The debut EP from id landed with a sound that felt fully formed, tight, and confident in its own lane.
The project pulled from acid, Detroit-leaning house, and the kind of raw drum programming that works in a warehouse without feeling retro. The approach behind the music came from a rural studio setup where the priority stays on feeling and movement, not trends or expectations from the outside world.
“Re Eater” set the tone for the EP with a twisting acid line, heavy low end, and a mood that sits between hypnotic and driving. The whole release carried that energy into different shapes, from dark jackin’ cuts to brighter Motor City flashes. There is a clear sense of someone building tracks with intention and instinct, not trying to slot into a category, letting the gear and the performance lead the process.
This edition of the How It Was Made series breaks down every piece of the signal chain that shaped the EP. id walked through the tools behind each track, from the Phoscyon 2 acid engine to the JU06a chord work and the hardware used to glue everything together.
What you see below is exactly how he built “Re Eater,” written in his own words.
Main Synth – D16 Phoscyon 2
The acid line is obviously essential to Re-eater, as it is for the rest of the EP. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough money to buy an original 303. At the moment I’m using D16’s Phoscyon 2. I’ve used a few different 303 clones, but Phoscyon 2 just kind of sits right for the sound I was going for with this track and for the rest of the EP.
Phoscyon 2 sounds really good and is such good fun and easy to use. One of the benefits is definitely the sequencer, which is really simple and easy to program. But it also offers a lot in terms of control. It includes some of the well-known 303 parameters, and I particularly love the option to control the accent decay and accent volume. For re-eater I set both values really high as this is then really effective in tweaking the accent. One of my favourite things about Phoscyon 2 is the calibration parameters where you can change the set-up of the synth and fine-tune its overall sound.
To make the acid line, I mapped the main parameters of the synth to my Korg nanoKEY and played it in real time. I used a square wave for re-eater. I have a few run-throughs to get a feel for the track and then go for a take. The acid line on the track is a continuous take. I’m not necessarily trying to go for the perfect take, it’s more like trying to feel the music with how I am at that time.
I don’t really do an awful lot of processing after that. I use the Softube Weiss EQ MP for EQ, Softube OPTO compressor, D16 Devastator for distortion, and Softube Widener for stereo width. For wet effects I used D16 Spacerek for reverb and D16 Repeater for delay. The title actually came from Repeater. The P on my keyboard jammed and labeled the delay “reeater,” and I liked it.
Roland JU06a
The other synth central to this track is the Roland JU06a. It provides the chords. It’s a synth that I’d not really used for a while, and it had been sitting on a shelf. I also used it on the last track on the EP, Independent Thought. I love it for chords and pads. It’s so rich and deep and warm.
I do find the synth a little small and fiddly with those sliders, but the sound makes up for that. My approach to recording the line is the same as with Phoscyon 2. I improvise and feel the music as the track evolves. It’s a single take, manipulating the filter and the envelope.
I processed the line using Softube Weiss EQ MP, Soundtoys Decapitator for saturation, and Softube Widener for stereo width. For wet effects I used D16 Spacerek for reverb, and both D16 Repeater and Audio Damage DubStation 1.5.
Audio Damage DubStation 1.5
I used the Audio Damage DubStation 1.5 for delay on the JU06a. This is a fantastic delay that you can get as a free download. It has quite a raw and lo-fi sound to it. The delay for the acid line on re-eater is automated, but for this line I wanted a freer kind of feel to it, so I played it. I mapped a few parameters to my Korg nanoKEY and recorded the output into a new channel. This is great for building tension in a track and for transitions. I also EQ’d the output using Softube Weiss EQ MP.
Oto Boum
This box is really important to the sound I was going for. Boum is an analogue distortion and compression unit. I used it as a kind of pre-mastering tool. I route the entire mix out of my MOTU 828x into the Boum, then into my Mackie 1202 mixing desk, and then record the output back into Ableton.
I set the Boum to lightly compress. It has four distortion styles. I wanted warming and a boost, so I set it to the lowest setting with not much distortion. The trickiest part is gain staging and getting the dry/wet mix right. Adjusting each step avoids clipping. It takes time but is worth it.
Felt Instruments Kolor
Kolor is a modular EQ made from models of rare post-war European EQs. You can mix and match modules and choose from five preamps. It offers a broad-brush approach that’s great for adding analogue colour. I like using it alongside the precision of Softube EQ MP.
For this track, the key use of Kolor was on the master channel. It finishes the mix nicely and beefs up the low end. It’s easy to use and sounds fantastic.
Quick Fire Tips For Making Music
Know your gear. Experiment, push buttons, read the manual, and learn through play.
Improvise. I’m not after a perfect loop. I want a performance with tension and feeling.
Make music you love. I aim to make myself dance first.
Get objective feedback. Pick someone who will tell you the truth, not someone who loves you too much to be honest.
The post How It Was Made: id – “Re Eater” appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.