain was also essential to let the low end become a driving force throughout the track.
Working with this style of sound design can lead to more exotic and unexpected results. Personally, I’m a big fan of distortion and heavy processing, and it doesn’t have to be limited to the plugins I used here. Ableton’s native devices also have their own magic. For example, Grain Delay is an amazing tool for creating unique textures and gritty tones. My recommendation is to experiment with Instrument Racks that have layered sounds with a clear volume hierarchy, so each layer has its own depth and space in the mix. Once that’s set, you can focus on shaping the final character and dynamics of the sound.
GUITAR RIG
Guitar Rig is a classic guitar amplifier plugin that I often use to add aggression and grit to my sounds. I love the metallic and textured tones it can produce, which bring a unique character to the layers I build. After creating my sound stacks, I turn to this tool to give them an extra twist. Something beyond the default presets of any synthesizer. It’s all about finding that balance between saturation and clarity, using just enough to color the sound without overpowering it.
For this track, I ran the main layered synth through a custom Guitar Rig chain to add both punch and spatial depth. The Tape Echo module gave the sound a subtle sense of space and presence, while the shelving EQ and Solid EQ stages helped shape the tone to fit perfectly in the mix. I also used a Valhalla Vintage Verb in place of the built-in reverb, automating the decay during breakdowns to create dynamic shifts in atmosphere. This combination brought a strong character to the sound, making it both aggressive and immersive without losing clarity.
Guitar Rig can both refine and completely transform a sound, pushing it toward raw and metallic textures. I highly recommend using it not just to shape a signal, but to break it apart in creative ways, sometimes even resampling the processed sound and running it through the same or a completely different chain again. I’m a big fan of resampling and using saturation/distortion tools to discover unexpected results. With the right settings, you can create tones that are truly unique and impossible to replicate with a single pass.
MDD SNAKE and STING!64
These Max for Live devices are sequencers I use to generate patterns for both synths and rhythmic elements. MDD Snake offers four fully configurable parameters: Notes, Gates, Velocities, and Custom. They can produce random results, with the Gate, Swing, and Note sections being my personal favorites. STING!64 works in a similar way but with a simpler approach, which I often use for rhythmic patterns with drum samples such as hi-hats, congas, Peruvian cajón, snares, toms, you name it. While I enjoy the randomness they can generate, I always like to tweak the sequences to my taste for the final result. I’m not a big fan of working with MIDI clips; I prefer the hands-on feel and visual workflow of these sequencers.
For this track, I used MDD Snake to write the main synth sequence, removing some notes in the Gate section to reduce the pressure on other elements and give the groove more space. STING!64 was used to recreate certain percussion parts from FJAAK’s original samples, creating variations that kept the essence but presented them in a fresh way. This combination allowed me to maintain the track’s identity while adding my own rhythmic signature
I recommend these devices as a great way to break through creative blocks. There’s always a better sequence waiting to be found, and if it’s not quite right, you can always modify it. I also love automating gates, velocities, and experimenting with the scale options in MDD Snake. I use these sequencers for everything: synths, drums, basslines, and even vocals. They’re versatile, inspiring, and can completely change the way you approach composition.
FabFilter PRO-Q4
This FabFilter plugin is my go-to equalizer, without a doubt. With Pro-Q you can both correct and boost frequencies to improve and refine your track. Every single channel in my projects starts with a Pro-Q by default, as it’s the way I learned to mix and create space between elements.
As I mentioned before, this plugin lets you shape the mix of any element. I feel Pro-Q has a more surgical and precise cut compared to Ableton’s EQ Eight. In this project, I used it almost automatically. Several Pro-Q instances were placed on my low-end group to remove unwanted bass from percussion elements, which is crucial for keeping subs clean, and also to control certain problem frequencies even at the mastering stage.
I recommend using this plugin, especially its spectrum analyzer function. This feature lets you visualize overlapping frequencies between any channels that also have Pro-Q loaded, making it much easier to mix instruments so that each one has its own space in the frequency spectrum. It’s an invaluable tool for building a clean, balanced mix.
TIPS:
Tip #1: Keep your low end clean by cutting unnecessary sub frequencies from non-bass elements. A tight kick and bass relationship will carry the groove.
Tip #2: Use Grain Delay to create new grooves that break away from strict percussion quantization. It’s a great way to add swing and unpredictability.
Tip #3: Resample processed sounds to redesign them from scratch. Sometimes the most unexpected results turn into the most useful elements.
Tip #4: Use sends creatively to color your mix, like parallel compression or subtle harmonic excitation. These layers can add depth without cluttering the arrangement.
Tip #5: Have fun and take the time you need. This is art, not a race. Some days will be more productive than others, but every step is part of the journey.
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