Jeremy Olander’s Vivrant label is on fire this year, with a string of some of my music to drop to date all on his singular imprint. The latest release is from label-mainstay OLING, a track called “Only Love,” with a retro-progressive roller that simply slaps. The syncopated basslines and the plucky synth lead harken back to some of the early Prydz stuff, albeit not as aggressive and anthemic, just fun and groovy.
We had the opportunity to have OLING come on to share some of his favorite plugins he used to make this track along with some of the hot tips on making progressive house music that gets supported and signed by some of the game’s biggest progressive house producers and labels. So listen to the track below to acclimate your ears to the sauce he’s about to share in this article, and then dive into the latest iteration of How It Was Made: OLING – Only Love.
Massive
I used Massive for the chorus melody. What I like about Massive is its virtually limitless capabilities- you can modulate almost anything. Another advantage is that it has three oscillators, whereas most digital instruments typically have only two, at least from my experience.
The lead pluck sound isn’t particularly complex in terms of modulation. I used one envelope for the filter and added an LFO to the filter’s resonance. This creates some movement along with the velocity of each note. Additionally, I utilized all three oscillators for this pluck lead.
I don’t know many producers in my genre who use this plugin, but I’ve used it since I started making music. It’s versatile: very easy to use if you want it to be, and very complex if you need it to be. I often find that I can create a great sound in just minutes, sometimes even seconds, depending on what I want.
Learn More About This Plugin Here
Hyper Chorus
“Hyper Chorus” is a chorus effect, but it’s more aggressive than most, in my opinion. I used this effect on the vocals for this song, which I think is pretty obvious if you listen to it, haha. It added a lot of color to the already modulated vocals, which I think suited the song perfectly.
I don’t have much to say since I recently discovered this plugin, but if you want a powerful phasing chorus effect, this is the one—especially for vocals, like in this song.
Valhalla Shimmer
Valhalla Shimmer is a pitch-shifting reverb effect that adds a bit of extra “shimmer,” I guess, haha. In this song, I used it on the background pad to give it some extra atmosphere. If you’re interested in how I modulated it, the best way is to check out one of my screenshots.
It’s great for adding extra ambiance, as I mentioned before.
It has a distinctive sound, so I recommend not overusing it in a project. My rule is to apply it to a maximum of two sounds or instruments.
VC 76 Compressor
The VC 76 Compressor from Native Instruments emulates the 1176 FET Compressor. I tend to use a fairly aggressive compressor on almost any sound.
I used it on the bass in this record to give it extra punch. If you’re interested in my settings, please check out one of my screenshots. This effect is great for anything you want to compress with extra punchiness. I use it in all of my songs.
Three Quick Tips For Making Progressive House
1 – Identify a core principle or concept to focus on; everything else will naturally fall into place in the best scenario.
2 – Embrace the spontaneity of the song’s journey, welcoming unexpected deviations from your initial vision. Remember to safeguard your progress by saving backup copies before experimenting, ensuring you have a fallback option if the results don’t align with your expectations.
3 – Let go of ideas that no longer resonate with you, as your time and energy are valuable. Focus instead on pursuits that ignite your passion and bring you fulfillment.
