Bereboot (Uptempo remix)

This track is a high-energy uptempo hardcore production inspired by artists like Dimitri K, Unicorn on Ketamine, GPF, and Gezellige Uptempo. It starts with a creepy atmosphere, before changing to a high energy melody.

The track focuses on being high in energy, using repetition and variation to keep it engaging while still hitting hard.

The biggest challenge was starting without any real experience in making music. I struggled a lot with creating a melody that actually sounded good, everything felt off and like the elements didn’t belong together. On top of that, mixing and mastering was difficult because I didn’t really know what sounds “right,” so it was hard to judge my own track. Even now, I’m still not fully confident about the mix.

I worked through it by experimenting a lot and learning by doing. I tried different melodies, adjusted sounds until they felt more connected, and used references from artists in the genre to guide my choices. For the mix, I focused on getting a basic balance first instead of overcomplicating it, and compared it to other tracks to get closer to a sound that fits the style.

Starting out

Before starting in Ableton, I listened to a bunch of artists in the genre. I’m not a regular listener, but I do check out a track every now and then. From that, I started to notice some recurring elements in uptempo. Most tracks have very fast BPM, heavy distorted kicks, and a lot of repetition with small variations to keep the energy going. There’s usually a buildup with a drop that hits hard, often combined with aggressive or meme-like vocals. The structure is pretty focused on impact and energy rather than complex melodies, which helped me understand what direction to take.

Then we analyzed a track in class, I chose New School Rules by Dimitri K. What I liked about it is that it also brings in elements from gabber. During the analysis, I got a better idea of what kind of sounds are common in the genre and how a buildup is usually structured. Based on that, I decided on a structure with an intro, a buildup into the first drop, then another buildup into a more gabber-style drop. After that, I pushed it further into a more chaotic section with heavily distorted kicks, inspired by artists like Unicorn on Ketamine, who really go all in on loudness and distortion.

Making the elements

I started by making a melody that I would later build the distorted kicks around. This was the part I struggled with the most. A lot of the melodies just didn’t feel right for the genre and I went through many variations before deciding to settle on one and move on with the rest of the track.

After that, I started working on the distorted kicks. At first I considered using kicks from other producers, but I decided to make them myself in Vital instead. By following a few tutorials, I was able to design my own kicks and add variation so each one had a slightly different character and impact. I had the most fun doing this and im glad that I did it myself

Once I had the main structure laid out with the kicks and melody, I added risers, effects for the drops, and vocals from the Kids Intro. After putting everything together, it still felt a bit off. That’s when I decided to replace the original melody and switch to an arpeggiated pattern I heard in another uptempo track. My previous melodies were too complex, and while this one doesnt have alot of variation, it flows way better in the song. This ended up giving the song a more energetic feel.

Mixing and Mastering

Mixing and mastering was one of the hardest parts of this project. I struggled a lot with finding the right balance between the vocals and all the instruments, especially since everything in uptempo is already so loud and layered. It was difficult to make sure nothing was either too buried or too overpowering.

Even after a lot of adjustments, I’m still not fully happy with how the vocals turned out in some parts. At moments they don’t really sit well in the mix and feel a bit disconnected from the rest of the track, like they don’t fully blend with the energy of the song.