There’s so many names for the genre that I can’t keep up 
Anyways, always loved listening to it but am curious from anyone here who has experience creating it if there’s are any tips you’ve learned for creating and/or mixing/recording it.
On my youtube channel I have a video where I make a lofi hip-hop tune. It’s not really chillout/chill-hop but kind of gives you a basic idea. Tho I don’t talk much theory in the video. But might give you an idea.
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Do you have specific artists in mind?
I’m not too much into genre classifications
Slow, spacious and evolving
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What machine or program are we using today?
Start with 95 BPM projects.
Build various drum patterns on this BPM
Play around with light reverb and delay on the drums
When using synths pick presets that have a long decay / release.
Duplicate patterns and delete certain drum sounds around it. Chain the sequences together
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layering drum synth sounds with chopped/sliced loops of real drums, then apply different fx settings on each track for fills, etc… gives lots of texture to the beat
i like the bass to go over the top a bit, thats just personal preference tho… also in terms of the composition tend to use a mix of deep low sounds and plucky high tingly sounds, to emphasize the contrast of the whole spectrum
personally i like to add lots of subtle elements and layers that blend together to the point you dont notice them in a really obvious way… also just a preference but i think it gives potential to keep it interesting over time, multiple listens etc
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Some nice tunes on your Soundcloud page. What synths/machines do you use?
Not sure if this counts, but here’s a couple things I’ve been up to with the elektrons
What kind of tips are you looking for?
For whatever it’s worth, I like running the master into one overall thing, in this case, the strymon deco.
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If you can find a cassette recorder and some tapes to record some crunchy samples thats usually a good starting point!
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thanks - ive owned many different synths over the years, bought and sold used mostly - but the setup im currently using is pretty minimal, because i prefer the focus it gives me, and helps keep the skill level high when i can explore the depths over a long period of time… plus its a small footprint, it can travel, etc. etc.
right now its analog keys, octatrack, mutable instruments ambika with the juno-106 style filters, and a roland tr8… thats it… im planning to get a rytm at some point in the near future tho… and i might get another ambika with different filters too…
on the DAW side I use mostly Kontakt for various real world instruments and some soundscape pads, and also Absynth… ive got plenty of IOS apps on the ipad and thats good for experimental stuff and some retro Korg synths - but primarily for synth sounds I usually stick to the hardware ive got
im thinking about getting a behringer deepmind at some point, and honestly im pretty excited to see what else they will bring along… the imp oscar would be nice and who knows what else
ive discovered over the years that i do tend to gravitate towards certain types of sounds and therefore i prefer to have synths that can excel in those areas… but generally its pretty possible to do many different things on many different synths - so it seems really the most important thing is finding out what your personal “sonic profile” is, and what is the best way to achieve it - and then concentrate on machines that will do that best/most efficiently/etc… and paradoxically this seems to be the best way to grow into new areas and discover new things, at least thats how it was for me
the only synth i owned that was really unique in terms of being something that cant be achieved on anything else whatsoever was the Roland V-synth - but its mainly due to the way interface is laid out with the d-beams and XY pad and how you can use that can interact with the sound engine, and how it sounded when you put all the elements together (samples, comb filters, etc)… id love to have another one, but its a pretty big keyboard and i can sorta live without it at the moment
if i ever settle down into a long term situation with owning a house or studio, i will probably end up building a modular system - but thats not really feasible at the moment and its more like a “nice to have” kind of thing rather than something that is essential for me
heres another one from a soundtrack im working on… this one is mostly chopped samples… the bass is ambika, the rest of the synth stuff is AK, drums are TR8
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great
i did this album in 2012. It’s highly influenced by acts like bonobo, four tet, tobin, shadow etc.
If this is something that fits your question, I can talk about how it was done. I learned producing at that time…
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