Producertech Hip Hop Production Techniques

One of the most exciting Hip Hop producers to grace the industry in recent times is Kaelin Ellis, having received recognition for his music mainly via social media channels initially, where he shared tracks with the likes of Kaytranada, amongst others. More recently, his production talents have been featured in collaboration with another online legend, Marc Rebillet. Now coming to the Producertech community, Kaelin has created a set of tutorials that takes you through his production process, as he creates a Hip Hop arrangement from the ground up in Ableton Live.

After a short introduction, in which Kaelin mentions how he normally finds inspiration for a track and then provides an outline of his Ableton Live template project, he gets started with the beats, beginning with some quick beat boxing to sketch out the initial idea. This is then edited and bolstered with additional samples, which are processed with various individual and drum buss effects.

He then creates a number of different melodic ideas, including arpeggiated and sustained chords sequences with custom made patches designed in realtime, underpinned with a simple bassline to complete the groove. Once all the sounds and ideas are laid down, parts are arranged into a track, with careful selection and development of parts, combined with effects automation and creative layering techniques. Once the arrangement is done, Kaelin provides a quick bonus lesson to talk a little more about his favourite Acid FX rack.

Enrolling on the course gets you immediate access to the streamed tutorials, plus the Ableton Live project from the lessons and a bonus 100MB pack of Hip Hop samples from Loopmasters. Enrol now to join Kaelin in his studio and acquire fresh production knowledge and materials to start making quality Hip Hop today!

Intro Part 1 - Meet Kaelin
Kaelin gives a short introduction, talking about one way he sometimes finds inspiration to start creating a track.

Intro Part 2 - Project Setup
A guide to Kaelin’s template project, including track layout and keyboard mappings.

Module 1 - Laying down Beats
Kaelin shows a unique approach to beats production, combining beat boxing with samples and audio editing, then processing individual sounds and the drum buss with various effects.

Module 2 - Making a Hook
A trippy, arpeggiated chords sequence is laid down using Operator and Kaelin’s trusted Acid FX rack (shown in the bonus module at the end). He then adds a bassline to accompany the chords.

Module 3 - Developing the Groove
Transients are improved, creative effects and automation are added, to shape sounds and develop the groove, before a new 8-bar chords sequence is added to the break.

Module 4 - Arranging
Kaelin works with all the sounds so far and one or two extra embellishments to lay out his track, More automation is applied, as well as FX and additional resampled layers to add to the vibe.

Bonus Module - Acid FX Rack
A brief extra session in which Kaelin demonstrates the devices within his favourite Acid FX Rack and how he uses it on different sounds.

1 hour of Streamed Tutorials
Ableton Live Project
100MB Bonus Samples