STARGATE – Sam Smith & Normani “Dancing With A Stranger” Inside The Track 64 TUTORIAL

Welcome back for another series led by the hit-making production and songwriting team Stargate! This instalment focusses on the creation of ‘Dancing With a Stranger’, the 2019 chart-topping single performed by Sam Smith and Normani. Tor and Mikkel revisit their introduction to Sam and collaborative history, then explain how they opted for a “less safe” approach to writing this song. The duo takes you through the multi-track session to explain how the parts were formed, revealing the synth patches, drum samples, and plug-in settings used to craft the sound of the record. Furthermore, they share their opinions on vocal microphones, elaborate on their tracking and ITB chains, and discuss key aspects of their highly efficient workflow!

PART 1
00:11:29
Professional history with Sam, new approach, songwriting, structure, simplicity, drums, synth

PART 2
00:05:55
Guitar, intro vocal sample, lead vocal chain, effects, vocoder processing, delay tracks

PART 3
00:07:43
Vocal recording, microphone characteristics, preferences, preamp, compression, workflow

PART 4
00:08:30
Relationships with artists, complementing one another, introducing collaborators, staying fresh