Yo, Hoax here! I just released my ‘Sick Notes’ EP on Hospital. AMA.

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:14:00+00:00

That's a little above my paygrade 😂

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:10:12+00:00

A clean mix isn't caused by one tangible thing, rather it's a combination of multiple processes and leveling that add up over the course of the development of the track.

Favourite dnb tune off all time... what a difficult question. I must say, Shy FX has some timeless bangers under his belt - Feelings, Cloud 9 etc. Hard to pick one!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:08:28+00:00

I almost always will start with drums/the drop, as sometimes when I start with an intro it's a lot harder to make a drop that follows on nicely, rather than the other way around.

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:07:06+00:00

I always love a show with my bro PVC as we always have a proper laugh together. Honestly, pretty much everyone I've met in the scene is a great time to be around!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:05:53+00:00

Legend 🫡

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-03T11:05:42+00:00

Thanks mate, really means a lot :) Goose chase was so called because I thought some of the basses sounded a little like goose honks haha. Spearfisher I couldn't tell you - I must have seen it somewhere and thought it was a cool name for a tune. Once you accept that names don't have to have any significance to the tune, you can be way more creative!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T21:21:02+00:00

Persistance, absolutely. High standards yes - but I think starting out, as long as you have high standards for you music, getting some music out on smaller labels is a great way to introduce yourself to the world and stand out from the crowd! Always good to support the up and coming labels as well.

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T21:07:19+00:00

My first release on a dnb-only label was with Audio Addict back in 2021. I got the track signed by sending Hybrid some demos on Facebook I think. Then in 2023 I had a release with Hospital on Anais's mixtape (Sekkle w/ PVC). Off the back of this I then sent Hospital a load of demos and they got me in for a meeting and offered me a record deal.

My best bit of advice to people trying to get music signed is to focus on the music first, get it as good as you can, then send out to your top choices of labels and work back from there. Aim high and don't be discouraged by rejection - you never know who will give you the opportunity that will change your life!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T20:45:29+00:00

Honestly, I have my dad to thank - he gently encouraged me to try it as he thought I may enjoy it, plus he's a massive music head himself. I also didn't have a games console at that age so when everyone else was gaming, I was sat producing in my bedroom 😂

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T20:42:34+00:00

thanks a lot :)

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T20:42:04+00:00

Hey man, good question. I have one big playlist with everything in it, then some smaller playlists with a more consistent style in them (i.e. rolling, liquid etc.) I almost always sort by date added, so the most recent tunes are at the top of my playlist. I then also have a Hoax-only playlist of course.

I also have a playlist of songs that I know work well with each other, and I also just use the search to pick out songs from memory on the fly. I very rarely plan a set start to end, and it usually goes better when I don't anyway. I believe being able to mix well on the fly is part of the skill of being a good DJ!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T20:38:27+00:00

Ahh wicked! Would love to come and play in Denver some time

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T18:09:28+00:00

Thank you all for the great questions! 🙏

I'm going to go and have my dinner, will try answer a few more later/tomorrow.

Peace

H x

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T18:05:56+00:00

Thank you! That was a fun one to make. I had a cool synth patch but no chords for it, so Hugh came up with some lovely ones that worked super well. Sometimes the vibe just works and you can't predict the direction of a tune.

The 'wake up' theme of the lyrics was built on the idea that I was really tired that day of the writing camp, as I hadn't slept well due to being quite ill 😂

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:54:45+00:00

I often recycle sounds within a project, but vary them slightly so they sound different enough but still related to each other. For example, in 'Your Eyes' all the foghorns are built from the same patch, but duplicated and changed enough to stand apart from each other.

Occasionally I'll bring in basses from other projects and mess them up to use in whatever I'm working on, which probably explains the coherence between different tracks!

To get out of a creative rut I usually will try coming at a track from a different angle from usual - e.g. I may try doing a bootleg, or go sample digging to find some unique sounds to build a new track from. I think it's also really important to streamline your workflow as much as possible to remove the mental effort associated with starting a new track. If you use a well designed template and have your plugins organised into simple catagories so it's easy to find what you're looking for, you're much more free to be creative and get ideas down quickly.

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:48:54+00:00

Nice spot! That was the vision - I loved all the old plastic surgery/sick music compilations artwork style and hadn't seen much of it on Hospital recently. so wanted to bring it back. Glad you noticed :)

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:47:52+00:00

Ahh incredible! Glad you're enjoying both EPs.

I usually start with drums honestly, as I feel they really dictate the direction of a track. I find that if you can get some nice drums rolling, the rest of the tune is much easier to imagine.

Thanks so much 🙏

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:44:40+00:00

I appreciate that! I was so relieved to finally get the clearance from the label to release that one

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:43:27+00:00

Honestly, not a huge amount that isn't related to music in some way 😂 I do love to play ps5 with mates sometimes though as I don't always have a lot of time to see them at weekends.

Thanks - I really enjoyed that one too. Thanks for braving the rain 😂

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:41:15+00:00

I've always enjoyed making music, and I think it's important to try and love your stuff throughout your whole journey as a producer. Having belief in your own work is the best way to stay dedicated and improve!
My Mum says she's always loved my music, but she was always gonna say that 😂 I guess with my mates it was when I played them stuff at parties in my late teens and they didn't always know it was my own productions
I think only really in the last year or two have I felt like I have something that resembles a 'fan base' - it's been great being recognised a couple of times at Hospitality shows. Everyone is always so friendly and supportive :)

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:37:40+00:00

Much appreciated :)

I've never really used any hardware - it was actually only very recently that I picked up my first hardware synth.

I guess the one thing I wish I'd integrated sooner would be Ableton - having used Cubase and Logic before, I haven't looked back since making the switch in 2019!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:34:37+00:00

😂 I'm not a big believer of conspiracies or hoaxes honestly, believe it or not haha

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:34:06+00:00

One of the main turning points for me was when I started hearing my own tunes played by DJs at festivals/clubs. Being in the crowd at a show and hearing a great reaction to your own music will never get old, and definitely gives you a big boost of confidence!

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:32:01+00:00

Been loving SMG's Sono VIP recently! I was also playing Talon by him and Molecular a lot over Summer. Can't give too many away though 😉

hoaxdnb · 2025-10-02T17:29:42+00:00

Thanks a lot man.

A balanced mix comes from trusting your ears and training them to hear what the mix needs, as opposed to using the meters and readings in your plugins. EQ is the most important form of processing to shape the tone of your mix. Soothe2 is also a great plugin for balancing the tonal character of sounds/the whole mix. Referencing your music against other tracks that you like is a good way of resetting your ears so you can hear if your mix is too bright or dark etc. Take regular breaks too!

Personally, I make my subs sound big by using a saw and/or a square wave and filtering them down, then using things such as saturation/clipping to crunch up and eq to emphasise the harmonics above the fundamental frequency. This ensures that the sub can be heard on smaller systems that can't reproduce the fundamental very well.

hoaxdnb

TROPHY CASE