Sonic Academy proudly welcomes brand new tutor Michael Oakley this week for an all-new, much in demand synthwave course.
Hailing from Glasgow and signed to NewRetroWave Records, his albums California (2017) and Introspect (2019) have gained huge critical acclaim and in this track walkthrough we get an in-depth look at his track ‘Control’ which features on his latest album.
Over the next 2 hours, Michael shares invaluable workflow tips on how to get the most out of your creativity and takes us through the elements of the track explaining not only how but also why he has used certain sounds and processes to achieve the final result.
And there’s more!
We’re excited to say announce that we’ve teamed up with NewRetroWave Records to run another fantastic remix competition!
Just click the ‘Enter Remix Comp’ button to find out more and you can download the stems and project files, work your magic and be in with the chance to get a release on this awesome label!
hi - why is “how to make” now being called “track walkthrough” - ? thanks - what makes it a “track walkthrough” tutorial versus a “how to make?” thanks
A track walkthrough the producer has the completed project open and discusses how the track was made. In the ‘How To Make’ they start from a blank arrangement and rebuild the track from scratch. Hope this helps
Great great series, much better than others like where from the beginning “Ok let’s make a kick, we’ll take this sample from nowhere, add 5 and more expensive plugins, tweak 1-2 knobs one pixel left one pixel right, you hear? you hear ha? MUCH better sound (hardly recognizable difference)” - no road map, no reasonable entry point why the hell we polishing the single kick before we even know what the song will be.
Love first part very much with pre-prod setup, inspiration and idea, almost every decision are described and based on clear idea.
Really enjoyed the walkthrough. Would really have liked to have seen the drum section feature where the sounds originated from and how they were assembled. Since drums are sampled, it could’ve been a perfect spot to mention the use and compositional processing of drum samples. (not referring to eq).
Overall, this was a splendid course. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks Michael, I found the walkthrough of your track very informative. You shared a lot of helpful tips that went beyond the track itself that were especially helpful to me as a beginner. Thanks.
Excellent course & very in depth track walkthrough of the track but not only, there’s a load of great information on music production in general, from tips on workflow & how to enforce creativity to track layering, song developing & mixing and why & how different elements are used & complement each other. Great tutor, everything is very well & explained, very instructive & pleasant course to watch. Thanks.
Half production walk-through, half pep talk. As a newcomer to electronic music, this course really hit the sweet spot. Full of information but at the same time encouraging and approachable. I hope to see more courses from Michael, because this was great.
Out of interest, what’s a great vocal texture sample library like the one that triggered the inspiration. I’m lacking those kind of library in my arsenal.
Great tutorial probably the best I’ve watched so far. He covers everything with detail and explains every move. The only thing I wanted to watch more was the creation of the drums section. How to use and arrange the samples. Howerver it was a great tutorial. Thanks
