Colour bass

History and character

Colour bass (also spelled color bass) is a style of dubstep built around bright, vibrant production in which the mid bass “plays a chord”: the growls and heavy basses typical of riddim and brostep are turned into pitched sounds that ring out full major or minor chords. The term was coined by British producer Chime (Freya Goldfinch, Leeds), who founded the label Rushdown in 2016 to promote it; Chime describes it as a category of bass music that focuses on melody, emotion and liveliness without giving up the weight and aggression of dubstep, bridging the “dark” and “bright” sides of the scene.

The sound emerged as a reaction to the dark, atonal trends in dubstep and riddim around 2015–2017, and was developed by Ace Aura, Au5, Skybreak, Papa Khan, Oliverse, Franky Nuts and Kompany in some of their work. Reference tracks: “Interdimensional” by Chime & Ace Aura (2019), “Coma” by Ace Aura (2019), “Alien Weapon” by Au5 (2020), “Rain” by Papa Khan (EP “Blossom”, 2020), cited as one of the most-streamed colour bass tracks. Monstercat promoted it in the early 2020s; other labels: Rushdown, Disciple, Circus. Close offshoots are melodic riddim and future riddim.

Aesthetically, colour bass is “rainbow”: open chords, major and Lydian colors, lively sound design, colorful visuals, a strong influence from future bass and video games, but with the same half-time feel and the same power as a dubstep drop.

Scales and keys

Colour bass is one of the few “heavy” styles in which the chords inside the bass matter. Examples in F major and D minor. Roman numerals: in major, relative to the major scale; in minor, to the natural minor.

Major (Ionian)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. W W H W W W H. On F: F G A Bb C D E.
• Chords: I F, ii Gm, iii Am, IV Bb, V C, vi Dm, vii° E°. Sevenths: Fmaj7, Gm7, Am7, Bbmaj7, C7, Dm7, Em7b5.
• Use: the bass “rings out” IV–V–vi–I or I–V–vi–IV; open chords (root, fifth, tenth).
• Listening example: the bright approach of Chime and Au5.

Lydian

• Formula: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7. On F: F G A B C D E. Characteristic note #4 (B).
• Chords: I F, II G, iii Am, #iv° B°, V C, vi Dm, vii Em.
• Use: Imaj7#11 and a major II as a “fantasy color” in the drops.

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. On D: D E F G A Bb C. Chords: i Dm, ii° E°, III F, iv Gm, v Am, VI Bb, VII C.
• Use: more melancholic colour bass: VI–VII–i with the tuned bass.

Dorian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. On D: D E F G A B C. Chords: i Dm, ii Em, III F, IV G, v Am, #vi° B°, VII C.
• Use: i–IV (Dm–G), a “bright” minor.

Intervals and voicings for the tuned bass

• In the low register (100–400 Hz), thirds get muddy: the tuned bass works best with fifths and octaves at the bottom and thirds and sevenths an octave above (open voicings, e.g. F2–C3–A3–E4).
• Common mistakes: a tight chord (cluster) in the bass turns to mud; a minor third below C3 sounds murky.

How to choose

• Euphoric: major and Lydian.
• Melancholic but bright: Aeolian with maj7, Dorian.
• Rule: choose the progression before the sound design, because the bass will have to follow it note for note.

Harmony

• Chords in the bass: the growl/riddim bass is processed with a vocoder, resonator, granular tools or pitch-mapping (e.g. Zynaptiq Pitchmap) to follow the progression: “the bass is also a chord”.
• Harmonic rhythm: one chord per bar or per 2 bars in the drop; slower than future bass.
• Open voicings: fifth and octave at the bottom, color on top.
• Harmonic layers: pads, plucks and bells double the progression above the bass.
• Borrowed chords: minor iv in major, Lydian II, bVII.
• Cadences: IV–V–I or IV–V–vi in the builds.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Half-time at 140–150 with the snare on beat 3; swung, syncopated hats (Future Proof describes the hats as “swung, syncopated”).
• The tuned bass plays riddim rhythmic patterns (triplets, 3+3+2) or long notes that “sing”.
• Trap/future bass builds with snare rolls; drops with stops and restarts.

Drums

Convention: 16 sixteenth notes per bar (32 per 2 bars in the r-riddim rhythm).

Kick

• Sixteenth 1 and linking hits (15, or 31 over 2 bars); short and clean, body at 50–60 Hz.

Snare and clap

• Sixteenth 9 (beat 3), snare + bright clap, medium reverb.

Hi-hats and percussion

• Swung hats (15–25) and syncopation; playful percussion (bells, ticks, foley), chiptune influences.

Dynamics and groove

• Varied velocities on the hats; triplet percussion as in riddim.

Interaction with the bass

• The tuned bass fills the spaces between kick and snare and ducks with the sidechain; the bass rhythm is often the riddim one (3+3+2 cell).

How it changes by section

• Melodic intro, build with snare roll, half-time drop + tuned bass, breakdown with plucks and pads, second drop with a varied progression or rhythm.

Fills and transitions

• Stops, triplet rolls, reversed chord, vocal chops.

Choosing sounds

• Bright snares, clean kicks, colorful percussion.

Typical mistakes

• Drums that are too dark (classic riddim); straight hats with no swing; a kick that masks the bass fundamentals.

Bass

• Tuned bass: start from a growl or a riddim bass and “tune” it to chords with: a vocoder (carrier: the bass; modulator: a supersaw chord, or vice versa), resonators and comb filters tuned to the chord notes, granular tools and pitch-mapping; or layer 3–4 distorted basses on different notes.
• Sub: mono sine on the chord root.
• Notes: progression roots in the sub; full chord in the mids (above 150–200 Hz).
• Rhythm: riddim pattern or long notes; sidechain from kick and snare.
• Examples: Chime & Ace Aura (“Interdimensional”), Au5 (“Alien Weapon”).
• Practical workflow in FL Studio: 1) write the progression with a simple pad; 2) create the growl (DX7 V or a wavetable) on the root alone and bounce it to audio; 3) put it on a bus with Vocodex or Vocoder V, with the growl as modulator and the progression (supersaw) as carrier; 4) blend in 30–60% of the original signal to keep the bite; 5) add OTT and a high-pass at 150 Hz, then a separate sub that follows the roots; 6) resample the result and slice it in Slicex to program the riddim rhythm.
• Sound design mistakes: carrier too dark (the vocoder has no harmonics to “color”); too few vocoder bands (below 16 the sound loses the chord); vocoder release too long (notes get dirty between one chord and the next).

Harmonic instruments

• Bright pads, plucks and bells, supersaws, arpeggios, piano; chiptune and “toy” timbres.
• They double the bass chords in the high register (above 500 Hz).

Melody and vocals

• Bright leads (plucks, bells, soft squares), pitched vocal chops, occasional pop vocals.
• Melodies in major pentatonic or major, with wide leaps.
• Effects: hall reverb, ping-pong delay at 1/8, chorus.

Instruments

• Half-time drums, sub, tuned basses (growl + vocoder/resonator), pads, plucks, bells, supersaws, piano, vocal chops, chiptune FX.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Vocoder V — Tuned bass: Use a distorted bass as modulator and a supersaw chord as carrier (or the reverse): you get the “bass that is a chord”.
• DX7 V — FM growls and bells: Growl with 1:2 modulators to be tuned; FM bells (1:3.5 ratios) for the high layers.
• Prophet-5 V — Plucks and chords: Bright plucks with a fast filter envelope that double the chords.
• CZ V — Chiptune and colorful leads: Phase distortion with soft square waves: video-game leads.
• OP-Xa V — Supersaw: Wide chords above the tuned bass.
• Mini V — Sub: Sine on the roots.

Song structure

• Length 3–4 minutes, form close to future bass.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

• Bright, powerful and readable: the bass has to “play the chord” without turning to mud; clean sub; lively but not harsh highs.
• References: Chime, Au5, Ace Aura.

Kick

• EQ: high-pass 30 Hz, +2 dB at 55 Hz, −3 dB at 300 Hz, +2 dB at 4 kHz; mono.

Snare and clap

• EQ: high-pass 150 Hz, +2 dB at 200 Hz, +3 dB at 3–5 kHz, +2 dB shelf at 10 kHz; 4:1 compression; 1 s plate reverb.

Hi-hats and percussion

• High-pass 500 Hz; wide panning; swing preserved.

Tuned bass

• Separate sub, mono below 100 Hz; tuned bass high-passed at 150–200 Hz (so the thirds don't sit low), dynamic EQ on the vocoder/resonator resonances, de-esser at 5–9 kHz; moderate stereo above 300 Hz; sidechain 6–8 dB.
• Check with a note/chord analyzer that the bass really plays the progression.

Pads, plucks, bells, supersaws

• High-pass 300 Hz; −2 dB at 2–4 kHz so they don't add up with the bass; width 130%; sidechain.

Vocals and chops

• High-pass 150 Hz, presence at 3 kHz, formant and pitch shift; ping-pong delay.

Backing vocals

• Rare; wide vocal pads.

FX

• Colorful risers and sweeps; controlled impacts.

Buses and groups

• Bass bus with a limiter; Music bus with sidechain; Drum bus with a clipper.

Sidechain

• Kick and snare → tuned bass and music bus.

Master

• Chain: EQ → glue → clipper → limiter.
• Indicative targets: −6/−4 LUFS integrated; true peak −0.5/−1 dBTP.

Common mistakes

• Tuned bass with thirds below 200 Hz (mud); harsh vocoder resonances; too many melodic layers in the same band.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Chime & Ace Aura — Interdimensional (2019); Au5 — Alien Weapon (2020); Papa Khan — Rain (2020).

Reference listening

• Chime & Ace Aura — Interdimensional (2019)
• Ace Aura — Coma (2019)
• Au5 — Alien Weapon (2020)
• Papa Khan — Rain (EP Blossom, 2020)