After I’d finished developing the YAMA Music Randomizer, which is a new free to use plug-in built for Ableton’s Max4Live community, I began thinking about different types of audio software that has influenced and inspired me and my UK minimal sound over the years.
Ever since I first began producing minimal and micro house, I’ve always used Ableton and the Max4Live platform in particular as I love its DIY nature. However, throughout the last decade I’ve experimented with and used a whole host of different plug-ins and audio software when growing the YAMA Music Records back catalogue.
Following the official release of the YAMA Music Randomiser, I thought I’d share my top 5 DAW plug-ins that I’ve used whist creating my UK minimal sound.
Reaktor 6 (Native Instruments) – I love the Komplete Series but Reaktor 6 is an incredibly versatile and inspiring tool that has transformed my music production experience. Its intuitive interface and extensive library of modules allow me to craft unique sounds and complex synths with ease. I love how I can customize and experiment endlessly, creating everything from lush ambient textures to aggressive basslines. Reaktor 6 truly empowers my creativity and takes my productions to the next level.
Skaka (Klevgrand) – Skaka is a fantastic plugin that has really enhanced my sound design. Its simple, intuitive interface makes it easy to add natural-sounding, realistic percussion to my tracks. I love how I can subtly thicken sounds or create lively, dynamic textures with just a few clicks. Skaka has become an essential part of my toolkit, helping me add movement and character to my music effortlessly.
Sting (Skinnerbox) – This has become one of my favorite Max for Live tools in Ableton and a big inspiration for me to create the YAMA Music – Randomizer. It lets me generate acid-style basslines instantly with just a click, which is perfect when I need quick inspiration or want to break out of a creative block. The controls are super intuitive, adjusting things like note density, tonality, accents, and octaves giving me a surprising amount of flexibility without slowing me down. I love that I can transpose patterns in real time and drop them straight into a MIDI clip for further tweaking. Whether I’m sketching out ideas in the studio or jamming live, STING always brings something fresh and unexpected to the table.
Expanse 3D (JMG Sound) – I’ve been using Expanse 3D for a while now, and it quickly became my secret weapon for adding that extra polish and spatial magic to mixes. With just three intuitive knobs Width, Depth, and Height it’s incredibly easy to stretch a stereo image, glue elements together and inject harmonic excitement into highs and lows – all without cluttering things up.
Randomizer (YAMA Music) – Having worked with Ableton for the last 10 years it made sense to design a Max4Live device initially, as I love using them in my own productions and the DIY nature of how they are made.
The premise is simple, load up to 6 of your favourite samples or one shots, set the length of bars you would like it to trigger and hit play! The Randomizer will play those samples at complete random that even as a producer when you’re sat at your computer, you’ll be delighted with the random sound that hits you.