Dang, this is fine and groovy AF!

Dang, this is fine and groovy AF!

Good to see you back and happy 2026!! Funky beat, I wish it was longer!

Reusing stuff and chopping it into samples IS the workflow! Not sure how else you're supposed to use hardware to produce songs. The one downside of WB is that it focuses you too much into producing tracks, whereas when you have a bunch of hardware, just messing around and making weird sounds is an entirely worthwhile experience unto itself. WB 2014 sorta burned me out on music making for many years so I've been trying to focus just on learning and tinkering rather that making tracks, but I produce enough weird shit just as a byproduct of turning knobs that I figure I could pump out a track a week now lol.

The main benefit I see of hardware is that it's way easier to tinker with and nicer for sound design. Being married to the purchase and having it occupy physical space commits you to learning it at a deeper level IMHO.

TR8 looks dope but it would occupy a lot of desk space. Personally, I've been eyeballing the Aira T8, which has a 303 built-in too....

Good to see you back and happy 2026!! Funky beat, I wish it was longer! Reusing stuff and chopping it into samples IS the workflow! Not sure how else you're supposed to use hardware to produce songs. :P The one downside of WB is that it focuses you too much into producing tracks, whereas when you have a bunch of hardware, just messing around and making weird sounds is an entirely worthwhile experience unto itself. WB 2014 sorta burned me out on music making for many years so I've been trying to focus just on learning and tinkering rather that making tracks, but I produce enough weird shit just as a byproduct of turning knobs that I figure I could pump out a track a week now lol. The main benefit I see of hardware is that it's way easier to tinker with and nicer for sound design. Being married to the purchase and having it occupy physical space commits you to learning it at a deeper level IMHO. TR8 looks dope but it would occupy a lot of desk space. Personally, I've been eyeballing the Aira T8, which has a 303 built-in too....

Dope track to start the year, nice head nodding flow to the drums and dubby synth stabs.  I totally get what you are saying about the hardware, I have the same experience, make a few sounds to record and then chop those into samples and then again essentially back on the laptop.  This has me inspired to use my Roland tr-08 some more this year, and yes it is nice that it has the usb audio.  Great to hear from you again, I hope life isn’t as hectic as it has been and gives you more time to enjoy and explore music this year.

Dope track to start the year, nice head nodding flow to the drums and dubby synth stabs. I totally get what you are saying about the hardware, I have the same experience, make a few sounds to record and then chop those into samples and then again essentially back on the laptop. This has me inspired to use my Roland tr-08 some more this year, and yes it is nice that it has the usb audio. Great to hear from you again, I hope life isn’t as hectic as it has been and gives you more time to enjoy and explore music this year.

Excellent groove to the drums and really enjoyed those chorusy synths panned out.  Really nice piano climb with the melody as well.  Good to see you back as always.  Thanks for checking out the video too!

Excellent groove to the drums and really enjoyed those chorusy synths panned out. Really nice piano climb with the melody as well. Good to see you back as always. Thanks for checking out the video too!

Bopping along to this one ;-)  Great to hear you back!

Bopping along to this one ;-) Great to hear you back!

That piano coming in feels so right halfway through. 7th edition sounds crazy and yet here we are I missed the first year until the end and decided to wait for the new year. I was heart broken when I figured out it was an off year. Nice seeing you again!

That piano coming in feels so right halfway through. 7th edition sounds crazy and yet here we are :) I missed the first year until the end and decided to wait for the new year. I was heart broken when I figured out it was an off year. Nice seeing you again!

really nice so glad you are back love your stuff ( I hear you on the gear, I am always playing the game of do you hear what I hear)!

really nice so glad you are back love your stuff ( I hear you on the gear, I am always playing the game of do you hear what I hear)!

Welcome back!!! I feel the same I can't believe it's been 8 years since my first weeklybeats. Great to see you back for another go. Lovely track, pleasantly surprised by that delicious piano.

Welcome back!!! I feel the same I can't believe it's been 8 years since my first weeklybeats. Great to see you back for another go. Lovely track, pleasantly surprised by that delicious piano.

Bouncy and crisp with lots to keep my ears tickled! Very slick and fun.

Bouncy and crisp with lots to keep my ears tickled! Very slick and fun.

Grooovy beat

Grooovy beat

LOL I DID NOT RECOGNIZE MYSELF

I was away from the computer and was like "oh that's a cool sample" and then looked "oh that's cool that laguna is back and doing vocals now!"

lol it's me.

great track, very grooving, and the intro drum loop with the clave (?) or rimshot is so crispy

2012-2026 INCREDIBLE EFFORT!

wait did it detune slightly as it faded out?  if so, awesome.

LOL I DID NOT RECOGNIZE MYSELF I was away from the computer and was like "oh that's a cool sample" and then looked "oh that's cool that laguna is back and doing vocals now!" lol it's me. great track, very grooving, and the intro drum loop with the clave (?) or rimshot is so crispy 2012-2026 INCREDIBLE EFFORT! wait did it detune slightly as it faded out? if so, awesome.

welcome back! love the groove here, really bouncy and tight sounds, so cool

welcome back! love the groove here, really bouncy and tight sounds, so cool

man, welcome back! i started back in 2012 too. hard to believe wb has been a while! it goes by so fast.

the production on this track stood out to me right away as wow, this sounds more clear and present than most tracks you'll find on wb. sounds pro level man! loud but not in a grating way.

man, welcome back! i started back in 2012 too. hard to believe wb has been a while! it goes by so fast. the production on this track stood out to me right away as wow, this sounds more clear and present than most tracks you'll find on wb. sounds pro level man! loud but not in a grating way.

Good to see you again this year! Great first track, with a nice groove. I liked the vocal effects a lot.

Good to see you again this year! Great first track, with a nice groove. I liked the vocal effects a lot.

Really great song! If this me in 14 years then I would be happy haha

Really great song! If this me in 14 years then I would be happy haha

Chill bit of dub.
- Devieus

Chill bit of dub. - Devieus

Dub reggae with 808s is not something I expected, but it's something I needed. Very cool, and the piano breakdown is such a nice touch. It reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it.

Looking forward to what else you make in 2026!

Dub reggae with 808s is not something I expected, but it's something I needed. Very cool, and the piano breakdown is such a nice touch. It reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it. Looking forward to what else you make in 2026!

This is big. +1 for 808 science!

This is big. +1 for 808 science!

Hey, guys !!! Thanks a lot for all the kind comments. It's really nice to hear back from so many of you and see so many people getting back for another edition of the challenge !!!

Thank you , Impbox. It's really nice to hear you're digging this one

Hey Gify! It's great to hear from you again !!!

I'm personaly not a very good tweaker, yet I'm learning to let go and improvise a little bit. Besides, the pieces of hardware I own ... maybe I don't know really HOW, but I really feel they're a little bit limited when it comes to improvisation. I even have an Elektron Machinedrum but... all the "parameter locks" thing gets old after a while.

When it comes to sound design, I usually make quick samples out of equipment and then spend hours tweaking them in software. It is true that I try to "always be rendering" at the end of each session, so even the smallest loop gets converted to an audio file or multiple stems that I keep organized, so I could revisit them easily after a few days.

As you say, building songs it's always a challenge, so I force myself to record and edit every tweak and jam, so instead of "just performing", I could have maybe 8 or 16 bars of variations on my DAW.

I'd love to reach some balance so there are no significant pieces of gear "forgotten in the drawer" neither software unused.

Hearing all your methods and points of view helps a lot to get some perspective. Thanks a lot again for listening and sorry for the long rant

Oh, man! I'm really grateful for you being here one more year and dropping by. Your words are always really appreciated

Yeah, the Behringer BR8 sounds quite fine and I'm not obsessed to the point of needing and/or justifying "the purest 6 thousand bucks authentic 808 sound touched by The Egiptian Lover". The unit is very big and I tend not to use the individual outputs because I lack the desk space for the gear and the cables, even when I miss panning every element individually. I love it, but I'm being more happy setting it out over my bed, jamming for some minutes until I have a decent loop and then putting it back on the shelf (well, in the closet, actually).

MAybe some Youtubers convinced us that "using samples is not real enough", but I had a great time making my own sample back and then bounce the thing countless times from my old school E-MU ESi32 to Koala Sampler, then to Ableton... and back to the E-MU. Sampling is life !!!

Glad you're diggin' the (dubby?) beat. I thought I was doing electro ... guess too much delay betrayed me

It's great to hear from you again, Eric!! And great video BTW

I think that piano could deserve more development, though I didn't knew how to develop a whole track from it. It is actually a PianoTeq grandpiano phrase played an octave higher and then pitched down because the original was "too bright and shinny" and didn't match the whole synth vibe IMHO.

Looking forward to watch you Youtube adventures too

Always a pleasure to have you here, cTrix!!!

I'm honoured this beat makes your head nod

I may say your tracker documentary on Youtube, besides being a wonderful watch, it's full of excellent phrases to be sampled. I wanted to use the Amiga to do it, but I got an old and crusty "stereo" sampler with solder joints so fishy it sends my A600 straight to Guru Meditation every time I try.

Looking forward to hear more of your magic !!!

It's also nice to see you !!! I've been checking your stuff lately on Youtube. The White Town cover was dope, my man !!!

As I commented to Tone Matrix previously in the post, maybe that piano deserves its own track, in a few weeks

I feel you... I didn't knew back in 2013 that the event was every TWO years, so I almost didn't commented or engaged with the community thinking that "I had more time at the end of January"

Hey, guys !!! Thanks a lot for all the kind comments. It's really nice to hear back from so many of you and see so many people getting back for another edition of the challenge !!! [quote=impbox]Dang, this is fine and groovy AF![/quote] Thank you , Impbox. It's really nice to hear you're digging this one [quote=gify]Good to see you back and happy 2026!! Funky beat, I wish it was longer! Reusing stuff and chopping it into samples IS the workflow! Not sure how else you're supposed to use hardware to produce songs. :P The one downside of WB is that it focuses you too much into producing tracks, whereas when you have a bunch of hardware, just messing around and making weird sounds is an entirely worthwhile experience unto itself. WB 2014 sorta burned me out on music making for many years so I've been trying to focus just on learning and tinkering rather that making tracks, but I produce enough weird shit just as a byproduct of turning knobs that I figure I could pump out a track a week now lol. The main benefit I see of hardware is that it's way easier to tinker with and nicer for sound design. Being married to the purchase and having it occupy physical space commits you to learning it at a deeper level IMHO. TR8 looks dope but it would occupy a lot of desk space. Personally, I've been eyeballing the Aira T8, which has a 303 built-in too....[/quote] Hey Gify! It's great to hear from you again !!! I'm personaly not a very good tweaker, yet I'm learning to let go and improvise a little bit. Besides, the pieces of hardware I own ... maybe I don't know really HOW, but I really feel they're a little bit limited when it comes to improvisation. I even have an Elektron Machinedrum but... all the "parameter locks" thing gets old after a while. When it comes to sound design, I usually make quick samples out of equipment and then spend hours tweaking them in software. It is true that I try to "always be rendering" at the end of each session, so even the smallest loop gets converted to an audio file or multiple stems that I keep organized, so I could revisit them easily after a few days. As you say, building songs it's always a challenge, so I force myself to record and edit every tweak and jam, so instead of "just performing", I could have maybe 8 or 16 bars of variations on my DAW. I'd love to reach some balance so there are no significant pieces of gear "forgotten in the drawer" neither software unused. Hearing all your methods and points of view helps a lot to get some perspective. Thanks a lot again for listening and sorry for the long rant [quote=Jason Nijjer]Dope track to start the year, nice head nodding flow to the drums and dubby synth stabs. I totally get what you are saying about the hardware, I have the same experience, make a few sounds to record and then chop those into samples and then again essentially back on the laptop. This has me inspired to use my Roland tr-08 some more this year, and yes it is nice that it has the usb audio. Great to hear from you again, I hope life isn’t as hectic as it has been and gives you more time to enjoy and explore music this year.[/quote] Oh, man! I'm really grateful for you being here one more year and dropping by. Your words are always really appreciated :) Yeah, the Behringer BR8 sounds quite fine and I'm not obsessed to the point of needing and/or justifying "the purest 6 thousand bucks authentic 808 sound touched by The Egiptian Lover". The unit is very big and I tend not to use the individual outputs because I lack the desk space for the gear and the cables, even when I miss panning every element individually. I love it, but I'm being more happy setting it out over my bed, jamming for some minutes until I have a decent loop and then putting it back on the shelf (well, in the closet, actually). MAybe some Youtubers convinced us that "using samples is not real enough", but I had a great time making my own sample back and then bounce the thing countless times from my old school E-MU ESi32 to Koala Sampler, then to Ableton... and back to the E-MU. Sampling is life !!! Glad you're diggin' the (dubby?) beat. I thought I was doing electro ... guess too much delay betrayed me :) [quote=Tone Matrix]Excellent groove to the drums and really enjoyed those chorusy synths panned out. Really nice piano climb with the melody as well. Good to see you back as always. Thanks for checking out the video too![/quote] It's great to hear from you again, Eric!! And great video BTW I think that piano could deserve more development, though I didn't knew how to develop a whole track from it. It is actually a PianoTeq grandpiano phrase played an octave higher and then pitched down because the original was "too bright and shinny" and didn't match the whole synth vibe IMHO. Looking forward to watch you Youtube adventures too :) [quote=cTrix]Bopping along to this one ;-) Great to hear you back![/quote] Always a pleasure to have you here, cTrix!!! I'm honoured this beat makes your head nod :) I may say your tracker documentary on Youtube, besides being a wonderful watch, it's full of excellent phrases to be sampled. I wanted to use the Amiga to do it, but I got an old and crusty "stereo" sampler with solder joints so fishy it sends my A600 straight to Guru Meditation every time I try. Looking forward to hear more of your magic !!! [quote=ENC_]That piano coming in feels so right halfway through. 7th edition sounds crazy and yet here we are :) I missed the first year until the end and decided to wait for the new year. I was heart broken when I figured out it was an off year. Nice seeing you again![/quote] It's also nice to see you !!! I've been checking your stuff lately on Youtube. The White Town cover was dope, my man !!! As I commented to Tone Matrix previously in the post, maybe that piano deserves its own track, in a few weeks :) I feel you... I didn't knew back in 2013 that the event was every TWO years, so I almost didn't commented or engaged with the community thinking that "I had more time at the end of January" :(

Continuing with some more comment answers... you guys are amazing !!!

Thanks a lot, man !! It's really nice to see you back also

And yeah, the thing with gear... it could be great, and we all need some basics and tools, but since we all been doing this for a while, you start hearing some "familiar quotes" on Youtube, watching some guys endlessly praising some hardware because of "the warmth, the character... the sound breathes, it's more round, more full..." and instead of falling for the hype, you feel like "hey, they used to say that synth sucked back in '98... now it's pure gold?". I used to lush over certain boxes and synths, like my music making would exponentially improve, though finally you get them and ... "meh".

Actually the unit I paid the most out of my whole studio... well, it's boring AF !!!. But since it was hard to obtain and regarded as "iconic", it took me a long while to acknowledge that I wasn't doing anything wrong, but simply it is just "not for me".

Thanks again for listening and dropping by. Looking forward to your releases

It's an honor to have you back and listening to my tunes. Your stuff has been a constant inspiration for me through the years and helped me though tough times.

I'm really happy you enjoy that piano. Maybe it deserves its own track. I wish I had your super duper arrangement skills !!!

I'm really glad you're back for another go, 2haf. Thanks again for listening and dropping by

Oh, thanks a lot It is great to have you here again. I'd love to get more familiar with the whole Dirtywave M8 crowd. You guys are pretty active on Discord and... I really don't have the slightest clue how Discord works. Guess I'm old now

Really glad you liked the mix !!! Hope you have a fantastic year, MRDRCAT !!!

It's fantasic to see you another year, Tom !!! Congratulations on actually working on a music-related job !!!

I hope the ups and downs of life won't keep you away from music making (or make you enjoy it less).

Really happy to hear from you. And as a fan: please make some DnB tune this year, even now that are a grown up married man playing elegant guitars

Drew, you're simply WONDERFUL !!! Thanks a lot for listening, dropping by ... and letting me steal your dialogues ;·)

And, yes... it is the clave... wait, it is? Maybe it's the rimshot ? ... Man, now I'll have to make another 808 beat.

Best detuning trick when using delay (in Ableton and maybe most DAWs) : automate the tempo so it slows down, let's say, from 88 to 40 in a couple of bars. Mostly depends of the delay being slaved to the DAWs tempo and being able to repitch the information stored in its delay line. If using hardware, avoid TC Electronic and Line 6 stuff that had built-in feedback blockers in their algorithms (sounds cleaner yet you can't self oscillate)

Take this tip from a delay freak ;·)

Continuing with some more comment answers... you guys are amazing !!! [quote=mzunguko]really nice so glad you are back love your stuff ( I hear you on the gear, I am always playing the game of do you hear what I hear)![/quote] Thanks a lot, man !! It's really nice to see you back also :) And yeah, the thing with gear... it could be great, and we all need some basics and tools, but since we all been doing this for a while, you start hearing some "familiar quotes" on Youtube, watching some guys endlessly praising some hardware because of "the warmth, the character... the sound breathes, it's more round, more full..." and instead of falling for the hype, you feel like "hey, they used to say that synth sucked back in '98... now it's pure gold?". I used to lush over certain boxes and synths, like my music making would exponentially improve, though finally you get them and ... "meh". Actually the unit I paid the most out of my whole studio... well, it's boring AF !!!. But since it was hard to obtain and regarded as "iconic", it took me a long while to acknowledge that I wasn't doing anything wrong, but simply it is just "not for me". Thanks again for listening and dropping by. Looking forward to your releases :) [quote=2haf]Welcome back!!! I feel the same I can't believe it's been 8 years since my first weeklybeats. Great to see you back for another go. Lovely track, pleasantly surprised by that delicious piano. [/quote] It's an honor to have you back and listening to my tunes. Your stuff has been a constant inspiration for me through the years and helped me though tough times. I'm really happy you enjoy that piano. Maybe it deserves its own track. I wish I had your super duper arrangement skills !!! I'm really glad you're back for another go, 2haf. Thanks again for listening and dropping by [quote=MRDRCAT]Bouncy and crisp with lots to keep my ears tickled! Very slick and fun.[/quote] Oh, thanks a lot :) It is great to have you here again. I'd love to get more familiar with the whole Dirtywave M8 crowd. You guys are pretty active on Discord and... I really don't have the slightest clue how Discord works. Guess I'm old now :) Really glad you liked the mix !!! Hope you have a fantastic year, MRDRCAT !!! [quote=Abludo]Grooovy beat[/quote] It's fantasic to see you another year, Tom !!! Congratulations on actually working on a music-related job !!! I hope the ups and downs of life won't keep you away from music making (or make you enjoy it less). Really happy to hear from you. And as a fan: please make some DnB tune this year, even now that are a grown up married man playing elegant guitars :) [quote=orangedrink]LOL I DID NOT RECOGNIZE MYSELF I was away from the computer and was like "oh that's a cool sample" and then looked "oh that's cool that laguna is back and doing vocals now!" lol it's me. great track, very grooving, and the intro drum loop with the clave (?) or rimshot is so crispy 2012-2026 INCREDIBLE EFFORT! wait did it detune slightly as it faded out? if so, awesome.[/quote] Drew, you're simply WONDERFUL !!! Thanks a lot for listening, dropping by ... and letting me steal your dialogues ;·) And, yes... it is the clave... wait, it is? Maybe it's the rimshot ? ... Man, now I'll have to make another 808 beat. Best detuning trick when using delay (in Ableton and maybe most DAWs) : automate the tempo so it slows down, let's say, from 88 to 40 in a couple of bars. Mostly depends of the delay being slaved to the DAWs tempo and being able to repitch the information stored in its delay line. If using hardware, avoid TC Electronic and Line 6 stuff that had built-in feedback blockers in their algorithms (sounds cleaner yet you can't self oscillate) Take this tip from a delay freak ;·)

You as well!!

You should join us on the M8 Discord - we are friendly and (contrary to popular belief) actually talk about other things besides the M8! …sometimes.
As a fellow Old, I will say you get used to Discord’s quirks after a while, but sadly not all of them.

[quote=laguna]I'd love to get more familiar with the whole Dirtywave M8 crowd. You guys are pretty active on Discord and... I really don't have the slightest clue how Discord works. Guess I'm old now :) Really glad you liked the mix !!! Hope you have a fantastic year, MRDRCAT !!![/quote] You as well!! You should join us on the M8 Discord - we are friendly and (contrary to popular belief) actually talk about other things besides the M8! …sometimes. As a fellow Old, I will say you get used to Discord’s quirks after a while, but sadly not all of them.

fffiiiiiirrrssstt sssssssoonnngggg oooofffff tthhheeeeee yyyyeeeaaarrrrrrrr!!

This is great, love the sound of the BD8's decays and tonal roundness. Great first jam of 2026!

fffiiiiiirrrssstt sssssssoonnngggg oooofffff tthhheeeeee yyyyeeeaaarrrrrrrr!! This is great, love the sound of the BD8's decays and tonal roundness. Great first jam of 2026!

Man this is really well mixed, sounds quite large in my headphones

I like the way the progression takes this into different micro-moods seemlessly

as for sampling hardware and reprocessing it in the box... go for it man, I actually wish I did more of that XD

Man this is really well mixed, sounds quite large in my headphones :o I like the way the progression takes this into different micro-moods seemlessly as for sampling hardware and reprocessing it in the box... go for it man, I actually wish I did more of that XD

Guys, I'm really sorry for being so late to reply. Some comments slipped through the cracks :·(

Thanks a lot, Scott. I'm happy with the overall pumping sound. I use a "mastering chain in Ableton which is basically a final mid/side EQ and the Glue compressor

During these months I've been remaking my own 606 and 808 library, for starters, running from any idea of "keeping the authenticity" ... if in six months I'm doing a track with an Atari as sequencer and all sounds from a curated library within a Raspberry Pi, so be it. I enjoy hardware like the next guy, but I was becoming paralized from choosing "the physical all hardware way vs all in the box". Hybrid methods FTW.

Thanks a lot for your comment and dropping by. And please excuse the very very late reply

Guys, I'm really sorry for being so late to reply. Some comments slipped through the cracks :·( [quote=scottux]fffiiiiiirrrssstt sssssssoonnngggg oooofffff tthhheeeeee yyyyeeeaaarrrrrrrr!! This is great, love the sound of the BD8's decays and tonal roundness. Great first jam of 2026![/quote] Thanks a lot, Scott. I'm happy with the overall pumping sound. I use a "mastering chain in Ableton which is basically a final mid/side EQ and the Glue compressor :) [quote=XC3N]Man this is really well mixed, sounds quite large in my headphones :o I like the way the progression takes this into different micro-moods seemlessly as for sampling hardware and reprocessing it in the box... go for it man, I actually wish I did more of that XD[/quote] During these months I've been remaking my own 606 and 808 library, for starters, running from any idea of "keeping the authenticity" ... if in six months I'm doing a track with an Atari as sequencer and all sounds from a curated library within a Raspberry Pi, so be it. I enjoy hardware like the next guy, but I was becoming paralized from choosing "the physical all hardware way vs all in the box". Hybrid methods FTW. Thanks a lot for your comment and dropping by. And please excuse the very very late reply

Classic electro sounds but to great use in a modern production style. I especially liked the small details in the small details like the glitchy fill before the two minute mark

Classic electro sounds but to great use in a modern production style. I especially liked the small details in the small details like the glitchy fill before the two minute mark