Last year we returned to the inspiring International Music Summit in Malta where our Head of Education & Development, Ski Oakenfull, shared one of his famous deconstructions. This time Ski turned his focus to one of dance music’s biggest legends, the late Avicii, breaking down his track ‘SOS’ ft. Aloe Blacc.
The collaboration between the producer and singer is the ultimate feel-good anthem blending melodic plucks with beefy kicks and infectious vocals. ‘SOS’ marked the first posthumous single from the Swedish artist as well as his second number one and has since gone on to rack up over 400 million streams on Spotify alone. At pointblank, one of the many things we specialise in is teaching budding artists how to produce, mix, master and release tracks just like this one. Find out more by checking out our line of courses. Want a closer look at the project’s MIDI files? you can download the pack including bass, piano, lead, arpeggio and more for the price of your email here.
First of all, Ski lays down the foundations of the track by programming a number of different beat patterns and effects into Ableton Live 10 using his Ableton Push 2. He then pulls back the curtain on some of the music theory behind the track delving into the chords and melodies used throughout the song’s verse, pre-chorus and chorus. Ski figures out the song’s key signature by looking for the most dominant note in the track which is known as the ‘tonic’ note or key centre. After all the chords and topline, notes are locked down Ski drops in the Aloe Blacc vox on top before creating his own TLC ‘No Scrubs’ mashup.
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). We’ve also recently launched a brand new degree – the BA (Hons) in Music Production and DJ Practice. Get in touch to find out more.
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