Donkong: Collaboration Is King

Tom Finster and Johannes Schlump (aka Barking Continues) met on Soundcloud over a shared love of dubstep's second wave. Moving from instrumental, global bass sounds to the increasingly vocal-led, 4x4 focus of their more recent work, Donkong's releases maintain a fluid approach to music-making that meshes seamlessly with Bitwig Studio's modular production environment. We caught up with the prolific duo to learn more about how they approach remote collaboration and some of their favorite Bitwig Studio features.

How did the Donkong project begin, and what got you into making music in the first place?

Tom: Johannes and I met each other through Soundcloud over a decade ago. In the beginning, there weren’t many people from Germany making dubstep, so we got to talking, and when trap music became a thing, I told Johannes: “You’re in a band now!”

Johannes: Before Donkong, I stumbled into the electronic music world through artists like Foreign Beggars, Amon Tobin and Flux Pavilion. The good old UKF dubstep days! Everybody was trying to make the craziest sounds and drops — it almost felt like a sound design competition. But we moved away from that maximalist approach when we started the project.

In what ways has your production process changed since you started making music?

Johannes: Actually, not that much. We’re still very much “in the box,” but we record a lot more vocals than we did in the early days. In the beginning, we both had desktops and weren’t very mobile, so for us, the biggest advancement is powerful laptops. You can just lie in bed and make a song, step onto a train and work on it some more, then go to a studio, and everything is the same quality.

Tom: Since we never lived in the same city, we always had to send stems to each other. That hasn’t changed much, but we prefer being in one room. That’s when the best things happen.

You’re very prolific when it comes to creating and releasing music. Do you have any advice for producers who struggle to finish their tracks?

Tom: You might think some of your idol’s tracks are perfect, and you try to get yours as good as theirs, but you fail. It’s the same with us. What I might consider not quite there can already be perfect to someone else. Perfection really is your enemy. You get better by acknowledging your mistakes.

Johannes: Handling your inner critic can have more power over your career than the music you make. I‘ve seen too many people making amazing tracks that never see the light of day. It‘s okay to struggle with perfectionism and anxieties around releasing music. In my case, they‘ve always been there and won‘t go away, so I try to work around them. Just do anything to get your music heard — it’s all that matters!

How do you approach producing for other artists like Deichkind and Clueso, and how does it differ from your solo work?‬

Tom: Working with someone new is always a good opportunity to do something fresh and exciting. All artists have a unique style and vision. Sometimes we try to walk a line between them and us, and other times, we try to jump into their world. If it turns out to be a song for their album or whatever project they're working on, we take more of a backseat when it comes to important style decisions.

Johannes: In the case of the Clueso and Deichkind collab, it was very different. We showed Clueso this hybrid trap thing, and he was super hyped to make a song out of it. We were surprised because it’s quite edgy for his usual poppy radio sound, but he was like, “No, we have to get Deichkind on this one.” A year later, he sent us a demo out of nowhere, and we finally understood his vision. They fit together so well, almost like Clueso is a new member.

You’ve built a dynamic online community of producers through your Patreon site, where people can access regular online tutorials, demo feedback, podcasts, and sample downloads. What motivated you to create this space, and what do you enjoy most about it?

Tom: It started over the pandemic with the feedback streams on Twitch. We realized very quickly how much fun it was to see these young talents evolve with a little help. A friendship formed between us and the regulars, and now some of those artists have released on labels like Dividid, Bitbird, or Hexagon, which really warms my heart. Sometimes a little hope and confidence is all it takes.

Johannes: I'm especially happy that we have really talented producers from Germany in the community as well. The bass music scene here is quite small, but I'm really hopeful when I listen to what these kids are cooking in their bedrooms. The overall level is astonishing. I’m honestly humbled sometimes when listening to the new demos on the stream.

What was it about Bitwig Studio that convinced you to make it your main DAW?

Tom: The workflow, the possibilities for control, and that it’s just so much fun. There’s always something new to discover. I worked in FL Studio before, but at some point, it got too messy. Bitwig felt like starting with a new piece of paper after ten years, and it did a lot for my creative output.

Johannes: It was Tom who convinced me! I was still using Logic, but Bitwig's modulation possibilities blew my mind. I also fell in love with the browser real quick.

“I like adding Note FX, such as Humanize and Randomize, to every synth and drum part. That tiny bit of uncertainty brings the sounds alive for me.”

What are some of your favorite go-to Bitwig Studio features?

Tom: I like adding Note FX, such as Humanize and Randomize, to every synth and drum part. That tiny bit of uncertainty brings the sounds alive for me. Also the ability to save modulators with third-party VSTs as default presets. I use some plug-ins for certain things and having the controls already laid out as I want them makes things so much quicker. And obviously, The Grid as well. I’ve built so many cool patches in there, from basses to drums to effects, everything.

Johannes: To me, Humanize is a must on almost every synth. I'm kind of addicted to it. I also use Time Shift a lot to make things feel more laid back and human. I'm deeply in love with the simplicity of Polysynth and created some of my go-to presets with it. It's so easy to use but offers enough possibilities to keep things interesting. I'm also a big fan of the Spectral Suite. I'll casually throw them onto elements to create cool layers or alternative versions of sounds.

“Lots of sounds I build right now feature an intense low-pass filter to make them feel lo-fi and warm. I'll humanize the cutoff and resonance of the filter with an audio-rate modulator using the device’s input as the source. Tiny amounts of modulation already add so much randomness and life to a sound.”

What’s one production tip you can share with the Bitwig community?

Tom: Sometimes, especially with long FX chains, sounds can get sloppy with tails that go against your rhythm, bleed into the next section, or kill the impact of another element, so I made a Tool preset with an AHDSR modulator that controls the volume from zero to 0dB. This way, I can easily control the length of any sound, even if it has reverb or delay, and it's often faster than drawing automation curves. You can also make your own transient shaper this way.

Johannes: Lots of sounds I build right now feature an intense low-pass filter to make them feel lo-fi and warm. I'll humanize the cutoff and resonance of the filter with an audio-rate modulator using the device’s input as the source. Tiny amounts of modulation already add so much randomness and life to a sound. With heavier settings, you get more extreme and slimy effects, and adding a spectral effect like Harmonic Split afterward can lead to really alive, intense sounds.