How It Was Made: Azumba -Mashamba

Azumba’s “Mashamba” dropped today on May 8, 2026, marking his debut on the Afro house label after releases with YHV Records, Cafe de Anatolia, and Ostowana Records. The track centers on melodic writing, organic percussion, and a low-end foundation built for club systems, with its title drawn from the Swahili word for “fields” or “farmland.” The record keeps its focus on space, rhythm, and gradual release. A vocal phrase leads the arrangement, piano chords shape the harmonic direction, and the bass follows the lower movement of the piano to keep the track grounded. From there, Azumba builds the drums, synths, FX, and vocal structure with a clear sense of section-by-section control. For this How It Was Made feature, Azumba breaks down the full production process behind “Mashamba,” from the first vocal idea to the final arrangement. He walks through the piano writing, drum processing, bass design in Serum, synth layering, transition effects, and vocal placement that shaped the finished record. The rest of the feature is in his own words! Hello everyone. Today I want to walk through how I created my track “Mashamba.” It started with the vocal. That was the first part that caught my attention, and it gave me an immediate direction for the track. From there, I began shaping the piano part around the vocal so the two elements could sit together without fighting for space. Building The Piano Around The Vocal I started by matching piano parts to the vocal and looking for a balance between expression and restraint. The piano needed to frame the vocal without covering it, so I focused on long, sustained notes that gave the track a sense of space and movement. I chose a soft piano tone with clear note definition, which helped it remain audible in denser sections like the drop. The chords came together intuitively. I was looking for combinations that would support the tone of the vocal, and I ended up with a simple sequence in a minor key that gave the track a melancholic, reflective mood. Cleaning Up The Piano With EQ And Sidechain After the piano and vocal parts were ready, I moved into frequency cleanup. I used FabFilter Pro-Q 4 on the piano and cut everything below 195 Hz with a low-cut filter. The reason was practical: the bass line would later follow the lower notes of the piano. Leaving those low frequencies in the piano would cause the two parts to occupy the same range and create mix problems. I also added KickStart 2 to the piano for subtle sidechain movement. I set the sidechain to affect frequencies up to 280 Hz and set the mix parameter to 40%. Building The Drum Group Next, I started selecting the kick, shaker, snare, percussion, and tom. I wanted each element to serve a clear role in the rhythm section. The kick holds the center of the rhythm. The shaker adds movement in the background. The snare provides a clear accent. The percussion adds smaller rhythmic details and gives the groove a more organic feel. The tom fills the gaps between the main hits and reinforces the rhythm. Processing The Drum Group Once the drum group was in place, I started processing it as a full section. I kept the kick in mono so it stayed centered in the mix. I also removed low-frequency clutter below 27 Hz, since those frequencies were clouding the low end and getting in the way of the bass. A light glue compressor helped the drums feel more connected. I also used filter automation during transitions. In the lower-energy sections, the kick temporarily loses part of its bass content, which clears space before the next section enters. This helped the kick and bass work together with better separation and gave the groove a cleaner shape. Processing The Shaker The shaker already had a slight stereo spread, which helped add width without making the mix feel unfocused. I used EQ to cut everything below 380 Hz. This removed low-end rumble and kept the shaker away from the kick and bass range. I also added light compression to smooth out volume differences and keep the shaker consistent in the background. For transitions, I automated a filter so the shaker becomes quieter and less present during lower-energy moments. Then it gradually returns as the section builds back up. I also used KickStart 2 for sidechain movement. Each time the kick hits, the shaker dips slightly, which helps avoid clutter while keeping the rhythm active. Finally, I added a small amount of reverb to give the shaker some space without blurring its transient detail. Percussion Processing Summary Stereo: moderate width for depth without losing focus. EQ: Cut below 120 Hz to remove rumble and avoid clashing with the bass and kick. Boost around 400 Hz to add body. Cut above 8-10 kHz to make space for the shaker and reduce harshness. Automation: 2-3 dB volume reduction in lower-energy sections, followed by a smooth return to the original level. Reverb: short room reverb with a 0.8-1.2 second decay time to add space and help the percussion sit naturally in the mix. Proces