The 11-12 December 2025 RETREAT:

Immerse Yourself in the Art of Psytrance MIXING Techniques

Join us for an immersive 2-day sound design retreat in the heart of Cambridge, UK, where you'll dive deep into the captivating world of psytrance music production. Led by industry-renowned sound designers E-Clip and Inner State, this hands-on workshop will equip you with the skills and techniques to craft your own cutting-edge psytrance soundscapes.

You'll explore the latest mixing techniques to elevate your tracks to professional standards.

 
Immerse yourself in a community of like-minded artists, share ideas, and unlock your creative potential in the serene setting of Cambridge. Expand your sonic palette, push the boundaries of psytrance mixing, and leave with the confidence and inspiration to take your music to the next level.

Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your psytrance production mixing skills. Secure your spot today (click on 'Apply Now' at top of this page) for an unforgettable journey into the heart of the psytrance sonic universe.

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 DAY 1 MORNING SESSION 

Section 1: MIX BALANCE 

1. Introduction to Mixing in Psytrance 

● Purpose of mixing in a production chain (sound design vs. arrangement vs. mixing) 

● Why psytrance mixing requires surgical and creative balance 

● What separates amateur from pro mixes 

 

2. Monitoring Conditions & Acoustics 

● Room acoustics (Importance of studio treatment and basic acoustic set up on a budget) 

● Speaker choice & placement (nearfield vs. midfield, what’s overkill) 

● Audio interfaces/converters – Truth vs. hype: when they actually affect what you hear 

● Headphone mixing 

 

3. Session Preparation for Downmix 

● Proper grouping & foldering strategy (kick/bass group ≠ drum group) 

● Cleaning unnecessary channels & freezing heavy FX 

● Bouncing MIDI to audio — creative advantages during mixdown 

● Rendering your sublayers to stems to free CPU & focus decisions 

● Color coding + naming conventions (for mental speed & less cognitive load) 

● Separating mixing from composing (time zone mindset) 

 

4. Balance Philosophy in Psytrance 

● Perception-based balancing: what you “hear” vs. what the meter says 

 

● Mixing for movement and attention shift, not just volume 

● Kick & bass as the center of gravity — what happens when one is off 

● Static balance vs. flow balance (what to focus on during full mix playbacks) 

4. Volume Units & Metering 

● Understanding the crest factor 

● dBFS, RMS, LUFS, Peak – understanding which meter matters where 

● Perception-based balancing: what you “hear” vs. what the meter says 

● Psychoacoustic traps (your brain "hears" differently at different volumes)(Fletcher Munson Curve) 

● Gain staging - Principles - Benefits - workflow 

● Gain staging inside groups/busses (not just on individual tracks) 

● Bussing for control vs. bussing for color 

● Kick & bass routing decisions (same group or parallel?) 

 

DAY 1 AFTERNOON SESSION 

Section 2: EQ + Saturation 

5.EQUALIZERS 

● Types of EQs & Their Applications - corrective EQ vs. tone shaping EQ 

● Filter Types and Slopes 

● Analog eqs for colouring 

● What EQ does to phase (linear vs. minimum vs. analog-style phase shift) 

● Why over-surgical EQing makes things worse in psytrance (thin, unnatural) 

● Identifying and carving out masking frequencies on Kick and Bass with Fabfilter Pro q / Soothe etc 

● Kick bass mixing (Practical) 

 

6.Saturation 

● What is Saturation 

● Types of saturation and their behaviour 

● Where Saturation fits in the mixing chain (User cases) 

● Use of saturation: analog-style warmth vs. distortion for attitude 

● Saturation vs clipping (examples) 

● Mid/Side saturation and stereo shaping 

● Dynamic vs Constant saturation 

● Parallel saturation workflows for density 

 

DAY 2 MORNING SESSION 

Section 3: Dynamics (Energy, Weight & Movement) 

● What is compression 

● Compressor types and their use cases 

● Compression basics: threshold, ratio, attack, release — explained with psy-specific sounds 

● Compression timing and groove perception (pumping Vs punch effect on drum groove) 

● Parallel compression 

● How to “listen” to compression (what are you actually hearing?) 

● Bus compression strategies (groups, master glue) 

● Multiband compression 

● Compression Vs limiting 

● Sidechain compression methods:ducking / ghost sidechain / Multiband 

 

DAY 2 AFTERNOON SESSION 

Section 4: Ambience (Depth, Width & Motion) 

● Explaining depth/width and their importance on the mix 

● Stereo / mono compatibility (stereo field awareness) 

● Explaining the correlometer and how to re adjust the mono vs stereo signal of sounds 

● Channel vs return channel placement for reverbs 

● Delay-Based Widening (Haas Effect) 

● Exercises on their mix stems + Questions) 

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How do I get there?

• Closest airport: London Stansted (30 minutes by train straight into Cambridge)

• Next airport: London Luton (60 minutes away by taxi) and London Gatwick (120 minutes by train direct to Cambridge)

 

Where can I stay?

• It is up to participants to book their own accommodation in Cambridge. We recommend either Airbnb or via Booking.com or a similar website.

• If you need advice on places to stay, please do contact Nick Sireau at nick.sireau@gmail.com