How It Was Made: Braxton – Indigo [Anjunadeep]

Since his debut on Anjunadeep with "When The Sun Goes Down," Brighton-based DJ and producer Braxton has been steadily earning a reputation in the dance scene as a formidable producer, with a number of solo productions, and remixes for the likes of RÜFÜS DU SOL, Tourist, and Grades that have won him support from BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM.

He recently made his return to Anjunadeep with a three-track EP titled Indigo, a release he declared was "a straight-up 2020 EP. It had to be. It was a terrible year but it changed a lot of us, and I wanted to explore that." The release is top quality, and as such, we invited him to break it down for us in this latest installment of How It Was Made. 

Words and photos by Braxton

1 – Monome/Norns

This was used to create different sounds across the whole EP. It’s a super versatile tool that’s great for experimenting with different ideas. On Indigo I sampled some of the Shakuhachi sounds into a granular-loop patch to create textured layers of atmosphere.

2 – Moog Sub 37

I use this on pretty much everything. The low, rumbling basslines on both "Sakura" and "Indigo" came from this beast. It also creates great percussion sounds. On "Indigo," I used the sub-oscillator to create a warm, deep, and rich kick that really glued the mix together.

3 – Ollo S4X

These headphones were a recent treat to myself for being such a good boy. They’re super transparent and for a few weeks, they smelt a bit like smoke cos the company that makes them had a warehouse fire. It was a bit like mixing next to a barbecue.

4 – Korg Minilogue & OTO BAM

The pads in "Sakura" were from the Minilogue XD. I ran it through the OTO BAM reverb unit to create a much thicker, warmer sound.

5 – Tape Machine

I use this to experiment really. I put the main pads in "Sakura" through this to add some dust and randomness to everything. I love the restrictions it poses. Once you commit something to tape there’s no going back and editing etc. You’re just stuck with it, so you end up tweaking and changing and pushing sounds in a really unique way.

6 – Cycles by Slate & Ash

This is one of my favorite pieces of software. I used this on every track across this EP to create really abstract sculptured soundscapes. The "plinky" sounds running all the way through "Wilderness" were vocal samples put into this thing. It’s a wonderful piece of software but is a massive strain on my ancient CPU 🙁

Look out for his track "Holding On" feat. Lauren L'aimant out on Colorize May 28th.