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Welcome to the Hidden Frequency — your go-to source for the newest electronic music. Every issue delivers fresh underground tracks from indie and unsigned artists, a relevant headline from the scene, and a quick tip producers can use. If you were forwarded this email, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a thing!

What’s included in this issue:

🔦 SPOTLIGHT: NALYRO
🎚️ SHAPING THE SOUND: Tuning Your Kick Drums
 🎵 NEW MUSIC: DJ Meme, Slight, & more
 🔥 WHAT'S BUZZING: Holosphere 2.0

SPOTLIGHT TRACK

🔊 Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (Carter Walsh Remix)

Genre: House | Key: C#maj | BPM: 144

Artist Profile

NALYRO 

 Orgin: Lithuania

Genres: House | Bass House

Lables: Spinnin’ | Warner Music | Soave | Loudkult

Follow: YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY

TOP TRACKS

🔊 Incredia - I've Got A Feeling

🔊 BUTTER, Andrew A feat. beno - Ghost Of You (KESLR Remix)

🔊 DJ Meme - Saudade

🔊 Alvin Mo - Roll The Dice

🔊 SLIGHT - /CHEAT CODE

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WHATS BUZZING

Swedish House Mafia posts cryptic message about possible return

MK releases Dior ft. Chrystal

Major Lazer “Powerful” remix contest

Eric Prydz debuts Holosphere 2.0 at [UNVRS] Ibiza

SHAPING THE SOUND

The Case for Tuned Kick Drums

This week is about a fundamental aspect of mix clarity that often goes unnoticed in electronic music production: kick drum tuning. While producers routinely spend considerable time on sound design, arrangement, and processing, the harmonic relationship between the kick drum and other musical elements frequently remains an afterthought.

The issue manifests as frequency masking and phase cancellation when your kick drum operates at odds with your track's tonal center. When the kick's fundamental frequency clashes with your bassline or melodic content, the result is a loss of definition across the entire low frequency spectrum. This creates a muddy mix, regardless of how much EQ correction is applied afterward.

The Solution: Harmonic Alignment

Begin by identifying your track's key signature. Once established, adjust your kick drum's pitch to align with either the root note or the perfect fifth. This harmonic relationship ensures that your kick reinforces rather than conflicts with the track's tonal foundation.

Modern digital audio workstations provide straightforward methods for this adjustment. Ableton Live users can utilize Drum Rack's transpose function for semitone adjustments. Logic Pro offers similar capabilities through its built-in samplers, while those working with Serum can employ the noise oscillator section for kick sample manipulation.

For producers working with unlabeled samples, frequency analysis tools such as SPAN or Mixed In Key Studio Edition can identify the fundamental frequency of your kick drum, allowing for precise tuning decisions.

Advanced Techniques

Consider a layered approach where you separate the kick drum's transient attack from its sustained low frequency content. By tuning each layer independently, you can maintain the percussive impact while ensuring the sustain portion aligns harmonically with your track. This technique provides both rhythmic definition and tonal coherence.

Here’s a great video explaining more on tuning kicks