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Matthew Sona is making waves as one of Hungary’s youngest organic and progressive house DJs and producers. With legends like Nick Warren and Hernan Cattaneo already spinning his tracks, his dedication to punchy club music has caught the attention of the global electronic music scene.
In his latest remix, Matthew revealed how he brings his signature sound to life, diving into the tools that make it happen. Arturia Pigments definitely takes center stage, delivering dynamic, constantly moving textures that define his style. He also leaned on Arturia’s Efx FRAGMENTS and D16 Group’s Decimort 2 to shape everything from atmospheric pads to punchy drum hooks, showcasing how he balances precision and creativity to elevate every track.
For Matthew, it’s all about keeping the energy alive. He approaches production like a DJ, ensuring no moment feels stale. From experimenting with granular effects to using reverb for depth and space, every decision feeds into the track’s evolution. His passion for pushing boundaries, combined with a clear vision, shows why his music is connecting with some of the biggest names in the industry. So listen to the track a couple of times below to acclimate your ears to the sauce he’s about to share before diving into the latest iteration of How It Was Made: Munz (AR) – Everything’s Talking to You (Matthew Sona Remix).
Arturia – Pigments
I tend to use many different synths in my tracks so it was hard to pick one. In the end I chose Pigments as the main plugin for this remix. I’m no expert but if I had to describe this plugin I’d just say that it’s always in motion and has endless possibilities. The sounds it can create by fusing many different samples are rich in movement and are perfect for creating variety especially over time. It kinda has a granular feel to it with a slightly different sound for every key hit. Also, there are several LFOs moving around all the time modulating parameters so you can get the weirdest, most interesting sounds out of it.
When given the remix opportunity, I instantly knew that while preserving the original track’s vibe filled with lush atmospheres and main vocals I needed to create something with a twist. That’s where this big boy came in handy. I divided the track into two parts. Until the main drop, the track has an atmospheric, happy vibe but when the drop hits thing’s get wild! That’s why I called the group playing on the drop “Brutality”. The preset name used for this part is “Dub Pluck” which is a hard hitting dark pluck.
There’s close to no processing on the channel, only Valhalla VintageVerb for reverb, Decapitator for saturation, filtering and of course sidechain to the kick.
The beauty of progressive house is that the tracks are evolving throughout and while the tracks are 6-8 minutes long or more, you have to hold the attention of the listener from start to finish. That’s why Pigments is a great choice for anyone making this genre as it’s always moving, always in motion, always interesting. I love using the plugin for pads and atmospheres automating the cutoffs and I usually place Ableton’s LFO tool on the channel and just modulate a bunch of random parameters I find. The main tip here is to not hold yourself back, even if you don’t understand it, try it out, automate, modulate, get creative with it, get weird with it.
Arturia – Efx FRAGMENTS
This plugin is an unbelievable granular fx plugin. You can transform any boring sound into something interesting with this one. I use this on every project mostly on synths but sometimes on drums as well. There are tons of presets to choose from in categories like Delay, Distortion, Modulation and more. There are also changeable parameters, but honestly the plugin is complicated enough and offers so many varieties with the presets themselves so you don’t really need to get into those. If you want random modulation then this plugin is for you.
On this particular project I used FRAGMENTS on a lot of atmosphere channels. The preset in the picture was used on a background atmos which I created with a vocal sample from the remix pack (big reverb on the vocal – hit record on another channel – boom you have a unique pad). Before, the created drone sound was a bit boring so I added this and it instantly started moving and being weird which I love. There was another melodic fill which I used “Unique Shimmer” preset on that created a big interesting reverb on it which I couldn’t have normally done with a basic reverb.
Besides making music I’m also a DJ and when producing I look at it from a DJs standpoint. It’s crucial to not allow the audience to get bored. This connects with the sounds being interesting, so when choosing a sound, try to get the most out of it without overcomplicating things. This plugin is perfect for that. If you have a simple pad, place the plugin on the channel and just browse through the presets. Try them out and you’ll surely find the right one.
D16 Group – Decimort 2
Decimort 2 is a bit crusher but it can do a whole lot more than that. I think it’s best use is on drums and with the many presets you can generate weird sounds from the most basic samples. Changing several parameters like frequency and jitter you can also design sounds just as you like to hear them.
The plugin was used on two very important elements of the track: main drum hook & main pluck. For the drum hook, this exact preset was used to completely transform the sound. On the drum hook there was also some overdrive for distortion and Spacerek from the same company to place the sound into a weird space. For the main pluck which can be heard basically up to the main break I used the classic bit crusher feature because the original synth sound lacked some high end. The “16Bit 8kHz” solved this problem and created some nice shiny frequencies that cut through the mix.
Decimort 2 is perfectly usable in making progressive house amongst many other genres. If you’re tired of basic conga or bongo sounds, you can transform them according to your taste while maintaining an organic sound. This creative plugin is again a perfect example of trial and error learning. I advise to not overuse it and use it more on plucky sounds like plucks and drum samples to not get complications in the mix.
Valhalla – VintageVerb
Last but not least, the good old Valhalla VintageVerb. This classic but perfect reverb plugin is all you need. Whether you want to place drums into a room, make pads lush or vocals sound fat this is the way.
The plugin was used on several channels of the project like drums, synths, vocals and FXs. I really love to add subtle fills throughout the track that your conscious brain doesn’t necessarily pick up on but it adds to the whole picture over time. On these fills this reverb plugin is used not only to create reverb but to push the sounds back in the mix so it doesn’t conflict with the main elements. The main lead pluck that I broke down at the start also had this reverb on it to create width and space.
There are several tips on this plugin. First I already mentioned but if you want a sound to not be so present in the mix apart from lowering the volume you can add this reverb with a quicker decay and play with the mix according to how much you’d like the sound to be “physically“ pushed back. Second tip is when putting it on vocals or leads, you can create a fatter effect if you low cut and high cut the reverb. Third tip is to use return channels most of the time, I know this sounds basic but this truly makes a difference. Your mix can get muddy very quickly when using lots and lots of reverb incorrectly.
Quick Fire Tips For Making Progressive House
Tip #1: Practice makes perfect. You can only improve if you put time in it.
Tip #2: Less is sometimes more, don’t overcomplicate. Focus more on the flow of ideas.
Tip #3: Be authentic. Bring your personality into your music.
Tip #4 Comparison is the thief of joy. You cannot compare someone’s step 10 with your step 1.
Tip #5 And for last – and this is the most important – ENJOY THE PROCESS.
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