5 things I learned from remaking ‘Missin You Crazy’ by Russ
Hallojis! This week, we’re diving into the beat for ‘Missin You Crazy’ by Russ. Real quick, I’ll point out that remaking songs is a great way to learn to produce, get ideas, etc. Moving on—
(1) The first thing I picked up on is that you don’t need a lot of sounds. Russ’ beats generally only use a handful of different drum samples. To re-create this, I only needed five.
(2) BUT you still gotta keep things interesting, right? I noticed that he’s generally aggressive with clip gain. The hi-hat pattern is the best example of this. Don’t be afraid to make big variations.
(3) Next, is to use empty space. If all music is a tension/release, then leaving space in the beat creates a small tension that is released soon thereafter.
(4) Fourth, loops are fine, but change it up. Everyone can get access to song starter loops via platforms like Splice. But when you either slow down, speed up, or re-arrange loops, you impart your own unique flavor onto the sample.
(5) And finally, put the vocal upfront. With relatively simple beats, that allows space for Russ’ vocals and lyrics to shine. To match his style, don’t be afraid to push the fader on your vocal a little.
Here’s the final track:
Check out the videos above for more. Stay well, shine bright.
