Glitchcore Duo XIX on How to Create a Glitchy Banger

Photo by Adam Degross. Left to right: Yung Skyda and Karm the Tool.

Much like everything else these days, TikTok has resurfaced yet another slice of the marvelous aughts. Punk-influenced music has caught the attention of the music industry, including people like Yung Skayda and Karm the Tool, the duo behind XIX; they create angsty, incendiary, and ultimately disruptive songs like “Kismet,” last year’s single from their EP 19, which to date has over 20 million streams. Their music, as with most internet-born wonders, defies the boundaries of genre. They call it glitchcore—an exhilarating mix-and-mash of sounds, vibes, and post-punk fashion, topped with lyrics like “I ain’t even flex a single stack, bruh (Fuck)/I’m living my lifе like a Bratz doll.” XIX’s music sounds like the internet and reeks of rebellious youth—an appropriate, if not perfect, response to the current times. On the occasion of the release of their latest song, “Toxic,” featuring BENKRO, the duo took some time to teach us how to create a glitchcore banger. Party time, excellent.

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Step 1:

You’ve got to start with a beat. Whether you make one or find a beat online, choose it very wisely. 

Step 2:

Looping the beat with the volume on blast and vibing is an essential part of making a glitchy banger. 

Step 3:

Fire up your Notes app and get to writing something catchy.

Step 4:

Once you’ve listened to beat on repeat for so long that it feels like torture, it’s time to lay down some vocals. Since glitchcore takes many forms, feel free to rap, scream, whisper, or whatever makes you happy. 

Step 5:

Sing your heart out.

 Step 6:

Now that you’ve got your vocals, add some compression to make sure your voice is coming in at a consistent volume level. The more compression you use, the more robotic you can sound, so don’t be afraid to go a little crazy with it for a glitchcore song. 

Step 7: 

It’s time for the sauce. You should only share the recipe for special occasions.

Step 8:

Adding a bitcrusher will make your voice sound dirty and futuristic at the same time. Needless to say, use it.

Step 9:

Slice and dice your favorite notes in the melody and duplicate them in the empty spaces between words. This is where you put the GLITCH in GLITCHcore.

Step 10:

Now that you’ve finally got all your pieces together, what better way to end the session than to jam out to your glitchy creation?

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