FLEXTRIK

Genre guide

What is hyperpop?

Hyperpop is pop pushed to extremes: bright, loud, distorted and glitchy. Here is where the name comes from, what the sound is made of and how to build a hyperpop beat.

How to make a hyperpop beat Distortion plugin

What is hyperpop?

Hyperpop describes pop music taken to an extreme: louder, brighter, faster and more processed than radio pop. The sound is tied to artists and labels such as PC Music (A. G. Cook, SOPHIE), 100 gecs and a wide online scene, and the name spread when a streaming playlist called hyperpop launched in 2019.

What it sounds like

  • Distorted and clipped drums and 808s, often short and loud.
  • Bright, detuned synths, in the manner of supersaws, with fast arpeggios and sudden chord stabs.
  • Processed vocals: pitched up or down, hard auto-tune, formant shifts, layered doubles.
  • Glitches and edits: stutters, cuts and sudden changes of section.
  • A loud, clipped master that sounds intentionally overloaded.

How to make a hyperpop beat

  1. Pick a fast tempoMany tracks sit around 140 to 170 BPM, but follow the song.
  2. Build the drumsA punchy kick, a snappy snare or clap and fast, busy hi-hats. Clip or distort the drum bus.
  3. Add a distorted 808Short, loud and saturated. See how to choose, tune and distort 808s.
  4. Write a bright leadIn a synth such as Serum use saw waves with unison and detune, then add a little distortion. See Serum presets.
  5. Process the vocalsPitch them, tune them hard, and double them. A distorted copy under the clean vocal adds attitude (see how in the vocal guide).
  6. Arrange for surpriseSudden drops, stops and changes of section. Hyperpop rarely stays in one place for long.
  7. Keep controlClipping is part of the sound, but check that the vocal stays clear and the low end does not turn to mush.

Tools for the distorted sound

SHROOMDECK VST is a multi-effect plugin with Distort, Crush and Clipper among its controls, and the DISTORTED SHROOM Multi-Kit ($11) comes with a drumkit of 77+ sounds, 20 FLPs and a Serum bank.

DISTORTED SHROOM Multi-Kit

Drumkit (77+ sounds), 20 FLPs and a Serum bank.

$11one-time · digital files

Questions

What does hyperpop mean?

Hyperpop is a name for pop music pushed to extremes: bright, distorted, glitchy, with pitched vocals and a maximalist feel. It grew out of online music scenes and labels such as PC Music in the 2010s.

What BPM is hyperpop?

There is no fixed tempo. Many tracks are fast, roughly 140 to 170 BPM, but others are slower. Choose what fits the song.

Which DAW is best for hyperpop?

Any. FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic and others all do the job; what matters is the sound design and the distortion.

Which plugins give the hyperpop sound?

A synth such as Xfer Serum for bright, detuned leads, distortion and clipping for the drums and the 808, and tuning and pitch plugins for the vocals. SHROOMDECK VST is a multi-effect plugin with Distort, Crush and Clipper controls.

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