VØJ & Narvent "Memory Reboot" Breakdown: Synths in Serum

VØJ and Narvent joined forces to create the synthwave masterpiece "Memory Reboot". Fusing synthwave and cyberpunk, the song took over the world when it went viral on TikTok.

Both producers bring unique backgrounds to the table. Narvent is a Russian-based musician with years of experience crafting atmospheric electronic music loved by listeners worldwide. VØJ, on the other hand, is a Ukrainian producer who started his musical journey in 2018 and makes electronic music full of emotion. Drawing inspiration from cinematic music and phonk, he blends orchestral elements with powerful synths and percussion. But enough with the introduction: let's listen to the remake.

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The Bass

In synthwave, the bass is king: it sets the pulse and energy of the track. To make it, we used a Basic_Mdc wavetable in oscillator "A" and ICanHasKick in oscillator "B" to lay the foundation. Oscillator "A" has frequency modulation to enrich the sound. To shape the bass further, we used envelope 1 with a 500 ms decay, routed to the filter cutoff. For the pumping effect, we drew a sidechain shape in LFO 1 and routed it to the amp. That's what gives the sound its rhythm

 

The Reese Bass

Making this bass was a blast because it has a slick sliding effect between notes. To pull it off, just overlap some notes, turn on Legato, switch the synth to Mono and set the portamento time to about 500 ms. And voilà, you're all set to enjoy the groove!

For the patch itself, we use a Basic_Mdc in oscillator "A" and a Basic Shape in oscillator "B", then a filter that cuts the frequencies above 600 Hz. Make sure your oscillators have more than 5 voices to get a bigger sound.

The Melody

The main melody slowly comes into the track as the filter opens up. Once it's fully open, it becomes the central melody for the rest of the song.

For this preset, we used a PWM_Mdc wavetable in oscillator "A" and a Basic_Cjw in oscillator "B". The sub-oscillator has a Saw wave. Our filter has a slope that starts at around 5 kHz to trim some of the high frequencies, and LFO 1 is set to a sidechain shape to modulate the amp. Finally, we drenched it all in lots of reverb and delay in the FX tab.

The Chords

These chords sound very thin, because we filtered out everything below 400 Hz. Even so, they add an ethereal quality to the track.

To create them, we used an ICanHasKick wavetable in oscillator "A" and a Basic Shape in oscillator "B", both with more than 5 voices and set quite open. LFO 1 applies a sidechain shape to the amp, and the filter is set to trim some of the high frequencies.

 

The Arp

This arp is there all through the track, but it stays quietly in the background. To create it, you'll need a Sine wave with frequency modulation in oscillator "A" and an FFT_Add_2nds in oscillator "B", both set to a single voice. Envelope 2 modulates the filter cutoff to give it a plucky sound, and LFO 2 modulates the fine-tuning of both oscillators for that drifting effect.

The Pluck

The finishing touch is a dazzling pluck that comes in during the bridge. We used a PWM_Mdc in oscillator "A" and a Basic Mdc in oscillator "B", plus a saw wave in the sub-oscillator. Our filter trims frequencies above 7 kHz, and in the FX tab we added a generous quarter-note delay and huge amounts of reverb.

Make your own Memory Reboot-style track.

You've heard how the bass, the reese bass and the melody are built. The Dark Cyberpunk Pack has them ready to load in Serum, along with the rest of its 120+ presets. Use code DS01 at checkout for 20% off

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