Michael Gray Making a Modern Disco Classic [TUTORIAL]
In this course in partnership with Traxsource, Michael Gray, one half of house and disco duo Full Intention, invites us into the studio as he dissects a disco track that edges into house territory.
Full Intention’s legacy goes back close to 30 years, poising Michael as a suitably-qualified instructor for this course.
In the course, he’ll talk us through the core components of the uplifting and bouncy track, while explaining the reasoning behind the main production decisions he’s made throughout.
Across their lengthy career as DJs, remixers and producers, Full Intention (Michael Gray and Jon Pearn) have worked with a string of huge artists that include the Sugababes, Whitney Houston, Frankie Knuckles and Mariah Carey. They’ve also released original music on labels such as Virgin Records, Altra Moda Music, Toolroom Records, Defected and more. Prior to starting their Full Intention project, they’ve had a number of other successful aliases. Their track Slide on the Rhythm, released under their Arizona alias, even reached the UK Number One position in 1993. All in all, Michael and Jon have maintained their status within the house and disco scene for upwards of three decades.
By focusing on the key concepts of creating exciting disco, Michael has condensed a wealth of valuable information into this 13-part course, which runs for over an hour and a half and covers the fundamental processes and theory required for creating your own original disco productions. Within the course, Michael programs, records and processes drums and percussion, layers bass and other elements, synthesizes key components of the track, uses sample-based instruments and mixes vocals.
Michael produces the bulk of the track using Steinberg Cubase and its included plugins, however he occasionally opts to use plugins from a small selection of third-party developers, including FabFilter, Waves, Arturia, Valhalla and more. The ideas and production tactics he employs in this course are transferable to any DAW or plugins, though, and as always, the main thing is the music.
Across 13 chapters, Michael Gray dissects the making of a nifty disco track that’s as suited to the dancefloor as it is on the radio. If you want to understand some of the fundamental concepts of house and disco, while leveling up your production know-how, then this course is for you.
Are you ready to dive into this comprehensive course on disco production?