Atmosphere in a mix

B

bone

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Hello

I have recently started to turn my hand to mixing after being heavily into drum and bass for a good number of months. I've picked up the mixing skills quite quickly, and have even purchased the mixed in key software to help me with my harmonic mixing.

What i would like some help on is just how to build up and create a good atmosphere in the set, rather than just dropping good tune after good tune.

Anybody got any tips?

Would be much appreciated
 
All about your record buying habits. When I started out all I would buy were the anthems. Then as my tastes developed I started getting more into rollers. A set that goes from big-anthem to big-anthem gets boring so you need to use rollers in between to build up energy and suspense.
 
Very true, at first I was just buying songs because I liked them soley in themselves, not even considering their effect in a mix. This led to a diluted collection spanning lots of subgenres, thus leaving little in the way of shit that works well together.

Id recommend going into your shop/online site, with the mentality of "how will this work in a mix?/what tunes do I already own or plan to own that will be better enhanced through this new tune?"

Furthermore, I'd check out the harmonic mixing thread on this same page, some interesting tips on how to use the camelot wheel and such. I posted another table in there regarding ways to bring your mix up or down without simply sticking the one hour rule.

http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj211/sarumanza/?action=view&current=mixchart.jpg

Theres the table, but Id suggest reading the thread anyways.
 
Thanks guys - i have already had a look into harmonic mixing, and it does seem like a very nice way to switch between tracks-though wasnt aware of that colourwheel thing. Definitely going to be giving that a try!
 
what i try to do is select a theme for the mix, and then pick tunes accordingly,

gather a big pile and then sift thru what sounds right for what you had in mind, then play around until you have an idea of what should go where, most importantly how does the mix sound

do any tunes sound out of place on a second listen and does it progress instead of drop after drop, that doesnt mean your confined to a type of sound, be it jump up , liquid whatever, just make sure the tune fits and takes the mix in the direction you want

for instance some tunes mixed together create a build, where others sound heavy on the drop but die on their arse eventually, just keep it flowing until you decide the time for a change in pace instead of a wrongly placed tune that does it for you

not sure if that makes sense but hope it helps
 
mmm i was quite noob when i first starts (obviously) id buy the most random collection of tunes, none of them complimenting each other ina mix.

depending on which way you wanna go with your mix really, start of quite liquid maybe, then get into some deeper rollers, start adding a bit more tech, or industrial into it. theres loads you can do man.
 
Thanks guys - this is really helpful! Now i have to start identifying which tracks work to build up the suspense (obviously i know which tracks drop nicely - i have been having much fun with these over the past weeks!). Has anyone got some good suggestions on some good "rollers" then? I'm very much into what logistics i have atm, so any track advice on the liquid side of things would be a great help..!
 
there are a lot of different approaches, personally i like to start of with the more chilled out tunes then build it up to the big dance floor bangers with tasty teasers in between.

take a listen to some of the mixes in the members mixes section, it'll give you a few tips
 
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