In the studio this week is Paniëntos, an electronic music producer based in the Netherlands who first discovered his passion for production during lockdown. Inspired by a friend already making waves in music, he dove into FL Studio and began teaching himself through YouTube tutorials and hands-on experimentation. Since then, he's crafted some standout tracks like Love on Me and Tik-Tik, and built a growing fanbase. We caught up with him to talk DAWs, gear, workflow, and how platforms like RepostExchange have helped him grow.
I started making music during the pandemic. A friend of mine (Nicky Dippin' - known for his song Lollipop), was already making music and inspired me to start making music too. I mainly teach myself by watching YouTube videos and then trying it.
I work in FL Studio because that was the only DAW I knew at that moment. Maybe in the future I will give Ableton a try, but for now FL works for me.
At the moment I like my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, my Adam Audio T7V monitors, and my Acer Predator gaming PC.
The FabFilter plugins are the ones I use the most. Especially the Limiter, EQ and Saturn I use a lot. Other plugins I use are EchoBoy Jr. and Valhalla VintageVerb and Ozone 11. I think it mainly depends on your preference with which you like to work.
If I have an idea, I start looking for the elements I need for that track. Otherwise I just start with some drums, then I make a bassline and then I will look for a vocal or create a lead sound for the track. Sometimes it’s the opposite; I've found a vocal and I create everything around it.
I usually make a loop from 8 to 16 bars. When all the pieces fall together and I am happy with the loop, I will arrange the elements. Sometimes in the arrangement some elements won’t fit, then I will remove it or search for something else. If the arrangement is done, I will fill up the track with effects and automations.
I use YouTube videos most of the time. If I want to know something about a certain subject, I search for it. Another good way to learn is to check out a reference track. Pick a track you like and look how the track is made up.
Don’t overthink too much. If it sounds good, it’s good. Look for good samples, and not everything you see in a tutorial is something you should apply.
The fact that nowadays everything is related to your socials. You are not only concerned with making music, but also everything surrounding it, such as promotions etc. This takes a lot of time, but on the other hand, you learn a lot from this.
As I mentioned before, look at reference tracks a lot. See how the track you like is arranged, and how the volume/spectrum is filled in. Use, for example, Voxengo SPAN.
Sometimes I send my tracks to friends and ask them if there’s something missing or think it can be better, because multiple ears can sometimes be a good thing.
Love On Me is my first track I put out on all platforms and is doing well on Spotify, but production wise I like Tik-Tik more. But still I think there’s a lot to learn, and I am not where I want to be.
RepostExchange helped a lot to promote new songs. It’s a good way to get heard and create a network of people that like the music you are making.
Top left to right: Ozone 11, FL Studio.
Middle: EchoBoy Jr.
Bottom left to right: Acer Predator, Valhalla VintageVerb.
Connect with Paniëntos on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Want more? Sign up at RepostExchange.com.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity
