How to make Joel Corry, MNEK - Head & Heart [Remake]

Selecting Joel Corry and MNEK's 'Head & Heart' from Spotify's top 50 playlist as a danceable track to remake.

The song is noted as sounding quite danceable with a Swedish-influenced bias mentioned by the producer.

The goal is to remake this track from the top 50 charts to explore its production structure.

Alice Efe from Mercurial Tones Academy is conducting this music production tutorial.

• Four-to-the-floor kick drum creating the foundation • Off-beat clap for rhythmic support • Closed hi-hats from 909 drum samples, slightly distorted • Open hi-hats for texture and movement

• Short closed hi-hats at the beginning for grittiness • Dark continuous shaker loops in the background • Brighter shaker version to balance the darker shaker • Organic fills appearing twice per bar

Using drum bus for compression, room reverb for cohesion, glue compressor on return track, and sidechain compression to the kick for dynamic shaping.

Resulting drums are clean and crisp, serving as the backbone rhythm with distortion and overdrive adding character to the overall groove.

• Deep, stable sub-bass using Serum with aggressive filter settings • Notes tuned one octave below for super low frequencies • Envelope with slight pluckiness and release for deep resonance • Heavy resonance and drive added for character

• Grittier, more aggressive second bass layer using square waves and sawtooth wave tables • FM modulation for interesting timbral variations • Fast attack envelope for impact and aggressive feel • Distortion and hyper-dimensional effects for thickness

Using compression to control dynamic movement, EQ to isolate frequencies, and sidechain compression to the kick for rhythmic ducking and cohesion with drums.

EQ applied to separate bass layers, removing low-end overlap with sub-bass and avoiding frequency conflicts with other instrumental elements.

• Square wave with unison activation for width and space • Super short, plucky envelope for rhythmic articulation • 24dB filter with aggressive envelope modulation • Compression and subtle EQ for tone shaping

Brighter version of the first layer, slightly higher pitch with pitch modulation for movement and complexity.

• Triangular wave-based patch for smooth, simple sound • Power chord progression using octave and seven-semitone intervals • Slight distortion and compression for definition • Envelope shaped for game boy-like character

Ping-pong echo/reverb added to high layers for spaciousness, unison widening applied for additional stereo dimension.

• Ableton's built-in Grand Piano for initial chord layer • Arturia Piano for additional harmonic richness • Piano sample with cut transient but sustained tail for ambient texture

Overdrive added for brightness, gate applied to control tail length, saturation adjustments for tone shaping.

Simple chord progression layered with multiple piano variations to create depth and harmonic interest without overwhelming the mix.

Piano elements combined with the bass foundation to provide harmonic support and melodic richness to the overall arrangement.

• Song structure featuring quiet sections after breaks • Building to climax moments with layered elements • Repeated cycle of break and climax for dynamic motion • Composition based on element addition and removal

• High-pitched simple string pads for atmosphere • Smooth brake pads providing texture transitions • Fast, lucky melodic arpeggio with techno feel • Melee techno-style sawtooth arpeggios without effects

• Crash effects every four bars with reverse versions • White noise transitions and atmospheric elements • Ambient drum fills including snare, rim shot with reverb • Original vocal acapella from the source track

Minimal automation used, relying on composition changes and strategic element additions to create dynamic interest and maintain listener engagement throughout the track.