PRODUCTION TIPS: MARK FANCIULLI

Whenever I work on new records I usually like to start with a particular groove or riff. Sometimes inspiration comes from other places but I find this is a good starting point, I usually get a few drum loops going to begin with and start the creative process from there.

With 'Game Plan' I really wanted to have a cool 'Detroit-style' element to it so I spent a lot of time on the bassline in the beginning (probably too long!). I used the Jupiter Synth to construct this as it has a nice warm, analogue feel to it, something I try to keep throughout all my records.

Even though I'd spent so long writing the bassline I still thought it was better to start the track off with it really stripped back to create more of an impact when it opened up after eight bars. It also allowed the track to build a bit more. After this I gradually brought in other elements until around a minute in, at which point the percussion and the remaining bottom end frequencies come in, which really helps to carry the groove and keep the record flowing in the right direction.

“The bassline I wrote was actually two bars long, but I think it's important to keep the dancefloor on its toes a bit so I tried to split it up periodically throughout the record to make it a bit more interesting. I also added some panned vocal cuts into the break to really build the tension. I love working with vocals — they have such a wide range of uses when producing music, which is really exciting to me.

LFOs are another tool that I really like using. Here I added it to the filter at around the 2:30 mark, which adds a bit of bounce to the record.

After this it was just a case of using a lot of effects, in particular the reverb unit on the build-ups and the synths and arranging the record! Job done.