PurpsShaping Modern Trap with Synthx V
Meet Purps aka “Purps On the Beat”, a producer who's been carving out an innovative take on modern trap. As a member of the influential Atlanta-based production team 808 Mafia, he's collaborated with industry heavyweights like Gucci Mane, Juice WRLD, Migos, and Young Thug with a sound that blends hard-hitting beats with synth-laden atmospheres.
We met with Purps at his studio to learn more about his approach and explore the multitimbral capabilities of Arturia’s latest softsynth, Synthx V, an emulation of the fabled Elka Synthex.
Persistence paves the way
Purps discovered his passion for music early on, starting with a guitar and delving into indie rock. This curiosity soon expanded into the realm of music production and sound synthesis.
As soon as I started listening to music, I always was wondering how people made music.
Determined to turn his interest into a career, Purps began selling beats online, which helped him gain initial recognition. He continued to hone his craft by interning and connecting with other creatives in studio sessions. This persistence paid off, leading to collaborations with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and trap such as Curren$y, Gucci Mane and Migos.
Discovering Synthx V
As a long-time user of Arturia's emulations, Purps was excited to explore the latest offering, an innovative take on the Italian-made Elka Synthex. The extensive preset library made an immediate impact on him, with around 240 presets covering both glistening 80’s originals and innovative modern sound design.
He appreciates how accessible it is to create and edit sounds on Synthx V, an instrument that is both deeply powerful and flexible depending on your needs and experience. This allows him to easily make subtle changes to presets, build punchy multilayered sounds from scratch or add some next-level arpeggiation and effects with the advanced panel.
I literally can't find a preset that I don't like in here.
Building a track
We tasked Purps with creating the harmonic layers of a beat using the sounds of Synthx V only. Combining an edited bi-timbral preset “Big Marathon” with a custom sound and arpeggiated bell tone over a clean bassline, Purps is able to populate the upper layers of his beat with a unique and energetic interflowing melody. Sounds which are further emphasized through the addition of some “extra sauce” in the form of Reverb and Chorus FX utilizing Synthx V’s advanced panel.
Synthx V’s arpeggiator is another standout feature of the advanced panel, offering an innovative take on the hardware’s original 4-track sequencer with 4 stacked arpeggiation layers that let you create sophisticated melodies and polyrhythmic sounds in just a few clicks.
“I'm always looking for something that I haven't done before.”
A Personal Connection
Purps' musical journey is driven by a genuine passion for music exploration. Synthx V allows him to combine the depth and texture of analog emulation with creative sound design. The result is an approach that embraces the best of both worlds, enabling the creation of bespoke synth patches and enticing trap atmospheres that continue to inspire listeners the world-over.
This fusion of old and new not only honors the legacy of synthesizer technology but also pushes it forward into uncharted territory.
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