How to make Industrial Techno ([KRTM] style) Part 2 (Arrangement, Mixing & Mastering)

This is part two of an Industrial Techno template explanation series. Part one covered sound design, composition, and MIDI details. This session focuses on arrangement, automation, variation, mixing, and mastering.

The track was inspired by KRTM music, particularly the album 'It will make the world a better place', which features shorter tracks without traditional DJ intro/outro structures.

Create a track with constant high energy and frequent variations, featuring multiple sections (intro, chorus, verse, break, bridge, outro) rather than a standard DJ format.

• Intro with main lead • Chorus with full arrangement • Verse with different drums • Break with contrasting elements • Second verse with new synths • Third chorus building energy • Bridge maintaining momentum • Outro with fade-out effects

The intro avoids the classic DJ intro format by starting directly with the main lead inspired by the track 'Super Soldier'.

• Main lead synth with ambient textures • Second lead answering the first in a question-and-answer pattern • Fade-down transition into the chorus to avoid staleness

The intro ends with everything fading down before dropping into the chorus at full energy, creating contrast and impact.

The chorus kicks in immediately with full-on drums and percussion to maintain the track's consistently high energy characteristic of KRTM style.

• Multiple drum layers including hats, percussion, perc, and kicks • Low-end support creating energetic foundation • Lead one playing with a modified kick pattern following the lead melody

Create changes every 8-16 bars maximum, introducing new elements like additional percussion and hats while removing others to prevent monotony.

Alternate between playing hats with and without the lead, creating dynamic tension. When the lead plays solo, remove hats. When new percussion enters, bring back hats for impact.

Use small SFX breaks and EQ automation with low cuts to smoothly transition between different drum patterns and sections.

Introduce a completely new SFX sound out of the blue with a white noise effect to surprise the listener and signal a section change.

Replace the previous drum pattern with new hats and perc that have a different character but maintain the driving, energetic feel required for the track.

Prepare multiple drum variations before creating the arrangement to ensure fresh-sounding sections. Alternate between different driving hats and textural percussion options.

• Introduce a new ambient synth element • Extend the bass pattern to something longer • Rotate lead synths to prevent ear fatigue

Remove drums for two bars when introducing a new synth, then bring them back with extra drums, creating a more powerful re-entry than a direct replacement.

• Every 8 bars: change the main lead or introduce new elements • Every 16 bars: major shift in arrangement or drum pattern • Use percussion adds and removals to create natural energy curves

Bring back lead one and lead two in a question-answer pattern. Alternate drum choices: start with hats metal and grit, then add hat noise and ride for additional variation.

Create contrast between sections by removing all drums except ambience when reintroducing a strong lead, allowing it to breathe before the next drop.

Design the break as a complete contrast to the driving first half: introduce ambient, ethereal, and slightly uncomfortable atmospheres with vocal samples and noise.

• Ambient pad • Vocal sample: philosophical speech about dreaming • Weird TV noise texture • Riser and reverb effects for tension building

Use riser rack with delay, reverb, washout effect, and Redux (bit reduction) to create a heavily processed, ethereal atmosphere that contrasts with the rest of the track.

Maintain noisy, textural character consistent with the rest of the track by adding subtle noise elements even in the atmospheric break section.

Return from the break with a short silence, noise SFX, then introduce a new weird, hypnotic synth element to signal the verse transition.

Immediately restore high energy with noise grit, additional percussion, and driving hi-hats to maintain the track's characteristic constant drive.

The second verse features a different synth lead than previous sections, preventing listener boredom while maintaining the Industrial Techno aesthetic.

Introduce a short drum break within the verse, then bring back more driving hats to add extra energy and momentum building toward the third chorus.

Create a more linear, less frequently changing chorus section to allow dancers to experience an uninterrupted energetic moment lasting about a minute.

• Start with main lead solo using low-cut EQ • Gradually reintroduce drums between existing elements • Add ride cymbal back in the arrangement

Return to the pattern where lead one and lead two alternate playing after each other, creating musical dialogue that engages the listener.

Balance between constant variation and moments of stability. This extended chorus provides a reprieve from the frequent changes that characterize earlier sections.

The bridge maintains high energy but gradually removes elements, starting with lead two while keeping a more rhythmical perk component for dynamic interest.

Slowly eliminate track elements through the bridge section, preparing the listener for the final outro by reducing complexity and energy.

The outro features only the ambient pad, with washout and redux effects applied to create a final ethereal, processed aesthetic that closes the track.

End with looping ambient textures processed through effects, allowing for a natural fade or extension depending on performance or playback context.

Use minimal track-level automation, relying instead on arrangement changes and LFO modulation within synth designs to create evolution and movement.

• Low-cut EQ for section breaks and transitions • Riser rack effect for break section tension • Washout effect for intro and outro atmospherics • Auto-pan effect for break section scatter effect

Achieve variation through arrangement decisions: adding/removing drums, changing synth layers, using drum breaks, and rotating between different rhythm patterns every 8-16 bars.

Rely on built-in synth modulation (flanger, LFO) and strategic arrangement changes rather than heavy parameter automation to maintain clarity and impact.

Mix while producing by ensuring each new element immediately fits the mix perfectly rather than waiting until the end to fix problems.

• Pick the right sounds that work well together • Ensure elements don't clash with each other • Verify proper level balance from the start

Use minimal mixing devices: primarily high-pass EQ filters, sidechain compression, and drum bus compression with reverb for spatial placement.

Most processing is sound design-related for character, not mixing corrections. Overdrive on kick, saturation on drums, and reverb placement are creative, not corrective choices.

Use drum bus compressor to push sounds into the foreground, adding color and crunch while creating cohesion across drum elements.

Apply reverb on the drum bus, then use transient parameter negatively to gate the reverb tail, maintaining a sharp attack while preserving the spacious feel of a large room.

Cut frequencies below 35 Hz on the drum bus and apply heavy low-pass filtering, preserving only essential low frequencies for punch and clarity.

Apply standard sidechain compression on kick and bass without aggressive pumping, maintaining tight control of frequency masking.

Send hats to a dedicated reverb return channel, then use transient parameter negatively to keep them precise and cut through the mix effectively.

Apply high-pass filters across all hat and percussive elements to avoid frequency conflicts and maintain clarity throughout the dense arrangement.

With 24+ tracks of various elements, high-pass filtering becomes essential to prevent everything from muddying together and losing definition.

Avoid over-processing; use wide EQ bands and gentle boosts/cuts rather than surgical frequency targeting, relying on careful sound selection instead.

Avoid the trap of processing every track individually (kick, bass, hats) without identifying actual problems first. This leads to unnecessary work and degraded sound.

By carefully selecting sounds that fit together from the start, minimizing frequency overlap and clash, the mixing phase requires minimal corrective work.

Only process elements that actually have issues. For this track, the main concern was busy hats, so a high-pass filter was applied selectively.

Learning to recognize when a sound needs fixing versus when it's good as-is comes with experience and careful listening at each production stage.

The mastering shown is homemade processing, not professional mastering. It's recommended to send tracks to professional mastering engineers for optimal results.

Basic mastering knowledge is helpful for understanding loudness, tightness, and creative processing, but should not replace professional services.

The creator now skips mastering entirely on personal tracks, relying on pre-master quality and letting labels or professional services handle final mastering.

Focus on creating a high-quality pre-master that sounds good on its own before sending to professional mastering for final optimization and loudness.

Put the bass in mono using utility to eliminate phase issues. Add slight stereo width enhancement to strengthen the overall stereo image.

• Remove very low frequencies below necessary range to eliminate useless energy • Cut around 200 Hz to reduce muddiness • Boost around 3 kHz for clarity • Add high-frequency shelf for airiness • High-cut at 16 kHz to control harsh frequencies

Use gentle, wide EQ bands rather than surgical cuts. Every boost around 3 kHz and slight high-shelf enhancement provides noticeable improvement in clarity and definition.

Balance and tighten the mix with EQ before applying multiband compression to ensure cohesive processing and natural-sounding results.

• Attack: 30 milliseconds minimum, adjusted based on track character • Release: halfway to full (typically 200-300 ms) for natural pumping • Ratio: 4:1 for moderate control without aggression • Makeup gain: brought up after setting reduction to desired level

Apply EQ around 300 Hz on sidechain to prevent low-end from triggering compression excessively, ensuring overall processing rather than kick-centric pumping.

Aim for gentle reduction (not extreme) to maintain natural dynamics while gluing the mix together. Avoid aggressive 'friendly' pumping effects.

Can push compression more aggressively if desired, but restraint is recommended. Makeup gain is used to bring overall level back up after reduction.

Add slight saturation (approximately 1 dB drive) to introduce subtle harmonic enhancement and warmth to the master without obvious coloration.

Use color limiter for its combination of saturation and limiting characteristics, adding warm color and preventing excessive peaks simultaneously.

Reduce output to -3 dB to maintain overall level after saturation processing, ensuring no unintended loudness increase from the harmonic enhancement.

Apply a limiter as the absolute last stage to catch unexpected peaks and ensure the master doesn't exceed desired levels, with adjustable intensity based on preference.

All mastering devices can be adjusted for more or less aggressive processing depending on the specific track requirements and desired aesthetic.

This template demonstrates the mastering chain used, but professional mastering remains the recommended approach for optimal results and industry-standard loudness.

The template is available for download as a resource. Thank you for watching and learning about Industrial Techno production processes.

The riser rack effect and other tools mentioned are available via links in the video description for those interested in exploring similar processing options.