For our latest deconstruction video, we were graced by the presence of Gammer – happy hardcore legend and a good friend of our very own DJ Ravine. Despite his background in the super-fast rave sounds (in which Ravine also made his name), he has recently been turning his attention to huge stadium-ready dubstep tracks. It is one of these that is the subject of his deconstruction at pointblank, a maximal slab of thumbing bass and screeching stabs called ‘The Drop’. Ever since it first saw the light of day in DJ Snake’s Coachella set, ‘The Drop’ has been hotly sought-after and its recent release has been slurped up enthusiastically by legions of screw-faced fans. With remixes by tons of massive artists like Darren Styles and Skellism, plus support from the likes of Martin Garrix, David Guetta and Tiesto, its popularity continues to skyrocket. Watch the video below to see how Gammer came up with the goods.
Though he used to run the label Together We Rise, Gammer is now predominantly associated with Monstercat, the ever-prolific Canadian label. Gammer’s roots in Happy Hardcore are keenly felt in the making of the track as we learn here, borrowing elements of melodicism and classic ravey sounds. The track was actually something of an accidental hit, as is so often the case.
The deconstruction goes into great depth with each section and sound, so you can learn the decision making process in choosing which parts to drive the track forward, as well as his tricks for layering and favourite plugins. We also learn how he tends to begin with a drop and work around from there. Interestingly, both Zomboy’s ‘Like a Bitch’ and Justice’s ‘Stress’ were big reference points for the track and it gets bonus points from us for including sounds from the greatest video game of all time: The Legend of Zelda ‘Ocarina of Time’
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