We’re back with another deconstruction, this time with our Head of Education and Development and master of Track Deconstructions, Ski Oakenfull. In this video, Ski breaks down Dua Lipa’s hit, ‘Don’t Start Now’. If you’re new here and not familiar with what a deconstruction entails, it’s where we take a well-known track, break it down to its core elements and recreate it before your very eyes.
Taken from Dua Lipa’s LP Future Nostalgia, ‘Don’t Start Now’ was released back in 2020 and stormed the charts, ranking at #2 in the UK and #1 in the US Dance Hits chart. The track’s most prominent feature is easily its funk bassline, which Ski delves into below.
If you’d like to learn more about producing, mixing, mastering and releasing tracks just like this one, check out our selection of online courses. Plus, get 25% off selected London, online and LA courses before our offer ends on 31st May with the codes: LONDON25, ONLINE25 and LA25.
To kick off the deconstruction, Ski goes through the drums which feature in the track and records in the 4×4 beat, along with the percussion. As is tradition with these deconstructions, he goes through the music theory, exploring the scales, chord progressions and melodies. Having read an interview with the producer of ‘Don’t Start Now’, Ski was able to locate the actual bass sound used in the track, the Native Instruments’ Scarbee MM Bass, which he then uses to record in the infectious bassline. Once all the elements are in place, he drops the acapella over for good measure to demonstrate his seamless recreation of the track.
These deconstructions are a tool we use frequently to teach elements of composition and arrangement but to get the full picture we recommend you study with us. The most comprehensive study we offer is our flagship degree programme, the BA (Hons) in Music Production and Sound Engineering (also available online).
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