John Summit: "La Danza" mix/production (tech house) [30-minute video]
I have worked on tons of tech house, including dozens of John Summit songs over the years, including his second Defected song, La Danza.
I wanted to go thru the production, the final sound, my mix decisions, and the arrangement and discuss what works well and what I might even do a little differently if I treated it in 2026.
I talk here about frequencies, groove, swing, sound choices, loudness etc.
Requests for tech house stuff are very popular, so tech house dudes…this is for you.
In a way this isn't 100% genre-specific, so you could say you can apply this to whatever genre, too, as my points apply to mixing/prodution in general.
📝 MAIN TAKEAWAYS (seen on video) for this style of tech house mix / production:
• Kick is strong and has quite a bit of bass
• Bass here doesn't take a ton of space: leaves room for elements
• Bass can be much bigger of course
• Bass is a part of the rhythm and groove: notice what gaps in bass do, as well as nudging it off the grid
• Bass plays new notes in chorus (does not stay static thru the whole song)
• Modest harmonics above sub; sub around 65, with a little bit around 120-150
• In this style, keep the (amount of) elements minimal
• In minimal production, a lot of sounds can be big and strong
• No 10 hihat and perc layers: sparse, clear: strong open hihat + slight layers
• Clap hits loud: 1K range is important
• Celebrate the ca. 500-1K range in percussion and in general instead of cutting and highpassing things (never highpass)
• Always make sure the breakdown has a good sense of tension and release: gradual widening
• Have some elements grow width-wise and level-wise in breakdown (automate breakdown width up)
• Drop has to hit harder than breakdown!
• In kind of minimal and loud mixes, stay away from a lot of reverb: the drier things are, the closer they are. Dry elements create this tight, close intimate vibe, common in minimal stuff.
Coming up next: Breakbeat of The Month (going back to Beastie Boys´roots), doing DNB that's between old and new, what makes a mix loud, what it takes to push a master loud etc
Comments (7)
One Question, so it's best to boost the bass harmonics when i found the root note e.g. at 45Hz, then it is best to boost 90Hz? Is it the best point of emphasising the harmonics of the bass at 2x value oh the root found Hz?
While it's not a rule, it's a good guideline, and often seems to work, as a ballpark figure.
Amazing video! And quick question, for the drums do you usually filter them, add reverb or lower the volume on the drop? and if yes is it all the drums or only claps/hats?
I rarely filter drums. If a touch of reverb is needed, usually clap only, not the other drums. I don't lower the level on the drop, but often mix drums down -1 or -1.5 on the breakdown (when bass and/or kick is gone) to have a bit less energy on breakdown, and have the drops hit proper.
Always loved how you mix claps and hi hats Are John's samples usually layered?
I love mixing them! Sometimes he has separated ones, sometimes as part of top loops, sometimes a bit of both.
So happy that you do mixing explanation on this song I've been studying it a lot some time ago Will watch it religiously