First 20 Minutes from Class

 

UK Grime Overview

UK grime emerged in East London in the early 2000s, combining UK garage and 2-step rhythms with influences from jungle and dancehall. Artists like Wiley and Dizzee Rascal helped define its heavy bass, jagged synths, and rapid MC flows, while pirate radio and underground clashes brought the scene to life.

In this workshop recording, we explore how to create that sound in Ableton Live. From spacious drum patterns and gritty square basslines to choppy samples and tense melodic hooks, we break down how grime’s individual elements work together to make beats that feel raw, playful, and punchy.

Throughout the session, we explore how repetition, rhythmic switches, and carefully placed gaps can keep a simple idea moving while leaving room for a vocalist.

How to Make UK Grime
Explore the building blocks of grime and how to bring them together into a track. Look at the relationship between drums, bass, samples, and melody, along with grime’s connection to UK drill and how their rhythms and production styles differ.

140 BPM Halftime Patterns
Build drum patterns that combine the energy of 140 BPM with the weight and space of a halftime groove. Explore syncopated kicks, snare placements, and varied hi-hat patterns, using accents and fills to give each beat its own character.

Jagged Synths
Create sharp, angular synth parts that cut through the mix. Shape envelopes, pitch movement, and rhythmic phrasing to turn simple sounds into icy leads, short stabs, and restless melodic hooks.

Choppy Sample Sequencing
Break vocals, soul samples, and melodic phrases into smaller pieces, then rearrange them into new patterns. Use repetition, abrupt cuts, and unexpected gaps to create hooks that interact with the drums and bring a different texture to the track.

Gritty Square Basslines
Start with a square wave and shape it into a bass sound with weight and bite. Explore filtering, distortion, and envelope shaping, then use note length, octave changes, and rests to give the bassline movement without overcrowding the groove.

Rhythmic Dropouts
Use silence as part of the arrangement. Drop out drums, bass, or melodic elements to create tension, emphasize a phrase, and make their return hit harder. Explore eight-bar switches and shorter interruptions that keep repeating patterns engaging.

Phrygian Dominant Lines
Explore Phrygian dominant as a starting point for tense, dramatic melodies. Use its half-step movement and distinctive interval jumps to create leads and bass phrases, then shape them into memorable hooks through repetition, rhythmic variation, and space.

Whether you’re building your first grime beat or bringing its sounds and rhythms into your own style, this recording offers practical techniques you can adapt to your music. Each idea is broken down inside Ableton Live, with all skill levels welcome.

 

UK Grime Project from Class

Explore the Ableton Live project we built in class, combining 140 BPM half-time drums, chopped samples, gritty square leads, sub basslines and more!

 

UK Grime Selector Kit

A custom drum rack that holds multiple samples on each pad which allows you to hit the random button for endless combinations of Grime Drum Kits

Grime Beats MIDI Pack

A pack of 10 Drum MIDI files to get you started. Load on the track with the UK Grime Kit and hit the Rand button for endless drum kit variations.

6 Custom UK Grime Presets

Included with this session is a collection of 6 custom Grime Meld Presets including classic Grime square leads, Reese and Sub Basses and Glide Sounds.

 

Break Bus Driver

An exclusive Audio Effect Rack you can use on all your breakbeats tracks and/or Drum groups.

This rack combines saturation, compression, short reverbs, rhythmic delays and transient shaping.

This rack will make your drums sound fatter and fuller.

Macros:

Drive – Waveshaping distortion from the Drum Buss

Crunch – Mid/High Distortion

GAINNN – Controls the makeup gain of the Glue Compressor before the last stage of Soft and Hard Clipping

Saturate – Analog Drive before final clipping

Room Space – Drums Plate reverb

Groove Echo – Syncopated 1/4 notes for added groove

Tilt Filter – Tilt EQ to adjust the balance of the highs and lows

Comp – Last compressor stage

 

Air Windows Channel & Buss Racks

Also included with the Ableton project are 2 custom audio effect rack channel strips one for tracks and another one for group tracks. These channel strips include:

• Pre and post analog summing console saturation
• Analog Console colors (API, SSL, Focusrite, Neve etc.)
• Tape Saturation and Tilt EQ
• Smooth Glue Compression
• Parallel Ambience/Room Reverb
• Multi-Stage transparent clipper

Full credit of the Max for Live devices go to JB18

 

What's Included with this session

• 2 hours of Ableton Certified Training Video
• UK Grime Ableton Project
• UK Grime Selector Drum Rack
• 6 Grime Instrument Presets
• 3 Audio Effect Racks
• Grime Beats MIDI Pack
• PDF with a list of free UK Grime Sample Packs

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ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Yeuda Ben-Atar, a world renowned Ableton Certified Trainer, hails from Los Angeles, California. Yeuda’s passion for music led him to the United States, where he discovered his true calling with Ableton Live in 2007, embarking on a journey of mastery.

He approaches Ableton in a unique way; producing and performing with video game controllers under the moniker Side Brain.

One of Yeuda’s most remarkable qualities is his exceptional knowledge and speed, combined with his unparalleled ability to explain complex concepts in a simple and engaging manner.

With years of experience as a music production instructor and educator, Yeuda has contributed his expertise to prestigious institutions throughout the United States, including USC, UCLA, UCSD, Colburn Music School, Berklee School of Music, Cal Arts, NAMM, Skywalker Sound, Bedrock LA, Sonos Studios, Sweetwater Headquarters, 1500 or Nothing studios, Grammy U, Pensado’s Place, Vintage King, Museum of Making Music, Lynda.com (now known as LinkedIn Learning), and Perfect Circuit Audio, among many others.

His projects have included working with and teaching artists such as Timbaland, Ludacris, Lavel Kali(Beyoncé, Drake) DJ Numark and Jurassic 5, Beck, Skrillex, Flying Lotus, Ed Sheeran, Rick Rubin, Giorgio Moroder, Simi, Bootie Brown (Pharcyde), Dave Pensado, Madison Mcferrin and countless others.