Having earned the title King of Breaks over the span of his career, it’s safe to say Krafty Kuts is an authority on production. The British DJ/producer—real name Martin Reeves—has pushed the boundaries of DJing since his start in his early teens, with his turntablism prowess garnering him success and respect.
His genre defying DJ sets are still a sight to behold all around the world, but he’s also channeling that explosive energy into his productions (like his free remix of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” earlier this year). Amongst a packed set of tour dates, Reeves dished his top five tips for producers everywhere.
1. I am working mostly in Ableton now, which for me is perfect all around for my DJ mixes and working on the road. Coming from a hip-hop background, one of the most important things for me is beats. Spend time to make sure you have a solid library of beats & breaks, and prepare and process your sounds & drums before starting a track. There is nothing worse than stopping a creative process and EQing a kick drum for hours when it can already be done.
2. Obviously one of the most important aspects of producing and making music is having good monitor speakers. I use Yamaha MSP7 & Dynaudio BM6. These are perfect semi pro monitors, and the Yamaha’s have great mid range definition and the Dynaudio are great for a 2nd reference.
3. Less is more. Understanding one plugin inside and out is better than a computer full of plugins. I use Fab Filter for my mixing and Native Instruments’ Massive for making my synth sounds. Understanding each parameter of a plug in allows me to get maximum results. I know what plugin to use before I even start a tune or a mix down.
4. Reference material. From my DJ sets, I know what tracks sound great on a club sound system. When I mix down my tracks, I will use high quality reference material to ensure my tracks have the same weight and definition as other heavy hitters. There’s nothing worse than dropping your new track and then the club system dips.
5. YouTube is your friend! A few years ago you had to attended music courses or work with other producers to learn tips and tricks that can now be found by the many fantastic online tutorials available by simply researching YouTube.
Listen to Krafty Kuts’ new single “Souls On Fire” below.
