TR626 Drums

We used samples from this classic drum machine and sequenced them with the easy to use touchscreen interface. This rigid beat gives us the perfect foundation to build upon. We used the Air Channel Strip to glue the drums together and provide extra punch.

TR727 Bongos

Played in by hand to improve the “feel” – these samples build out the percussive hits that help keep the drum patterns interesting. The rhythmic timing helps to lift other elements of the track, in particular the bass.

Splice

Our vocals are taken from Splice. Thanks to the integration with the MPC platform (which works across all devices including MPC One) we simply found some vocals on Splice that felt like they’d fit our needs and once we’d linked our account these were downloaded, chopped, edited and pitch shifted to suit our needs.

AIR Solina

For the string samples we called on the Air Solina to provide that classic house vibe. The Solina is without doubt one of the most recognisable sounds in classic house music, being used across countless classics. The Air emulation is perfect for today’s producers – offering a lush tone.

OPx-4 Flute

Taking influence from classic cuts, the addition of the flute provides a variation to the instrumentation used. This preset was tweaked slightly and was processed using the Air Channel Strip to help position the Flute perfectly into the mix.

AIR Stage Piano

No classic house track would be complete without a classic piano riff. Played rhythmically using the Workstation Dance preset, we processed this with some analog delay and Air Spring Reverb. With these tweaks, the piano remains prominent without being completely overpowering.

God Made Me Funky

Taken from the Ultimate Beats and Breaks series, we pitched the break to fit our tempo to match the production techniques of the time. We added some crunch with Flavor Pro and mixed in an additional break layer for build-ups.

ChatGPT Lyrics

We bent the rules slightly with our lyric request, asking the neural network to give us lyrics for 35 years of Akai, rather than just the MPC. We wanted to get as many key products into the track as possible and the artificial intelligence didn’t let us down.

Fiverr

Having failed miserably when it came to finding authentic sounding AI rappers, we headed over to Fiverr. We found an artist who was able to turn the vocals around within a couple of days and delivered a fantastic take which needed minimal edits to fit the track.

Splice (again)

Our main sample comes from the Splice sample platform again. We can’t stress enough how easy it is to integrate the MPC with the platform. We isolated the bassline with a low-pass filter and mixed it carefully with the breaks.

Rhodes Chords

We augmented the vibe of the original sample with some chords played in using the Air Stage EP. For some variation, we also used Air Organ to play the same parts. Flavor Pro was once again used to add some dirt for that authentic vibe.

The Horns

Back to Splice for yet another sample, this time we grabbed the horn sample and chopped and pitched it to suit the vibe. This eventually became the main hook for the track, providing an energetic contrast to the laidback vibe of the other elements.

Riffin

We combined the break from MC Duke’s “I’m Riffin” with drum machine samples from the classic Roland TR808 and TR626 units. The addition of the shuffle from the XR10 rounds out the drums, with everything pitched to fit the timing of the track.

Sample Chain

We re-used the female vocal from our Classic House track as well as the rap from the Hip Hop tune. During the early 90s, it was common for samples to be lifted from the most recent track and pitched to suit (rather than hunting for the original). We’ve taken the same approach – pitching the vocals to suit the tempo regardless of the resulting tone.

Rave Stabs

The Jura is a fantastic emulation of the classic Juno synthesiser. We made use of the chord memory to program a chord that we could them play rhythmically as a contrast to the rave piano. The distinctive Juno chorus adds to the early 90s feel and we added some delay to give the part more bounce.

MINI D Bass

The 808 bass is joined by a bubbling synth bassline provided by the MINI D. This flexible synth is available from the Akai store and is one of our recommended additions to the standard plugin suite. MINI D is capable of a wide range of tones and comes in to its own when vintage basses and leads are required.

Strings And Things

To provide additional sonic interest, we added some Solina Strings played at higher registers to add that classic rave sound. Drum rolls also add sonic ear candy to keep the sampled drum break interesting.

Rave Piano

There are two approaches to rave piano parts. Either sample a classic house riff, or make your own. We played a simple, rhythmic piano part using the Air Stage Piano Workstation Dance preset again. The piano appears as part of the first breakdown as well as alongside the drums and other elements – highlighting the parts versatility.

Here Come The Drums

We grabbed three breaks to create our rhythm section. The Amen, Think and Hot Pants breaks gel together nicely. This classic combo features all breaks pitched to the tempo of the project rather than time-stretching or slicing the breaks. This approach gives the drums that timeless Jungle futurism.

Akai S950 Test Tone Bass

The S950 shipped with a series of disks, among these disks was the legendary sine wave test tone. When loaded and played in the lower octaves this simple sine wave produced some of the biggest basslines in history. A quick Google search reveals a Soundcloud download and we simply imported this in and assigned it to a keygroup for instant Jungle bass!

Something For Your Soul

We grabbed a soul stack from Splice and downloaded it directly into the MPC One+. We tempo matched the project with some pitch shifting and then rolled out some simple chops throughout the track to provide variation.

Reggae Switch Up

Many Jungle tunes are like mini DJ sets, with artists switching between musical styles and samples much like a DJ would drop tunes into the mix. We grabbed this reggae sample from Splice and pitch shifted it to match tempo. We did bend the rules slightly for this sample by using the Air Pitch shifter to improve the formants following the tempo change. but we feel we made up for this with…

Dancehall Drums

We cheated a little with the formant shift on the vocal sample. To balance this out, we used some drum machine samples to program some Dancehall drums. We used decimator to shape the sound as if it had been sampled. Many Jungle records would use samples that contained bass, drums, vocals and other instruments – the bitrate of the sampler would act as a filter of sorts, which gave these elements space in the mix.

Renegade Snares

A common drum editing trick from the Jungle era was to play the snare at different pitches. This often provided sonic excitement to what could otherwise become a monotonous loop. We emulated this by slicing the snare hit in the Amen and loading this into a keygroup. We then programmed a drum roll with ascending pitch at the end of the bar.