What is Pop Drum & Bass? It's basically a combination of DnB drum patterns with Pop sounds. The result is music that is both catchy and energetic, but also dreamlike, cute and melancholic. Similar to the liquid dnb but with more mainstream structure.

This sound has been popularized by artists like Kenya Grace, PinkPantheress, and piri. Smooth vocals, catchy hooks, basically mainstream radio sound. In this article I wanna teach you about the process of creating such music.

How To Make Pop DnB Beats

Core Elements

Traditional DnB is known for fast breakbeats, around 170–180 bpm, and deep, rolling basslines. Pop DnB is usually slower, around 160–174 bpm. It maintains the rhythmic and bass features but incorporates more melodic elements, like catchy lead melodies and melancholic, dreamlike pads.

Drums

Drums are the core of any DnB track. Traditional DnB usually uses sampled breakbeats—short loops with a fast and syncopated feel. A good example is the Amen Break, which is one of the most commonly used samples in Drum & Bass. In Pop DnB, drums are less prominent to allow room for the vocals and melodies to shine.

It's a good practice to start with a 2-step beat pattern. Then, add hi-hats and ghost notes (off-beat snare hits with lower velocity). Experiment with velocity and off-grid placement to make it sound more human and interesting. Try to avoid aggressive samples found in traditional DnB.

 

Bassline

Bass in this subgenre is pretty simple; it's usually just a sine sub-bass or a reese bass (detuned waveforms with a chorusing effect, usually run through a low-pass filter to create a deep feeling). You can use one-shot samples or synthesizers like Serum or Vital to create one. If you are looking for these types of sounds, check out relevant preset banks or sample packs.

Melodies

When composing melodies in Pop D&B beats, your main focus should be on making them catchy. As a reference, listen to piri's music; melodies in their songs are simple and easy to remember but powerful when layered with the rest of the sounds.

Focus on simplicity; use a few notes and repeat them with slight variations. Layer these melodies with synths or pads to create atmosphere. Your goal is to keep things minimal yet memorable.

Creative Vocal Techniques

Vocals are the main difference between Pop DnB and traditional DnB tracks. But vocals could also be a part of the instrumental. You can use vocal chops which are basically sliced up vocal samples arranged in a rhythmic pattern. 

Another technique is to use long reverb on short vocal phrases to make an ethereal atmosphere sound. If you are not sure how to create vocal chops or vocal atmosphere then you can always use samples.

 

Mixing

The tools you will mostly need when mixing Pop DnB are EQs, compressors (mostly for sidechain), reverbs, and delays. Use EQ to cut out the low end of the melodic elements so there’s space for the bass. A bell EQ curve could be helpful to eliminate resonances, usually around 2 kHz to 5 kHz. Keep this area in mind if your beat sounds too harsh. To create a big ambient feeling, use reverb with a long decay on melodic elements like leads, synths, pads, or guitars.

Song Structure

Since it has the word "Pop" in the genre name, it’s no wonder that this type of music has a typical radio structure. Start with a catchy hook, build up the energy in the verse, and again release it in the hook. To build tension, use risers, snare rolls, or gradually add more melodic or rhythmic elements.

Transitions

Downlifters, risers, impacts, and sweeps are samples you should look for to make interesting transitions in your beat. Of course, you can make them yourself with synth VSTs or by manipulating samples of white noise or pink noise, for example. Pitch automations and reverbs will be your friends when creating these effects.

Automation and Modulation

How do you avoid the impression that your beat is boring? The answer is simple: automation and modulation. Automate elements like filters, volume knobs, pan, or effects' wet/dry levels to create movement. This will also help with keeping the listener engaged. A good example could be the cutoff filter opening of a pad synth during the verse—it will not only make the whole track more interesting but also create an impression of building the vibe of the song.

Mastering

There are no magic tricks here. Most of the work should be done during the mixing process. If you hear any resonances in the whole song, make small dips in EQ to cut them out. You can also use dynamic EQs like FabFilter Pro-Q3 or the free TDR Nova so it works only when the resonances come out. A multiband compressor will help you in gluing the tracks together and making them sound more coherent. In the end, just put a limiter to reach commercial loudness levels. Don’t forget to use the oversampling option if you have one in your limiter VST!

Examples of Pop DnB

Listen to music by piri, PinkPantheress, or Kenya Grace if you are looking for examples.

Final Words

Remember to keep things minimal but impactful: use automation to add movement, experiment with vocal techniques, and pay attention to your song's structure to keep your audience engaged. But in the end, don’t forget to be creative and have fun during the process. Treat this article only as a guide, not a strict indicator of what your song should sound like 🙂