Desi Beats for DJs: How South Asian Music Moves Global Crowds

Desi 101: What Exactly Is Desi Music? Let’s clear something up: Desi isn’t a genre. It’s a cultural identity. “Desi” is how South Asians across the diaspor...
NGHTMRE performing at Avalon’s Control Fridays in Hollywood, California. (Oh Dag Yo)
NGHTMRE’s new single “Street” is one of the biggest trap songs of the year so far. Released last week, the track has already amassed over 400,000 plays and received support from Skrillex, Flosstradamus, and RL Grime. We’ve personally seen NGHTMRE drop it twice in the last month, first during a live stream at Mixify’s headquarters and then for his Los Angeles debut at Control. The crowd went wild each time.
With “Street” gaining momentum, NGHTMRE has shared a masterclass that he taught at the University of California, San Diego in April. Included in the two-hour video is a section on how he produced the single, which at the time was unreleased. It begins at the 58:40 mark.
Full list of topics:
Introduction and backstory – 1:08
His beginnings – 5:34
Important notes – 10:20
The current state of dance music – 15:45
Masterclass agenda – 17:38
Being innovative, maximizing your gear, and developing a brand – 18:24
Production process – 19:55
Clarifying your tracks – 20:34
How he produced his remix of The Prodigy’s “The Bomb” – 28:27
Simplifying your tracks – 36:00
Eight bar expansion – 41:20
Chopping vocals – 50:00
Adding character – 56:20
How he produced “Street” – 58:40
Organizing and collecting samples – 1:03:17
Finding samples – 1:04:31
Sampling the real world – 1:05:40
Advice from Flux Pavilion – 1:11:11
The importance of reverb – 1:12:25
Adding a natural feel with track delay – 1:14:10
Built-in audio and MIDI tools – 1:15:18
Q&A – 1:17:42
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