How I Made That's What I Want to Do: A Track Breakdown

That's What I Want to Do by T. Nguyen is out worldwide July 23 on all streaming platforms. Preorder opens July 13.

How I Organize a Session Before I Start Mixing

Every session I build runs through four main groups: low end, drums, vox, and instruments. I do not usually group my tracks until I am ready to start mixing down, but keeping the total count around twenty tracks keeps everything clean and readable. When the session gets cluttered, the decisions get slower. Keeping it tight is part of the process.

For this track, the low-end group anchors everything. The bassline actually started as a Loopcloud sample that I pitched and chopped up until it fit the feel I was going for. That is a common starting point for me. I find a sound that has the right character, then reshape it until it belongs to the record.

Automation and the Texture Underneath the Track

Automation is doing a lot of quiet work on this one. I used filter automation on the bassline throughout, though I did not filter too aggressively. The main move was at the beginning, pulling things back before the track opens up. Beyond that, I rely on gain staging on the drums and a lot of auto-filtering and pitch-shifting on the vocals to build texture. That combination is what gives the record its movement without it feeling busy.

How I Approached the Kick EQ

I almost always start a track with either the kick or the bassline. On this one it was the bassline first, but the kick decision came early. For the EQ on this kick, I carved out the low end around 51 Hz, though it is probably really hitting closer to 55 Hz. I also pulled the top end back because I did not want a harsh knock, and I brought the mid-range punchiness down slightly to keep it softer overall. That is a tonal preference for me. I want the kick to feel present without it being aggressive.

Building the Hat Layers

The mid-range hat on this track is sampled from a 909. I did not lay it down in MIDI, which is unusual for me, but it works as a mid-range element that sits between the other layers. When all three hat layers play together, they create a groove that feels complete without any single layer doing too much. Layering hats is one of those things that sounds simple until you hear what each piece is actually contributing.

The Kick Drum Lesson I Brought Back from Ibiza

The kick on this track is a classic 909. After getting back from Ibiza in 2024, I came home with something that changed how I think about kick drums. Carl Craig made it clear: the wavelength of your kick has to be completely smooth. Un-uniform waveforms cause phasing. A smooth wave pushes the sound out of the speaker cleanly and gives you maximum impact. You can see that in the waveform on this one. The attack is clean and the shape is consistent.

That lesson stuck. I have switched almost all my tracks to 909s or 808s since then. They cut through the mix every time, and the reason is not just character. It is physics.

Pre-order / Stream Now →