Charli XCX "Apple" Breakdown

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to create the song "Apple" by Charli XCX from her album Brat. Over a month since its release, Brat continues to dominate as the charts and the track "Apple" has become the anthem of the summer fueled by great melodies and catchy lyrics, the mix between Indie Pop and EDM has made it standout and becoming a Tik Tok sensation.

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The primary groove element of the track is a funky bass sound. Once again, we utilize Serum as our reliable sampler. We started by recording a C note for our bass. With the desired tone captured, we imported it into Serum's noise oscillator, enabling both pitch tracking and one-shot mode. Next, we introduced an Analog_BD_Sin waveform in oscillator A, enriching it with frequency modulation from oscillator B, which used a Sweep20 waveform. This addition enhances the patch with warmth and a robust low end, then we use LFO 1 and routed to our Amp to sidechain the sound at a quarter note time.

To create this amazing pluck sound, we used a Basic MG wavetable in oscillator A, set one octave down, with the warp knob at around 45% sync. In oscillator B, we added a saw wave one octave up. We applied a Band 12 filter to cut some of the low and high end, modulated by LFO 3. To achieve a plucky sound, envelope 1 has a decay of around 350 ms and a short release

This sound is as straightforward as it gets. Start with a Basic Shape in oscillator A and an ICanHasKick in oscillator B. We didn't use any filters, allowing all the sound to come through. For envelope 1, set a short release, around 15 ms in this case. In the FX tab, add some hyper dimension and chorus to make the sound wider and help it sit better in the mix

As we reach the bridge, a new sound emerges. Start with an MB Saw in oscillator A and an Analog_BD in oscillator B, applying some ASYM bending with the warp knob. To create a drifting effect, use an LFO to modulate the fine-tuning of both oscillators. To add movement to the stereo image, use additional LFOs routed to the panning of each oscillator, also our envelope 2 which has an attack of 80 ms is modulating the cutoff of the filter.

As we reach the chorus, the chords make their entrance. In oscillator A, we use an ICanHasKick, and in oscillator B, a Basic Shape pitched one octave down. Both oscillators are set to three voices. Envelope 1 modulates the filter cutoff with a 25 ms attack, giving the sound a brass-like quality