Sampling

There's no doubt that "Tremor" is a fantastic piece of electronic music. Ryan couldn't even find a similar track on Ultra Music. This song, simple in structure yet brimming with energy, is years ahead of its peers in the industry.

Admittedly, great works often gain recognition through word of mouth over time, but that doesn't mean they'll explode onto the market in the short term.

Because it lacks a "talking point," "Tremor" has to rely on word of mouth, which takes a long time.

From this perspective, for Ryan, who wants to build a name from nothing quickly, "Tremor" might not be the most suitable "debut."

But since it was all gifted by Déjà vu, Ryan doesn't have the right to pick and choose anyway.

However, with the second piece of electronic music brought by Déjà vu, the situation is completely different.

She can get the first wave of attention by riding on the coattails of celebrities. Why can't I?

But then again, the top priority now is to produce this song. Ryan could tell the female voice in the music was speaking Spanish.

He immediately dragged a bunch of equipment back to the lounge. By then, the others had also packed up their personal belongings, ready to leave together.

The performance was cut short, and everyone's expressions were grim.

"So, can we go back to Nashville now?" Ryan's mind was full of getting the Harlem shake produced as fast as possible.

Deadmau5's agent, Marvin, snorted coldly: "Are you kidding me! You can leave if you want, but pay the contract's penalty first. You two owe us money now, understand?"

Ryan had already apologized on behalf of Joel. Even though Joel had screwed up the performance and cost Deadmau5's team extra money, Ryan still had a collaboration with Deadmau5. Deadmau5 said part of the penalty would be deducted from Joel's earnings from the single album.

"Then we'll have to rely on you, Marvin, to find a suitable nightclub for a temporary performance. The price is negotiable." Deadmau5 said with a placating smile.

The next stop on the tour was a week away. The team had already traveled from Canada to New York. The airfare, accommodation, and wages for these days were all expenses. After this incident, even if they couldn't turn a loss into a profit, it would be good to recover some losses.

Since they still had to perform, Ryan and Joel couldn't leave.

"I don't want to see either of them next week!" Marvin had had enough. He took out his phone and tried to contact some local performance agencies and middlemen in New York.

·

As soon as Ryan and Joel returned to their hotel double room, Joel, who had been crying and sobbing, immediately stopped his tears.

"That Marvin wanted to eat me alive. If I hadn't put on a big show of weakness crying, tsk... those black guys really go for the kill." Joel checked the injuries on his face in the room's mirror.

I really don't know if you're smart or stupid. Ryan shook his head, immediately opened the equipment case, and took out his laptop.

"What are you getting the computer for?"

"I got my thing." Ryan said without looking up.

"You got it too?" Joel immediately walked over to Ryan.

After a month of intense mixing practice, Ryan was no longer an EDM novice. Under Joel's watchful eye, Ryan began to operate with fluid precision.

This song used an 808 kick drum, mixed with snare drums and claps... and a bit of hi-hats. Ryan recalled, his hands moving decisively.

The lead was a brass synth commonly used in Trap style. It seemed like multiple sound effects layered together. Let me think, it should be a distortion effect, plus reverb and delay.

Ryan put on his headphones and listened a few times.

No, something was missing. Yes, that's it. It turned out a low-pass filter was added to the drum kit. That sounds right now. Perfect!

After finishing the lead, Ryan replicated the process to complete the FX track. With that, a new electronic music track was basically finished, taking only fifteen minutes.

Joel, watching from the side, was completely stunned. Normally, a DJ would first think of a lead, then expand on it back and forth, adding various sound effects and details. It's like carving a sculpture, and Taylor's creative process was no different.

But Ryan was completely different. He directly completed one entire track, then moved on to the next. It was like building a house: first lay the foundation, then build the floors, and finally do the exterior and interior decoration.

In other words, from the very beginning, he had a complete electronic music track formed in his mind.

"You're a goddamn genius!" Joel completely forgot about his physical pain.

"It's still missing the soul of this song—the vocal part." Ryan said.

The next part was the real difficulty in producing the whole song. The vocal part of "Tremor" was just a simple "3.2.1 GO," which was very easy to find a substitute for.

But this song was different. The timbre and lyrics were quite special.

Ryan imitated the lyrics from the song in his memory for Joel.

"That's Spanish." Joel scratched his head.

"Can you spell it out?"

Joel shook his head: "But Deadmau5's lackey is Hispanic. He'll definitely be able to tell."

Ryan immediately went to get him, and eventually got the spelling for a Spanish phrase: "Con los teroristas" (With the terrorists).

"Maybe this lyric is also a sample?" Ryan tried, then searched online for it, but the results disappointed him.

Ryan's guess was actually correct, but the original sampled song for the Harlem shake, "Con Alegria," wouldn't be produced until two years later.

"Then we'll have to record it ourselves." Ryan continued.

"That's right." Joel nodded. "So, where do we find a Spanish-speaking woman? Such a woman might be easy to find, but one who can deliver the feeling you need won't be easy."

As he spoke, he noticed Ryan staring at him.

"You're not thinking of me, are you?" Joel was horrified.

"Why not? Your voice is naturally high and thin. I can use software to modify it into a female voice." Ryan spread his hands.

"As long as you don't mind the final result, I'm fine with it." Joel laughed dryly.

As for recording equipment, Ryan pulled out the gear Joel had brought. Even though the environment wasn't ideal for recording, with the help of various effects, such minor distortion wouldn't affect the listening experience—no need for high-end equipment.

"Yes, just like that, like you're throwing the sound out, emphasizing the last 'ta' syllable." Ryan guided the pronunciation on the side, with the Hispanic assistant correcting the enunciation. Half an hour later, Ryan finally got a relatively satisfactory version.

Then came the sound processing, making the voice sound like a woman's, and inserting it as a vocal track into the song.

"Almost there, just the last line: 'do the Harlem shake'." Ryan used his search method again, and this time he found the source smoothly. The line came from Plastic Little's 2001 hip-hop track "Miller Time."

Ryan planned to try contacting them tomorrow for a sample license, but for now, he naturally just ripped that line first and finished the production.

A knock sounded at the door. Joel opened it, and Deadmau5 stood outside.

"What are you three doing in here?" Deadmau5 squinted.

"Ryan's making a new song—actually, it's already done. You've got to hear this. It's different this time, a dance track." Joel's face lit up with excitement.

"So, did Marvin find a new club to perform at?" Ryan turned to ask.

"Mm-hmm, still in Manhattan, but this time in Greenwich Village. That club is close to New York University, so there should be fewer Black men at least." Deadmau5 nodded.