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Wondering if there are any House / Dance music fans around here.

I've loved electronic music since the 80s when I think listening to Jean-Michel Jarre tapes set me up to love anything synthesized! Through the 90s I've loved house and rave music which continues to this day.

I also produce House music though my released stuff is under my dead name Chris Ringwood but got something coming under my new name at least!

Love to hear from anyone with similar tastes.

Oh, Charlotte, I love this!

I am an old rocker at heart (Pink Floyd, Blue Öyster Cult, AC/DC). I think Pink Floyd and Elton John are the ones who got me hooked on synthesizers. While living in Germany in the 80s, I got introduced to Electronica as a genre. There was a very popular discotheque where we would go to hang out and party. Each night of the week, they had a different theme. I remember the place would be packed in the middle of the week on "House Night". It was so much fun!

Then, still in Germany, I discovered Kraftwerk.

Computer World

Thanks Lori. Pink floyd are brilliant - "dark side of the moon" naturally lends itself to my ears.I totally get how living in Germany you'd get introduced to electronic music. Kraftwerk are of course legendary and that you post I like vert much. "More fun to compute" is a personal favourite with its deep hypnotic sound.

Germany has fuelled a lot of the dance music scene too creating some amazing Techno music. The other big Techno  home being Detroit.

A lot of these influences merge to make the electronic scene I love and glad to hear you've had some positive experience of it too.

Quote from: Charlotte_Ringwood on October 30, 2025, 01:53:11 AMThe other big Techno  home being Detroit.

I think Denmark, especially Copenhagen, is another city known for Techo. Long ago, I got invited to an online live stream of a rave party there. It was wild, and the music was so good. The video was crap, but the audio came through very well.

This is neat, Charlotte. I've felt a longing to create music for as long as I can remember. A couple of years ago, I took up learning guitar and have been having a fantastic time with it.

I'm very interested to know what tools/equipment you use to make your music. Can it be done relatively inexpensively?

Great to hear you're interested in production and you already learning guitar.

As I produce electronic music most stuff is done 'in the box' e.g. I sequence all my melodies, basslines, drums etc in MIDI on the computer. I do have some external synths so use an external ASIO audio interface to record in. These have an instrument in  so can also record guitar!

Most of my synths and effects are plugins called VSTs. You can stack them on channels. Some are Virtual instruments others are effects.

Now I use Ableton which is great for dance music - it's quite pricey. Now for budget and work with instrument recordings I'd recommend trying Reaper. It's budget and very good for recording but also runs VSTs! You can try lots of free VSTs too to get started for sure.

Beyond this most choices come down to style of music you want to make!

Thank you so much. I've heard of most of what you've mentioned, so at least doesn't sound like you're coming from another planet.

I'll look more into these things on the cold winter days that are just around the corner.

Thank you again!

Yes. I have a bit of a bi-polar taste in music. Depending on my state of mind I can be either into metal, or very uplifting, vocal trance. It's a rather Jekyll and Hyde type of deal, lol. Although even the metal is symphonic. I don't really do the whole screaming, gurgling, hard stuff. More your Nightwish or Epica.

Anyway, when I'm in the mood for trance music, I'm very in the mood for it. Stuff like this... which speaks to me. The lyrics especially:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3bJGpVTlU4

Quote from: Sephirah on October 31, 2025, 06:44:55 PMYes. I have a bit of a bi-polar taste in music. Depending on my state of mind I can be either into metal, or very uplifting, vocal trance. It's a rather Jekyll and Hyde type of deal, lol. Although even the metal is symphonic. I don't really do the whole screaming, gurgling, hard stuff. More your Nightwish or Epica.

Anyway, when I'm in the mood for trance music, I'm very in the mood for it. Stuff like this... which speaks to me. The lyrics especially:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3bJGpVTlU4

Only just found your reply. Your taste in music sounds quite divrse, although in reality I too love listening to all music. I'm really looking forward to a metal gig with my partner. Music is just a beautiful thing, each genre with its own subtleties that together make it.

I love that track you post. Some years back I went to several trance club nights playing very similar vibe. Very euphoric.

Charlotte 😻

My house track released as Charlotte is now live, I'm so happy she is out there.

I did this one as I wanted to write my own vocals about something that represents my journeys in life. Now being a club track, vocals just have to hit simple, short and sweet. As such it's not like I've written much, but the words I wrote represent something thats helped me. I found a singer with just the right voice for this and appointed her to do the recording

It's about mindfulness and embracing right now. Because sometimes the day and life you're living now, was once just a dream that you had. You can feel warmth in that you made it...you're living that dream right now.

Another challenge was to make the lead and bassline with one element...working with simplicity to create the instrumental hook. I cheated a little...I layered a brighter lead synth over the bassline synth! But I kept them similar so it's more convincing and just controlling the layering with low pass filter automation to brighten in the right places. Oh and getting that organ sound right nearly killed me. I was not happy with anything until I ended up spending ££ on a collection of virtual recreations of famous organs that sounded right. The joys of getting just the right sound.

Anyways enough geeking out on music production. Maybe you found it interesting 😊

That's a banger that Charlotte! Colour me impressed! Right up my street.

Whilst I have quite eclectic music taste, I've been into electronica/House etc ever since I saw Maars - Pump up the volume and Jack your body by Steve Silk Hurley. I was hugely into the club scene growing up in the 90's. Was too late for the "official" Acid House rave scene by a few years but was massively into the house/ techno/Drum&Bass/Hip Hop scenes back then.

I pretty much went to Shindig in Newcastle every week but been to a few others like Cream, Zero G in Nottingham, Tall Trees in Yarm, Back2Basics, Chemistry in Amsterdam and of course Ibiza and legendary clubs like Ku, Amnesia etc in '95. (This might be meaningless to the the non UK people on here sorry!)

I had mates who were drum and bass dj's and also hip hop so I wasn't short of choices for night's out!

I think my clubbing days are over now mind!

I think it's great! And I think the organ sound is spot-on. I completely understand the desire to get it the way you want it.

Oh Charlotte!

I love this!

Great job. Truly. Fantastic. I can't say enough.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 04:33:37 PMI pretty much went to Shindig in Newcastle every week but been to a few others like Cream, Zero G in Nottingham, Tall Trees in Yarm, Back2Basics, Chemistry in Amsterdam and of course Ibiza and legendary clubs like Ku, Amnesia etc in '95. (This might be meaningless to the the non UK people on here sorry!)

I had mates who were drum and bass dj's and also hip hop so I wasn't short of choices for night's out!

I think my clubbing days are over now mind!

Thanks and looks like you went to all the good places when you were younger too. I did the likes of cream, gatecrasher, ibiza and such albeit a little bit later in early 2ks. Amnesia was always a firm favourite, particularly on less major nights when they played techno or pumping progressive house style. Then getting blasted by the dry ice cannon!

I was big into drum & bass in the late 90s to early 2ks when it was a lot of tech step with some funky stuff thrown in. It started to get too refined for me after that. I loved that raw hard edge.

I too don't get out clubbing much either these days, though I should to try and network. Buy I'm not far behind you age wise and like stsying in!

If you change your mind and want to party out just let me know as I do like the occasional night out!

Charlotte 😻

Thanks all for the kind words too. Much appreciated. Glad you like my work.

Charlotte 😻

One of my older tracks so the production isn't so detailed, but I like the vocals I found and it's really my only track with this kind of sound. Most of my stuff is a little more underground. I wish I could get back to doing this again though... I need something to spark my interest and believe in!

Pretty Dreams (https://drive.google.com/file/d/168D6c-p6fBdHoDfrpWQvwFMqZHPPr-6D/view?usp=drivesdk)

Hope you enjoy x

Just curious, but are you using the same equipment as you did then?

The reason I ask is that there is a story about the band Boston. Everyone loved their sound! They were just getting started, so their equipment wasn't all that great.

With the success of their first album, they bought all new equipment. Their second album tanked. They talked to people and figured out that their sound had changed. They went back and bought all of their old equipment, and their third album was a hit.

So is it the sound, or is it the way you put it together that is different?

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 17, 2026, 03:03:46 PMJust curious, but are you using the same equipment as you did then?

The reason I ask is that there is a story about the band Boston. Everyone loved their sound! They were just getting started, so their equipment wasn't all that great.

With the success of their first album, they bought all new equipment. Their second album tanked. They talked to people and figured out that their sound had changed. They went back and bought all of their old equipment, and their third album was a hit.

So is it the sound, or is it the way you put it together that is different?

Back then I was totally using software synths to make music. My latest stuff uses a couple of analog synths that make much warmer sounds. Most of it is production though. My later stuff I record in small variations of effects on nearly every sound. For instance I adjust reverb, delay and filtering as key moments in the track approach. This builds tension which then drops after say 8 or 16 bars. Also with synths there are parameters like release, which control if the note is more sustained or punchy.

Say as I approach a big drop i make the release longer on the bass it'll growl more building that tension. At the same time would apply a high pass filter slowly so the bass depth reduces and leaves the snarling fizz of just the high end. Then silence...then drop fully again.

Dance music is about building tension then releasing it at a couple of key points. A first drop introducing the main concept then an all out drop later which fuels the dance floor. Rather than chorus and verse we have breakdowns and drops. I do use bridges though in my stuff to give room for more ideas.

I do have some nice library sounds now too. Like real recorded vintage Rhodes or Hammond organs which I can basically play as virtual instruments. They sound really nice and add quality to tracks.